In fact, they used to only have two different stages, originally referred to as levels. Due to the nature of how they manifest themselves in the Human Realm, oftentimes possessing human hosts, the Devoid were originally designed to emphasize this. The limbs would reverse their positions while the skeleton would mutate. The jaws would mostly remain closed while a true mouth structure would appear from the torso, and the spinal column would act as an extended tongue. As an extra note, the Devoid originally had four eyes.
At this time, there was the option to give the Devoid legs or not, perhaps depending on if it was in a battle or at rest. That was an early question that later helped inspire the physical makeup of each phase of Devoid. What should be present and what would be missing were two key points in the later designs.
Although the basics of the Devoid designs remain the same, the initial rough design for this mysterious level 2 version is nothing at all like the current designs in any form.
Here, the body is even more mutated from the original form. An almost angelic addition to the appearance comes in. The Devoid are not angelic entities, and I already have a race of aliens known as Angels, so it might have been confusing if I had kept this design.
Something I do find interesting about this version is that the supposed head is no longer attached where a normal head goes. Instead, a neck kind of limb protrudes from the center of the chest. The impression is disturbing because all signs of humanity are no longer present and everything is reversed from the norm. The front of the torso is having to lean backward to work with the monstrous head with wing additions. The arms become legs and the legs become wings. Two sets of spinal column tongue tails are present as well. Overall, a gruesome creature.
Over the years, the general Devoid designs have changed rather drastically. Here is one of the few examples I have of my rough brainstorming sessions.
This is where it really begins. The face no longer has a human skull appearance, the neck splits into two, the torso becomes more like a large gaping beast mouth, and the legs are not as important, possibly burned away or only showing up in an energy blaze.
Early on, even during this redesign process, I had really intended for the Devoid to maintain a human skull look to their heads. The more I fleshed out their background and behaviors, the less and less human they became. They were never intended to be characterized as human in any way, but the deception aspect used to be almost a requirement in the early design phase.
Well, that certainly changed after an interesting brainstorm one day at work. This is how everything related to the first stage of the Devoid took the design turn it did.
Although this is the earliest design rough for a much more alien appearance, the body is what gave me the hardest time at this point. Trying to maintain a reversed or disturbing feel to the body or lack thereof, I played around with what section would have the most substance. The main rough here has practically no torso as we know it. Instead, the "body" is formed from the backbone or outer shell.
Before even considering the eventual wings, I tested out having a mouth design coming from the Devoid's back. The lower "jaw" would in actuality be the upper legs, this in turn returning the spinal column to act in a more normal tail fashion. The idea was interesting, but the Devoid ended up looking more humorous and not as scary as intended, so it was dumped very quickly.
Now we reach one of the final roughs of the first stage Devoid, Diu. Even at this point, it no longer has any obvious hints based off the original designs.
The four eyes of the original became the glasslike cover. The smiling gills replace any hint of humanlike jaws. The neck is split into two segments. The upper neck follows the spinal column, while the lower neck follows the front ribs and arms. Unlike with the current design, this version gives an almost "freshly hatched" or "stretching away from the body" appearance. There are muscles, tendons, and other slimy organic sections being tugged at while acting as supports to keep the shell-like wings and back support connected to the lower neck and following sections. There are no legs at all, instead a tail continuation forms from the lower neck.
Although the designs are still considered rough, the changes are pretty interesting. A reversing human skeleton design that changes all the way to being something alien and feral? That certainly was the case for the Devoid Diu. Out of all my characters, these creatures have gone through possibly the most changes.
