INTRO TO THE CHARACTERS, BY NIKO
The initial characters of NEEKZ, before they were anything at all, were just simple childhood doodles. Paninj was the first and Gregore the second. It's pretty wild in hindsight because before there was Paninj and Gregore, there was a random green guy I would doodle called Freddie. This green version of Freddie influenced all of the future characters and gave name to our now Outlaw archetype, Freddie.
PANINJ - a self-reflection
Paninj actually came from Panda + Ninja (ah yes, good old 2012.. IYKYK) and I was young "Nickisan". Good times. Anywho, Paninj was a character that I would draw, and eventually a character that I strongly resembled irl. I had been stretching my ears since I was about 13, I remember getting a really busted industrial bar at 16, my Septum pierced at like 18, and Pandas were my favorite — so no wonder it all aligned.
GREGORE - the friends around me
After Paninj came Gregore — the cute, hyper dragon Sage of today.
And they have stuck with me for this long because they always just felt important. And years later they've up given me such an important outlet to share my take on life.
We're all different and we're all just figuring it out on our journey. The "good", the "bad" and everything in-between. And I'm not just talking about outside day-to-day events, I'm talking about our being. Our personalities, emotions, quirks, and all.
But where do all of these differences come from? How do we see that from an outside perspective? How do we embrace all that we are? All that you are?
These little characters began to offer me a way to personify ideas, relate and make sense of our being. All of us. The role I may play. The similarities I share with others and where I differ.
So with all of this in mind, I must say that I've always been interested in the idea of ideas — philosophy.
And that's where I stumbled upon Carl Jung's philosophies.
“THE MEETING OF TWO PERSONALITIES IS LIKE THE CONTACT OF TWO CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES : IF THERE IS ANY REACTION, BOTH ARE TRANSFORMED.”
We all crave individuality and yet still crave belonging.
I see NEEKZ as a way to express both, in a very simplified way. Or at least I hope this has all made sense so far, LOL.
I myself relate a bit to each character in one way or another, and all of my characters have been impacted by my experiences with others. "They're you. They're me. So let's talk about it." is my approach to this thing. They open up the space to get raw about why we relate or connect to one character over another.
