I was initially inspired by the historical doctrine 'Divine Right of Kings' which made me conjure a story about a cult who runs by the belief that they are Gods chosen and are either followed or despised. I imagined the cult to wear similar uniforms to Haytham Kenway from Assassins Creed III, who has a very highway-man look about him with the tricorne hat and long dark blue uniform jacket. However deeper researching into Assassins Creed III reminded me of the extreme racial issues in the 1800s. I wanted to include this issue in my own story and raise awareness and even teach a moral referring to discrimination.
After thinking overnight about this idea and how to develop it to involve the controversial issues of racism, I suddenly got a great idea when I stared across my room and noticed my game case of Dragon Age. Last half term during the holiday I spent most of my days playing Dragon Age: Inquisition, an action role-playing video game where you follow an adventure in a fictional fantasy world set in the 'Dragon Ages'. One of the main things that made Dragon Ages universe feel so immersive was the in-depth laws and different cultures added to the world making it very life like. Part of these laws was the discrimination between other races and factions, for example being a mage made other factions wary of you and some despise you. Being an elf also made you very despised by nearly all human-type races that would refer to you as 'knife-ears’; they were despised because they too were involved with the use of magic just like mages. This got me thinking that the Cult of Kings are a group of advanced mercenaries who rebel against the use of magic and see it as an evil deed or an act against God which is simply an excuse to justify their evil deeds. Since magic is seen as being very dangerous and an act which non-human races can use, it is well known that when humans do not understand something this leads into fear which then leads into hate and so the Cult of Kings have a mass following who agree by their belief and support them as being Gods chosen to defeat any who use the act of magic and go against Gods will. The whole discrimination against non-human races represents that of racism these days however as it is humans vs others this means that people from any race who view my work will feel the sense of supremacy and the devastating effects that it can have on others if taken advantage of. I imagine this all taking place in the 1800s era but with a fantasy twist with magic existing and their being other races. Maybe outside the cities walls it’s a very open field like fantasy place, with a lot of magic and dangerous creatures much like the Dragon Age game universe or even Lord of the rings (film series). I still have a lot of developing to do on this idea and improve the story, but I feel like this is a good start to an awesome outcome.
For this idea I am very torn between making full body concept art of the characters with a background and possibly going with the technique I analysed in Jaccques-Louis David's work of adding a lot of symbolism into my concept art and posing my characters in actions that will help give across the story which I want to showcase. Or I could make a comic book or a set of images which would simply tell the story however, the character design would lack depth and I won’t be able to make very detailed pieces as the process would take too long. However I feel that the comic book would be the best option. I will have to research more into other artists and see if there are any other techniques I could use that I'd be happy with.
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I have come up with a story, originally based on the Divine Right of Kings, that is about a group of characters who run a cult and live by the belief that they are God's chosen and act on his behalf, committing evil deeds that they think are justified as they believe they are Gods chosen. However with my story I wanted to raise awareness for Racism as I it was a major issue in the 1800s and still is an on-going issue today. I then researched into Dragon Age which gave me the idea that the Cult of Kings are a group of advanced mercenaries who target other fantasy races who are foreign and have the ability to use magic, which is seen as dangerous and evil by humans. Magic is labelled to be an act against God and so they have a mass group of followers in the town, who agree by their belief and support them as being Gods chosen to defeat any who use the act of magic and go against Gods will. This means non-human races are discriminated whether they are innocent or not, causing them to be killed or imprisoned whilst humans believe themselves to be supreme. The discrimination against non-human races represents that of racism in our world today however as it is humans vs others this means that people from any race who view my work will feel the sense of supremacy and the devastating effects that it can have on others if taken advantage of. This story will occur in the 1800s era but with a fantasy twist with magic existing and their being other races.
I originally was torn between making full body concept art of the characters or making a comic book. I knew making a comic book would be the best strategy but I was worried about having to simplify my work and having to make my character design not very detailed in order to make many panels in the limited time that I have. This is when I then found the company Platige Image who had an art style that was at that perfect in-between of being realistic yet simplified with the drawings having scruffy edges and looking almost hand painted with blocky colour brush strokes. Their use of effects such as smoke and blood splatters were also clever as it’s an easy technique to quickly add atmosphere and drama as well as symbolism and make the scenes look as though mid action. From this I decided I would go ahead in making panels showcasing the story but not as a comic book. Instead I will create a series of 6-10 images around a5 size that can be seen more like a comic strip, drawn in a style similar to Platige Image.
The glorious Haythem Kenway in his swaggy outfit.
A depiction of a highway man found on pinterest,
Concept art of a templar knight from the 1200s.
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Unique race ideas drawn by artists from games such as Dragon Age and Skyrim. They are all inspiration for my own ideas.
Sword Ideas for Cult Mercenaries. I like the one with the hilt shaped like a religious cross.
After researching on Assassins Creed III, it had made me think about the issues of racism in the 1800s and so I’ve decided to research more into it. Unsurprisingly, I found out that the 1800s was a grim time to live in for any one of the black race. However campaigning was starting to rise by many white people to put an end to the slave trade but few of those white people believed in racial equality, that is equality between the black and white races. This meant that although slavery was coming to an end, black people after being freed were still treat as though they were lower class and the white race were supreme. Slavery remained legal in most of the British Empire until the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.
"Black Codes" were invented in 1865 after the civil war in order to control the labor, migration and other activities of newly-freed slaves. During 1865 all Southern states passed Black Codes preventing emancipated slaves from becoming full citizens, allowing them second-class civil rights and no voting rights. Black Codes denied black people the rights to testify against whites, to serve on juries, to vote or to express legal concern publicly. Black Codes also declared that those who failed to sign yearly labour contracts could be arrested and hired out to white landowners. Black Codes ceased after 1866, and were soon replaced instead by the Jim Crow laws. These were state and local laws enacted up to 1965. They authorised racial segregation in all public facilities in Southern states starting in 1890 and gave a "separate but equal" status for African Americans. This separation caused African Americans to be led into conditions that were inferior to those provided for white Americans, instituting a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages. Jim Crow laws required the segregation of public schools, public places, public transportation, public lavatories, restaurants, and even required separate public drinking fountains for whites and blacks. The US military was also segregated.
In the late 1800s the start of the first KKK group arose in the United States. The KKK was a movement of extremists for white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically expressed through terrorism aimed at groups or individuals whom they opposed. I could go further into researching this group however I won’t as the acts they committed were so atrocious that reading about it is just making me too depressed.
From this research I have found that racism was at a high during these times, and only rose higher in the 1900s. Racial Segregation is an important issue in the 1800s and so if I am coming up with a story set in these times then racism and racial segregation is an important factor I need to include if I want to add depth and realism to my story. Racism is still an ongoing issue today and so maybe my idea could help to raise awareness to this and help support anti-discrimination as now that I have a greater understanding I am more passionate than ever that it needs to be put to a complete end.
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Racism in 1800s
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Platige Image
Platige Image is a company specializing in designing CG imagery, 3D animation, and digital special effects. They combine film and advertising work with a strong passion for art, education, and entertainment. The company and staff are very passionate about storytelling, and they are constantly seeking out new and original ways to shape narratives and experiment with new media. They have their own page on Behance where there projects are uploaded and you can watch them for free as well as see behind the scenes on how certain projects were made. I found these guys when searching online for best animation artists and their profile on Behance was one of the top links and I think they are my solution to how I will produce a comic.
Going through and binge-watching their projects I found out that Platige were a part of making the game Ryse: Son of Rome and they were behind creating the opening animation cinematic for telling the legend of Damocles, a dark tale of a betrayed general who was brought back from the dead to defeat those who left him alone in battle due to cowardliness. The overall style of the cinematic is beautiful to me and out of all of their animations this one stood out the most. The art style looks as though it’s been hand painted and although the drawings appear to be rough and squiggly around the edges it still gives across a lot of detail and remains realistic. They are very effective with their colour schemes and use it to add atmosphere and changes the mood as well as make the overall animation very eye-catching and bold. For example the pale hues of blue when the general is slipping away with the spirits show death and almost represent the ocean as if he's sinking deeper into oblivion. The backgrounds during the animation are hardly detailed and most of the time appears to be one colour with different marking effects to make out the sky or rough buildings in the distance and this technique keeps the character as the main focus. The use of effects is very clever as it’s such a simple yet effective technique such as with the smoke drifting out from the generals body showing how death has taken over him and he's drifting off into the spirit world and it’s as if his soul is spilling out of him or death is taking hold over his body. Also the simple splatter effects across the sky or near bodies represent the splattering of blood or dirt which adds to the atmosphere dramatically and yet is such an easy technique to do.
I believe this style of Art would be perfect for making the comic for my Cult of Kings idea as the art style is not too over detailed so I won’t spend too long on one panel and will hopefully have enough time to complete my comic. Plus the style is not too simplistic so that the characters lack design and realism, which is important, as the character design was an essential part for me and I didn't want to have to draw simplistic in order to have time to draw many panels. I also am much more skilled at drawing realistic than cartoony. How the style looks hand painted as well gives a very old-fashioned feel so it is very suitable for telling a story set in the 1800s. I believe this would be a perfect style to take inspiration from and use for my comic of the Cult of Kings (my first idea) as it solves my problem of not wanting to create artwork that's simplistic, but instead finds that middle-ground where it is detailed enough that it’s realistic yet is still fast to do so I can produce many panels in a short time. Of course, I will still have to work hard, learn the style fast and hopefully not encounter too many problems along the way.
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Assassins Creed III is a 2012 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the fifth major instalment in the Assassin Creed series which are games set in a fictional history of real world events and follows the centuries-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight for peace with free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control. Since the game is set in the 1800's this means the characters are all designed to appear and act as though they live in these times and so are a good example and inspiration t use for inventing my own characters who live in these times.
I am an avid fan of the Assassins Creed series and so I have played Assassins Creed III myself. Haytham Kenway was my favourite character who you play as at the start of the game, however you then later find out he's a templar which is unheard of for an Assassin due to Templars being their enemies. I was and still am obsessed with Haythams character design and outfit. I googled everywhere and found out that the hat he wears is called a Tricorne which is the same style of hat Jack sparrow wears in pirates of the Caribbean (My favourite film series of all time). The rest of his outfit seems to be inspired a lot by the 1800's navy uniforms as it has a similar style and the same blue white and gold colour scheme, which is fitting since as he can take charge of ships.
When coming up with the idea of the cult following the tradition of the Divine Rights of Kings doctrine I imagine the clan to wear uniforms similar to Haythams Templar group however they were all in black making them appear a lot more dark and villainous. Adding to the story they could be similar to Haytham as well, in that they are in search for an ancient artefact which grants the great power; I could design this artefact and produce concept art for it. However that idea is becoming a bit too cliché and I may be leaching off this series a bit too much.
The main story of the game revolves around Haytham Kenways son Ratonhnhaké:ton who is raised in a tribal village out in the wild. His mother dies during an attack on his village which Ratonhnhaké:ton believes was led by the Templar Charles Lee. Years later, the village Elder informs a teenage Ratonhnhaké:ton that their tribe's duty is to prevent the Temple's discovery. The Elder gives him a transparent Sphere which allows a spirit woman named Juno to communicate with him; she tells him of his importance and shows him the Assassins' symbol. The symbol leads him to the retired Assassin Achilles Davenport, who reluctantly begins training him as an assassin. Achilles suggests Ratonhnhaké:ton rename himself "Connor" to enable him to move more freely throughout the Colonies, in fear that some colonists might reject him as a tribe member as slavery and discrimination against black races was a very large issue then. I wonder if I were to create a story set in the 1800s that I too should include the important factor of racism back then. My work could even promote anti-racism and raise awareness to how it is still an on-going issue today.
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1800's
Theme Research
I find the artwork back in the 1800’s to be absolutely stunning. I heard a rumour that a good way to improve on flesh tones is to look at the colours used in old paintings such as Jacques David’s work as many of the artists practically perfected the colour tones used for the skin. Jacques-Louis David was an artist back in the 1800s notorious for his paintings of Napoleon, who he was well acquainted with. What I find so great about these paintings, is how much symbolism lies within them. Furthermore, as well as it being a beautiful picture, it is also one which tells a story and holds a lot of meaning behind it. The characters in the paintings are drawn in very theatrical poses as this shows clear action on what they are doing and also adds dramatic effect. These paintings are great examples to follow if I invent a story behind my characters and want to show it off in one detailed piece, instead of going down the route of having to make a storyboard in order to showcase my story.
Paintings 1800's
Jacques-Louis David
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When searching online for '1800's weird traditions' I came across the website listverse.com with the article 'Top 10 shocking historical beliefs and practices'. There I found out about the Divine Right of Kings which was a political and religious doctrine that asserted that a monarch has ultimate authority over man, deriving their right to rule directly from the will of God. The law even ensured that medieval kings were not responsible for the will of the people but rather working under Gods power. If any attempt to dispose the king or restrict his powers then they are opposing the will of God and are therefore committing heresy.
This tradition sparked an idea in my mind of characters who run a cult and live by this belief that they are God's chosen and act on his behalf. They could have an avid group of followers who believe in their cause but also a group who claim them to be imposters and oppose them. This idea is very story base driven so I wonder if I would possibly end up developing a short comic to help showcase the story, or I could follow the route which I mentioned when researching Paintings in the 1800's. If I did create a comic this would require a lot of time, and so I might have to rush the character designs which is something I wanted to focus on, as it’s a speciality of mine. I do write a lot of stories in my spare time and create storyboards for them, so I am already familiar with the process of making a comic. This idea could be my chance to finally make a fully coloured comic which is something I've always wanted to do.
