Dharmabakti Concept Art

Dharmabakti

This is a story I worked on with a few team mates. The story goes as follows.

"After the demise of her husband, a widowed djinn huntress is forced into the war, leaving her only son behind. She wounds up gravely injured during a scouting operation - but she refuses to die. 

A strange entity offers to extend her life, for a brief short while. Now she must use the very little time she has to save her son - from the oncoming wave of djinns heading towards their town."

The above scene illustrates the Djinn Princess chasing down the protagonist, determined to slaughter her. The protagonist looks frantic as she plummets to the ground.

The above scene illustrates the protagonist, now transformed into the form of a ghastly Djinn, confronting her son - desperately trying to tell him that it's her.

Concept Design

Arya Satria

The son of the main character. He is quite passionate and still trying to deal with the emotions of losing both his father and his mother.

Initial exploration sketches alongside the refined version. Since he is a rather angsty and passionate young man, I decided to show that in his gesture. The half-covered body also points towards the fact that he is somewhat insecure about himself. His designs are mainly inspired by traditional Javanese clothing. 

Character Orthography.

Final Render.

Strange Entity

This is the strange entity who offered powers to the protagonist. They are implied to be enemies with the Djinn.

The initial exploration sketches for the strange entity. I wanted it to give off a sort of ancient Sanskrit-type feel, so I implemented a lot of cultural elements I saw in Buddhism and Hinduism. The shadowy hands on its robes are supposed to represent the souls of the dead, implying that this creature lives between the realm of the living and the dead, in some sort of purgatory state. It also implies that he is in charge of human souls in some way. Since I wanted this creature to be somewhat in the uncanny valley, I made it look human, but some things are off with its appearance, hence the creepy uncanny valley effect. 

Creature Orthography.

Final Render.

Dewi's Bracelet

This is a bracelet made by Arya that he gifted to his mother so that she has something to remember him by even when she's struggling out on the battlefield. 

Initial exploration sketches for the bracelet. Inspired by traditional Javanese jewelry. Since this was handcrafted by a child, I had to keep in mind the limitations of what a child could make. Therefor most of the designs are quite simple. However I wanted to bracelet to have an ocean theme to them, since that is the mother's and the strange entity's motif, so I kept that in mind when coming up with the designs. In the end I decided that solid beach stones wrapped in twine and painted with wave motifs were the best choice to go with.

Props Orthography.

Final Render.

War Machine - Turtle Tank

One of the many war machines that the townsfolk use to battle the Djinns. It is in the shape of a fearsome snapping turtle to intimidate the enemies.

Initial exploration sketches for the war machine. When designing the war machine I kept in mind many of the cultural elements that I could use on it, alongside with what actual practical vehicles exist. My mind went to the impressive structures of the Prambanan Temple, as well as the fearsome Gharuda statue. The golden tortoise was also a big inspiration for this. In the end I chose the turtle tank as its design was the most practical, but it looked too round and cute to be a war machine. After some thinking, I made the turtle a snapping turtle instead to add to the fearsome look. Instead of stubby limbs I changed it to a sharp and almost claw-like attachment to the bigger shell. 

Machines & Vehicles Orthography.

Final Render

Environment - Djinn's Lair

This is the main hall of the Djinn Princess's Lair. It is where most of their war meetings take place, and where the Djinn Princess announces things. It used to belong to an even more ancient civilization that has unfortunately died out, so the structure is now overtaken by the Djinn. 

The initial exploration sketches for the interior of the Djinn Lair. I took a lot of inspiration from existing Indonesian Hindu-Buddhist Temples. Especially gua gajah, which had a fearsome face carved into the stone serving as a gate. I took heavy inspiration from that temple and made it into a decorative piece in the Djinn Lair's main hall, but I made it even more ferocious looking.  I also included the lava for an even more ominous lighting effect, but also because fire is the Djinns' main motif.

Environment Callout. 

Final Render.