The Marked

Key Art

I wanted to focus two of my key characters in scenes relevant to their story. Finley is portrayed here in her training yard, within her community village. She often trains alone in the misty early hours. Lynn, on the other hand, often takes solo scouting routes away from her tribe. She is frequently within the forest. Below, she has stopped to rest, before realising she is being watched by other forest inhabitants.

Above are my key art thumbnails, where I generated scene ideas. I used photographs of myself posing for Finley's reference to better understand the perspective of her weapons. I explored scenes with Lynn and her tribe in various areas of the forest, resting or scouting. Whereas for Finley I explored scenes of her communicating with her community, or in moments of solitude.

Key Character Sheets

Lynn's tribe are always on the move, so they are limited on what resources they can refine. Instead of tattoos, they mark their bodies with white chalk. These symbols relate to their spiritual worldview. They are a nomadic people heavily tied to the forest, so their gear is light and enables them to climb trees. Lynn specifically is a scout, so she carries extra pouches for foraging.

As her people have had time to build and create, Finley's community have been able to refine their resources and craft better gear. They have markings and patterns on their clothes that reflect their community's worldview - strength, creativity, and unity. They have also refined materials to mark themselves with tattoos. Finley specifically has her community's symbol on the backs of her hands, the bear paw, as well as the symbol for the three realms on her arms - the physical, spiritual (unseen), and supernatural (that which manifests from the spiritual realm into the physical). Her community still keeps many of the spiritual beliefs as the nomadic tribes.

Finley's Cabin

I have concepted Finley's cabin and her bed to be made out of the materials of the forest, which includes both refined wood (crafted into planks and beams), as well as deadwood, which still takes the form of trunks and roots. Deadwood in their world can still contain spiritual essence, carrying over the life of the tree. It is used here for Finley's bed, and would be used only for her bed in the community, as she is the leader and thus holds a special status. The deadwood, on being used in her home, has sprouted white petals - a sign the community reads as being one of hope, that she may be favoured and blessed by the Old Gods.

Finley's Armour Variants

Last year I concepted Finley's armour variants, creating combinations that could be used in an RPG. There are three armour sets here, but they can be mix-and-matched to create different looks.

 Above are also my notes on design and materials, as well as my examples of torso armour combinations.

Finley's Weapons

She has three weapons: a primary sword weapon, and two interchangeable secondary weapons, which both have specific belt attachments. I've considered the type of attacks these weapons can do, such as the primary and secondary blade having a slash and stab combo. The throwing blades offer an alternative ranged attack, which can also be used at close range as daggers for a finisher blow, after the primary weapon.

And that's my personal project so far! I'm looking to concept another key character next, one of The Marked (a Titan), which I'm really looking forward to. It'll tap into a lot of the lore for the universe in my project.

Thank you for stopping by!