The Rise of Pattalung

The Rise of Pattalung is a Thai-inspired Fantasy action-adventure game concept art project, where the Southern Queen, Iris, used necromancy to infect the land with a mysterious disease called the “Black Death”, causing people to get ill, crazy, and even die.
The main protagonist, the brightest student, Bua, has the knowledge to cure the disease by destroying Queen Iris' dark magic. However, she feels a mysterious connection between her and Queen Iris, which she is still trying to figure out.

History

On the land of Pattalung, the queen has given birth to a daughter named Iris. She later gave birth to a second child named Lilawadee, unfortunately, she passed away. Iris blamed Lila for the death of their mother after acknowledging that. Iris abandons her only sibling to be the queen in the south of Pattalung and forms the necromancy to visit the realm of the dead, take revenge on Lilawadee, and bring her mother back to life.

Since B.E. 1893 (A.D.1350), almost all over the part of Pattalung has been invested with the mysterious disease called the “Black Death”. Iris’ magic is affecting the ecosystem and the lands are invested with the disease that makes people become not dead nor alive. Lilawadee is the one who got the effects the most and she is now a patient. 

Hua Sai is the last northern part of Pattalung to be invested in Iris’ magic. That is where the smartest student in Pattalung is. Her name is Bua. She is a student studying Buddhism magic with the monk, Tum. People started finding out about the disease going around in this land and it is coming to Hua Sai. Surprisingly, Bua and Tum have a sense that Bua has a mysterious connection with whoever is behind this, and that is when Bua has to go find them, learn about this mysterious connection, and eliminate the source of the disease. She also got a new companion, Chakriya, known by Tum. She will be the one helping Bua with the travelling and physical combat, while Bua can master her Buddism magic to use in sensing and combat.

The Map of Pattalung

The Wise One - Bua

Bua is a student who is studying Buddhism magic with Tum. She is the smartest girl in magic studies, but she lacks empathy.

However, she always feels connected to the two queens. Little does she knows that she is the one who is able to connect them back together into a loving family again.

Bua's design is based on Thai kids' modern costumes. By being the student and the youngest character here, she is someone who would look more modern, ahead of time, something new, someone who would make the biggest change. The colour scheme is blue since it has the meaning of the wise one.

Bua's early design was first based on a Thai modern student uniform, added with the capes so that the uniform looks like it is in a fantasy world. However, it looks too modern and does not look like it belongs with the rest of the characters.

Later, I found Thai costumes for children. They do not look too modern or too traditional. She does not wear a skirt, as it is more convenient for her during combat.

Bua’s weapon is a Buddism sacred scripture as a catalyst for her magic power.

The Vengeful One - Iris

Queen Iris is the queen ruling the south of Pattalung. She is the older sister to the queen of the North, Lilawadee.

Her costume is a traditional Thai dress with heavy gold accessories, combining the ominous deep sea creature’s colour shapes.

Queen Iris forming dark magic alongside the sea monster.

The Villagers

An example of a villager who got infected by Iris’ magic. I have tried exploring how the infection would look like when it is by the Thai dark magic. I think the gold pattern from Iris' dress and some skin infection fits really well.

The Peace Keeper - Tum

Tum is a monk and a teacher. He was a criminal and had a son who had already left him. Later on, he became a monk and found peace.

He is the student’s favourite teacher. Because of his friendliness and positivity, contrasting with his muscular body and intimidating tattoos.

Here are Tum's early designs. I started out by doodling the character based on a Thai monk's costume and the idea of him being a criminal in the past that have found peace and is now happy. According to the feedback, number 1 and A get the most vote.

The Adventurer - Chakriya

Chakriya is a hunter, roaming in the forest independently. She is Bua’s companion and a combat helper while they are on an adventure together. 

Chakriya was the hardest to design. Because the design for a hunter girl is limited, the character needs to look flexible and the costume needs to be convenient. Most traditional Thai costumes are made for the royal people with laces, gold, silver, and satin. So it was hard to design a character who roams in the forest in Thai costumes.

In the beginning, I designed her to be a small skinny girl since it can be hard for her to find food while living alone in the forest. However, that does not make sense. If she is able to live in the forest alone, she must know how to hunt, survive and get really strong.

Chakriya's weapons are a bow and arrow, for hunting. A dagger is for close-up combat.

The Sorrowful One - Lilawadee

Lilawadee is the queen protecting the north of Pattalung. She is the younger sister of Iris.

Her costume is a traditional Thai dress with silver accessories, combining plant and forest colours, mood, and shapes.

For Lilawadee, I would always draw her with a sad and innocent facial expression. I explored both the forest design and ocean design, seeing if she fits better for ruling the sea area of southern Pattalung.

Villages and the Living