The Castle of No Return

This are some concepts I made inspired  in a very weird spanish fairytale named "The Castle of No Return". I choose four scenes from the original story and added some of my personal fantasy touch to make them appealing.

The first scene tells how two twin brothers, Lewis and Joseph, separate for the first time in their lives to fulfill their dream of becoming knights.

As it is a kids story, I tried to give it a very conceptual style but full of strength and color. I took inspiration in some fantasy-kids shows, such as the "Tangled" series, from Disney, or "Gawayn".

Lewis arrives at the distant kingdom of Medina Albaida, where he saves its ruler, Princess Obdulia, from the clutches of a ferocious dragon. Obdulia and Lewis get married, and later, from the high tower of his palace, Lewis discovers another danger.

It is the castle of Trasmoz, a cursed castle, where many knights have entered, but none have ever returned.

The use of purple colors and sharp structures helped me reinforce the malignancy of the castle, whose façade tries to resemble a skull.

Lewis is not afraid of the cursed castle, so he goes into Trasmoz, much to the chagrin of his wife. At the castle, Lewis meets his owner, an old harridan. The witch first proposes marriage to Lewis, and then she tricks him into falling into a trap where the ghosts of the other deceased knights await him. Lewis ends up succumbing to them, becoming another ghost.

The world of ghosts uses a common color for villains, green, and the skeletons play between the sinister and the childish, because let us remember that this is a story intended for the youngest audience.

Lewis's twin brother, Joseph, finds out that his brother disappeared in Trasmoz, and very angry he decides to go to find out what has happened to him.

This last scene seeks to convey more dynamism and everything that is at stake in the story, seeking an exciting and attractive composition.

Here is the line up of the story, with Lewis, Obdulia, Joseph, the old harridan and a cursed knight. 

I sought with each of the characters to convey their charisma to the maximum, and a very great contrast between all of them, heroes and villains, including the brothers, who, being twins, had to be equal but unmistakable.

I also add some of the first drafts I did for the characters and the sets of the story. 

I also designed a map of the kingdom where Lewis and Joseph live their adventures, seeking to create a new magical, fun and different world from any other.