Phase 03: Beta
Finalizing Designs
Characters 4-7:
Greed, Pride, Wrath, Sloth
Following weeks 3-5, finalizing the guardian designs had to be completed. Weeks 3-5 (October 8-November 4) gave focus to detailing these final layouts and narrowing down what would be shown. These layouts will be formally presented in the final iteration of the artbook.
While these layouts do not represent the final render of the characters, they are meant to serve as a guide for each palette. The colors chosen are relative to the color associated with each sin.
The next goal is to complete layouts in inDesign for the artbook. Any additional artwork, should time allow, will include renders of at least one guardian, the main character, another background piece, and vignettes to convey how the game's world might look.
This time, I kept the layouts to the front and back of the character, their silhouette, and color palette.
All drawings were made in Procreate for iPad Pro.
Greed
For Greed, the sin is usually associated with a fox. For this character, I narrowed it down to a Fennec fox that would live in the desert, likely close to Envy. As for the color, greed is aligned with yellow. Initially I wanted to make the cloak yellow since it would be the dominant color of the design. However, since this character is a thief and a drifter, they would not wear anything flashy. To emphasize this, they also only have one eye visible to highlight their reticence to the world. So, instead of making the cloak yellow, I had yellow be a contrast and highlight the darker colors used throughout the design.
Character Description:
Karam (Greed) has lived her life on the streets since she was young. She was given the nickname 'Jashe', which translates to greed, for notoriously stealing food for her siblings. After learning of her guardian status, she feared the publicity that would fall on her humble family and fled her village. Ironically, her village was populated with greedy men and women always on the prowl for their next meal, their next dollar. Knowing that someone with powers lived in the village would only spur that avarice. Karam took up the name 'Jashe' and has pretended to be a male to protect her identity in case she were to be sought after. However, the same sin stirs within Karam, and must be aware of her greed for personal freedom. After the Great Corruption, she thieved from town to town, blind to her actions and growing addicted to her own greed. She must take responsibility and work to transform greed into generosity within her village. It will be up to the main character to remind Karam of her responsibility and reconnect with her siblings as further incentive to better her home.
Notes:
*Inspired by Arabian culture and clothing with the oversized cloak, satchel for nomadic traveling, and tattered map
*"Jashe" is Arabic for 'Greed', whereas "Karam" is Arabic for 'Generousity'
References:
Pride
In Mayan culture, the jaguar represents power and ferocity; so a first thought would be to associate this animal with wrath; however, I felt that being associated with valor may lead one to become too prideful of such influence. Dances to celebrate the animal involve painting one’s body with the markings of a jaguar, so I thought it to be unique to make them a character. The large weapon he bears is meant to look organic and crafted out of stone himself. While he is inherently more aggressive, he is more full of pride which is most prevalent in his sin form. Because the sin pride is associated with the color purple, I wanted to make that the dominant and focal color. This was another incentive for this character to be pride instead of the wolf. Purple is often found in many Mayan culture celebrations today.
Character Description:
Orgullo has always been the protector of his people. Giving courage to his tribe in times of both adversity and fortune. He represents his tribe's power and valor, never losing a fight. Unfortunately, this power and lack of defeat as transcended his confidence to that of an inflated ego. Only recently has he become leader of his tribe, with rules so strict that only focus on fortifying the tribe in case of war. After the Great Corruption, fights broke out within the tribespeople who grew constrained and stressed under the rules so stern. Unfortunately, Orgullo does not see the issue and instead is under the impression that if the strong survive from these fights, then he will have a tribe as unbeatable as him. The main character must beat Orgullo in a fight to call attention to the tribe. They must remind him the importance of humility, and overall, the importance of morale within a tribe.
Notes:
*Inspired by Mayan culture and their dances to celebrate the jaguar and other animals
*"Orgullo" is Spanish for 'Pride', one of the many language Maya people could speak
References:
Wrath
Wolves are so often associated with merciless anger, and wanted to take an opportunity to present them as patient and calculating with their actions. Red is most associated with the sin wrath, so that was an obvious choice as the dominant color. It was difficult finding the right values of red for the headpiece and cloth, and decided to go darker considering how seclusive wolves are. Though pack animals, they rarely show themselves outside of a hunt, focusing on their pack relationships and the hierarchy built within. Overall, Wrath was based off of Aztec culture and clothing. I am considering changing the gold accent to silver, though I felt the additional color helped bring the design into fruition.
Character Description:
As alpha of his pack, Kaktok (Wrath) has worked tirelessly with his mate to stabilize the hierarchy within the pack and maintain a respectable authority. Rarely would he show anger at those who crossed him, instead yielding and fortifying his patience unto them in order to find common ground. Scant did his pack ever defy him after his respectable actions to those out of line. Having been challenged before was enough proof to the rest of his pack not to dare pick a fight with their alpha. After the Great Corruption, however, a pair of ill-intent individuals joined his pack under command of their own authority, working to take the pack down from the inside. Under mercy of the corruption, Kaktok's patience grew thin and entered a blind fury which nearly killed his mate. With the last bit of resilience against what was possessing him, he isolated himself from his pack in fear of further harm. His mate has been left to fend for the rest of the pack, though it will not be long before the ill-intended find her and take the lead of the pack she and Kaktok grew together. The main character must find Kaktok and return his state of mind before it's too late for his pack, his mate, and even himself.
Notes:
*Inspired by Aztec culture
*"Kaktok" means 'Quiet' in Nauatl, the language of the Aztecs
References:
Sloth
Bears are usually associated with either gluttony or sloth, and for this character I wanted to choose a bear that not only best represented the sin, but also fit in with the cultural theme of the other characters. Similar to the character Gluttony (because bears are associated with both), this character comes from a shamanic tribe with influence from the Adyg-Eeren, a Russian tribe that translates to ‘Spirit of the Bear’. Light blue is associated with the sin of sloth, so I made that the focus color here with dark blue to contrast it. I added darker values of blue to further emphasize the light blue, as well as brown to remind the design of its connection to the tribe and nature.
Character Description:
Len as a Shaman in her tribe is slow but diligent with her work. She is often antagonized for her speed, or lack thereof, but her precision and calculative approach to herbs and medicine has made her the most reputable shaman of Agartha - next to Gluttony. Len is most practiced in helping travelers recover from hypothermia, seeing as her tribe is in the frozen tundra - close to Lust. She takes her time with each patient, and recommends them longer periods of rest than normal to ensure full recovery. However, after the Great Corruption, Len has grown lazy and spelled to put in less effort seemingly under the constant criticism from her tribe and hasty travelers. This has led to sick travelers growing sicker and Len's apprentices scrambling to recall her exact measurements for medicines and supplements. It is up to the main character to convince her tribe to value her work more and not take it for granted. They must also find a way to recover Len's confidence as the tribe's shaman and help those who are sick before it is too late.
Notes:
*Inspired by the Russian shamanic society of Ardyg-Eeren
*"Len" in Russian translates to "Sloth"
References:
Additional Notes
Below is one of the original ideas for Sloth's design. However, since the tribe is based off of a shamanic society in Russia, it made sense to give her long sleeves instead of showing more skin.
In the last feedback, it was suggested that I change Lust's color to pink which is more associated with the word and context of it. So, I adjusted Lust's colors until I found a suitable palette which can be seen below.
As a final note, I compiled all guardian characters into one document for easier viewing. All layouts show the front and back of the character, along with their silhouette and color palette.
You can find this document by clicking here!