Protagonist Design

Background

For my protagonist I drew on many different inspirations within the Islamic world, between several eras. The protagonist is meant to be a former mamluk soldier turned nomadic mercenary, as such, I drew inspiration from real-world mamluk clothing and armour, as well as general Arab garb. I also looked at fictional designs that resembled the aesthetic I was aiming for.

Mood Boards

I created two mood boards as well as looked at a myriad of other images and sources in order to come up with a design for the protagonist. I wanted the design to be at least partially realistic, but I also did want it to be distinct and potentially fantastical. As such, I created one mood board based on real-world sources and one based on fictitious designs.

Real-World

I drew on many different designs from different factions and eras. Some were based on Muslim soldiers from different caliphates, others were based on mamluks from the middle ages and the 19th century, and even one was a photo from the late 19th to early 20th century of a Bedouin warrior. A common design element was the baggy trousers/robes that are worn. Given the hot climate of where many of these garments originate, it is appropriate that the clothing would be loose and light. There is also the common design of some sort of headwear such as turbans and the ghutra, which help to prevent dehydration. These design elements may be incorporated to my protagonist’s design. The armour shown is also something I would take influence from, such as the scaled armour plates that were commonly used in the region I am taking inspiration from.

Fictional

All of these designs are from video games such as Elden Ring, Shovel Knight, and Assassin’s Creed. Many of these designs include robes that are fitting of the aesthetic I am aiming for, if not accurate. Some are unrealistic, such as Donovan’s robes and armour (pixel artwork) but are designs that would fit a wandering mercenary. I would intend on combining a mix of these more designs for my mercenary’s garb. While I want a level of accuracy to real-world clothing, I will prioritize aesthetics over realism, in order to have an appealing design.

Practice

I created an initial design based on some real-world design elements such as Arab cloaks and head-coverings. I had a fantastical element as well with the size of the sword and the mask.

I did like some elements of this design such as the cape, mask, and head-covering. However, it was lacking in other elements, for instance the trousers were not accurate to what someone from that region would wear. I also did not like that he was wearing a cloak and a cape, and felt that it should be one or the other. There is also a lack of detail, particularly in his armour. As such, this design would be very different from the final one.

Practice

After the initial design, I decided to go back to the mood boards (as well as other images) to create some observational sketches to gain a better understanding of the designs I was inspired by.

The image above is a collection of observational drawings based on the real-world (except for the right-most portrait based on a Dark Souls 3 head-covering). I drew some faces (one based on Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia) to both garner a better understanding of how to draw head-coverings, as well as to toy with the idea of giving my protagonist a face. The various helmets and armour drawings were done to get an idea of how middle eastern armour looks and the design elements they commonly have. I also drew the Bedouin warrior (bottom-most sketch) to get an idea of how my character could be dressed.

The image above is a mix of fictional and real-world designs from the mood boards as well as some other images. Drawing fictional characters filled me with inspiration and ideas of how my character could look like. Drawing from real-world sources also showed me that reality is not as boring or constrained as I may have originally thought, indeed there was much variation between the different sources I observed. The main elements I knew I wanted to include in my final design were robes of some sort, gauntlets, and scaled armour plating.

Designs

Before I ventured into creating more designs for the protagonist I wanted to try drawing specific important aspects of his garb. I placed most importance on the helmet/mask and on the chest/torso piece. I experimented with different designs, all using a head-covering, with differing masks and helmets. The top left design was utilizing a mix of Mamluk/Turkic helmet design with Arab Bedouin styled head covering. I liked this design, but I also felt that I wanted to experiment with more masked designs. The two drawings to its right were based on Egyptian mediaeval Mamluk headgear where in which chain mail covers much of the face and head coverings are used. I liked this design quite a bit, but I felt it was missing “expression” as the only sort of expression on the mask was the two eye-holes. I may use it in the future for a different design. The last two helmet designs were similar designs where the upper half of the mask is metallic while the lower half is chainmail. It was inspired by cavalry helmets mamluks wore as well as drawing on the previous design elements I liked. The torso piece was a mix of a cloak of some sort, robes, and a scale armour chest piece. I quite liked this design but I was sure to experiment with other designs before making any firm decision on what exactly the protagonist would look like.

The image above comprises several designs I came up with for the protagonist. The top left design leaned into more of a rogue or assassin look, comprised of little armour and a small mask that covers half his face. I liked the idea of a lightly armoured assassin but not for a protagonist, thus I rejected that design. The design on the top right was a more armoured mercenary design with a mask covering the entire face. I liked the design but felt the mask was not fitting for the character and that the trousers needed to be slightly changed. The bottom right design was based more on realistic Bedouin warriors and was made to be less fantastical. I armed the mercenary with his sword as well as a bow and made him appear more as a slightly modern soldier than a mediaeval warrior. As such, I rejected the design, although I could see it being used for another enemy or NPC. The bottom left design combined the elements I liked from each design while incorporating more chainmail elements. It would be the design I would mostly refer to when creating the finalized version.

Final Design

This final design combines everything I’ve studied and created. I incorporated the baggy loose trousers mamluks would wear, as well as some of the robes and sashes that some Arabs would also dawn. The armour itself was changed from square scale armour to more rounded scales as I found the square pattern to be a bit mundane. I also created the finalized designs for the helmet and cloak. I added some small detailing as well such as small daggers and pouches. Overall I am pleased with this final design and I believe it fits the theme and setting of the game world. It respects the various historical influences while maintaining a unique aesthetic.