ARTWAR 2 | 2D | Plague Doctor | Kannyan

[kannyan]

First time posting, hopefully I won't embarrass myself haha
Going for the Dark side, my character will be a kind of chaotic good alignment type.
Came up with the idea in the shower while musing on different concepts. I realized that given the Black Plague started in Asia before moving to Europe, it'd be interesting to design a sort of Plague Doctor traveling on the silk road in a sort of anachronistic neo post apocalypse. I want enjoy subverting themes while maintaining a type of relevant and elegant approach to my design choices.
Historically speaking, the plague doctor outfit was inspired by medieval soldiers garb, so to fits into the theme of a war well, albeit my girl would be more on the support side. I want the silhoulette to be reminiscent of the doctors garb, bit with design elements of Ming dynasty attire.
Currently, her story is that she goes around spreading plague and pollution, also filling the air with opium. She creates darkness with pollution, which I think is especially relevant given her origin. She thinks that by lulling people into comatose state, they will be happier dreaming than awake in a desolate world.

[mystarryspace]

Really love the idea! I hope my character and yours can become friends, since my character is based on disease and decay as well I love the historical background your character has, and the mix of Asian and 1300s plague doctor influences. Definitely looking forward to seeing more!

[gustavferri]

This is a cool idea, also looking forward to seeing more. Best of lucks Kannyan!

[kannyan]

did some more sketches, fleshing out the initial outfit and mask design. Weapon of choice is a metal pipe since plague doctors carried around skulls and canes. I decided to bulk her armor up a bit so that its suited for war, but she's also mostly a desert inhabitant so plenty of airy parts to her outfit.

[Anatomic]

loving the aesthetic! great ideas dude looking forward to the finished product.

[ilka_hesche]

It is already looking so awesome and I´m really curious about the final result.
Do you have an Artstation account or a website where I can see more of your artworks?

[evehartman]

I love that you combine an Asian aesthetic with the steampunk style (if I interpreted her costume correctly). Love to know what it would look like with a splash of colour!

[kannyan]

Thanks guys! Nervous cause I'm working a bit out of my comfort zone but I see this as wonderful practice.
I'll update the first post with my info soon, I'm by no means a pro so I don't have much online/social media portfolios set up at the ready haha. I seldom ever post things online.
I'm not really going for steampunk aesthetic but I can see how they seem similar! I just really enjoy the anachronism of historical design meshed with more utilitarian gear of the present, and try to have a reason for everything I incorporate in a design rather than purely decorative.

update: working on Godot, the faithful albeit stubborn mount. He's mostly skeletal with sun bleached bones(desert, go figure) but the doctor gives him some form with her miasma.
I think the challenge will eventually be to somehow cast the dark feel when the environment is scorching sun lmao. Should be interesting.

Excited to start some color tests soon, but I'll need to brainstorm a bit more to solidify the design.

[kannyan]

linearting wip of final character design.
decided to change the skirt so to make the silhoulette more organic and interesting. Changed out beads in hat to more drape like veil, which would be much better protection against desert sand. Hat feather is an ostrich feather.
I'm designing her armor with more traditional chinese motifs so that it can sit against a more western dress cut. Instead of being soft, I decided I wanted her mask to look rigid and resemble an actual crow skull. Her shoes are in the shape of Manchu platforms.