Some extra work I did for Jess' Knight Dragon project. She asked me to create about 3-5 medieval knights in dramatic poses that could be referenced as portraits within her film. She specifically asked me to make reference to the previous knight experiments I made, even the slightly more dragon-esque designs I created in the beginning.
Due to the open-endedness of what I could use, it was important for me to look at each design again to understand which ones would be better suited for development. I preferably wanted to use ones that could imply the villages origins, while also giving each knight a distinct look.
This is my first design, a knight that's about to swing his double-handed sword. I decided to choose a design that's slightly more traditional knights armour. However, like the original designs, the ridges give the armour a slightly more unique look. I think the pose I've given him helps in showing off his courageous side, almost like he's about to slay one of his enemies. I think that this is my most successful pose of the three, as it clearly identifies the personality of the character, while also giving him a look of dominance and power.
For the second design, I wanted to make it look a bit more ancient in aesthetic, almost like the very first armour that the warriors wore when they first encountered the dragon. I looked at my very first experiments for inspiration, and found that this one represented the look I was going for. The spikes almost give the knight a bit more of a tribal look. His hunched position also gives him a brutish persona, which I think is appropriate in comparison to the 'modern' knight. The axe also amplifies his strength, which is quite important to keep in line his power. This is one of my favourite designs of all of the knights, as he has a very unique look compared to the other knights I've created.
This final character I envisioned as being a leader of the past, a character which all of the warriors still respect after his death. I added the colour red to reflect his power and royalty. The helmet also makes reference to the current knights; I felt that this was important to establish the current knights mutual respect for each other. The spikes also give the knight a slightly more ancient look, to acknowledge him as the king of the past. I gave him a pose that almost looks like he's watching over his kingdom, meaning that even in death he still watches over the people he helped to protect even in death.
I feel that I've chosen the right characters to represent the origins of the knights. However, due to commitments to other projects, I was unable to provide more detail to the characters, and if given the chance again would provide more detail to their armour, such as scratches and shininess.
Overall, I enjoyed working with Jess on this project, and has given me an experience that I think is similar to contemporary animation practice, particularly teamwork. However, I must also acknowledge the limitations that I had with this project, mainly due to commitments to my own projects.
