Arnoud's Armor was designed to be gothic inspired, I referenced different sets of field and jousting armor to give him a hefty appearance while still keeping the articulation and believability of the gear. Since the armor is scarred with magical cuts I didn't want there to be too much decoration on the plate, I considered including inlays and bordering on the plates but decided to let the magic take the focus. His sword was originally described as a flaming longsword, since there is an element of realism here I chose to depict that as red-hot metal. Finally the magical spell takes the form of a Futhark Rune "Thurisaz" made of lightning. The player described electrical figures dancing on the hand, in keeping with the theme I chose to use a rune to display the magic as a skillset in the world they inhabit, as opposed to formless power.
The sketches show the posing process, the client discussed these with me and we chose the final to most closely match the tone he wanted.
Arnoud's portrait was heavily influenced by Sergey Kolesov. I used much of his work for Dishonoured to create a moody portrait of this warrior. The lighting allows us to see how his features have been disfigured by the past, and his posing & expression together create a feeling that he would rather not be sitting for a painting. The tattoos on his right cheek are mementos of his long-dead wife and daughter, and his scars are memories of a past that removed him from the player's game. Long thought dead, he returns now to surprise his friends with new faith and a band of mercenaries under his control.
