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Context and Research

For my FMP I am continuing to work with my client like I have for the past two projects. This time I am aspiring to create two more characters and do some background design for my client. However, if this is not achievable I will be creating the two characters and either a portion of one or one background.

Below is descriptions and important details of the characters given to me by the author

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Lynne:

Lynne was one of the mortals who grew up in the slave camps of Darkgon. She was trained as a blood maid but was accidentally injured resulting in a lot of blood loss. Lynne was then given demon blood as a substitute but it backfired and turned her into a vampire. She became a bodyguard for a warlock called Yaz but she fell in love and eventually married the warlock and they adopted Gain together. Vampires are frozen in the moment of their death, needing blood to maintain their bodies. Vampires also can’t have children of their own. Lynne is not a fan of tattoos as they tattooed prisoners in the camps. She does however have two she chose. One is a matching wedding ring that glows when close to Yaz. The other is a key on her wrist to open metaphorical shackles. She is also always seen with her specially made Translator Earrings. She likes to embrace her African heritage while also having a modern twist on the clothing. 

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Yaz:

Bris' friend that likes to draw and fight. Yaz is an illegal tattoo artist based in Grasspint. Yaz also found an enchantment that allows the person to hide objects in their skin. Yaz is the strict parent out of her and Lynne. Yaz is a warlock which is a hybrid of Demons and Witches which makes them infertile which is why her and Lynne adopted Gain. Yaz has indigo skin and purple hair, wears smart casual clothing as she is a business woman. She wears mostly monochrome clothing (or greyscale) she's also known for her short temper. 

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Darkgon:

Demon City. Where the Demon Lord/King resides and rules. It is set in the mountains so is surrounded in ice and stone as Demons have skin like stone. While talking to the author I said I could imagine it like a gothic Victorian palace surrounded by ice and blue flames with orange hazes in the sky, she liked my vision and is letting me go forward with the idea.

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Skorge:

Skorge is a Harbour town loosely based around the slums of Victorian London so lots of greys very dismal and severely over populated with barely any wealth. It is filled with creatures of all kinds. "Satyrs, Dryads, Witches, Warlocks, Dwarves and many other inhabitants."

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Citvarr:

Citvarr is similar to Venice but with rain that could give England a run for its money. With lots of bright colours that have now faded due to the rain, this city is a favourite spot for Vampires due to the constant rain and not having to hide during the day however Demons have come to love the beautiful, wet city.

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Faekargen:

This abandoned forest that is supposedly barren and dead is streaming with dangerous plants that are as beautiful as they are deadly. This town, as the name suggests, is home for Fae-Folk/Fairies. However, these creatures are not as friendly as told to children of our world. This Town stands far apart from the rest of the kingdom due to the war of Fairies and Demons means that Fairies were now endangered and any creature was pardoned after killing a fairy.

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This is research for the Darkgon castle as that is one of the main aspects, I'm looking forward to designing in my FMP. The first image is an old photo of Ingress Abbey which is local to me. I was hoping to find an image or description before it was rebuilt in 1833 in the Elizabethan style. Before it was demolished and rebuilt it was designed in a Neo-Gothic, Jacobean-style. However, I decided to use the Elizabethan style to get back into the practice of drawing buildings. In the book the King Marzarko (Ulric) has the spirit of a dragon trapped inside him that he has to control so that the Fae-folk don't have their full power. Because of this I spoke to my client about adding in some dragon like aspects to the design of the castle which she liked. She suggested adding a leg to the side/bottom of the castle digging into the mountains which leads to the dungeons so I'm going to be incorporating those aspects. The last two pictures where to help me with a Gothic/demonic castle and a castle in the mountains. Sadly, I couldn't find any in an icy mountain but I like the looks of the image on the bottom right. I would like to create this city if I can so will be doing it on paint if not, I will just do the castle in pencil or charcoal.

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This is research for the character Lynne. Seeing as she was hired as a bodyguard for Yaz I want to incorporate modern African inspired clothing and traditional African warrior clothing. As she likes to honour her heritage, I will also be incorporating African jewellery but in a more subtle note. I am yet to discuss with my client about hair styles but I will be experimenting with Afros, Braids, Dreadlocks and Cornrows. In order to do this, I have researched into different brush sets and have managed to find a couple free sets that are okay but I might have to consider buying a set-in order to do Lynne’s hair. I also need to add in Lynne’s Tattoos which I am yet to discuss with my client about the style of these tattoos but I have a couple ideas planned in my head. She has a matching marriage tattoo with her wife Yaz so I want to do opposing tattoos (opposite colours on the spectrum) and she has her camp number tattooed on her arm. As the book is based around medieval times, I'm thinking about roman numerals and Lynne also has a key on her wrist to unleash her from metaphorical (as well as literal) shackles so I have looked into different styles.

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This is research for the character Yaz. As Yaz is the result of witches and demons I thought to incorporate details from what people would see when thinking of a demon or a which even though the demons and witches from the book are interpreted differently. I also looked into warlocks from DnD and was shocked to find that they look similar to how I imagined them to look in my client’s book. I also looked into smart casual looks as Yaz is a business woman and looks smart and presentable at all times.I was hoping to find lots of alternative looks however most business casual/ modern business attire all looks the same just with different patterns or a slightly different shirt/blouse. I will also do creating this character in Procreate after roughing out the final sketch on paper.

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This is research into Skorge, the harbour town based loosely around Victorian London. Because this is a fantasy book, I looked into Assassins Creed Syndicate (a game I love) as its based in Victorian London and is sort of a fantasy crossed with reality game as well as looking at images from Victorian London. Although only two of the images are of the Harbour at the River Thames looking at a busy and overcrowded London will help me to image how it would look with Fantasy creatures instead of people. I'm not sure that I'll go ahead with this town however if I do, I will be using paint or pencils.

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I looked into pictures of Venice for Citvarr (the city for Vampires and Demons) as not only was that how the Author described it as but also in 'A Discovery of Witches' most vampires are based in Venice. Because Citvarr is always raining (one of the reasons Vampires love it there) I'm not going to do a sunset or bright sky which is why I've looked into some 'Venice at night' photos so I know which parts of Citvarr to illuminate. If I go choose this town as one of my pieces, I will probably paint it to enhance my skills and don't think I'll struggle too much with it as its very colourful although being rainy.

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I really like the idea of Faekargen looking barren yet full of life. However, the plants that grow there are not friendly like what used to grow but are just as beautiful if not more so. The pictures I chose above are beautiful yet there is something sinister about them and that is the look I'm going for with Faekargen. If I go ahead with creating this desolate land, I will be more focused on making it Digital on ProCreate rather than painting it as I want to add in a lot of hidden details that I feel wouldn't show up on a painting or I will struggle to add in as much detail as I planned.

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I decided to sketch out ome ideas for a barren and abandonded part of faekargon and when discussing this with my client she preferred Faekargen to be built on ruins but i still kept these notes just incase she liked them for something else.

In the skull you can see vines and small flowers growing around it to show life thriving after death. I also annotated a rough outline for Faekargen.

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