Hi! Here's a few traditional sketch pieces I made while I was out of town and unable to work on comics- some character sketches from the fantasy world I've been planning for a comic to be made at a later date. More works can be found in my gallery:











The characters, in order from left to right, with a bit of backstory. They're more general classes of people living in the world than specific characters, most of them at least.









"Griffon hunters are masters of the hunt. There is no prey they cannot catch, including humans."







Pictured here is a tribal huntsman from one of the myriad tribes living in the great Ironwood forest in the southern parts of the Tengherii Empire. Adorned with tribal tattoos and cloth he has armoured himself with a light scale armour covering his torso, made of the locally growing ironwood. Hardness of the ironwood equals quality bronze, or so say the master smiths of the Gervani grand ironworks. The greatest possession of the hunter is the griffon's beak tied to his loincloth. The beak is a symbol of his hunting prowess and signifies his passing of the hunter's rite, or the falling of a great griffon- not to mention the great magical benefits said to be bestowed. Additionally a few shark teeth from the Jewel isles are sewn onto the cloth. This hunter is armed with a hunting bow, a few heavy war arrows, some lighter hunting arrows, short sword and a spear. The sword and spear are most likely traded from passing merchants brave enough to approach the fickle tribes in search of great profits.





"The Tengherii Guard only accepts the best warriors from the purest steppe bloodlines. This way it is ensured that the legacy of Tenge will be guarded by his own blood."





The Royal guard of the greatest land power in the world, the Tengherii Empire consists of soldiers handpicked from the sons of the Tengherii nobility, schooled in combat arts and subterfuge. They act mainly as sentries in the royal households in the Imperial city and Tengara's dynasty palace, but occasionally take the field if the emperor decides to command a battle himself. The guard is armed with suitable polearms according to their current task, armoured in their cuirasses prominently adorned with the Tengharan crest.





"A most fearsome force to witness in battle, but more fearsome still should you try to fool a mage in their payments."







A female mage, wearing a distinctive Drimani style harness with some additions found on many combat mages. The additions here are the colored cloths worn twisted around the waist and head, the embroidered clothes worn on top of the armor and beneath it, the dress this mage has decided to incorporate with the harness probably for stylistic reasons. Every mage carries with them the staff awarded to them by their master when they ended their apprenticeship, seen here in the mage's right hand. It is a ceremonial tool, but additionally they may carry a weapon on their person for safety, like a sword.







"A mercenary's life is a short, brutal affair conducted for the amusement of someone more noble- but it pays well."





Seen here is a mercenary, probably of Gervani origin from over the sea in to the south. Carrying all he owns with him in little satchels he travels the Drimani peninsula seeking employment with his company- a loose confederation of mercenaries led by a company master. The companies constantly recruit more men and lose them in battles, to disease or desertion so the profession has a reputation of danger attached to it. Most mercenaries start their careers hoping to attain personal repute and thus possible employment as a bodyguard to some noble Drimani family, the best career choice for any mercenary wanting steady pay and wealth. This mercenary has probably seen his share of battles, but appears to be of middling wealth, as he has only basic armour protection.





"The Fenoans? Don't speak of them here, it's bad luck- you might run into one."





This female warrior is of Fenoan origin, from some of the brutal tribes of the iron valley to the far north beyond Hür castle. She is dressed in the standard Fenoan fashion, with thick, warm layered garments, armoured with crude iron scale armour and helmet. Being a failed blood sacrifice she has no place with her own tribe and has resorted to wandering the world and offering her services to anyone willing to pay for them. Fenoans are usually welcomed by mercenary companies but rarely tolerated for long due to their strange religious practices and blood rituals. The large scar on this womans face denotes her as a "failed sacrifice", one who escaped after being kneeled down by the shamans to be sacrificed to the dark gods on sacrifice cliff. The Fenoan human sacrifice involves the splitting of the skull to release the spirit of the one being sacrificed, but some have escaped the blade with their own strength, though usually left badly scarred and cast out of their tribe in the process at the very least. The fenoan's combat practices also involve the skull-splitting as ritualistic element to release the spirit of the enemy once slain, partly leading to their reputation.





