[Concept Art Discussion] - Whip Storage & Monastic Apparel

Note: This post has been made public for presentation purposes. 

Under the new Patreon model, I've decided to dedicate the $7 Patron tier to sharing my ideas, whether it's design explorations or story concepts. So here's the very first example of that in 2019.

Although I've yet to tackle anything particularly heavy in terms of narrative, I've given some recent thoughts to designs for Elayne Beaumont -- and some other elements of her world. I can't quite begin a full-fledged story just yet, so these are some of the building blocks for it.

First and Foremost... Elayne.

Perhaps I shouldn't have thought so hard about it, but I couldn't help wondering how Elayne would carry her supplies, since there's no apparent way of doing so in her design. Maybe it really isn't an important detail, but I really like trying to work out stuff like that, and how an aspect works in an IMMERSIVE manner.

Is there a way to solve this problem without adding needless bulk? How can I bring a bit of immersion to an otherwise impractical design? The silhouette of her design is important, so I was hoping to seamlessly integrate her gear into the design without upsetting the visual composition of her character.

ELAYNE'S WHIP

Elayne's whip is one of the most important elements of her design, so having an efficient way of carrying her whip would be a great boon to her. Otherwise, she'll have to constantly occupy one of her hands to hold her whip, even outside of combat. Not fun.

A simple solution is to have a weapon that cleans up after itself, like the Bloodborne-esque approach of allowing the weapon to transform. Recent Castlevanias did something similar.

The Combat Cross condenses itself, becoming easier to carry even while in combat. 

However: I find this solution difficult from an engineering perspective.

The Size: 

A weapon this compact may not have the structural integrity to survive a few blows, so the external frame would need to be large & bulky (which I am not a fan of). Not only does this provide the weapon with a firmer frame, it also has to store the entire chain, which is likely coiled around a central rod. 

Though you really only have so much space available before you need to make the handle larger so it can all fit in there and still function without any kinks.

Complex Machinery:

The handle needs to also house the necessary machinery to facilitate basic movement of the chain. The user needs to expel AND recall the entirety of the chain within seconds to continue attacking. It needs to attack and then pull back really fast so the next attack isn't delayed for too long a time.

Attacking with a whip is basic physics:

There needs to be anticipation; the fighter pulls their arm back to provide the whip with potential energy so that, when they release the chain, they can convert that into kinetic energy, allowing the whip to actually lash out. 

This just does not seem viable with the types of materials & technology the "common man" has at their disposal in the setting. Though that could reasonably be a whip upgrade down the line -- but it would take some crazy, advanced tech.

How about a belt...?

The shape of Elayne's panties are designed to move the eye across her design in a certain way, so wrapping a typical belt around her waist would interrupt that flow and disrupt the triangular shape. 

So I thought: How about a small, asymmetrical belt that connects to her panties, wrapping around only one side of her body?

This belt has a low profile, and a simple latch to fasten her whip into place seems like it could be smart. It blends in and is a reasonable storage solution. This doesn't appear as though it would impede on the brandishing her weapon either - nice and easy.

As I affix more gear onto her belt, such as a dagger, I think I'm pushing too much. Not only is this additional clutter, it runs the risk of affecting her mobility, and it blocks our view of her butt -- can't have that!

This might be a losing battle... I do like the idea of the belt though, so we might keep that.

RELIGIOUS ORDERS & THEIR APPAREL

So, not only have I been giving an embarrassingly large amount of thought to giving Elayne a method of carrying her whip on her person, I've been giving thought to the apparel of other people in the Beaumont-verse...

Such as The Church -- or whatever the religious order will be called. I'm not religious, so I don't feel particularly bad about bastardizing any religions. This religion is probably most comparable to Christianity, given it's significance in Vampire Lore, but I like to look to other religions too.

Before I could begin designing, however, I had to ask myself a big question...

Do I want sexy nuns?

It seems mundane, but it is an important question. Do people dress similarly to Elayne? Are the outfits sexy? Is sexual expression common among people? The answers affect how this world views Elayne Beaumont and it's other denizens.

It's fun to create a fantasy world where characters are sexy, but what do those designs mean for the narrative? What are the in-universe reasons for a character's fashion choices if they exist in a world where other people dress normally? Especially if it's a religious order...

Well... What kind of people ARE they?

In order to determine what a nondescript person would wear, we need to think about their place in society and how they feel about the world around them.

Vampires are easily seen as evil since they kill & feed off of the lives of others, but I think they also represent ideals not shared by the usual religious organizations. Vampires are not JUST evil because they kill, but because their lives do not respect the sanctity of "God" and the religion's tenants of faith. 

Religions are often outwardly conservative, and vampires contradict those conservative values. Existence beyond the social norm, life after death, celebration of sexuality, etc.

Elayne's design evokes the image of a barbarian, but the brazen display of her body also likens her to the monsters she fights, such as vampires, who are typically more promiscuous than Man. Do people fear Elayne as a result? If so, nuns can't be as overtly sexual.

But I still wanna draw some sexy designs. So perhaps I can do that, but still keep it classy?

On Gender Disparity:

I wanted to avoid making the two designs distinctly different from one another. I definitely did not want to have a typical priest uniform for the men, but an overtly sexy habit for the women -- that's not equal-opportunity objectification!

Beyond a few differences in shape usage, I wanted the outfits to look similar enough that, on the surface, they'd seem interchangeable. 

So both outfits use the same "sexy" design elements: exposed legs and a boob window.

Breaking it down...

I wanted to suggest sex appeal, but not make it seem outright sexual, so I made sure to keep skin from being completely exposed to the air. The exposed bits of the body are covered by what appears to be semi-transparent underwear or full-body tights. 

This creates a duality between exposure & conservatism. Something I also hope to mirror in the quirks of the religion itself. They're sexy, but they still contrast Elayne's extremism. 

Shape Language:

Upon closer inspection of the image above, you can see information like "shapes suggest X" or "points up / down." If these seem like nonsense to you, that's quite far from the truth! 

Allow me to break these outfits down into simpler elements, such as shapes & lines.

Notice how the red arrows suggest motion? The angles of the gold trim, the shape of the boob window, or even the shape if the dress itself. The monk's outfit moves upward, while the nun's outfit moves downward. 

The blue triangles suggest the distribution of weight in the design. The monk's outfit widens & sharpens at the shoulders, whereas the nun's outfit moves downward to widen at the hips. These are simple design ideas attributed to designing prototypical bodies for men & women, so they were helpful in suggesting slightly different vibes for outfits which are otherwise pretty identical -- and on similar body types too.

They're the same basic outfit, but there are little differences that change the silhouette: like how the cape of the monk makes the design feel more like a long rectangle, while the lack of a which emphasizes the curves of the nun. 

Anyway...

That's probably enough information. I plan to explore the concept of this religious order further in the future, but for the time being, I'll leave my thoughts at the design of the basic outfit.

Wow, this post was a lot of work... I spent hours just writing it. I hope you found it to your liking. Feel free to let me know what you think about it. It is a pretty long thread, so it might take you a few tries before you finish it... 

All of the art featured in this post can be found in the Monthly Dropbox Archive.

Don't forget to eat & sleep.