ELPH
More than just a novel, Elph is a world with endless possibilities.
In Brief,
The concept of Elph is taking the classic fantasy trope and reimagining it in a world similar to our own. The premise derived from the idea of having an elf like Legolas doing parkour in London. How would that look? How would that play? And what stories could I tell from that character's experiences?
Enter: Luce Silverwater.
The Felaris
The heroes of Azai and the beginning of a legacy...
A party formed to protect those who need them, the Felaris are the main characters of Elph. Named after Luce's nickname, in elphen it translates to adventurous cats. Steph joked that it was perfect because their helmets, when riding panthers, resembled cats. Leadership often swaps between Luce and Captain Emily Sierra, both naturals in their own right. The four are destined to make an impact on Azai and soon their name will inspire the downtrodden and scare those who intend to disrupt the peace. Deliana acts as the group's diplomat, having a wide knowledge of Azaian and global culture as well as being charismatic. Stephen manages and creates their resources whilst being integral to the group's morale.
The Siren
Character Concept
This piece originally began as an entry to a Draw This In Your Style challenge hosted by Australian Illustrator, Small Town Spells, seen here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXc8fFep0QH/
I struggled a lot with motivation on this piece even though it was a massive leap in my abilities in comparison to previous art I'd done. Even though I wanted it down by the entry date, life got in the way and I eventually shelved it. Part of the reason was that I messed up the anatomy pretty early on and struggled to correct it. I feel like this was a great learning experience. I started working on this again this week (1st November) and taking the break really helped.
Deliana Tighs is also commonly known as 'The Siren' or 'Sharpshooter' due to her unique skills in precision archery and also her hypnotic singing voice. She is an Agent of the Vine, a ranger who carries out fieldwork and is constantly curious about the world around her, knowing how to avoid or deal with humans when necessary. She is the glue of the Felaris, a vital source of hope and optimism. Luce admires that about her and her habit of info dumping on certain topics.
The Azure Herald
Character Concept
The only blue-eyed elph out there, he's a biological anomaly, occurring maybe once every 2 generations. It doesn't matter though, Luce Silverwater is a survivor. The Protector of Illiberatus, Korupt Slayer and master of parkour, Luce is a well trained, confident elph. Maybe too confident at times, maybe a little stubborn and fiercely independent, just like his father had been. Now he's 19, he's truly stepping into his role of independence and learning what it is to protect something you love, even if it means adapting to change. See above the many iterations of Luce including an Animal Cross variant. His design has yet to grow alongside my journey. He came into being after I was inspired by the idea of making a game based around parkour so his outfit is reminiscent of an urban athlete.
The Valy
Founded by the Virifort Monarchy in the time of King William the Wise. The Valy was a dedicated task force, trained to deal with insurrection and root out evil parties before events like the Illiberatus civil conflict occur again. Their main objective is to protect the crown and country. The name derives from Valiant, a translation of the Virifort name. William III also formed them as protection for the newly elected monarch after his death.
It is an espionage and information force made of both elphs and humans alike and are sometimes called to do international work as well.
In the present day, the Valy are marked as terrorists, a name whispered on the wind and a group that spreads lies about its deeds in order to hide themselves better. The truth of the matter is that they serve the downtrodden, and uproot corruption, using networks of stealth and communication to disrupt malicious plots. They patiently await hope that one day, a saving grace will finally help them overthrow Titan's tyrannical chokehold over Sordona and the world at large.
Prominent members of the Valy include one of the founders, the blue-eyed elph Matius.
Alongside him, William had assigned more of his most elite and trusted dubbing them as Valiants.
The role of a Valiant was to be the most well-equipped agent on the field, a professional in stealth, combat, technology and charisma. A role that later Vaxel Silverwater found himself in.
Today's Valiants are very few but Bayall Knight, Almira Rowan, Savannah Torres and Jack Woods are the people for the job.
Knight of the Tempest Character Concept
I wanted to do a full character conceptualisation process. This was based on the requirements a game studio laid out for applications to become a 2D artist. I thought it would be an excellent way to test my ability to work to studio standards whilst expanding on my own character roster in the world of Elph. Whilst Bayall isn't a main character in the novel, he plays a significant role as an inspiration to Luce, like an older brother. Like all elphs, he has a tendency to dress well and appear stylish whilst also leaning toward the high-function dress sense of techwear. He was a fun challenge to design and I can't wait to explore the character more in future pieces.
The Vines of the Valy
Character Concepts
Almira Rowan and Savannah Torres, two of the handful of elphs that operate as agents in the rebel group known as the Valy. This illustration takes place on the rural old-fashioned rooftops of Lycanbridge city, a student city with two competitive universities. These two characters were originally conceived by the wonderful KrankieArt (Almira) and Ermine_Effect (Savannah) as entries to my character design contest.
Key Art
Events captured from certain points in the 'Movement Saga'
A mixture of gameplay and story
Va Ille Illiberatus
Description coming soon...
Azai & Oriste
Description coming soon...
