Character Design Drafts – SooDuel

For this SooDuel, the main player characters, or at least the default skins, will be based on traditional Egyptian clothing, which is still worn today across Egypt, but especially where Tahtib is usually played; Upper Egypt.

Inspirations

Clothing

The traditional dress of Egypt consists primarily of the galabaya, which is a loose-fitting robe. More traditionally, a turban, a skull cap, and a shawl are worn along with it as well. The galabaya and turban combination will be the default player appearance. Pictured below are several examples of Egyptians in traditional dress that have inspired the character design.

This type of design may also be applicable to the different eras I want to have available in the game, as the galabaya’s origins are rooted in ancient Egypt.

The galabaya also is sure to have existed since the Middle Ages, and before, so a similar design may be used for those eras. Though I have used different, more “iconic” designs of Egyptians for the Middle Ages and the ancient era in this post for my presentation, I am currently sticking with utilising the galabaya as the primary clothing choice of the default character until a final design is created.

Initial Design

This was the very first rough design I made. It was based on the traditional dress of Egyptian farmers. The moustache aspect is also important, as many older Egyptian men wear moustaches, and it is an important sign of their masculinity; masculinity is also an important aspect of Tahtib, so it is only appropriate that the characters have moustaches. This design is lacking any specific style, and I made it so that I could make a simple prototype; thus, it is not a very effective design. I went on to look into traditional art styles when coming up with the aesthetic for the game, and that has also informed the designs I made later on.

Style

There are several styles that I was influenced by when designing the character, but the main two were the ancient Egyptian style art and the later folkloric tapestry styles.

The common motif here between these ancient artworks includes the angle at which the faces are shown, the proportions of the faces, the relatively saturated skin tones, and the slight angle the neck of the human always seems to be.

Given that these folkloric tapestries are made by Egyptians, it is not surprising that a lot of the ancient motifs are present in these as well, albeit with some slight changes. The tones here are less saturated; they’re clearer but less detailed, and their medium is totally different. They do retain some similarities, of course, such as the angled necks and the angle at which the faces are always visible.

Designs

After observing several of these artworks, I decided I wanted to blend the ancient and more contemporary styles together.

These two designs were more influenced by the ancient Egyptian wall art than the tapestry art. The saturated skin tones and eye shapes are especially so. I am, however, pleased with the way they look, and I believe they do an adequate job of combining the art styles of the ancient, the folkloric, and the modern pixel style into one unique look.

The left-hand design is more influenced by contemporary folk art, while the right-hand remains balanced between both ancient and contemporary styles. The main difference between these designs and the previous two is the lack of angled necks.

Reflection

I am still working on developing a final character design for the default look of the player character. Currently, I am using the left-hand angled neck design for the next prototype I plan on making. I will continue to use that design until I create a new finalised design; when that will happen exactly, I am unsure. For now, I will work on other aspects of the game, and when I return to the character design aspect, I believe that after having done all the work I have done up until now, I will be in a good place to create a final design.