I got Prismacolor markers recently. Never used markers before but as it turns out they’re pretty amazing, though I could use more colors. I did see that I had 2 shades of red and an orange that looked very much like gold when used in tandem with brown, so there was only one thing for me to do: sketchdump every Blanzhardia character! These are seven separate characters (the bottom one is the same lady), all of whom bear the name “Blanzhardia” and all of whom are champions of the same goddess, though possibly at different time periods.
In general, these women have some consistent traits, but despite that, I tried to give each one some minor individual styles specific to them, be it the various textures on their armor or the shape of the armor segments. The common traits are:
– Gold armor and metal in general. Note that it’s not actual gold but instead a fictional magic alloy that is far more effective.
– Gorgon helmet of some form. Probably the most distinct feature. The goddess Tyrnazhel looks like a gorgon in her most common form and this reflects in the helmets of her champions.
– Female. That being said, there are some male characters in-universe that have similar appearances due to being in the same faction and etc.
– Overall snake/reptile theme. This is pretty evident, but even simpler things such as the segmented nature of the armor is reflective of this.– Fully armored. Every one is completely covered up and looks generally scary. There is no chainmail bikini/skank plate silliness here. Granted I try to apply this to generally any female character that calls themselves “armored”, but Blanzhardia ladies in particular are meant to look very intimidating.
– Magic-warrior hybrids. Every Blanzhardia is a powerful elite/veteran fighter who has mastery of both magic and martial skill, and in fact uses them in tandem very effectively. While they have individual preferences, they are very well-rounded as fighters.
Now those are some fine examples of what happens when an artist puts effort into costume design. It’s apparent that research and creativity were applied to come up with those armors.
I especially like how the gambeson padding is visible under metal plating in all of the costumes. If I had some major issue here, it would be to give different characters more diverse body types. It would also compliment the diverse styles of armor.
~Ozzie