Angelic Acolytes (Patreon)

This week's work feels a bit different stylistically from the stuff I've posted so far because I'm working with a display tablet for the first time in a long time. I bought a 24-inch Wacom Cintiq Pro and it's been a lot of fun to use now that it's all set up. The biggest difference between my old pen tablet and the display tablet is how much easier it is to draw. Primarily, this is affecting the initial drawings under the concepts, but more interestingly, it seems to be affecting how I edit these pieces as they evolve. Rather than relying on the earliest layers of sketching to define the work throughout the process, it's easier for me to improvise later in the painting as I change my mind about ideas. This has been slowing the process but making better work overall. It's been an interesting experience!

So, now on to the art.

The Gilt Brotherhood - I had this idea to create a cult of Azrael, Angel of Death worshipers that disassembled members of their brotherhood and locked their consciousness inside huge golden automata to act as powerful soldiers. This design is very closely inspired by a real reliquary that has a skull displayed inside a glass face mask. If I'm going to take this idea forward, I need to play up the connections to Azrael more closely. I think giving them a layer of black cloth over the decorated golden bodies might be interesting.

Dream Bringer - This piece is a concept for a roguish character working for the temple of Dumah, Angel of Dreams. Something about an assassin that uses a giant magical bell feels cool to me, even if it's a little impractical.

Knight of Gabriel - I was on my third iteration of the Gabriel inspired knights when I was struck by the inspiration to play up the gold tentacles. The intent is to give these guys magically powered tentacles made of thousands of articulated golden scales or feathers. That's just more interesting to me than making something that feels like it could exist alongside Game of Thrones. This piece felt like a turning point for me where I began to really find the voice of this project.

Knight of Hasmed - Acolytes of the Angel of Annihilation should be a bit scary, right? I wanted to give a bit of an Elden Ring vibe to this guy. Big weird helmet. Lots of layered armor with scattered bits of interesting detail. I wanted him to feel like an unstoppable force, just like his patron angel. Trying to stop a guy wearing 3 suits of armor from hitting you with a great hammer is just a bad idea.

Truth Bearer - The priests of Phanuel, Angel of Truth have a lot of responsibility weighing on their shoulders. They need to carry the heft of the truth itself. I imagine them as a serious and pedantic order. Their complex rituals rely heavily on process in order to differentiate truth from lies.