Archer: Concept sketches

When I designed the archer I wated to make sure there was contrasts between him and the dragon. Sure there would already be some apparent contrast established by the dragon's appearance: It was big, violent and ill tempered. The archer would have to be small, harmless and frightened. A hamster of a man. A Wormtail more or less.

At the same time there was no humor about the dragon. It was all business. I wanted the archer to have humor in his appearance, movement and pose. I decided immidiately to make him fat. A typical sidekick character. Plain clothes and if possible a small hat or helmet to reinforce that image. An overweight squire.

In the beginning I'd thought about letting the dragon fight a mounted knight. That way I'd also have an oppotunity to try and make a horse. The more I thought about it the more I came to loath the idea. It was just so standard and boring. Hence the idea about an archer came creeping into my head. Then I thought about adding an arrow to the eye of the dragon. Tthere was my story for the piece. The archer it would be!