Swords of Central Genertela

[Sir_Godspeed]

The most important thing is that you take care of yourself. 

[M Helsdon]

On 6/13/2020 at 4:39 PM, Sir_Godspeed said:

The most important thing is that you take care of yourself. 

Thank you.

Well, I have finished another sketch, after three attempts. This isn't as I'd like, but I lose fine control due to the flare-up.

This noble should be riding a horse, but I decided to attempt to draw the articulated leg armor.

I think that tomorrow I will attempt to do some needed illustrations that should be simpler.

Edited June 16, 2020 by M Helsdon

[M Helsdon]

I am counting these as one sketch, though I may split them up in the book.

Am roughing out a Wolf Pirate penteconter and bireme.

Though not without their own difficulties, these were far easier than trying to draw a figure at present.

 

 

Edited June 17, 2020 by M Helsdon

[M Helsdon]

Wolf Pirate ships.

Still only able to draw for an hour or two.

[The Wolf head on the sail was GoT inspired.]

 

Edited June 18, 2020 by M Helsdon

[M Helsdon]

Latest.

Another three ships to do.

 

Edited June 19, 2020 by M Helsdon

[M Helsdon]

Today. Only one small sketch.

[M Helsdon]

Latest. As with the other ships this is a little stylised, as perspective would have meant the oars would have terminated at the same level.

Last week as the flareup started I roughed out these ships so that I could continue drawing, and this is almost the last one roughed out. I could do a Safelstran Fortress barge, but it isn't very interesting, visually.

Will have to see if I can rough out some more tonight...

[M Helsdon]

I assumed that Greg had the idea from Korean Turtle Galleys, but didn't copy the design.

The oars are a back-up system as it is usually propelled by an Elemental, and if stranded by low tide can extend short stumpy legs and walk... In addition to a ram, it has a fire projector.

A Zistorite invention.

This doodle concludes the ships I have roughed out. 

Edited June 23, 2020 by M Helsdon

[Sir_Godspeed]

I love the kobuksan! One of my favorite units in Age of Empires, heh heh.  

Granted, this is quite a step beyond that. Very cool!

[M Helsdon]

Attempted drawing yesterday with the result below. For about the third time I cheated with the face, lifting it from a photograph as the nose and eyes I drew defied any attempt at correcting them digitally..

Afraid that when the arthritis flares I seem to lose co-ordination and can't control the pens as well as I would like. Have three more roughed out, but in two minds about attempting another.

[M Helsdon]

Decided that preparing for the next sketches might be more productive than launching directly to inking a 'finished' piece.

The only armored Loskalmi reference I can find are small background figures in one of Jan's paintings.

Hmm, the tower shield needs to be taller and the round shield smaller.

Edited July 2, 2020 by M Helsdon

[JanPospisil]

If I remember correctly, these were somewhat inspired by Chinese and Central Asian stuff, though made to look less Chinese so as not to be mistaken for Kralorelans. 

For the shields: 

[JanPospisil]

But yeah, you correctly identified the shields have a central rib with a boss, like Celtic ones.

[M Helsdon]

1 hour ago, JanPospisil said:

But yeah, you correctly identified the shields have a central rib with a boss, like Celtic ones.

Well, here's what I was working from....

Looked to be a pectoral over a quilted (leather?) cuirass, over a wool or felt tunic, with small vambraces, and leggings. Couldn't see the shoulders.

Couldn't make out the shoulders, but perhaps there are shoulder protectors?

Perhaps the cuirass is lamellar with a pectoral? Can't resolve it any further by adjusting contrast or brightness.

[Curiously, I was using some Angus McBride illustrations of Tang dynasty soldiers as reference.]

Edited July 2, 2020 by M Helsdon

[Sir_Godspeed]

Love the padded, more heavily clothed looks of the Loskalmi.

[JanPospisil]

It was meant to be lamellar vest over padding, but you did a pectoral, which you can see on Meriatan. So that's probably also a viable variation.

The Glorantha wiki says "The guardians are typically armoured with Lacquered Leather or Bronze Plate", so I think either works. 

(it should also be noted this is winter gear, so in warmer weather they might not be wearing trousers, or heavy leg wraps. Or the tunic under the padding might be swapped for a lighter one, or just an invisible undergarment.)

Edited July 3, 2020 by JanPospisil

[M Helsdon]

1 hour ago, JanPospisil said:

It was meant to be lamellar vest over padding, but you did a pectoral, which you can see on Meriatan. So that's probably also a viable variation.

The Glorantha wiki says "The guardians are typically armoured with Lacquered Leather or Bronze Plate", so I think either works. 

(it should also be noted this is winter gear, so in warmer weather they might not be wearing trousers, or heavy leg wraps. Or the tunic under the padding might be swapped for a lighter one, or just an invisible undergarment.)

Thank you. I believe a mixture of lamellar vest and a pectoral is usable. To distinguish the Loskalmi from other Westerners I will probably go with winter gear for at least one. 

The Glorantha wiki, whilst useful, is sometimes unreliable, so I tend to use the Guide and its illustrations as primary sources.

May attempt to start inking one this afternoon...

[soltakss]

On 7/2/2020 at 11:57 AM, M Helsdon said:

Afraid that when the arthritis flares I seem to lose co-ordination and can't control the pens as well as I would like.

Your drawings with an arthritis flare-up are ten times as good as mine on my very best of days.

[M Helsdon]

Latest.

I hope that this is fairly faithful to Jan's original illustration.

Edited July 4, 2020 by M Helsdon

[M Helsdon]

Latest. May need more work on the face - difference in the definition between the laptop and the desktop.

As this one is a Loskalmi light infantry, decided to go with a quilted corselet instead of lammelar. 

 

Edited July 6, 2020 by M Helsdon

[M Helsdon]

Latest. I may work on the shading of the horse tonight.

Am using the cataphract sketches in two places - smaller to illustrate the chapter on cataphracti, and in the regional chapter.

Reworked version below.

As I add more sketches to 'Men of the West' the page count increases; if I want roughly one illustration per three pages, ignoring the appendices, I need about eight more.

 

Edited July 10, 2020 by M Helsdon

[M Helsdon]

Safelstran Fortress Barge

The fortress barges are exceptionally large, consisting of at least two broad beamed hulls lashed securely together to form a stable platform[1], with the deck railings removed and a joint plank deck added. This is raised above the rowing benches to leave space for the oarsmen and to give room for them to row.

Each of the wide hulls carries as many as ninety oarsmen, up to forty-five a side. The design is similar to the large cargo barges used on the lake; those rely more on their sail than their rowers, unless a cargo must be rapidly transported.

A multi-story square or rectangular siege tower or turret shaped like a truncated pyramid is then erected, each story smaller than the one below. This has a timber frame, sometimes wooden walls, often clad in thick hide either kept wet or treated with sorcery to prevent it being set afire, or thin bronze plates, with the weight kept to a minimum so that the tower can be tall enough to assault defenses, by ramps dropped down on the battlements, and to permit missiles and magic to be cast into the interior of the fortification. Portholes permit crossbows and long spears to be deployed from inside.

The towers are usually mounted in the center of the barge, meaning that if boarding ramps are fitted, they are arrayed at the sides so that the vessel must come alongside a wall to deploy them. The hinged gangways have hooks at the end to latch onto the defenses and hold the barge firm, as the fighters disembark. The ramps are kept up when making the approach, acting as doors behind which the troops waiting to immediately sally forth shelter.

[1] Some of the battle-barges of the Middle Sea Empire were also dual- or triple-hulled; it is unknown if the smaller Safelstran fortress barges were inspired by these, or are a separate development.

------------------

Spent the day cutting hedges... so this isn't exactly detailed.

 

Edited July 11, 2020 by M Helsdon

[JanPospisil]

(Just because you've been doing cataphracts lately - I find it always helps to look at the real thing before drawing.)

https://twitter.com/eranudturan/status/1282365109436907521?s=20

[M Helsdon]

1 hour ago, JanPospisil said:

(Just because you've been doing cataphracts lately - I find it always helps to look at the real thing before drawing.)

Thank you - my reading suggests there were several styles of segmented articulated arm and leg armor - some almost fully enclosing the arm and leg, some only partially, towards the front or only where the limb would be exposed.

In the photographs of the reconstruction, the maker has had to get around the problem that the segmented armor was inherently 'stiff', limiting movement in the arms and legs, by splitting it into upper and lower leg bands, with a separate piece protecting the knee. Whilst the form shown permits greater movement (and I think I've drawn something similar in one sketch) it was also much more vulnerable - a greater chance of the wearer being hamstrung behind the knee, or a blade slipping in under the knee protector and, well, it would not be pretty...

In drawing cataphracts I believe I have used three or four different styles.

The maker of the reconstruction has probably had to compromise in order to have a reasonable range of movement.

In Men of the West, in different chapters:

The armor worn by the rider is usually a form of scale or lamellar armor sufficiently flexible to give the rider and mount a good degree of motion in using a lance or kontos, but strong enough to survive the shock of a charge into an enemy formation.

--------------------------

Horsemen may wear a bronze or cuir boilli short scale hauberk or a two piece bronze breastplate, a skirt of scale armor, with their arms and legs covered in bronze plates, either as hooped articulated manica or as hooped splints, or leather covered with fine scale reaching to the wrists or ankles with the heaviest entirely covering the hands and feet, with the neck protected with a gorget of riveted plates. Some may adopt very fine scale-covered gauntlets (of dwarven manufacture) and greaves. Those of great wealth may own fabulously expensive chainmail made by the dwarves.

One drawback of the articulated armor is that whilst it provides a high degree of protection, it is also fairly inflexible. This matters little for the legs, used to grip and guide the horse, but the manica worn on the arms restricts movement to such a degree that whilst the wearer can hold and use a lance or kontos, they will be clumsy and slow when using a sword or mace.

Edited July 12, 2020 by M Helsdon

[JanPospisil]

Knowing Nadeem, this was most likely based on an actual find, too.