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KQ6 Winged Ones - early concept for appearance

Started by ATMachine, February 11, 2011, 08:55:32 PM

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ATMachine

Hello there!

Apologies if this post seems image-heavy, but it illustrates a point.

On Akril's excellent Sierra Resource Files site, there are several sketches extracted from the resource files of Inside the Chest/Behind the Developers' Shield from the KQ Collection. In particular, there are several pencil sketches for high-resolution character portraits in KQ6.

There's a portrait of Lady Celeste of the Winged Ones, which shows her much as she appears in the final game.


Left and middle: two versions of the Celeste portrait from the resource files. Right: Celeste portrait from KQ6 Windows.

She looks much like the Winged Ones do in general: human-style light skin tone, dark hair, dark irises. The Winged One gate guard looks very similar:


However, there are also sketches for dialogue portraits of Lord Azure and Lady Aeriel (which were eventually scrapped). These early drawings show the Winged Ones as having blank white eyes.



At top, two versions of Azure's portrait drawing; at bottom, two versions of Aeriel's, all from the Chest/Shield resource files.

Interestingly, however, the KQ6 hintbook features an alternate drawing for Lady Celeste's portrait. Here she has lighter hair and blank white eyes, like the early portraits of Azure and Aeriel.


Celeste's portrait sketch next to Azure's, from the hint book.

InterAction Magazine vol. 5, no. 3, from Fall 1992, also features a black-and-white preparatory drawing for the background art of Azure on his throne, in which he appears to have blank white eyes as well.

What to make of this? Well....

I may be going out on a limb here, but, judging by the lighter hair of Celeste in her earlier dialogue portrait, I suspect the original intention of the Sierra artists may have been to make the Winged Ones resemble Roman marble statues. That is, they'd have marble-white skin and hair, and blank white eyes.

This would correspond to the Greek/Roman-inspired style of Winged One art and architecture as seen in-game in KQ6. In the final game, though, the Winged Ones look like actual people from Italy, as commonly stereotyped (light skin, dark hair, dark eyes).

Of course, I could be wrong (the portraits ARE black and white, and it's hard to tell for sure). But the Winged Ones DEFINITELY originally had blank white eyes, at least.

(Ironically, actual Greek and Roman statues were painted in bright, gaudy colors, which included the pupil and iris of the statues' eyes. It's only due to thousands of years of wear and weathering that the paint has come off those statues that survive today, creating a common misperception of what a Roman statue "should" look like.)

kindofdoon


Daniel Dichter, Production/PR
daniel.dichter@postudios.com

Baggins

Well, ya, King's Quest is on Earth. Daventry is very old city from a long time ago. It's in ruins now and people aren't quite sure exactly where it used to be. There are some archaeologists searching through the ruins, they think they know its Daventry. But its somewhere on Earth."-Roberta Williams http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Daventryisearth.ogg

Lambonius

#3
Not to mention the fact that the gate guard is a carbon copy of Augustus of Primaporta.

Actually, not ALL Greco-Roman statues were brightly painted.  Greek marbles--yes, usually.  Especially when used for temple decoration.  Roman marbles--it depended on the context.  Also, most Greek statues weren't actually marble at all, but bronze--they mostly used marble only if the statue was part of an architectural setting (i.e. temple decoration, fountain, etc.)  Marble became more common later in the ancient Greek era, though, especially as more and more bronze statues were melted down to make use of the metal.

But yes, you're definitely right on the money about the inspiration for the Winged Ones.  ;)




KatieHal

Neat! Blank-eyed Winged Ones would've been cool too--and kind of creepy as well. That definitely would've gone well with their anti-human attitudes, by establishing them as even more clearly different from humans.

Katie Hallahan
~Designer, PR Director~

"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix." Christina Baldwin

I have a blog!

Baggins

Point of note, TSL's Oracle has blank eyes, heh.
Well, ya, King's Quest is on Earth. Daventry is very old city from a long time ago. It's in ruins now and people aren't quite sure exactly where it used to be. There are some archaeologists searching through the ruins, they think they know its Daventry. But its somewhere on Earth."-Roberta Williams http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Daventryisearth.ogg

KatieHal

Yeah, but she's all mystical and stuff. That's different ;)

Katie Hallahan
~Designer, PR Director~

"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix." Christina Baldwin

I have a blog!

Haids1987

And blank eyes would insinuate that she's blind.  A blind prophet is symbolic, and shows up in other myths and stories, such as Oedipus Rex. :yes:
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Erica Reed is Katie Hallahan.
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KatieHal

Oh right! That, too. I remember thinking that as well when I first saw it.

Katie Hallahan
~Designer, PR Director~

"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix." Christina Baldwin

I have a blog!

Lambonius

Yep.  She's supposed to be a version of the Oracle at Delphi, who was famously blind in Greek mythology.

Baggins

It's interesting if you go into the KQ6 artwork/animation, it does appear that the Oracle, has pupils, but her eyes light up, and fade back to dark, similar to the flashing eyes of the Oracle in KQ3.
Well, ya, King's Quest is on Earth. Daventry is very old city from a long time ago. It's in ruins now and people aren't quite sure exactly where it used to be. There are some archaeologists searching through the ruins, they think they know its Daventry. But its somewhere on Earth."-Roberta Williams http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Daventryisearth.ogg

ATMachine

On the related subject of the Chest/Shield resource file images.... this early portrait sketch of a woman in KQ6 seems mysterious at first.



However, I'm going to guess that it's most likely Valanice.

Note how similar the woman's hair in the above drawing is to Valanice's hair in her final in-game portrait. Both have hair that's piled high on their head, with a sort of ribbed shape to it:


Left: Pencil sketch for the Windows high-res portrait. Middle: KQ6 Windows portrait of Valanice. Right: KQ6 DOS portrait of Valanice.

Also, the costume seen in the early sketch above is decidedly Elizabethan, with a high ruff collar. Alexander's costume, too, is Elizabethan in style, being essentially a variant on a slashed doublet.



So, if the mystery portrait IS Valanice, this would establish Daventry fashion as being like that of Tudor England.

Baggins

Well, ya, King's Quest is on Earth. Daventry is very old city from a long time ago. It's in ruins now and people aren't quite sure exactly where it used to be. There are some archaeologists searching through the ruins, they think they know its Daventry. But its somewhere on Earth."-Roberta Williams http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Daventryisearth.ogg

Enchantermon

Oh, hey, they reused the Enhanced portrait from KQVI in KQVIII. That's cool.

Now, I've only seen a few of the high-res portraits, but to be honest, I think the low-res ones look much more pleasant. Alex looks friendlier in his, and Valanice actually looks pretty; her high-res portrait has a bored look, and looks like her jaw is jutting out.
So what if I am, huh? Anyways, I work better when I'm drunk. It makes me fearless! If I see a bad guy, I'll just point my sword at him and saaaaaaaaaay, "Hey! Bad guy! You're not s'posed to be here! Go home or I'll stick you with my sword 'til you go, 'Ouch! I'm dead!' Ah-ha-ha!" Ha-ha. *hic* See? Ain't no one gonna be messin' wit' ol', Benny!

KatieHal

Rosella's wardrobe page seems to be busted and/or empty, btw. Ah...nope, you've got the link slightly wrong, actually. I'll fix it.

Katie Hallahan
~Designer, PR Director~

"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix." Christina Baldwin

I have a blog!

MusicallyInspired

Quote from: ATMachine on February 12, 2011, 12:22:07 PM
On the related subject of the Chest/Shield resource file images.... this early portrait sketch of a woman in KQ6 seems mysterious at first.

If you colour it green and imagine it a lot more cartoony it's the spitting image of Valanice from KQ7. Right down to the frilly collar.

Baggins

Reminds me, I still need to upload a couple dozen high res concept art from KQ7 into the Omnipedia for the KQ7 development page.
Well, ya, King's Quest is on Earth. Daventry is very old city from a long time ago. It's in ruins now and people aren't quite sure exactly where it used to be. There are some archaeologists searching through the ruins, they think they know its Daventry. But its somewhere on Earth."-Roberta Williams http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Daventryisearth.ogg

kindofdoon

Quote from: Enchantermon on February 12, 2011, 01:41:16 PM
Oh, hey, they reused the Enhanced portrait from KQVI in KQVIII. That's cool.

Now, I've only seen a few of the high-res portraits, but to be honest, I think the low-res ones look much more pleasant. Alex looks friendlier in his, and Valanice actually looks pretty; her high-res portrait has a bored look, and looks like her jaw is jutting out.

You're right. Also, generally, the low-res portraits generally view characters straight-on, whereas the high-res portraits view characters at an angle. Maybe that has something to do with the effect.

Daniel Dichter, Production/PR
daniel.dichter@postudios.com

Enchantermon

Hmm. Perhaps. I need to take some time to see them all.
So what if I am, huh? Anyways, I work better when I'm drunk. It makes me fearless! If I see a bad guy, I'll just point my sword at him and saaaaaaaaaay, "Hey! Bad guy! You're not s'posed to be here! Go home or I'll stick you with my sword 'til you go, 'Ouch! I'm dead!' Ah-ha-ha!" Ha-ha. *hic* See? Ain't no one gonna be messin' wit' ol', Benny!

koko_99_2001

Looking at the pics, turns out I played the DOS version of KQVI. When I started seeing other pics of the characters later, I was so confused, since that's not what I had grown up on! I do prefer the DOS pics verses the high-res.
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