Technic[Bot] wrote: ↑Wed Apr 18, 2018 4:08 am
I have not much artistic skill but i do know a thing or two about perspective geometry. For the characters themselves it does not matter much as they are not very "deep" so the foreshortening is negligible. In case of any straight thing, like swords spears, reactangular shields their geometry makes the perspective effect more noticeable. For that you can remember that every parallel line must intersect at some point, because that is how our eyes work, you can use one vanishing point or for your case two would be better. If you need further resources on perspective for artistic purposes you should consult architectonical drawing manuals, they deal with that stuff.
Thanks for the tips, if I go back to drawing in the future I'll definitely check out some guides, it was one of the biggest things limiting me in terms of poses for these guys is that I knew if I chose anything too wild I wouldn't be able to pull it off well enough.
Technic[Bot] wrote: ↑Wed Apr 18, 2018 4:08 am
(horse armour DLC anyone?)
You would not believe how often that came up in my google searches for horse armour. After 12 years it's still a thing.
Technic[Bot] wrote: ↑Wed Apr 18, 2018 4:08 am
In any case i have been meaning to read some of the stuff on the writers corner of the forum, it seems this place attracts people with good writing skills, again something i lack. Besides your novel sees like the kind of fiction i enjoy. Yet i haven't got the time to do it and besides the Forums archaic interface is really not suited for long reading sessions...
Oh I hear you on that. One of the reasons I wanted to make some actual art rather then another story is that it's easier to enjoy "in the moment" rather than having to invest a lot of time to get to the end. It's kinda cringy looking back at it (I was 16 at the time of writing) but I still think it hold up relatively well all things considered. It's over 100,000 words all told so if you find yourself with nothing to do of an evening it's there.
And now on with the show!
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Part 5 of the Illustrated Guide! Today we will be looking at one of the two distinct types of basitin cavalry units: the lancer. These armoured spear-wielders strike fear into even the stoutest of hearts. If you hear them trumpeting the charge, beware...
This is I think one of my favourite pieces and I definitely had a lot of fun doing it. It was nice to be able to draw something other than a humanoid for once. Remember, 500 views on this thread and i'll give a you a sneak peak of what's to come after this series is over.
Any problems viewing these images, you can find them mirrored on my FA:
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/thallium/
A basitin army is often likened to a boulder. Slow, immovable, eternal. However even the most stalwart of rocks sometimes needs to be able to put on a burst of speed in order to catch a pesky interloper or escape an onrushing tide. This is where the men and horses of the Royal Lancers, one of the two distinct cavalry types fielded by the basitin military, comes into play. The basitin idea of "light" cavalry, the lancers are nevertheless a well armoured shock unit, designed to deliver swift, devastating charges to the flank or rear of enemy ranks in a flying wedge formation before breaking, wheeling round and coming at them again with renewed vigour. Soft targets such as opposing missile units or unbraced and unaware infantry are the lancer's preferred victims, however in order to get to these soft underbellies of enemy formations the lancers will often have to go through rival cavalry units first. While not as well armoured as, say, a human knight, lancers make up for this by being far more numerous due to the way they are maintained and recruited.
Because the basitin military is almost entirely state funded, the upkeep and retention of horses is shouldered by the treasury, removing a major obstacle in raising cavalry divisions: exorbitant cost. Whereas the number of horsemen a human army can field is directly proportional to the number of landed nobility fighting under its banner (as only they can afford to keep horses), a basitin army can increase or decrease its proportion of cavalry to suit the present situation with the cost of doing so being passed to the government and from there spread amongst the entire populace through taxation. The net result of this policy is that, in a rare reversal of norms, human knights often find themselves outnumbered by equally well trained and only slightly lesser equipped basitin cavalry soldiers. Recruitment is another way in which the raising of mounted troops differs from continental armies. As wealth is not a factor, those people who are already the most familiar with horses through their upbringing or work such as farmers, stable-hands and pack-horse drivers tend to feature most heavily in the recruitment lists. Such a policy cuts down on training time for recruits as such people already know how to care for their steeds and generally know how to ride as well; in comparison to city dwellers who generally spend the first few weeks of training falling repeatedly out of the saddle. This makeup of the cavalry and the lancers in particular sometimes leads to an unusual dynamic where human knights, defeated in battle, surrender expecting to be taken as hostages by their social equals in basitin society, only to realise that the concept of "nobility" does not exist across the Grand Sea and they are in fact being made prisoner by the equivalent of the squire they left back with the baggage train to polish their spare suit of armour.
Lancers are armoured much like the infantry in almost full suits of plate and mail, leaving only the thighs and lower face exposed. Equipped with long, winged spears (hence the name) and small heater shields made of wood with heavy cloth reinforcement and rimmed with steel to give excellent structural rigidity, the lancers are perfectly suited to keeping enemies at a distance while being able to fend off attackers of all sizes. The noble steeds themselves are also armoured with a chanfron to protect the head and eyes and a peytral to ward off blows from the chest. While not granting complete protection, such armour and barding is sufficient to protect the rider and horse from most incoming attacks, especially considering the goal of the lancer is to never stop moving and so never give your opponent an opportunity to aim a strike at an unprotected flank or leg. Heavier armour would also not be practical for their role as light cavalry as speed and mobility are the primary attributes they exploit in order to always be where the enemy is weakest and most vulnerable. In tandem with this role, lancers also serve as the advanced scouts to a basitin army on the move, screening the columns advance and keeping watch for any ambushing enemy, as well as reporting back any ground features that may be useful for the commander such as the location of streams to refill water skins and areas of high ground which would make good campsites.