A fantasy weapon art commissioned for a TTRPG campaign. It’s a Kraken shield and flail set based on the client’s tattoo. Thank you Rafael!
Software: Clip Studio Paint
The client asked for a shield and flail on a snow landscape, using silver, metal and blue colors as the main hues. He also shared pictures of viking characters, and ball-and-chain flails as references.
Development
Kraken shield
The shield should be blue and have a white Kraken design that looked hand-painted. The idea was for the set of weapons to resemble a client’s tattoo that has a similar intricate design.
Mixing history & fantasy
I researched viking shields and saw projects in which researchers were creating authentic reproductions of historical shields.
As a note, a project that drew my attention is The Viking Shield: The First Authentic Viking Age Shield, led by the researcher Rolf Fabricius Warming (from the Society for Combat Archaeology)
It seems like these were usually made from wooden planks, and protected by layers of leather.
The client’s RPG scenario is fantasy-themed, so we went for a thick metal frame around the shield.
Kraken ball and chain flail
Historic flails (like the ball and chain flail we see in games) seem to be a rare kind of weapon, although there are manuscripts with instructions on how to handle them.
I also remember seeing that a flail’s chain is usually 2/3 the size of it’s shaft or handle’s length. This allows for mobility while protecting the wielder from being thrown off-balance or hitting themselves.
I chatted with the client and we decided to make a slightly longer chain than what would be considered authentic, for fantasy reasons. 🙂
WIPs
Blender reference
As I painted the flail’s head, I made a light setup in Blender to check how the sunlight and snow reflections would interact with it.
The 3D model I used for reference is the Morgenstern Bludgeoning Weapon II, made by Joachim Bornemann.
A note on the chain: I keep a separate file with a 3D chain and curve that I model and position to use in my work.
The reasoning behind it is modeling a single chain link, then repeating it via an array modifier, and linking it to a curve.
More fantasy weapons
If you’re interested in similar weapons and props for your RPG campings, digital games, or homebrew TTRPGs, check my commission info.
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