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This is a post I had made in Avatar Talk on May 21st, 2010. It is being archived so that I may use it as an example without risking someone bumping the now inactive thread.
Avatar Talk :: TL;DR - The Four Riders of the Apocalypse
EDIT UPDATE: I've altered the original concepts of the Riders Conquest and War since the thread was posted. The ORIGINALS will be posted BELOW the images in link form, so newcomers will be able to understand the discussion that follows.
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Hey AT. I wanted to let you guys in on a little teeny project I did today, The Four Riders of the Apocalypse. I've been a huge Apocalyptic fan for some time, interested in the Book of Revelation, the prophecies of Nostradamus, and the Plagues of Egypt. While listening to various metal tunes, such as Judas Priest's Nostradamus album, some Metallica, and a few songs by Megadeth, I went ahead and started creating the Riders.
First up is the Crowned Rider of Conquest. Storming through the land on a white horse, flourished in royal garments and armor, the Rider of Conquest is seen by some as an evil force of power and tyranny. Brandishing a long bow and quiver of arrows, Conquest is a manifestation of a corrupt government and/or ruler of people.
ORIGINAL
This was my first design of the four, and it was pretty quick since I had previously designed Conquest some time ago. My only gripes about Conquest is not of my own fault, but rather Gaia's lack of Bows and Quivers.
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The next one is the Rider of War, representing the internal conflict of a kingdom. War rides on a red horse of flames and wields a great sword. Decked in heavy armor and behaviing extremely ruthless to those who stand in it's way, War rides on destroying everyone and everything that stands in its path.
VERSION 2
ORIGINAL
In the mythology, War's sword is also a fiery one, but I wasn't happy with the Fire Swords available on Gaia. The Ace broadsword worked perfectly fine for the theme while also not obstructing the avatar itself. I'm very happy with how she turned out aside from the Elemental Wings. I wish there was something else that could vertically balance the avatar, but I guess those will do for now.
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The Rider of Famine is the personification of the effects that Conquest and War have set upon the land. With resources dwindling, starvation sets in on the inhabitants of the kingdoms and they must ration off what is left of their food sources. Famine represents the corruption of society based on the low food stock, and the scales are tied to how people must weigh their measly share of sustenance based on their caste.
I put color matching to the backseat for Famine, and wanted to use Harbinger of Pestilence. It fit in, and I love it. The scales from Gift of the Gods did nicely to represent the theme, and having the character "blinded" by Gothic Veil was a nice homage to Justice, who is also holding scales and is also blind.
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On a pale horse, the Rider of Death is the final rider to come forth and brings behind it the full blown Apocalypse. Death also beings with it plagues and illnesses, which result in the population dying off. This is the final effect on the Kingdom, after tyranny, civil war, and famine have destroyed the internal infrastructure of government. Death is generally represented by being draped in dark shrouds and carrying a scythe, to reap the population of souls.
ORIGINAL
Death was actually the more difficult of the four to design, and I went through various versions until finally resting on this more elegant looking variant. The earlier versions looked more like the basic gothypunk girl, and wasn't very fun. This more elegant representation has more character by showing less emotion, giving that feeling that the Rider is here for a purpose and nothing more.
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So, there you have it. tl;dr, I hope whomever takes the time to read my wall of text enjoys reading about the project.
These are some excerpts from the thread pertaining to the Riders' backgrounds and item choices.
Quote: Conquest is supposed to be subversive tyranny, which is why the Rider looks majestic, angelic, and royal. The idea is that this rider is greeted by the people and welcomed by all, but then everyone is is put into submission by the power and unjust actions of the tyrant. That's why I made the face innocent/sweet/cute/flirty instead of using, say, Determined Eyes. This is also why the Rider looks the way she does, it's how the Rider is depicted in literature and mythology. You can tell by the horse that comes from the Monthly Collectible; it's crowned and looks very majestic and well-natured.
Conquest is also depicted as Heavenly in various texts as well, seen as God's messenger of the Apocalypse to warn those of faith the coming of the rapture. In these literatures, Conquest is a savior of God's Children, in a sense. Some writings actually state Conquest is Jesus himself, which is bizarre because Jesus is supposed to be the Lamb that announces the coming of each horsemen. Nevertheless, I wanted to represent that side of the mythology as well, so I went with the hybrid. I would have explained that in the original post, but then we'd get several paragraphs about Conquest. The Dark Halo might be a good idea, though, so I'll look into it.
I don't know, but I felt she was on-theme with everything that I was adding. Color matching wasn't a priority, though, so maybe I can work on that a little while I'm tweaking the others. I used the expensive Pavonine boots to represent Gluttony, since Famine is also depicted as a gluttonous rider on a thing sickly horse., but that may not have been the wisest design decision.
I do like the boots, though, and the gluttonous nature of 4.1 Million Gaia Gold spend on one stupid item haha.
 Madalyn Plith · Thu Jun 17, 2010 @ 02:25pm · 0 Comments |
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