Kyle Robey Concept Art Rookie Awards 2024 Submission

The Blood Bard

For this project I wanted to create a dark, necromantic bard character. Instead of playing a musical instrument, the Blood Bard wields a conductor's wand that raises the spirits of the dead. 

After the initial thumbnails I dove deeper into the design to iterate on the various aspects of her appearance.

I also designed the conductor's wand that the Blood Bard would use in the final illustration.

The Mad Scientist

Iguanas have a literal third eye on the top of their head, called the parietal eye. It allows iguanas to detect predators that are directly above them. This fact inspired me to make an anthropomorphic iguana character with their 'third eye' both physically and metaphysically open, which led to the Mad Scientist Phillip Howard.

For Phillip Howard, I went back and forth on how his third eye would emerge from his body. I eventually settled on a mad scientist, whose experiments had gone wrong and had mutated him beyond recognition. 

Thanks for taking a look at my work, I appreciate your time!