Legends of Iceland

The project I’ve chosen to share with you was born from a class assignment consisting in developing a graphic catalogue for a video game of my invention.

I decided to dive into the vast universe of Icelandic folklore for inspiration. This project is really intended as a love letter to Iceland, the perfect destination for lovers of stories and storytellers.

When examining Icelandic coins you can observe the four protective spirits of the country: the Griffin of the North (also referenced as the vulture of the north, but I used the griffin interpretation for this project), the Dragon of the East, the Giant of the South and the Bull of the West. I decided to make these beings the heroes of the story.

In the game version, these beings are shapeshifters each with a human and creature form. They have separated for centuries to explore the four corners of the world: the Dragon to the East (Asia), the Giant to the South (Latin America), the Bull to the West (Western USA) and the Griffin remained in the North (Iceland). They are all called back to Iceland in the 19th century to protect the country from the malevolent supernatural forces who are rising up and terrorizing the population.

Each of the forms of the four spirits reflects a mix of Icelandic (and Viking) influence and aspects of the culture into which they have integrated. I also tried to establish visual connections between the spirits’ human and creature forms. 

Having remained in Iceland, the Griffin’s clothing resembles that of the 19th-century locals with some Viking accents. He has a hooked nose similar to a beak and talons on his hands. Having injured his left leg in a previous battle, he walks with a heavily weighted golden cane which he also uses as a weapon. He also holds the shield of Baldr. This equipment gives him powers of light and air. 

Dragons love gold and the Dragon of the East is no exception. Her armor and headpiece mirror this. Her hairstyle is reminiscent of horns. Fire is her element which she also uses in her human form with an enchanted bow and arrow. For the dragon form, I aimed to mix a typical European design with that of a traditional Chinese dragon.   

The Giant(ess) of the South is unique in that she has no animal form. Rather she grows immensely in size with her skin becoming as a hard as stone. She has power over water and ice with a great pick axe as an enchanted weapon. Having spent an extensive amount of time in Chile, her clothing and accessories mirror both the Mapuche and Viking cultures. 

Like the Dragon, the Bull of the West has a taste for finery. He wears cowboy-style clothing with a sophisticated twist. Able to manipulate any earthly minerals, he can easily mold bullets by hand then fire them through an enchanted shotgun marked with Norse runes. His creature appearance resembles more the form of a European bison.

Now for the villains! The first major force our heroes confront is an eerie horseman with powers of necromancy. Inspired by the Icelandic folk tale of the Deacon of Dark River, this character kidnaps and sacrifices local women in an endless search of his long lost love Guðrún. As in the legend, the deacon’s cause of death was drowning. I aimed to reflect this in his design; adding weeds in his hair and barnacles on his skin. The design of his horse Faxi is also inspired by the legend of the Nykur, a carnivorous horse which drowns its victims. Usually the Nykur has reversed hooves, but after different tests, I opted for deer hooves to add to the creature’s ghostly and skeletal appearance. I based the design on a horse skeleton combined with a seahorse and an anglerfish. 

The illustration of the deacon is based on a creepy version of the valley of Thórsmörk in Iceland. I added a church in the distance where the deacon eventually sacrifices his victims. The road to the church is lined with their graves.    

The ultimate confrontation for our protagonists leads them to Gullveig, the goddess in part responsible for some of the horrors occurring on the island. I like the idea of her not being a villain at heart, but having a morally grey character typically seen in Norse mythology. According to legend, Gullveig is the goddess of magic and witchcraft. She had an excessive love of gold and was burned three times by the gods for her practice of sorcery, but she survived each time. I integrated these details into her design, giving her golden skin, hair and clothing, and covering her feet and hands in ash. Her ruby red eyes indicate a use of blood magic. 

Like the protagonists of the game, Gullveig is a shapeshifter, transforming into a giant eel-like creature. I based this idea on the Icelandic tale of the Lagarfljót Worm, a lake monster which guards treasure. For the design, I included elements of different sea eels and snapping turtles to give her a deadly look. Rather than a lake for the illustration, I really wanted to include one of my favorite waterfalls in Iceland, Seljalandsfoss. I based the angle on the view from behind this waterfall while adding some stalactites for more drama. 

And now for something a little different ….

While rediscovering my passion for art and storytelling these last few years, I’ve realized that my favorite assignments have included illustration and creature design. I’ve always loved animals and, if possible, would love to specialize in creature design. One of my most challenging, but fun projects was a creature design concept completed first by sculpting in ZBrush and then compositing and doing a paintover in Photoshop. I combined the forms of different bats and a hyena to bring this scary monster to life. 

That's all folks (for now)! 

Thank you for taking a look at my work. It was a real adventure competing in the Rookies this year and I’ve gained so much from it. A huge thank you to Artline for this opportunity and to the mentors who guided us in this project: Laurent Miny, Roland Sarvarie and Anthony Assandri. Thank you also to my fellow classmates with whom I had the opportunity to exchange ideas and share advice and encouragement.

If you would like to see more artwork by me, here is a link to my Artstation page: https://nicole_lorand_grant.artstation.com/ 

Thank you again!

Nicole Grant