To get as much inspiration as possible for the project, i began gathering research from books, art, the internet and TV/films. With the main themes of vampires, ancient Egypt and gothica there is a lot of sources for ideas!
Ancient Egyptian Style
I searched the internet for various images that portray the ancient Egyptian style, particularly royal women as it best applies to the Lucidara character project. The imagery varies from the historically accurate to fantasy and 'Egyptian inspired' but all help to convey the archetypal themes of the ancient Pharaoh-Queens.
The main themes include generous amounts of gold- Egypt was famously rich in gold and used it in much of their decoration. Fine linen was the pride of the Nile as weavers competed to create a fabric so fine that it was see-through and a lot of jade and turquoise was used in the jewelry. The wide collar was popular and is almost as recognisable as the famous eye-makeup called khol. It began with egyptian women and men darkening their eyelids to give their eyes respite from the sun and has become as iconic as their animal-headed gods and the pharaoh's crown.
The main themes include generous amounts of gold- Egypt was famously rich in gold and used it in much of their decoration. Fine linen was the pride of the Nile as weavers competed to create a fabric so fine that it was see-through and a lot of jade and turquoise was used in the jewelry. The wide collar was popular and is almost as recognisable as the famous eye-makeup called khol. It began with egyptian women and men darkening their eyelids to give their eyes respite from the sun and has become as iconic as their animal-headed gods and the pharaoh's crown.
The most well-known symbols of the ancient Egyptian culture include the serpent, the scarab (with or without wings) and the ankh. The ankh was used in many ways, usually to depict eternity or - in the hands of a god - immortality. This symbol would be quite appropriate for an immortal vampire queen!
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I visited the Liverpool World History Museum in search of some primary research on the ancient Egyptians and found some impressive items. The statue of the goddess Sekhmet made me consider the connections between the gods and the Pharaohs and how an immortal, superhuman on the throne might appear to the Egyptians as a god or demigod in her own right!
Vampire Queens
The vampire myth has as many interpretations as it has fans so I tried to narrow the search to vampire women, particularly vampire queens. I want to draw from the gothic fantasy style vampires and imply both the character's regal self image and feral, bloodthirsty nature.
In order to tie my research in with vampires of the comic book world, i visited the comic book store 'Worlds Apart' in search of primary research. I found these copies of Vampirella amongst a selection of other undead-related comics to get an idea of the styles used in them and their depiction of the blood-drinkers. Her character was the closest parallel i could find to that of Lucidara, the vampire femme fatale I was considering for use as the main topic of my final major project.
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I will be drawing inspiration from films, comics, games, literature and art to create imagery that will draw fans of the vampire and try not to go too far from what is recognised and expected. Having said this, I am determined to portray something differently and combine storytelling and art in a different way with a deep, compelling character.