A timeless classic: the Elf Archer.

Sometimes it's nice to work on a classic design, not only because (generally) the classic characters are those that sell better!

If I designed a whole range of Iron Crow Sentinels, for example, I would write this post inside my brand new penthouse in Shibuya.

Working on iconic characters, I was saying, is a challenge because there are already countless variations on the theme and it's hard to create something that doesn't just get lost in the shuffle.

In my case, the timeless classic has a name: the Elf Archer.

How many Elf Archers are out there?! I think that, probably (and sadly), when people think about fantasy, they immediately think about three things: Dragons, Wizards and...Elves with bows.

Despite my Dwarf soul doesn't want to admit it, a few things scream "RPG" more than an Elf Archer.

With this in mind, I tried to give my best with this first (of many) Archer, trying not to reinvent the hot water (as we say here in Italy) but adding also some Durgin Paint Forge Flavor (is it already a thing?! Please say yes!) to make it interesting at your eyes and worthy of being part of my range.

Before going on with more lines written in my Potato English, let's see this guy, or better, these guys!

With the first Elf character, we established some kind of "concept design rules" of this kin: the extreme body proportions, the cloaks made of leaves, the baggy pants (we took inspiration from the extremely cool-looking Japanese Nikka-pokka, a particular kind of pants worn by Japanese workmen!), the big gloves, all these aesthetic guidelines will be the design base of almost all our Elf range (obviously, declined in many different ways!).

Despite the first Elf, however, which represents a kind of hero/high-rank warrior, this one is just a simple Archer, so I wanted to tone down a bit his style: as you can see, while the Guardian's armour is made of highly detailed plates, with demon faces and intricate decorations, this Archer wears a more simple equip.

Since the beginning, then, I knew that much of its personality would depend on its pose.

For this first Archer, I wanted to create a scene by adding some storytelling to it, in specific, I imagined this funny interaction between a Stegosaurus cub and the Elf.

I thought: what it would be like to coexist with dinosaurs?

My Elves have a strict connection with dinosaurs, a little tribute to one of my childhood passion (Dinotopia!), and through this range I want to make you really feel this coexistence! In specific, I imagined this stealthy Elf, surely a serious defender of its homeland, struggling with this little scaly guy: how tasty it would be a cloak made of leaves, for a greedy stegosaurus!!

I thought it was funny to tone down a bit the "fearsomeness" of classic fantasy miniatures.

Obviously, the Elf is not happy at all about this scene!

It's a little and simple scene, and they both work nicely alone, but I'm quite happy about the result!

The next character, however, it will be a melee warrior, and things may become savage!!

I'm having such great fun, mixing Polynesian, Japanese and Aztec styles altogether: even if they are not Dwarves, I'm having good times with these Elves!

I hope you like them, too!