This is the follow-up post to the Jarn character and creature design post I made last week. More artwork and design stuff that fits into the Savaged Universe. The Sage are officially the first race humanity meets as they expand into the stars. Our first hint that we are not alone in the universe comes when cargo starts to disappear from ships along established trade routes. The odd thing is it isn’t cargo that is normally considered high value.
Priding themselves as students of galactic history and the only truly advanced civilization of the stars the Sage had taken it onto themselves to collect and catalog as much data as they can. Some of the most powerful Sage becoming Knowledge pirates that plague the known universe stealing art, books, and historical records, while leaving behind weapons, technology and valued goods.
Here is the first sketch of a Sage I ever did.
They were never meant to be a “Galactic Player” when I did this first sketch. They were supposed to be a henchmen like race, spotty comic relief, an odd idea. However as I developed the beginnings of the Council of Seven and the Empire, I was forced to comfort the idea that someone had to help humanity take and hold there place in the universe.
The Sage became the first race that humanity allies with, helping to form the backbone of the Empire. Sage pirate armadas aligning themselves with human naval and exploratory vessels, forming a Navy in the time of crisis as both races fell into open conflict with the Jarn.
Along those lines I worked a few concept sketches of the Sage. Keeping the idea that they are a small humanoid reptilian race, easily adapted to fighting in tight corner and enclosed spaces.
This later sketch is much closer to my final vision. I have added fighting claws to the Sage’s feet, made them much slighter of frame and worked the basic ideas of the Imperial Navies uniform into this sketch. I also added the saber to give the Naval Rating a colonial era look and feel.
Space Combat isn’t like modern warfare. Often tight corridor combat deciding the outcome of a naval clash, opening volleys normally ending in brutal close quarters combat.
I had to make another decision this time about what their ships and technology looked like… More about that next time!
-TheGrav
- Creature and Character Design (worldcrafter.wordpress.com)
Figuring out the how and mechanics of how the Entic would move helped a lot in the final outcome of how they looked. Three fingered hands and feet, an insectiod like configuration, allowing them to move swiftly and efficiently.
The Dark Side of Digital Art. 