christophercant

[christophercant]

Day 31: King Arthur

After King Uther Pendragon’s death, there was no known heir, and no king to rule all of England.

Until Merlin engineered the reveal of his bastard son Arthur, through the drawing of the sword in the stone.

Arthur’s crowning led to a rebellion by eleven minor kings, which Arthur soundly defeated. He married Guinevere, and established the Order of the Round Table.  With Merlin’s foresight and influence, Arthur was gifted the fae weapon Excalibur, and conquered a vast empire.

Arthur’s last battle was at Camlann against his traitorous nephew Mordred, in which he was mortally wounded on the battlefield.  He was extracted to the fae land of Avalon, where it is said he passed away.

#arthurian legend #arthurian mythology #arthurian fantasy #fantasy art #fantasy #dark fantasy #digital art #my art #art #digital sketch #digital painting #digital #digitalart #high fantasy

[christophercant]

Day 30: Sir Lancelot

Lancelot was an orphan raised by the fae Lady of the Lake, destined to achieve great things.

Through unrivalled skill in combat, he became the personal champion of Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere; and soon after, her secret lover.

Once Guinevere’s infidelity was revealed to Arthur he commanded that she be burned at the stake, guarded by many knights of the round table; some who went unwilling and unarmed.

Lancelot and his companions slaughtered them all the same.

Mordred exploited the sudden wound that had appeared within the court of King Arthur, and spelled doom for Camelot.

This one of Lancelot started as just me messing about doodling, so that’s why the video starts with some random knight drawing!

#arthurian lore #arthurian knights #arthurian fantasy #arthurian mythology #arthurian legend #king arthur #dark fantasy #fantasy art #fantasy #my art #artists on tumblr #digital art #art

[christophercant]

Day 29: Merlin

Merlin was the spawn of an infernal union; the son of a demon and human woman, immediately baptised at birth and freed from Satan’s clutches and delivered into service of God.

He was imbued with great supernatural powers, greatest of which was his ability to know the past and see the future.

Merlin used his foresight to guide young Arthur to draw the fabled sword from the stone, to orchestrate the founding of the Knights of the Round Table, and guide Camelot towards it’s glorious zenith.

Unfortunately, Merlin was not the only being with foresight, nor with the blood of devils flowing through his veins.

Somehow my sketch accidently ended up looking just like Gandalf!

#arthurian mythology #arthurian knights #arthurian fantasy #king arthur #arthurian legend #dark fantasy #fantasy #fantasy art #digital art #art #artists on tumblr #my art #digital sketch #digitalart #digital #digital painting

[christophercant]

Day 28: Sir Tristan of Cornwall

Tristan never got to meet his parents: his father was kidnapped by the fae, and his mother died during childbirth.

Tristan instead was raised by his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall, but he lost the last links to his family when he fell in love with his uncles bride-to-be, Isolde, and they fled King Mark’s court together.

They lived their lives on the run; short, fast and passionate.

King Mark tracked them down, and while Tristan serenaded Isolde with his harp, his uncle murdered them both with his own hands, using a poisoned blade.

#arthurian lore #arthurian knights #arthurian fantasy #arthurian legend #arthurian mythology #king arthur #fantasy art #fantasy #dark fantasy #camelot #knights of the round table #digital art #artists on tumblr #my art #art

[christophercant]

Day 27: Sir Percival the Innocent

Percival was raised by his mother in the forest, ignorant of the ways of kings and men, and born with a pure and noble heart.

When Percival was 15, he witnessed a group of knights passing through the woods and was immediately fascinated.  He set his mind to joining the knightly order and proved to be a natural, ascending the ranks of King Arthur’s court with ease.

He was among the most chivalrous and innocent of all of the knights of Camelot, skilled in combat and exorcism; he was one of only three knights worthy of finding the Holy Grail, second only to Sir Galahad.

#arthurian knights #arthurian mythology #arthurian legend #arthurian fantasy #king arthur #my art #digital art #artists on tumblr #art #fantasy art #fantasy #knights of the round table #camelot

[christophercant]

Day 26: The Black Knight

The Black Knight was the second son of Tom a' Lincoln, to Anglitora, the daughter of King Prester John. Through Tom, he was an illegitimate grandson of King Arthur's.

His face always covered, his name never spoken; he was known only by the ominous title ‘the Black Knight’.

Once an adult, the Black Knight was contacted by the spirit of his father Tom, who told him that his mother had killed him when she found out he was merely King Arthur’s bastard.

The Black Knight then slew his own mother in revenge, and joined the Faerie Knight, his half-brother, on quests to faraway lands.

#arthurian lore #arthurian knights #arthurian mythology #king arthur #arthurian fantasy #arthurian legend #knights of the round table #black knight #digital art #fantasy art #artists on tumblr #art #my art

[christophercant]

Day 25: The Lady of the Lake

The Lady of the Lake hailed from an otherworldly realm, it’s entrance masked with an illusion of a lake.  There she raised the orphan Sir Lancelot, as well as Sirs Lionel and Bors, to be the greatest warriors known to man, unmatched in skill, wisdom and courage.

She used her command over the occult powers to guide their fate, and manipulate the future of Albion.

After sending her adoptive children to Arthur’s court, she still kept a watchful eye over them, gently nudging them along their predestined paths - even engineering the affair between Lancelot and Guinevere, that would finally cause the fall of Camelot.

#arthurian legend #arthurian mythology #arthurian knights #arthurian lore #arthurian fantasy #digital art #digitalart #art artist #my art #artists on tumblr #fantasy art #art #king arthur #lady of the lake

[christophercant]

Day 24: Sir Galahad, Knight of the Grail

Galahad was the knight that his father, Lancelot, was meant to be; the most perfect of knights, gallant and pure; chosen by God to discover the Holy Grail.

Even when still young, he was capable of performing miracles, banishing demons and healing the sick.  With his brothers-in-arms Sir Bors and Sir Percival he sought out and found the Holy Grail, healing the Fisher King and restoring the land of Listeneise to its earlier glory.

After completing his quest, Galahad voluntarily ascended to heaven in the arms of the angels.

#arthurian knights #arthurian fantasy #arthurian lore #arthurian mythology #arthurian legend #knights of the round table #fantasy #dark fantasy #fantasy art #digital art #artists on tumblr #my art #art

[christophercant]

Day 23: Esclados, Lord of the Storm-Fountain

The otherworldly protector of Broceliande forest, Esclados was accidentally summoned by Sir Calogrenant when he stumbled upon a fountain in a hidden glade. He spilled some of the water from the fountain, causing a storm and drawing the spirit out to defeat him for his impudence. Many years later, his cousin Sir Ywain travelled to the same fountain, drew out Esclados and destroyed him, taking his place as the guardian of the fountain.

I intended this sketch to be for the Black Knight, brother to the Faerie Knight, but it just refused to look right.  So I made him into a different red and spiky character, and liked it much better!

#arthurian knights #arthurian lore #arthurian mythology #arthurian fantasy #arthurian legend #king arthur #celtic mythology

[christophercant]

Day 22: The Faerie Knight

The Faerie Knight was a bastard son of Tom a'Lincoln, known as the Red Rose Knight, and Caelia, the Faerie Queen.  Tom was in turn a bastard of King Arthur’s, from his affair with a woman named Angelica.  Thus, the Faerie knight was not just half-human and half-fae, but also grandchild to Arthur.

The Faerie Knight’s real name may have been Loswello, though he was known as ‘Oberon the Second’.  He inherited multiple magical talents from his mother, the Faerie Queen, and went on many adventures with his better known half-brother, the Black Knight, another bastard of the Red Rose Knight.

#arthurian knights #arthurian mythology #arthurian fantasy #king arthur #arthurian legend #my art #digital art #fantasy art #artists on tumblr #art #dark fantasy #fantasy

[christophercant]

Day 21: Escanor the Large

Escanor the Large was the son of a giant and a witch, born on the same day as the renowned Sir Gawaine.

He also shared Gawaine’s power, his strength rising with the sun, and diminishing as the sun falls.  They were both fated to be adversaries, and after their first duel Escanor loathed Gawaine and sought every opportunity to undo him.

His final move was to kidnap Arthur’s female cupbearer while she was under Gawaine’s protection.

In retribution, Gawaine tracked him down, challenged him to a second duel, and slew him in equal combat.

#arthurian fantasy #arthurian knights #arthurian legend #arthurian mythology #king arthur #escanor #gawain #arthurian literature #character art #character concept #character illustration #character design

[christophercant]

Day 20: King Vortigern

Vortigern was an early villain of Arthurian legend, ruling before Uther Pendragon.

He didn’t become king by birth; while Constans, the eldest brother of Uther, was king, Vortigern secured a marriage into royalty. As King Constans was still quite young, Vortigern installed himself as the king’s advisor, and conspired to have the young king killed. 

Constan’s younger brothers, Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon, were children at the time, so once Constans was dead Vortigern seized the crown for himself and ruled with a tyrannical fist.

#arthurian literature #arthur pendragon #uther pendragon #camelot #knights of the round table #arthurian legend #arthurian mythology #king arthur #arthurian lore #arthurian romance #art #artists on tumblr #character art #character design #character concept

[christophercant]

Day 19: Maleagant

Maleagant was a vicious and powerful son of King Bagdemagus, ruler of the otherworldly realm of Gorre, which was inhabited by all manner of demonic and supernatural beings.  Maleagant made a pact with one of these beings, granting him power beyond mortal limits, but corrupting his very flesh.

He harbored a desire for Queen Guinevere; he even went so far as to kidnap her, which Sir Lancelot thwarted.  Maleagant was eventually slain in a duel with Lancelot, when he tried to reveal Guinevere’s adultery to King Arthur in an attempt to undermine the stability of Camelot.

#arthurian lore #arthurian knights #arthurian mythology #arthurian fantasy #arthurian legend #meleagant #character illustration #character art #character concept #character design #my art #digital art #fantasy art #artists on tumblr #art

[christophercant]

Day 18: Sir Palamedes, the Saracen Knight

Palamedes was a Middle Eastern pagan who converted to Christianity later in his life, and often fought Sir Tristan to try to win over his lover Iseult.

He was one of the son’s of King Esclabor the Unknown, an exiled Saracen king from Babylon, who rescued and befriended King Pellinore.

Sir Palamedes took up the hunt of the Questing Beast after King Pellinore. The hunt was nearly as frustrating and fruitless as his pursuit of Iseult, but during the Grail Quest he finally slew it with Percival and Galahad’s help.

#arthurian knights #arthurian lore #arthurian mythology #arthurian fantasy #arthurian legend #character illustration #character art #character concept #character design #fantasy art

[christophercant]

Day 17: Morgan le Fay

“Mighty was she in magic and her life was greatly in defiance of God, for at her command were the birds in the wild, in the woods and fields, and what seems to me greatest, those evil spirits, that are called devils – they were all at her command.”

I think Morgan le Fay is one of the most interesting characters in Arthurian legend, due to how various authors throughout the years each wrote her to have very different personality and drive; sometimes she is benevolent, and in some stories actively evil and antagonistic.  Sometimes she’s a great healer, other times a devil-worshipper.  Occasionally she blurs the lines between all of them.

This makes for a really dynamic and layered character, that’s hard to fully understand, and even harder to predict.She’ll be a fun one to write about.

#arthurian knights #arthurian lore #arthurian mythology #arthurian fantasy #arthurian legend #morgan le fay #morgana #character design #character concept #character art #character illustration #fantasy art #dark fantasy #fantasy

[christophercant]

Day 16: Queen Guinevere

Guinevere was the wife of King Arthur, and thus Queen of Camelot.

Famously, she engaged in a love affair with her husband's foremost knight and trusted friend, Lancelot, indirectly causing the death of Arthur, many knights and the fall of Camelot. 

It’s been a while since I’ve painted a woman, and I’ve not practiced them much at all, so I was hesitant to tackle sketching the female characters of the arthurian tales.  I was expecting to suck at it terribly.

I’m happy with how Guinevere turned out though - so happy in fact, that you can expect to see Morgan le Fay for tomorrow’s sketch!

#arthurian knights #arthurian mythology #arthurian fantasy #king arthur #arthurian legend #guinevere #celtic mythology #mythical art #character concept #character design #fantasy art #digital art #artists on tumblr #my art #art

[christophercant]

Day 15: The Questing Beast

Well Hoi there! If you remember, we sketched King Pellinore a couple of days ago, the guy who hunts the Questing Beast.  I was thinking about what to sketch for today, and I realised, I should draw the bloody Questing Beast!

The Beast was born of a human woman; a princess who slept with a devil and gave birth to the abomination.

The strange creature has the head and neck of a snake, the body of a leopard, the haunches of a lion, and the feet of a deer.  Its name comes from the great noise that it emits from its belly, a barking like "thirty couple hounds questing".

Pellinore never manages to slay the beast, but Sir Palamedes then takes up the task and finally kills it during the Grail Quest.

I may take it’s design further and make a few tweaks, but I’m happy enough with the sketch!

#arthurian knights #arthurian fantasy #arthurian mythology #arthurian legend #arthurian lore #arthurian literature #digitalart #creature #creature design #monster design #creature art