Characters fairy tales of Old Russia

If you regularly read our blog, you probably remember the post about the creation of the little dog , the character of the mobile game "Evolution". He drew it (and wrote a post), the leading artist of the project Roman Amokrus Papsuev. However, like all talented people, Roman creates not only at work, but also in his free time - for the soul. Once he had the idea to redraw the well-known characters of Russian fairy tales and tales in the modern fantasy game style. The result was a whole series of wonderful pencil drawings, made with great attention to detail. The novel was not guided by the characters of a particular game, the images turned out to be collective. However, it is better to see a hundred times than to read once.

Welcome under the cut, his story is waiting for you there (also see the second part ). Many pictures inside!

Being a CG artist, I sometimes entertain myself by remembering how to draw with a pencil. Once I spent a lot of time on a sketchbook that called Monsta Panopticum - there was a collection of various monsters, a kind of exercise for imagination. But the sketchbook ended, but the ideas remained, and then it occurred to me that in Slavic mythology and in Russian folk tales there are a lot of cool characters, and games based on our legends - once or twice. Since I have been working in game development for quite a long time, I quite well understand basic visual stamps (I can disappoint someone, but I have never played Warhammer, Allods Online, Dotu, Elder Scrolls, Dark Souls and even World of Warcraft, which is not prevents me from knowing what they look like).
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The idea of ​​the project is as follows: develop and shake one topic, try to examine it from different angles. It occurred to me that it’s worth trying to make our characters, but in the standard modern fantasy-style game style (you shouldn’t try to determine the specific game that inspired the pictures, there will be everything from everywhere).

At first, it was just an exercise for fantasy, then, when I began to carefully study the original sources and look at reference books, the project became much more interesting for me, because it allowed me to interpret “not just the stereotypes in my head since childhood, but also primary sources are Russian folk tales and epics. You will see for yourself how the descriptions for pictures differ: the more the description, the more time I spent on studying the sources.

I do not invent characters, they are all in mythology, I just interpret their descriptions in my own way, I try to find common features in these descriptions and at the same time I try to withstand a uniform style to make it look like a game world.

Most of all I am pleased that some people who looked at my pictures begin to re-read fairy tales-epic, learn a lot of new things and understand why Vasilisa the Beautiful has a doll in her bag, why Water Mom is on a soma, why Ilya Muromets has a sword in her hands, and not a mace, etc. This return to the sources through my humble project pleases me as the author most of all.

I often hear that the characters turned out to be "not Russian", they say, take away the signatures - and it is not clear who is where. I would like to say at once that, firstly, I consciously tried to get away from the stereotypes and interpretations of individual authors, and secondly, I would like to know where that canon is, by which one can EXACTLY determine exactly how Baba Yaga looked, for example. After all, all that we know about the heroes of fairy tales is images from childhood, images presented to us by the brilliant Ptushko, Row, Vasnetsov, Bilibin. That is the author's interpretation. So, my pictures are also interpretations, and in a very specific style. Just keep in mind that this project has nothing to do with realism and historical authenticity. And these are fairy tales that have fallen into the world of games. My goal is not to destroy our great heritage, but only to try to look at it from a different point of view.

Thank you for mastering the introduction. Now the actual picture.

Ilya Muromets . Began, of course, with him. By the way, a bottle with dead water hangs on his belt, he heals wounds. And with a shield he can completely destroy his enemies. This picture was drawn from the head, just based on the types from childhood, but later, after checking with the sources, I came to the conclusion that I had gotten myself into an image.



Dobrynya What is known about him (in brackets - how I beat it). A relative of the prince (the armor should be rich), the second most popular hero after Ilya (smaller, but still steep), a serpent-lord (a magic shield studded with fiery dragon skin, shooting fire), whip-seven tail, with which he lashed his horse to snake trampled, well, everything. Diplomatic abilities, education and bliss in the picture is difficult to portray, but I put a scroll in his belt in a tube, like he reads at his leisure. Immediately he has living water, it complements the kit of Ilya, who, I remind, on the belt - the water is dead. Well, the motive of the sun, like that of Illya, serves one prince.



Popovich . Well, obviously, he must be a witch hunter, right?



Sudden turn a little to the side, to Finist .



Came the turn of the girls. I'll start with Vasilisa the Beautiful (not to be confused with Vasilisa the Wise, aka Tsarevna the Frog). A war mage, even nothing to think about, one skull, scorching enemies (mentioned in the tale), which is worth. And of course, the doll in the bag, everything is as it should be. A small remark: perhaps not so clearly seen, but her kokoshnik is steel, part of a half-helmet.



Vasilisa the Wise (Frog Princess) . It was not so simple with her. There are already three common versions of the tale (in one of them she is generally called Elena Prekrasnaya), so I decided to try to put everything that is known about her into one image. So, the witch. He conjures with the help of his own power, and with the help of mothers-nannies (grandmas-nannies, mothers-manka, etc.). I decided that the nurse nannies would be plump flying fairies in my version. The magic of the mamok-nannies separately is not that strong, but if they start doing something together, just hold on.

I did not find confirmation in the fairy tales that Vasilisa is the daughter of Koshchei the Immortal (although there is such a version, and it is quite logical), so I didn’t make obvious necromantic paraphernalia. But the Wise One, as it seems to me, could indulge in dark magic, she has such a character ... I completely forgot to mention - her arrowhead is hanging on her chest as a pendant. The same.



Tsarevna Nesmeyana . I wanted to first make the face open, then I decided to immediately show the mask-visor. Kokoshnik - part of the helmet. Observant viewers will pay attention to the waterskin and the horn on her belt. Why? Because because of the always bad mood constantly applied to alcohol. By the way, when she laughs (and she laughs very rarely), it means that she has a seizure and becomes a berserker, is a very terrible ability.



Marya Morevna . It's all clear. The only remark is that since the fairy tale indicates that she is a steppe warrior, I slightly added Asian elements.



Varvara-beauty . Mound Raider Strictly speaking, this is a cinema character, in the mythology of the Barbara Beauty, it seems to be absent. But, first of all, everyone probably knows the film Rowe, and secondly, the name that is painfully notable for her, could not pass by. I think it is clear who was the reference. A few comments: hatchets are attached to the sheath on the thighs, amulets amulets dangle on the belts, and a kokoshnik, as always, is metal. When there are many opponents, she attacks, spinning like a top, and mows down enemies (ha ha). The braid itself may well be of leather, like a whip, i.e. it is not hair removed, but part of a helmet.



Baba Yaga V. 1.0.



Koschey . It feeds on the souls of the victims. He also drew this, based on clichés from his head, then he carefully studied the sources and came to the conclusion that I would change Koschey's head. So what will subsequently Koschey Mark 2. :)



Nightingale the robber . Part one. Top. We'll have to explain something. In fairy tales, the Nightingale sits on nine oaks, sits high, gazes far, whistles like a nightingale, shouts like an animal. I thought for a long time how to beat it all up (“sitting on nine oaks” was the biggest problem - a giant or something? Or small oaks?), In the end I came to the conclusion that the Nightingale would be a riding monster. He will ride an oak. His screaming whistle is a sound weapon. Whistle - aimed blow, cry - a wave of wide range. He will also have a magic staff to control the oak. And pay attention to the necklace of acorns on his neck. It is no accident, it is a solution to the problem with nine oaks. Yes, many of the associations with his mouth are strange, I advise you to go to the mirror and try to make “chicken drumstick sponges” - be surprised. :)



Nightingale the robber . Part two. Riding on an oak. In general, he lives in a tree, this is his vault and fortress. Chests (trophies) and shields are hung on the branches, which shift if the Nightingale threatens something. Also, the oak has chains with hooks, with which it pulls the victim towards him to eat it.

The oak moves both as a spider and as a millipede, i.e. it supports the trunk with large branches and shuffles its roots with small roots. Moves slowly, but if it comes, the hero karts. Now about the problem of nine oaks. Acorns are magical. When the Nightingale throws one acorn on the ground, the oak mignon rapidly grows from there, ground support, so to speak. I drew one of them on the left. They are faster and more aggressive than the oak fortress. Run up to the hero and lupasyat. On the necklace, eight acorns plus oak fortress, a total of nine. Oaks are rather dumb trees by themselves, but when nine oaks move on a hero plus a Nightingale with his sonic weapon, the hero should be uncomfortable.

Yes, and the scale here is a bit conditional (otherwise it would not fit), but roughly navigate the skulls on the branch, this is the skull of adults. That is, the Nightingale is slightly larger than an ordinary person. Yes, and in the picture he just screams like an animal.



Tugarin Snake . This is probably the last picture where I use complex frames - it takes too much time for them, the characters are more important, so further the frames will be very conditional.



Woodman . Owner of the forest. I will share forest spirits, this one is the most important. He is, in principle, kind, but harsh and fair, if anything, can and severely punish.

Visually decided to build on zooanthropomorphic descriptions, with elements of phytoanthropomorphism, for each forest spirit I will choose the main animal and I will dance from this.



Goblin I tried to embody in this handsome the main thing that is known about the devils in the generally accepted (and most importantly - evil) sense. The character of Leshego, to put it mildly, is not very pleasant. One eye is normal (left), the right one is usually larger than the left one and “dead”, fixed. Beard and gray hair. Often they write about a cone-shaped head, in my interpretation - because of the hair gathered in a bun. It smells clothes to the left and wears inside out (to show in a pencil that this is a wrong side turned out to be not so easy). The arms and legs are covered with wool. In some versions of the legends, he belted, in others necessarily not. Trophies and essential things hang on the belt: the skulls of fallen strayed and impolite travelers, the horn to get drunk, and bast, because my Leshem just likes bast shoes, he collects them. In the legends of the classic Leshy there is also some kind of fixation on the sandals. But considering that he is often described as ungulates, the question is - how did he wear them? The logical answer is that he did not wear them on his feet, he simply carried them with him as souvenirs.

As for the general appearance, the rationales are as follows.

• First, in the legends it is pointed out that the Goblin often appears in a zooanthropomorphic form, in particular, in the form of a bear. There is a saying: "The Goblin is not his brother - he will break all the bones as well as a bear."
• Secondly, it is believed that he falls into hibernation (hello, bear).
• Thirdly, what kind of animal in our country is considered the most ferocious and personifies Russian nature?
• Fourthly, as friends of LJ suggested to me - according to many researchers (in particular, Dmitry Zelenin), Leshy can be considered the personification of Veles, whose basic self is just a bear.

But this, you understand, is not exactly a bear, after all the spirit of the forest. Hence, powerful horns, and twisted goat legs (there are hoofs below, yes), and his color is half wolf (in mythology, he often turns into a wolf). The bear skin on the shoulders and the scar of the right eye is no accident, just like the huge club behind his back. My Leshy is a class, that is, he is not alone, there are many of them (like the Lesoviki and other forest spirits). They are tied to individual forests, so they often fight among themselves for territory. So this Goblin (old and experienced) has already once again filled up a younger rival, got a small but brutal injury in battle and got a trophy skin.

Since he is still a forest spirit, I added phyto motives. The wood goblins are often associated with aspens (aspens seem to indicate demonic nature), so it is hung with leaves of this tree. On the chest are cut cores of magical aspens, in the center of which magical stones grow (this is a fairy tale, I recall). These cuts on the chest - magical protection Leshego. Well, the root-twigs keep the skin on the shoulders.

And finally - he has the skulls of woodpeckers. Since Leshego has a violent and bad temper and at the same time he likes to sleep, he is terribly annoyed by knocking woodpeckers. Therefore, he destroys them. Well, and exterminates rats simply because they are rats, Leshy is afraid of their bare tails. On this basis, Leshy often quarrel with the Foresters. Though they are relatives, but, in fact, Greenpeace members and in general - protect any forest animal. And Leshy believe that some of the forest dwellers are disgusting and give me a go.



Bolotnik . Vile creature living in the swamps, pretending to be a bump, eat all in a row. Rush "bracelets" from the bracelet to paralyze the victim. Poisonous.

PS I also want to add a decoy, like that of an angler fish. The decoy is long, telescopic, in fact a symbiote, that is, a separate creature, luring-hypnotizing travelers, leads them directly into the quagmire towards Bolotnik.



Spirits of the forest . Part 1. For each small spirit of the forest to draw a separate picture was impractical, so I decided to divide them into groups. All these guys are the Lesovik retinue. I tried to do it according to the descriptions I could find, but it was not without arbitrariness.

Vodyanik, for example, is like one of the names of the Water One. But I decided that small ponds, streams and small rivers should also have their own spirits, so I selected the name “Vodyanik” as a separate group of small spirits. All the spirits of the forest are completely neutral to themselves, but if they get angry, they can attack.

The most aggressive of this group is Mokhovik, and according to legends, he could eat kids, if that.

The berry, with all its external harmlessness, can also cause damage (poisoned berries).

Derevyanik - in one character he combined Derevyanik and Kornevik - silly, awkward, but quite strong, can entangle with roots and drink the juices from the victim.



Spirits of the forest . Part 2. Mushroom picker, Listovik, Travnik, Kustin. I call this picture "Russula is late for the meeting." Completing the theme of forest spirits and the Lesovik retinue, we will quickly run through the characters and skills.

The mushroom picker is not a very good character (in mythology, mushrooms generally do not favor much, there is a lot about genitalia and excrement), not very strong, but very tenacious and touchy (thinks that people stipulate it). Can infect offenders with rapidly growing fungi. His dream is to conquer the whole world.

Travnik is a hippie. In case of danger, it can zadurmanit offender's head and even kill if he gets very angry.

Leaflet (combined with Steblevik, so as not to produce entities) - the most harmless of all, usually acts as a support group for Derevyanik and Kustin, gives them additional strength and protection.

Kustin (Kustanik) is Derevyanik's younger brother, they are very similar in character and usually work in pairs. Kustin is able to remotely twist the offender with branches, paralyzing him.



Watermark on soma . For this picture, I will simply list the main characteristics with explanations why this is the case, and let's discuss the details of the character of Wyodnogo in the next picture. I will say straight away: I tried to incorporate into the image everything that the Internet knows about Water, by proposing at the same time some of my own solutions. Immediately ask, forget the Water song from the Flying Ship. So let's go.

It is known that Muddy is a fat old man with a big belly (done), he is often seen in a red shirt (I have a chain of scarlet gold), he has a broad beard and green mustaches (here I cheated and made him a SOMEN mustache, a part of the beard also catfish probes, hence the greenish color). In the northern nationalities of Russia, Vodynyaya is often presented with a club. In general, Water is a serious evil, and his character is very nasty (quote: "The incarnation of the element of water as a negative and dangerous beginning"). And the main quote for the picture, from which the image itself was born. “He is credited with catfish as his favorite fish, on which he drives around and which gives him drowned people. For this, the soma is popularly called the “damn horse”. ” It was here that the idea of ​​a mount boss came up. Since Waterman is sometimes still seen on land, I made a catfish not quite a catfish. In fact, there is a whole mix of animals (all of them quite live on the territory of Russia, by the way), who will determine them all, that's a pie.

I paid special attention to harness, harness and saddle, I had to dream, of course, but there is no combat pack soms in nature, so I apologize if that. : , , .



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I also have a list of heroes of Old Rus' Tales planned for implementation. So I will develop the series.