When we first started discussing ideas for our game, one thing we immediately knew we wanted was a strong focus on Celtic theming and mythology. We decided to incorporate mythological figures in the form of Celtic gods and deities, tying them to skill trees that the player will invest points in throughout gameplay.
Mechanically each of these skill trees is tied to a different aspect of gameplay, Combat, Commerce and Exploration. We liked the idea of each of these trees having a Celtic Goddess governing it, and the investment in skill points being akin to deepening your bond with them.
Today we’re showcasing the art we have for the Goddess that governs Exploration, Fand:
We initially commissioned a black & white concept piece of each of our Goddesses. The art brief we provided is below:
Fand/Fann - Mists (Exploration)
Goddess of Flight
A frail looking woman with dark hair facing the viewer. Attached to her by thin silver chains are small sea birds (Terns).
Her shoulders are bared, and celtic-style tattoos depicting ocean waves and clouds are visible on them.
Fand is a relatively minor figure in Celtic Mythology. She features most prominently in a tale within the Ulster Cycle, Serglige Con Culainn (“The Sickbed of Cúchulainn”). She takes the form of an otherworldly sea bird and flies alongside a flock that are tethered to her with silver chains.
In the story, Cúchulainn attacks Fand and her sister by throwing stones at them in their bird forms. For this, they whip him to the point of near-death, incapacitating him for a year. Eventually Cúchulainn atones for his actions by aiding Fand in defending her otherworldly home, and the two become lovers.
While Fand is fairly vengeful in this story, we liked her ability to shapeshift and travel as part of a flock. This made her the ideal fit for a goddess to govern our Exploration skill tree. The artist we worked with made some alterations to the initial brief, and we eventually worked our way to a more worldly traveller vibe for our take on Fand.
As we went through the process, we worked with our artist to make small alterations to the colour scheme. We wanted a darker green in the background than was initially provided, which led us to a version of Fand that we thought was pretty perfect.
This was the final piece that we decided to go with. After some final touch-ups and linework we were done!
