The following characters are nameless, just to add a little mystery to the plot.
Adopted into a rich family as a child, the character I am developing is set to inherit everything. However, his deranged and evil step-brother, well versed in Pagan Witchcraft and Necromancy has different ideas. Not long after his adoptive mother dies, his step-brother kills him and sends his soul straight to Hell. But, Satan, delighted with the step-brother's dark soul, wants him in Hell to add to his collection. Determined to have him, the 'Dark Prince' sends the, 'Cursed Human,' back to the land of the living to seek out and deliver his murderer to his final place of rest.
Once I had generated an image, in my mind's-eye, of how the cursed human would look, I began practising with basic block-in concepts to give me a general idea of how the character's stance and outline would complement each other.
Next I worked on the hands, handcuffs and chains, trying out slightly different ideas, however, in the end, because I wanted to illustrate the, 'Cursed Human's' emotions, i.e. anguish, despair, suffering and anger, I decided his hands should simply be clenched, whilst his chains signifying his enslaved soul, albeit broken, to denote his limited freedom, which Satan has granted him to search out his step-brother.
After I was happy with his hands, I concentrated on his ears. I didn't want to use horns, which represent sinister connotations and are usually a sign of strength, for this poor human is cursed, hence, weak and under duress. Inflicted upon him by Satan, the long ears are a tool for which the 'Dark Prince', and he alone, can relay instructions to this poor soul, to enable him to carry out his undertaking to seek out his step-brother, back in the land of the living.
To impress upon the fact the character is helpless to elude Satan, I opted for a blindfold, an idea that came to me, whilst looking at a painting by Goya. Applied by the Devil himself, it is impossible for the Cursed Human to remove it. I sketched a few different designs, before opting for something that would look like a more permanent fixture.
I then looked at some Victorian torture devices, which led me to some, 'Chestnut Crushing Shoes', of all things, with long spikes on the soles, which can be found within the research images post below. Although they were used for crushing Chestnuts, the spikes will imply the Cursed Human is stuck on the earth's plain, with no means of escape.
Finally, piecing it all together, including the torturous looking boots, I then decided to position the character's head looking up, as if looking to God for Salvation.
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