Pawns: Concept & Development

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Pawns Mekala Nava: 2015 BFA degree project

This is the title sequence I talked about in an earlier post.

I made it under the idea that if the story was picked up for an animated series the title sequence would go something like this. I created every you see here with the exception of the music; that was Cirque du Soleil’s Taiko ( just edited in a way that I liked). It features the two main characters that shall receive in depth posts about them at a later date :D

Anyway, here’s Wonderwall. Enjoy.

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Apologies for random content on here.

In other news: I hate tumblr mobile.

[berntkat]

This has been sitting in my drafts for months, but now I can finally publish it!! 

Now to introduce my lovely lady, Mahina Kaimana. A sea pirate with a less than smooth exterior, she was born near the Isle of Mahina where she gets her name. Born to Sa’itaas parents she grew up in a more modern Blithe home with less focus on tradition. Her father and mother owned a fishing business and a spot in the market. Learn more about her under the cut… AND MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW ‘PAWNS’ FOR MORE!

Keep reading

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berntkat's D&D character that lives within Ausukomo'i!

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A handy-dandy height chart of all the Ausukomo’i races grouped together by region from left to right.

Coastal: Coast Humans & Blithe

Desert: Desert Human & Nysx

Mountain: Mountain Human & Akroan

I’m most likely going to rework the names of the races once I figure out the language systems and naming conventions. I will probably stylize and exaggerate their features more for artistic purposes. 

I will also do a more in-depth post of the IRL cultures and myths that inspired the different regions/languages/customs/and whatever else I can’t remember at 3 in the morning @_@

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Humans of Ausukomo’i

Present in every single region, Humans come in all shapes and sizes. The average height of a Human ranges from just under 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Men may or may not sport facial hair ranging from sparse to thick. Many Humans may have a bit of Non-Human blood in them (but not enough to consider them a Half) and have characteristics of another race subtley show through.

Humans are the most adaptable of all the races, which explains their presence within every region. They have widely varying tastes, morals, customs, and traditions and no two Human settlements are exactly the same.

Having more variety than the other cultures, Humans as a whole do not have “typical” names. Parents usually draw inspiration from other regions, the region they live in, another culture, their own culture, or just make something up.

The material culture and physical characteristics vary region to region and town to town; for example, clothing, food, and music from Tomolo’o would be wildly different than that of Rocashuto.

Within the country of Ausukomo’i, Humans are divided into three major groups: the Desert, the Mountain, and the Coast.

Mountain Humans: Found mostly within the Mountain Region, these people stand about 5 and a half feet tall to a little over 6 feet. Mountain Humans have fair skin and dense build to aid them in the Mountains’ rugged terrain. Hair can range from red to blonde to black and eye color from blue to a dark hazel.

Desert Humans: Commonly found living in the Desert Region; Desert Human stand from 5 feet 8 inches to well over 6 feet tall. The Desert Humans are the darkest of the Humans  and skin tones range from light brown to nearly black; this helps protect against the sun and avoid sun burns. Hair and eye color ranges from light brown to black.

Coast Humans: Native to the Coastal Region of Ausukomo’im Coastal Humans are the shortest among the human race standing between 4’9” and 5’10”. Skin tones range from a light reddish brown to a dark brown.  Hair varies from light brown with blonde streaks to pitch black. Eye color spans from a greenish hazel to ebony.

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Desert People: Nysx

Nysx are native to the Desert Region and the tallest among the four races. They range from about 5 and a half feet tall to just a little over 7 feet. They have long, lean bodies and because of their build are born runners and can easily reach speeds of 22 miles per hour. Nysx skin tones range from a light tan to a dark brown and provide protection from constant sun exposure.

Because Nysx are desert dwelling, they have developed elongated pointed ears to release additional heat from their bodies. Hair ranges from brown to black and eyes from gold to dark brown.

While the Nysx have a coming of age celebration, their names are given to them at birth. Usually these names reflect the Sun Goddess Yolihuani, the region they live in, a relative, or a gift they wish to bestow upon their child. If a child would like to change their birth name, they must bring the new name in front of their Band or community and present it to family and close friends. The small group then decides if the new name captures the essence of that particular person. If it does, the new name is accepted and a celebration is thrown. If it’s a no, the small council will explain why they don’t believe it suits them and suggest other names that may do their spirit more justice. A name change can be done has many times as an individual sees fit, but typically this occurs only once or twice in a person’s life time.

Traditional Nysx Male Names: Anesh, Adio, Aten, Bomani, Eshe, Gahiji, Ilhuitl, Milintica, Ilhicamina, Itztli, Necalli, Yaotl

Traditional Nysx Female Names: Amunta, Ani, Ankhta, Kartek, Rashida, Salama, Sati, Citlalmina, Sacnite, Tlanexti, Yolihuani, Nelli

After the Malaki Pilhuia, many Nysx civilization crumbled. They lost their major cities and many turned to ruin and decay. A few nomadic Nysx Bands remain, but they have been forced high into the mountains of Serpent’s Back Pass. These nomadic bands have lost much of their once great culture and much of their ancient language, Raihtoa. A majority of the Nysx population now reside in Desert cities or towns and have tried to assimilate to their new way of life. In doing so, much of their ancestral knowledge has been lost and the stories of the once great civilization seem like myth and legend.

Like the Blithe, Nysx emphasize the celebration and worship of one god in particular, Yolihuani. While not as loud and bosterious as their Moon counterparts, Nysx have their own ceremonial celebrations to honor their Creator deity. Their primary focus is on the Sun and the growth and life she provides for her people, plants, and animals. Small alters are built inside the home of her followers during these celebrations and offerings are laid out at an empty space for each meal. This is done so that Yolihuani knows that she is always welcomed into the homes and lives of her followers. Yolihuani is treated with the utmost respect and in a more formal manner than that of Omaulu with the Blithe. Instead of being seen as a cousin or friend, she is viewed as a teacher or parent that oversees everything— much like the sun itself.  

Major Celebrations: Summer Solstice, First Day of Spring, First Day of Summer,  First and Last Days of the Harvest

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Coastal People: Blithe

Blithe are one of the native peoples to the Coastal Region. They range from 4 to 5 feet tall and tend to be more on the petite side. But don’t let that fool you, Blithe have always been a mining and cave dwelling people and to do so they need to be small, compact, and very strong. Skin tones range from  a warm light gray to nearly pitch black. Due to being a subterranean race, Blithe have developed large bat-like ears for superior hearing and big, almond shaped eyes to make use of the limited light. Hair colors range from medium brown to black and eyes from blue-gray to almost black.

For Blithe raised in a traditional Sa’ibaba setting, names for children act as a protecting ward or a spell blessing. It is only after they have come of age and discovered themselves do they get to choose a proper name. Traditional names will often honor the god of darkness, water, change, and death, Te Kai Omaulu.

Sa’itaas Blithe that did not grow up in a traditional setting or in another region, do not choose a proper name when they come of age. Instead, they keep the name given to them by their parents at birth; this often reflects the region that they were born in.

Traditional Male Blithe Names: Agwe, Akiaten, Amanikable, Bologan, Catig, Ligaya, Hanini, Kaiholo, Kawai, Konane, Kahawai, Pika

Traditional Female Blithe Names: Sirena, Aguyang, Bulandai, Dalisay, Dayea, Kilubansa, Anuhea, Kai, Moana, Luana, Kainalu, Keone

Most Blithe can speak, read, and write in the common language of Ausukomo’i. Blithe do have their own language, but much of it has been lost since the Malaki Pilhuia; a few words and phrases remain and are integrated into everyday speech as slang and becoming part of the regional dialect. Very few Sa’ibaba clans remain and even fewer retain anything more than simple sentences from their ancient native tongue, Ke’olelo.

The most common type of Blithe are the Sa’itaas. The Sa’itaas Blithe have lived above ground ever since the Malaki Pilhuia and adapted to the fishing and mercantile lifestyle exceptionally well. They are fantastic swimmers and fishermen and retain some of their familial traditions of stone-working and jewelry making. Most Sa’itaas Blithe must wear protective eye covering during daylight hours due to their light sensitive eyes.

Sa’ibaba Blithe are harder to come by. These clans are those that were able to remain underground for one reason or another and continue on with their ways of life mostly intact. Most Sa’ibaban clans can only speak common tongue, but there are very remote clans that still speak their traditional language. Keeping up with tradition, Sa’ibaban clans practice the intricate arts of stone carving and jewelry making exceeding their above ground counterparts.

Blithe view religion very differently from the other races. Instead of praying in temples or making offerings at alters, Blithe celebrate their gods. Depending on what they need or what festival it is, Blithe will “invite” the god to the party and make them the guest of honor. More often than not, Te Kai Omaulu or Omaulu, will be the deity invited to the celebration. In treating the god as a family member or close friend, the Blithe establish a personal relationship with that god and reinforce the idea of all things being related and deserving of love and respect.

Major Festivals: New Moons, Solstices, Solar Eclipses, Harvest Moons, Blue Moons, and Blood Moons

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Mountain People: Akroan

Akroans are people native to the Mountains. Standing between 5 and 6 feet tall, their muscular, dense build make them the most physically formidable of all the races. This has aided them throughout their war mongering history. Akroan skin tones range from a light tan to brown and a greenish tinge is almost always present. Because of the harsh environment, the Akroan have developed shorter limbs and smaller ears to combat the cold and retain much needed body heat. Hair and eye colors greatly vary due to the number of fruitful intermarriages between Akroan and Mountain Humans.

When naming children, Akroan traditionally choose names that reflect strength or hearken back to honorable relatives. It is very important to give a son or daughter a name to live up to, otherwise the child may not strive for anything! In most cases, the father and other male members of the family will come together and form a list of possible names for the baby. This is usually done just has the baby’s mother begins to show in order to protect the unborn child. After the father’s list is made, it is presented to the mother so she may decide on the name of the child. After all, she’s the one carrying the child’s spirit and will know whether or not a name will fit well. Akroan fathers try and pick names that are gender neutral seeing as the name has to be given before the child is born. This is mostly to protect the baby from lost souls wandering in Mawaena that may and try to jump into the baby as it’s being born so they can have a second shot at life.

Common Akroan Names for Children: Kosuke, Tsubasa, Shinobu, Michi, Rin, Kyo, Isamu, Kenta, Mamoru, Xio, Montaña, Rayan, Zulimar, Yaxha, Castel, Matias

Due to the fact that the Mountain Region expanded into the lower 2 regions, most Akroan can only read, write, and speak in Common Tongue. Common Tongue is derived from a mix of the ancient Akroan and Human languages. Many of the words are still the same and very few things have changed in the language since the Gran Unmei. Some grammatical rules have been outdated and abandoned, but for the most part, Common Tongue has remained intact. Unlike the other races, the Akroan do not identify any differences from in one group of Akroan to another. There are differences depending on which part of the Mountain Region is being acknowledged; but these regional differences are not given a specific name to delineate the groups. To the Akroan, bringing up these differences and putting a label to them only reminds them of their feudal and violent past. Almost a thousand years later and the no idea of separation is still a sore spot. However, the Western part of the Region is still considered wild and brutish compared to its Eastern cousin. Many Akroan in the West still maintain and practice their sword play and martial skills to protect their lands from wild animals and outlaws hiding in the dangerous terrain. On the Opposite side of the region, the East has all but abandoned the Akroan tradition of war mongering. After the Gran Unmei, the East became the hub of government and many of the soldiers and warriors turned away from the blade to become diplomats and politicians. This caused tension between the two parts of the Region, the East sees the West as war beasts and the West views the East as snobs that still cling to their ancestry but refuse to practice any of the traditions that brought them to their place of power.

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Ausukomo’i: A Brief World History

The history of how the country of Ausukomo’i (ow-SUE-ko-mo-EE) formed varies greatly depending on which group of people tells it. The peoples of the Mountain Region see it as a successful expansion campaign into new territory, while the peoples of the Coastal and Desert Regions view it as a brutal conquest and destruction of their ancestors.

Long ago, the mountains were always feuding. Humans and Akroans formed clans of the East, West, North, and South and engaged in bloody battles that would last for generations; eventually, when very few were left to fight, a truce was called and many years of peace followed. However, the honor and valor of battle still called to these people. Instead of fighting each other, a plan was hatched. It was thought that if the Akroan and Humans united their equally matched strength and cunning that they could expand their empire and grow their legacy. Under the banner of the Mountains, Ausuko the War leader lead his army into the lower two Regions.

The first Region to fall was the Desert Region. With it conquered, the Mountains claimed the wealth of her mines and forced the Nysx and Desert people into hard labor. At the time, the Nysx had large, thriving civilizations and when word had gotten out that Rahuantal had been taken, the Army of Teotalli leapt to aid their sister city. Unfortunately, Ausuko had foreseen this and planned an ambush in Serpent’s Back Pass. The Teotalli Army was slaughtered. With limited defenses, the city of Teotalli fell along with the rest of the Region. The Nysx gathered the survivors they could and fled to the most remote parts of the Desert Region. The last free Region was the Coast. Riddled with caves and jungle, it took nearly a decade for Ausuko and his army to navigate the natural labyrinth and conquer the Blithe. Between navigating the waters ways, underground caves, and fighting in near darkness, the Mountain Army was stretched thin. The Blithe had a huge advantage and won several major battles. It was only when the Mountains sunk a major portion of the island city of Tomolo’o, did the Coast fall. Along with her went her water ways, fish, gems, metals, and beauty. Many Blithe were forced to the surface when their cities fell, others were able to remain underground because it was difficult for the Mountains to navigate the terrain. This caused a split in Blithe culture. It became fractured and much knowledge was lost. The Sa’ibaba are those that remained in the caves and the Sa’itaas were forced above ground.

For the Mountain People, this expansion was a huge success and dubbed “The Gran Unmei.” For everyone else, it was a brutal conquest, a destruction of land and people, and the beginning of an end. They called it, “The Malaki Pilhuia.” The peoples of the lower 2 Regions were forced to assimilate into the culture of their conquerers and could keep what remained of theirs only if it was deemed acceptable by Mountain eyes. What they have now are watered down reminders of their legacies; they have lost much of their native tongues and what they do have left is thinly painted into their everyday lives.

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The Beginnings of “Pawns”

So, this is officially the first post (of hopefully many) regarding a project called “Pawns.” It’d be kind of cheesy to say that this project had humble beginnings and things like that, but it totally did. The idea for this came from a comic I had done in the spring term of my junior year at Cornish (which I shall put in the next post) and eventually turned into my big, scary senior degree project. Began working on it for well over a year— I’m not gonna lie, sometimes I wanted to burn everything to the ground. 

The ideas behind “Pawns” were an array of social issues as well as those found in animation and media. All of my paper work-y parts of my project spoke about the need for representative media for all misrepresented and underrepresented groups (women, People of Color, and LGBTQIA) because speaking about accurate representation and inclusion of one group cannot exist unless you advocate for the inclusion of all. This was not an easy thing to accomplish in 1.5 years, especially working alone. I could not tell you how many books I read or essays I wrote about these issues, but the thing that kept me going was past personal experiences and conflicts that arose in my family regarding those very same issues. Media reflects the issues that society likes to mock, ignore, and straight up deny and it’s time that we address this in our systems and our media.

For my BFA project, that’s what I was going to do. Since I was small, fantasy has been my absolute FAVORITE genre and it still hold that title. However, most fantasy related things were always based in white European settings and myths; being a small brown girl, I would always change the stories to ones I knew (which were myths my dad had told me from Chicano, Yaqui, Mexica, and Dine culture) so I or my siblings could be the heroes in them. Or if we were playing princesses, my sister and I would fight over who could be Pocahontas or Kida— it wasn’t until much, much later that I realized we picked those two because they looked like us. Having recognized the need to see ourselves in media and how important it is not just for young kids, but for everyone, I set out to make a story that fit in the genre I loved while incorporating ideas/myths/histories from people we barely talk about in western schools, believable female characters, and inclusions of queer characters.

Senior Project Summary: Representation in Narrative Media

“My goal is to create a narrative that exists within a High Fantasy genre that features traditionally underrepresented groups, such as: women, People of Color, and the queer community. I am creating the story in such a way that “non-traditional” identities do not become the driving factor for the plot, but rather facets in the characters to build multidimensional people.”

Over the course of the year, I created a concept art book to explain my ideas and where I would continue to drive the project forward and thanks to berntkat’s pestering I’m finally getting around to starting a blog to show not only what I have, but where I’m going. Along with the book, I created a D&D campaign and title sequence to “prove” that an inclusive narrative could be driven across many platforms of media and that there is no reason not to be creating stories like it. So I’m gonna stop talking now and cut the red ribbon. Without any further delay, I am opening up the blog and posting pages from my book to kick this bad boy off. 

-kdenlife