General Info
Birth name: Kreo Ardewulf
Species: Human
Given name: Umber/Lord Umber/The Dark Lord/The Dark One/The Shadow King
Age: 22 (28 in our world)
Height: 6’1 (185cm)
Gender: Male
Appearance: Dark Brown hair (turned black), Copper-coloured eyes (turned black), wears armour, a cloak covering his bottom half and a mask that hides his entire face
Background
Kreo is the villain of my show Age of Umber. He comes from the human kingdom in Unitaris, specifically in the country Smalbruk where he grew up an orphan on the streets. He did not remember his parents and had no family, simply a lone child trying to survive and he dealt with a lot of trauma from an early age because of it. Kreo’s personality is complex because of this and the different experiences that impacted him; he is cunning, cruel, patient, determined and merciless in battle. He would do anything to achieve his goals and he succeeded during the period Age of Umber is set, but a certain young mage brought out his more human side, which he had lost over the years. Therefore, it can be said that he is also righteous, sympathetic and understanding. His abilities were initially limited to fighting with a range of weapons, mainly sword-fighting, but this changed later on in his life, and he gained the ability to perform dark magic, which would become strictly forbidden after his rule ends. Some of the things he is able to do: control a person’s body (they die if this is done for long, however), create fire, ice and shadow, manipulate energy and various spells that mages can perform but amplified. There is one spell that was most important during his reign, but he was not powerful enough to do it on a larger scale and relied on Lesedi for this (see below for more).
Development/Story
As previously mentioned, Kreo grew up on the streets of Smalbruk as an orphan with no memory of love or home. Being at the very bottom of the hierarchy, he was often forced to steal to survive (otherwise living off scraps) and was beaten and punished severely if caught. That was just the way of the kingdom, especially in areas of greater poverty. Approaching his teen years, he grew more accustomed to using theft and trickery to survive and gained a following by the time he was 15. He discovered his talent for manipulation and using the shadows to his advantage, and other kids were drawn to him because of it. He became known as the ‘Black Wolf’, which gave him his second name ‘Ardewulf’. He and his gang rapidly grew in number and power, moving from food to weapons and land, and their leader was the King of the backstreets. But as was expected, Kreo didn’t stop. He wanted to change his reality, and change the injustices that he had lived through; despising the hierarchy, the abuse, the fact that you were well off depending on where and with which family you were born into. Despising the wealthy, despising the magic-born, despising them all. To change it, one needed to be at the top, and with blood and pain and sacrifice, Kreo got there, losing more and more of his morale as he clawed his way up.
The Black Wolf overthrew the Duke in charge of Smalbruk and found himself with an army and a legitimate position. He became a threat to the King and Queen of the human Kingdom (Gilgoreth) who, alarmed that a significant part of their land was taken, sent armies to destroy this so called ‘rising king’. But Kreo was clever, using his location and strategical skills to defeat them and overthrow the monarchy. This was partly because many joined him, out of fright, out of respect, or out of anger – wanting things to change. But his wit, passion and very presence grew known – he was feared, and few tried to stop him. And so, Kreo Ardewulf conquered the human kingdom, the first of many to come. This was a turning point in his story, wherein slaughtering the king, making a crown from his bones that he placed atop his head, and sitting on his new throne, made him King Umber. At this point, Kreo had long disappeared. He was no longer fighting for change, blinded by his greed and position. He grew bloodthirsty and merciless, killing as he pleased and plotting only to gain more power. He was Umber, the tyrant. And be felt on top of the world, addicted to the wealth and the control, confident and hungry for more. For the next decade or so, he invaded Unitaris bit by bit, spreading his darkness in each of the lands. His first loss came with the Elves. Trying to invade Tillursir proved difficult, and Kreo, or Umber, was leading his armies and had gotten gravely injured – brutal scars running down his face and perhaps the greatest scars of all forming on his black heart.
It was the first time he had ever felt weak, and the fury that he omitted was unbelievable, flying into a red rage, a killing spree which cost him half a battalion. After calming down, he retreated almost entirely and nobody saw or heard from him for a week as he undertook a transformation. Lord Umber, as he was known then, adopted an entirely different demeanour. He emerged ever-hateful, but now cold like ice and as sharp and silent as the deadliest weapon. No longer did her wear bulky, flashy armour, nor his crown of bones. He was seen only in sleek black, smooth and sharp and efficient. A mask covered his entire face, his scars and eyes especially. He had lost his humanity entirely and did not look or act like one, his ominous silences and very presence putting even his most loyal soldiers on edge. Umber sought out the black demons of old and traded his soul for the ability to perform dark magic, knowing it would be the only way to defeat the elves of Tillursir. Thanks to this, he stopped ageing and became immortal. After little training, he was so powerful, that he succeeded in doing so easily. He did not revel in his new-found power or victory, however. It was simply something he had to do, and he did.
One spell was at the very top of Umber’s list, one that was complex and required a lot of energy, one that would aid him so greatly, that it would change the course of the entire war. And one, it so happens, that he was unable to master. Trying it out on a few of his soldiers worked marvellously yes, but it was impossible for him to do at the scale he needed. He needed armies totally and completely under his control. Around this time, he found Lesedi and saw an opportunity within her raw, untapped powers. Umber trained her and grew attached to the young mage, seeing himself in her – seeing Kreo. She brought out his more human side and reminded him of his original goal to fight the injustice. After she grew strong enough, she was able to perform the spell he needed and helped him transform his army into the loyal creatures of darkness, known to most as The Taken.
Kreo kept taking Unitaris for a period of time, squashing any rebellions that arose here and there, but internally, he felt strained, as if his moral compass was trying to fix itself. He pushed any such feelings down, refocusing with a mind of steel and continuing his wall on the path of shadow. The last great kingdom that he had to take was Nebedemer, the land of the fae. The two greats fought with one another continuously, and in the first battle, Lesedi’s (or as she was known then, Vespera) sister Dara infiltrated Umber’s castle and fought with him and her sister. This part is explained in more detail in their character profiles, but Lesedi realised what she was doing was wrong and rejoined with her sister to fight against Umber instead of with him. Losing her almost crushed Umber, and he not only felt angry at the loss, he no longer had his powerful mage, but also incredibly pained that he had lost the one person who he felt understood him, and understood what he had gone through.
In the final battle that he would ever partake in, the fae rallied any free Unitarians as well as their own and launched a massive onslaught on Umber and his forces. At this point, he was spent and realised that he had lost his way, not really changing anything, but falling into the temptation of power and reinforcing the hierarchy he wanted to destroy. He lost against his student Lesedi, who tried to save him after defeating him. After telling her to never forget her worth and to fight against the identity others placed on her, he gave her the last of his powers, thus rendering his trade with the black demons useless and dying in Lesedi’s arms. In his last moments, he was Kreo, through and through, with no mask covering his face and no hate clouding his heart. He had only one regret as his student’s crying face faded into black, that he let the umbra take him under, not being able to succeed for his young self, and for her.
Gender Representation
I created a female iteration of Kreo ‘Kerris’ and chose to showcase negative female representation in fantasy and follow up from my research on gender representation in the media. My drawing shows a classic female fantasy warrior in mobile MMO’s and other fantasy video games, who are over-sexualised to fit the male gaze, in order to draw in more of an audience. I want to break the stimulus that surrounds this type of design and I have made sure to design all of my female characters in a realistic way so that they are relatable and human. So, here is the negative female version of Kreo and some examples to showcase that this is still seen in fantasy:
Examples
My Design
As can be seen, her body is disproportionate and unrealistic, with a tiny waist, a big but and big breasts. She is tall, slender and curvy at the same time and wouldn’t be able to fight in battle with that sort of body type due to uneven weight distribution – these choices are made purely for appearance. The armour is also incredibly revealing and impractical; the design focuses on enhancing certain areas of her body (like the chest, stomach and thighs) instead of protection, which is the whole purpose of wearing armour in the first place. In a real battle, this ‘armour’ wouldn’t do anything, and the warrior would be hit continuously and end up gravely injured/dead. These design choices make it extremely hard for the audience to understand and sympathise with the character because they don’t feel human, but rather an object designed to perfection. Realistic characters make practical, logical choices, look like humans and are flawed, which makes them relatable and therefore interesting. And whilst it was interesting to think about what kind of villain Kreo would be as ‘Kerris’, or even a villain at all, considering that his experiences would be quite different if he was born female, most likely worse, I can confidently say that I would never design him in this format. The concept art here is to show the negative case scenario, and in reality, I would make sure Kerris is not so artificial and illogical. Ultimately, I made my decision to stick with having Kreo as a male because a female villain lashing out at society for being cruel towards her based on her position and gender would most likely be received incredibly positively, and most of the audience would sympathise and love Kerris, rooting for her instead of for the heroes. This would reinforce the negative behaviour that she would exhibit, like misusing power and cast a negative impression on the younger viewers as well as the strugglers, who would be influenced to either take up or continue making bad choices and living life in a harmful way. It would also cause problems later down the line when Kerris kills herself as people would be infuriated that she didn’t reach her goal. My goal is to have a villain that is morally grey; a character, who the audience empathises with but also disagrees with them and their decisions, as I feel that those villains are most interesting, but in Kerris’s case, this wouldn’t happen, and I think the audience would completely root for her, which would ruin the flow of the story as mentioned already.
Folk Art
I thought it would be interesting to portray Kreo in a different art style – folk art. Prior to this, I did some research on culture and folk art and I am now going to talk about how I applied this to my character. Folk art is a form of cultural and identity expression and whilst usually decorative, the art can serve a number of purposes ranging from holding a bouquet of flowers to explaining important rituals and the afterlife. I chose to replicate the folk art of Mexican culture, which may seem unusual given that Kreo is not Mexican. The reason behind this is because Mexican folk art involves a lot of skulls, which are generally depicted in a neutral/positive/decoration manner but retain their representation of death, which I found quite fascinating. I began to think about how this could be turned on its head, and how in a fictional world where there has been so much suffering and death surrounding magic, this would be expressed differently. Here is my inspiration:
Some of the things I noted were the bright colours, bold patterns, simple line-work and close attention to the details. The folk art is simultaneously simple and complex, and every piece has a lot to be absorbed, with a lot of nature being used as an addition to the foreground and background. The use of primary colours is quite common and makes each piece stand out greatly, especially those with lots of contrast such as the portraits of Frida Kahlo. I really love the vibrancy and pattern work, which is seen to be again, both simple and intricate, creating a unique style that can be added to a portrait quite well. Here is how I applied this style with a portrait of young Kreo:
As you can see, I tried to use vibrant colours, mainly primary, and draw Kreo in somewhat of a similar style as the people portrayed in Mexican Folk Art. The piece represents Kreo being tempted by the darkness, which in its physical manifestation, is the skull, and is both the hate growing in his heart and the shadow dominant in the social structure of Unitaris. To depict this, I added the traditional pattern work and bright colours to Kreo’s colours, whilst for the skull, I used a lot more desaturated colours, with only a few pops of red and yellow. The purple, which isn’t a primary colour, is to show how natural and powerful the darkness is, and the use of black and grey also shows this, reinforcing the connotation of evil, and foreshadowing Kreo’s trade with the black demons. On the right side, there is a long line of intercrossing diamonds with circular patterns on top, which reflects the chains that await Kreo’s future (him being trapped by his actions and bloodlust). They haven’t reached him quite yet, but we can tell that this will happen soon because of the ominous sign of him reaching toward the skull. We can also tell that he is destined for this because of the positioning of the skull; it is in the middle of the canvas but is behind Kreo, not in front, like a whisper, or shadow. I have done this to show that the darkness has influence over Kreo, but ultimately, he is the one that becomes it and steps into the power through his own will, becoming Lord Umber and sealing his fate. Some things which I feel I could have done better are the background, face and linework. I would have liked to have a solid colour, or pattern throughout the whole background, as this way it feels more finished. I also wish that I drew Kreo to the bottom, as both of these aspects are key to Mexican Folk Art. Another prominent feature in their art is the bold, thick line work, which as can be seen, isn’t present in mine. Kreo’s outline is too thin and delicate. Finally, I wish I had drawn the face with some more accuracy; the nose should be straighter and the features slightly more symmetrical. I feel that these things would have created a great difference in the quality of the piece, and its likeness to true Mexican Folk Art.
Concept Art
When actually designing Kreo Ardewulf, I already had an idea of what he would look like, based on my concept and what I needed from the antagonist of the show. But, he did go through quite a bit of development from the initial design. Firstly, however, I need to find inspiration and references, for which I went to Pinterest. The mood board consists of a lot of typical ‘dark lord’ designs, from which I can draw inspiration, and take the aspects which I like. There are a lot of dark and shadowy motifs, as well as firey elements, which I think fit Kreo’s aesthetic perfectly.
Using the images as inspiration, I started drawing some rough sketches of what Kreo might look like. I wanted to draw him as a little boy, hence the pictures of the kids in peasant clothing, as a king in his prime, which was heavily inspired by the very most bottom left image, and finally, as Lord Umber, the dark mastermind completely overtaken by evil.
As an overall initial design, I’d say that this artwork isn’t too bad. It depicts the tone/mood I want surrounding Kreo and shows him in the three most important stages in his life. I went quite simple for him as a child, drawing him simply in a ragged cloak to show the extent of his situation in terms of poverty. This is the period where he is weak and beaten down constantly, and it is what shapes him as the merciless lord we see in most of the series. When I was designing him as a new King, the ‘crown of bones’ idea came to me and I really liked the message it conveyed atop his head (someone who is willing to do anything to rise and has no guilt), so it stuck. I admit that I struggled a lot with his dark overlord design, because I generally don’t draw those kinds of characters, and I was unfamiliar with designing the armour, clothing and props. This is why the drawing is so loose and messy, and a lot of the details aren’t really clear, but I believe that it is a good starting point for an evil character that can be built upon. The whole appearance is definitely inspired by ‘Sauron’ from Lord of the Rings, but I quite like the pose, and littered skulls, which make him look incredibly intimidating. The design of the sword also changed a lot, but I came to really like the angular shape and spiky edges, which really reflect Kreo as a whole. The diamond shape also became very significant and is now the symbol that Lord Umber uses to display his power.
When I later came back to his designs and started properly anew, I made quite a lot of changes and really thought out his appearance, based on his personality and values at certain stages in his life.
Once again, I have Kreo as a young boy and him at the start of his era, the rising king who wins battle after battle, except this time I went full scale with them both to really showcase his development. I liked the cloak for his ‘peasant’ clothing because it reflects how he feels in society, a nobody that has to hide in order to protect himself. The cloak, being dark, also symbolises his gift for using the darkness and shadows, which aided him when nobody else did, and provided comfort, in being powerful and never needing to hide again (at least, that is what he believed, when in actuality, he was only more dependant on the power and darkness, and created chains for himself that enslaved him to it). The torn rags peeking underneath reinforce his pitiful life is at that point, and the miserable expression shows how unhappy and lost he feels. To his right, however, we see an utterly different version of Kreo Aredwulf, here becoming ‘King Umber’. He is no longer wrapped in a ragged cloak but stands tall and proud in threatening battle armour, leading his army away from the bloody fields where victory was secured. His crown of the previous King’s throne ensures that all know his status and power, and he is proud of himself, and quite arrogant in this period of time, thanks to his winning streak. I made sure that this translated through his body language and clothing, from the raised fist to the showoff armour which flaunts his position. I also drew his two swords, to show the difference that he undertakes. The smaller one ‘Vendezza’ helped secure his title as king, but only turning to dark magic and receiving the larger, terrifying ‘Satan’s Oath’ did he become an overlord. Its larger size, extra spikes and diamonds, contrast with the simplicity of Kreo’s first sword, and in a way, mirrors his transformation into the merciless dark one. The second diamond also looks like an eye, which originally, was going to represent an ability that the sword gifted him, to see into the future, but I thought that this was a little unnecessary, so I removed it, and now it simply represents how he is so powerful, the dark magic that lives through him is almost omnipresent.
Here we have ‘Lord Umber’ or Kreo in the final stage of his life, where he is completely consumed by darkness. Since it was after his first loss against the elves, he looks entirely different from the overconfident king we saw on the last page; his armour now looks sleek and more simplistic, which is not only because Lord Umber doesn’t need to show off his power, as is reputation is well-known throughout Unitaris, but also because he is no longer as threatened in battle, with his immense power thanks to learning dark magic and doesn’t need as much protection because of it. The smooth black also represents his mindset and personality, perfectly evil. I think that the spiky shoulder ringlets and the spikes on his mask really add to the silhouette of his character, and make it perfectly clear that he is someone to be afraid of, and of course, his symbol, the diamond, which is semiotic for the evil and dark magic, is relevant throughout the sketch. An aspect that I think is absolutely key to the design, however, is the mask because it tells a lot about Umber to the audience. Firstly, it covers his entire face and hides his scars and eyes, which are the main features that show he is human underneath, as everyone experiences losses and has flaws, and the eyes are the window to the soul. The fact that he wants to hide these things tells us that he is still that vulnerable child deep inside which turns to the darkness for protection. He is still in fact, trapped by his childhood trauma and the decisions he made to deal with it, which didn’t work and even reaching this position of enormous power, which is so vastly different from where he was as a child, hasn’t solved his problems. This is because he hasn’t actually done what he sought out to do in the beginning; break the injustices and stop anyone else from suffering the way he has, he has only gotten lost to power and greed, falling into the trap of the hierarchy and becoming a part of it instead of going against it. Of course, in the end, he realises this and feels great sorrow for his mistake and for the way he lived out his life and used his position when the mask came off and the true Kreo was revealed.
Now we get to the final design. I actually started this before some of the concept art above, and it is why the very first sketches look unfinished and very different to Kreo’s actual final design. But, once I had some proper concept art to fall back on, I redrew the final piece.
The sketches here aren’t bad per se, but I hadn’t really outlined what Kreo was really going to look like and I was ‘winging it’ for most of the design, using the mood board for references for the clothing. For this reason, I don’t think it truly reflects Kreo – it looks strange as if the character doesn’t have a clear body type and the linework is too dainty. He could easily be the reluctant villain or even the hero at a stretch when he really ought to be the true villain. of course, it is also unfinished as I didn’t want to come back to it without first building some more concept artwork. Without further ado, here is the final design for one of the main characters in Age of Umbra, Kreo Ardewulf/Lord Umber:
I am really pleased with this piece and with how Kreo looks overall. I think the silhouette, position and colour palette, all give a really villainous impression. I put the colour palette on the side, in a line of diamonds as this works with his design and symbol. I took heavy inspiration from my mood board, which has a lot of dark and red colours because this combination reminds me of the fires of mount doom and Sauron from Lord of the Rings, which I think sets the standard for classic fantasy, but also because the colours together are quite jarring and bold. Most of the armour and cloak is grey and black, like his soul and magic. The darkness reminds the audience that he is the lord of shadow, the almighty Umber who is dangerous and horrifying; the creature, not man, that killed and enslaved millions and brought about the age of death. I added accents and highlights of red throughout his design because of the connotations of blood, sacrifice and fire, which showcase the things that Kreo had to go through to get to where he is, and the things he inflicts on others because of it. As for the sword, I thought a lot about what colour I should choose for it – silver was the obvious choice, as it works with the rest of the armour and contrasts with the black bottom half but I felt that it was too conventional and commonly seen with most swords. Bronze seems like an odd choice, but I knew that gold would be far too flashy and not ‘Kreo’, as well as contrasting too greatly with the rest of his appearance, and this brown colour works the best because it is within the ‘red’ family. I also really liked the idea of the lord having a sword that didn’t look like anything particularly special (in terms of wealth) but still being known and feared across the whole island because of its power and the hand that wields it.
Genre Conventions
My character obviously fits the role of the ‘villain’ in the fantasy story, as he is an inherent threat to the heroes and Unitarians and commits serious crimes in his climb for power. Within this role, I’d say his appearance is most conventional, with the sharp edges of the silhouette, dark colours, mask and sword that are quite often seen in villain designs. I did this to make it abundantly clear who the villain was and to show that what Kreo is doing is wrong, however, it also shows his development throughout the story, as this final stage in his life is the darkest, and most different from his original goal. What is a little unconventional is his behaviour – not the murder, invasion, and thirst for power, that is commonly seen, but rather, his cold and mostly quiet demeanour. Most villains, when threatening the heroes especially, openly express their hate. They bark commands and show anger by yelling, and killing, which was Kreo at some point, but he is essentially the opposite, preferring to analyse his opponents if they are strong enough to fight him for a prolonged period, which often, they are not, and force fidelity from his soldiers through magic, not simply fear. He is ominous and mysterious, like a shadow, which I feel isn’t seen too much in fantasy media because it is hard to discern a character when they are mostly withdrawn, but that is why Lesedi is so crucial to the story, as she brings forth the more human and open side of Kreo. The reason I went with a different path for his personality, is because it fits in with his story and shows the audience that he has lost his humanity. One could also say that in some ways, Kreo is the reluctant villain as well, as when teaching Lesedi, he is reminded of his original goal, and human feelings stir, such as sympathy and remorse, and these make him conflicted when continuing his reign, but he ignores them for as long as possible. Some other conventions he fits into is living in an evil fortress in a dead region (nature-wise), which is a very classic villain trope that I wanted to keep to show his status (being a lord, he can afford to live in a luxurious, but evil castle), having evil minions/followers (his army of the taken ones) and following the classic story of growing stronger and gaining more power. Again, there is a reason for all of these conventions if you look at Kreo’s backstory, and I feel that given his past and reasoning, it wouldn’t be annoying to see these things again because that audience really understands how Lord Umber came to be.
Target Audience
Copied from my post about my target audience:
My target demographic is straight males between the ages of 18 and 28 who are in a relationship and are either in university or in full-time employment. As for the psychographic segment that best applies, I say strugglers.
I explain why in the post as well as going slightly into why this demographic would relate with Kreo, which I will add to here. Firstly, Kreo being a male has some level of resonance and relation with my audience, being mostly male, but of course, his story is not exclusive to females and I feel that anyone would be able to relate to him and his experiences. The age range is also that of Kreo, and I think those 20 and above would relate especially, knowing how it is to climb the ranks of a job for example and try to gain more of a status/power, which would be money in real life. But the most important part is the psychographics of my audience: strugglers. I feel that strugglers would relate to and benefit from my show mostly because the themes reflect the struggles they have experienced throughout their lives and the messages that I want to portray are crucial to helping them understand that things could be better. Kreo is the most essential character for this purpose, as his story encompasses the problems with being born into a circumstance that is entirely out of your control, and paying the price for it. The need for change drives him forward, and whilst it picks him up off the floor, the negative feelings and fears he carries with him create anger, fear and hate, and cause him to turn towards a dark path and making bad decisions, which again, is a state which I feel that many strugglers would resonate to. In the end, him realising that his decisions ruined his life and didn’t change anything, teaching us that everything that stems form hate (violence, crime, murder etc.) does not help you achieve, and does not secure you a better place in life. I think it is important for strugglers to see Kreo’s story so that they know what happens when you become lost to greed and bloodshed, and so that they can understand that fighting for yourself, and for change is important, but if it is not done right, can only lead to more suffering. There is also the world overall, which I feel could teach many messages to strugglers, and other psychographic segments too, because of its state, marked by history, such as the importance of being kind to others, as viewing them as equal despite difference, as appreciating everything you have and such as understanding what true unity is, and one instance of how it is broken. Given the state of the world, such messages are incredibly important, but for them to really, emotionally hit my target audience’s age range, they need to be presented in a raw and horrific way, because that is the only way to see their impact in the real world. That is why there is a dark aesthetic, that is why there is death and heavy themes because they reflect our world, but in a fictional format. I am hoping that a change in perspective can help reinforce these messages, which the fantastical world can provide.
Updated Final Version:
See Target Audience Primary Research for more info on this.