We’re back with another Art post today. If you didn’t notice the scary looming figure in the key art (first of all, how?), she’s the Crone, or as we like to call her locally: Baba!
Here are some of Baba’s concepts, which we took in some weird directions. We had her looking kind, monstrous or even wildly strange. We wanted her to seem menacing at first sight but, the more you get to know her, the more you see her comical and weirdly nice side.
We had to pin down the legendary apron and headscarf combo out of respect for every Balkan grandma. We also asked, „Should she even be human?” Some concepts have bird legs, antlers or even branches growing out of her hair, tying her to the forest.
No matter what her form, she’ll tell your tale as you cast your dice. Here’s the one we chose for now.
Other characters we showcased this month include the Polevik and Swargling. Now, a bit of a heads up… Old Balkan and Slavic folklore was often told orally through generations, so details got dropped over the years. The Polevik is often described as “Hair of straw, 2 different colored eyes and wearing white or black” you can see how we took artistic freedom with this, so it isn’t just a scary monster, but something more interesting.
Same goes for the Swargling, described only as “being woolly like a sheep, dirty and having horns” so we made it look like a wild creature some of you might even want to adopt. The summer harvest is a clear inspiration for the biome and its inhabitants with all the crops and flowers.
Hope you enjoyed this quick overview. Wanna keep in touch with us? Well, make your way over to our Discord. Over there you can ask any questions you might have about the artistic direction of the game. And please Wishlist the game here on Steam!