Revisiting My Old Character Concepts from 7 years ago.

I used to want to be a concept artist for a major video game studio.

I would spend hours studying human anatomy, watching my favorite artists share their trade secrets on YouTube, and—of course—drawing nonstop to fill my sketchbooks.

Actually, wait… hold on. Let me back up for a second.

It Started with a DnD Conversation

This all started when I was talking with my son about Dungeons & Dragons characters. He told me about his druid and all the cool things that made his character unique. Then he asked me what my DnD character would be like.

I’ve always loved playing the support or healer class in games, and my mind immediately jumped to a character I made about 20 years ago...

Ressian—or something like that.

Eventually, I flipped through an old sketchbook to find the character and show him.

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Meet Ressian

Ressian is a member of the Hand of the Desert Rose, a nomadic religious group that roams the barren deserts of their world, offering healing and protection to those in need. He can use healing magic and create light barriers by singing.

As I showed my son the sketch, I kept flipping through the pages. These old ideas and characters almost begging me to continue, and so I just kept flipping the pages. These old ideas and concepts calling me.

Sketchbook Time Capsule

I found old names and concepts like:

Thri Tan'los	Pi	<3
Bawk Bawk and E	Pi	<3
Sarah	E	<3

I filled this and many other sketchbooks about seven years ago.
Wow.

Another big influence during that time came rushing back to me too: Icons: Combat Arena.

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My Fan Concepts for Icons: Combat Arena

Just an Icon Livin'

Combatants

Space Llama

I used to make my own Icons character concepts. Some were guesses based on developer hints. Others, like Combat Lad, were just fun spins based on inside jokes from the community.

Honestly, I think that year was the most growth I saw in myself as an artist.

After taking a long break from art, I feel like I’ve regressed a bit since those days. But flipping through these old pages? It reminded me of how much I used to pour into this stuff.

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Combat Lad

Combat Lad Concepts

Combat Lad Concepts

Combat Lad Concepts

Instead of lightning and electricity like Ashani (his in-game counterpart), Combat Lad was powered by magma.

Most of his power came from his right arm. He had volcano-like vents that billowed smoke from his shoulder. I thought the design was a solid iteration based on Ashani’s combat armor—especially for where I was at skill-wise back then.

I was really proud of this one.

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My Take on Essie

Ez

Ez

Ez

This was my guess at the Icons witch character Essie, before she was officially announced.

At the time, we knew she was from a spooky stage, so I ran with that. 

I figured she’d float or glide (since the game didn’t have that mechanic yet). She’d be a ranged magic-user. I imagined her with more childlike proportions since that silhouette was under represented. And I had to lean into the space animal theme—there was only one in the game at the time, and we needed more!

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Where I’m At Now

While I’m no longer chasing the dream of becoming a famous concept artist at a big-name studio, I am focused on telling stories through art in a way that matters to me.

Right now, that means going full speed ahead on the Middle School Class Rep project.

But who knows what the future holds?

Maybe one day, Ressian will get to tell his story too.

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Want More?

I might do a deeper dive into some of my older sketchbooks one day—if that’s something you guys and gals would be into, let me know!