Hello all!
My passion for medieval arms and armour and warfare has inspired me over the years to create art based on historical armor and personalities. I thought I might finally share some of my artwork. I had to reduce the sizes down from the originals; I hope they look alright. Feel free to copy any of my drawings, I just ask that you acknowledge me as the artist. I hope this isn't too far off the subject matter of this site. Enjoy! (And, please, let me know what you think of my work! Just remember that these are works of art, not technical drawings. I've tried to catch the spirit of the period rather than the specific details.)

---

 Attachment: 35.07 KB

15th century armour (compiled from various brasses).

 Attachment: 31.13 KB

Excalibur (was meant to be used as the picture on a bookmark).

 Attachment: 43.46 KB

St. George as a 14th century knight.

 Attachment: 31.14 KB

William Wallace as he might really have looked prior to the battle of Stirling Bridge (another bookmark).

 Attachment: 29.08 KB

King Richard I of England wading ashore at Jaffa (yet another bookmark).

 Attachment: 22.56 KB

King Arthur as a 13th century warrior-king (and yet another bookmark).

great attention to detail, like richard without leg armor. hope evoryone chatches that
good use of imagination too with george and arthur.

Hello all!
A note on my portrayal of King Richard I. I read in David Miller's Richard the Lionheart: the Mighty Crusader that Richard supposedly sloshed ashore at Jaffa wielding a sword in one hand and an arbalest (crossbow) in the other. I find this a little hard to believe, even considering the martial might of the Lionhearted king. I have also read in other books that Richard was fond of wielding a battle axe. I decided that an axe and shield would be a more feasible combination. The axe may look a bit 14th century rather than 12th, but I liked the design. And, yes, I doubt Richard wore mail chausses when he leapt over the side of the galley and marched through the surf!
By the way, the Miller book has an interesting chapter about medieval logistics. I found it informative.
I hope everyone finds my drawings interesting! I have a few more here. The helm is based on the helm with panache depicted in Charles Henry Ashdown's European Arms and Armor. Unlike some of my other drawings, which I drew by hand then coloured in on the computer (I used to colour them in by hand using coloured pencils), the helm was done solely on the computer.
Enjoy!

---

 Attachment: 38.61 KB

William the Conqueror.

 Attachment: 26.68 KB

Knight of the late 13th to early 14th century.

 Attachment: 30.5 KB

Helm with panache.

Nice work, Richard. You creative people make me feel inadequate :lol: .

Richard;

Yes I find seeing artwork made by people here interesting: Might even be interesting to have a Topic thread of artwork similar to the continuing E-Bay thread that is now into the high number of pages long, or a gallery of members artwork ?

Nice and clean designs. :cool: Oh, just a thought: Some of these could be made to look like leaded stainned glass windows!

The nice thing about computer graphics is that you can do and have both ( Or many versions )

Oh, what software did you use ?

Hi Richard
I enjoyed your artwork; very creative. Wish I could do the same.
With regards to the Richard the Lionheart sub-topic vis a vis wading ashore I too heard that he did so with no leg armour in place.
Terry Jones [the former Monty Python star and a bit of history lover / afficiando] did a TV series and book about the crusades and in it there was reference made to this bare legs wading event. Not sure what the actual original source was but it also alluded to the crusaders, once ashore, creating a shield wall by literally sticking the lower edge / point of their shields in the sand. I would surmise that this could have been to create a "wall" behind which crossbowmen and archers could have operated.

Again, thanks for sharing your artwork.

Hello all!
I want to first thank everyone that has taken a peek at my artwork, and everyone that has responded. It's a nice feeling to know that my work is appreciated! Thanks!

Jean Thibodeau wrote:

Quote:

Oh, just a thought: Some of these could be made to look like leaded stainned glass windows! Oh, what software did you use ?

Jean,
I like the idea about making some of my art look like stained glass! :D
I'll have to try that some time! :D
I scan my line drawings in using my Lexmark X125 scanner/printer/copier. I then edit the drawings in Microsoft Paint. I'm able to do any touch-up that needs to be done, and colour the pictures as well. The originals are saved as bitmap images; it uses a lot of memory, but I don't really lose quality that way. I reduced the pictures to a more manageable size and converted them to JPEG to post them here.

Bruno Giordan wrote:

Quote:

They look like late 19th century work, nice style.

Bruno,
Good eye! I didn't even realize that myself at first, but you're absolutely right! I have many books that have old drawings of knightly effigies, brasses, seals, and that sort of stuff. I especially find Medieval Arms and Armor: a Pictorial Archive by the renowned nineteenth-century cultural historian and medieval specialist, J. H. Hefner-Alteneck, Arms & Armor: a Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth-Century Sources selected by Carol belanger-Grafton, and European Arms and Armor by Charles Henry Ashdown to be useful when I'm researching details for my art. My artwork is all original, but I'm sure I've been subconsciously influenced by the many books I've perused over the years! Sometimes these older sources can be outdated, but the drawings of the brasses and effigies are especially nice, and depict some that have since been destroyed.

Malcolm A wrote:

Quote:

Terry Jones [the former Monty Python star and a bit of history lover / afficiando] did a TV series and book about the crusades and in it there was reference made to this bare legs wading event. Not sure what the actual original source was but it also alluded to the crusaders, once ashore, creating a shield wall by literally sticking the lower edge / point of their shields in the sand. I would surmise that this could have been to create a "wall" behind which crossbowmen and archers could have operated.

Malcolm,
David Miller's book Richard the Lionheart: the Mighty Crusader states that, once ashore at Jaffa, Richard ordered his men to gather wood and rubbish to build a palisade for a temporary base. He goes on to say that during the night of the Saracen counter-attack, Richard and his men donned their armor and stood in a small circle snarling "like the dogs of war" (grr!). Saladin's men refused to attack the mightiest warrior in Christendom!
Richard then ordered his men to deploy in three ranks. The first rank held "pikes" (probably ordinary infantry spears or cavalry lances at this period) with their points held level with a horse's chest and butts planted in the sand. The men of the second rank fired crossbows while the men of the third reloaded. I'm sure shields were a part of this formation, and the pointed bottom of the shields of the period would tend to stick in the sand.
In Richard the Lionheart by John Gillingham, perhaps the premier Richard I biographer, their is mention of the fact that the king left off his leg armour when he leapt off his red-painted royal galley. Gillingham also mentions the construction of a timber barricade, and the importance played by crossbowmen in the battle.
Unfortunately, the Osprey book The Third Crusade 1191 by David Nicolle doesn't really cover the Battle of Jaffa. However, it does go into great depth about the battle of Arsuf, and has some nice color plates by Christa Hook (one of my two favorite Osprey illustrators, Angus McBride being the other).
I also enjoyed the Terry Jones "Crusades" series. It might be controversial at times, but it's highly entertaining. Jones proved that an armoured man could indeed wade ashore at Jaffa!
Nobody should be made to feel inadequate by my artwork. Remember, we all have different talents. That's what makes an internet community such as this great; we all bring different skills, talents, knowledge, and ideas to the discussion!
Stay safe!

Hello all!
I'm posting a couple more pieces of my artwork. One portrays Sir Lancelot as a 14th century knight waging a pas d'armes. The other is for all those longbow afficionados out there. It depicts the most famous legendary longbowman, Robin Hood.
Enjoy!
(Hopefully, I'll get to work on a few more of my larger drawings soon. I have some that I never coloured in on the computer. Keep watching!)

---

 Attachment: 31.13 KB

Sir Lancelot as a 14th century knight.

 Attachment: 31.58 KB

Robin Hood

Hello all!
I've got two more pictures to share. I don't usually do "cute", but these were done just for fun. "Sir Richard" is depicted in some of the armour (coat-of-plates, splinted greaves, splinted vambraces and rerebraces) that I've made over the years. (The helmet and mail were purchased; I don't have time to make mail!)
By the way, "Sir Richard"'s image wasn't reversed; I'm a leftie!
This will definitely be it for a while, at least until I work on some more.
Enjoy!

---

 Attachment: 32.52 KB

"little knight"

 Attachment: 38.75 KB

"Sir Richard"