Unlike my previous books, where there was sizable effort to produce support artwork as part of the world-building process, the development of The Fifth Era of Man took on a more minimalist approach. While there are no character illustrations, a small batch of sketches were created for some of the armor and weaponry found in the story.
As you can tell from the illustrations below, there was a concerted effort towards Roman and Egyptian influences in the designs.
"Standing before them was the effigy of a man in bronze and iron. While the limbs appeared to be modeled after the human form, with mock musculature and bone structure, the bulky chest was layered in segmented metal plates and topped with curved spaulders of steel. Except for light from behind the eye slits, there was no sign of life in the galea-shaped cranial unit."
-- The Fifth Era of Man, Ch. 16
Raw Sketch: Masina
Ink, marker, color pencil on paper.
"Mounted to the stage were four identical alcoves. Within each tube of stone and steel stood ancient mechanical constructs fashioned in the likeness of man. Just over seven feet in height, the statue-like machines were layered in bulky segmented plates, like a pill bug molded from hammered bronze. Their exteriors were tarnished and coated in a dense layer of dust from ages of disuse. Between the sections of armor was a complex series of gears interlinked to a skeleton of metal rods. Mounted atop each torso was a head, cast in the fearsome visage of a falcon topped with a pschent of gold. The backwards-swept crown of feathers was molded from oval strips of iridescent brass."
-- The Fifth Era of Man, Ch. 15
Raw Sketch: Ala’ydin Golem
Ink, marker, color pencil on paper.
Raw Sketch: The Helmet of Raxus
Ink, marker, color pencil on paper.
Raw Sketch: Cal's Revolver
Ink, marker, color pencil on paper.
Raw Sketch: Apello's Khukuri
Ink, marker, color pencil on paper.
