Art samples and the three inspirations behind DISHONORED

So there are basically three major sources of inspiration here, in terms of the world and character designs.

The first and most obvious is medieval Japan. This plays a big influence on costumes, culture, and obviously the setting for the stories in the Dishonored series. Japan itself, as it actually was centuries ago, is not the actual setting of the book. Instead, I went for a more stylized and “alternate history” version of the Island group. This gives me the freedom to play around with topography and the map while retaining the basic spirit of the landscape.

The other big influence is Irish Mythology. I love the idea of taking certain characters and stories that really haven’t been explored too much in modern tales and transposing them into a completely different environment and culture, and seeing how they clash.

There are some great elements in Irish Mythology, such as the headless riders called Dullahan, the one-eyed demon called Balor, and the battles recorded in Cath Maige Tuired. So far I’m liking how these two different worlds are interacting.

Finally, I can’t escape the Tolkien influences, nor can just about any writer of Fantasy. Anytime wizards, dragons, or other creatures of traditional myth and fantasy are referenced, the mind always goes back to how they were conceived in the world of Middle Earth. Writers either swim with or against that stream and I prefer to swim with it as much as possible.

Here are three pieces of art that convey the three major influences in the story…

The first is an elderly wizard named Bakshi. Readers of my Kingdom of Arthur stories will know that name, but there’s no (direct) relation to worry about between this character and the one who appeared in a few of the Arthur books.

The second is one of the headless riders of Irish legend, known as the Dullahan. They play a key role as minions of the story’s big bad, providing more than a few great moments of terror for our heroes, with their eyes of emerald that glow in the dark, seeking their prey.

Finally, there’s Urimashi, one of the heroes of the story. I included him here because he highlights the strong Feudal Japanese aesthetic that permeates the story. He’s older than many of the other heroes, a bit more set in his ways, but still fiercely loyal to the quest at hand and to his companions. I haven’t written him yet (he doesn’t appear until several chapters into the story) but I’m looking forward to digging into his personality.

So that’s it, the three major influences shaping this Dishonored story. Other influences are going to determine the tone and style of later entries in this series, but many of the same Japanese influences will always remain. I can’t wait to finish the trio of tales I have prepared.