Mid-Week Lashunta Inspiration
The two statues are Ming Dynasty representations of Guan Yin. I'm a little less certain on the origin or reference with the live model, but I found it an intriguing comparison with the other two.
Having grown up and been inculcated in the Euro-American cultural paradigm, it's easy to forget there are strong cultural sources from all over the world. I find it important to look for inspiration in them.
#lashunta (Damaya) Inspiration
Artist is TheDurrrrian - deviantart
A couple things I like about this pic - aside from it being Wonder Woman (part of a series the artist did on medieval fantasy versions of DC Superheoes):
Her armor. No Cleavage. No Midriff. It's almost as if it was designed to protect instead of being ogled. To my mind, a Matriarchy doesn't waste their time waiting to be ogled. Instead, they kick your butt. That's how one stays in power. I really believe we need to agitate for a higher degree of verisimilitude in female fantasy armor.
I'm intrigued that she has a polearm. Having done medieval reenactment combat for 20 years, polearms don't need to be heavy, unwieldy things. They provide reach, and the force-multiplier one gets from have a blade on a 6-8ft haft means you don't need a heavy blade to ruin an enemy's day. With training, they are also fast!
Friday Night #lashunta Inspiration
Artist: Dawn Pu (artstation)
A few times, I've mentioned a Dauelaru - Elfyard, an architectural feature found in upscale Lashunta houses, based (at least in origin) on Elven aesthetics. Lashunta have gone through various periods where it has borrowed heavily from Elven culture, from art, cuisine, fashion, and even language.
A while back, I had a conversation with some folks about formal bathing in Lashunta society. As another benefit, maybe public bathing pools help with drainage on a world where it rains 90% of the time?
#lashunta Inspiration
Artist is Josh Norman (artstation)
One of the possibilities that fascinate me with a world like Castrovel is cryptotechnology, alien artifacts developed wholly differently than our understanding of science (or magic). This pic evokes those possibilities.
Taken from a series shot to show styles from the Khmer Empire of Cambodia.
This drew me, because for a long time I've been curious about armor styles in tropical environments. In hot temperatures, armor quickly turns into a brazing pan. Heat and dehydration can kill you faster than the enemy. Airflow is key (along with ready access to drinkable water, which becomes fuel!).
I would propose this as the likely upper limit for heavy armor in a fantasy tropical setting like #Castrovel Anything heavier will cook the wearer.
#Lashunta Inspirational Pic of the Week
Artist is Yvonne Clarinval (Salammbo Invoking the Moon, 1910)
This is a piece of historical romance, inspired by Gustave Flaubert's novel published in 1862. I find it intriguing because of the Art Nouveau style, the pose, and also because it deals with nature-centered worship, which is of course a major theme among Lashunta Religion.
It also occurs to me that much of Fantasy - be it High, Sword & Sorcery, or dare I say Planetary Romance - grew directly out of Nineteenth Century Historical Romance. Before we let our imaginations play wild among the stars or on different worlds, we first played in the past, such as this portrait, set in Carthage after the First Punic War was lost to Rome. Thus it is a tale inherent with tragedy, and as one would expect with Nineteenth Century Tragedy, along with paintings like this, there have been a few operas composed.