Characters

For my project, I want to create three characters. Following on my idea of using the Arthurian legend as a base, these will be Guinevere, King Arthur and Merlin (as depicted below).

Throughout the years, the Arthurian legend has changed many times, plus the numerous amounts of speculation about the character's origins and backgrounds. An example of these speculations is about Morgan le Fay/Morgana, Arthur's supposed sister. Some stories say that she was Arthur's protector, whilst others say she assisted in his downfall.

The most famous of the Arthurian stories is written by Welsh cleric, Geoffrey of Monmouth.

As there are so many versions of the stories of Arthur and his fellows, I will be basing this research on what I already know and the most notable depictions, particularly that of Geoffrey of Monmouth.

Another key writer of the Arthurian was French poet Chrétien de Troyes who added Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail and began the romance within the legend.

King Arthur Pendragon

The main character of the Arthurian legend is of course, King Arthur himself. Within the legend, he was the king of Celtic Briton and Camelot. He is most famed for pulling the legendary sword Excalibur from a stone, for forming the Knights of the Round Table and unified the Britons. 

He was son of Uther Pendragon, who is seen as a legend in his own right, and Igraine. A lot of stories have been said about his birth, the most famous being that he was conceived at Tintagel in Cornwall. After the death of both his parents, he rose to become king of Camelot. After becoming king, he began to unify the Britons with magician Merlin and Knights of the Round Table. 

For his character, I wish to have him as the most mechanical looking. Arthur will be the largest of the characters as to show off his power as a great legendary king. I am hoping to have him placed on a mechanical horse. 

Merlin

Merlin is a mystical character among those within the Arthurian legend. He is typically depicted as a wizard who helps Arthur to unify the Britons. 

It's said that he was born from a mortal woman and an incubus, from whom he inherits it's magical powers. 

A lot of stories about Merlin mostly state that he was Arthur's mentor or advisor. Some stories even say that he is the reason Arthur was conceived through his use of magic - by disguising Uther, allowing him to enter Tintagel Castle and father his son with his enemy's wife Igraine. 

There are a lot of other tales about Merlin, including how he was the reason that Stonehenge was created.

Out of the three characters that I want to create, Merlin will be in the middle in regards to how robotic he'll look. Being in the middle will mean he will have both aspects of being robotic but still having a more "human" appearance. This may mean that he'll be the hardest one for me to model but I want to try nevertheless. 

Guinevere

Guinevere is queen and wife of King Arthur. Like Arthur, she has many stories that have been created throughout history, the most famous being that of Geoffrey and Chrétien.

In Geoffrey's story, she was used by Mordred (supposedly Arthur's nephew and also his downfall) during his rebellion against the famous king. Whilst in Chrétien's version, she had a love affair with Lancelot which indirectly caused Arthur's downfall and death.

For Guinevere, she will be the most human-like. This will allow me to give her a more feminine appearance as I will be able to use a more curved design. It will also allow me to display more contrast from the more robotic appearance of the Arthur character.