Project Scope

Illustration

Character Design

Concept Art

Role

Independent Artist

Timeline

2 months

Loraes Hawthorne is a character concept built around the duality between nature and humanity, life and death, and nurture and decay. The design explores the idea that death is not inherently malevolent, but rather a necessary and compassionate force within the natural cycle of life.

Visually, Loraes blends rural agricultural imagery with occult symbolism to communicate this philosophy. His tools, clothing, and silhouette are intentionally grounded in pastoral workwear, while subtle magical elements suggest a deeper connection to forces beyond the visible world.

The character was designed with a focus on visual storytelling, silhouette clarity, and thematic symbolism, ensuring that both the narrative and the visual design reinforce one another.

Character Concept

Loraes Hawthorne is a blind druid bound to a parasitic entity (known as Death), forcing him to navigate the tension between preserving life and wielding necromantic power. His design explores themes of balance, corruption, and duality through both natural and macabre visual elements.

His blindness symbolizes the impartiality of death. Loraes does not judge those he encounters; death arrives equally for all. By removing sight from the character, the design reinforces the idea that he acts without bias or discrimination.

At the same time, Loraes embodies a philosophical take on druidism. While traditional druidic imagery often focuses on growth and vitality, this character emphasizes the other half of the natural cycle: decay, decomposition, and renewal through death. In this sense, Loraes represents the balance between opposing forces—life and death, growth and rot, cultivation and destruction.

Complicating this balance is his personal struggle: he is born with an inherent affinity for necromancy, yet he actively resists becoming a force of domination over death. Instead, he attempts to maintain equilibrium within the natural order, accepting death as natural part of life rather than exploiting it.

This arrangement of cards is called a spread. (This one is purely for inspiration purposes.)