An Inspirational Concept Artist 6 - Levi Hopkins, Dorian Progression

Guild Wars 2 is a game in development that I am currently anticipating. I decided I would carry out some research on the concept artist behind the game, given that some of my favourite names in the games industry are behind it already; for example, several members of Blizzard broke away and formed the company that produced Guild Wars; and Jeremy Soule is producing the soundtrack, who also did work for the Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Oblivion series - all of which have been rated well.

Levi Hopkins produced artwork for Guild Wars 2 and I now find myself even more knowledgeable in the varieties of landscapes and areas I may come across when I come to play the actual game; the environments are well portrayed and there is a good mix of light and shadow in the picture that sets a dark atmosphere.

I especially like the landscape painting above because of the angle of the shot and the depiction of an almost pastoral scene, and how the river in the landscape is portrayed with only a few lines and a fine mist works well with the rest of the drawing because of the distance, and the birds flying through the air bring the scene to life.


My progression on my self-created character Dorian Dolosus is progressing well still and I have made further developments and improvements to the character. I thought I would share some of the background from my character sheet that I produced as the original, first concept. Not much has changed from my first and earliest descriptions and ideas of Dorian,  but it has been refined and perfected.

Family Background Dorian had one brother and one sister. His mother died at childbirth. His brother, Chaser, was framed by Dorian for practicing dark magic – as the older brother he was due to inherit the Dolosus family fortune instead of him. Dorian had his father poisoned and had a member of the royal family framed as the poisoner assassin. As head of the family in absence of his father, Dorian had his sister married off to a prince in order to be more private and get a step closer to the Royal Family. Dorian then founded a secret cult that publicly disgraced and mock the Royal Family by exposing scandals and secrets and that they should find a new leader, which prompted the War of the Pure. In this war, Dorian became a war hero and the public’s opinion of him rose to unprecedented heights. In the public eye Dorian is a successful entrepreneur, sponsor, businessmen, nobleman, mage and professor, as well as an extension of the Royal Family and officially 15th in line to the throne. On the inside, he endorses smuggling, illegal goods trading, and gambling and underground combat, all of which he makes a profit on, which he uses to secretly shame the Royal Family and attempt to have them ousted, then claim the throne for himself. King Gavarian still rules, but he is older and feeble. The advisors and the noble families mostly run the kingdom, and the empire. A plague had taken place during Dorian’s childhood where the population of the kingdom declined significantly. England is the centre of the Capital England Empire, a semi-fantasy, victorian-esque setting era. The War of the Pure occurred when Dorian was around 27, and lasted around 4 years. Dorian emerged a hero and returned home to a welcome reception as one of the few nobles to have personally fought, and lived, through the war. He resides in his castle-estate, a historic building called Ferenhouse, which was previously a school for magic. Dorian runs his own magic lessons as a publicity stunt and as a legal way of being able to use magic, given most of the time it is illegal. What is their Goal? Their plan to achieve Goal Achieve the throne to the Empire by deceiving the public and ousting the Royal Family through exposing their scandals through his secret cult, both real and framed, and put himself on the throne through shaming the Royal Family. Dorian already had a member of the Royal Family ‘poison’ his father, which made it seem as if the Family struck the first blow. The public may have doubted, so Dorian- as if patriotic, fought in the War of the Pure. The opinion of him rose significantly as he became a war hero and the people of England whispered about him becoming their new King. Dorian has a plan that will take two years that will put him on the throne through a series of framings, blackmails and assassinations that will degrade the opinion of the Royal Family so much so that they will be forced to resign.