7 in 7: DAY 4 – The Herald

Pre Work Write Up:

The Herald

v Precedents and their themes:

• Professor Oak from Pokemon

1. Origin: Professor Oak is a Pokemon enthusiast who begisn the journeys in the games and gives the main character of the show, Ash, his first pokemon to begin the journey. He serves as a source of information on pokemon and the world for ash as the story progresses.
2. Weapon: Pokemon
3. Token: Pikachu (given to ash)
4. Clothes: Lab coat.
5. Ethos: Lawful / Good
6. Personality: Enthusiastic, knowledgeable in a wide variety of things, however, he does not apply that knowledge as a trainer.
7. Gift/Talent: Revered world wide as a pokemon Scientist.

• Gandalf (again, dual archetype)

1. Origin: Gandalf the Grey – Gandalf the White, one of a handful of powerful wizards who are meant to protect middle earth and guide the “goodly” races to peace and cooperation.
2. Weapon: Staff and Sword
3. Token: Pipe
4. Clothes: Gray and White Robes
5. Ethos: Neutral-Lawful/Good
6. Personality: Sometimes playing the simple old man he defers to his wisdom as a weapon more so then his magic. Depending on the timeline of the story he wishes greatly that he had taken more decisive action The ring and the other wizards when he had the chance. This is also the moral question of his character.  Showing his faith in good people to do the right thing instead of unnatural magic changing the world.
7. Gift/Talent: Extreme magical talent
8. Dual Archetype: With most good stories characters play different roles. Gandalf, for example, plays both the mentor to the hobbits and the Herald for the overall journey in both trilogies. He gathers together both groups for the grand quest and leads them with updates on the status of their quest and the world at large.

• Hagrid – Harry Potter Series

1. Origin:  A half-giant, half-wizard, who both begins Harry’s adventure and always is the one to break the silence code of the teachers of what is going on at the school. He is also the one who carries Harry’s supposedly lifeless body at the end of the story.
2. Weapon: Wand hidden as umbrella
3. Token: Pets
4. Clothes: Gameskeeper furs.
5. Ethos: C­­­­­­­­­haotic / Good
6. Personality:  Hagrid is a very “simple” character in his motivations, but he has the stereotypical heart of gold. While he has a chaotic alignment when it comes to the lawful spectrum (always breaking the rules to aid harry and to keep extremely vicious pets and his half-brother near the school), he is generally a happy and positive influence in the main characters world.
7. Gift/Talent: Somewhat of a wizard, handling animals.

v The Herald’s Seven Themes

• Origin: The Herald Can have many different backgrounds. Unlike most of the other archetypes  he does not really stand alone, their power as a character is in relation to his relevance to the character. Many times it is someone who has suffered at the hands of whatever evil the hero is fighting. If it is a main character in the story they might be similar in attributes to the hero but with different look and feel. If the hero is a warrior they might be a fellow soldier in the hero’s company. Or if the hero is a wizard, it might be a fellow mage. Generally, however, they are less powerful then the hero, allowing the hero the opportunity to shine. Next to someone.
• Weapon: The Axe, Polearm, specialty magic, something that is similar to the hero to make them relatable to the hero, but different enough to make him seem like a stand alone character.
• Token: Some momento from home or from the organization or circumstance he finds himself in. Often used as a device to give the herald some personification without having to go to deep into his background (the soldier’s lovers letter or photo)
• Clothes: Generic apparel for his occupation
• Ethos: Nonspecific, though normally it is Good oriented to follow the Hero.
• Personality: If they are a main character they tend to have either a friendly or antagonistic relationship with the character. They can become the side-kick almost. Always providing helpful information about the task. If they are one time characters, are multiple characters who appear at different times, then they will have some direct feature that makes them relate to the hero either in empathy are disgust or angry. They are almost emotional punctuation for the story.
• Gift/Talent: None, or something simple. Normally, not as poignant as the hero.

Post Work Write Up:

Couldn’t really think of any border design that adequately portrayed the Herald thing but I think the horns and the banner work decently well. At the very least these projects have reminded me that I need to keep working on my drawing skills. I have lost a LOT of refine ment **sad times**.  I do however like that I got to incorporate the shield into the border again. Kinda makes the projects seem more interrelated.