Enemies of the Empire

Pencil and colored pencil on toned paper. 9”x12” 1/23/13

So, last time it was Greco-Roman soldiers, but every good empire needs a foreign menace or four, so here are some enemy soldiers. From left to right… This rat-man is a little more human than the last one I drew; I decided that I wanted them to be able to wear armor and/or clothing, and with natural rat proportions everything would look like a dog jacket. I’m doing my best to differentiate my rat guys from Warhammer’s Skaven, who are awesome but far more gruesome and gothic. The rat’s gear is based on non-Roman Italian peoples, like the Samnites; the idea is that they are enemies from within the Empire’s borders. Next is a barbarian. The real Rome faced a lot of different “barbarians”; I’ve made a composite: his armor is Sarmatian, his bow Hunnish, his pants Gallic… etc. Next is an Egyptian / Assyrian hybrid warrior. Egypt is awesome, but its motifs are overused; I’ve combined it with that other river empire famed for its huge monuments and early writing system, Assyria. Finally, a Parthian-type desert warrior; yes, apparently they did look that sinister and cool.