'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Revised Hero Prop Designs

See below images for important information related to the hero prop designs.
These designs also count as thumbnails 34 - 39.

The six hero prop designs. According to feedback so far, the most preferred designs are 1, 3 and 4.

The revised hero prop Influence Map.

Important information when viewing Hero Prop designs:

Character Profile synopsis
The story is set in ancient Egypt, it focuses on the hidden son of the Pharaoh, Akhenaten - known as Nemhisect so as a result is the rightful heir to the throne of Egypt. However for many years Nemhisect is led to believe that both his mother and father are dead. He begins as a common peasant but is forced into the Egyptian military and over 10 years rises to the rank of General due to his skill and resolve to serve the gods, General being the second most powerful position in Egypt - higher than all but the Pharaoh. 

On a nighttime raid on a camp of enemies of the Egyptians, he meets his true mother, who like himself has green eyes 'the colour of papyrus reeds' she tells him his father is Akhenaten and that she was exiled and tells him the meaning of his name, 'Apprentice to Horus, the god of war. The one true king of Egypt.'

This leads to Nemhisect taking his mother with him and challenging the Pharaoh, who then murders his mother in front of him. Nemhisect is locked away to keep the truth from spreading and experimented on by his father's servants, he is then embalmed alive with an apparently mystical oil of insects of the desert and the blood of the damned. He begins to mutate and breaks from the embalming's bindings. A mutated insectoid Nemhisect escapes, vowing revenge but knowing he does not yet have the power to defeat the Pharaoh and his men, he retreats underground and plans his revenge.

The insect connection

Some insects were considered to be sacred in ancient Egypt, the main one being the Scarab/dung beetle. The desert locust is also a well known insect of ancient Egypt, partly due to the 'Book of Exodus' story involving Moses in the Bible, in which an Egyptian Pharaoh and his people are attacked by 10 forms of plagues, one of which is a swarm of locusts.

Why a helmet/crown?

Feedback on the OGR indicated that a sword for a hero prop was too simple and not interesting enough as a sword was pretty much a blade with a nice handle, I realised this to be true so instead turned to designing a helmet / crown for Nemhisect. Keep in mind that he wants revenge for the lies of his father, the Pharaoh and the murder of his mother, her Payrus reed coloured eyes, that he is the rightful heir to the throne as well as the fact that he is a former - now insectoid - soldier.

The ancient Egyptians rarely wore armor however helmets are seen to have adorned the heads of those high up in the Egyptian military while crowns adorned the heads of the gods or the Pharaoh, who often was considered a god in their own right. Horus is the god of war, protection and the sky while Khepri is a Scarab-headed god who is the subordinate to the sun god Ra e.g. Horus.

Feedback so far

After asking Candice, Ernesta, Hannah and Heidi for feedback I have found out the preferred designs so far are:

1, which has been a preference three times. 3 and 4 have been a preference twice. 5 has been a preference once. As a result I have narrowed my choices down to 1, 3, or 4. Ernesta suggested that 5 had a feminine appearance so after looking at it with that in mind, I was in agreement and felt it would not be suitable for a male character, especially not one wanting revenge; there is also the fact that it is the most simplistic of the designs and would not pose enough of a challenge to create. It was also mentioned that realistically 6 would be too cumbersome for battle.


Related links
'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Post-OGR Thumbnails: 25 - 33
Secret Lairs OGR Presentation (1)

Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier - Basic Character Profiles

Very brief basic Insectoid Soldier possible character profiles:

1. Renegade insectoid soldier mutated by virus. This would be a so-called "bad guy" as it suites the renegade aspect more and allows for much more interesting lair design. A renegade soldier would be more likely to have a secret lair than a normal soldier who would instead be placed within army barracks.
2. Civil war raging between territories of the insect population, invisible to humanity due to size and/or based underground - Insectoid soldier fighting for its people - whether the character is 'good' or 'bad' is entirely dependent on the side you support, they are simply doing what they have been ordered to do.
3. Young insectoid "soldier" taking part in a play-fight type mock-war.
4. Human-insect hybrid, hidden in the depths of the earth, rejected by humanity – fighting for freedom from humanity’s oppression.

After coming up with these ideas I'm considering merging 1 and 4 as they both have interesting aspects relating to the character's back story. So a back-story of a soldier turned renegade by the rejection of humanity when infected by a strange virus, possibly forced underground and only coming up from his lair to fight for freedom against those who are what they once was, human. This base back-story still leaves a huge amount of possibilities for lair design, however feedback would be much appreciated.

"Insectoid" Influence Map