I'm looking for inspirational art for a game I'm about ready to run in a setting that's a mashup of the 1700's and 1800's very similar to the setting of the video game fable 2. A little colonialsim, imperialism, and industrialization. If anyone could point me in the right direction, i'd appreciate it!
tricornes and tophats
- Thread starter redwing
- Start date
Try looking at tourist sites for colonial areas. A google search with colonial towns will also turn up some useful art. Jamestown is a good search term, and Williamsburg also turns up useful pictures, although mostly of buildings.
There is a webcomic called The Dreamer about a woman from modern times that finds herself back in colonial times when she goes to sleep. It has good artwork and interesting characters that could serve as inspiration:
Adventure, Romance, War. The Dreamer: A Webcomic by Lora Innes
There is a webcomic called The Dreamer about a woman from modern times that finds herself back in colonial times when she goes to sleep. It has good artwork and interesting characters that could serve as inspiration:
Adventure, Romance, War. The Dreamer: A Webcomic by Lora Innes
Steel_Wind
Legend
Black Creek Pioneer Village
Fortress Louisburg
Lower Fort Gary
The Citadel - Halifax
General Gage and the Revolutionary War
The Loyalists
The Voyageurs
The Plains of Abraham
Sir Isaac Brock and the War of 1812
Do be sure to check out pictures and re-enactments of the War of 1812 and the American Revolutionary War from the Canadian/British perspective. You will get a much broader, and better view of British focused forces and society that way.
I thought it worth pointing out to you the links to Canadian photos and theme parks of the period. My suspicion was that you might find the American sources readily. The Canadian/British ones? Perhaps not so much...
Searches for "beaver hats" are similarly helpful for finding period images of tricorns and tophats. The beaver fur trade in Canada was all aimed at obtaining felt for use in making hats -- not beaver tails, as they are often commonly misunderstood to mean
I honestly don't think it is possible to understand this period without getting a thorough understanding of the Royal Navy. There is no better (or enjoyable) source for that than Patrick O'Brians' Aubrey and Maturin series. A few novels from the series were mashed together in the film Master & Commander/ The Far Side of the World.
The novels are outstanding but are diffuclt to read because the author writes in a style authentic to the period and uses naval terminology throughout without apology.
I would heartily recommend the audio versions of O' Brian's novels. The language and terminology is so authentic that I have never listened to a more transportive audio book than those written by Patrick O'Brien. It is the closest you are likely to come to time travel. Beware of the second novel in the series (it's a deliberate pastiche of Bronte). But otherwise - the series is outstanding, truly outstanding. You WILL understand British military society and, more importantly, the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 after reading/listening to those books.
Fortress Louisburg
Lower Fort Gary
The Citadel - Halifax
General Gage and the Revolutionary War
The Loyalists
The Voyageurs
The Plains of Abraham
Sir Isaac Brock and the War of 1812
Do be sure to check out pictures and re-enactments of the War of 1812 and the American Revolutionary War from the Canadian/British perspective. You will get a much broader, and better view of British focused forces and society that way.
I thought it worth pointing out to you the links to Canadian photos and theme parks of the period. My suspicion was that you might find the American sources readily. The Canadian/British ones? Perhaps not so much...
Searches for "beaver hats" are similarly helpful for finding period images of tricorns and tophats. The beaver fur trade in Canada was all aimed at obtaining felt for use in making hats -- not beaver tails, as they are often commonly misunderstood to mean
I honestly don't think it is possible to understand this period without getting a thorough understanding of the Royal Navy. There is no better (or enjoyable) source for that than Patrick O'Brians' Aubrey and Maturin series. A few novels from the series were mashed together in the film Master & Commander/ The Far Side of the World.
The novels are outstanding but are diffuclt to read because the author writes in a style authentic to the period and uses naval terminology throughout without apology.
I would heartily recommend the audio versions of O' Brian's novels. The language and terminology is so authentic that I have never listened to a more transportive audio book than those written by Patrick O'Brien. It is the closest you are likely to come to time travel. Beware of the second novel in the series (it's a deliberate pastiche of Bronte). But otherwise - the series is outstanding, truly outstanding. You WILL understand British military society and, more importantly, the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 after reading/listening to those books.
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