77

Atmos Dranias - Byzantine Merchant - Contest Skin

77 diamonds

Contest Participant! This Skin is in the Medieval / Dark Ages Skin Contest! contest, now Complete!
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avatar Sumpumpolis
Level 66 : High Grandmaster Mountaineer
Posted 02/08/13 1:56:49 pm , last updated: 02/11/13 6:15:38 pm
02/08/13
Backstory:

Atmos Dranias was born third son of a wealthy Byzantine politician, during the rule of Emperor Michael III "the Drunkard." As a third son, his prospects in life were not so glamourous as his older siblings, convincing Atmos that a life as a merchant would be the better choice. With gold from his family, Atmos created an impressive fleet of merchant vessels with which to trade spices, silk, and fine steel goods from Antioch, to Syracuse, to Tripoli. Now in his forties, Atmos is a wealthy man, dressed in flowing, brightly colored clothes, interspersed with fine jewelry, a testament to his riches.His face is weathered, and his skin darkened, both testaments to his life under the mediterranean sun. He enjoys the company of educated men and women, and a good amphora of wine, all to himself. 

In the evenings, Atmos can often be found on the deck of his ship, humming songs such as this one (though of course in greek, not english). 

Bright and yellow, hard and cold
Molten, graven, hammered and rolled,
Heavy to get and light to hold,
Hoarded, bartered, bought and sold,
Look what we do, just for gold. 

Notes on his clothing:

While silk would have been rare and expensive in his time (the 9th century), Atmos would have been successul enough to own at least a small wardrobe of more expensive clothing.  
He wares a pallium, or roman cloak, tough leather boots that won't get ruined on the often wet deck of a ship, and plenty of jewelry imported from the North Africa.  

7byHx7u.png
notice the ring on each hand

Note: I might switch to a different skin, I haven't decided. I'm not extremely happy with this one. 

Sources:


Additional Resources

Map of the Byzantine Empire
byzantine-empire-1000-1100.jpg
Ship design, slightly later than Atmos lived, but applicable none the less, for a general understanding. 

Additional reading on various related subjects: 

Leave a diamond if you liked it, that helps to no end! /end obnoxious message

Additional Details

Progress:
100
Gender:Male
Tags:Byzantine, History, Medieval, Merchant, Rich, Arabian, Djinni, Genie, Desert, Turban, Hat, Gems, Guy, Sumpumpolis

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Update #5 : 02/11/2013 6:24:14 pm2/11/13

still testing eye shapes xP

Update #4 : 02/11/2013 6:15:38 pm2/11/13

changed the eyes' shape

Update #2 : 02/08/2013 2:14:38 pm2/08/13

Added a bit more shading to the hair on the back of the head. 

Update #1 : 02/08/2013 2:10:46 pm2/08/13

Switched the eyes from green to teal. 

Update #3 : 02/08/2013 12:57:14 am2/08/13

completely redid the hair, while staring at work by leostereo... depressing to need to do that xP

Join us to post comments.

Comments : 46

1 - 46 of 46

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lynchyinc
Site Moderator
Level 72
Legendary Architect
February 13, 2013, 7:23 am

Great skin, I've always been fascinated by the East Roman empire, it would have been interesting to see how different history would have been if the loss at Manzikert had never happened and Basil II had heirs competent enough to build on his legacy.

I imagine there would be no Ottoman empire and no crusades, very interesting!
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Sumpumpolis
Level 66
High Grandmaster Mountaineer
February 13, 2013, 7:49 am

As a history nerd... I love you. please marry me. that's a really good point, and with no crusades, the renaissance wouldn't have been sparked in venice/florence/nearby cities through expanded wealth through trade with the byzantines, the introduction of guilds, and from ideas brought back by the crusaders. (I think, it's been awhile since I've read up on the earl renaissance.)
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lynchyinc
Site Moderator
Level 72
Legendary Architect
February 13, 2013, 11:44 pm

Haha yeah, I guess it had its beginnings in the sack of Constantinople in the 4th crusade, but the fall of Byzantium in 1453 led to a lot of Greek scholars fleeing and taking their knowledge to the Italian city states.

I honestly think the loss at Manzikert was one of the biggest turning points in history - it was a weird situation as the Empire had had huge losses before and could have easily rebuilt; they just were so shocked at having lost to 'shepherds and hillmen' that they never tried to reclaim the land and therefore lost one of the major recruiting grounds for the 'theme' system.

There's a great game called 'Europa Universalis III' where you can play as any nation in the world (I like to play as what is left of the byzantine Empire in 400) - Giving me 50 years to avoid the fall of Constantinople.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_Universalis_III
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Whale_
Level 37
Artisan Pony
February 11, 2013, 1:32 pm

I do that with leo's skins with the hair sometimes too haha :P
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Boboonski
Level 41
Master Narwhal
February 11, 2013, 8:19 am

Would this count as medieval, since it's in not really where the medieval ages happened?  Nice skin, anyways.
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Sumpumpolis
Level 66
High Grandmaster Mountaineer
February 11, 2013, 9:03 am

the middle ages include all of europe, and the byzantine empire was a european empire, if barely. constantinople/byzantium being the edge. 
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kiookio24
Level 28
Expert Explorer
February 10, 2013, 1:59 pm

Well here it is "Top 5 minecraft skins" Episode #9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5URVEvvaG1w
Hope you enjoyed and liked it!!
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Suprem20
Level 12
Journeyman Taco
February 10, 2013, 7:09 am

Awesome skin as always Sump, keep up the good work!
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Rapidpaws
Level 5
Apprentice Mage
February 10, 2013, 6:33 am

Brilliant design. C'est magnifique! (That's probably not right, I don't actually know French)
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Sumpumpolis
Level 66
High Grandmaster Mountaineer
February 10, 2013, 6:57 am

my french is horribly rusty, but I believe you are correct. that was a narcissistic statement, ahaha. thank you kind sir
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Gibu
Level 31
Artisan Goblin
February 9, 2013, 10:49 pm

Ooo, nice!
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Whale_
Level 37
Artisan Pony
February 9, 2013, 8:37 pm

nice hue saturation :3 good job and good luck on the contest ^-^
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Seivelath
Level 10
Journeyman Pony
February 9, 2013, 7:42 pm

A very nice skin, but what else to expect from a high grandmaster :P jks, but It's still a great skin, a tiny little overuse of maroon/red but not too much to run the skin. Hope to see more great work from you in the future Sump ;D
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Sumpumpolis
Level 66
High Grandmaster Mountaineer
February 9, 2013, 7:50 pm

thank you very much, I'm considering two options to fix that. the first was possible changing the color on the purple shawl, and the other was changing his hat to either purple or a gray or brown. thoughts?
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Seivelath
Level 10
Journeyman Pony
February 9, 2013, 7:54 pm

Personally, I would use a more vibrant red for the hat, to kind of distinguish it from the darker vest. Your options sound good too, I'd like a purple hat :D. As your the Skinner, your choice is le final choice, but please take my words into considerations
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Darkrai48
Level 52
Grandmaster Skinner
February 9, 2013, 3:27 pm

great skin C:
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kiookio24
Level 28
Expert Explorer
February 9, 2013, 3:05 pm

Hey this skin is Amazing!! Mind of I put it on my "Top 5 Minecraft Skins" on Sunday!

All credit goes to you and I will post the link here :D
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Sumpumpolis
Level 66
High Grandmaster Mountaineer
February 9, 2013, 3:23 pm

:) thank you! of course I don't mind at all
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MushirMickeyJoe
Level 21
Expert Warrior
February 9, 2013, 7:35 am

This is good! My skin is never gonna win compared to yours :3
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albsies
Level 19
Journeyman Unicorn
February 8, 2013, 11:25 pm

Wait, so is this Middle Eastern? If so, I made a Middle Eastern skin too! Diamond for the cool skin, though.
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EricValor
Level 8
Apprentice Prince
February 8, 2013, 8:03 pm

niiiice
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Skyier
Level 19
Journeyman Dragon
February 8, 2013, 7:00 pm

Diamond! :D
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WonderCat
Chat Moderator
Level 49
Master Princess
February 8, 2013, 2:47 pm

Ooooh nice, I really like the hue-shifting. (:
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Sumpumpolis
Level 66
High Grandmaster Mountaineer
February 8, 2013, 2:49 pm

thanks a bunch :)
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Lightningnose9
Level 1
New Miner
February 8, 2013, 2:39 pm

:O that sketch is effing amazing, how do you draw like that. Nice skin, there's no reason to not be happy with it, love the texture. :)
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Eves
Level 5
Apprentice Artist
February 8, 2013, 1:07 pm

I luuuurv it sump <3 
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Sumpumpolis
Level 66
High Grandmaster Mountaineer
February 8, 2013, 1:14 pm

:D oharro zeoldian
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TacoDip
Level 49
Master Taco
February 8, 2013, 11:59 am

Looks great, love the hat!
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Sumpumpolis
Level 66
High Grandmaster Mountaineer
February 8, 2013, 11:59 am

thanks! :D its definitely better in 3d
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TacoDip
Level 49
Master Taco
February 8, 2013, 12:02 pm

Yeah that's definitely true!
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VoV
Site Moderator
Level 43
Master Necromancer
February 8, 2013, 11:59 am

Very Nice!
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PhD
Level 29
Expert Zombie
February 8, 2013, 11:16 am

So you didnt do the blacksmith! Either way this skin looks fantastic! I love the colors on it!
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Sumpumpolis
Level 66
High Grandmaster Mountaineer
February 8, 2013, 11:19 am

thanks! the sketch started as an old, weathered blacksmith, so I added fancier clothes and turned him into a merchant. 
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PhD
Level 29
Expert Zombie
February 8, 2013, 11:25 am

I never would have guessed! Looks like it was meant to be a merchant!
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Sellotaper
Level 40
Master Skinner
February 8, 2013, 10:38 am

cool ^^
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w5prime
Level 22
Expert Creeper
February 8, 2013, 10:35 am

nice concept sketch
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NordicKnight
Level 42
Master Pixel Painter
February 8, 2013, 10:13 am

Now eyes are perfect... you are a worthy opponent... orz
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Sumpumpolis
Level 66
High Grandmaster Mountaineer
February 8, 2013, 10:14 am

I still surrender to your celtic genius
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NordicKnight
Level 42
Master Pixel Painter
February 8, 2013, 10:15 am

Naah, he is just a peasant fool! :D
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Sumpumpolis
Level 66
High Grandmaster Mountaineer
February 8, 2013, 10:15 am

*celtic peasant genius
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Giggimish
Level 37
Artisan Taco
February 8, 2013, 9:46 am

Very nice colors, bright and vibrant.
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Yuki
Level 49
Master Bunny
February 8, 2013, 9:39 am

interesting interesting, I like your choice of colours on this and your shading style
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Sumpumpolis
Level 66
High Grandmaster Mountaineer
February 8, 2013, 9:42 am

thanks :)
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Reni
Level 45
Master Engineer
February 8, 2013, 9:03 am

Great to see you again, Sumpumpolis.
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Sumpumpolis
Level 66
High Grandmaster Mountaineer
February 8, 2013, 9:05 am

:) thanks. I've got a lot of catching up to do with the new standards everyone's setting, things have gotten more impressive since I last was on much xD
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Reni
Level 45
Master Engineer
February 8, 2013, 9:09 am

Indeed, we all built up from our role-models.

1 - 46 of 46