At Mai Castle

Once unruly youth, eventually two of the finest commanders in the Three Kingdoms. Cao Ren, a stalwart defender who began his career by raising a personal army, roused his men in the most arduous situations, and endangered himself to rescue ordinary soldiers. Lu Meng, a runaway who became literate and developed a brilliant mind for strategy. Both were reknowned for strict adherence to discipline, and their Sanguozhi biographies hint at a sense of perspective and compassion.

This piece takes inspiration from their joint command of the forces opposing Guan Yu at the Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends Battle of Mai Castle, which was based on the 219 AD Wei/Wu collaboration that brought about Yu's defeat. Arguably, Cao Ren and Lu Meng's roles in that campaign were their greatest achievements. Surrounded and outnumbered, Cao Ren defended the flooded city of Fan for three months until relief arrived. Lu Meng captured the province of Jing with only a single death - his own colleague, executed for taking civilian property in violation of military code. The men's game characterizations - each with a unique, down to earth twist differentiating them from the usual tough guys and teacher types - piqued my interest in history research. These characterizations seem even more fitting with what I know of Ren and Meng's backgrounds.

I drew the vast majority of this picture freehand on a digital tablet, with some copy/pasting of the floral brocade designs and the etching on Cao Ren's knee armor. It was a giant research and development project for working out my style of hand inking, which I had never seriously done before. It went through many incarnations as I redid previous work and learned the hard way that I needed a good sketchy pencil foundation as a basis for the desired variation in my ink. Each bit of armor was its own small project.

Note me if you'd like a transparent version of the lines to color. Sharing is caring, and I'm happy to spread the love.

Look here for an updated picture of Cao Ren by himself. [link]