nightmarchers

Hawaiian Night Marchers Hawaiian night marchers are deadly ghosts of ancient Hawaiian warriors, apart of some of the earliest Hawaiian mythology.

They are said to rise from the ocean or their burial sights once the sun sets and march in a large group to battle sights or other sacred places.

They are said to not touch the floor as they march to their desired location, as well as bringing an awful smell of death with them.

Ancient Hawaiian beliefs say that if you gaze upon their presence that you will die a brutal death.

I was inspired by traditional grass skirts from Hawaii as well as the common flower crowns which are used today.

I wanted to create a more classic design for the ‘common’ warriors in the group which is why his design is very malleable as you could change it around to improve the design.

I also gave him scars as well as chopped limbs to show that they died viciously and in battle.

The spear was a very common weapon amongst warriors which is why I used it for one of the lower ranked warriors.

This member of the marchers is the torch-holder who leads the way for the rest of their group and their chiefs.

Tattoos were also a very important part of ancient Hawaiian’s lives so I wanted to include that too.

He doesn’t have a grass skirt but more of a cloth design. still very common but less common than a grass skirt as he is more important.

I wanted to keep the focus on the torch therefore I didn’t give him a weapon, only a cape. To help draw attention to their group.

This design I focused more on armour and defence, so I used the ancient helmet Makini and deconstructed it to seem more open and broken.

His shield is made from wood and metal, still attached to his body after death.

I chopped him up a little more than the rest as he was in battle more (his armour is broken and has lost most of it).

I also leaned into the fact that they float above the ground and took his feet away.

Another use of an ancient helmet design, Mahiole helmets were made out of feather and fabric.

He is the drummer for the marchers, to create the beat of the march, I wanted to give him a different garment so I made a cloak around his shoulders.

He doesn’t have any major wounds as I wanted him to be whole and the most important of the 4 lower ranks.

I wanted to create a sort of ‘ultimate warrior’ so I created an exaggerated Makini helmet which is fully intact and has a long feather train.

He has lots of battle scars and tattoos to show his authority and rank.

He also has the skulls of the warriors he has beat in his life around his waist to show how victorious he was in his life.

The Makini helmet is supposed to look like a ‘Second Face’, it is also made out of coconut shell, feathers and fibres.

I wanted to give him 2 unique weapons, so I gave him a ‘Palau Papanihomano’ which is a weapon made from wood and shark teeth, as well as an exaggerated fish hook, inspired by Maui.

I gave her a flower crown with spikey leaves to show that she is graceful but also dangerous when she needs to be.

This is my first chief design out of 3. I wanted to create a graceful, caring and smart chief who is entwined with nature.

She also has traditional face markings as well as a grass necklace to show that she is a high authority chief. I wanted to show that she has been in previous battles so I gave her a scar across her eye.

Other than the plant accents in her design, I wanted to keep her pretty plain to show that she has more responsibilities other than her appearance.

I wanted to pose her knelt down to show she isn’t a threat but uses knowledge to her advantage, which is also why she doesn’t have a weapon.

I didn’t want to give him a weapon as I wanted his weapon to be his fists, which is why he is missing one, because he was defeated by his arm being ripped off.

The second chief represents strength and courage. He is very muscular and has the Makini helmet, however it is broken and is revealing his skull underneath.

The exaggerated feathers represent his wealth as a chief and I wanted to give him a shark tooth necklace to show his strength.

I gave him a traditional Hawaiian pattern on his skirt and also blood stains on his body and clothes.

The third and final chief I wanted to be a corrupted spirit, being enveloped in a dark mist, with traditional face paint on his mask.

I really wanted to embrace his darkness in this design so I planned for him to turn into this dark mist and manipulate his followers.

They say that the Night Marchers can harness the power of the sun so I wanted him to be the most powerful, being able to kill people with the sun’s energy.

Main Inspirations

I wanted to include traditional elements mixed with some more recent concepts to my designs while keeping my character designs all strictly Hawaiian, as well as all recognisable and suitable for an uneducated audience to understand.