An Arsenal of Armaments

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I have always loved anything medieval. As a gamer and content creator, I wanted to make an icon set that I can use in various platforms. I decided to create a medieval icon set. I wanted to create something that I can use for the future like twitch icons/emojis or motion graphics.

Sketches

I sketched out some ideas in preparation. I wanted to include a samurai sword, but I decided against it in the end. As I drew the weapons, I realized that they were too realistic. I needed the weapons to be shaped in a way that would fit in a box or had a general shape of an emoji or an icon.

Trial & Error and Getting Started

I had a general idea of how I wanted my icons to look and I started off making the axe. I decided to mess around with color at first, and sure enough, it confirmed my desire to make my icons into monochrome/greyscale, heavily relying on strokes.

Long-reaching Weapons

I ran into a problem with long-reaching weapons like the halberd, trident, and lance. I still wanted to retain the general shape of the imaginary box surrounding the icons. I decided to leave the long-reaching weapons upright after receiving feedback that the crisscross didn't go well with the rest of the icons.

Throwing Weapons

I added throwing weapons like the dagger and the francisca in the icon set, but I found it tough to convey the concept of motion. After, messing around a bit, I decided to have them smaller than the rest of the icon set, and tilted at a 135° angle.

Shield

The shield is my favorite equipment and I knew I wanted to add it in my icon set. I was going to go for a plain shield or one with detail. I decided to go with detail but with less strokes, as it felt a bit noisy, when I zoomed out.