This is a completely original piece of art created from my imagination. It’s a project I’m working on with a friend in Germany. The theme is the Viking Age. It all began when he asked me to do a series of illustrations about the Vikings. He is an archaeologist and works with an association of Viking culture students located on the border between Germany and Denmark. The place is called Haithabu, which used to be one of the most important trade ports during the Viking Age. It was completely destroyed during a battle between rival chiefs at the end of that era.
Haithabu was later discovered and became an archaeological site where experimental archaeology is practiced today. They have reconstructed a small part of the town over its original foundations using the materials that were available at the time. The site also features a dock replica and a replica of a Viking boat. The boat is owned by the museum on-site, which allows the Viking association to use it. It's worth mentioning the museum because it houses wonderful pieces of art found there.
The project took me almost three years to finish (and it’s still ongoing with two comics I’m producing). It includes 80 large-sized illustrations on paper with India ink, using calligraphy nibs, brushes, white ink, and sometimes some funky graffiti tools. The collection also contains 30 large-sized illustrations in color using acrylic gouache. Some of the illustrations from this project became part of a comic book that was printed in the United States and will soon be available in German.
This drawing represents how I imagined a locksmith workshop, with locksmiths creating items relevant to Viking life. While it's well-known that they were warriors, Viking activities also came to an end with the arrival of Christianity. In the locksmith’s workshops, not only weapons were produced; they also crafted other tools essential for survival during that era, including various kitchen items and everything needed to construct ships, houses, and more.