3D-Printed Chess set: Concepts

I wanted to base my chess set off of the video game Cuphead (which also happens to have a show on Netflix that I highly recommend watching). I had a sketch from a while back (I was pretty excited for this assignment) and I was thinking of which characters would best fit which pieces, especially considering the fact that in a set, the pieces are repetitive in that there are 2 knights per side, etc. Not to mention it feels suiting to transfer the idea of Cuphead into Chess due to the fact they are both two player games.

Initial Sketches:



Pictured below: Bat-Bomb - Pawn:



Reasoning: For the pawns I wanted to do something that would make sense to be repeated (as there are 8 per each side), so I choose the bomb-bats from the final boss. (Truth be told, I don't know if these things have an official name, they just appear during one of the phases of the Devil's fight). I considered replicating one of the other bosses in the game, but then I feel like I am neglecting the other 16 in the first three isles (the last "world" [the casino] has more important bosses, which I plan to represent in other ways) and wouldn't be able to pick one out of all of them. I considered using a poker chip as a pawn (due to the fact the whole game started because of gambling), but it felt too basic and uninspired.

Chalice (knight), Cuphead (rook) and Mugman (Bishop) respectfully

Reasoning: Chalice is an important character, but she was added in by the DLC. In the game, she has special abilities that Cuphead and Mugman don't, such as double jump and a dodge roll so it made sense to give her the one piece that doesn't move in a straight line. 
For Cuphead, he always charges into things head-first (as he is the one who sold their souls to the devil at the start of the game), so it made sense to give him the piece that can only move straight forward and sideways (the rook). 
For similar reasons as Cuphead, Mugman would make a good bishop because he is known to be more rational and reasonable: hence the idea of him going diagonally instead of straight forward.
Overall, they all have enough differences in their features to see they are different pieces (such as chalices handle, or the straw and nose differences between Cuphead and Mugman) which makes this work out well.


King Dice: Queen
Reasoning: To beat King Dice, you have to beat a minimum of 3 out of 9 mini-bosses (if you're lucky). This gave me the sense that he is a very versatile character and should be given the chess piece that most consider the most valuable (because it has the ability to move in the most directions).


The Devil: King

Reasoning: He's the final boss, so it makes sense that he's the most important chess piece that should be protected. If he is beat, the game is finished: just like the King is in chess.

For all the chess pieces, I plan to use their heads (a simplified version) as the main part. At this time, I am still a bit unsure as to what I should do for the body but I think it is between making their actual bodies or else creating a base that would be repeated for all of them. I also plan on making an actual board using the laser cutter, so the sizes of each piece would be dependent on that rather than standard chess sizes.



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