Worldbuilding Wednesday 8/31/22: Monarch Portraits of Narnia (Narnia XLIII)

I’m going to do something different for this post of WW. I’m going to post AI-created portraits of randomly generated Narnian monarchs using StarryAI. (Starry-Eyed, get it?)  These monarchs are intended to be used in Narnian fanfics, but they could be used in any work of fantasy fiction as well.

First, Queen Thuma of the Seven Isles.

This piece of almost-random art says so much about her character! She’s dark-skinned, joyful, wears a rich gold satin gown, and is holding a banner with a coat of arms on her lap. We can guess the crest belongs to her line; it looks like a golden wave.  Her crown is… well, it looks like it’s made out of woven grass, topped with some sort of wild-growing cacti. (Though she is a great Queen, still she wears the traditional headdress of her ancestors.) In the background is a ship, the sea, and part of the dramatic rock formations of her kingdom. A bunch of horsemen and soldiers, some with plumed helms, mill around as well. Might the portrait commemorate some battle won?

And now on to another mighty monarch, King Virigo of the Wild Lands of the North. Sadly, his back is to us, and he’s taken a quick dip in one of the pools in his palace garden. Or, perhaps he’s fallen while admiring those two fountains in the background. He’s not as young as he was. Note his rich blue velvet jacket, the scabbard of a sword across his back, his black hat with white embroidery and feather decorations, as well as a gilded tree branch or antler.  He’s a great huntsman, but also enjoys the intrigue of Court, by his white powdered wig. I think the artist might be some alternate-world version of Velasquez.

Now I’ll move on the NightCafe, which has added more features since the last time I used it. This is Prince Petronus of Archenland.

This time I used the prompt “Official portrait of Prince Petronus of Archenland” and look what a difference it’s made! It wouldn’t put an actual artist out of business, but it does create a vivid personality, even if his clothing looks, ah, randomly put together. The surprise here is his shapely bald head and, by his ‘stache and slight beard, he was a redhead. I like it so much I’ll go ahead and generate another one.

Moving to the south, here is Queen Kufarra of Calormen and the Flaming Mountain of Lagour; except, there is no Flaming Mountain, just her attendant in a flaming red dress. Other than that, the AI got the desert setting right, the opulent clothing and throne, and the cruel, regal nature of a Calormene Queen, which is mighty impressive. Her head is cut off at the eyes, but we can see enough to tell she’s wearing sunglasses.

The same wonkiness that occurs around clothing and arm positioning in Petronus’s portrait is echoed here. But enough exists to inspire her character. That’s what it’s all about, right?