Thesis Statement

In my research, I studied women of different mythologies throughout the history of human civilization and sought to analyze them through a modern, feminist lens. I reexamined stories of these iconic women in mythos and reconsidered the common historical narrative that has long followed them. With a contemporary viewpoint, I came to new conclusions about how these women would be viewed in today’s time.

“Ishtar Reimagined” combines aspects of character design with practical application in a fantasy, low-poly, hand-painted video game. For this project, I honed in on the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility, Ishtar (Inanna). While researching, I discovered the fashion trends of the civilization and how those trends had extended to the way gods and goddesses were depicted. The garments worn defined social status, with brightly colored robes and highly ornamented accessories reserved for the wealthiest citizens. I combined those elements with practical armor loosely based on the garb of Assyrian soldiers to create a design that embodied the status of a goddess as important as Ishtar, balancing form and function. In addition, I included traditional representations of the goddess in the design based on ancient depictions of her.

In Mesopotamian art and iconography, the gods were often depicted as anthropomorphic, with Ishtar specifically being portrayed with elements of a lioness and wings, both elements present in the final design I came up with, paying homage to Ishtar’s historical origins. My thesis project is a love letter to all the video game characters I’ve admired throughout the years. With this project, I combined my favorite elements of gaming with my interest in mythology to create a character that represents a huge inspiration for my artistic journey.