I am working in adobe illustrator to create a icon in svg format. The icon is supposed to be a young male lion, and the style is supposed to be Medieval (a design for a Medieval shield crest or something). I have everything to my liking except for his mane. I guess "mane" is the right word for it, but since it's a young adult male lion, it's not a full-blown mane. I just want to hint at the modest beginnings of a mane. Here is my two attempts and a picture of my AI file, (the icon is still in-progress):
- Using vertically aligned circles (left)
- Using wavy lines (right)
My circle/wavy line attempts just seemed too crude and the composition seemed to lose a lot of unity after introducing them. So I tried to look for some inspiration: after seeing how other designers achieved this on the internet I came across some images like:
However, such renditions just scream 21st centry to me, so I could not find inspiration. Most of the Medieval-esque icons I found of lions were not forward-facing but rather profiles, such as:
While the style is acceptable, the perspective doesn't give me enough to work with.
Question
How can I convey a slight mane in a Medieval-style lion icon?
Style Goals:
- Simple but not childish in appearance
- Medieval style preferred
- I'd personally still call it an icon, but I concede that it's a fairly detailed icon, and for that I'll include the illustration tag too.