Elite Knight

This strong, conceptual artwork by FromSoftware came to the attention of more people than just Dark Souls players by way of EDGE magazine, who used the ‘Elite Knight’ image as cover art (April, 2011). Its visibility inadvertently led many to assume the Elite Knight armour is the ‘signature’ armour for Dark Souls. Most of the internet now agrees the knight depicted is Oscar, Knight of Astora, the first NPC the player meets in the game – a fact as yet unconfirmed by FromSoftware. The knight’s posture and dramatic lighting suggests inspiration by painters that came before the artists at the Japanese studio, notably pre-Raphaelite painters like Frank Dicksee, or Arthur Hughes, who helped popularize the medieval knight as dramatic hero.

'Elite Knight' is an official concept artwork for Dark Souls, the first video game in the Dark Souls series, made by Japanese studio FromSoftware. This limited edition Certified Art Giclee™ print is part of the official Dark Souls fine art collection by Cook & Becker, FromSoftware, and Bandai Namco. The print is hand-numbered and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.