Rough Rider! (Concept Art)

[m15a]

The concept art might have been inspired by exaggerated popular culture representations of the time. (Which makes sense since a lot of Civ art has been based on existing representations in historic artworks.) This image from 1898 shows some pretty expressive horses.

Spoiler :

 

[Barathor]

The concept art might have been inspired by exaggerated popular culture representations of the time. (Which makes sense since a lot of Civ art has been based on existing representations in historic artworks.) This image from 1898 shows some pretty expressive horses.

Spoiler :

Hmm... interesting, but to me they're still "horse" expressions. They even have the body language, like the folded back ears showing their aggression.

EDIT: Oh, wait... I missed that surprised yellow horse, haha. Yeah, there's a bit more expression.

EDIT2: The contrast between the front rough rider and his horse is hilarious. The horse is dramatically diving into the fray, and the rider doesn't look like he knows where he is -- he's daydreaming and thinking about what's for dinner tonight with "living in the sunlight" stuck in his head, haha.

I think the inspiration for the rough rider is more current, like Disney's Tangled.