Da Qin (Ancient Civilization challenge submission)

What if the Roman Empire and Ancient China were one and the same? This was the idea behind my submission for the Ancient Civilization Artstation challenge awhile ago. I fused the cultures of the classical Mediterranean, with a focus on early Roman aesthetics, and the culture of contemporaneous ancient China, about 100 BCE -100 CE.

This isn't all of the characters, but they are the ones that illustrate the concept the best. The characters range from a chipper courier, to a scheming senator and his adjutant, to an empress and a mafiaoso. Also included is my process, starting with silhouettes.