King's Quest Omnipedia
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Graham wears many different outfits in the Games and spin off material.

Physique and physical appearance

In the original series, other than artwork related to his PCJR debut, Graham is almost always portrayed as buff character in the KQ1/2 era in cover artwork (and in-game sprites, even the more abstract 8-bit character sprites from KQ1-3). Even his artwork in the Companions shows him to be a buff muscled youth, only getting even thicker with age.

Graham's sprites even his most abstract 8-bit ingame sprites in KQ1-3 show him to be a fairly buff character: this is most noticeable on his KQ2 title screen sprites. But he is also tall and lanky but muscled if the correct aspect ratio appears on the computer screen.

However, his standard adventuring sprites show elements of buffness from fairly broad and thickened trapezius muscles over his shoulders (portrayed with four extra red pixels, two on each side of his neck) to his thick back muscles (from the trapezius and rhomboid regions giving an almost 'hunchback' back appearance from the side views). His muscled chest is focused on in the zombie death sprite animation. In KQ1AGI, he is even described as being '...very strong and healthy...'.

Moreover, slightly more detailed sprites for the Sega Master System version of KQ1 show more defined thick muscular arms.

But going forward, its easier to make out his muscles (including arm muscles) in the SCI eras in-game sprites and closeup artwork.

The KQ1 remake especially makes a point of Graham's buffness by portraying Graham's ingame sprites based on his KQ4 and 5 style sprites.

His strength is figured ino the game by his ability to push a boulder, open the castle doors, the heavy chest (and other treasures, see also 'gold egg'), and pushing the witch.

Graham's eye color is blue in KQ4 (always represented by blue pixels in the AGI version, and sometimes blue in in the SCI version), and in the closeups. His eye icon is blue or red-brown depending on the NES or the computer versions of KQ5, but his eyes generally appear dark (to dark brown) in the closeups images in KQ1SCI/KQ5/KQ6 (due to lack of detail). They appear largely 'grey' in KQ1AGI and KQ2 (they cannot be seen in KQ3). They appear blue in KQ1 for the Sega. They look blue/grey in the KQ6 Enhanced artwork. In Kingdom of Sorrow, his eyes are said to be blue.[137]

Grahams face in KQ1/2 is undefined except for three black/grayish pixels representing his two eyes (and his nose). The middle pixel resemblesa mustache when Graham’s mouth is opened after a fall (however it is notably his nose in side profile). In the enlarged closeup of graham in the title sequence he doesn’t appear to have a mustache but rather his eyes and nose are defined by shadows of his hat.

Standard Outfit (Ranger uniform & Adventurer's Cap)

In-game

Graham's usual attire was the short tunic, pants, and high boots of a Ranger. The uniform is one worn by squires or rustic knights of Daventry.

Graham usual choice is often a cyan to light blue adventurer's cap with a red or magenta feather on his black/grey hair, while wearing a red tunic, cyan to dark blue trousers (or tights), including pants with shades in between. He has a black or red belt, and black boots. Hand-painted close-ups (from KQ5) tend to show more blue than turquoise or cyan colors (in particular on his trousers).

Note: There maybe slightly different shades/hues of cyan and other colors depending on the system being used, or versions of the game (ega vs tandy vs pcjr for example). As well as monitor settings/output.

Depending on the game Graham either has his tunic tucked into his pants (with the belt at the top of his pants within belt loops) or hanging out over his pants (with the belt cinched up around his tunic and waist).

In the SCI remake, Graham's tunic is slightly different from usual as it has crenelated edging along the bottom of it.
In the original King's Quest 1 and 2 (when Graham is around 19-21), his tunic appears tucked into his tights, while they are held up by a belt (sometimes with a grey iron or gold/bronze belt buckle).
In the King's Quest 1 remake and King's Quest 5 (in his 40s), Graham's tunic hangs over his tights, and he wears a belt to tighten the tunic around his waist. In KQ6, Graham's pants and possibly his hat are bit darker shade than usual.

Graham's hat usually remains on his head. There are only a few times when he removes it to bow, or for other reasons. This includes bowing before King Edward in KQ1 and the remake. Bowing in the title screen of KQ2. Switching from his crown to his hat in KQ2. Throwing his adventurer's hat in KQ3 and KQ4. Lieing in bed without his hat in KQ4.

Note: One feature added into KQ5 is Graham's ability to move his head in three directions. Special sprites were created for each angle, and not simply 'mirror' image of him looking right or left. This means the feather always remains on the right side of his head. Even sideways, special sprites were drawn to place the feather on the correct side of his head. In previous games, Graham sideways sprites were just a flipped image.

In The Floating Castle, Graham is described as being a powerfully built man dressed in plain garments[2]. It was his custom to dress like a squire or rustic knight. This is likely a reference to his standard adventuring outfit (the Ranger outfit).

In close ups Graham's hat varies between cyan (or cyan with 'green artifacts') to a darker shade of blue. His feather varies between red, magenta, or violet.




Artwork

In artwork inspired by his appearance in the games, he almost always has blue pants, and a blue hat (ranging from lighter to darker shades of blue).


Alternate Ranger & Adventure's Cap Outfits

In-game

Sometimes Graham's clothing colors would vary depending on the system the game appeared on.
In the origina KQ1 for PCJR, Graham's shirt was almost bright magenta. In King's Quest 1 (SMS), King Graham wears a white adventurer's cap with violet trimming and a yellow feather, his clothes include a magenta shirt with white sleeves, a violet belt, and red boots and tights with yellow lacing.
In KQ 1 & 2 found on the Apple IIGS Graham's tunic is salmon pink compared to the IBM versions.

On CGA monitors in the RGB mode Graham's colors his shirt appears as if he had red and yellow/orange verticle stripes. He appears to wear yellow and green striped pants and hat. Graham himself has a nice golden tan (somewhat similar to the KQ2 box see below).

In composite mode, in KQ1 Graham's pants and hat are 'blue-gray' on the color scale. In KQ2 composite mode Graham wears a kind of aqua-green clothes. In both he wears a pinkish (possibly salmon) shirt. It's worth noting in later versions of KQ1 (1987 editions) Graham's coloring in KQ1 matches that of KQ2. Another thing to note about composite mode is that it gives Graham a kinda of 3D effect or cell shading, and looks even more like an animated cartoon character, than other versions. This would likely have been smoothed out on an actual composite display.

In King's Quest V (NES), Graham wears a black adventurer's cap with a red-tipped white feather on his head of thick bushy red hair, and a red button up shirt, and a red belt. When Graham wears the cloak he has a blue feather in his hat (and blue hair). The cloak itself is unique in that it can be fully buttoned up in the chest for even more warmth. A black-colored belt is worn around the backside of the cloak to keep it tight (the belt must pass through holes in the side of the cloak, and the front side of the belt is cinched tight around his red shirt inside of the cloak).


In KQ6 for the Amiga Graham wears a green hat with a red feather in closeups. Externally he has washed out blue/slate colored pants and hat (see above). A painting in Mask of Eternity shows him with white hair and wearing a green hat with a red feather and a red shirt in a painting in Castle Daventry's dining room. It's important to note, while looking mainly cyan, Graham's hat appears to greenish tinged (or green artifacts) in several images in KQ4.

Artwork

Other sources have given him a slightly different wardrobe and look.

Graham has been shown with his basic adventuring outfits in various colors and styles in various artwork for the series. Sometimes he appears to wear standard trousers, other times tights. Sometimes even pantaloons shorts over tights.

Grahame in the original KQ manual has a more pointy version of the Adventurer's cap (bycocket). He has a red shirt with a fancy crenelated neckpiece with yellow edging, and yellow sleeves... He wears what look like crakow-style shoes rather than the tall boots he is often shown with in later games. The crakow shoes also appear on the box for KQ1 on Sega SMS, and some of the Companion artwork as well.
On the KQ2 box, he wore green pants, a red tunic (with gold lining), with a green shirt underneath, and a green adventurer's cap with a red feather. He shown holding golden magic sword in his leather gloved hands. The KQ1 SMS box also has some interesting differences in that he has a cape, and his red shirt is long sleeved, and he is missing his traditional hat. He also has a sword which is not common for the character.
On the cover of King's Quest Companion, 2nd Edition, he wears something similar, again with the green hat, but this time he appears to wear a white long sleeve shirt under a leather jerkin, and green tights.
On an alternate KQ5 box he is shown wearing a red cape (instead of the blue cloak seen in the game).
In Kingdom of Sorrow (on the cover), King Graham wears a tan adventure's cap with a white feather, a tan cape, tan tunic with crenelated edging along the bottom edge, over a dark blue undershirt, dark blue pants, and tan armored boots.
In Derek's artwork and descriptions Graham is shown to have long hair and to be wearing tights, he also appears to have light blonde hair (in 1st and 2nd edition images). His hair in the B&W drawings depending on the editions seems light possibly blonde (similar to other similar drawings in the KQ1 and KQ2 manuals).

Accessories

Graham is described as wearing a travel pack to carry his things in The King's Quest Companion. This is what appears as his interface in KQ5. Though it doesn't seem to be seen on screen. Graham is also known to carry things in his pockets or a pocket of his travel pack.[3]

Graham is said to wear the four leaf clover on his hat. He is also said to continue to wear the silver cross around his neck.

He has also worn the Ruby Ring of Dracula, and his cloak (no special graphic shown on screen).

At one point during KQ5, Graham wears a magic amulet tucked carefully into the front of his tunic.[4]

Crown of Daventry and Other Outfits

Graham has occasionally worn other outfits or accessories beyond the red short sleeve adventurer's tunic in-game. At the end of King's Quest II, he wore a tuxedo to his wedding. In KQ4, he wore a fancy red shirt with padding on top and his crown. In Mask of Eternity King Graham wears a violet robe. In KQ1 and 2, there are points in the game where he wears his crown rather than his adventurer's cap. In Kingdom of Sorrow, it describes Graham's favorite tunic (at the time of the story); blue cotton with silver piping and flowers embroidered in gray along the neck and waist.[5] He also wears a tunic, purple with gold piping and delicate leaves embroidered in gold thread along the neckline and a purple velvet belt. The gold buckle held a dark ruby in the center. On top of the tunic he wore a purple velvet cloak fastened at his neck with a gold catch.[6]

To keep warm, he two pairs of woolen pants, and three pairs of cotton shirts. He put on several pairs of socks, and a well-worn leather boots. Over the shirts wore another tunic which had a pocket where he is able to keep things, and has a button to close it. He put on a wool jerkin that was coarse, un-dyed, and most importantly thick. He cinched it around his waist with a leather belt, and belt knife in a sheaf attached to his belt. Then he put on a scarf, black wool mittens and a fur hat. He wore a wool outer cloak, dyed black with the royal sigil of Daventry (gyrfalcon embroidered in white and gold) on the back. The cloak had an inner pocket (where he kept a tinderbox).[7] He also had a gold band inlaid with pearls had been a gift from Valanice.

In Quest for Daventry, in one scene, Graham's hands can be seen, and he is wearing a long sleeve red shirt.

Graham has worn a number of different crown designs.


Here are additional clothing styles in artwork. He is shown in full armor on a box designed for the original IBM release. In the second generation game manuals, he is shown to have grown a mustache and wears fancy clothing. These images also seem to show Graham with lighter hair (possibly blonde) than usual There are several examples where he is shown wearing his crown. On the 2006 box art, a younger Graham is shown in armor with the shield and sword while a wizard (The Sorcerer?, Manannan? Shadrack?) watches on him from a crystal ball (the marketing description for the box/artwork describes him as Graham.).

No Hat

Graham occasionally removes or drops his hat in the games. Including in KQ1AGI when he bows to King Edward, in KQ2 title screen when he bows to the camera, and when he prays.

Other

There are rumors written on the bathroom walls throughout the multiverse that "Sir Graham Cross Dresses!"[8]. These rumors might be true...

Hair Color

In one of spin-off novels Graham is described as having a blond hair and a beard, although cover art does show him with dark hair color he is usually known for (it maybe a strange editing issue). Graham's hair in artwork in particular that seen in King's Quest Companion, and the second King's Quest manual, and the King's Quest II manual show graham with light possibly blonde hair as well (at least lacking much shading to indicate 'darker' hair colors). The latter also show him to have a mustache in those images.

The other novel by the same authors describes Graham running his fingers through his short brown hair.

Of course, if Graham has genetics for blond hair, it might explain how Rosella has blonde hair (if both parents have the recessive trait).

However, Noteably, it was not uncommon for people to dye their hair and beards in medieval and renaissance times (and things have changed little).[9], and even further back into ancient times.[10][11]

So Graham having dyed his hair and beard blond (or dying his hair dark from 'light blond, white or grey') at some point would actually fit into cultural norms of the time.

Or perhaps 'blond' is simply describing how his hair had turned platinum or white during the time between KQ2 and KQ3/4.

Note: Not to make this too complicated but Graham's hair color depending on the game or interpretation includes dark/black, light to dark grey (KQ1AGI, KQ2, KQ4, KQ5), light to dark brown (descriptions and some artwork), red (KQ5 NES), blue to dark blue, yes blue (KQ5 NES and KQ1SCI), platinum/blonde/silver/white/light to auburn blonde (KQ8, Kingdom of Sorrow, King's Quest Companion 1st Edition cover, King's Quest Companion artwork (1st and 2nd editions has 'light' blonde-like hair)) Of course in KQ6 for the Amiga, Graham's hair has a kind of yellowish-pink tinges to it.

Transformations

When Graham is changed, eaten (someone else with his hat) or transformed by death sequences.

See also

Behind the scenes

It may be dependent on type of display and differences in computers. But the 'cyan' color in earlier KQ games is a slightly different shade than standard cyan or aqua on new computer. Pure Cyan is a color halfway between blue and green 50% of each color. Cyan is also a primary color in ink and paint (replacing 'blue' as the standard, as its more scientifically accurate, and be mixed with other colors to make better shades and hues of blue).

Graham's Wardrobe (unofficial)

See Graham's Wardrobe (unofficial)

References

  1. KOS, pg: \"He stared into the blue eyes that had been his until the switch.\"
  2. TFC, pg 6
  3. KQ1AGI
  4. Narrator (KQ5):"The magic amulet begins to glow softly as Graham slips it over his head. He then carefully tucks the amulet into the front of his tunic, hiding it from sight."
  5. KOS, 15
  6. KQKOS, 23
  7. KoS, 35, 36
  8. Space Quest II: Vohaul's Revenge
  9. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9Z6vCGbf66YC&pg=PA267&lpg=PA267&dq=medieval+hair+dye+men&source=bl&ots=YL-eCSobnc&sig=bPYdQqxjyxT_dwGKXG9HfYzROsI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6-GPVPrKGJKQ7QbRxIGgCw&ved=0CFYQ6AEwCw#v=onepage&q=medieval%20hair%20dye%20men&f=false
  10. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/plants-fungi/seeds-of-trade/page.dsml?section=regions&region_ID=6&page=early_uses&ref=dyes
  11. http://www.academia.edu/466184/Beards_an_archaeological_and_historical_overview
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