Monday, 30 November 2015

Team Twist - Weapon design

Weapon design is always fun, especially when our characters are quite unique. My job this time was to design weapons for Gravedigger and Deep Sea Diver. Although both characters are quite different from each other (one being melee and one being a caster) I followed the exact same process while designing weapons for them.


Above I have produced quite a lot of silhouettes for the Deep Sea Diver weapon. Our initial idea was to have him wielding an anchor, but I really wanted to explore different concepts so I came up with various hammers, maces, scythes and even a steering wheel.


As far as the Gravedigger weapon go, from the start we knew exactly what we wanted to have. A simple shovel. Of course I wanted to go overboard and I came up with a shovel that is magically infused. I have used a green tone because it really fits with our character, that is able to summon minions and use blood magic.


Here's the final design that we chose for our Deep Sea Diver weapon. I have imagined his anchor as a rotting piece of extremely heavy metal. I have used few pictures of rotting fish which really fitted with the design. I have also produced a second version which is wrapped in chains.
Overall I consider this task to be really joyful. I always liked designing weapons and I think this process is definitely rewarding.

Team Twist - Neptune design

With the Neptune design we didn't really know what we wanted to have, so at the beginning we have explored various designs and approaches.
Below I have produced some silhouettes that later would be used as a starting point for our Neptune design. As far as the reference I have looked at various mythological paintings, pictures and character description and also at multiple movies such as Pirates of Caribbean.

As you can see we have explored quite a lot of different designs. I have painted both humanoid characters as well as insects and more generic fantasy creatures.
Once this stage was finished we have chosen no. 3. From this point on I have started producing various sketches based on the silhouette.

Based on the silhouette above I have produced various sketches for the Neptune character. I really enjoyed this process, because I had a lot of freedom and I was able to explore many different styles and concepts. During this phase I imagined Neptune as a rotting, chubby looking character with tendency to sit in one place, or even being chained to the wall. He  was supposed to be big, grumpy and have a strong appearance. Although I found number 8 really appealing to me, my team decided that we want to go with number 5.

In this stage I have started to explore different heads for the Neptune. I have extensively looked at the reference that I have mentioned previously. This was fun process and I really tried to make all the faces different from each other.


And here's the final illustration. I have used quite a lot of different colors on the character, and I think it worked quite well. Although he does not look quite as angry as I'd imagine him he still looks appealing. I have intentionally left out painting lower body, due to the fact that this won't be visible in game. Neptune will be half way in the water so I saw no point in painting legs. I really enjoyed working on this piece.
Neptune definitely looks unique and although he does not resemble the mythological picture of him, I still think he will fit well with our game idea.

Thursday, 26 November 2015

Team Twist - Tavern Design

As a part of our hub location we have decided that we want to have some sort of tavern that will be used as a means to regenerate health or buy potions. As far as the design go, we knew from the beginning what we wanted to do. The ground floor was something that we really explored in depth.


At the beginning we wanted for a player to be able to enter the tavern, but as the time went on we decided that player will not be able to enter the tavern. I think this approach will save us quite a lot of time and maybe in future, when we finish all the fundamental bits then we might come back to it and expand on it. For now we wanted to use the windows on the ground floor as a way of communicating with the maid inside.
Overall I think this tavern turned out great and it will blend well with other buildings.

Team Twist - Blacksmith station

I have been asked to produce a painting that would represent blacksmith station. I really enjoyed working on this project and I have produced various paintings that looked quite different from each other. That way I think I have produced enough for the team to chose from.

This painting was the first one I have done for this assignment. I really wanted to capture the old, abandoned look and I think I have done it quite successfully. While receiving feedback I have been told that this painting looked a bit too medieval and I should maybe explore more ideas.


While this painting is quite similar to the one above I have tried a different approach with the house design. This one is much more sharp on the edges and fits a lot better with the Victorian era.


This is a design that we decided to go with. I really like this painting and I think I have capture Victorian feel quite well. The pointy roof bits is something that I have been encountering quite a lot while looking through various references. Also, the whole design is a lot more clean and I think it will work well within the game.

Wednesday, 14 October 2015

Team Twist - The Hub

Together with a team we have decided to create some kind of a hub, in which player will be able to rest, restore his health and buy new items. We needed a city layout so I've decided to paint a simple isometric village view.

We decided that we will have two main buildings. One is a tavern, in which, as said before, player will be able to regenerate his health. The other building is a Blacksmith station, where player will be able to sell items and fix equipment.
I've also included three exits that will lead to the locations in which player will level up and fight.

Team Twist - Creature Design

Recently I was asked to produce two creatures that could be used in our first level. We decided to go with the sewers, so we needed some dudes that would fit the setting. We've decided that we want to use Greek mythology creatures, but completely redesign them into our own.
Here I've produced two creatures with couple of variations.

There isn't much to talk about this creature other than we wanted it to be quite big.


In Greek mythology Charybdis is described as a whirlpool that sucks up all the ships that come by. At first I drew a big mouth  sticking out of water, but then me and my team decided to redesign the creature, so I drew two different variations and then a couple more on the chosen design. We also decided that player will not see any of the body, simply because it will save us both time and processing power.

Year 3 - The Begining!

Year 3 has started and I must admit, it was a rough start. I had a choice between joining a team or doing an individual project. And while I really wanted to do a thing of my own, I honestly had no idea of what I'd like to do. I've decided to join a team instead. They were working on an isometric RPG game set in Victorian London. This really appealed to me, though I'd prefer a fantasy setting. ;)
I took a role of a Lead Concept Artist, in which I do the majority of artworks.
Here I'm sharing with you first painting that I've produced for this project. The purpose of this was to explore both the architecture as well as the mood. I wanted to portray a dark and gritty London streets that could influence my team, and maybe push us further in the future.