Although I’m sure this is a lofty aspiration, this artwork by Wenjie Li is easily detail- and complexity goals for my necromancer sculpt. It’s no surprise that I’m a fan of detail spam and gritty, complex character designs covered in embellishments, and this piece is exactly that…without being overwhelmed by it. I’m particularly noting all of the small filigree designs and the way in which the varied jewelry is spread out over the character, leaving some breathing room in single-colored fabrics and blank skin. I suspect many of these were done with alphas or repeating patterns rather than sculpted completely by hand, so my next steps are to find some nice designs on Artstation marketplace that I can incorporate into my pieces.

Bibliography

LI, W. (2022). Assassin’s Creed: Valka-FAN ART. [image] Available at:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/B3yLB4 [Accessed 13 April 2022].

I didn’t quite like the color scheme I had previously, so I’ve updated it significantly with more green elements and some Viking-esque trims and bags. I’ve finally solved the necromancer’s shawl issue by giving her a bolero and some draped oversleeves – this keeps the pieces off the other elements of her costume while filling in some empty space in the shoulder and arm regions. I’ve also added more matching elements to the skeleton’s under costume to further emphasize the disparity of his gifted sweater, and started playing around with embroidery designs to emphasize that further.

I ran across this piece by Ganzorc on Artstation the other day and was struck by the perfect balance of realism and stylized elements on the character. The artist managed to make details such as trims and lacing very readable from a distance without being too cartoony, and I appreciate just how well every element is distinguished on a fairly detailed character.

This was also an excellent reference for polygon density of various elements (I still struggle with making larger parts less detailed) as well as laying out materials for texture sheets. I feel like I learned a lot just by inspecting the wireframe and behind-the-scenes views.

Bibliography

Ganzorc, 2022. Travelling warrior Jay – Game Ready Character. [image] Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/RnVwOe [Accessed 3 June 2022].

I’ve spent the week refining the character designs for both skeleton and necromancer, playing around with accessories and draping various items. The necromancer currently is looking a little too young and refined, with her fitted clothing, and I’d like to give her some softer draped elements to hide part of that silhouette. I’ve tried just about every orientation for a shawl or cape, but all of them are hiding too much of my neat sleeve detail.

I’ve also done a little work on the skeleton, giving him some armor bits and rough fabric elements. I plan to keep him much simpler than the complex mess that is the necromancer, but he still has a lot of additions to be made.