Dominance War III | Hitsugi | Valkien

[Hitsugi]

Dominance War III | Hitsugi | Valkien
http://www.gameartisans.org/contests/events/uploaded_thubnails/38-game-concept-art-3297-1203499653-thumb.gif

Hitsugi has entered the competition!

http://i29.servimg.com/u/f29/11/57/74/19/ref_bo10.jpg

Hi Guys,

I've been searching for references to pick-up the mood of my character and I ended up with those few pictures setting up the influences I will be using to make my Warlord.
He will actually have the wind/air as his element since I started thinking about it while reading the Aquilon myth during my researches. For those who don't know it's the name of a violent and cold wind which is the Roman equivalent to Boreas (Greek god of wind) who was announcing the cold in this country.
So the main idea will be to create a character very cold and distant, a very mature looking guy that could in a way tell the ennemies "you're going to go through coldness by facing me". To push this idea more further I took the decision to make him look very "Napoleonish" (just created the word now I guess :P) because it fits with the very impressive side that I would like to be able to translate through this design.

I'll update the post as soon as I've got something new.

And good luck everyone : )


(PS : I'm sorry for the guys who left comments on the previous thread because I had to delete it. :) Thanks for your impressions anyway )

нıтşuğı

[Rasmus Holmgren]

Wow, very cool references. You got my attention :) Looking forward to actual concepts...

[Hitsugi]

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/5297/valkwipsilhnm7.jpg

Here are the first takes for the character, I tried to focus on the mood and find my topic here more than find original poses. :doh:
Specialy because I already decided earlier to go for something which is going to look more like the pictures of french kings or imperators through ages.

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/737/napoleon3ba9.jpg

I found this idea more original than starting with some action poses and, to me it also fits more with the status of the character in the army. I guess the difficulty here for me is going to find the right balance between the different color tones and all the levels of details to translate this "retro" look on a modern digital picture.

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/7982/valkwipheadts2.jpg

The (really) quick head test comes from the idea I had of an armoured pet which is going to be a "living artefact" of wind. Since I wanted to emphasize the strong relation of possession between the master and his artefact I decided to play around the theme of the twins for the faces of both human and animal. I'm currently trying to adapt the shapes of the hairs and the expression of the eyes to try to find something interesting.

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/5646/12260352135c550e8d8ih0.jpg

And finally I'll try to update soon since the most difficult part is done yet, I mean the "Start". I'll try to establish a planning in the next post, and precise a bit more the background details. :D

[Amethyst]

Looking forward to your next update...

[Hitsugi]

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/8871/wip01ng4.jpg


After I got stuck with work and a problem with my internet acces, I'm back to update the post :flag: .

So this is actually the direction I'm going for, I tried to make a quick collage of the upper part painting evolution for you guys to see what I've been through to end up with this shot.

I wanted to get a more precise feeling of the armor part because I had some design issues with it. I was not pretty happy with the first take (ugly !! arg :confused: ) that's why this update is concentrated on the upper part. (maybe I'll get some precious advices).

And I'm still not sure about the color scheme either. I shall maybe put blue/white stuff instead of green, to give him a more "windy" look.
I guess I got what I aimed at for the "eagle" aircut but besides that I'm also thinking of potentialy adding an asymetrical metal part on the shoulder pad (maybe pretty much like the stuff that Edea got over the head in FFVIII) to be able to make his pet stand here on the final pose. You can already notice the "falconery" glove where I will concentrate the artefacts and so on to end up having a really strong visual connection between the character and his (powerfull :inocent: ) pet.

Maybe I should also pick the color of the stones and do a design of wings made of magical smoke on the back of Valkien. It could appear only when his pet his arround him interracting with those artefacts. (dunno if it's too much, I should try at least.)

About little birdie :

I don't want to go for an eagle because that's pretty common so I tried to find a more interesting bird to use and I ended up with those pictures of a black falcoon.
But If you guys have something more interesting I'm definitely interested.

http://i47.servimg.com/u/f47/11/57/74/19/wiwiwi10.jpg
http://i47.servimg.com/u/f47/11/57/74/19/woiwi10.jpg

I also would like to locate him in his office to emphasize his rank and get a background that could slightly come to the eye of the people looking at the image. Like on this picture but in a less visible way I guess and of course with a different composition, I'll have to be careful of not getting out the focus from the character.

http://i47.servimg.com/u/f47/11/57/74/19/srtdyh10.jpg

Planning part :

My plan is to be able to be done with the upper part on friday, work on the bottom this week-end or at least 'til the middle of the week.
And then get 3 days to end up with a good looking pet and have the time left to work on the background, polish everything and relight the picture to make it look the nicest way I can.

P.S : Sorry for the lenght of this post, I guess it's already enough "blabla" so I'll post the background next time :doh:

[ZDCoe]

Oh my gosh, this is absolutely beautiful - I love the detail in the armor, and the painted/realistic feel to him - keep going, I want more! :D

[Kalango]

man this is a realy cool piece...such a great concept.

[Rasmus Holmgren]

Started modelling? :)

[Amethyst]

:thumb: I love your concept and your idea for your character is great. However, I could visualize him in shades of blue to emphasize the coldness. Blue and gold would also implicate high ranking status. Red is IMO too warm.... my 2 cents. Good Luck with the final image.:)

[Hitsugi]

It's funny to see both of you asking about the model, specially because It's a 2D thread :cool: ;)
But thx Amethyst I was waiting for someone to verify if the direction in which I was actually changing the colors was better or not . I'll update soon, I'm working on him today.

[Hitsugi]

Let's start with the background that is done since long time :)

At the dawn of times, when the gods walked freely on earth, Fū, the embodiment of wind, crossed the skies. He was indomitable, freedom loving, going trough air and clouds, like a constant gust of wind. There were no place to eluded his eye, no secret that men could hide from him. He was present everywhere and every air stream whispered him a truth of this world.

He was proud and mocking, and brought the wrath of the others gods. He challenged them to catch, him, the incarnation of wind, the evasive Fū. After a chase of many millenniums, the gods have finally captured him.
His pride was punished and no one can say how many times he was kept confined...


Now, these days is an era when gods were no more than a memory in the hearts of mortals. These lasts were too busy in conquering the lands of their neighbor by doing war. Gods decided to become again the actors of this world which they saw up rise long time ago.

They offered a deal to Fū as an entertainment for them. They ordered him to reborn in a mythic animal, forced to serve utterly a mortal man on earth, a true humiliation for this once god. They were curious to see how the incarnation of wind will influenced the fate of this world.

The long millenniums passed in captivity made him bitter and greedy for revenge. He accepted the deal and chose carefully his new master. A man with enough power and willing who will be able one day to overthrown gods when their time will come...


Vakien was the chosen one of Fū. This veteran general, filled with honor and greedy for power, cold hearted and hard bitten baron was waiting only a sign of destiny to fulfill his dreams of conquest. One day, he found a precious glove on his desk, holding the Soul of wind. That was the first meeting between the general and the once god, reincarnated into a falcon. Valkien understood that the chance he waiting for so long has come !

Fū became his minion and his most secret military consultant. With such a power in his hands, he won every battle, seems to know in advance the moves and strategies of his opponent, leaving them no chance. Soon, he rose a vast and wealthy empire.

The emperor Valkien called it "The Falcon's empire "as a tribute to his precious guardian spirit. He seems to anticipate every moments of his ascension, crushing the births of rebellious groups before they became harmful.

Time passed and the soul of Valkien was gradually possessed by the vengeful once god and finally, the two spirits became one. The revenge of Fū can now begin...



And then I've started to do a serious render of the character this time and found the overall idea for the background. I haven't come that far yet only the head is quite final because I decided to repaint everything in a more interesting situation but I've time to spend on this during the evening now so hopefully the character will be finished tomorrow or in 2 days a least.

So here's the mood for the background even if it's going to be much more darker :

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/466/jpg34568ln5.jpg

And a closeup of the head and an overall view of the changes made so far :

http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/8031/overallheadwipnq9.jpg

This is still very far from the picture I have in mind because I haven't been doing this for so many hours, even the cloak is just an indication now since I'm still thinking about the shapes but here's the progress. :lucky:

[ZDCoe]

the detail and lighting on this are gorgeous - the left arm with the the shiny magic looking stuff around it seems a little off (I think it's just the balance overall) but other than that it's looking great!

[Hitsugi]

I haven't start repainting the lower part ;)

[Amethyst]

This is excellent work and the final result spectacular I'm sure. Can't wait to see it finished...:thumb: :)

[ShoDan]

Agreed with what's been said abovem great work already ! :)

[Hitsugi]

So here is another update that give you the overall impression of what the final entry will look like, I have still so much to do with the background and some parts of the character but I think I'm gonna finish it at least in 2 days. :flag:



http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/7430/wipvalkienforumbe3.jpg


(The image has been scaled of course.)

And I wanted to thanks the few people that have been following this thread because sometimes it has given me the positive attitude I needed to stay up much more later painting again and again. :thumb:

[ZDCoe]

Looking gorgeous!!!

[Amethyst]

Wow! You are a very talented artist for sure. Can't wait to see your final entry. Good Luck!:thumb: :)

[Mr.Jenkins]

I have to agree with everyone else. Your painting is a joy to look at. I love the mood of it. Awesome!

[cabertevon]

Simply awesome!!!

5 star to me.

[Yung]

Whoa! You have my support man! Looking awesome+1 !

[Hitsugi]

The winning pose is final I guess but if you got a good critic it's now or never ! :) What a joy to see something final, I seriously doubted to finish on time, and again thanks for all your comments.
I wanted to post this before doing the model sheet this way if you see something that can be improved I may have time to correct it. ;)

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/5051/dwiiivalkiencopyja0.jpg

[ZDCoe]

Beautiful!!!!

[FredH]

Really awesome work man! This one really turned out great! No crits

[Mike_K]

This is stunning. You are certainly going to do well!

[Mogster]

in one word... WOW! spectaculer.

[Amethyst]

Yes, your image is spectacular! I'm just a little bit worried that the judges might not connect the almost invisable 'magical glove' to the 'falcon wind'. If possible, could you emphasize this power somewhat? Perhaps by sharpening the glove and the link to the falcon.... Good Luck in the War!:thumb: :)

[Hitsugi]

I'll try to do something for that, but adding even more effects might be a bit heavy. I have to think about it and keep on going. : ))
But I'll add I guess something very schematic that look like an astral projection to have the main connection popping up compared to the rest.

Thanks Amethyst and thanks everyone for your nice comments

[Hitsugi]

That's all folks ! Right on time \o/ !!

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/4424/valkhtsgresizedob6.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/9629/valkmodelcopyff8.jpg
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/5707/conceptsheetmz4.jpg