Supporter newsletter 72

Issue
This is a copy of Eternal and Diamond Supporter Newsletter #72, published by Grinding Gear Games.

Hello Supporters,

Ambush and Invasion have finished, and development is in full swing for 1.2.0. We’re seeing some big changes to a number of systems and skills, and the design team is working hard on a plethora of additions to the game. That’s right, a whole plethora. We’re also drinking a lot more tea.

The tea supply of the design team can be seen here: http://i.imgur.com/XQDRmpw.jpg

This week, Cam discusses concept art. Enjoy!

--Rory

Concept Art

For the purposes of showing the process of what I do, I have just picked one unique that involved the most tools, and the most processes that I will generally use for any unique.

But as a side note, not all uniques are done the same way. They are all, well, unique, and every artist has their own process they follow to bring you the final art. So each item has its own treatment and process. With every one of them the major importance is the communication between us and the supporter, working with them to bring them something they will enjoy, entertains the themes, subject matter and design features they want, and to bring that to them with as much production value as we can.

The Supporter unique I will be using is Santoni’s Faith, a shield by “Mangface”.

The visual design starts after the general theme is done and I am given a brief which usually contains a written explanation with some images and ideas if the supporter has any pre-existing visual ideas of the item. Below we have the item write-up from the user.

“A kite shield that was obviously a shield of faith before, but has the insignia slashed off and the edges hammered to be sharper and no longer the flowing Templar theme, maybe even blackening it with fire as well. Something that shows that the shield has been through a lot, and come out worse off, but at the same time been hardened into stronger steel.”

At this point I have some strong visual things to include and the ideas start flowing. I gather reference images of existing shields and materials that I think will be valuable and get to it. The first point of action is providing the supporter with a sketch. This is important as the rendering process can be long and time consuming. Getting everything right and in place is critical for moving forward. Below you can see the sketch of the shield, including visual landmarks that the user has requested. The symbol of faith, a destroyed-but-still-intact shield, material that has seen some battle and a hint that maybe the fallen templar has taken a knife to the icon of faith, in rebellion or disgust, etc.

http://i.imgur.com/9xeOHoo.jpg

After these sketches go back and forth and we get approval from the supporter, we quickly move to the next step: the 3d base

http://i.imgur.com/34Z8Jlj.jpg

This step is incredibly useful, especially when dealing with hard-surface items, or items that require accurate and/or uniform patterns or shapes. Anything organic or much simpler in nature I can skip and go straight to hand rendering. As said earlier, it all depends on the item.

This 3d base is then taken to sculpt, where we get the following:

http://i.imgur.com/sXaJtqA.jpg

Once the sculpting stage is complete, I render out many different materials and shaders that become the layers and lighting I use to build the final 2d image. Below you can see the renders. There are several different materials and renders I use to create interesting textures and lighting in the final version.

http://i.imgur.com/pRSHG7X.jpg

Now the last and most satisfying part of the process, putting all that work together and painting out the details and bringing something awesome to show the supporter. This includes using photo textures, custom brushes, and some good ol’ fashion illustration.

http://i.imgur.com/Lyocp0u.jpg

There we have it, the final product.

Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoyed some insight into the concept/illustration process we use.

- Campbell

Insider Info

This week, from the archives, an early concept image of the inventory and stash user interface:

http://i.imgur.com/suO99Nc.jpg