Project Brief
This was part of a module focused on Industry style briefs. We were given documents containing different briefs from industry, made to be art tests, or adjusted from art tests to allow for enough content to fill a module. I chose a brief by Oscar Street, written below, however this shows one of two concepts.
You have been tasked with designing an enemy for a boss battle in a fantasy third-person action RPG. The concept must be designed with two phases in mind as the boss will transition during the fight, displaying a dramatic transformation in gameplay and story.
Deliverables: Rough ideation sketches that explore various boss concepts, followed by at least two refined sketches, each with second phase designs - show your references and moodboards. Based on your chosen design: orthographic view sketches that call out important details in the design (This would be important for a 3D artist). Storyboard sequence where the boss transitions into the second phase design. Two final presentation-quality designs that depict the boss in its first and second phase.
Requirements: Demonstrate high-end technical skills and presentation.
High fantasy genre - forms are complex and exaggerated beyond realistic proportions. A strong sense of visual storytelling to convey the dramatic and epic nature of the boss. Target audience is primarily towards teens, people that enjoy games such as Elden Ring, Final Fantasy or The Witcher.
Moodboards
I explored many ideas initially, but settled on a knight transforming into a dragon. This is heavily inspired by D&D and The Legend of Vox Machina.
I wanted to look into Welsh mythology and heraldry to have a more realistic feel, however also looking into How to Train Your Dragon, as their dragon designs are some of the best. They are so colourful and unique, with every dragon being easily identifiable.
Knight Iterations
The Knight
I wanted the Knight to have elements of the dragon within his human form, such as the teeth, horns and ears being the same, but also the beard replicating the dragon's jaw, and the armour replicating the dragon's scales.
I wanted him to be looming over the player, giving him really large shoulder-plates, and a much larger upper body than lower body.
Dragon Iterations
The Dragon
I used a hippo for reference when designing this dragon, as they are very aggressive and large, matching the body type I was wanting to go with.
I thought adding a rock-like texture would fit with the surroundings well, and allowed me to replicate the shapes of the armour on the dragon's body.
I added many angled teeth, as well as the same horns.
The Orthographics
I took my sketches for both phases, and edited them so they lined up correctly for orthographic views.
For the Knight, I duplicated the front, erased the middle and drew in the back so that the designs would line up.
For the dragon, I made sure to add a front and back view, as the side views will be symmetrical. I repeated the process of the front and back views for this too.
The Colours
The colours between the knight and the dragon were going to be the same, to show consistency between the two characters.
I used red to show the passion and anger of the character, contrasting the green which blends more into the environment. I used cool steel metal to add to the menacing theme, but a golden rope for his hoard, vertebrae of each person he has battled.
The Rendering
For the rendering, I layered blues on multiply and orange on soft light layers to replicate the sunset I had in my storyboard. I also used white on overlay layers for the highlights.
I used many different brushes to add textures, and layered them up to get the desired effect. I would love to include a timelapse, however I am unable to on here, but they will be posted on ArtStation and other socials.
The Storyboard
Thinking about the logistics, I wanted the transition between the forms to be off-camera, as they are very different and would be difficult to blend.
I wanted the dragon to use ash and smoke over fire, and thought that would be a great way at cloaking the knight, allowing space for the dragon to appear.
I really wanted to include the cinematic lighting.
Final Designs
