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 marble statue brought to life, cracking and continuing to fight more aggressively in the second stage.
I looked into ancient Greek statues, as I love how ethereal and polished they are, as well as old abandoned churches.
I needed to decide on the dominion of the Goddess.
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Iterations
The Statue
My decision was to make her a dead Goddess of Wishes. Running through the sky with her magical bow, she takes starlight and shoots it across the darkness for mortals to see. If they do, they may ask her a wish, which she will grant them.
She is free and beautiful, she has a flowing skirt and wrap, but being nude on her top half. She is also covered in cracks, showing the player where to aim.
Phase Two
I wanted to incorporate a few elements into phase two. She is broken in many places, being held together by magical force.
This force glows in her chest where the star is, and the magical energy flows through the broken pieces to grab large chunks of stone to throw at the player. There are also smaller pieces of other statues helping her to remain, like shields or body parts.
The Orthographics
I took my sketches for both phases, and edited them so they lined up correctly for orthographic views.
For Phase One, I duplicated the front, erased the middle and drew in the back so that the designs would line up.
For Phase Two, I had to do a lot of matching up of the breaks, which would have been much easier in a 3D software, however this project was only 2D.
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 thought a big explosion of light near the end of a sequence of cracking would work really well for this.
I really wanted to take the time to show her slowly starting to break, as it makes the final push a lot more dramatic.
Final Designs
