character design: Na'koral

Wanting a character to be some sort of shaman connected to nature. It was a little difficult to work out how he would look, wanting to give off a mysterious for people to wonder if he was human or something else. Wearing a mask to conceal his identity, with a staff and an arm being turned to wood.

1. Wanting a background with Nak'oral standing on a huge tree branch with a strong pose, having his hand made out of wood by some enchantment. Working on how he would stand on a branch so it would look near alright for his balance. Came up with some ideas of how the mask would look like, so I thought adding antlers would work and make a near-human face.

2. using different shades of brown for the trees, one side for direction of the light source and add rough lines for the trees, adding more texture by lowering the percentage of the hardness for the colouring.

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5. THe background I thought would have a dark greenish colour. 

The shaman's clothing would have an earthly theme since he's spent his time in the forest and wear something natural. Including the mask and left arm. 

6. Focusing on the arm, using both light and dark brown, wanting to make the hand look all morphed by the magic. Extending the fingers and making the structure of the hand to match the human hand.

7. Adding more lighter brown to the wood and giving him a fiery red hair with orange highlights, inspired by some celtic and viking folklore. Thought of making the staff look old and decorated with stones.

8. I thought of how the green moss would, starting with a normal green just to try some ideas for the colour before working on the lighter green texture using different paint tools. 

9. Using a different paint tool for the grass, adding another layer and lighter tone of green when exposed to bright light. 

10. Was working out how the colour of the water should have, not going towards a blue water in some artworks. Going through some tutorials and using pale blue to a whitish colour for the water streams. Once done, using the smudge tool make it blend together

11. For the casting a spell to have an energy gathering in his hand, using a narrow paint tool and using about 30% of paint and drawing faint lines. Once done, using the smudge tool to make the lines more faint. Going for a spiral or sphere in the hand where the sphere would expand in his hand. Also thought of adding more faint lines that entangle around his arm so it shows that his body was releasing some energy.

12. Using a lighter tone over it and make the centre more brighter and the furthest faint.

Completely finished and now done, really do like the way he looks with such a powerful pose and ready for action to defend the forest from threats as the magic being gathered by him from nature.

Character design: Tahkuna

I wanted a being that was neither an angel or demon, but maybe close to a reaper with bright wings to judge a person's fate if they life or die. Going for a reaper-type of character but leaving out a scythe as it would not have any original feel and give it a sword instead. 

2. Going over the lines, but leaving the wings out of it for now for they won't need any to have a glow from them, making them more of a pure energy sprouting from the back. Giving the inside of the hood more dark, leaving no trace of the angel's face.

3. Making the cloak dark and greyish, leaving the rest for lighter colouring. 

4. Now for next step is the wings, starting with a pale white colour and smudge the point edges to make them more like feathers. Making the white much lighter for the edges to add more 'feathers' for the characteristic form as they fold around the reaper/angel. Making the background dark a little to get started on a background to blend well with Tahkuna. 

5. Working on the lighter on the armour, robe and sword, the sashes would work well after experimenting on the background. 

6.  Now for the background is to make the bottom pitch black the the top lighter, drawing straight down to make, using the smudge tool to drag them down, making sure the stripes are not too bright for a background. Adding the shading s in between the folds of the robe

7. Working on the wings to make them more like an actual pair of energy wings by adding the outer glow, making them faint as possible to not over do it.

8. Now of the objects that hover beside it.  Starting with a 'moon' which would represent death in a greenish blue colour scheme, giving it a jewel-like appearance. 

9. On to the life amulet would have a fiery shape close to a sun or star to represent life. Starting by going for orange and red, carefully lighting the tone near a yellowish colour to make it more like gold and blend with the red lines.

10. Once the two are finished, I now added two more layers, both for an after glow for each one but in a different colour.

As it now stands out as a proper angel of life and death. I had the inspiration from some tarot cards and church windows. Happy how it looks with the way it's wings are and for reasons for adding the two objects hovering beside it would reflect on a person' good and bad conscious like in some comedy and cartoons telling the character what they should do. Here, they would reveal the fate of the person as the angel is a judge in the illustration.

Character design: Herrianne

For my next character design for project, thought of making an angelic being but different from any  other angels. Making it almost like a stature but float in the air. Giving it a halo like I've given one to Geno-Thane has but more behind the back.

1. Done a sketch of Hierrianne to build the idea for it's appearance, using the appendages in place of wings and leaving out the arms and legs. Drawing several objects hovering around the halo to represent it's appearance and being a powerful deity. What was needed to change it's appearance were the head and lower half as the torso was bigger then the rest. So what I did was alter the sizes.

2.After scanning it in and going over it with some lining over the character. Wanting an old paper background with yellow brown colour with brown in some parts of the background. 

3. Using a darker tone of brown over the character for the shading in many places for the direction of where the light. Using a lighter brown once the shading is complete, tuning it up to a near whitish-color, more towards the hair for the highlights.

4. Darkening the areas around it to leave an outer glow surrounding it, decided to give it a godly pose by making a bright shine where the halo is, using the lens tool for the job but making sure it doesn't become too bright over it's head. I thought placing it in the centre of the halo as it feels right for being an angel and all.

As it now turns out to be a celestial being, really like how it looks and the background, even the glow makes it stand out then most of my illustrations. Reasons for not making wings was thought to make it different then a common stereotype of angel we normally see in myths and legends.

Character design: Geno-Thane

1.So I wanted to make a character with a bizarre  and alien appearance for a creator-type of entity. Giving it a powerful appearance with an angelic form, giving a halo-like crown around the head. Taken an inspiration of the Frankenstein's monster by making several parts of the body different to each other and organic growths appearing all over the armour and spider-like appendages out of the back.

2. Adding the the lines over the pencils and would eventually remove them or make them more faint in areas that won't need any line once it's coloured. Wanting to have a glow in the character, so the background colour needed to be dark to make it work. 

2. Started with a dark blue and made the selected colour more lighted until it has a faint glow for the edges. Knowing that the lines be in the way to ruin the effects so they needed to be taken out around the head and lower neck.

3. Giving a purple cloak and green sashes would go well with the character, made certain they aren't too bright and go with the organic armour. One of them would be lighter then the rest just to give it a multi-coloured look.

4. Adjusting the colour to a lighter tone for some areas, leaving the rest be a shadow where the light doesn't cast over. That way they would not look plain and simple,  doing the same for the blue sashes then 

5. The extra arms with blades were originally going to be red but it didn't seem to work as they didn't fit well so I went with brown. Using the same technique I used for the cloak on these limbs, using more darker brown in some parts.

6.  It's right arm is given a jaded- colour as I thought seems right and make it shine brighter. If he is to be some creator type of deity, his body is going to have some parts that seem out of place and alien by his appearance.

7. Now for the gaps in his body, since I made his head all just a simple energy I thought these would be filled with similar stuff but more brighter.

8. Adding an outer glow in the cracks to make it more like a glow, same for the hands so that it would look like he was performing something or just a god with a bright glow around him.

9. Going more depth of shading for the armour, not to go too much as there has to be a limit to the space between the armour plates.

10. The halo has to have a feel to show it is a powerful angelic being, gave it a crown-like appearance rather then a full circle hovering above it's head. A gold colour was going to be difficult so I went something near it but starting with a browns colour. The list of colours beside it are what I picked to paint the halo and make it shine bright.

11. Going from one colour to the next gets a better feel for the crown/halo and finally give it an outer glow. Once it was fully done, I can now begin with the background.

12. Now for the back needed to be a celestial background, I was given ideas from my classmates that it could have a nebula, so I decided to give a blueish mist. I did not want to give it feet for reasons as it is more of a spiritual being and would be legless.

13. Going for a pink mist under the cloak with the inside more brighter as it slowly begins to fade away, like how fire works with the centre all orange and turning bright yellow when it fades.

14. Giving it an outer glow throughout the body so that it gives a feel like it's an actual god, not wanting it to have a thick glow but just so it's alright, not in the same colour so the bottom would have a faint purple.

15. For the final touches, I added a few stars in the background and also a swirling mist like something was being created by Geno-Thane, drew some lines where they would go and use make them thicker and make the centre more brighter.

As this is what it looks like how, a celestial god and truly like how this turns out in the end. The story behind the character will be added and link to the tutorial soon. Hope you enjoyed the tutorial.

New location for Waugh Games

We just moved all the products into the new and bigger unit for Waugh Games. Even have a new logo. Anyone who dont know what it is, its a hobby and game centre for people to come around, buy war game figures like warhammer, iron kingdoms, Spartan Games and Dropzone. The address and phone number are in the bottom page of the webpage so you can come around to visit anytime.

https://www.facebook.com/WaughGames

http://www.waughgames.co.uk

Creating my own fantasy myths part 1

With the new project I took some thought of what to make for a new project so what I decided on my negotiation module is to make a few stories of my own fantasy. It wouldn't be as difficult with some research and building ideas for characters and stories but wanting to have some connections to existing cultures but wanting to make a made up for my own but some familiar legends might make an appearance. It would perhaps be like having short stories for each of them and make certain they have a connection with each other.

Unlike certain fantasy themes, these characters I imagined would either be non-human or creatures rather then normal looking people with special powers like in some common folklore and myths. They have to stand out, like the Tolkien mythology and other creative legends.

I would have to make up some stuff of cities like El Dorado, Atlantis, Akakor as they are all mythical cities that have never been found for centuries.

So what I intend to do is to do some research on myths and legends, write notes of about them to build character ideas along the way. Will be writing stories about each of the characters
isn't so difficult when you have the idea into it, make them sound exciting, something to attract the readers' attention of what they are about.

I plan to start with ten and see how it would go with some time I have for the module, so what I will be doing is do some sketching of the characters, when I get some ideas I will be doing them in digital enhancements, perhaps some of them maybe just to give some idea.

The illustrations below are the first five illustrations I will be doing as I'm targeting up to 10 for the project. Thinking it would be a good idea to finish off these first then move on to the rest, rather then trying to get them all ready for digital and painting.

Seriphar: 

An example of one of my designs is the spirit of fire in a form of a bird, based upon the Pheonix and the slavic folklore about the Fire Bird giving it the form of a majestic bird with a human torso. Wanting to make a spirit in a form of a bird in flames like the legends.

Giving it a pure fire, both designs look good but wanting to go for the more winged-humanoid, this will have a water colour style which I think will work out well for this one, but making sure to have some experiments before I do anything to it first.

Geno Thane:

Geno Thane is a being who is known for his creation of animals and creatures, refers to himself as an artist. There have been a few myths about gods creating the world in different cultures. So I come up with the idea of making this guy who takes the role of creating creatures, it would make people wonder if he did something to make himself more alien then the rest of the characters. Thought maybe add some spiked growths on some parts of his body and insect-like appendages coming from his back. I thought of the character to be someone who takes delight in creating something new for the world. If people want something of themselves to be improved or a creature to have, they must offer something in return for payment... otherwise, they end up becoming something non-human. To make him more bizarre, I thought he would consider himself an artist and takes delight in creating new creatures, no matter how they are made from.

Skalisk: 

An ancient serpant named Skalisk roamed the ancient world and sometimes causes mayhem. I was trying to come up with a multi-head snake, but had to take some thought for the support of the amount of heads the body can handle. I was originally going for three, but some of my friends and tutor suggested I could add more to make it more like a hydra-like creature. I didn't want to make it too many, so had some talk with others on how to add smaller heads, so I thought maybe make the heads take form like they were coming together in fragments of energy or something to form new heads like trees growing new roots and sprout branches.

I wanted to give it sails and decorative crests with hair as though they were like dragons but more serpent-like

This was the idea what of my hydra would be, originaly going for four but took one of them off and went for three instead.  Took some research on serpant creatures that are usually affiliate with evil or the Oroboros that represents the infinity.

Skreovores:

I wanted the Skreovores to be demons that were once angels but turned bad, and ended up become some sort of beat-like creatures for their betrayal against the heavens. Wanting them to have a insect-like appearance but changed it a little, making them vaguely humanoid and gave the wings more claw like after they were torn, becoming a second pair of claws. Given the Skreovores an alien face.

The horns I tried out and thought of making many designs of how they appear, originally going for antenna or beetle horns but thought maybe a little mix.

Atta

The ancient titan of Earth, big as mountains and made out of sand and rock to form a body. He is one of the primordial beings that shaped the Earth in its creation. Debris falling from his body from his movement. I was really interested to figure out how the ancient creatures would look when creating the world, so I went for an elemental-type of being and thought making this guy huge and having most of his body being rock and the rest either stone or sand depends on the land he's on. Wanting to give him an ancient appearance but thought his face would look awesome with rocks forming a face. Left out the legs cause originally wanted him to look like he was floating but thought it would not work as if he is to be an earth element, then should at least be part of the element like he was coming up from the ground. 

So far that's that for now, more will be on the way and hope you like the ideas. The last part is done if you wish to clck on this link: Part 2