Darktiste Sketchbook

[darktiste]

Hey I hope I havn't discouraged you and I know reality checks can be rough but they are also needed. I really want you to succeed and do better and I can see you have the commitment and ideas to make it happen or else I would not write all of this :D

When working alone and without a project, just designing - I find what works best is imagining you have a project, think about the time it is set in, make up some context. So maybe in your case: who are the angels up against, what is getting rammed by the sword, what world are we on, has the angel personalized the weapon, or was it a gift from god or another race perhaps, so who made it. Can we see any of this? These are just examples. Go beyond that. And then the key is using that made up stuff as context to design in. It all becomes more cohesive that way and you can give it story visually. Yes when you have clients this is all given to you, because they will have their ideas already most of the time. But as long as you're on your own you should find a workaround like this - instead of like I said designing without a lot of context. Your design does feel like blue sky, where nothing has been figured out. But blue sky also means hundreds of iterations and not six silhouettes and one finished design. Yet you have all these wonderful ideas. Learning how to communicate them visually is key! No client will accept a design that is only understood when you explain it to them with a long text paragraph.

I think going outside the box is a good thing. But you want to tie it to the stuff that people know already as well. The xenomorph in alien still has legs, arms and sharp teeth, like a lot of scary creatures. They went out of the box with some aspects but also tied it to what we know and expect. Sci fi and fantasy is always somewhat grounded in the real world. An enlarged and disgusting insect makes a better enemy then a pony. It's just in us humans to think this way, it's a universal thing, that's what I wanted to say when mentioning pop culture. It's a western way of looking at the world and if you want to appeal to western culture you dont want to disregard it. There are still enough ways to be different and unique :)

I can relate very much to the drawing a circle analogy you used. It's one thing ro know this stuff and another to put it into practice. Especially when it comes to design so much is in the thinking process and what you have figured out before. There are so many people that just design for a random fanatasy setting set somewhere in the medieval period. And thats all they think before starting. But the more you know about the world you design the more you can put into the designs itself. Creating restrictions for yourself and designing around them will probably make for better designs. But I bet you know this already.

Keep doing what you do, design is a very complex topic that cant be mastered in a day a week or a year. I hope you can take something away from this tho and I'm looking forward to what you make next!

I tried to reply but the reply got corrupted so i am sorry that you won't know my thought on this fully.Since i am out of time and will to write it back i just hate to repeat myself.Not your fault at all.

And i think your last sentence is really what would resume the best my own thought. But i am just very bad at short form since i am an overthinker.

[JosephCow]

-JosephCow yes i certainly have to rely less on my memory and more on cheat sheet i can glance at from time to time i think because i am not always actively remembering advise when i am in designing mode there like a shift in the thinking from purely what cool vs what functional.

There is a fight as far as if i should follow the rule of cool or if i should follow the more design follow function.

Since i am probably far away from what i would call industrial design i think i generally priotize the rule of cool with a splash of functionality but function is still the driving factor because no body like a design where there collision where volume go inside one now a day it very unprofessional even if it did happen in the paste...

I am more aim toward the fantansy than the realistic medieval stuff.

Oh yeah for sure. I think in the past like 90s and 2000s, for one thing the industry was smaller and newer so the standards weren't quite as high, but they also focused a lot on superficial cool factor. Like I immediately think of the Spyro games or something. Nowadays those kinds of designs can look dated especially as we've gotten used to everything being a lot more realistic, but there's definitely still a place for that kind of fun aesthetic. However, it's my opinion that the functionality part of the design actually does generally make things cooler and more interesting.

[darktiste]

-JosephCow  yes i certainly have to rely less on my memory and more on cheat sheet i can glance at from time to time i think because i am not always actively remembering advise when i am in designing mode there like a shift in the thinking from purely what cool vs what functional.

There is a fight as far as if i should follow the rule of cool or if i should follow the more design follow function.

Since i am probably far away from what i would call industrial design i think i generally priotize the rule of cool with a splash of functionality but function is still the driving factor because no body like a design where there collision where volume go inside one now a day it very unprofessional even if it did happen in the paste...

I am more aim toward the fantansy than the realistic medieval stuff.

Oh yeah for sure. I think in the past like 90s and 2000s, for one thing the industry was smaller and newer so the standards weren't quite as high, but they also focused a lot on superficial cool factor. Like I immediately think of the Spyro games or something. Nowadays those kinds of designs can look dated especially as we've gotten used to everything being a lot more realistic, but there's definitely still a place for that kind of fun aesthetic. However, it's my opinion that the functionality part of the design actually does generally make things cooler and more interesting.

I think it also a platform thing still atm due to screen size for example.Mobile phone is an example of where functionality is there but it alot more stylized than on other platform it just due to visual constraint such as screen size and the target audience. Kid vs adult don't necessarly look for the same amount of realism.But due to graphic advancement realism is a thing because you can afford to before you couldn't even if you would have wanted to the graphical limitation was insane in that era...enchance why we have now an art style called pixel art.

[Leo Ki]

Also the low poly style.

However much you wanted to avoid focusing on the background story of the sword, it looks like you can't escape it since it started two pages ago :) Now we want to see the design of the angel, which you promised. Even a rough draft would be a good start. No pressure though, just the curiosity that you awoke.

[darktiste]

Also the low poly style.

However much you wanted to avoid focusing on the background story of the sword, it looks like you can't escape it since it started two pages ago :) Now we want to see the design of the angel, which you promised. Even a rough draft would be a good start. No pressure though, just the curiosity that you awoke.

Good observation yeah low poly that an other limited graphic style.

As for the armor It coming i have to deal with some side tracking.I have done 1 and a 1/2 done out of 6 iteration.But i will post them as a whole to give them a even chance at being commented on.

[darktiste]

4/6...

[darktiste]

Finish 6 armor variation let me know how you feel about them.This is following the angel serie i been doing which one do you feel would pair well with the two bladed shield

[Leo Ki]

I like 6 for its relative simplicity that would complement the simpler sword designs, but the blade-like helmet of 2 really goes well with the sword. I vote 2!

[darktiste]

This is a new separate project with the intent of making an ''upgradeable weapon'' serie in a 3 stage weapon

Here a few additional information as to what i am thinking in term of Theme there 3 theme with different level of importance in term of visual influence.

Theme

Elve
Color palette:
Tier 1 Green,
Tier 2  Purple,Brown,Red

Shape:Oval,Spiral,Cresent
Accent:Vine like,leaf like
Keyword:Flowing,elegant,Biologic & Mineral,Bark,scale,Fur,Moss

Tribal
Color palette:Earthy tone
Shape:Organic,uneven
Accent: Bone, Feather, Tattoo, Tribal Paint, Ornament stone, Leather, No metal, Scale, Wood, Sewed,Ragged

Undead

Color palette: 
Tier 1 Bone
Tier 2  Earthy tone
Shape:Symetric spike,Rib like,Tombstone
Accent:Broken,Bandage,Cross,


Level 1
Material:Broken Bone,Rotting Wood,Weak Vine,Stone,Ragged Leather,Raw Wood
Ornement:Fur,Bone,Tribal paint small
Influence/Proportion priority priority: Tribal(58%),Undead(28%),Elve(13%)
Level 2
Material:Bone,Wood,Barbed Vine,Rusted Metal,Leather,Raw Wood
Ornement:Fur,Bone,Polish gem,Uncommon feather,Ingraving Medium
Influence/Proportion priority:Tribal(33%),Undead(33%),Elve(33%)
Level 3
Material:Bone,Petrified Crystal wood,Poisonous Wine,Stone,Ingrave Leather,Mythril(metal)
Ornement:Superiorcut gemstone,Magic Ingraving Large
Influence/Proportion priority: Elve(58%)Tribal(28%),Undead(13%),

[Leo Ki]

Darktiste, I'm not clear on the intent. Is the plan to render variations from the outlines into each theme and stage? At first glance I have a sense of which may be which but I guess it's not that simple, right?

[darktiste]

Each stage visually evolve the theme itself changing the proportion of how much 1 of the 3 theme get pick to influence the design that why you got the % in the influence section.As you can notice the design evolve from a more dominating tribal influence toward more of an elve influence.That mean that the keyword and the color palette influence move slightly but the intent is to harmonize it somewhat across the board.It an exercise in design and harmony i would say.

[Leo Ki]

Thanks, sounds cool. Next step is coloring with each theme's color palette?

[darktiste]

In short no it developping one of those 6 silhouette into 1 sketch and than using that sketch to create the second stage doing 6 more silhouette that try to evolve this visual.But first i think i need to go back and readjust the level of detail on those silhouette to make them a little more basic as to avoid the last stage being to overcook and hard to read.

[dimensional-knight]

Sounds like a good strategy! Starting from simpler silhouettes will give you a wider ranger for variations, avoiding that issue you see sometimes in mmorpgs with gear with lot of stuff tacked on them because they need to be more and more over the top to convey higher levels that weren't originally in the game.

[darktiste]

Here the color test for the angelic armor.I tried something very limited.Let me know what you think.

I did some artistic decision and gone with the armor from n.6 and change the hat for the n.2 base on LEO KI
The reason as to why i thook the n.6 was because i wanted the hooded look and something with a robe which i felt was more appropriate to make contrast in the look from a more generic warrior look a mix between a clerical and warrior type but not a paladin which to me look more human.

[Leo Ki]

I agree the paladin type would be less "angelic." When looking at them in relation to the swords, I don't like the ones with green hues, I feel a mismatch. I will still pick number 1 because of the gold to respond to the sword.

Won't there be an issue when they wield the swords, the pointy wrist bows overlapping with the sword guards?

I remember I promised to sketch an action scene of a planar angel with two double swords, it's going to be a pretty hard task... Also, since we can't create spoiler blocks, I don't know yet how I'll post it in your thread in a non-invading manner.

[darktiste]

I agree that the gauntlet is kinda obstructing and you should probably make your own version of the gauntlet.

If you feel like posting here you could create a second post that i would link here or you just have to credit me over there both are option i am ok with

Number 1 is number 1 not surprising those are very common color for angel.Sometime you try hue just to have the option that why you want option

[Leo Ki]

It's going to take me a while to absorb the design into even just a sketch. What is more clear in my mind is the movement forward of the angel wielding the swords although it is my own construct of it so if you have any particular charge style in mind please share it :)

[darktiste]

It's going to take me a while to absorb the design into even just a sketch. What is more clear in my mind is the movement forward of the angel wielding the swords although it is my own construct of it so if you have any particular charge style in mind please share it :)

Well i will most likely have to go back to the color board and fix the color of the sword to now harmonize with the armor since the armor color test didn't took really in account the color test of the sword which just show how disconnected the project was in the first place. I will adjust the yellow that was already present but i don't think a blue gem is the right choose.

If you want to absorb the design i think you i will need to go a little more deeper into a turn around because you got no idea of how thick some of the element are or how the handle look like.Similar problem for the armor which would benefit from having atleast a side view.

The other thing is that the wearer is an angel and i did not define that at all in any of the drawing so it up to you to define how angel look in that universe of course they have to fit in that armor so they will have to be humanoid looking also since there is an expectation of flying i think it probably a good idea if i add also back view so i guess what i am saying is there is still some work to be done as far as passing you the baton.

It seem like i will be working on extending the project and fixing a few visual problem before you try to make it into something more dynamic so for the moment i will be putting the elven axe on stand by.

[Leo Ki]

I will be patient indeed, otherwise I'm just going to make up stuff and betray your concept.
Don't put your other projects on the back burner please.