TESV:Skyrim: Trolls

Trolls! What a surprise for me. Coming into this project I had no idea that trolls were so different than I'd ever imagined them. 3 eyes and an ape-like body was how they were represented in the last version of TES. What a challenge!

We wanted to give them a bit of personality and a bit of traditional flavor. Maybe they like shiny things and collect the bones of their victims.

 Another flavor of Troll. The Snow troll.

Troll v. Nord!

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TESV:Skyrim: Elven Armor

Elven Armor . In TES lore, Elven armor has had bird of prey design elements and that is a motif we played with in many different ways before settling on this idea. In this drawing I dressed a Nord in Elven armor which he doesn't seem too happy about. Maybe it's a hazing process for new Stormcloaks? Who knows. Regardless, the bird motif made its way in to this drawing in more ways than one, eh?

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TESV:Skyrim - Solitude

Early in development, I literally go to the drawing board and get set to working out ideas with markers and colored pencils. This is useful in many ways and I find the connection with paper to be far more engaging than working on a computer screen. For one thing there are no distractions like emails popping up or the ever present temptations of the internet clawing at my basal ganglia for dopamine. 

Most of these drawing will never be used as they tend to be a means to a conceptual end. It's a way of narrowing down our choices to find the right path. 

After all of this sketching I start to get to the business of rendering out more finished pieces in Photoshop that ties together all the ideas settled on by us. 

I'm certainly not the first person to realize this, I attempt to find the character of a city and the environment it occupies. That is what helps to drive the design more successfully. 

“If you start with character, you probably will end up with good drawings.” - Chuck Jones

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TESV:Skyrim - Goats!

Mountain Goats!

Goat orthographic.

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TESV:Skyrim - Riverwood

As requested here's the Riverwood street scene from the art of book. A similar approach to the previous post for Whiterun was taken with this. Both are 'Day for Night' shots. In other words the original screenshot were taken with daytime lighting but I painted over them to look like night.

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TESV:Skyrim - Whiterun Atmospherics

After developing the initial concepts for Whiterun, world artist Clara Struthers built the basic geometry and layout of Whiterun. After getting pretty far along we decided to do a paint over to add some details and atmospherics like snow, lighting, clouds, uneven roof tiles, etc. We even added some characters to give some hints of story possibilities as well. (I like to think that if Adam and I were Nords in Skyrim that would be the two of us late at night down in the right hand corner)

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TESV:Skyrim - Riften

Here's a few sketches from the development of Riften. The idea from the designers is that it would be a city constructed at the base of a lake built mostly from wood. The idea reminded me (visually) of the Adirondacks in upstate NY mixed with a Scandinavian fishing town. Here's a just a few of the sketches all done with colored pencil, pastel washes and markers, plus a few touches of Photoshop.

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TESV:Skyrim - Glass Armour

Glass armour is probably the most high fantasy outfit in TES next to Daedric Armour. We wanted to do something different with it this time around while retaining some of its original essence from previous TES games. Ultimately we chose a more flowing scaled approach to the design where the glass was less subtle but still a more decorative element.

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TESV:Skyrim - Boethia Shrine

The sacrificial Shrine of Boethia. You know.... for kids!

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TESV:Skyrim - Nord Plate Armor

Nord Plate armor was an interesting mix of inspirations and a design challenge because plate armor is not usually associated with Nords (Vikings). We tend to think leather, studs, and fur. To get around this, I actually stole a bit of German and Polish Hussar armor and incorporated a little Stormcloak seasoning to try and make this work. I may have been a bit too slavish to my reference but hopefully the result was interesting.

...and yes I did that horrible thing that all entertainment artists do at one point or another. I made boob cups for female variant armor. What can I say? It's hard to resist some of these tropes sometimes. I've gotten it out of my system and will be more sparing with this in the future if I can. I instead will focus on making feminine design aesthetics in the decorative motifs. Far more interesting and practical.

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TESV:Skyrim - Bandits Pt. 2

Happy new year! Let's hope that 2013 is filled with a bit more happiness, a little more joy, a little less tragedy and a lot more art!

Bandit variants from the previous Bandits post:

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TESV:Skyrim - Bandits Pt. 1

Bandits. Our thinking on the Bandits was that they were geared to live light and nomadic. Wolf skins would be the clothing of choice since it's warm not to mention kind of bad assed to have killed a wolf. The first few sketches were to get a good vibe and silhouette...

Sven Peltpiles...

Female version. Yeah I know... cleavage in the snow... yada, yada...

I've got a couple of minor variants I'll post soon. Thanks for stopping by...:)

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TESV:Skyrim - Daedric Armour and Weapon Set

For the Daedric Armor the design called for a rather unearthly and unconventional approach. I want to hit all of the notes of the previous incarnations of the design but wanted to give it a distinctly asymmetrical silhouette and a bit more high fantasy. In my little back story, I felt it should look like it was forged in some other hellish dimension to empower and torment it's user for the amusement of some elder god. I felt like this is a powerful piece of equipment but almost too powerful for any mere mortal to wear. It should look painful to wear as if that cost was worth it.

The weapons needed to convey the same feeling of being almost as dangerous to the user as it is to the users opponent. Lots of reversed point bits and humming red plasma/magma just under the surface of the steel. 

The shield felt a little obtuse and out of place with the rest of the gear to me so I asked to do a quick redesign...

Thanks again for stopping by and stay inspired to create!

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TESV:Skyrim - Mages Pt. 2

Basically the same approach for the Male mages as the females. These costumes are generally designed in conjunction with each other.

Archmage has a bit more symmetry.

Apprentice Mage. It's in the art book but I don't think it was ever actually used in the game.

This one is the standard Mage Guild outfit.

Thanks again. More to come...

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TESV:Skyrim - Mages Pt. 1

Mages in the bitter north of Tamriel must have adapted to their harsh surroundings but still maintained their roots in their traditions beliefs and faith. I approached their costumes bearing this in mind and also wanting to give them the feel that they could, like a Shoalin Monk or Chuck Norris drop your ass with a roundhouse kick at any time. 

Lot's of sketching with prismacolor marker and pencils helps quickly develop ideas.

As a young apprentice I thought it'd be fun if they had a bit of the swagger. I liked the idea of  a sort of  parochial school filled with unsure and budding young students learning the ways of the force, hiding in the basement late at night, listening to Legendary Pink Dots and trying to summon C'thulu.

A female Archmage idea spawned the idea of asymmetry in the costumes. I didn't want to just put some robes on them and call it done. There needed to be some sort of  visual hook to make them read from a distance if possible and give them their own identity.

Thanks for stopping by. More to come...

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TESV:Skyrim - Sexy Ladies Pt. 2

This assignment was a simple costume design.  Not a whole lot of description is given or necessary for these ancillary designs. They are mostly background texture and side quest messengers. That said I really enjoy working on these because I get to be creative in coming up with my own little internal back stories to give the designs more context while drawing.

I usually start out with a B/W value sketch to work out values and get the idea across to the AD. Once a design is decided on I'm asked to either move on to a color pass or the next assignment depending on how much time we have or if enough is being communicated.

I like concept art that reveals the personality of the character. As in life, the personality of the character can inform the costume. I try to animate costume designs with the life force of the character wearing it. My hope is that it inspires more than just the character modeler but also gets designers and animators juiced with ideas as well.

I thought of  her as a head strong, no-nonsense, and beautiful bartender. Perhaps even owning the place. Kind of the Amazonian version of Marianne from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Probably sleeps on a little cot or pile of furs in a back room by the hearth. Wins every drinking contest and isn't above bouncing some of the deadbeats and brawlers if necessary. 

Thanks for stopping by. More to come...

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TESV:Skyrim - Sexy Ladies Pt. 1

What would a Sword and Sorcery game be without sexy bar maidens and dancers? :) Here are a couple of quick sketches that had some elements used for a few of the female NPCs. My muse for them was, of course my beautiful and sexy wife along with her friend and belly dancer Sharon Kihara mixed with some others from my subconscious..:)

I definitely took some ques from Sharon's wardrobe as she has a lovely variety of objects and talisman she uses in her costumed performances.

I'll feature the final version of a Barmaid outfit in another post for another post down the road. Thanks again!

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TESV:Skyrim - Jorrvasker (Companions Guild)

 The Companions Hall. The Companions are an elite fighter's guild of Nords with a strange secret who's sphere of influence emanates from inside the city walls of Whiterun. I wanted the design of Jorrvaskr to speak the language of Nord culture and attempted to sum up what they're all about architecturally. 

I went quite a few rounds with myself in coming up with something I thought was more compelling than just a standard viking structure.  

After exhausting myself with a ton of sketches I took a walk around the office and laughed out loud when I thought of what to do. Take a longboat and flip it over dummy! Rushing back to my table I quickly scrawled out this sketch.

Shields along the gutters of the roof would signify each member of the Companions. I thought it might be cool if you got your own when you passed the challenges but I think that was asking a bit too much considering the volume of other content to create for the game. I'm just glad they liked the idea of the boat...:) 

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TESV:Skyrim - Early Wisp Concepts

Continuing from my previous Wisp post, this was an early sketch designed to show an encounter with Wisps pre-Wisp Mother. This concept of them (being more like Sirens) was the driving idea in my mind to pitch to the designers and Todd. They have an insatiable hunger that can never be quenched. Doomed souls forever looking for another wayward traveler lost in the woods.

 I imagined the Wisps luring the player deeper into a glen with an enchanting and seductively harmonic song. As they surrounded you they would start stripping away your magica, weapons, and gear as you were lifted into the air by their ghostly forms. After you were sufficiently defenseless they'd drain your health and take on a more corporeal monster/vampiric form and finish you off. After a while the effects of the lifeforce they took from you would dwindle and they'd revert back to a more ethereal ghost like state.

Of course this was a tremendous amount of resources to devote to one creature design and it didn't really fit with the lore so it was never made it in. But in going through this process we explored a lot of ideas that manifested in opening some doors elsewhere and established a new part of the Elder Scrolls canon.

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TESV:Skyrim - Wisp Mother

When asked to design the Wisp I researched not only the TES version, but also the Will o' the Wisp from Celtic folklore. There it was a more mischievous creature like a little goblin who would lure wayward travelers to their doom off of a cliff in the fog or roll them in a thicket, etc. In Oblivion they were essentially particle spheres with the promise of loot if you killed them. I liked the supernatural aspect of them but I wanted to design a creature who was more compelling and potentially seductive.

My thought was, if they're supposed to lure you to your doom then they should be tempting bait, no? Difficult to pull off in an RPG setting but I thought I'd try to pitch anyway. Luckily they went for it...

..After making a few quick drawings of ghostly women we came full circle back to the original concept of the TES4 Wisps but with the added component of the Wisp Mother and her 'child' Wisps... 

...The idea pitched at this point was to make her beautiful and ethereal and seemingly like an ally until you got within her striking distance. She'd then reveal her true nature and revert to her 'vampiric' form quickly draining the player's life force...

...When all was said and done these ideas proved a little too ambitious, the transformation concept got axed and probably rightfully so...

Still, this was an evolution for the Wisp and it was really fun to develop with the rest of the team. I'll be updating more in the near future so stop by again soon.

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