For today’s blog post, we thought we’d take a few steps back in exploring the game’s art style by bringing it back to the concepting phase! To help us do that is Connor, our Concept Artist!!
Here’s a look at how Connor illustrated portraits for some interesting characters – the Lost Raiders! When flying around Drosera, you may come across ‘audio fragments’, which contain stories from raiders who never escaped the planet. To give these stories more life, we knew we needed to put a face to them! This is where Connor came in – let’s check out the process!
CONCEPTUALIZING THE IDEA
In this case, the audio logs’ script and voice over came before Connor’s illustrations, giving him a bit of a springboard to go off of. The goal was to try to make them look more alien, synthesizing various races in the game and creating a few exaggerating features already existing in the photos.
The first image was a thumbnail sketch done in Connor’s notebook! He likes to start with no reference, just getting the energy and imagination aspect before introducing references and constraints.
He then started collaging a variety of photos and mugshots he found from the Old west - it was important to get their likeness and overall rustic feel for the portraits.
When he started sketching, his goal was to get the overall landmark feelings correct, from big areas to small details - making sure eyes, mouth and brow are aligned, etc.
After that, it was simplifying and condensing anything that’ll lead the eye away from the focal point - in this case, being the portraiture.
After he had a solid drawing, it was time to go in with a textured brush! He also applied a sepia tone to the line art to give it a more organic feel.
Finally, once the tone and frame were set, it was time to bring back the sci-fi; Connor then created serial numbers and alien passport stamps, overlaying them on top to complete the portrait!
IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS
Being that Drosera is a planet where people from all races and backgrounds come to raid, it was important to ensure each character stood out on its own. The goal was for these portraits to be a set with a level of consistency, but at the same time avoid any of them looking too similar to one another. The reference images were key, but we didn’t necessarily want to be married to them either - instead use them as a road map so that we didn’t veer off too far in imagination land. Respecting the reference until we had a decent foundation and then deviating in cheeky ways (either by use of line or simplifying complex detail) became Connor’s routine process for each portrait.
And that about wraps up this month’s blog post! We can’t wait ‘til you collect all the audio logs and experience the little side stories of these lost raiders! Have questions about concepting or other parts of game design? Drop it in the comments below or over on our Discord!