'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Concept Art Progress (1)

In order to work around my difficulties with producing concept art I have decided upon breaking down my concept work load into specific stages, thus avoiding becoming overwhelmed as I have been previously. I work on multiple layers so objects can be easily edited without impacting their surroundings. The stages are:

1. Rough colour block-out over Maya block-out.
2. Basic colour block-out with forms established.
3. Change colours where necessary.
4. Add any basic details such as hieroglyphics.
5. Consider tonal values concerning object distance from camera.
6. Perform rough paint-over of shadow and light locations + directions.
7. Transfer the light & shadow knowledge onto the concept itself.
8. Add any finishing touches.

Stage 2: Improved colour block-out establishing object shapes.
The central waterfall is not currently shown to avoid it getting in the way of objects.

Stage 1: An extremely rough colour block-out.

The Maya block-out used for my concept art.

The original approved colour scheme.

FAO Phil: Revised secret lair layout (block-out)

While a block-out is naturally boring to look at, rather than waste precious time working more into this when it may just not work, I've presented the revised block-out with the resolution gate accurately representing the 16:9 (2556 x 1440 pixels) canvas size, above the approved colour scheme. If this layout is approved, concept art development will begin as soon as possible.

In response to OGR feedback I have adjusted my camera angle, added basic block-outs for torches and created the hero prop's dais. Lighting will be established within concept art, however I have shown the hero prop's illuminating light in the form of a transparent polyCylinder. The design on the torches is not random, while the colour is to be ignored the design takes inspiration from a historical ancient Egyptian symbol known as a 'Sa', meaning protection - considering the secrecy of the lair, such a symbol could act as protection from intruders and protect Nemhisect when he lies within it. 

Fig. 1: Screenshot of revised Maya block-out of Insectoid Soldier secret lair.

Fig. 2: Approved colour scheme, overlayed on previous block-out.

Fig. 3:
Sa symbol.
(Deurer, s.d.)

Here's a quote from egyptartsite.com concerning the Sa's meaning and appearance:

"This symbol means protection. Its origins are uncertain but it is speculated that it represents either a rolled up herdsman's shelter or a papyrus life-preserver used by ancient Egyptian boaters. Either way it is clearly a symbol of protection." (Deurer, s.d.)

Quote Bibliography

Deurer, Richard. (s.d.) EgyptArt: Symbols and Definitions [online blog] In: egyptartsite.com At: http://www.egyptartsite.com/symlst.html (Accessed 24.11.13)

Image Bibliography
Fig. 3: Deurer, Richard. (s.d.) Sa symbol [digital graphic] At: http://www.egyptartsite.com/symlst.html (Accessed 24.11.13)

Secret Lairs OGR (2)

Secret Lairs OGR (2) Presentation

'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Revised Colour Tests

It's a shame to be dealing with the colour pick stage so close to the OGR deadline, however the hurdles that I've had to jump over in response to vital feedback especially in the past two days has led to what will be a much better piece of concept art than I would have originally done, so as always feedback, especially in the form of constructive criticism is very much appreciated! 

My favourites are colour test 01 and 02 as they both scream "Insectoid" as well as connect back to the green eyes of Nemhisect and his murdered mother in the Character Profile while looking masculine enough to suit a male character, unlike 04 which I feel is a bit too pink and feminine and 03 which is simply too colourful.

Colour test 01

Colour test 02

Colour test 03

Colour test 04

'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Revised Hero Prop Designs

See below images for important information related to the hero prop designs.
These designs also count as thumbnails 34 - 39.

The six hero prop designs. According to feedback so far, the most preferred designs are 1, 3 and 4.

The revised hero prop Influence Map.

Important information when viewing Hero Prop designs:

Character Profile synopsis
The story is set in ancient Egypt, it focuses on the hidden son of the Pharaoh, Akhenaten - known as Nemhisect so as a result is the rightful heir to the throne of Egypt. However for many years Nemhisect is led to believe that both his mother and father are dead. He begins as a common peasant but is forced into the Egyptian military and over 10 years rises to the rank of General due to his skill and resolve to serve the gods, General being the second most powerful position in Egypt - higher than all but the Pharaoh. 

On a nighttime raid on a camp of enemies of the Egyptians, he meets his true mother, who like himself has green eyes 'the colour of papyrus reeds' she tells him his father is Akhenaten and that she was exiled and tells him the meaning of his name, 'Apprentice to Horus, the god of war. The one true king of Egypt.'

This leads to Nemhisect taking his mother with him and challenging the Pharaoh, who then murders his mother in front of him. Nemhisect is locked away to keep the truth from spreading and experimented on by his father's servants, he is then embalmed alive with an apparently mystical oil of insects of the desert and the blood of the damned. He begins to mutate and breaks from the embalming's bindings. A mutated insectoid Nemhisect escapes, vowing revenge but knowing he does not yet have the power to defeat the Pharaoh and his men, he retreats underground and plans his revenge.

The insect connection

Some insects were considered to be sacred in ancient Egypt, the main one being the Scarab/dung beetle. The desert locust is also a well known insect of ancient Egypt, partly due to the 'Book of Exodus' story involving Moses in the Bible, in which an Egyptian Pharaoh and his people are attacked by 10 forms of plagues, one of which is a swarm of locusts.

Why a helmet/crown?

Feedback on the OGR indicated that a sword for a hero prop was too simple and not interesting enough as a sword was pretty much a blade with a nice handle, I realised this to be true so instead turned to designing a helmet / crown for Nemhisect. Keep in mind that he wants revenge for the lies of his father, the Pharaoh and the murder of his mother, her Payrus reed coloured eyes, that he is the rightful heir to the throne as well as the fact that he is a former - now insectoid - soldier.

The ancient Egyptians rarely wore armor however helmets are seen to have adorned the heads of those high up in the Egyptian military while crowns adorned the heads of the gods or the Pharaoh, who often was considered a god in their own right. Horus is the god of war, protection and the sky while Khepri is a Scarab-headed god who is the subordinate to the sun god Ra e.g. Horus.

Feedback so far

After asking Candice, Ernesta, Hannah and Heidi for feedback I have found out the preferred designs so far are:

1, which has been a preference three times. 3 and 4 have been a preference twice. 5 has been a preference once. As a result I have narrowed my choices down to 1, 3, or 4. Ernesta suggested that 5 had a feminine appearance so after looking at it with that in mind, I was in agreement and felt it would not be suitable for a male character, especially not one wanting revenge; there is also the fact that it is the most simplistic of the designs and would not pose enough of a challenge to create. It was also mentioned that realistically 6 would be too cumbersome for battle.


Related links
'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Post-OGR Thumbnails: 25 - 33
Secret Lairs OGR Presentation (1)

'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Post-OGR Thumbnails: 25 - 33

Fig. 1: Thumbnails 25 to 33.

These thumbnails focus more on the insectoid nature of the lair while also keeping a connection with ancient Egypt. At the moment I'm simply experimenting with different designs without thinking about the method at which the lair came to be, I have paraphrased the related parts of my reply to Phil on my OGR.

My insectoid soldier, Nemhisect could quite easily have spent years plotting his revenge and having once been a slave and then a skilled General, he'd be completely capable of carving out his own lair possibly from a pre-existing structure or excavating it himself. His reason for carving it is due to his resolve to serve the gods and the sacred nature of insects related to them. Further thumbnails will set this in stone.

All thumbnails apart from 29 and 32 were completed before our Photoshop lecturer, Jordan had provided feedback on my latest thumbnails. He truthfully stated that I need to watch my tonal values as my colour ranged from mid-grey to white rather than from black to white and demonstrated an example as to how I could achieve this by quickly painting over a duplicate of 33 (Fig. 2). 

Fig. 2: Comparison between 33 and Jordan's quick paint-over to show the importance of effective tonal values.

My thumbnailing method is currently to spend a time limit of 5 minutes on each before moving on to the next then eventually coming back to those for which I feel it necessary. All required information concerning the character profile / back story, visual concept as well as previous influence maps and thumbnails can be found on my OGR presentation: 
Secret Lairs OGR Presentation

'Secret Lair of an Insectoid Soldier' Thumbnails 9 - 24

I set myself a time limit of 5 minutes per thumbnail, to ensure I followed this rule I simply used a looping countdown timer on YouTube which beeps at 5 minute intervals. I find this method provides an excellent challenge in terms of what I can produce within that time limit thus forcing development of my ability to create more interesting thumbnails at a much faster pace. Of these I most like 17 and 21.

Insectoid Soldier Character Profile: Nemhisect

Insectoid Soldier Character Profile

Mind Maps and Influence Maps:
"Insectoid"
"Soldier"