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New AoD art

Dhruin

Liturgist
Joined
Aug 15, 2003
Messages
758
Christ, that's nice. More please.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
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Messages
28,024
Soon. It was a test piece, to see if we dig the style and can use it somewhere. Looks like it's a hit, so there would be more stuff soon. He's working on a bitching (in my opinion) piece now.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
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See my reply to Mefi somewhere above - it's a living town. Not in mint condition though.
 

Trash

Pointing and laughing.
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About 8 meters beneath sea level.
Then I really dig the style. I've been visiting some museums lately, one had a great amount of art on the crusades. Saw some paintings and depictions of damaged towns that had the same feel to it. I can really recommend some good ol' classical and medieval art for a nice look on an rpg game, but I guess you allready know that. :wink: Good luck on the game!
 

Shagnak

Shagadelic
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Sep 6, 2003
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Arse of the world, New Zealand
Looks absolutely wonderful.

Are all illustration opportunities going to be full colour like that?
Or are you occasionally going to use more of a stylistic "sepia wash" style* (which would look fine for minor area changes, for example) or whatever, to reduce art labour.

Edit:
* You know, kinda like this
 
Joined
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Thomewhere between here and there
<whistles>

<looks again>

I like it.

Knowing nothing at this "AoD" of which you speak, nor anything of what this picture's supposed to portray, really, here are my impressions:

Overall, it seems hopeful, oddly enough. The light is bright, the pendants are flapping merrily in the breeze. It seems almost defiant.... kinda like it was steamrolled by a giant ball of grass that came rolling down from the mountains somehow (see the grass 'n such like around the circular breach in the wall) but overall the city survived, and people are now starting to move back in to see what damage has been done.

The people, despite the almost Grim Reaper-ish garb... I'd suggest they're generally Good-type folk, not ye Olde Dark Cabal of Necromancers and Villains, or anything... maybe it's the child, maybe it's the lighting. Evil people lurk in darkness, not in bright sunlight with children at their backs, so I'm under the impression that these are "just plain folks... who like to wear hooded cloaks and carry staffs."

It looks like the Attack of the Giant Balls o' Plantlife has been beaten back, and now the smoke (I can only assume they burned the hostile vegetation into submission) and/or fog (white, notice... also gives an impression of hope/rebirth) is rolling back on the dawn of a new day. Yup... seems like a "dawn" picture, as opposed to "dusk". Sort of mid-morning ish, I'd guess. The light just looks like a "morning" light to me.



...


Ok, so the Hostile Plantlife scenario likely isn't the case, but the rest of the impressions are on the up and up. :)

Looks great. Seriously.

Edit: It should also be noted that I'm fully prepared to accept the possibility that the people approaching the city are in fact evil as what-all, that they've blown that hole in the wall, and are going to make a mockery of the bright sunshine and complete their task of razing the city to the ground. It wouldn't have been my first choice, based solely on the picture, but there you go. :)
 

Section8

Cipher
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Oct 23, 2002
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Wardenclyffe
The people, despite the almost Grim Reaper-ish garb... I'd suggest they're generally Good-type folk, not ye Olde Dark Cabal of Necromancers and Villains, or anything... maybe it's the child, maybe it's the lighting. Evil people lurk in darkness, not in bright sunlight with children at their backs, so I'm under the impression that these are "just plain folks... who like to wear hooded cloaks and carry staffs."

To me it doesn't seem like they "like to wear hooded cloaks and staffs" but more that they do so out of a necessity to shield themselves from the environment (cloaks) and bear some meagre form of defense, even though they're just regular folk and far from warriors (staves).

But once again, it really is a fantastic piece. I'm more than happy to have it consuming RAM as my desktop wallpaper, even though I could otherwise the memory for something less decorative.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
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Messages
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Trash said:
Then I really dig the style. I've been visiting some museums lately, one had a great amount of art on the crusades. Saw some paintings and depictions of damaged towns that had the same feel to it. I can really recommend some good ol' classical and medieval art for a nice look on an rpg game, but I guess you allready know that. :wink: Good luck on the game!
Never hurt to see more. Do recommend.

Shagnak said:
Are all illustration opportunities going to be full colour like that?
Full color, assuming he can do indoor shots as good as he does outdoors. I need 4 test art pieces to make a decision on that. I'll post them later and we'll decide together.
 

Diogo Ribeiro

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Jun 23, 2003
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Lisboa, Portugal
That looks absolutely stunning, pretty close to professional quality - if it isn't made by a professional to begin with, that is. Much better at setting the tone than generic 3D art usually seen in other games.
 

Trash

Pointing and laughing.
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About 8 meters beneath sea level.
Ha, I could go on and on. E.H. Gombrich his standardwork "the story of art" lists a great many deal of classical paintings (with neat pictures :) ). Classical art: from Greece to Rome from Mary Beard and John Henderson is another great read and the era spoken of seems similar to the games feel. Good luck with the game, I'm looking forward to the hype. :D
 

Ismaul

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Great atmosphere and ambiance.
It definetly simulates the imagination.
I think it's the impression of discovery, of the unknown that gives the artwork some depth.
Anyways, the best art is always the one that lets the viewer complete it with his imagination. The nice thing about a suggestive piece is that the final work of art is different for each person, depending on his perception/interpretation.

I like it.
 

Azael

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Multikult Central South
Wasteland 2
When I think about the image a little more I agree that it evokes a feeling of a decaying society, but I also think that it isn't very plausible that the inhabitants of the decaying city would leave the walls like that. I can understand that they no longer have the means to rebuild the great old wall, either the technology has been lost in the annals of time or they simply don't have the economic/logistic means to undertake such a project. Assuming that people still live behind those walls, there should at least be a wooden palisade covering the gaps. Then again, maybe there is another wall protecting the core of the city?
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
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Azael said:
When I think about the image a little more I agree that it evokes a feeling of a decaying society, but I also think that it isn't very plausible that the inhabitants of the decaying city would leave the walls like that. I can understand that they no longer have the means to rebuild the great old wall, either the technology has been lost in the annals of time or they simply don't have the economic/logistic means to undertake such a project. Assuming that people still live behind those walls, there should at least be a wooden palisade covering the gaps. Then again, maybe there is another wall protecting the core of the city?
That was the only mistake that the artist made. Some efforts to fix things should have been shown: i.e. that wall breach should have been at least partially fixed with wall fragments, large stones, wood, etc; a destroyed tower reinforced by wooden beams to keep it semi-functional, etc.
 

Sabregirl

Scholar
Joined
Jan 7, 2006
Messages
131
That's a really, really nice piece. I really like the style and I think it'll really help generate some interest - well looks like it already has. :)

I'll be watching for more . . .

-S
 

galsiah

Erudite
Joined
Dec 12, 2005
Messages
1,613
Location
Montreal
First I think it's a great piece of art, so what I'm about to say is intended as constructive criticism:
Vault Dweller said:
That was the only mistake that the artist made. Some efforts to fix things should have been shown.
True, but one thing I found a little strange was the symmetry of the wall breach in the first place. It looks like a smooth mathematical curve, rather than a natural state of collapse. Perhaps the construction of the wall could lead to such symmetry in a breach, but I find it unlikely.
If there's a reasonable explanation for such a breach occuring then that's fine. I can't think of one, but I know little about the setting / plot.

Anyway, there is such a thing as artistic license I suppose. If that shape of breach makes a better picture, it's probably a good enough reason on its own.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
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galsiah said:
It looks like a smooth mathematical curve, rather than a natural state of collapse. ... If there's a reasonable explanation for such a breach occuring then that's fine.
War. Magic more powerful than a load of magic 1d4 missiles. The war is what triggered the collapse and decline.
 

Whipporowill

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Kamaz said:
Because somehow I like it (I know, I am pervert).

Wow! If you can get weird Larp-guys from Latvia (or was it Lithuania?) that don't like fantasy ("because it's not realistic") to like your game I think you're pretty much going to be a millionare VD. Congrats.
 

RGE

Liturgist
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Jul 18, 2004
Messages
773
Location
Karlstad, Sweden
Awesome post-apocalyptic fantasy art there, but now I'm going to be disappointed if the outdoors areas in the city doesn't sport tall buildings like the ones seen in the picture.
 

Dhruin

Liturgist
Joined
Aug 15, 2003
Messages
758
That's a good question. Will we see anything resembling this in-game? (Within the capabilities of Torque and the game's framework, obviously)
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
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Messages
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Yes, the artist has asked for and seen building models, town layout, etc. Would it look exactly like what you see on the picture? Don't think so.
 

Twinfalls

Erudite
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
3,903
Fantabulous. Just wanted to echo:

obediah said:
Vault Dweller said:
I'm thinking of using such pictures even when no loading is required (example, enter a poor area of a town, etc).

Sounds great to me. I've been a fan of using still art to show a setting since back in the C64 days. It's a real shame the concept was mostly swallowed by FMV-shit. One well thought out and executed picture can do wonders for setting mood and make up for limitations in the in-game graphics/engine. A paragraph of flavored text to go along with it, and I'm set.
 

Claw

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Project: Eternity Divinity: Original Sin 2
"Me, too"


I love the idea of transistion screens with quality art. I hope the travelling screen will look as fabulous.
 

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