Just saw it, it's awesome!Your post got mentioned on the Inoerator Twitter!! And well deserved too, that is honestly top notch, it’s up there with the artwork Paradox put ingame. Hopefully we can see throne rooms of different types as more patches are added in.
Just wow! Thank you all! Really!
)
Wow, first of all wow!I believe the expression is "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
Well, consider me flattered.
If I may, I would like to offer you a few pointers.
These images were initially made in double size. So the original pixel size is 1600x512. Then they are shrunk down to half the size, 800x256 pixels, which you got right. The Pixels per centimeter really doesn't matter. It is only a relevant factor if you intend to use this file for printing.
There are 2 different files for each background. One for the large version (character view) and one for the smaller portraits (everywhere else). The smaller file is just a cut out part of the larger one, which allows you to be more specific with exactly what part of the larger image you wish to display behind the character in the smaller portraits.
An important thing to note is to keep the colors in the image relatively low contrast and not too vibrant. This is to avoid making the image too noisy, which would make the in game information that is shown on top of it harder to read. For instance, you would never see anything painted pure black or pure white in these scenes. (Unless I missed a pixel.
The characters themselves are 3D models with fixed lighting, making them very hard to fit well together with the background images. For this purpose there is another texture applied on top of the background and the character. This is usually a single color 4x4 pixel texture with a very low opacity that is just stretched over the character and the background. (Example: A character in the desert has a yellowish orange texture applied to it and the background, making the two get very similar colors without changing the 3D model or its lighting.) In more complicated scenes like the throne room, or the prison cell, a full size (800x256 pixel) gradient image is used instead, to fit the lighting better.
This is the technical stuff.
The artistic stuff is trickier.
I can't comment much on the historical accuracy, since I had our very well educated and hard working content designers sanity check my work in that aspect. (Shout out to the Imperator content design team!) However I would advise populating the scene a bit more by adding a few more props here and there. Perhaps a table. Some documents. Some statues. Anything that would make sense to have in such a venue and fits the time period.
Always have the lighting in mind. Where is it coming from and how does the light bounce in the room. Understanding how ambient occlusion works will really help you get the right shadows in many places.
Don't be afraid to use photo references. As long as there aren't any copyright infringements, and the references are fitting, feel free to even bring them into the scene and paint over them.
And finally, I will attach a very handy photoshop brush that was used for the majority of these scenes. (Note that you will need to disable its "Color Dynamics" at times.) Even small details are made with this brush, just at a very small brush size.
I can't really answer your question of whether you "should keep going" but I say that if you are enjoying it, go for it!
Whether or not, and how your art would end up in the game when you are done, that's a different question. Regardless of that, I would still encourage you to keep going. Be it for your own pleasure, for practice, or for potential new assets for the game.
I hope this was helpful.
PS: I almost never write on forums, so you'll have to excuse me if this post was unnecessarily long.
Very motivational reply for the OP author!I believe the expression is "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
Well, consider me flattered.
If I may, I would like to offer you a few pointers.
These images were initially made in double size. So the original pixel size is 1600x512. Then they are shrunk down to half the size, 800x256 pixels, which you got right. The Pixels per centimeter really doesn't matter. It is only a relevant factor if you intend to use this file for printing.
There are 2 different files for each background. One for the large version (character view) and one for the smaller portraits (everywhere else). The smaller file is just a cut out part of the larger one, which allows you to be more specific with exactly what part of the larger image you wish to display behind the character in the smaller portraits.
An important thing to note is to keep the colors in the image relatively low contrast and not too vibrant. This is to avoid making the image too noisy, which would make the in game information that is shown on top of it harder to read. For instance, you would never see anything painted pure black or pure white in these scenes. (Unless I missed a pixel.
The characters themselves are 3D models with fixed lighting, making them very hard to fit well together with the background images. For this purpose there is another texture applied on top of the background and the character. This is usually a single color 4x4 pixel texture with a very low opacity that is just stretched over the character and the background. (Example: A character in the desert has a yellowish orange texture applied to it and the background, making the two get very similar colors without changing the 3D model or its lighting.) In more complicated scenes like the throne room, or the prison cell, a full size (800x256 pixel) gradient image is used instead, to fit the lighting better.
This is the technical stuff.
The artistic stuff is trickier.
I can't comment much on the historical accuracy, since I had our very well educated and hard working content designers sanity check my work in that aspect. (Shout out to the Imperator content design team!) However I would advise populating the scene a bit more by adding a few more props here and there. Perhaps a table. Some documents. Some statues. Anything that would make sense to have in such a venue and fits the time period.
Always have the lighting in mind. Where is it coming from and how does the light bounce in the room. Understanding how ambient occlusion works will really help you get the right shadows in many places.
Don't be afraid to use photo references. As long as there aren't any copyright infringements, and the references are fitting, feel free to even bring them into the scene and paint over them.
And finally, I will attach a very handy photoshop brush that was used for the majority of these scenes. (Note that you will need to disable its "Color Dynamics" at times.) Even small details are made with this brush, just at a very small brush size.
I can't really answer your question of whether you "should keep going" but I say that if you are enjoying it, go for it!
Whether or not, and how your art would end up in the game when you are done, that's a different question. Regardless of that, I would still encourage you to keep going. Be it for your own pleasure, for practice, or for potential new assets for the game.
I hope this was helpful.
PS: I almost never write on forums, so you'll have to excuse me if this post was unnecessarily long.
Wow, first of all wow!
Yes please take it as a compliment, I did not expect the lead artist to comment here, and for me personally a long reply with a lot of pointers and tips is very welcome and I thank you!
I also thank you for the brush I will get when I get home, currently on my way home from work.
This is very motivating for me, and I will study every point of your reply in detail, and try to pursue and incorporate it all for the illustrations in the future.
With no expectations, I will still aim high!
Currently I am very busy with other work, but I will definetely push for more illustrations, with the correct brush, lighting, references, dimensions, contrast and more populated/dense with objects relevant to a throne room.
Thank you so much for the feedback and info to continue this journey!
This is just a good exercise if you want to try this style. ) He has helped me a lot with the historical accuracy and lots of other stuff both on Imperator and on EUIV.
