I worked on backgrounds for the game AIRIS for the NaNoRenO game jam. It's a dating visual novel that takes place inside a medieval esque sort of mmorpg. I recommend checking it out. Above is an example of one of them. Under the cut are more backgrounds and some words on the process of their production. (It's pretty long.)
I learned a lot during my one month and felt embarrassed about my lack of skills but I'm glad they welcomed me aboard despite that.
The first background I worked on was for a guild hall. Since it was my first background for the game I had some trouble with it in trying to figure out an efficient process to use. Subsequent backgrounds were much easier as I got used to the process.
I didn't have a very good idea about how the guild hall would look so I made a series of thumbs using references from google images to hammer out some possible ideas. After getting feedback I had a better idea of what I should do and got started.
These are some wips I sent to keep the team updated while working. First I sketched and then lined everything. I found this stage difficult because drawing that many chairs and tables in perspective is...really hard. Haha. Also I feel like I got the wooden supports wrong but when I figured that out I was so far along in coloring...that I hoped no one would notice aha.
The next step was to lay down flats which I started in the first wip. Flatting..well that's probably the most boring phase. I tried making the flats neat since I decided to try going lineless for the final image.
The next thing was to add a layer for shadows. I started to nail down the lighting as seen in the second wip. Then a layer on normal where I added subtle variations in lighting using the gradient tool.
After that it's largely a matter of adding textures through brushes and texture images. Also detailing, like adding reflections and emphasizing certain parts to stand out more.
This is the final image. I felt like I could have pushed the values more or made it less...brown. But I let that go because I wanted to get to work on the other bgs haha.
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The second bg is of the equipment store. I got some great refs from the team and formulated some ideas.
I used the same process for the guild hall but decided to skip clean lines because I could flat the shapes of the shields and stuff with selection tools easier. The armor was another matter though. That needed more careful lining. The above isn't really a wip but an image of the flats from the final psd file. I was able to copy and paste some things such as swords and shoes.
So yeah, started with shadows. Paid attention to occlusion shadows since those seem really add a 3d effect to things. Added textures. I think the armor was the toughest for me because coloring metal ... how the heck to you do it. I need to do more metal studies in the future. Also I don't think that armor is super in perspective.
The final image.
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The next background was for a medieval-esque looking lab. This is the thumbnail I did for it.
A wip. Again this is the same process as before. It felt slightly easier than before. Maybe because I was getting used to the process? I felt like the image looked empty and not very interesting composition wise so I changed up the structure of the room. I'm afraid it looks a little too small now? Hopefully not...
The final image.
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The throne room. For some reason I had a tough time trying to think other ideas for it.
Have to admit I wasn't feeling to hot at the time so my sketches seem extra messy. I should have made them more readable.
The flats. Still working through designing the back wall.
Same process as before. This room seemed even easier than the others since there weren't a lot of elements. The columns were challenging though. I don't think I draw them right after all. The base and placing the cylindrical part in the right place was what I found difficult. I also feel as though I could have pushed the values a bit more. It's somewhat dreary.
The final image. I think I could have done a little bit better with the floor too lol. Also the design of the whole room. I didn't know which way to go design wise. I decided on something simple for the sake of time. Making unique and interesting designs is something I could try to improve on in the future. I felt as though most of these designs are fairly boring but at the same time I didn't want to go too bizarre.. shrugs.
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A futuristic bedroom. I wonder if it looks futuristic enough lol. It was fun.
The sketch. Tried to be more readable with it. Huh now that I look at it I forgot to add one or two things in the final image. Whoops!
The flats. I had trouble with the curves of the chair and bed because I didn't understand their form super well. I probably should have been more careful when designing them.
The final image. Maybe I should do some more reflection studies in the future too lol.
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In conclusion...yep that's about it. Pretty neat opportunity with a tight deadline. I'd be lying if I said this didn't stress me out but it was worth it.
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