Monthly Archives: July 2009

AetherFall: Dante

AetherFall's Dante
This is Dante, the character you will be playing as in AetherFall. He is a star gazer that studies the night sky along with the many sages and scholars that live in a small community on the far side of Laurooga. His adventure begins when he is sent across the continent to deliver a message. You control him directly in the field as the other units under your command tag along. Dante can fight to some degree using his knife and baton, but his power and hit points are low, so you want to keep him out of trouble as much as possible.

Still can’t quite capture the charm that the militia unit had. 🙁

Inked with pigma micron markers on 12f animation paper. Colored in Photoshop.

Vacation Time Over! Boo!

Just got back in town a little bit ago; had a great time. It was nice to be able to meet with relatives that I haven’t seen in ages.

Anyway, it’s back to work for me on Monday. Or Tuesday. It depends on how tired I am. I’ll definitely get some work done on AetherFall then, but Swordmaster Odyssey will likely be up in the air for awhile (I need to order more paper, you see).

AetherFall Skirmisher

AetherFall skirmisher unit
If there’s one enemy you don’t want to have, it’s the Kingdom of Venn and their mercenary skirmishers. Lucky for you, these elite troops only fight for their allies, and it just so happens that Dante is one of them. These guys are much stronger and swifter than the simple militia units, and they can take a real beating without giving up ground to the enemy. But that power comes at a price: they’re far more expensive to call up. Skirmishers will be a solid mainstay of your forces throughout the game.

Not quite as satisfied with how this one turned out compared to the militia art. Redrew the head heaven-only-knows how many times, and it still doesn’t look right to me. The shading just isn’t as sharp either. 🙁

Inked on 12f animation paper with pigma microns and colored in Photoshop.

AetherFall Militia

Project Legion has finally gotten a proper name: AetherFall. The first bits of promotional art are also coming together, the first being the militia unit you may have seen in today’s Sketchbook Monday feature.

AetherFall militia unit
These militia are cheap to produce and don’t pack much of a punch compared to their stronger allies, but their spears allow them to attack from a distance, shielded by their tougher companions. Consisting primarily of farmers and laborers, these little guys have put everything they have on the line and are relying on you to protect their homes and villages by securing victory in the campaigns ahead. Don’t let them down!

I actually ended up doing the line art for this little dude twice. The first time I did it in pencil like the in-game graphics–but after scanning it I realized that the line quality just wasn’t consistent enough for use outside of the game (web site, print, advertising, etc). In the end, I went back to my good old Pigma Microns. They don’t “flow” as well on paper as a pencil, unfortunantly, but they do give me a solid, dependable line. Well, most of the time anyway.

Inked on 12f animation paper and colored in Photoshop.

Sketchbook Monday #66

This week I was just being lazy. “Ah! I don’t wanna go to school Sketchbook Monday!” 🙁 I’ll make up for it now, though, by uploading a bunch of sketches! 😀 All this stuff is from Project Legion since that’s what I’ve been working on most diligently this week.

sketchOne of the latest concepts for Dante, the character you’ll be playing the game through as. He narrates much of the adventure and takes an active part in the story’s events, but at the same time he’s not the driving force behind what’s going on. He’s not the one saving the world, so to speak, but he’s doing his part to help. Hardly trail-blazing to be sure, but I felt this would give the game a fresh outlook by putting a simple spin on the viewpoint we’re used to seeing in action games.

sketchThis is one of the earliest concepts for the “militia” unit. They’re lightly equipped farmers and laborers who are weak in combat, but cheap to produce and have some interesting properties in battle. They also help you construct buildings.

sketchA newer version of the militia. You’ll notice all the characters have a short, cutesy look to them, similar to Swordmaster Odyssey‘s early style. The reason for this here is because on-screen they’re all pretty small, so I thought it best to give them big heads so that they’re still recognizable at a glance, even on blurry, old-style television sets.

sketchThis final concept sketch was used as the basis for the militia’s full-color promotional art.

sketchHere’s a mercenary skirmisher. These guys are probably your most reliable combat units. They’re the fastest unit availible to you, pack quite a punch using their blades, and have solid defense. They’re much more expensive to produce than simple militia, but they’re worth every penny. You’ll be seeing a lot of these guys in the game.

sketchBowmen are equiped with crossbows and can attack from afar, well out of harm’s way. With skirmishers and militia to protect them, they can inflict a good deal of damage without taking any damage themselves. However, if your front lines fall, your bowmen will be powerless to protect themselves!

sketchA quickie sketch of the standard bearer. These guys don’t attack with your combat units, instead they hold your standard up for all to see, boosting moral.

sketchHere’s an early concept of the powered armor suit, the heavy-hitters of the game. Despite their raw power, though, you’ll need to have skirmishers and militia on-hand to escort them: their attacks a extremely slow, a fact that enemies could exploit by attacking and running away before the armored units even get a chance to get a hit in.

sketchAnother sketch of the power armor. You’ll notice that the drill concept has been dropped. I was afraid it might seem too similar to the Big Daddies in Bioshock.

sketchAnd finally, here’s a sage from Dante’s village of origin. He plays a role in the early portions of the game, getting Dante started on his journey.