Inspiration

Tetsuya Nomura

Tetsuya Nomura was the first video game artist that I was interested in and was what started my love of concept art. He is one of the lead artists involved in the famous Final Fantasy series; he works mainly on the main titles or numbered titles rather than the spin off games. He also led the art team on the Disney, SquareEnix cross over series Kingdom Hearts.

Final fantasy VIII was the first JRPG I was in contact with, shortly followed by the others in the series. It was Tetsuya Nomura’s characters that I fell in love with and them that got me playing more video games. It is the characters and narrative behind them that draw me to games.

(Squall FFVIII Image from www.creativeuncut.com)

He uses a mixture of traditional and digital media, using final fantasy VIII as an example again, he draws the image in pencil on paper then transfers it to a computer to clean up and colour digitally. This reflects my own work, as I prefer to draw things in pencil before colouring as I find I have more control over a pencil than drawing directly onto a computer using a graphics tablet. This is something that I am practicing and is a skill that I want to be able to do well. However I do like the affect that pencil outline gives to a drawing, I really like the sketchy feel to it.

Tetsuya has two main distinctive styles, his original style is more realistic, that he generally uses for the Final Fantasy titles, but he also has a much more stylised and cartoonlike style that seemed to be developed for Kingdom Hearts, another SquareEnix title. This style was then used again in the Nintendo DS game called The World Ends With You.

(Image sourced at www.creativeuncut.com )

This is and example of a design for Dissidia Final Fantasy, with his designs for this game the proportions are normal and the character is quite detailed. She has quite elaborate clothes and it is gently shaded.

In comparison this is a character from The world Ends With You (2007), this character is a lot more stylised. The outlines are very thick and the colouring is block colour with cell shading. The whole look is a lot more cartoonlike.

Looking at Nomura’s work has made me realise that it is good to have your own distinctive style, as it is what makes you a memorable artist, but also to be able to adapt your artwork to fit other genres and requirements.

(Image sourced from http://twewy.wikia.com/wiki/Shiki_Misaki )

Kimihiko Fujisaka

The first time I saw Fujisaka’s work was when I found a game on the shelf that I liked the look of. As I have said before I am drawn to games by their artwork and while browsing new releases in a small game shop I came across Drakengard 2. Rather than a 3D render of the character in the game, a piece of 2D concept art had been put on the cover, I loved the characters design and decided to give it a go.

When I was in college and specifically started looking into game artwork more seriously and focussing on certain artists I was interested in, it was then came back to Fujisaka’s work and looked at more of his work. 

This is the main character of Drakengard 2, his stance shows that he is a strong character and isn’t afraid to fight.

Nowe from Drakengard 2 image from (www.creativeuncut.com ) 

Kimihiko’s work has improved over the years as shown in his latest title The Last Story (2011). His characters have a lot more detail to their design however some features are very similar. Most of his designs have over sized strange shaped swords and large armour pieces that are generally only on one side or limb.

You can see the similarities in the designs looking specifically at the facial features and clothing designs. However you can clearly see that there is a lot more detail especially in the armour. I like the soft shading used when colouring the characters, this is something I would like to try with my own artwork, as I am not that confident with digital painting yet and tend to stick with quite simple shading. By working more on the shading it will give my work a more polished and professional finish.

Zael/ Elza from The Last Story image from (www.creativeuncut.com )

Magic the gathering

I have only recently been introduced to Magic the Gathering (Wizards of the coast), as card games have never interested me that much. However recently I have had more exposure to it and have began to collect and play on a small scale. The artwork on the cards is beautiful and diverse, as the creatures have found a wide range of talented fantasy artists to create card designs for them.

I have picked a few artist to research that have done artwork that is relevant, and good reference for one of the designs I’m working on for my project.

Mike Sass

This card is from one of the new set of Magic the Gathering cards. It is a double-sided card that flips when curtain situations are met during the game.

    

Mondronen Shaman (http://www.magicspoiler.com/dark-ascension-art/) 

I really like the lighting in this piece, the fire creating light from behind her makes the character stand out, and gives the picture and overall dramatic feel. 

Tovelar’s Magehunter (http://www.magicspoiler.com/dark-ascension-art/) 

I really like how the two cards tie in together as you can see the same building in the background signifying that she has just transformed.

I have chosen to look at werewolves in particular because one of the races within the game idea are quite in tune with nature and shamanistic. I came up with an idea that the warrior class of this race’s would be able to tap into a beast form making them stronger and faster. Wolves are quite often used in shamanistic or druidic beliefs and are seen as a symbol for wilderness and nature. 

David Palumbo

I chose this card and artist, again, because of the lighting. The moon is obviously a key feature in this card shown by how he is looking over his shoulder at the moon and his one side is brightly lit up by it. A lot of the detail on the character is only visible because of the highlights that outline it in white.

Afflicted Deserter (http://www.magicspoiler.com/dark-ascension-art/)

Werewolf Ransacker (http://www.magicspoiler.com/dark-ascension-art/)

With the cards flip side the brightness of the moon is almost blinding in comparison to the light coming from the fire. The werewolf in the foreground is practically a silhouette standing out well against the light background, because the figure itself is so dark the glowing eyes really draw your attention. 


Lighting is something that i want to work on with my own work as it adds dynamic and emotion to a piece of artwork.