(If you don't giggle at that I guess my humor or your senses need work)
My original inspiration for the armor was WWI German body armor that had plates of metal sliding on top of each other so that the soldier could bend forward. When I researched other mediaeval armors I found ht most if not all had a solid iron breastplate that I'm sure inhibited the wearer's movements. So I decided to keep this concept from the german armor but work it in more ye olde fashion.
I've modeled the VK's face off of Vlad Dracul (Because I can) and I think that leaving him bald was a good decision.
I know no one has commented yet but I'll probably give him some menacing shoulder plates and make his face a little elongated and sunken in to emphasize some kind of other worldliness of the character.
P.S. What if whenever you encountered this baddy in the game you saw him with armor that been permanently stained with blood? Just throwing that out there.
P.P.S. (To Sean) After I read the comments, I will go ahead and complete a finished draft assignment similar to the 10/13 class
2 comments:
Hm, Ari, I can't click the picture. I'd like to see the image more clearly/larger. But I'll try and offer something helpful based on what I can see, and your older pictures. So if I misunderstand something, sorry! Oh, and wiki says the protagonist is named "Nathan Graves." Heh, I looked it up. And that picture of the guy screaming in your first post is pretty awesome! Someone must have took the last doughnut.
Find function - type :D! to find the "TL;DR version"
The art for this particular game (I could barely find any on Google) seems to have less of the obssessive decoration for which the series' artist is famous. The protagonist and his rival seem to have a rougher appeareance, than say, Soma Cruz or Alucard, but COTM costumes are still impratical, with pants/skirts that drag on the ground, numerous rings and belts - sort of like a gothic, semi-glamorous pretty boy trying to play Indiana Jones.
But remember the art style the game presents, particularly that of the game you have selected. It doesn't necessarily have to been drawn in the same style but a similar essence - one that captures the glamour of a bloodsucking creature, for instance - should be retained. Enemies and important NPCs (i.e. Dracula and Alucard) seem to possess a dark, gothic sort of fashion, perhaps a nod to Vlad III's time. Carmilla, Dracula's crony, is dressed in a somewhat absurd outfit with some "modern gothic" elements. So if the vampire knight is under Dracula's employ, the concept team would probably want their costuming conventions to retain among enemies.
Or perhaps this particular minion of Dracula's emphasizes the ugly reality of a vampire's existence...? (Well, it's not ugly, more that I just don't like the idea of being underneath another in the food chain). Maybe you could present this idea by exaggerating the character's physical and costume attributes. I like the ideas you mentioned about elongating his face; he's not satisfied appreciate paintings on the wall. But maybe... The knight's hair long and stringy from the lack of care and cut for centuries. The armor is patchwork, decorative fragments collected from fellow (now dead) knights, scraps of ghosts and constant bloodstains hang on his body, his costume drags on the ground, not for elegance, but for negligence.
Erm...sorry, I got carried away. That's just my thoughts. You can ignore everything I said, except remember the part about the stylistic tone of the game. Don't forget his usual environment, his props, and so on. It looks like you wrote some notes about the costume construction, but since I can't read well, as I've explained to Taylor, I could be reading them wrong, so don't neglect the material/texture callouts. On a more mechanical note, his knees seem to start too high up... If you want to give him more armor, trying moving around before/while you draw and imagine what it would be like to carry a solid plate on the shoulder blade, or something.
Sorry about all the typos!
:D!
TL;DR version
- Remember the game's overall mood and theme. You don't have to mimic the series' artist in style, but the feeling should be kept.
- Perhaps going in the opposite direction of Dracula's gothic elegance might be an idea to try out?
- Don't forget the material callouts, and try to explore the character's anatomy before introducing crazy armor. Is he really lean and angular? Maybe his head is bigger than average? Hands larger/smaller than average? Once you know him nude (I know, sounds creepy), then you can costume him more easily. At least, it works for me.
More blood is always preferable. I'd go for it.
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