MAGIC WIZARD CHESS
✏️ WORKFLOW ✏️
Heya!
I have a bit of an unorthodox workflow, especially when it comes to sketching, so I thought it would be a good idea to show you what I'll send over as sketches and what the final image eventually looks like :)
I don't really sketch in the traditional sense. I don't do the whole sketching with pencil thing. I usually go straight to shape, color and mood.
Here's some examples!
I have a bit of an unorthodox workflow, especially when it comes to sketching, so I thought it would be a good idea to show you what I'll send over as sketches and what the final image eventually looks like :)
I don't really sketch in the traditional sense. I don't do the whole sketching with pencil thing. I usually go straight to shape, color and mood.
Here's some examples!
CHARACTER DESIGN
the first step is usually character design, here's an example of what to expect and what my roughs look like
as you can see I really don't worry about the finer details in the sketch phase. things like hands (which are pretty difficult to draw anyway) and other small things are not something I'm too concerned about at this stage.
colors are always subject to change, but you'll find that it's still pretty close to the original palette.
note: for this particular drawing there was no client to give approval for the sketch, so it's a bit rougher than usual.
colors are always subject to change, but you'll find that it's still pretty close to the original palette.
note: for this particular drawing there was no client to give approval for the sketch, so it's a bit rougher than usual.
ILLUSTRATIONS
here's a few examples of how I set up scenes, so you sort of know what to expect (and hopefully won't be too shocked by the choppy sketches)
The image above is personal work and I designed the characters after coming up with the scene. If the characters are already designed before I sketch out the illustration I usually rough them in instead of using single color blobs.
so the scene pretty much stayed the same from sketch to finish, adding all the small details and lighting does bring it to life a lot more of course :)
so the scene pretty much stayed the same from sketch to finish, adding all the small details and lighting does bring it to life a lot more of course :)
sometimes I'll do a couple of variations on the same theme/composition before deciding what works best.
COVER EXAMPLES
here are a couple examples of book cover sketches and the finished illustrations
as you can see the sketch is still missing a lot of the cool little details and the characters still look pretty rough. I ended up changing the girl on the right completely since I really didn't like how she looked in the sketch.
here you can see how the sketch is still a bit flat and has a lot less contrast. I always try to make sure to make things as easily readable as possible and make certain things pop in the final version.
I also hand lettered the title for this cover.
and here's an example of a full jacket illustration. again a good example of me making sure things pop.
so this is how I work! :)
I hope you've got a good idea of how things start out and end up, so you won't be too shocked about the choppy mess I'm about to show you :D
I hope you've got a good idea of how things start out and end up, so you won't be too shocked about the choppy mess I'm about to show you :D
KING CHARACTER DESIGN SKETCHES
I've got 3 distinct character sketches for you, with a lot of variation/options within each design.
I'm mostly looking for what shape language works and how readable it is when it's shrunk down. I'm not bothered with the exact colors or small details just yet. We'll deal with that in the next round!
I'm mostly looking for what shape language works and how readable it is when it's shrunk down. I'm not bothered with the exact colors or small details just yet. We'll deal with that in the next round!
general note: Since we have so little space to work with I think it's a good idea to exaggerate most features of the characters. Big eyes, big heads etc.
the downside to this is that things might start to look too cute, but hopefully we can figure out a way to make it look less cute when we do a color/render pass.
the downside to this is that things might start to look too cute, but hopefully we can figure out a way to make it look less cute when we do a color/render pass.
my thoughts are under each set of images
OPTION A
I like the head as a crown idea. I Think giving the King a scepter will work well too.
My favorites are: 5, 12 and 14
I think I like 12 the most because it's simple. However we don't want the king to be confused with a knight, should we go with a classic knight in armor design for that one.
My favorites are: 5, 12 and 14
I think I like 12 the most because it's simple. However we don't want the king to be confused with a knight, should we go with a classic knight in armor design for that one.
here's how it reads in-game
obviously we need to work on the colors, but this could potentially work.
OPTION B
A chunkier King, a little bit more regal perhaps.
my favorites are: 1, 9 and 14
my favorites are: 1, 9 and 14
While the silhouette works it might be a little bit too chunky
here's how he reads in-game
it could work, but I think his face is a bit difficult to read.
OPTION C
A bit more of a human design. I like the pose in this one.
from nr 5 onwards the head is a lot bigger, which I think is needed to make everything readable.
my favorites are: 4, 6, 12
the silhouette is a it messy, but I think it will read well once the finetuning starts.
here's what he looks like in-game
from nr 5 onwards the head is a lot bigger, which I think is needed to make everything readable.
my favorites are: 4, 6, 12
the silhouette is a it messy, but I think it will read well once the finetuning starts.
here's what he looks like in-game
I think this works pretty well!
once you've looked at everything and have some thoughts we can take it a step further and finetune/redesign parts as you need!