Mrlg's Art Journal
Hi, there you will be viewing Mrlg's (Tan Sook Wen) art achievement thus far in her college years. Please sit back and enjoy.
Hi there, I'm Mrlg (Tan Sook Wen), an illustration major student currently studying at The One Academy. The following assets are the results of my studies so far, please sit back and enjoy.
Coveted Whispers
"In the very corner of your heart, a dark and ominous voice whispers... "
Illustration above is a poster that I made for Coveted Whispers.
Coveted Whisper is a project that I participated during my third year semester, its a group project that brought you by Rakugaki Production Team. Coveted Whispers is intended to illustrate a story of a young boy who succumbed into jealousy, ended up creating a monster that leads to destruction. The young boy has to redeem himself by overcoming his inner demon before its too late.
The following assets you see will be designs that I contributed for this project.
Before we get into it:
Here's a brief introduction of the world that Coveted Whispers takes place. Nogard, its a land full of sand and heat. But most importantly, in this land dragon race is a big deal. The people of Nogard celebrates the Nogard Dragon Race passionately, even the Sultan of Nogard sees the race as something dominant for the country to the extend of inviting contestant from the foreign lands to participate the race.
Oldaghan and Oyunchi
"Its not cheating,its called strategy and teamwork!"
Oldaghan and Oyunchi is one of the foreign land race contestant that represents the Land of Luu. Oldaghan and Oyunchi are twin brother and sister. Both of them works in a team in the Annual Dragon Race. They're the so called "tricksters" among the contestants as they always pull off tricks and stuns during the race to interfere thier opponent.
Oldaghan, the young boy at the left is the older one among the twins. He is the one who's in charge of controlling the dragon, in another words the rider. With his outstanding talent in dragon riding, he's immediately crowned as the best dragon rider in Luu.
Oyunchi, the young girl at the right is the younger one among the twins. She's also the brain of racer team, as she's the one who will provide strategy for the team during the race. Besides that, she also takes the role of harasser as she will be interfere the other racers during the race while Oldaghan controls the dragon at the front.
Here's some thought process I did while designing the twins. As shown at the image above, I imagined the twins to be youthful and playful, maybe slightly chubby to fit the playfulness theme. I took major inspiration from the Mongolian cultures while creating the twins. (Note: Reference images used are not owned by me, they're only used as reference purposes.)
Sketches at the right are my first drafts for the designs. The design that went through is set 3 as they strikes the most resemblances of Mongolian culture, and the designs are unique on its own but still compliments each other well in a set.
Aguu Luu
" The legend says that Aguu Luu is the descendant of the great mythical dragon Luu Khaan."
Aguu Luu, Oldaghan and Oyunchi's racing dragon. Aguu Luu is actually it's species' name. It's said that Aguu Luu shares striking resemblances with the legend dragon Luu Khaan that's worshiped by the people of Luu, thus it's given the name of "Aguu Luu".
While designing Aguu Luu, I had the image of the classic Chinese dragon in my mind, thus I gave it a long and large body proportion. Besides that, I also added fur mane and large antlers for the small touch of mythical vibes. (Note: Reference images used are not owned by me, they're only used as reference purposes.)
Sketches at the right are my first drafts for the designs. At the final stage of production, the design that went thru is actually sketch number 3, as it looks the most majestic among all of the sketches.
Aguu Luu Achaa
"That's the Luu's dragon transport, fascinating isn't it? "
Aguu Luu Achaa, the dragon cargo used to transfer Aguu Luu to it's designated location. It's huge in size and looks luxurious, as the people of Luu respect the dragons a lot that they have to give it the best to anything related to the dragons.
During the creation process of Aguu Luu Achaa, I referenced a lot at the Mongolian's moving yurt. I tried to give it my own touch by adding more cultural ornaments on the subject. My initial motif is to make the design look majestic and flamboyant as if it's something that walked out of the fantasy world.
Sketches at the right are my first drafts for the designs. The chosen design is sketch number 3, because it looks more like a dragon cargo rather than a human transport.
Madhyi Al-Ithfeen
"My dear audiences, behold! The Grand Opening of Nogard Dragon Race!"
Madhyi Al-Ithfeen, the passionate host of Nogard Dragon Race. Madhyi is born in the family who's in charge of hosting the annual Nogard Dragon Race. Since young age he had always dreamt to become the one who announces the winner of the grand dragon race. Having his dream fulfilled, Madhyi pours his passion and love into his job and swears to present the best Nogard Dragon Race ever.
For the thought process for Madhyi's creation,I first imagine him to be large in body size to express the his burning passion as the race host. Since the Nogard Dragon race is an important event, I imagine his attire to be luxurious and flamboyant. Bedouin culture is heavily referenced in his creation. (Note: Reference images used are not owned by me, they're only used as reference purposes.)
Sketches at the right are the first drafts I made for Madhyi. The chosen design is design number 1, with the reason being it fits more as the role of the host/announcer, while the other two designs might look too much like an adventurer or warrior.
Announcing Horn
"The sound it produces reanimates the Ancient Nogard Dragon's roar, it is mighty and thunderous."
Announcing Horn, a large horn crafted out of the Ancient Nogard Dragon's tusk. It is made to announce the opening of the Nogard dragon race. The body of the announcing horn is cast with gold as decoration, overall it looks luxurious and grand. The announcing horn is also consider the nation's treasure.
While designing the announcing horn, I referenced on drinking horns and ballista. In some of my sketches as you can see at the right, I tried to make the end of the horn look like a dragon's head, so that it would look like the dragon is howling while the horn is blown. (Note: Reference images used are not owned by me, they're only used as reference purposes.)
Sketches at the right are the first drafts I made for Announcing Horn. The chosen design is design number 1, as it looks more convincing as a horn and the idea of it being portable is more unique compare to the other sketches.
Al-Maleab Al-Kabin
"This place, it's vast and epic!! I've never seen a place this huge before!"
Al-Maleab Al-Kabin, the heart of Nogard. It is Nogard's symbolic architecture, existed for almost a century. This architecture is the nation's pride and it locates at the center of the capital. Every year the grand dragon race will be held in here, the contestant will departs from here and also return to here after the race ends. At the center of Al-Maleab Al-Kabin is the Ancient Nogard Dragon's fossil which currently serves as the victory torch of the race. The winner of the race will be granted the magical flame to lit the torch, and the flame will last for a year until the next dragon race.
During the creation process of Al-Maleab Al-Kabin, my main inspiration came from the Colosseum. There wasn't much sketches produced as the design was quickly settled down after I proposed this idea. Although, the underground race track was rejected as during the final stages of production our team has decided to let the race be an open map race, instead of constricting it only in the stadium. (Note: Reference images used are not owned by me, they're only used as reference purposes.)
Key art and Environment Art
The following assets will be the illustrations I produced throughout the production period of Coveted Whispers. Most of them are key arts and environment matte paintings.
And that concludes my contribution for the Coveted Whispers project.
野兔 The Twilight Hare
During my study years in The One Academy, I managed to create quite a few original designs. Twilight Hare is one of my favorite character designs I've developed during my second year of studies.
"The solely survivor of the Twilight village, he was once the warrior and the protector of the village. He swears to seek vengeance for the people he once cared for and take down the Beast to restore peace once more. "Translation:
Twilight Hare, he's a hybrid of human and hare. He's the warrior and protector of the Twilight Village. After the downfall of the Twilight Village that was caused by the Beast, he abandoned his former name and gave himself the name of Twilight Hare as a tribute to his village. The Twilight Hare masters archery as the people in the village used to call him the Archery God. He is known for being able to shoot arrows while moving in speed.
The image above is the mood board that I've created during my designing process. Context at the left are the thought process I did while creating Twilight Hare. (Note: Reference images used are not owned by me, they're only used as reference purposes.)
Sketches in the image above are my first draft for Twilight Hare. The sketches that went through are the set at the bottom row. It is actually a combination of both sets of sketches above. The final decision is made after taking consideration of the character's shape and silhouette.
Translation: (read according, left to right, top to bottom)
The Equipments
Aegisa(Baby Arrow) : Originated form Goryeo. It is shorter than ordinary arrows and has to be fired using a Tong-ah(Bamboo tube). It can be projected faster and more accurately compared to ordinary arrows.
Leather Water Pouch : Made out of cow leather, serves as a water bottle to keep the Twilight Hare from being dehydrated. It might seems small but it's volume is surprisingly large.
Cape : Made out of animal's fur and skin. Protects the Twilight Hare from frostbites and keeping him warm.
Norigae(Lady Pendant) : Pendant own by the Twilight Hare's mother which passed away. Whenever the Twilight Hare feels uncertain, he would subconsciously reaches out for it, seeking for reassurance.
Bow : The Twilight Hare's weapon.
Money pouch : Explanatory, its a pouch where money is kept. The careless Twilight Hare loses it quite often.
Sled shoes : Helps the Twilight Hare to walk on snow or ice without slipping.
Key Arts
Besides of designing Twilight Hare, I've also illustrated two key arts for the backstory.
Key art at the left, illustrates the Twilight Hare fleeing from the Beast. At his back is a child survivor from the Twilight Village.
Key art at the right, illustrates the fight between the Beast and the Twilight Hare.
Crisis
Crisis is one of the IP I've developed during my third year of studies in The One Academy. It's a story that illustrates a young scientist's fight against the outbreak of an epidermic virus. The young scientist has to find a cure before its too late. Will the humanity get over the crisis of extinction?Illustrations
Lastly, I would like to share some my favorite illustrations that I've done so far. Besides of designing stuff, I often create illustrations as well. Assignments or not, drawing illustrations always keeps me loosen up from the stress I've accumulated. The following assets are some of the best paintings I've created through out the years in The One Academy.And with that, ends the show case of my achievement thus far in my learning process. Thank you for sticking by, I hope my artwork entertained you somehow.
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