My Conceptual Process, Development and Art

Uni Game Jam Concept Art - 'Koobar' Creature

During our current Game Jam project, I made concept designs for a creature which would be found in our game's environment.  Our game was based loosely upon the Australian Bush Fires, so the creatures which would roam our forest-environment needed to be fantastical but be inspired by current animals.  

Initially, I explored different simple shapes and designs for the creature, aiming to make it readable and fit the stylised, Overcooked-inspired aesthetic of our game.  I used Australian animals such as koalas, wombats and kangaroos for inspiration.  

Within our game, the player's goal is to put out the fire within a forest, prevent it's spread and save the creatures.  Therefore, when iterating the colour scheme of the creature, I had to think about what would make the creature stand out against the grass of the forest environment and the fire.

After receiving feedback from my group throughout the process, I created a final design page to clearly outline the final design to our 3D artists.  I added details on the size of the character against the main playable characters (designed and drawn by another of our concept artists) and possible animation ideas to aid the next stages of the creature's creation.

The name 'Koobar' was chosen after I researched into Australian mythology and folk-tales, learning of the story of 'Koobor the Koala', as well as the fossil names and categories which koalas fall in to.  I wanted the name of this creature to be cute, simple and memorable in order to create a connection between the player and the creature.  

Uni Game Jam Concept Art - 'Iwata' Creature

Within this Game Jam, I created another creature design, to go alongside our Koobar creature within our forest environment.  I experimented with some designs where I tried to work within basic shapes, to give the creature a strong and defined silhouette.  

Again, when designing these creatures, I took inspiration from current Australian animals within my designs.  For example, for this creature, I was inspired by the echidna.  

This creature also needed to stand out within a forest environment containing fires, so I explored using bold and unnatural colours.  For this creature, I conducted a lot more research into Australian history and Aboriginal artwork.  I was inspired by the Aboriginal story 'The Echidna and the Shade Tree', which prompted me to initially explore the features of echidnas.  I also investigated artists such as Eddie Blitner and Trevor Turbo Brown, who conduct artwork which features aboriginal patterns and colours, which led me to incorporate aboriginal colour schemes and patterns into the creature's designs. 

The final design of the creature was inspired by Trevor Turbo Brown's artwork 'Echidnas', which includes a blue and yellow colour scheme with its echidna designs.  When researching a name, I found that the Anaiwan name for the echidna is 'Iwata' - a simplistic name just like 'Koobar' which I thought would fit our game well.

Uni Game Jam Concept Art - Drone Tool

One of our game's main and playable characters, 'The Gardener', required a power-up tool which would allow them to temporarily prevent the wildfire's spread within an area of the forest.  I drafted up some initial mechanic ideas which I could pitch to our game developers to see what we could accomplish.  Following feedback from my group, I investigated more tech-based and sci-fi ways of preventing the fire's spread, leading me to the idea of stasis fields.

I developed a drone design, which would be deployed by the Gardener player and emit a stasis field above an area of fire, stopping its spread.  I looked into current drone designs, as well as ways in which I could make it relate to the character, such as the leaf-shape design and carrot propeller design.  

The final design of the drone tool included a colour scheme which matched that of it's parent character, the Gardener, as well as design motifs that referenced the Gardener character - the carrot propellers and the leaf shape - and the game's name - Super Wild Fire Fighters (referenced through SWFF).  In my final design sheet, I gave a size guide for our 3D modellers to reference as well as possible ways in which the tool could function, aiming to support or inspire our game developers.

LoL Visual Update Project - Fiddlesticks

I took part in a Visual Update project at my university, with the task of updating the design of League of Legends character Fiddlesticks.  I started by creating some composition thumbnails on Alchemy, and continued to use the programme to create my character concepts.  I did this because Fiddlesticks is a nimble and thin figure, made up from sticks.  Using Alchemy allowed me to work with sharp and jagged shapes and be random with my brush strokes.  I wanted to challenge myself to create this character and by limiting myself to the interface and tools of Alchemy I was able to create some unique shapes and silhouettes which reflect the personality and theme of Fiddlesticks well.

After iterating on my design and developing a final idea, I created a final design sheet and splash painting of the newly designed character.  My design featured a bird cage within the character's chest, housing the crows which accompany Fiddlesticks.  I also redesigned his arm to be one large scythe, meaning that the character must drag his arm along the floor and add to the eerie atmosphere surrounding the character.

In my splash painting, I wanted to reflect the eerie themes of the character, sticking to my chosen colour scheme of purple and green, with the character using one of his in-game abilities to summon a crowd of crows.

Star Wars screen-cap paintings

As a way of trying to enhance by environment and concept painting skills, I practiced painting screen-caps of different Star Wars films.  As Ralph McQuarrie is a major influence and inspiration to me, I tried to utilise his soft, matte painting techniques and features into these paintings.

Screen-cap painting based on Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

Screen-cap painting based on Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

Screen-cap painting based on Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

Screen-cap painting based on The Mandalorian TV series