Stele #5
Hello,
I'm a new concept artist for Europa Barbarorum II and it's my pleasure today to tell you something about how these concept artworks are made.
The first task I got was to paint the Gestikapoinann, Lusitanian spearmen. I liked the patterns they have on their shields and also the equipment was rather simple so it was a good starting piece. I was supplied with good information by the wonderful historians of EB. If I needed anything more, I just had to ask ;)
The process of painting/drawing concept art varies with different projects. I could sketch the characters and paint right away, I could sketch and paint quickly to get the atmosphere right...
Since EB II is so much based on historical accuracy, I decided to paint it as real looking as I could. That meant getting a friend of mine pose for a reference photo so I can get the pose and anatomy just right. He posed for both characters and it was rather complicated, but it all worked out in the end. Then I would sketch in the bone structure to see how the clothing and armor would fold and deform.
After that comes the actual hard work. Painting everything in shades of grey. I chose this approach because it allows me more control of values and shape definition. I kept adding detail until I was satisfied with the result. I also posted a WIP version on the forums for approval. It looked like this. You can see that only the soldier on the left is detailed, the right one is still unfinished.
People noticed some glitches in anatomy and also perspective of the round shields. I fixed those. (or at least tried to ;) the best I could)
Then came the next stage which was adding color. I tried several color schemes until I was happy with the result. Then I painted in the background. I didn't think about it much and it was still missing something. The colors were right, the lighting was ok, but it just lacked something. Through some tricks with paper textures I achieved a more „traditional“ painting look and suddenly the background looked more interesting. Also it got the picture closer to what I was trying to achieve the whole time. I really admire the historical work Angus McBride has done for Osprey books. I tried to come a bit closer to his style than my usual own.
This is the finished painting of Gestikapoinann. I hope you've enjoyed this Stele. If you have any questions about the process or painting in general, feel free to ask. I might even answer ;)
Also, I would like to ask anyone willing to help EB II and concept art in particular to go to this thread :(not only will you help EB, but you'll also get your name in the mod's credits :)
link to the relevant help thread:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=101990
Reply With Quote
- my first balloon, from Mouzafphaerre
Originally Posted by strategos alexandros
Bookmarks