Orc Portrait Series

[kitty]

You're really productive lately!


I'm loving the grunts' attitudes. Only tiny thing bothering me is no 5's ear shape, somehow they seem too elegant to me.

The new slayer's mask is awesome - do I detect some east asian influences? And the assassin flats look nice and clean! Just make sure to add in enough dirt and flith when shading! I'm not sure about the face scarf's angle/direction - I'd expect it to curve up a bit when following his muzzle's shape.

[LordBob]

Heh, three things behind that :
- I switched back from graphic tablet drawing to scanned sketchbook. Turns out I'm really a lot more at ease and a ton faster when drawing on paper
- I reaaaaaaalllllly enjoy working on something different from the loys
- I've only done the 'quick' part of the portraits yet (and I'm wondering if it ain't time that I find myself a sidekick to do the shading )

And yes, there are influences behind the mask, but not only asian : I recently visited the Quai Branly museum and as you can imagine, their collections are a refreshing source of inspiration next to the mass of western european medieval stuff I went over for the loys.


#5 will get some ear torture and the Assassin's muzzle has been corrected. Plus, Slayer flats

[StDrake]

i didn't see your inspiration, but somehow i dont see the reddish colour fitting the mask. Maybe if it was some warriors demon mask, but not for a stealthy assasin type

[mameluke]

gosh, this mask is great! More freedom to the artists! Only serious crit! WINR!

my 2 pence (and no offence to anybody)

(imho same thing to kittys brilliant shadow and the blade discussion http://www.wesnoth.org/forum/viewtopic. ... 09#p383409)

[kitty]

I'm all for the red mask.
It may be a derivation from the sprite but not a radial one and moreover in this case it tells us much about orcish culture. I immediately start associationg belief in demons and spirits, orc children stories about demon's comming for you out of the dark if you don't eat up, a historical connection between orc shamans and the poison the assassins use, tales the loyalists and elves whisper about an evil sprite with a red face comming out of the dark and going after the sleeping and the like. If a detail like this mask is able to convey that much we should most definitely keep it and strive to get to this level with all our work.

[fabi]

i didn't see your inspiration, but somehow i dont see the reddish colour fitting the mask. Maybe if it was some warriors demon mask, but not for a stealthy assasin type

Have a second look at the image.
The slayer has some kind of hood.
If in stealth mode he would cover the red mask under the hood.
If in combat the mask is revealed to scare the enemy.

[StDrake]

arighty i iz convinced

[LordBob]

i didn't see your inspiration, but somehow i dont see the reddish colour fitting the mask. Maybe if it was some warriors demon mask, but not for a stealthy assasin type

Precisely, I did have a sort of demon mask in mind : many cultures on Earth dress their warriors in fearsome fashions - think of the war masks of samurais. And in addition to what Kitty said, even in game terms orcish slayers don't have any stealth-related abilities. No ambush, no skirmish, no backstab...They're all about being untouchable, deadly skill and poison. So I find perfectly normal that they would use artifacts that make their enemies fear them.


In the meantime, final lineart and flats for grunt #6

[Thrawn]

Your final flats have no hair color outside the skin tone--is this intentional?

[LordBob]

It is. This is because the hair and skin share a single layer - it's easier to use only one colour for flats and draw the hair afterwards.

[Antonius]

I'm a bit late to talk about the slayer, but his pick-axe-dagger is an awsome weapon! I am curious as to what your reference is.

[kyi_the_bard]

It appears to be a Kama.

[Antonius]

Oh, so a microsickle. Interesting..

[Sapient]

Precisely, I did have a sort of demon mask in mind : many cultures on Earth dress their warriors in fearsome fashions - think of the war masks of samurais. And in addition to what Kitty said, even in game terms orcish slayers don't have any stealth-related abilities. No ambush, no skirmish, no backstab...They're all about being untouchable, deadly skill and poison. So I find perfectly normal that they would use artifacts that make their enemies fear them.

I agree with you on that. The "Slayer" wants to be known and feared, as indicated by the name of his profession, and in keeping with his orcish nature. I like the mask because it makes a nice differentiation from the human assassin line. At first I was a little worried that it would look too much like an undead unit, but as the portrait is shaping up it looks like that won't be a problem.

[LordBob]

More orc lineart, with grunts #7 (close to final) and #8 (still working on him). These guys are the last I'm gonna draw for the Grunt line : they're the two Warlord candidates.
Partly following Jet's advice, I visually translated their lordly manner in scavenged steel armour, spikes and (not yet visible) richer cloth for their capes. As well as the largest cleaver any orc's ever gonna sport !