Unit sprites for After the Storm

[Sleepwalker]

Well it's similar to the lvl 4 unit. If going with this I think a "human with cut off nose" style would work better (be more menacing) rather than a snout similar to a pig. And generally the unit could have a more deformed look maybe. Tiny useless wings might be cool if the head was smaller. It's up to what SM thinks anyway.

[Mefisto]

HoMM3 was my inspiration, though not its Imp unit but its Demon. But I didn't want to just ape some unit from the other game. The head is exaggerated because I was thinking about something grotesque, devilish. And besides we are talking about quite small icon. It should have visible snout features so we can say from the first look that it is maybe stupid but dangerous, savage beast. I'll try to make some mockups how it would look ingame.

[artisticdude]

I have other units I should be working on, but meh.

...And yeah, I think I still ended up making the hair too sexy.

[vultraz]

Is she supposed to have fangs?

Also, the pose of the legs looks slightly...suggestive.

[artisticdude]

Is she supposed to have fangs?

In my version, yes, but I wasn't sure of shadowmaster's intention for her face.

Also, the pose of the legs looks slightly...suggestive.

Maybe, but I'm not really worried about that. *shrug* I think it's appropriate given that she's floating above the ground and would want to balance herself in the air as much as possible, though naturally it's a little difficult for me to test that idea myself.

[Iris]

In my version, yes, but I wasn't sure of shadowmaster's intention for her face.

Yeah... her face was intended to remain hidden aside from a wide smile, except perhaps during attack animations. You also removed some cloth straps that were intentionally there casting additional shadows on her legs, and changed the palette, which was supposed to be identical to the Faerie Spirit’s.

As I said about the hair before you disconnected the other night, it’s an undead unit, so I would rather have the hair look greasy and opaque.

Regarding floating, I intended to implement that at some point by cloning the mainline Ghost’s animation somehow.

[Mefisto]

Like I promised I started to work on imps. Here is minor imp sketch. I know it's very rough and the TC is almost invisible (I dont even know if it would be needed) but you now have an idea what I mean. I added horns and a tail so it would more like other demonic folk.

[Iris]

I generally don’t force TC upon units for which the very concept is either impossible or really hard to apply, and imps don’t seem to wear clothes for some weird reason; so maybe the TC could appear on higher level units in the form of ornaments of some sort? In any case, applying it to the horns and tail doesn’t seem adequate to me since nobody else gets colored horns or tails.

In the other demon unit lines, the horns’ growth begins from tiny-sized stubs rather than thin versions of the definitive shape (which does vary amongst different individuals and species), so that is another thing that needs to be changed in this sprite.

Aside from the lack of developed and visible musculature (which should increase with each level), this unit strikes me more as a L1 when comparing its size (sans horns) to the mainline Elvish Shaman. Perhaps the legs’ stance could be changed so it is crouching slightly and use the current version as a base for the L1 instead?

It think it would also be good to keep the random body spikes found in the demons fighter line (since these are featured in both campaigns).

The tail stance seems painfully forced too. I don’t think their caudal joints can bend like that.

[Mefisto]

@shadowmaster
I worked on imps further before i could read your answer. I made TC-ed and non-TC-ed versions of minor imp and imp. Boils added - as I wrote before it was just a first sketch.

TC on horns is logical for me - you can paint them or use magic to change their natural colour. But of course it's your choice. I will modify them.
About horn shape - I have impression that you said that there are several species of demonic folk (unike in case of orcs and goblins which are different variants of the same species) and there are even few species of imps. So I took as a common feature a presence of tail and horns, not the exact shape. If you don't like the result, I modify them.
Regarding unit size - in the description of imp you wrote that this is a medium-sized unit and the gutwrencher is as large as well grown troll. So I assumed that imps are rather largish species. I used elvish shaman for size template for L0 and spearman for L1. I can shrink them if you wish.
Tail stance will be modified too. I think I'll just shorten it.

Any comments about palette?

[vultraz]

These imps look very, very weird, and not at all how I would imagine an imp. They look a cross between minotaurs and stayers, TBH.

[Lord-Knightmare]

I like the new imps , but I don't like their posture . Mefisto, I request you to change the position of the arms into something more notorious. Like a caption of rubbing them together, meaning they are hatching a wicked idea or so.

[doofus-01]

Any comments about palette?

The right arms are kind of lost, as I see it at least. I think you should make them brighter, so they stand out from the torso. Something also bothers me about the boils, but I'm not sure how to fix it. Maybe because, size-wise, they are just on the edge of what deserves dedicated pixels (bigger) and what would be "shading" (smaller)? Not sure.

The teeth and noses look well done.

(I'm not commenting on concepts or anything, just saying what I would try to improve the images).

[Ranger]

If I have any say in this, maybe we should try first to define the origins of these creatures and their function in the hierarchy of chaos. Are they related to demons? Are they intelligent? How strong and big they are? How long they live? What real life animals can be taken as a reference? You can’t do something right if you don’t know what are you doing in the first place.

Well, here it goes:

The imps were a race of lesser servants created to be of assistance for demons and designed to be easy to bred and be obedient to their demon masters. When the Uria used her powers to corrupt her servants into a bloodthirsty horde of fanatically loyal warriors the imps did not escaped this fate as well. They became much tougher and aggressive while mutating into different strains with various offensive capabilities. While not skilled in any task that requires substantial amount of thinking, like magic, their great numbers together with lethal natural weaponry makes them a great threat for anyone who opposes the forces of Inferno.

As you might notice this implies the existence of different species of imps adapted to a different styles of combat. A more stronger(regeneration?), with more offensive potential (poison claws?) type created for frontline assault. Another strain maybe for ambushing purpose(hiding in mushrooms) together with more agile bodies (skirmisher ability) to cut through loose enemy line and assasinate(backstab) fragile units like healers. There maybe others but I'll leave that to your immagination.

p.s.I'd like to point out that all this rambling does not is any way define current canon. The last say will always be that of SMaster.

[Iris]

Please stop abusing [​indent​] in every post of yours, it makes them confusing to read.

If I have any say in this, maybe we should try first to define the origins of these creatures and their function in the hierarchy of chaos. Are they related to demons? Are they intelligent? How strong and big they are?

I defined this long ago. I wonder if you read this post or the race description (as of AtS 0.9.7) before posting?

The last say will always be that of SMaster.

Last time I checked, I was the one in charge of this, not this SMaster person of whom I’ve never heard before.

[Ranger]

Angry whining

Please stop abusing [​indent​] in every post of yours, it makes them confusing to read.

Maybe.

If I have any say in this, maybe we should try first to define the origins of these creatures and their function in the hierarchy of chaos. Are they related to demons? Are they intelligent? How strong and big they are?
I defined this long ago. I wonder if you read this post or the race description (as of AtS 0.9.7) before posting?

Yes i read both, and they doesnt explaing ****! If you dont like to write "...pseudoscientific details like this..." you can at least give someone else a chance to do this for you.
(yes I'm mad.)

The last say will always be that of SMaster.
Last time I checked, I was the one in charge of this, not this SMaster person of whom I’ve never heard before.

You know that i was refering to you, right?