Campaign art - Descent into Darkness

[Atz]

Feel free to ignore: I think it would be cool as a visual cue to his going over to the dark side, is as he gets older, the "magic" effects from his wand look more dark and sinister. Young Malin looks to me exactly in character, but light green perky magic from older Malin seems less in character.

I believe there's supposed to be a pale and unhealthy version coming, and that this one is the intermediate stage between "young mage" and "foul necromancer". Though now that I think of it, purple magic is standard for necromancers in Wesnoth, isn't it? If this portrait is going to be used when Malin is summoning ghouls and such, should the glow be purple?

[JustinOperable]

I envy your cloth painting. Did you use a special brush for Young Malins robes?

[Jetrel]

I envy your cloth painting. Did you use a special brush for Young Malins robes?

I must confess, I'm curious as to how you did that texture, as well.

[LordBob]

The light effect transition from arcane to pure necromancy sounds reasonable. I'll introduce some measure of purple in grown-up Malin's wand sparks.
Expect a revised version for both portraits sometime soon, accounting for various comment on Malin's face : his older self requires some additionnal effort if he's to to recognized for who he is meant to be.

Regarding the texture on young malin's robe, it was made with a combination of the custom brush shape below and a few well-picked options to take care of scatter and opacity. The brush does all the hard work, all that's left to do is pick up colours with enough contrast to get a result that can still be seen after reducting the picture to 25%.

Truth be told, there's really no limit to what can be achieved through brush customization ; it's vast enough that you could spend ages experimenting and never get any actual drawing done.

[Jetrel]

Dang. I guess I'd never have expected something ... that .. sparse.

Or, indeed, that "inorganic". I assumed you'd have to sample some actual RL organic texture to get that look. Go figure.

[LordBob]

Heh, gotta admit, it was just as much of a surprise to me : I had initially designed this specific brush for the cobwebs in Jevyan's coat, but toying with its settings was quite an education.

Here's a sample in different sizes and density. Current settings include :
15% angle variation
100% scatter (on both axes)
pressure sensitive flow

[LordBob]

Revised young Malin's brooch. He should be done now.

[LordBob]

First stage of the descent into darkness for old Malin. Next step will show him with the greyed complexion of a true necromancer and clothing in poorer condition.

[LordBob]

Final versions for old Malin :
- Some minor revision to his older self, when he's become a mage in his own right under Darken Volk's teaching.
- His "decayed" self, when he has fallen beyond return.

[Sangel]

Final versions for old Malin :
- Some minor revision to his older self, when he's become a mage in his own right under Darken Volk's teaching.
- His "decayed" self, when he has fallen beyond return.

I love the changes to the clothing, but the change in skin tone seems a little too drastic. Perhaps a little less grey/purple?

[Frogger5]

I disagree, I think it makes more sense for his evil magic to change his skin more than his clothing

[thespaceinvader]

It's also worth bearing in mind that we see him a lot of the time in caves and at night as he gets more eeeevil, so an overall gloomier appearance is more fitting.

[Jetrel]

Final versions for old Malin :
- Some minor revision to his older self, when he's become a mage in his own right under Darken Volk's teaching.
- His "decayed" self, when he has fallen beyond return.

I love the changes to the clothing, but the change in skin tone seems a little too drastic. Perhaps a little less grey/purple?

Yes, it looks like he's ill, and dying, but given that he's transitioning into undeath, I think that's perfectly fine.

[Pewskeepski]

So will his decayed self be used in A small favor part 1-3 and so on, Or will it just be used at the beginning of the second to last scenario?

[LordBob]

The intention was indeed to show him under dim lighting, so as to better convey his darker side.
There'll be a last version, in which I intend to make him more recognizable by fiddling with the eye, mouth and nose : I'll try to adjust the lighting.

Pewskeepski : his decayed self isn't the same as the lich portrait, if that's what you're refering to. There's another one planned for that.