LordBob's commissionned work

[vultraz]

Why not just invoke the Rule of Cool or It's Magic for the pose?

[Mefisto]

I wanted kung-fu master Delfador and I got kung-fu master Delfador. I like the stance, after all this is the guy who is a Gandalf of this world, dabbling in politics, travelling across the whole continent, and fighting actively. He must be able to do some acrobatic exercises better than average bureau Johnny. He must be intimidating if it is needed.

[zookeeper]

knees bent with feet far apart, arms stretched out to the sides, upper body arched backwards...it doesn't seem like something that an old mage would physically be capable of.

In light of recent discussions over the neutral pose, this is a bit problematic. Either we decide that he's old and it shows everywhere, or we accept that he's fit enough for a number of activites, including short bursts of live action.

The thing is, I've gone through the exact inverse process in the design phase because exaggeration is a key part of any good drawing. Eventhough the reasoning behind it is perfectly logic, what you propose is easier said than done: if I just "tone down" the pose to account for lower physical abilities, the result will very likely be different from what's expected. Instead of conveying old age, it might lose much of its dynamism and simply be less interesting for the viewer.

In other words, if I wanted the pose to properly show his age while retaining its dynamism and interest, I would have to make major changes, maybe crook his back or have him lean on his staff while casting - in which case other voices might arise, claiming that he looks too old this tilme...

I'll still give it a shot, but I really can't promise anything...

Well, as I said, it's not really something that I think is a problem that needs to be fixed, merely one of the few things I can see as being possible to improve. It's annoying to have no suggestions for improvement most of the time, so I tried to think of something no matter how small.

[Sleepwalker]

For the record I'm not personally agreeing with the critique posted here. For me it was instantly recognizable as male and I know the value of strong pose. The suggestion to flare out the robe and/or cape could maybe improve it but I'm not sure.

The colors I presume are going to be a bi effect from the magic lightning he is casting, which is a cool thing imo.

[Adamant14]

About the bent knees and the pose itself, that's no problem for me.
Especially because in game the lower body is not visible.
And a man who is able to walk such distances like Delfaldor does,
should be fit enough to bend his knees that way, and if only for the duration of a few seconds.

About the hand, I like the hand, it is not too big for me.
The hand is closer to the viewer, so it is all right.
And the hand intensified the mood the image will/should express, namely that Delfaldor is angry/mad.
I really like the hand as it is, and I hope LordBob won't change it.

[artisticdude]

I think it's the beard... it's a very feminine beard.

No seriously, I have no trouble reading him as male. I think the impression of femininity might come from his ribcage being fairly prominent, due to the arched back. I'm not terribly knowledgeable in this area, so this may not help much, but perhaps decreasing the arch in his back just a little would both avoid the more prominent upper torso (thereby hopefully resolving the debatable female issue) and also make him look slightly less flexible but without giving the impression has one foot in the grave?

[DMB]

I really like his battle stance. It looks perfectly fine to me.
Well whatever you do I'm sure it will look good. I'm waiting for all the new HttT artwork to be put in before I replay it, in the meantime I'll just play through all the other campains on Nightmare.

[Jetrel]

knees bent with feet far apart, arms stretched out to the sides, upper body arched backwards...it doesn't seem like something that an old mage would physically be capable of.

In light of recent discussions over the neutral pose, this is a bit problematic. Either we decide that he's old and it shows everywhere, or we accept that he's fit enough for a number of activites, including short bursts of live action.

I think you can safely disregard this worry - it's fine for him to do this, he's perfectly capable of it. We've decided he's hale and he's capable of most youthful physical activities. No backwards somersaults, sure, but he's not yet become decrepit. (A major character motivation is he may be quite worried about that happening soon - he may want to accomplish things before he does become debilitated in another 10 years or so.)


Also the new revision of his appearance has allayed all of my concerns about him looking too old. This overall just rocks.

[homunculus]

i wonder what would happen after cropping?
will delf appear out of balance, suggesting that he is about to make a movement with his staff that would move the body forward?

i don't think i very clearly understand what the body curve discussion is about.
for example, a spear pose from youtube, where the body is curved the other way.
i wonder if this is what people mean when they say the body is too much curved outward?
i am not suggesting to change the pose, rather i think if the body was curved the other way it would suggest more evil and that might not be desired.

the only issue might be that delf's body also looks curved sideways (the movement line covers it up here, need to look at the original to see it), and i hope delf will not turn out too graceful like parade gay.

[direfish]

I think the new Delfador is fantastic, LordBob. All your mages so far were absolutely brilliant concept-wise and detail-wise.

But what about adding some mental concentration to the action pose? In current pose he looks like a martial artist in his combat stance, rather than a powerful arcanist. Mages look much more threatening with straight spines, raised chins and hands performing gestures of power. But that's just my opinion.

[LordBob]

Thanks everyone for the input. I made some changes based on the general feeling, I hope I can show them soon.

But what about adding some mental concentration to the action pose? In current pose he looks like a martial artist in his combat stance, rather than a powerful arcanist. Mages look much more threatening with straight spines, raised chins and hands performing gestures of power.

That's something I won't risk after spending much time on adjustments of the current pose. Several reasons :
- "mental concentration" and "gestures of power" are fine when animated, but I'd have a hard time translating them into a still picture.
- in case I successfully did it might yet lose some of its dynamism, when I'm really trying to create a lively picture.
- his action pose is about dealing swift death and I wanted to paint the moment when he unleashes his full power. For that purpose, I think a martial attitude will be better understood by most people than an obscure hand gesture.

[LordBob]

Hey crew! It's been a while since the last update, but I'm hoping it was well worth it: here's a pretty much final version of the angry Delfador.
Once cropped, he will likely be taller than the standard 400 pix and might even go beyond the 500, but since this has been done before I'm hoping that it won't be a problem.

[vultraz]

His head looks too square. At first glance, it seems to make him look slightly comical.

[zookeeper]

Good going... can we see a bigger version?

[LordBob]

As soon as I'm done with the scenery and various fixes.

Vultraz: you're absolutely right. Besides, his face lost some of its character in the shading process, so I'm definitely planning to give it some more love.