Aphrael Red!

Greetings and salutations! Today I present you with a finished 2D drawing of my first hero and leader of the Four Heroes, Aphrael Red!

Aphrael Red 2D art

Here is a close up of her face so everyone can see her clearly:

Close up of Aphrael

I would say it probably took me around twenty hours off and on over the weekend to complete this. I am quite happy with the results and I believe it is far superior over my Beloved Heroine piece that I showcased last week. Now that the 2D concept (or is it promo?) art is done, let me explain a little bit about my process.

The majority of artists as far as I can tell usually block in all of the colors on the entire character first before getting into the details. I have worked this way before but I do not find it very productive for a finished piece. The reason for this is because I am quite lazy. I hate having to work super hard and only get a minimum amount of work or miss details when focusing on the overall image. Therefore, to make my work more manageable so I don't get overwhelmed, I divide a piece into smaller pieces so I only need to focus on that part of the whole image. This makes doing large works far more enjoyable. In addition, this allows me to evaluate each individual piece as part of a whole when I complete each one so I can determine if it fits with the rest of the image I am trying to convey. If I don't like it, I can go in and edit the piece separately until it matches the rest of the image. This method gives me far more control and allows a more tighter finish to the overall work. To provide an example, let me show some of the stages this piece took to get to the final image:

The head and jacket with the overdrawing

I always start with the face first because it is the most difficult to get right. Everything about a character whether it is their emotions or their history is shown in the face. First I block in the main base color, usually a medium tone and then start painting in shadows and highlights. Of course before I even do this, I take a moment to plot out where the light source is coming from so I'll know where to paint shadows and highlights. Once the shadows and highlights are done, I start to paint in more detailed shapes like the mouth, the nose, and so on. The eyes I have on a separate layer group so that they do not interfere with the painting on the face. Once I am satisfied with the face, I can move on to her collar and jacket. I do this with all of the other layer groups and when one layer group is done, I zoom out and check the whole piece to ensure everything looks right. If it does, then I move to the next piece and so on.

Ruffles and the main shirt added

The ruffles on her skirt took an incredible amount of concentration to get done correctly. The shapes of ruffles are complex because they are many, many folds in a small space. Painting that is difficult but I think I succeeded there in the end. I also enjoy the detail on her belt. I don't usually go too detailed on belts but here I felt it was necessary to provide a bit more authenticity to the outfit.

The base color block for the legs

Here is an example of blocking in the base color of a piece, specifically here it is her legs. As with the rest of the image, I used quite a bit of reference to get the color of the material correct, to capture the faint transparency of very dark hosiery, and to capture the shape of Aphrael's musculature through the hose. Her legs are an important part of the piece, so I had to pay extra attention to make sure I got it correct.

The completed sword

I am very happy with how her sword came out in the end. I changed a few minor details on the design, but overall it came out extremely beautiful. The very minimalist but slender design of her sword really gives it a nice, pleasing aesthetic. In addition, to break up the monotony of the black metal, I placed a lighter gray stripe on the quillions and added some random symbol and simulated text to give it a look as if the weapon is mass produced. In addition, I painted in the off-on switch similarly to how it is shown in my sketches to give the weapon more character. Finally, the energy blade itself is red to draw attention to it and to add more symbolism to the hot fiery heart that Aphrael possesses.

One thing that I want to direct attention to is the Layers panel. Notice that I have every layer and layer group named. Every digital artist that uses a program that allows the use of layers should do this as it keeps everything organized and it allows one to know what they are working on or where to find something they are looking for. In addition, it also allows one to lock a specific part of an image so you don't accidentally paint over it later.

I hope people like the design. I know I do. However, after I showed it to my brother, he brought up an interesting point: the outfit that Aphrael wears is more suited for someone much shorter. As everyone is aware, I designed her with heroic proportions in mind (9 to 10 heads tall). My brother thought it was a little odd because a tall person probably wouldn't wear an outfit like the one Aphrael wears. I'm glad he mentioned this because now that I think about it, it actually makes the character even more unusual and quite appealing. Can you imagine a young twenty-something who is almost six feet tall prancing around like a graceful dancer in a frilly outfit like the one Aphrael wears and swinging her sword around in beautiful long red arcs? Quite the sight I would say. Of course there was a more practical reason why I designed her this way which I had explained before and that was so I can highlight her legs along with the physical strength she possesses in them while she prances around swinging her sword. She is supposed to move with a dancer's gracefulness and designing her this way I think helps emphasize this.

Now that the final concept for Aphrael is complete, it is almost time for actual production. The first thing I need to do now is creating the model sheets for the 3D model. After that, production itself can actually begin. My workflow for this stage is the following: I will sculpt a hi-res mesh using either Sculptris or Blender then create a lo-res model in Blender as well. After the lo-res is done with the correct topology, I will UV map it in Maya and then bake the normal maps in Blender. The reason I am using different programs for some of this is because I just prefer one software's methods of doing things over the other. The Four Heroes is not intended for commercial use so I can use Maya for my UV mapping. In addition, I do not have the funds to purchase Zbrush at this time so I have to use what I have available to me at this time.

Anyway, once the baking of normal maps is complete, I can go ahead and bake a color map and then create the textures in Mudbox and Photoshop. Once texturing is complete, I will create an IK rig driven by an FK setup and then create a facial rig so I can create expressions and emotions. Finally, I can set up a light rig in either Unreal Engine 4 or in Marmoset Toolbag and create a final render in one of those programs. The reason for this is because all of this work is for my portfolio which will be completed by the time I graduate. If I can demonstrate my ability to create the best graphics available in realtime rendering engines which is what modern games use anymore, then that will show my competency and my understanding of pipelines for any game studio wishing to hire me.

Next time, the last stage of my pre-production will be highlighted: the model sheet. Then actual production for my 3D character can begin!

Stephanie Valentin

Before I end this post today, I just want to post a shout out to Stephanie Valentin. Her YouTube tutorials have been a godsend for me over the last few years and have really helped me to improve my art tenfold along with the techniques I have learned at The Art Institute. For any artist seriously wanting to reach photographic levels of excellence in their digital paintings, watch her tutorials. They are easy to understand and the techniques employed can be incorporated into your own style of work. Her channel is here at https://www.youtube.com/user/StephanieValentin. Thank you Ms. Valentin!