The Rusted Repository (compiled personal designs and discussion)

Kilik...from the stiff beard and perfect asian stache and aged looks, just works ! Some cool ideas on some others too !
I really like the temple abbot look! It gives off the affect of a badass old master of martial arts.

Thanks guys! That's more or less what I was going for: with this Kilik, I once again looked for inspiration to the old Shaw Bros. kung fu flicks--particularly the Shaolin Temple and 36th Chamber of Shaolin franchises. In these films, there are three general archetypes for the main characters:

The first is the wayward youth, who typically joins the temple while fleeing for his life and/or with the intention of learning the Shaolin skills to use in his quest for vengeance against the villains who killed his family. Despite being a bit of a free spirit who doesn't always take the training seriously, he usually turns out to be a martial arts prodigy and his priorities slowly change as he undergoes the training and he becomes a capable warrior just in time to defend the temple against the climactic onslaught of an army, and to flee with the few remaining survivors to continue the heritage of Shaolin.

The second class of character is what our Abbot here is based upon. These are the older masters who are defined by their selfless devotion to the spiritual life of the monastery, their noble behavior...and their almost sociopathic dedication to the harsh training regimen of the younger monks. The main role of the masters in the climax of the film is to die in valiant defense of the temple--though they usually can only go down when swarmed by dozens or hundreds of soldiers led by the principle lieutenants of the bad guys.

The third stock character is the smooth-talking (and typically mustachioed) aristocrat who pretends to be the friend of the youth (and/or the temple), but who is secretly in league with their enemies, who want to destroy the temple out of fear or jealousy of the martial power of Shaolin and the chivalrous activities of the monks to protect the common man. These guys usually prefer some sort of dao (chinese broadsword/saber) as their weapon of choice, so I guess I have a concept reserved for one of my first Hwang builds. ;)

Anyway, getting back to the Abbot here, I'm pretty happy with how he turned out, despite some early reservations when I started on him: doing these historically-derived designs really emphasizes just how weak the attire/equipment/asset selection still is for traditional cultures (even the ones Soulcalibur is superficially fixated on) in the current editor. But, with some experimentation and work-arounds, I managed to get him looking quite recognizable for what I wanted him to be--as evidenced by your responses, which I appreciate! :)
 
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Thanks guys! That's more or less what I was going for: with this Kilik, I once again looked for inspiration to the old Shaw Bros. kung fu flicks--particularly the Shaolin Temple and 36th Chamber of Shaolin films. In these films, there are three general archetypes for the main characters:

The first is the wayward youth, who typically joins the temple while fleeing for his life and/or with the intention of learning the Shaolin skills to use in his quest for vengeance against the villains who killed his family. Despite being a bit of a free spirit who doesn't always take the training seriously, he usually turns out to be a martial arts prodigy and his priorities slowly change as he undergoes the training and he becomes a capable warrior just in time to defend the temple against the climactic onslaught of an army, and to flee with the few remaining survivors to continue the heritage of Shaolin.

The second class of character is what our Abbot here is based upon. These are the older masters who are defined by their selfless devotion to the spiritual life of the monastery, their noble behavior...and their almost sociopathic dedication to the harsh training regimen of the younger monks. Their main role in the climax of the film is to go down with the temple--though they can usually only go down when swarmed by dozens or hundreds of soldiers led by the principle lieutenants of the bad guys.

The third stock character is the smooth-talking (and typically mustachioed) aristocrat who pretends to be the friend of the youth (and/or the temple), but who is secretly in league with their enemies, who want to destroy the temple out of fear or jealousy of the martial power of Shaolin and the chivalrous activities of the monks to protect the common man. These guys usually prefer some sort of dao (chinese broadsword/saber), so I guess I have a concept reserved for one of my first Hwang builds. ;)

Anyway, getting back to the Abbot here, I'm pretty happy with how he turned out, despite some early reservations when I started on him: doing these historically-derived designs really emphasizes just how weak the attire/equipment/asset selection still is for traditional cultures (even the ones Soulcalibur is superficially fixated on) in the current editor. But, with some experimentation and work-arounds, I managed to get him looking quite recognizable for what I wanted him to be--as evidenced by your responses, which I appreciate! :)
Sounds like you are describing those movies with Fang Shi Yu/Fong Sai Yuk and Hung Xi Kwan/Hoong Hei Kun as the main characters. Another important thing is the Han-Manchu rivalry that is prevalent.
 
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Sounds like you are describing those movies with Fang Shi Yu/Fong Sai Yuk and Hung Xi Kwan/Hoong Hei Kun as the main characters. Another important thing is the Han-Manchu rivalry that is prevalent.
Honestly, it's been decades since I watched some of those films, so I couldn't tell you which use established historical/wuxia folk heroes and which have more generic protagonists, but the timing certainly fits for those figures, because one consistent element of those films is that Qing Dynasty functionaries and forces are almost invariably the main antagonists.

Edit: Yup, Wikipedia confirms, Fong Sai-Yuk is in fact one of the protagonists of both the original Shaolin Temple film and all three of the 36th Chamber films (although apparently monk San Te is the chief protagonist of those last three).
 
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Now, that health bar is very creative! the first game that came to mind was - alundra.
 
Now, that health bar is very creative! the first game that came to mind was - alundra.

Yes, I was very pleased with myself about that--actually more of a bit of pain in the ass to implement than one might think! I've actually been meaning to go back and see about doing more variations on that character with more recently released assets--I'll have to add it to the list!
 
It's just as well that I haven't yet created a profile on HappyColour's new site--because I would have absolutely walked away with that first (pumpkin ExEq-based) challenge. Why is that that, you ask--how can I be so certain? Well, you see...

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I really wish i could have made the hammers and axes at least 50% larger... Oh well.


Golden Eyes - Blacksmith's Apprentice

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Golden Eyes - Young Bull on the Road North
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Golden Eyes - Carai an Manetheren
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Golden Eyes - The Consort of the Hawk

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Golden Eyes - Wolfbrother
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I really wish i could have made the hammers and axes at least 50% larger... Oh well.


Golden Eyes - Blacksmith's Apprentice

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Golden Eyes - Young Bull on the Road North
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Golden Eyes - Carai an Manetheren
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Golden Eyes - The Consort of the Hawk

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Golden Eyes - Wolfbrother
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Bro, you literally created your own weapons! that's insane! and also, i like this character a lot -- reminds me of rock.
 
Blue still needs a lot of work, but Red and Yellow are just about when I want them.


Azwel: Son of the Djinn (Red)

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Azwel: Son of the Djinn (Blue)

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Azwel: Son of the Djinn (Gold)

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Bro, you literally created your own weapons! that's insane! and also, i like this character a lot -- reminds me of rock.
Thanks! Yes, it took some work, but it was a necessity: the design called for hammers and axes, and Astaroth's were simply not the appropriate scale. :) And yeah, I thought the same thing regarding the 'Wolfbrother' variant: once he was finished, I couldn't help but think that he could double for a version of Rock immediately after the shipwreck from his backstory. Great minds! ;)
 
This one still needs some polish to make it shine, but I really do like the concept.


Azwel: Ambition in the Sultan's Court

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More to come in a few hours (or as soon as I can find the time to upload, in any event).
 
Middle Eastern aesthetic looks really great on Azwel! I think those looks are really badass for him. I like the son of the djinn series you made! Also, Generic Joe reminds me of General Morden from Metal Slug, I think perhaps because of the military look and the mustache! :D In addition, I was a fan of Golden Eyes. ALL really awesome stuff!
 
Middle Eastern aesthetic looks really great on Azwel!
Agreed! The same orientalist-meets-pop-culture aspect of his design that makes him look like a villain from an old sci-fi serial (something I've riffed on before), also makes him look like every single sinister, plotting vizier or magician that has ever appeared in a cartoon or video game set in an Arabian or Persian context. In fact, making this design reminded me of so many of them (some of them going back to the golden era of film), that after I finished it, I tried to create variations on the design that were more particular homages. Unfortunately, none of the four I tried rendered into particularly good designs, so I hadn't intended to share any of them, but here's a couple of the heads:

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Actually, even putting aside the Azwels, for some reason or another, this last bout of creations has been very heavy with middle-eastern and/or desert-aesthetic stuff (in fact, most of the rest that I have time to share today are also going to be in that vein). I didn't really set out with that objective--just the way it worked out.

Also, Generic Joe reminds me of General Morden from Metal Slug, I think perhaps because of the military look and the mustache! :D
Haha--yeah, I mean that's the basic concept I was going for: that general gung-ho, two-dimensional soldier aesthetic that was the subject of any military-based media aimed at children in the 80s.

I like the son of the djinn series you made! . . . In addition, I was a fan of Golden Eyes. ALL really awesome stuff!
Thanks Spanks--I appreciate that! It's been a crazy busy week for me, all around, so it's nice to hear that someone got a kick out of the designs I made the time to share. :)
 
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Riffing on the genre generally with a trio of could-be-cyborgs, could-be-andorids. Initially I intended to do a whole intensive series of these, a mass series of 2B models where each would represent a significant work in the genre (Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, The Matrix, Deus Ex, Neuromancer, Battle Angel Alita, SnowCrash, Surrogates, Ex Machina, Westworld, ect.), but ultimately I instead opted for more original designs that synthesize from the aesthetic more generally. Unfortunately, the low resolution of these images is losing some the subtle texture work--always a problem, but particularly so with these darker colors. Still, I like the collection and plan to add to it eventually.


2B: Cyberpunk (Cartesian Model)
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2B: Cyberpunk (Nearly Humean)
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2B: Cyberpunk (Platonic Ideal)
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I'm not going to front on this one guys: I'm super happy with how this one turned out. It's a rarity in this medium where the final product arrives so close to where I originally imagined it, with so little compromise to technical and asset limitations. Although it has a handful of clever elements, this is not the most technically complex design I have ever done, but it is one of the more beautiful, by my own measure--and without question one of the closest-to-the-mark reference designs I have yet managed.


2B: Dream of the New Age

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