Rusted's Ringers, Gallery III: Original Character Designs

[Rusted Blade]

Ophelia:

I think of Ophelia as some sort blend of privateer and rogue.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Sunkissed:

The first (and probably most prototypical and effective), character in a series of designs I refer to as the 'Sun Guard' (for their reliance on gold and crimson colour schemes and sun-themed iconography), Sunkissed uses a female colossus as the base model. One of my first SCVI creations, she initially utilized Kilik's moveset, but as soon as Hilde was released, I felt that hers would be a more suitable style for this character--and lo and behold, there was the 'Gáe Dearg & Móralltach' weapon set to tie it all beautifully together. Though I suppose in this case it ought to be 'Gáe Buidhe & Móralltach', or even 'Gáe Buidhe-ná-Dearg & Móralltach'. Anyway, behold her radiant glory!

FYI, looking for feedback on whether the default or customized plume works best on the helmet here.

 

[DanteSC3]

FYI, looking for feedback on whether the default or customized plume works best on the helmet here.

I prefer the customized one. I like how it runs the length of the helmet instead of just being a toothbrush mop on the top.

 

[Rusted Blade]

I prefer the customized one. I like how it runs the length of the helmet instead of just being a toothbrush mop on the top.

I think so too--the only real problem with it is that it introduces yet another shade of red that can't quite be made to match up with that of the other textures in the design, and I hate it when that happens (when a given colour is prominent in the design but you can't get close matches on the sahde because of the different objects limit or influence the ultimate colour) as it compromises the level of polish the design represents--and here there are already several shades. I'll have to continue tinkering with mixed-colour/minimally scaled textures on the object, I think, because I do like the benefits of the longer profile and the tips appearing to be dyed a different colour altogether. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Rusted Blade]

Beda:

Nothing crazy here: just a diminutive albino Lizardwoman rocking Talim's moveset with makeshift bone shard weapons. Of course, it just goes to show how wild SoulCalibur and the potential products of its creation suite are that such a character can be described as not particularly crazy. ;) Anyway, I considered adding some rudimentary bone armor to this as well, but ultimately decided that the minimalist/almost completely animal vibe worked best here.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Handmaiden:

This Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age Phoenician priestess-guard-servant took a vow to serve her queen in both life and death, and now stands at the start of an eternal watch over her tomb. It's a pity the assets to recreate this design don't exist in SCVI's editor (as yet, anyway)--I'd love to refine it.

 

[Rusted Blade]

The Twins:

Tei (Raphael's style) and Tie (Amy's style) I have always imagined as twin sisters raised from birth to become two of the Phantom Pavilion's deadliest gladiators. In their armoured variants, they have almost identical outfits with just some slight variation in the items and mutually-inverted gold and red colour schemes (although Tei seems to have adopted her a variation of her sister's armour by SCV). I also have a variant for Tie which I call Tinker Tie--basically a look she has adopted after freeing herself from her past of blood-soaked servitude and taking on a pacifistic lifestyle. I've also created variants for SCVI which look a little bit more noble rather than rocking the sinister vibe of their earlier gladiatorial outfits--the colours in these recent variations are a little a simple: I really need to take some time to do some work on the textures to try to make something out of these most recent designs, which otherwise lack the character and strong thematic feel of the earlier versions. if only they would add the Bast Vizard to SCVI's editor, I could really do these two justice again.

Tei:

Tie:

Tinker Tie:

Lai:

Another character in the same mold, with essentially just a palette-swapped version of Tei's SCV presentation. I suppose I should have given her black or brown hair to distinguish her from Tei's blonde, and Tie's Red--I'll have to remember to remedy that next time I boot up one of the older consoles. Anyway, I think the design works just as well with the axes as it does for either of the fencing styles.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Rhodus:

I don't think I've ever had a concrete head canon in mind for Rhodus, other than that he seems to be some sort of ancient sentinel, apparently of a Mycenean, Aegean, or maybe Anatolian origin? Anyway, he's clearly in need of a good pedicure.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Red Tongue:

A most feared assassin: "If you're seeing red, you're already dead."

 

[Rusted Blade]

Nik:

My old SCIV standard Cassie-style CaS.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Mawl:

I generally don't go in for macabre designs that much, but I had a notion for this that I think worked out pretty well.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Blue Oracle:

She sees your future with perfectly clarity: which means she sees exactly how she is going to hand you your arse if you don't mind your p's and q's... This one also needs some detail/texture work to give the outfit some depth-realism.

I can't quite decide if she has any relation to an earlier SCIII design...

Blue Blade:

 

[Rusted Blade]

The Messenger:

A simple but I think effective design, the general theme of which I'm sure will be obvious. I probably should add some texturing to those eyes to give them more of a glowing/ember look, particularly in the low light conditions.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Nimbusia:

A Silk Road mummy: Edyptian, Persian, Hellenistic? I'm not sure, but I do know that woe is upon the grave robber who ventures into her tomb. I'm not really sure which of the three variants I prefer here: the more complex snake goddess vibe of the newer versions is an improvement, I think, and the textures certainly give the design more depth, but I'm not sure if the colour schemes of any of these couldn't use some additional work.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Rosi:

My stand-by Talim creation for SCVI player matches: an army lieutenant adept with tonfa. Two uniformed variants. Some times even a simple design can be effective, and this is an old favourite in that way.

 

[Rusted Blade]

HellBug:

Undead? A demon? A nightmare given form? Spawn of hydra teeth? One thing's for for sure--no mere boot is going to do for this bug.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Margarette:

Just your average swashbuckling heroine. I'm not sure why I've only ever made her in odd-numbered games..

 

[Rusted Blade]

Volunteer 34:

This unwitting test subject is loose and about to give her creators all of the 'data' they were seeking and then some..

 

[Rusted Blade]

Celeste:

I'm not sure who Celeste is, aside from to say that she certainly looks like the Soulcalibur equivalent of an Elizabethan era play-actor.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Roff:

A minor warlord of central asia, known from the Tien Shan to Mongolia to Xian.