Rusted Blade
[14] Master
The Host
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The Rusted Repository (compiled personal designs and discussion)
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The Host
VILARCANE
[14] Master
Double sided CAS is very clever i moth say...i did that once on a bat shit crazy witch but those insectaliens are scary i shell add...With neverbeforeseen exeq combos for the faces...so eerie it bugs me...bravo
Rusted Blade
[14] Master
Merci mon bon mouchieur Vil! J'avais un prediction que ce groupe would catch your eye, et commentaire magistral sur pun-aise. :) Il y avait certainement des moments la-bas, ou j'avais l'impression de tu canaliser (et/ou Durand!). By the way, did you notice the name has become une double entente? 'Host' on account of the implication in the design of parasitism or symbiosis--I made subtly different indications as to this in different variations on the design, though certainly on the whole, you would have to guess that letting that thing get close to them was the biggest mostique a couple of these guys ever made! But then also 'host' because there ended up being so many variations--the pun was even organique in development. ;)
I will say that I'm actually quite enthusiastic about this design myself. It came about from an attempt at something else entirely, but as is often the case, once I hit on the concept it all came together pretty quickly. I love how the dragonfly wings turn some high-saturation colors into a neon, almost flourescent presentation: it really makes the design pop, especially with the other vibrant colors--I honestly don't think the photos are doing that aspect justice, because of their relatively low-res nature. I really should capture some video of this one: aside from the fact that it would showcase the skins better, there's actually an Astaroth underneath all of that, and his moveset just fits this concept like a glove (even in just editor mode snippets), with his swipes and broad gestures and intimidating posturing--and when you are queued to interpret that thing on the back as a living creature (or part of one?), its movements also take on a new light. Not all designs translate well into something that you'd happily take into a game, but this one definitely works on that level.
But did you notice the reference to her villainous counterpart from the same source? That one has yet to be ID'd (that anyone has ever noted anyway) and it's surprising to me because the design is so distinctive. I've begun to wonder if it will ever be recognized without Dante being brought in as a ringer. :D
Thanks Sytus! Those two draw inspiration from a specific work of literature which, while a bit of a juggernaught in its own genre, is largely unregonized in a broader cultural sense. But with the success of GoT, it was only a matter of time before this other narrative got its own production, and sure enough, it's under development. I'm a little skeptical of its likely final quality for a number of reasons, but fingers crossed it bears out into something watchable. Anyway, I mention this all because i wonder how much more recognizable these two will be in a couple of years and how much fidelity there will be with the looks said show develops, since I was able to get these two fairly close to what I imagine for these characters.
Thank you Nitric! 'The Crimson Knight' was one of my first experiments with texture manipulations of that sort for SCVI, in the first few days of release (though some of the variations here are more recent refinements). The idea was pretty straight forward: just do a concept variation on The Azure Knight--distinct in design rather than a palette swap, but keeping in the theme of slow corruption. A 'Crimson' to Nightmare's 'Blight', or a 'Mordeth' to Nightmare's 'Shadow', or insert other nerdy obscure metaphor for competing evils.
So it's like an alternate take on the development but also earlier on: if you look closely, I attempted to give the sense that his right gauntlet is being absorbed into his arm as part of the mass that will make up the monstrosity on the primary nightmare outfit, though the effect is mostly lost at this resolution, due to the dark coloring and other qualities of that equipment. Still, though I've always felt the overall color of this XP has always felt a bit samesy to me, and even though some surface elements are a little more muddied than I'd like, I'm pretty happy with the overall results. 'Bearing Apple' of course needs no explanation. :D Appreciate the commentary!
I suppose: I mean, I am aware there are a handful of other graybeards (or what we might consider as such relative to the age of the franchise) hon 8WR, but every impression I have ever gotten here (and of the SC community in general in recent years) is that it skews decidedly younger in the broader trend. And putting that factor aside, even many of my more contemporary reference designs seem to go unrecognized. Part of that may be owed to the fact that I sometimes select from some somewhat obscure and esoteric sources across a variety of mediums, in addition to gaming and pop culture giants and contemporary reference points. But in any event, I just had the feeling the only way the implied commentary of that particular Azwel would get noticed would be if I got a little more blatant with the overlap on the name.
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ChipSprites
[08] Mercenary
I really like the host! It looks so good, looks like it could be an in-game enemy for a hive-type scenario.
Rusted Blade
[14] Master
Thanks Chips--much appreciated. :) I'm very happy with how it turned out, though I had to push the resources to the roof to get there!
So, I've got another eight or so decent designs that for a while now have been finished or only requiring some light polishing to share, but finding the time to curate and upload them is likely to take a few days at least. In the meantime, here's some previews of some of them:
Sophitia - Battlehardened Veteran
Sophitia - Palladian
Sophitia - Bad Penny Gang
Cassandra - Bad Penny Gang
Talim - Bad Penny Gang
Plus updates of some previous designs, old and new:
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ChipSprites
[08] Mercenary
Love them, especially the armored sophs!
Rusted Blade
[14] Master
Alright, so I've had a couple dozen mostly complete or just requiring some detail work/dialing-in for a bit now. I'm going to go ahead on share those which are in a complete enough state to warrant sharing (or at least as many as I can find time t organize and put up today). Most of this lot are going to be SC-roster character riffs, though there will also be some cosplay/hybrid designs and some true originals.
Starting things of, we have some Sophitia designs. The first of these is, I suppose, Sophie re-imagined as veteran infantry officer. She's given a heavier-duty gear and is a bit of a grey-hair in the initial versions, though I dropped this for a more vibrant red-haired look later. I liked how the details came together in this version (and I found the combination of mask, chin-strap, and horns really brought the helmet ornamentation some character), but from early on, the design kept split into two similar but distinct trajectories, and thus I created a second variation that seeks an aesthetic middle ground between this version of Sophie with her classical 'holy warrior' vibe. This one itself itself spawned multiple variations itself, with regard to the armor and helmet composition and final color balance. I'm also quite tickled with the name, which is not a double, nor triple, but indeed quadruple-entendre--beat that for cheeky wordplay, Vil!
Starting things of, we have some Sophitia designs. The first of these is, I suppose, Sophie re-imagined as veteran infantry officer. She's given a heavier-duty gear and is a bit of a grey-hair in the initial versions, though I dropped this for a more vibrant red-haired look later. I liked how the details came together in this version (and I found the combination of mask, chin-strap, and horns really brought the helmet ornamentation some character), but from early on, the design kept split into two similar but distinct trajectories, and thus I created a second variation that seeks an aesthetic middle ground between this version of Sophie with her classical 'holy warrior' vibe. This one itself itself spawned multiple variations itself, with regard to the armor and helmet composition and final color balance. I'm also quite tickled with the name, which is not a double, nor triple, but indeed quadruple-entendre--beat that for cheeky wordplay, Vil!
Sophitia: Battlehardened
Sophitia: Palladian
Sophitia: Palladian
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Rusted Blade
[14] Master
And just because there's no harm in keeping the new Sophies in sequence, here is a third, this time kicking of a series of loosely-related designs that I call 'The Bad Penny Gang'. Despite the name and and some elements in common (they all are meant to have a vaguely outlawish bent to them and all wear scarves or masks of one sort or another), there's not really meant to be an implication of a strict sense of continuity here: each has qualities implying a substantially different time or place, though they do tend to veer into recent, even modern, epochs in terms of style.
[/SPOILER
Sophitia: Bad Penny on the Plains
Rusted Blade
[14] Master
Cassandra: Bad Penny of the Moors
Rusted Blade
[14] Master
This one could probably benefit from some further color balance adjustments and detail work, but is far enough along to share.
Talim: Bad Penny on the Road
Rusted Blade
[14] Master
Taki: Bad Penny in the Outback
Rusted Blade
[14] Master
Xianghua: Bad Penny on the Street
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Rusted Blade
[14] Master
The last of the Bad Pennies (for now): this one really isn't finished (the detail work is really in rough draft phase), but I might as well slip her in here as placeholder. Though I am having trouble working out her color scheme and details, I like here general concept, ostentatious as it is, though I can't place her aesthetic as definitively musical hall performer, 19th century gangster, or an American West courtesan. Maybe she's a Barbary Coast madam?
Seong Mi-na: Bad Penny of the Night
Rusted Blade
[14] Master
If I'm honest, it's hard not to see this one as something lazy and unoriginal and arguably something someone was bound to do eventually, but I'd like to think I put enough of a spin on it to make it a little my own. Anyway, truly inspired it may not be, but I like the result anyway: minimalist, but it works for this one.
Astaroth: Iron Fist
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Rusted Blade
[14] Master
These next two Astaroths are unrefined at the detail level, but getting there. The first of the two below is a crusade-era riff. I'm not quite sure about the color selections: I may make a darker iteration on this (brown and black) and mix-up the equipment selections a bit, and ultimately go with more of a medieval exuctutionar theme. But for the present time, I think the gold and red eastern roman empire scheme is a good starting iteration, even if the exact distribution of color is a bit samesy at present.
Astaroth: Byzantine Bash
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Rusted Blade
[14] Master
This one is also kind of proof-of-concept at present: it works, but a lot needs to be done to add the real character to the design.
Astaroth: Wroth Oni
Rusted Blade
[14] Master
Here Setsuka's model is standing in for someone, in one my 'cosplay' iterations. Other than some clipping issues here and there during some poses, I'm pretty satisfied with this one, though I do think it's one that could go a long while before being properly recognized for some of its details.
Setsuka: Hornbow (Silver Shot)
Setsuka: Hornbow (Loyal Captain)
Setsuka: Hornbow (Loyal Captain)
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Rusted Blade
[14] Master
Hilde channeling a little Bonnie Prince Charlie--with maybe some Scots Guard/dragoon and mystery hero (or rogue?) mixed in. So, yes a bit of a mush of 17th and 18th century inspirations here (with a bit of a modern fashion twist to just complicate it a bit more), and the details needs some refining to add some realistic depth to the attire, but I like how this design has shaped up, even thus far.
Hilde: Bonnie on the Highway
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Rusted Blade
[14] Master
Kilik - Temple Abbot
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VILARCANE
[14] Master
Kilik...from the stiff beard and perfect asian stache and aged looks, just works ! Some cool ideas on some others too !