ART WAR 4 | 2D | War of the Elements | Audrey Wallenstein, The Yuragan Hunter | CanvasEngineer

[CanvasEngineer]

During the Hel'fire Siege, an Ongoing war between Albretch - an evil magic wielder -- and the forces of Death, Audrey Wallenstein loses her sister to Albretch's corruption and sets out to find and set her soul free.
- Jerimiah Adams
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[CanvasEngineer]

I had to develop a lot of the story behind the scenes since it was really important to figure out what world I wanted Audrey to fit into. There was a sense of continuity I wanted within the design of the character that could be seen in other characters had I wanted to tell more stories within this world. It's definitely more of a gritty place, that if one spends some time in the quiet moments can find dashes of magic and wonder. Will expound upon what exactly a Yuragan is and how Audrey's title fits into her current journey.

[CanvasEngineer]

p.s. leave questions below if you have any. I'd definitely like to go into some depth about the decisions behind the costume but I don't want to put more than people are curious about. Also note this isn't the final design.

[josierichmond]

Hey nice start!! It's always interesting to see how others draft and plan their characters. Curious to see where this goes!

[CanvasEngineer]

Thanks, Josie , stick along for the ride. Hopefully, we can get something interesting out of this haha. I definitely like seeing how others plan their stuff out too.

[CanvasEngineer]

Got some new stuff. The first one's are some concepts I messed around with for the clothing that I felt were too theatrical for Audrey. The last one is where I'm at rn in terms of look. She's a hunter and a witch so I wanted to find a way to communicate both of those ideas through her costume. I also thought about the color composition and overall shape read; what would they look like in different poses.

[CanvasEngineer]

More sketches for now. Just trying to get comfortable with the posing and the shape play. I have yet to expand upon the potions she'll be carrying around when she's on hunt but it'll be fun for sure. Instead of a normal sword I wanted to make it a hilt that could be carried around. Kind of reminds me of a lightsaber lol. I would say the difference is in that the sword doesn't glow blue, it actually will solidify into a silvery color. Also, it has to be activated with external materials and the magic of the wielder.

[CanvasEngineer]

did a rough sketch page for Audrey in some different poses. She's an excellent potion maker which serves her well on missions when in need of a healing potion or resupplies. One more thing Audrey does on missions is sometimes bringing her cauldron along. This is only when there is space and time to brew more complex recipes.

[CanvasEngineer]

Another batch of sketches. I tried pushing the poses a little bit more, starting to get complexity and movement in the forms. I like sketching and this is a way to get out ideas that turn into something better over time. The clothing was edited for the sake of getting more interesting shapes in the mix. I did this not just because I wanted cool shapes but also because I want that graphic read. I decided to also take Audrey's witch hat and make it more pirate-like. Asking myself how that interplay between shape and color can make the character stand out in any pose she takes.

[CanvasEngineer]

shapes shapes shapes. still trying to come more towards a look for the character anatomically. I want the facial structure and proportions to be more constant.

[CanvasEngineer]

Tested colors once again. Audrey looked too much like a jedi when I did flats and she still does a bit lol. I'll have to go back and play with the color scheme ration to see if I can fix that. Concerning the blue, I think it achieves what I want in terms of establishing a nice attention pull, especially against the more muted colors. How I'll work that into the fabric is actually pretty simple but the colors still might change. More reference time.

[CanvasEngineer]

More color and design changes. Love digital because it's so easy to rework lol. It kind of dawned on me to try and distinguish shape through color rather than actual structural changes. I used orange a yellow-orange as a close compliment of blue and a small shape break up. this took it out of that Jedi robe vibe instantly since it's hard to find a Jedi wearing yellow and brown at the same time. I took the color one step further and separated the sleeves from the shoulders via purple. I wanted to give it a more mystical vibe and I associate purple with magic. The helmet still felt awkward and I thought about getting rid of it entirely. Instead, I took influence from the grayscale design and did some color edits accordingly. the one next to the value sketch is where I'm at with her design so far. That blue orb is probably going to need to be changed to harmonize with her own colors a bit better.

[CanvasEngineer]

Alright last edit on this batch of sketches and then on to the next ones'. I've still got more characters to design but since Audrey's my focal I want to make sure I put every bit of energy into getting her just right. I'd take much longer if I could lol.
Anyways, one thing I really wanted to reach for with the costume design was having really good compositions within the actual design patterns. I wanted them to flow throughout the costume via the cut-lines so that even if I were to pose her in a non-dynamic pose, there would still be some juice to it. I redesigned the color scheme for the helm as well as refitted the shape to look more thin and light-weight.

[CanvasEngineer]

I gotta hit the hay for now but here's where I'm at with the design so far. Again, it goes back to the graphic read. I did a quick silhouette black line over my side-view sketch to see where my hand would flow. I did this fast because I wanted the most energy from it. Afterward, I simply painted in the empty space to see what the outcome would be.

[CanvasEngineer]

lmk if you have any questions regarding the story as per said before. I'll be dropping some more information by default once I can get a handle on her design. So much to explore and super excited! Hope you guys enjoy

[CanvasEngineer]

While I was working on this design I had a strange sense of familiarity. This was after I had come back to it of course. Then I realized her design and color scheme were similar to Raiden, a Mortal Kombat character XD Even down to the hat she was wearing. I've not played MK since I was a little kid so it's funny how the design influence of one particular character has found its way into my design. That being said, nothing is ever really original.
Anyways, I changed up the hat again to bring back more witch/mystical vibes and reduce the Raiden vibes. I also worked out the coat/cloak she's wearing and reduced the prominence of the shoulders. I
Also, note that I've changed the source of the orbs. I'll still have something under her waistcloth but I thought it would be cooler to have the liquid inside of her necklace (she makes from her potions) and use that in combination with her magic. The amulet serves to amplify her magic' longevity. Since all of her spells are water-based, Audrey's abilities get an even greater boost when around large bodies of it.

[CanvasEngineer]

Starting to come upon a design that I like and it funny enough stays much closer to the original black and red sketch above. Since I changed the source of the energy to the necklace I put the powders Audrey uses for some of her more frequently needed potions in the original spot. I also separated the cloak and vest into two button detatcheable pieces. The boots were modified for more secure tightening and cut-lines were re-designed to support the split of the cloak.

[CanvasEngineer]

Focused a lot more on material texture and design details for this pass. This would give me a better sense of Audrey's fabric movement and wrinkle type in different settings. The design above this one is the same in terms of cut lines with a few extra breaks being added near and at the wrist. And I obviously changed the color of the vest piece but the white one could serve as a variant design in a game.

[CanvasEngineer]

Some sketches for the cape; I thought it would be a good idea to work that area out even if it might've just been empty white. Also some clarification on the vest design which is pretty simple outside of the fabric.

[josierichmond]

Wow this is really coming along!! I'm a big fan of your brown/blue/white colour scheme. Looking badass!