ART WAR 4 | 2D | War of the Elements | Grubb | giagiastoons

giagiastoons 2020-01-09 08:05:26 UTC #1

Entering this years artwar with a 2d submition. Should be fun
Grubb is a humanoid bat bandit with fire powers.
He is the leader of a gang of about 15 other bats. He had to cut a shady deal with some short of dark lord to get himshelf and his gang the fire magic they have :o
I'll keep updating here with sheets, thumbnails, moodboards and everything.

Here's what the concept looks like currently

Cheers

daydreamingdoormat 2020-01-09 16:31:11 UTC #2

i trust Grubb with my life. love the simple, but striking design!

nesokaiyoh 2020-01-09 17:01:29 UTC #3

I'm not sure if he's suppose to be cute but I think he HECKA cute

giagiastoons 2020-01-10 08:06:07 UTC #4

Thanks He is cuter than I intented, he needs to be a bit more aggessive!

giagiastoons 2020-01-10 08:07:04 UTC #5

thank you sir! don't trust him too much

tck 2020-01-10 11:06:49 UTC #6

i wanna be wrapped up in those blankety wings and spooned
looks fantastic

giagiastoons 2020-01-10 22:48:27 UTC #7

hahaha nice

giagiastoons 2020-01-10 22:54:46 UTC #8

Backtracking a litle bit, here are some of the ideas I sketched before arriving to the anthropomorphic bat. For a while I thought I was going to make a female champion.
Then I drew the creature on the second image and I liked the overall proportions

giagiastoons 2020-01-10 23:25:40 UTC #9

And here are some iterations of him with different accesories. I'm not feeling the beard or the tattoos but I like the wristbands and sash
Not yet sure how to implement the fire emblem, not a big fan of the badge... Maybe I will place it on his belt instead of the skull. Ideas are wellcome

also here are my artstation and gram if you want to see my work
https://www.artstation.com/cartoongator

nesokaiyoh 2020-01-12 15:39:13 UTC #10

I quite like the ones with the beard. Also the ones with a darker skirt has better contrast with his skin and wings too. The tattoo also gives him a lot of character

giagiastoons 2020-01-12 22:03:10 UTC #11

hey, thanks for the input man! I'm definately keeping the darker skirt. I want to keep the tattoos as well but I should come up with a better design for them

giagiastoons 2020-01-12 22:07:33 UTC #12

I didn't like the dager on the character sheet so I sat down to design it a bit.
Began with these symmetrical designs but they looked more like tiny swords. Then I drew numbers 5 and 6 a bit more dynamic. I like both of these but leaning a bit towards 5

nesokaiyoh 2020-01-12 22:37:21 UTC #13

Yeah I like both of those too, 5 I prefer the most as it's balanced and reflected himself (the little wings) although 6 would be a second choice

Oceane_Roh 2020-01-12 22:58:15 UTC #14

Hey greetings ! Welcome in the war
I like your design, he is damn cute :'3 I like the one with the darker skirt as well. I think the tatoo and bracelets of the middle middle one are really cool and give him a lot of character.
Maybe you should consider a bit deeper what was the deal he had made with the dark lord and make it appear in your design. What he had sacrificed, what was the cost ?
Really cool anyway !

giagiastoons 2020-01-23 00:17:20 UTC #15

Hey, thanks for the tips and feedback mate really apreciate it
I gave his story some more thinking.

Grubb and his bandits lived in a fantasy world torn by a war between two major countries. One of them ruled by an evil imperialist dictator (and wizard). They didn't take part in the war and instead laid low in an isolated forest getting by by robbing travelers and passers. At some point the evil dictator tried to recruit them. He offered them magic fire powers and in exchange they would side with his forces in the war. Grubb made the call to accept the deal out of greed. Though they enjoyed a honeymoon period with their new powers soon they started feeling corrupted and missed their old way of life. Their appearance even changed and they turned a purple color (originally light grey-blue) and got scruffier. Uncomfortable with some of the missions they have to execute, Grubb needs to go on a big redemption arc and find a way to break the bond and free himself and his men.

wow, that's the longest I've ever written, hope I didnt bore anyone to death

giagiastoons 2020-01-23 00:22:33 UTC #16

Havn't had much time to work on the actual painting, so here's a banch of lunchbreak drawings I made of him to get to know the character.

Also started working on some thumbnail drawings roughing out composition. Will post soon

Oceane_Roh 2020-01-23 08:08:09 UTC #17

Oh yes nice story ! Wasn't boring don't worry.
The story remind me a bit of warcraft orcs, when they get rid of the influence of the feld but keept the physical modifications. Nice sketches, really expresive !

giagiastoons 2020-01-24 21:21:50 UTC #18

thanks! yep, I love the orc storyline from wc3
I was thinking about that and also Zuko from avatar

giagiastoons 2020-01-24 22:07:03 UTC #19

made some thumbnails to find a nice dynamic composition

I'm feeling number 3 the most. Made an alternative pose for him as well

I think I'm going with pose number 2.
Took me long enough but I'm going to start the actual painting now

Oceane_Roh 2020-01-24 22:22:03 UTC #20

Really really cool job, I love the one you've picked as well !