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ThingsThatLurk — why are gladiator designs so pretty
Published: 2020-03-14 18:31:52 +0000 UTC; Views: 485; Favourites: 58; Downloads: 2
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i was desperately trying to be productive today, but i ended up making a gladiator design in like 4 hours, which is still waaay too long.
I like the style the Arcana uses for designs, but at its core, the "looks over functionality" aestethic is something that deeeply clashes with everything i aspire to do.
just the fact that the main 6 dress up for 4 different seasons all at the same time drives me insane, but god knows they look pretty.
ehh. anyways, I used my MC Eve for this, and I quite like the idea she would use chakram and use her magic to make them keep a momentum as they spin through enemies. she needs mobility over protection because her ideal attack range is medium-long. she probably wouldn't know how to use magic as much as she does in the main story, with her comprehension being just enough to allow her to use her weapons. when it comes to dicier situation, i would assume her magic either shuts down completely or goes haywire (you can imagine how Lucio would prefer the latter any day of the week). it would be interesting to see a chakram effectively turn into a frag grenade when she loses control over it.
and her palette includes a lot more red and muted hues of blue, because this is a Sad Au (TM).
i might rework it a bit still because the design flows a bit awkwardly here and there, but it's definitely a good start.
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Comments: 10
Gladiator bouts were spectacles, they were designed to catch the eye and thrill the masses. Hence why designs for spectacle fighting accent looks over function! I mean, they used to oil gladiators so that they gleamed
This would fit right in an arena, IMO. Nice work!
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That's... actually a very good point! I don't know how I managed to miss that. Thank you for pointing it out 
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It was basically ancient roman TV. 
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I feel like the "looks over functionality" is an old problem that exists everywhere (too many women in armors that barely cover their bodies, too many), so it's nice to see someone drawing women with that issue in mind. And your gladiator looks so great by the way, I love your drawing technique ! Can I just ask how you proceed when you want to go lineless ? Do you just remove the lines and start putting colors with the default brush or is there a more precise way to do it ?
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I totally agree with that, though I must admit my design is leaning a bit more on the aestethic side as well. I wanted this to fit in with the Arcana gladiator designs without standing out too much, and those designs are essentially eye candy xD
I am afraid I might be a very terrible choice to answer that question, because I essentially learnt how to paint first without lines, and then eventually learnt how to lineart and plan sketches with lines.
keeping that in mind, here's how i go abotu it. I generally make a layer underneath my sketch layer to put some quick colours together and possibly define the silhouette, then most of the time I end up merging both the colour and sketch layer together and I start painting in details. My workflow revolves on keeping everything together in one layer for most of the process, which is not a great way to go about digital painting in all honesty, but it works for quick mockups and things like these.
A better way to do it would probably be painting a coloured layer underneath the sketch layer and tracing the details of the sketch onto the colour layer (just things that you need, like folds in clothing and facial features and so on, you wouldn't have to retrace the entire sketch). If you can manage to paint in details in the colour layer and remove the sketch layer at some point, that would be even better.
Though I see in your gallery your artworks have lots of linearts in them, so maybe in your case it might be easier to colour the lines of the sketch and work that into the painterly layer?
And just because you mentioned the default brush - I generally don't use photoshop's default brushes for renders. It is very easy to find lots of free brush packs online. if you don't know where to start, here is Remarin's brushes of choice, and frankly they're a good starting point if you want to do more painterly things. there's no right or wrong answer, just find a couple of brushes that work for you, preferably one with a hard edge and one with a softer one, and try to paint
If you want tools to be a bit more precise, in Photoshop there are things like the lazo tools and the masks, which let you have a lot of control if you have the patience for them. Beyond that, it's mostly practice and finding what method works best for you.
I know I tend to ramble a lot, but I hope this helps a bit! c:
EDIT: I don't know if this is a style you might like, but I remembered one of my old art teachers had a style relying a lot on lines, but managed to do a lot of amazing things with painterly techniques! her artworks are mostly with lines, but maybe the lineless ones could help you see how to go about it while relying a bit more on lines?
www.artstation.com/artwork/5bg…
www.artstation.com/artwork/KyN…
I'm gonna leave her artstation page here if you wanna have a look! www.artstation.com/giorgia_lan…
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i´m with you 100% about designing characters with logical clothing etc. but it can be fun making ridonculous extravagant stuff tooXD looking great! Minor minor tip even though you didn´t ask for it and I understand this is just a sketch/rough concept, but when framing your characters, leave them room "to breathe" like the first three sketches the fifth with the character stepping on the canvas frame can look off balance/cramped. Tell me to shut up if I get annoying, just so happy to see another HARPGer coming into concept art and you´re doing amazing progress!^_^
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I like ridiculous designs, don't get me wrong, it's just such a pain to have to draw them in different positions! whenever I make a design too complex, I always end up not drawing the characters, which... kind of defeats the purpose of designing them, I suppose?
oh dang you're right! thanks for the tip, I always really appreciate advice on anything I post
and thank you so much for your words of encouragement, it really means a lot!
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well let me know if you want any tips/tricks or things I´ve learned so far, I´m always hesitant about giving feedback if it´s not been asked for, and like I said before, you are making some tremendous development in your art so far!!
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I'd love to know some tips and tricks! I might send you a note later
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