Skeleton King - Regalia of the Unholy Crusade
polycounter lvl 4
Hi all.
This is my first thread/forum post of any kind. So I hope it all works etc.
I'm going to have a crack at the Skeleton King for the DOTA 2 contest. I'm an industrial designer - so I know how to model & draw, but I've never tried anything in the gaming market yet. I had a lot of fun doing the concept below and would love to look into moving into this industry. Also very excited about becoming a member of polycount.com.
Would love to here all your comments and ideas. Hopefully it speaks for itself. Critisim (constructive kind) is really the only way to improve, so lets have at it!
ps I'm aware of the high level of detail - the challenge will be keeping to the poly budgets, but I'm sure textures can take care of most of it.
This is my first thread/forum post of any kind. So I hope it all works etc.
I'm going to have a crack at the Skeleton King for the DOTA 2 contest. I'm an industrial designer - so I know how to model & draw, but I've never tried anything in the gaming market yet. I had a lot of fun doing the concept below and would love to look into moving into this industry. Also very excited about becoming a member of polycount.com.
Would love to here all your comments and ideas. Hopefully it speaks for itself. Critisim (constructive kind) is really the only way to improve, so lets have at it!
ps I'm aware of the high level of detail - the challenge will be keeping to the poly budgets, but I'm sure textures can take care of most of it.
Replies
Overall I would suggest going with the first of each, I think they fit together very well.
Good luck with the poly limits though, looks like it will be tough.
dfanton - yes I'm very aware that most of the detail will just turn to mud once in game. I must admit i got a bit carried away. Once I start modelling though i will emphasize the major elements, and minimise the detail to visible points of interest.
I'd do 1st helmet, 2nd shoulder, 1st glove, as they're the least busy of their respective groups, and even then they could use some toning down. In glove 2, the ribs are too much. The horns on number 1 I could take or leave, doesn't matter much.
the ones with tiny skulls are the biggest offenders for noisy, especially the shoulder one. And actually, I like the shoulders you have in the middle the best, no unnecessary skulls and no flashy crosses. Gold should be really limited.
I have taken all the comments into account. I would say detail has be greatly reduced. I drew this with polys to help me in the modelling process, communicate the concept and to keep an average eye on the budget. It will obviously loose it's angular look once textures are on.
I agreed with comments about less skulls, but disagreed with less gold. For 2 reasons: a) he is a king. and but a few colours denote royalty - red, purple & gold, and I'm not using purple (even though dark purple can also be good for undead).....anyway. b) I've slain more than my fair share of skeletons in my time, and if there's one thing they drop, it's gold. You would expect their boss to have a fair bit of it.
I hope you all like it. The comments have been helpful. Thank you. If there are any strong opinions from here on, please give me a the why to your perspective. I'm moving into the modelling stage and will hopefully have some sweet models in my next post.
I've done the shoulder and head peice in 3d. I'm fairly new to this style of modelling, I'm used to solidworks as I'm a product designer. So over the past 2 weeks my 3ds max & zbrush knowledge/skills have increased 3-fold. I've definately found my new passion. Check it out!
High rez:
Low rez:
Does anyone know how to upload the gear as a set, to view it all together? or can they only be viewed one by one? I did some photoshopping to get it all together for the forum. But it would be good to upload as a set anyway, if anyone has any tips.
The sword is really going to set this gear off I think. So I'll do that now and keep you posted. Cheers.
The Regalia of the Unholy Crusade are the vestments worn by the Skeleton King as he and his monstrous army marched into the lower depths of the Underworld. Peiced together with tropies of the slaugtered beasts and rulers found further beyond the reaches of hell.
In the presence of The Skeleton King wearing such unholy artifacts, subordinate allies are filled with an undeniable sense of invulnerable protection and purpose, they move forward to attack without question or fear even in the face of certain death.
The opposing forces witnessing the Regalia of the Unholy Crusade, are subdued by rueful reverence pushing them into a hasty retreat or a suicidal solitary dash at the Skeleton King's title.
Once the Regalia is complete, so then is the Unholy Crusade, and the Skeleton King will have taken his rightful place at the thone.
The Gauntlet of the Unholy Crusade was a gift to the King from the Regiment of Wraiths, who helped lead the forward march through the Chaosis Labyrinth, at the gateway to the lower depths of the Underworld. It was a perilous advance, plagued with Crypt Deamon Dogs and catastrophic traps.
The backhand of the gauntlet is capped with the skull of an Alpha Crypt Deamon Dog, responsible for massacring 850 units.
The steel used is a dark infused alloy pulled from the what was left of the Perpetui Gate, the exit to the labyrinth. The steel is said to contain a dark consciousness that makes it impenetrable; although, the gate came down after the Skeleton King gave it a Hellfire Blast and had the army break it down immediately. The steel went back to an impervious state once the effect of the Hellfire Blast wore off, and was collected by the acolytes.
The Pauldron of the Unholy Crusade was assembled in the vast Crypt of Thynin. The crypt contains ten thousand columns leading to a roof so high it's out of view. The columns rest the souls of those most evil across all the realms, like an unruly sanitarium for the criminally insane, with no windows. The spectres of malevolent kings and queens past continued an onslaught on the Skeleton King and his army that lasted 8 weeks. The only thing that could keep the army's stamina going and allow them to proceed was the Vampiric Aura of the Skeleton King. Once the spirit beings were quelled, royal fabrics of red and gold were all that remained; and were harvested to replace the tattered drapes covering the bones of the Skeleton King and his army.
As the Skeleton King led his horde across the deserts of the Drexin Realm, his mid ranks were torn apart in seconds from something out of the sand. Mordeth, and undescrible horror rose from the dunes. As it towered into the sky above the army, the vibration scales rang out across the lands like a trillion angry rattle snakes. Legend has it Mordeth was once a man, like the Skeleton King, he sort out eternal power only to find curses, and now spends eons under the sand growing in size deformed by anger.
The army broke away to form a giant ring around Mordeth and the corpes that lie in his wake. The Skeleton King signaled to his minions to hold fast, as he approached the great beast down in the immense pit it had created in the sand. The Skeleton King looked up at Mordeth and dropped his weapon, as if to surrender. The King's soldiers looked at one another in confusion. Mordeth was never known for clemency. It's huge eyes went from a glowing red to pitch black, as the Skeleton King held out his arms. The great beast let out a deafening roar and dived down at the Skeleton King, swallowing him whole before the army could react. After a few seconds of silence, the army heard a battle cry within ranks and charged down at Mordeth. But before they could reach the monster, it began to arch back in what appeared to be extreme agony. The army look up to see the great booming chest of Mordeth explode, and out of the gaping wound a tombstone rose. The beast fell, and to the amazement and thunderous cheer of his warriors, the Skeleton King walked from the corpse.
Camp was made there for the night around, and inside, the Modeth cadaver. The army feasted on his remains like meat ants on a dead snake, while the King went back to the head. He looked into the blackness of Mordeths eye and ripped out his jawbone, to forge a glaive of diamond hard, razor sharp teeth.
The King then noticed Mordeth's eyes go white, then, from the throat of the creature came a skull spewing out. It somewhat resembled a human skull, but who or what it belonged to, remains a mystery. The skull presenting itself gave the King comfort, that he too one day would be free of his curse. He took the skull for the pommel of the glaive, as a reminder of his eternal quest.
The Crown of the Unholy Crusade was the last peice of Regalia to be fashioned by the Skeleton King's most superior acolytes. Forged on the Alter of Infinite Darkness in L'Stihg Zygurat, where the gold encrusted Overlord Ithforan was behedded by the Skeleton King in one ultimate critical stike.
Ithforan was melted down in the surrounding lava fields for his cursed gold, where light and souls alike are trapped forever in it's reflections at times of transition.
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How'd I go?