Blizzard has uploaded some new art and a couple of screenshots. I must confess I’m a little underwhelmed.
The barbarian character looks fine when reduced several times but zoom in and you see brush strokes – it looks like the artist had an hour or less.
It does carry the message that barbarian armor is crude and rugged but I’d love to see a bit more details. Other AAA titles have MUCH, MUCH superior art.
Update: I see a few Blizzard fanboys commenting how I don’t appreciate Blizzard brushstroke genius. I simply said “I’d love to see a bit more details“. Here’s what I mean – compare Warhammer concept art to Diablo 3 concept art. Now, tell me Blizzard are not taking shortcuts when it comes to concept art. They do and you’ll be blind as a bat if you don’t see a difference in the level of “finish”.
I quite like the Barbarian art as it is. Remember it’s a 3D game so most of the work goes into the models.
I strongly disagree with the comment. See Homeworld 2 CA, which is very “sketchy”, yet gives you the impression of being in the far future. There are tons of other examples, but none is as evident as the one for HW2 (or Diablo 3)…
The point I wish to make is that if you do not show the details but leave them as “brush strokes”, youre basically leaving the detail building to the imagination of the person who will see it…
It’s the same in horror movies ; As long as your imagination is driving you, it can be scary. It becomes what YOU fear. Same for D3, if there are missing details on the armor, then your imagination will create them.
Hence, the artwork for Diablo III is superb and that even if you still the brush strokes.
Seems like the person who writes all these blogs loves to gripe about everything the blizz devs do with Diablo 3. Every time I read one he is going on and on about how he doesn’t like some discussion they have made. Just wait until they’re finished damn.
very good
As I recall Blizzard didn’t release the finer artwork for Diablo II until close to its release.
First of all, they can show whatever artwork they want. Secondly, as far as level of details are concerned there are many steps to the process of creating a character. Just because Warhammer only show “final” render doesn’t necessarily mean the rougher artwork is any less conceptually in comparison. One could even argue Warhammer got too much unnecessary detail and boring silhouettes. It’s a good piece to showcase, so they did.
Just to clarify things, a single concept artist will likely be responsible for hundreds of artwork that are on a demanding schedule. You would want to make the general idea clear first, before rendering anything. There’s just no such time to render them all. Actually, the concept (whether it’s based on a 3D model or not) is very close to the final barb in the game, which turned out great.
This is a respectable D3 site, these sort of post is really unnecessary.
i think all of this diablo3 shit is just a bunch of crap.. i do not agree with how much it looks like WOW.. i think it is going to be a WOW replica.. after all WOW is one of the most played games out there so why not make a game resembling that to get more members?? all i know is that i am very disapointed in the way diablo3 is looking so far and i hope it gets better or i will not be wasting my money on it.. especially for pitiful artwork liek this..
Ghosts… that’s what the brushstrokes mean…
Clearly there should be more “art” subjects in school. CONCEPT art is MEANT to be sketchy. To the Warhammer picture I would not even call concept art but rather an illustration.
The difference is concept art is used as a design direction and testing tool, and very useful at that, while illustration is a “realistic” representation of already defined objects, and a complete waste of time in what games are concerned. Why? Because this pictures never ever appear in-game, the detail, and the time needed to give it, is instead used up on the actual model you will be playing with.
It would seem you would like time wasted in making beautifully craftet drawings that have no purpose whatsoever, except feed your (our) fan hunger, which as much as I can relate to that, I would rather have the devs focused on actual game content and in finishing the game for us.
penis.
Blizzard should make a contest for ppl to draw conceptions of characters and landscapes >.<
Instead of making updates to insult people calling them fanboys, why not comment on the fact thar concept art is meant to be sketchy and actually refining concept art when it does not appear in the final product is just a complete waste of time?
Why demand more illustration artwork that adds nothing to the game itself instead of wanting the game released sooner?
I really cannot understand you. With lighter/darker graphics I can still see where you are comming from, although I still completely disagree, but it is a matter of taste I guess, but this post is just silly, sorry.
I agree Warhammmer has superior art and I find that not many players care unfortunately. I feel the art only makes the virtual experience more real.
Detail certainly don’t make everything on a picture.
I personally find the Blizz pic far more superior in character, style an attractiveness than the War one.
In a good picture, you have to vanish certain points and emphasize others so the eye can be guided to where you want it to look. So the picture lives, have focal, have atmosphere, the viewer varies between soft and rough, detailed and not, far and close, hot and cold etc.
The War pic have none of these. It doesn’t even have a recognizable brush stroke, the “mojo”that would make the drawer recognizable from others.
As everything is treated equally and with the most “normalisation” possible, the eye just files around, never attracted by something special.
The color palette is disgusting, and the traits are banal. And the monochromatic grey background… sorry, but no.
I’m way more attracted to the Diablo art which have a lot of personality and dynamics, than the War one, which I find boring as my grandmother’s carrot garden.