COH Concept Gallery
Exellent work, David. I am totally looking forward to the FREEDOM designs soon
Who said that i was that scary! ಠ_ಠ
David Nakayama, Lead Concept Artist
COH Concept Art Gallery now open at http://pixelsaurus.deviantart.com/
I've been watching that page as you've been uploading the art - the things that I found especially interesting were the things that got cut or changed - like the original Paretorian tech lab concepts, and the neon lights and signs idea for Imperial City
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
Thank you for sharing all those! The footnotes were especially helpful to draw attention to the details of each picture. It was fun to peruse the beginnings and the might-have-beens.
I rather enjoyed the pictures and insights of your namesake: Noble Savage. Also, the Magisterium was great, as you can't get that much of a birds-eye view in-game even from the highest flying point. And of course it was a treat to see your concept piece that was the first to actually make it into the game.
Now I want to go re-read the original comics then go through the current Praetoria zones and stories again. Thank you for all you have done over the years to shape City Of Heroes!
Excellent. I so enjoy seeing the concept art behind what we have in game. Thank you for sharing!
@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk
![](http://www.wizards.com/magic/images/whatcolor_isgreen.jpg)
You mentioned the more realistic style you're going for in Going Rogue, and I'm wondering if by that you mean 'movie oriented'? For example, the promo art for Who Will Die Part 3 clearly shows a patterning on Statesman's costume and cape which I found reminiscent of the Superman Returns suit. And how is that effect achieved in your work? I find it adds a nice depth to bodysuits like his that are otherwise relatively featureless.
On that, can you forsee textures/patterns being incorporated to costume sets (I see it somewhat on the Thorns and IDF costumes) on a general level?
S.
Part of Sister Flame's Clickey-Clack Posse
Your old deviantart page was already in my google chrome favourites.
Awesome sketches! I admire your work, I love drawing and I can say you are amoung my favourite artist.
I want Calvin Scott's Belt as a costume item!
![](http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/7840/groove1.gif)
Been reading through your notes on some of the concept pieces, and I just want to point out that Bobcat is in Studio 55 (not 54, as your note says, David).
Also... Wow, loving these pieces!
The wisdom of Shadowe: Ghostraptor: The Shadowe is wise ...; FFM: Shadowe is no longer wise.
![Stick Out Tongue](images/smilies/tongue.gif)
![Wink](images/smilies/wink.gif)
Any chance for more full comics, even if they are electronic only? I'd love to see you and Hickman collaborating on some behind-the-scenes stuff that is both ingame and here on the forums.
And Samuraiko can do the trailers for you!
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
After seeeing your concept art, I'm surprised at how much detail or them was preserved in world objects; and equally surprised at how much detail was lost creating the in-game characters.
I noticed for instance that the size difference between the male and female concept characters was not so vastly different as they are in the game. While that doesn't seem like much of a point, it is when you get to Noble Savage. Making Maurader the largest possible size really took away from the impact of Noble Savage's "I'm a lab experiment" look. And don't get me started on Mother Mayhem.
P.S. Yes, I know there are limitations in a 5-year old game engine. It would still have been nice to see the concepts more true to form.
Manga @ Triumph
"Meanwhile In The Halls Of Titan"...Titan Network Working To Save City Of Heroes
Save Paragon City! Efforts Coordination
Great work that gives great insight. Almost like you're on the Praetoria City Planning Commission, which effectively you are .
My Arc: The Power From Out Of Space, ID# 64800
Mrs. Spoon's Arc: Shades of Betrayal, Acts of Salvation, ID# 59147
You're artwork is great. Bobcat still looks terrible though
BrandX Future Staff Fighter
![Wink](images/smilies/wink.gif)
The BrandX Collection
- Were you given any instructions/mandates other than "make cool stuff we haven't seen before" for creating the pieces?
- Was there a story (the official one or a personally-created one) that you followed to make the designs? Like a timeline for which tech led to which and why it looks different (and so cool), or was it matching everything to an initial piece created from Rule of Cool?
- What music inspired you during Going Rogue, or do you get your inspiration elsewhere?
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
Some really nice art in that gallery. i sort of wish they'd used the cargo escalator concept for the the Praetorian tech map stairs.
Dr. Todt's theme.
i make stuff...
Would it be best to post comments in the Divart pages or put them all here?
Would it be best to post comments in the Divart pages or put them all here?
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I left a comment on the most important topic, on the submission itself.
![Smile](images/smilies/smile.gif)
Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.
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Those are awesome sketches. Shame they aren't a smidge bigger, some of them would make tremendous desktop wallpapers
I've been watching that page as you've been uploading the art - the things that I found especially interesting were the things that got cut or changed - like the original Paretorian tech lab concepts, and the neon lights and signs idea for Imperial City
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![Stick Out Tongue](images/smilies/tongue.gif)
In some cases, though, even shelved concepts can come back to life at later date (which is why I can't post things that were cut). I've got a few of those that I'm hanging on, but interestingly, one of them just graduated to the big leagues, and you'll be seeing it in FREEDOM very soon.
David Nakayama, Lead Concept Artist
COH Concept Art Gallery now open at http://pixelsaurus.deviantart.com/
'I don't like the look of it at all,' said the King: 'however, it may kiss my hand if it likes.'
'I'd rather not,' the Cat remarked.
'Don't be impertinent,' said the King, 'and don't look at me like that!' He got behind Alice as he spoke.
'A cat may look at a king,' said Alice.
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
David Nakayama, Lead Concept Artist
COH Concept Art Gallery now open at http://pixelsaurus.deviantart.com/
You mentioned the more realistic style you're going for in Going Rogue, and I'm wondering if by that you mean 'movie oriented'? For example, the promo art for Who Will Die Part 3 clearly shows a patterning on Statesman's costume and cape which I found reminiscent of the Superman Returns suit.
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I think this is happening for two reasons:
1) the comic audience is, on average, older than it used to be, and the comics have to cater to more mature, sophisticated tastes
2) for the characters to work on film for an all-ages audience, they needed to drop the super-saturated Power Ranger color palettes and embrace darker, less saturated colors and more realistic textures. (Can you imagine anyone older than 15 embracing an X-men movie w/ the characters wearing their costumes from the comics?!)
CITY OF HEROES is a modern comic book-inspired game for an all-ages audience, so like Hollywood and most mainstream comic book companies, we've embraced the newer, more realistic approach to super-powered fiction. So no, we're not big on "Bif! Bam! Pow!" logos or overly-colorful cartoon characters. Can you create that in game? Of course! But it's not the focus of our outward-facing artwork.
And how is that effect achieved in your work? I find it adds a nice depth to bodysuits like his that are otherwise relatively featureless.
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As you point out, it's already happening. All the newer costumes have benefited greatly from detailed texture treatments, and the Character team has several more improvements to show-off in the coming months. But what about the older stuff? Well, we never want to take away options from the costume creator, but we've planned a number of new additions that cover similar territory while showing off modern texture tricks.
David Nakayama, Lead Concept Artist
COH Concept Art Gallery now open at http://pixelsaurus.deviantart.com/
So for a long time, I've been meaning to post my COH concept art in one convenient place for easy perusal, and I've finally gotten around to it! If anyone's interested, you can find the work at my new DeviantArt page, PIXELSAURUS.
So far, I've uploaded 41 pieces that cover Issue 14 through the GOING ROGUE era of the game, and I hope they'll make for an interesting behind-the-scenes tour of how these familiar characters and locations first began to take shape.
Very soon, my hope is to add more recent work from CITY OF HEROES FREEDOM, but stay tuned for that.
Cheers,
NS
David Nakayama, Lead Concept Artist
COH Concept Art Gallery now open at http://pixelsaurus.deviantart.com/