General:Ray Lederer's Posts
Ray Lederer's Posts | |
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Medium/Format | Online Blog |
Interviewee(s) | Ray Lederer |
Contents
- 1 2011
- 2 2012
- 2.1 On Skyrim's Wispmother pt. 1 (2012-09-23)
- 2.2 On Skyrim's Wispmother pt. 2 (2012-09-29)
- 2.3 On Jorrvaskr (2012-11-03)
- 2.4 On Skyrim's Tavern Clothes pt. 1 (2012-11-06)
- 2.5 On Skyrim's Tavern Clothes pt. 2 (2012-11-13)
- 2.6 On Skyrim's Female Mages Robes (2012-12-08)
- 2.7 On Skyrim's Daedric Armor (2012-12-02)
- 2.8 On Skyrim's Fur Armor (2012-12-09)
- 3 2013
These are a few notable comments from Ray Lederer on The Elder Scrolls setting.
2011[edit]
On the Bear encounter concept art (2011-02-11)[edit]
This one actually covers quite a few bases. I originally began this one as a simple concept painting of a bear but I decided to spend some time after hours developing an entire scene to pitch a few ideas on wildlife encounters in the game and duel [sic] wielding weapons. Luckily Todd was excited by this idea as it had never been done in an Elder Scrolls game before and he felt it was time to give it a go.
2012[edit]
On Skyrim's Wispmother pt. 1 (2012-09-23)[edit]
When asked to design the Wisp I researched not only the TES version, but also the Will o' the Wisp from Celtic folklore. There it was a more mischievous creature like a little goblin who would lure wayward travelers to their doom off of a cliff in the fog or roll them in a thicket, etc. In Oblivion they were essentially particle spheres with the promise of loot if you killed them. I liked the supernatural aspect of them but I wanted to design a creature who was more compelling and potentially seductive.
My thought was, if they're supposed to lure you to your doom then they should be tempting bait, no? Difficult to pull off in an RPG setting but I thought I'd try to pitch anyway. Luckily they went for it...
...After making a few quick drawings of ghostly women we came full circle back to the original concept of the TES4 Wisps but with the added component of the Wisp Mother and her 'child' Wisps...
...The idea pitched at this point was to make her beautiful and ethereal and seemingly like an ally until you got within her striking distance. She'd then reveal her true nature and revert to her 'vampiric' form quickly draining the player's life force...
...When all was said and done these ideas proved a little too ambitious, the transformation concept got axed and probably rightfully so...
Still, this was an evolution for the Wisp and it was really fun to develop with the rest of the team.
On Skyrim's Wispmother pt. 2 (2012-09-29)[edit]
Continuing from my previous Wisp post, this was an early sketch designed to show an encounter with Wisps pre-Wisp Mother. This concept of them (being more like Sirens) was the driving idea in my mind to pitch to the designers and Todd. They have an insatiable hunger that can never be quenched. Doomed souls forever looking for another wayward traveler lost in the woods.
I imagined the Wisps luring the player deeper into a glen with an enchanting and seductively harmonic song. As they surrounded you they would start stripping away your magica, weapons, and gear as you were lifted into the air by their ghostly forms. After you were sufficiently defenseless they'd drain your health and take on a more corporeal monster/vampiric form and finish you off. After a while the effects of the lifeforce they took from you would dwindle and they'd revert back to a more ethereal ghost like state.
Of course this was a tremendous amount of resources to devote to one creature design and it didn't really fit with the lore so it was never made it in. But in going through this process we explored a lot of ideas that manifested in opening some doors elsewhere and established a new part of the Elder Scrolls canon.
On Jorrvaskr (2012-11-03)[edit]
The Companions Hall. The Companions are an elite fighter's guild of Nords with a strange secret who's sphere of influence emanates from inside the city walls of Whiterun. I wanted the design of Jorrvaskr to speak the language of Nord culture and attempted to sum up what they're all about architecturally.
I went quite a few rounds with myself in coming up with something I thought was more compelling than just a standard viking structure.
After exhausting myself with a ton of sketches I took a walk around the office and laughed out loud when I thought of what to do. Take a longboat and flip it over dummy! Rushing back to my table I quickly scrawled out this sketch.
Shields along the gutters of the roof would signify each member of the Companions. I thought it might be cool if you got your own when you passed the challenges but I think that was asking a bit too much considering the volume of other content to create for the game. I'm just glad they liked the idea of the boat...:)
- How much of your job was you making up ideas and how much were you given instructions? Would you have designers sitting over your shoulders as you sketch something out, or was it more like you get a very general instruction on what you are to make and you come up with as many good images as you can?
there is almost always a design brief of some kind. A lot of back and forth can happen with the AD, designers, and Todd. There are some times when I'm asked to do a straight interpretation of a design, especially if it's been seen before in previous games. Other times I'm expected to invent a visual interpretation of the lore because we've never seen it before. I'm rarely alone in the development of the designs. Matt Carafano and Todd Howard deserve a lot of the credit for guiding and helping me to understand the needs of the game. Of course Adam Adamowicz gets the lions share of credit in my eyes for helping me to break out of my comfort zones to really push for more than what was expected.
On Skyrim's Tavern Clothes pt. 1 (2012-11-06)[edit]
What would a Sword and Sorcery game be without sexy bar maidens and dancers? :) Here are a couple of quick sketches that had some elements used for a few of the female NPCs. My muse for them was, of course my beautiful and sexy wife along with her friend and belly dancer Sharon Kihara mixed with some others from my subconscious..:)
I definitely took some ques from Sharon's wardrobe as she has a lovely variety of objects and talisman she uses in her costumed performances.
I'll feature the final version of a Barmaid outfit in another post for another post down the road. Thanks again!
On Skyrim's Tavern Clothes pt. 2 (2012-11-13)[edit]
This assignment was a simple costume design. Not a whole lot of description is given or necessary for these ancillary designs. They are mostly background texture and side quest messengers. That said I really enjoy working on these because I get to be creative in coming up with my own little internal back stories to give the designs more context while drawing.
I usually start out with a B/W value sketch to work out values and get the idea across to the AD. Once a design is decided on I'm asked to either move on to a color pass or the next assignment depending on how much time we have or if enough is being communicated.
I like concept art that reveals the personality of the character. As in life, the personality of the character can inform the costume. I try to animate costume designs with the life force of the character wearing it. My hope is that it inspires more than just the character modeler but also gets designers and animators juiced with ideas as well.
I thought of her as a head strong, no-nonsense, and beautiful bartender. Perhaps even owning the place. Kind of the Amazonian version of Marianne from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Probably sleeps on a little cot or pile of furs in a back room by the hearth. Wins every drinking contest and isn't above bouncing some of the deadbeats and brawlers if necessary.
On Skyrim's Female Mages Robes (2012-12-08)[edit]
Mages in the bitter north of Tamriel must have adapted to their harsh surroundings but still maintained their roots in their traditions beliefs and faith. I approached their costumes bearing this in mind and also wanting to give them the feel that they could, like a Shoalin Monk or Chuck Norris drop your ass with a roundhouse kick at any time.
Lot's of sketching with prismacolor marker and pencils helps quickly develop ideas.
As a young apprentice I thought it'd be fun if they had a bit of the swagger. I liked the idea of a sort of parochial school filled with unsure and budding young students learning the ways of the force, hiding in the basement late at night, listening to Legendary Pink Dots and trying to summon C'thulu.
A female Archmage idea spawned the idea of asymmetry in the costumes. I didn't want to just put some robes on them and call it done. There needed to be some sort of visual hook to make them read from a distance if possible and give them their own identity.
On Skyrim's Daedric Armor (2012-12-02)[edit]
For the Daedric Armor the design called for a rather unearthly and unconventional approach. I want to hit all of the notes of the previous incarnations of the design but wanted to give it a distinctly asymmetrical silhouette and a bit more high fantasy. In my little back story, I felt it should look like it was forged in some other hellish dimension to empower and torment it's user for the amusement of some elder god. I felt like this is a powerful piece of equipment but almost too powerful for any mere mortal to wear. It should look painful to wear as if that cost was worth it.
The weapons needed to convey the same feeling of being almost as dangerous to the user as it is to the users opponent. Lots of reversed point bits and humming red plasma/magma just under the surface of the steel.
The shield felt a little obtuse and out of place with the rest of the gear to me so I asked to do a quick redesign...
- Looks epic Ray! I was wondering, what do you usually look at for reference for your armor, or your mages (in the previous post)? Also related: Do you start with a story idea, or do you start with a cool visual first? Thanks.
Hi Roger, It depends on my mood. Sometimes it's pure free form. I prefer to craft an idea from a good nugget of an idea or story. For ref of course the internetz but also several armor books including the Eyewitness Guide to Armor, and also finding real armor to look at in museums and friends who have bits and pieces. I tend to study things down to the rivet when I'm researching. I want to know how it articulates and what sorts of materials are used. For the Daedric it was all of that plus looking at meteorites, pumice, and lava. I like having story ideas. It's the quickest way to an image for me. If I don't have one it's harder for me to just free form something. I can but I wind up working out some sort of story in my head as I go. Not like a narrative per say but more of a history and psychology if that makes sense.
On Skyrim's Fur Armor (2012-12-09)[edit]
Bandits. Our thinking on the Bandits was that they were geared to live light and nomadic. Wolf skins would be the clothing of choice since it's warm not to mention kind of bad assed to have killed a wolf. The first few sketches were to get a good vibe and silhouette...
2013[edit]
On Skyrim's Steel Plate Armor (2013-03-22)[edit]
Nord Plate armor was an interesting mix of inspirations and a design challenge because plate armor is not usually associated with Nords (Vikings). We tend to think leather, studs, and fur. To get around this, I actually stole a bit of German and Polish Hussar armor and incorporated a little Stormcloak seasoning to try and make this work. I may have been a bit too slavish to my reference but hopefully the result was interesting.
...and yes I did that horrible thing that all entertainment artists do at one point or another. I made boob cups for female variant armor. What can I say? It's hard to resist some of these tropes sometimes. I've gotten it out of my system and will be more sparing with this in the future if I can. I instead will focus on making feminine design aesthetics in the decorative motifs. Far more interesting and practical.
On Skyrim's Glass Armor (2013-04-08)[edit]
Glass armour is probably the most high fantasy outfit in TES next to Daedric Armour. We wanted to do something different with it this time around while retaining some of its original essence from previous TES games. Ultimately we chose a more flowing scaled approach to the design where the glass was less subtle but still a more decorative element.