The Art of Denis Loubet

More Ultima Online 2 concept art. This is the Wyrm and the Earth Elemental.

The Wyrm is just a big-ass, Graboid-esque, slug monster. I was determined to get the right texture on the thing, a sort of thick leathery hide that bent with lots of meaty wrinkles. I really like how I got the bumps to interface with the wrinkles on this critter.
The double lower jaw was just made-up whole cloth, and I would have loved to see how a 3D model of it would have animated in-game.
For scale I included a picture of Steve Jackson. Why Steve, I don’t know.

The Earth Elemental I wanted to see was completely alien, with nothing to interpret as a face, or eyes, or even a body. I decided to treat it as an expression of the earth, as what would happen if the earth focused it’s attention on a specific location.
This concept piece goes into some detail concerning the motion of the creature. I wanted it to look like the huge boulders were being pushed up through the ground by titanic, yet somewhat clumsy, forces.
I wanted to see a single entity portrayed by many separate 3D objects. And I wanted to create the illusion that as the entity moved from place to place the 3D objects would not appear to travel with it, but rather be found objects along its path momentarily coerced into being the “body” of the elemental. So I imagined a kind of subterranean leapfrog-like motion for the boulders.
In this picture, I like how the boulders turned out. I’m not great at drawing backgrounds and rockscapes, but I totally lucked out here.

Want to see more, visit: www.denisloubet.com

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After a brief hiatus, here’s some more concepts I did for Ultima Online 2. The Titan and the Vampire. (Attention Hollywood: I would totally watch a movie titled The Titan and the Vampire!!)

I’m not sure why I went with an ancient Greek theme for the Titan, other than because of the name, that is. He was fun to do with his linen skirt and horsehair crest. I particularly enjoyed drawing the goo on his massive short sword. I also deliberately kept his face buried in the shadows of his helmet to suggest a nature alien to humans. It keeps him dangerous and unpredictable. I included a normal sized person to clarify the intimidating scale involved. I imagined that if this Titan decided to spare that little guy for whatever incomprehensible reason, he could just walk away. His trousers might be a little damp, but he’d be alive,

The Vampire was the first concept piece I did for UO2, and thus it’s a little sketchier as I was finding the style I wanted to use. Long Claws, and clearly never human, I was trying to re-imagine a vampire from scratch. With its mix of mummy and fangs, and a shock of white hair and dirty loincloth, more people find this one disturbing than the rest. I should really take another crack at this guy, and work out the rough spots.

I used Painter for these. Painter 6, I think. Got good mileage out of the Pencils and Watercolors/Simple Water brushes. I still use Painter to do the raw art, and then take it into Photoshop for the final color grading and contrast adjustments.

Want to see more, visit: www.denisloubet.com

Want to help me do art:

www.patreon.com/denisloubet

I didn’t only do creature concepts for the 3D Ultima project, I also did some plant concepts. Here we have the Corpser and the Swamp Tentacles. These were fun because I felt the need to explain how they worked in the illustration.

On the art side, I really like how I got a sense of thickness and strength in the Corpser fronds. The hooked tentacles are pretty disturbing too. Of course, getting caught by one of these requires the same level of cluelessness as sticking your head in an Alien pod.

Similarly, the Swamp Tentacles grabs you with it’s aptly named tentacles, and stuffs you into its gullet. This monster only works if there are, in fact, Mangrove trees in Britannia. If I had this one to do over again, I would try to do more with the tentacles. Maybe add some hooks or thorns on the ends or along the inside edge.

Origin gave me a fair amount of freedom in these concepts, but I have no idea if they would have ultimately used them. It was fun adding to the designs and behaviors of monsters that had already been in Ultima for so long. Do you think these would have worked?

Want to see more, visit: www.denisloubet.com

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Here’s two more from the Ultima that never was. We have the Headless, which is just a creepy idea from the get-go, and an ordinary orc.

I made the Headless hairy and primitive with no clue as to how it eats or detects its surroundings. That’s just left mysterious. Stumpy legs, long torso, and ape-like arms make it dangerous, and the absence of a face makes it so alien it’s unpredictable. Also note, it has a horrible tail. That has to be canon because I wouldn’t have included it if I hadn’t been instructed to.

The orc, unfortunately, is a little bland and generic. The only mildly unusual thing about him is the vaguely Roman leather armor he’s wearing. That and his general state of cleanliness.

I have a habit of trying to do the most with the least. When drawing a knight, I’ll avoid the enormous fantasy armor in favor of more realistic protection. I’ll draw a fairly ordinary orc rather than indulge in horns and decorated tusks and axes as big as the character itself. I’ll tell myself it doesn’t need all that crazy stuff to be interesting. It’s the character in the face that’s important. It’s the way the character carries itself. It’s the impression and feeling that the character establishes that I’m after. So if my illustrations aren’t wild or flamboyant, that’s why.

Even keeping things real, I do get to focus on things l Like or find fascinating. For instance, I worked hard on the way the hands support the headless, trying for that ape-like knuckledragging effect.
And the beefy torso of the orc came out very nice, as did the simple design of his leather skirt. I also enjoy the massive sturdy quality of his sword. Little successes like these are what keep me working.

Want to see more, visit: www.denisloubet.com

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Early architectural concepts for Shroud of the Avatar.

I settled on a mushroom kind of look, with Crystal Palace roofs and round windows, as a main motif of homes and businesses. Basically I was just trying for something exotic. Something that was not hard corners and square windows, and yet still echoed the Victorian ethos. I like how the walls blend into both the ground and the eaves, it makes the building look very organic.

When working loose like this, I always find it amazing how low contrast stuff always manages to suggest more detail than is present. One’s mind just starts filling in all sorts of details in the rocky areas, and shadowed eaves. You end up seeing bushes and architectural details that just aren’t there. It’s like the crude dabs of paint kickstart people’s imagination, and focus their pattern-seeking skills. It sure saves me a lot of work, but only if I apply those dabs right.

This first building with all the glass roofs looks vaguely industrial but could easily serve as a private residence, what with the widow’s-walks. Now that I look at it, you could exchange the rocky landscape for a battleship hull and the buildings would make a really cool superstructure.

The House with the spooky trees looks very hamlet-like. It could be a church or other public building, but could also serve as a house. More widow’s walks on what almost looks like a thatched roof and a bizarre lobed roof for the tower make this an odd design.

The two sketches take the ground/eaves blending to new heights. The top sketch has doors and windows that are almost Hobbitish, but the glass roofs and antennae quickly dispell that impression. I don’t know if the glass walls denote a second story, or if they’re just really high-placed windows.

The bottom sketch is definitely more gothic in appearance. It definitely has an Addams Family vibe to it with all the widow’s walks and flat topped roofs. Arched garrets also give the thing a unique take on the gothic style.

I think the Shroud players would have really dug buildings like this, and there’s no reason to think this style can’t sneak back in. ;-)

Want to see more, visit: www.denisloubet.com
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Early Shroud of the Avatar concept art showing various hydroelectric power plants. Very strong on Steampunk and Tesla themes. These were done before I realized that city meant village. These are ridiculously huge installations for SotA.

The first one is a place you would expect to see Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty falling to their deaths. High in rugged mountains is a terrible place for a hydroelectric dam, but it sure looks cool! Especially with the interior lighting shining through the greenhouse-style roofs.

The second picture is dam in a more traditional location. The The water is driving the Tesla-turbines, and the power is distributed through the Tesla tower you can see in the background. You can see in the distant buildings that I decided to use the glass roof as a motif for the Post Britannia culture.

The last picture is an unfinished sketch of another hydroelectric plant. There’s a lot of Crystal Palace vibe in this one. As you can see, I’m not really an architectural illustrator guy. I hate doing stuff like this. But I do learn stuff every time I try. Sigh.

Want to see more, visit: www.denisloubet.com

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Here’s some early Shroud of the Avatar concept art that I did for Richard.

It took a surprisingly long time for me to understand the size of the towns and villages they wanted because they kept using the word city. That word meant a much bigger collection of buildings to me than it did to them, so it took me a while to arrive at the right scale of things. For these unfinished concepts I thought city meant something like New York city, and so it’s all hulking machinery and skyscrapers.

The black and white cityscape is an unabashed homage to Hugh Ferriss.http://thenonist.com/…/p…/hugh_ferriss_delineator_of_gotham/

I love his work, and if I’m forced to do architectural illustrations which I suck at, I’ll turn to him for inspiration. As you can see, I was going deep with steampunk and dieselpunk. Elevated roadways and huge Tesla Coils dominating a 1950s skyline. Even giant gears!

The color piece is a hydroelectric dam that bridges two halves of a city embedded in the cliff faces. Here you’ve got arching roadways and flying ships as well as pleasure domes and observation galleries. And since it’s steampunk, there’s a forest of detail to sort out.

This is all extremely different from how the game turned out. In my next installment, you’ll see I got a better handle on what the word city actually meant in relation to Shroud of the Avatar.

Want to see more, visit: www.denisloubet.com

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Next to last posting for the early Shroud of the Avatar character concepts. Socialites and Dignitaries.

The male socialite kicks ass! I don’t know what you call a cravat that wants to be a full vest, but he’s got one! And I know people who would kill for that jacket. Finish it with knee high leather spats on dapper gray, and a starched collar, and now you’re talkin’. He’s just firing on all cylinders. Add the aristocratic mien, and that pencil thin moustache, and you’ve got steampunk elegance without the gears.

The woman with him? WTF was I thinking? Of course, the male was done without the stipulations of runway fashion, lots of skin, whacked out hair, and oh, make it colorful. About the only good thing you can say about her outfit is that it’s unique, but you’ll need to use scare quotes when you say it. I don’t know how the physics of the invisible corset works to prop up her chest, but those crossed pieces of fabric are magic. I think we’ve said enough.

I think both dignitaries work perfectly! The male looks like he stepped out of Oz, and in a good way. You can just tell that his lavish outfit is rife with history. Since he needed a ruffled collar, I moved the cravat to his belly, or at least that’s what it looks like. I also added big golden symbols of office on fabrics that thumb their nose at sumptuary laws.

The matron of the dignitaries is, I think, resplendent in her green gown. The high neck and long sleeves work well. She’s got the same symbols of office as her male counterpart, as well as a ruffled collar and fancy cape. I’m a fan of more Victoria, and less punk, in my steampunk. I think the prudish dignity of the Victorians is the very quality that makes the Victorian era exotic.

The uncolored dignitary sketches are notable in that, like the socialites, the guy’s outfit is awesome, and the woman’s outfit is WTF! As a showgirl costume, it might work, but I don’t know. I do need to finish the guy’s costume sometime though, it could look pretty great. I was going for a radial design motif for these two. The woman’s radial motif is pretty obvious, but the fellow’s starts at the base of his neck, and travels down to his feet. Some subtle color choices could make that work. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I use the belt-over-sash a lot in this whole SotA collection. Apparently I’m obsessed.

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