Painting a World full of color

After working on the original thumbnails, I switched over to going into more detail, and refining the color. It’s another fun process, figuring out which colors and ideas will work when blown up and enlarged. Some of the thumbnails, while fun, won’t work or are unreadable and so need a complete overhaul while still trying to keep the same feel. We mostly focused on the earlier levels since that is what we are working on right now, but I still worked on some of the ones I was more excited about. It may have slipped into more of my free time, but it’s great when you like what you’re working on so much you keep pushing it when you don’t have too.

Project Oriana
Project Oriana
Project Oriana
Project Oriana

I also left notes on some of these, so the programmers would know what I was imagining, or how certain things might move. Or just stupid little thoughts that made me laugh, so obviously I needed to share them.

 

Project Oriana
Project Oriana

This woods concept is one that did get an overhaul, originally the lightning was more of a dancer. While I still adore the idea, it wasn’t coming across clear, so we made it be less of the focus, more of a background element.

Project Oriana
Project Oriana
Project Oriana
Project Oriana

This sea one is probably my favorite of all of them. The color palette is  much more limited and somber than most of the other ones, but it is so chill. I tried to get a haunting feel, like are those just statues? Are they angels or guardians? Are they out to hurt us? Who knows! I wanted it to also come across a bit unsettling with the choppy waves an just the silhouettes.

 

 

The Color Process

 

ProjectOriana_Colors-1024x703

We wanted to lean heavily on color, with early levels being dark, mysterious, purple, haunting and creepy. Very spoopy, overall. And then as the game goes on it gets warmer and happier, Ori starts taking control of her world and molding it to her design. The last one is hard to read, and more a sketch note to myself than an actual color key or color plot.

I really thought the idea of the middle being monochromatic was striking. The way the lighting goes from dark, intense low key to warm and high key and victorious is fabulous, but I was digging the thought that all the color just faded away, all the saturation is gone. And then she starts building it back up, bit by bit. Some of my personal favorites are in the middle, I already love grey though so I may be a bit biased. Recently I’ve been making them bigger and pulling out details, which has been super fun. More on that later!

(Also how about 1989? Am I the only one jamming out to that on repeat? Just me? Okay…)