Agile Elf
Ezra is the protagonist of the video game I'm working on. Scroll down to see process shots of my render technique as well as thumbnails.
The design keyword I used was "princely". Wanted her outfit to have lots of edges and diagonal lines. Her drapery elements will look really cool in motion, spinning around and swaying as per her dexterous fighting style.
She is meant to read as a strong but agile person. Her body is toned and her muscles are functional. She uses high kicks and leaps when she fights hence the leg length!
an ortho version I did while trying out proportions
These 4 outfits were my favorites out of my plethora of traditional sketches I've done as I kept thinking about this character.
These two were the finalists out of the 4 possible final outfits for her. I liked elements from both, so decided to merge them for the final version that you saw in the first image. Taking my fav aspects and combining them is something I do quite often.
I used a style inspired by 3D modeling principles for this character. Painting the AO and shadow information as separate stages helps control values and makes editing so easy. The color was laid on top in a simple multiply layer before the final paintover
Initial set of thumbnails I did to explore some general ideas.
Early on I figured out I wanted a medium skintone and light hair, prominent ears and eyebrows. I tried out some hair options to get a feel of her style.