BG123 wrote:

Loving the intentions behind the artwork, it's been well communicated within the design itself.

Do you reckon you'll be posting in the 'Narration' phase?

Yeah probably, I think we will find the narration stage really interesting because its the like handing a rally baton to the third runner. 

It will be interesting to see what the rules will be on the concept. 

Digitalhawk96 wrote:

BG123 wrote:

Loving the intentions behind the artwork, it's been well communicated within the design itself.

Do you reckon you'll be posting in the 'Narration' phase?

Yeah probably, I think we will find the narration stage really interesting because its the like handing a rally baton to the third runner. 

It will be interesting to see what the rules will be on the concept. 

Quite. I can't lie, the Unfallen as a concept were really unappealing to me but now I can't wait to see them implement in the game. 

I may try my hand at the narration phase myself, actually. Wondering if people would like an ore-oriented caste system for Unfallen Society. I can imagine it would allow different heroes to differentiate themselves more visually than those from other factions. For example, an Unfallen with a love for warfare would choose to compose itself of rock and similar 'hard' substances in accordance to its warlike nature. 

In some strange way these ships  remind me something from WH40k universe... like tyranid/eldar hybrid.

About creatures design... it's something like bird-gnome (I know that, they are to big but their posture fits to gnomes) evolve into space viking or horned bounty hunter - they look great.

kartuo wrote:

In some strange way these ships  remind me something from WH40k universe... like tyranid/eldar hybrid.

About creatures design... it's something like bird-gnome (I know that, they are to big but their posture fits to gnomes) evolve into space viking or horned bounty hunter - they look great.

I showed it to my brother today and he thought they looked like big fish.

Playing around with interior design.

Digitalhawk96 wrote:

Playing around with interior design.

This is sooo great... Man, you should apply for a job of concept artist!

And, in narrative terms, I see Unfallen as a little bit Drakken-like: ancient race that experienced countless wars, focused on preserving peace, by any necessary means. I'll show the rest later.

My only issue with your version of the Unfallen is the same issue I had with your faction idea. The soldier unit just really reminds me of the Drakken . Don't get me wrong or anything, the artwork and idea were both amazing and the Drakken are really cool. But I just have a kind of OCD thing for uniqueness going on. That's not to say I didn't vote for this art (its fantastic work why wouldnt't I vote for it?) It just kind of rubs me the wrong way a little bit.

BlackBird1696 wrote:

My only issue with your version of the Unfallen is the same issue I had with your faction idea. The soldier unit just really reminds me of the Drakken . Don't get me wrong or anything, the artwork and idea were both amazing and the Drakken are really cool. But I just have a kind of OCD thing for uniqueness going on. That's not to say I didn't vote for this art (its fantastic work why wouldnt't I vote for it?) It just kind of rubs me the wrong way a little bit.

Its absolutely fine, if you try to implement a "Dragon" concept of any kind its immediately going to parallel to Drakkens since it is a basis of their own design, besides that, I found it funny that a few people were so in love with the Drakken's that they wanted to lift them from EL and play them in ES2 as their concept.

Truly, its great that I am getting some feedback that isn't just praise, while its really nice to receive compliments for my work; some criticism can go some ways in preventing a George Lucas - if you know what I mean.  Even then, its rather interesting to see what different people see in the concept at first hand, whether i actually used the source or not consciously or no, off the top of my head I've heard - Drakken, Amoeba, Hissho; Tyranids, Eldar; Elementals, Treants, Myr - Beakhead; in kartuos creature case -  Bird Gnomes, Space Vikings or some horned bounty hunter which I found rather interesting.

Mithrill wrote:

This is sooo great... Man, you should apply for a job of concept artist!

And, in narrative terms, I see Unfallen as a little bit Drakken-like: ancient race that experienced countless wars, focused on preserving peace, by any necessary means. I'll show the rest later.

Its pretty cool for someone to go that far considering there is part of me following that dream of concept artist or at least working in a similar field.

Although I believe more in the greater dream of becoming an Engineer, so being able to study Aircraft Engineering right now is a great opportunity.

So in the end, if I end up working in the Engineering industry for a few years and decide to go further with art through an open door at some time in the future, Engineering or Art will act as secondary or fallback professions to pursue. 

Digitalhawk96 wrote:

Ok, so I felt inclined to give each other the other submissions a little look and give them each a bit of my time.

Thankfully its a smaller turnout this time with only 9 instead of over 200 otherwise I might have fainted from fatigue. It's excellent to see artists of differing skill and artwork of different quality being submitted for this stage of the competition but most of all, that there is clear differences between designs and we accidentally and out of pure chance, didn't draw the same thing.

So all in all, good job everyone, the turnout is great.

Let me just hop back onto the self promotion thread... 

"In summary my Unfallen:

• Have 5 glowing eyes arranged closely resembling an arch shape or a sprouting seed
• Do not normally posses a mouth since the idea of a mouth is to intake fuel, since I like the idea of "advanced photosynthesis" is at work here, mouths are unnecessary
• Are a combination of living wood, manes/clothes of "leaves" and inorganic materials like stones, gems, metals and structures
• Can grow not only into spaceships and "giant walking buildings" but can also form "conventional vehicles" suited to their role in society
• Are not limited to 2 arms and 2 legs but can have multiple limbs and appendages or a lack thereof, they grow how they pleases
• Appendages can suit different purposes and act as multi-tools or as specific tools, like a kickass biogun or a simple tentacle poker
• Ships are powered by solar sails, like giant flying sycamore seeds, rather than conventional propulsion engines"

Don't be fooled by what other people have said, what i did was be open to where I draw my sources from my life in the self promotion thread a while ago, so its like pointing out the Berserk references in Dark Souls, you cannot help but only see them now. Just because an artist is open to his sources doesn't mean they are stealing and idea, since after all that would be plagiarism.

My idea for the Unfallen in terms of feel was to create a race that conjures emotions of awe, nobility, magnificence, beauty and warmness; they are a race that is imposing yet they are not menacing - normally. They are pacifist diplomats strong of branch yet soft spoken so to speak and old as they are wise. Something I felt that sets them apart is their size, and perhaps difference of size, from the small dexterous trees that measure a few meters in height to powerful giants that tower over the land forcing those of a smaller frame to gaze far up in astonishment. If you are familiar with Ghibli films, think back to Princess Mononoke with the scene where the "Nightwalker" arises from the forest floor, shaking the trees and rising above the treeline; or the many huge "deities" that roam those woods.  Have you ever been to a natural wonder or a monument in real life? It is the feeling I want to convey, when someone gazes sights such as Naigra falls, the Taj Mahal or Mount Kilmanjaro when people look up ancient Unfallen, their military, their "buildings" and ships. A sense of scale that is normally beyond normal expectations.

The concept that an Unfallen can become an interstellar ship made me think, if they are able to do something as advanced as that, then surely there would be Unfallen that would have the capability to fly, grow into a solid construction like a building or maintain a simple role as a bus, especially after contact with other races - where planes, public transport and so on exist. Also, much like ourselves, we coexist with a number of organisms on and in our body so it not such a far stretch to think that other "dumb" flora and fauna would live alongside and IN Unfallen; like birds, species of fungus, strains of plants and other critters - and extension of this is to allow more intelligent life to live INSIDE large Unfallen since they are like walking building complexes if they choose to be.

Something that serves to extend this idea is that inorganic materials would serve purposes that living wood can not, Unfallen manipulation reminds me of tree singing - the art of manipulating trees into shapes obviously in the fantasy setting - essentially creating wooden alloys or shaping and wearing stones, precious stones, metal and so on as decoration or furthered into protection. Since Unfallen can grow into a variety of shapes, since they are able to form ships, I see that it would stand to reason that almost any shape is possible for them but there would be preferred shapes and they would still have a genetic makeup that dictated shared traits or strains - five eyes is shared for example, but is the number 5 important? - but it would come down to aesthetic or practical purpose on number of limbs wanted or needed. Cutting tools, hammering tools and weapons can be formed for use and repaired by the Unfallen them self through self regeneration; so there is a developed body modding trend among them, I expect "clothes" to become even more trendy upon discovering other species than they begin.

In terms of ship design, I referred to seed like shapes or pod shapes to begin with, like a sycamore seed. Each ship is essentially a huge Unfallen that has taken up the honour or privilege of interstellar travel and the ships are cut from the same cloth as their ground dwelling treekin. Solar sails to me, seemed a fantastic choice since I didn't fancy exposing outer foliage like leaves to the extremes of space or entering atmosphere, it seemed a rather silly notion. These sails take up two roles, sustaining the Unfallen, providing a source of power and a means to propulsion. A great net to soak up the stars rays and use it to help push the ship through the void. Its not out of the question that an on-board generator could be found as well for additional power - propulsion and other systems. 

I'll be drawing a little bit or a big bit and Ill post it here, I'm currently doing an interior scene and plan to do a landscape "building" scene after that. 

Thats all for now.

Loving the intentions behind the artwork, it's been well communicated within the design itself.

Do you reckon you'll be posting in the 'Narration' phase?

Digitalhawk96 wrote:

A gigantic and elderly Unfallen has taken permanent residence among the mountainous landscape; its limbs stretch across the peaks, gripping them akin to a massive throne; down, deep, its body stretches through the earth and under the water below. A multitude of life blooms from this living mega-structure: water, species of fungus, hanging plants, strong trees, colourful birds, different alien animals and indeed, other smaller Unfallen that is simply Dwarfed by its sheer size. Pouring through its chest cavity is a waterfall, falling hundreds of feet into the basin down below. The head rests upon a mane of moss and leaves, with vines and hanging plants adorning its mantle, the branch-like antlers casting a shadow across the landscape.

A monument, a towering city and a witness to a over a thousand years of passing. Yet the question remains, who... are they?

I've been working on this today and yesterday, this is a landscape picture depicting an Unfallen that once roamed the land as a titan, to rest down in the very landscape itself becoming a monumental living structure.

Awesome work. Very remiscent of the Guardians of Auriga.

Digitalhawk96 wrote:

A gigantic and elderly Unfallen has taken permanent residence among the mountainous landscape; its limbs stretch across the peaks, gripping them akin to a massive throne; down, deep, its body stretches through the earth and under the water below. A multitude of life blooms from this living mega-structure: water, species of fungus, hanging plants, strong trees, colourful birds, different alien animals and indeed, other smaller Unfallen that is simply Dwarfed by its sheer size. Pouring through its chest cavity is a waterfall, falling hundreds of feet into the basin down below. The head rests upon a mane of moss and leaves, with vines and hanging plants adorning its mantle, the branch-like antlers casting a shadow across the landscape.

A monument, a towering city and a witness to a over a thousand years of passing. Yet the question remains, who... are they?

I've been working on this today and yesterday, this is a landscape picture depicting an Unfallen that once roamed the land as a titan, to rest down in the very landscape itself becoming a monumental living structure.

Just impossible to comment. 

Mithrill wrote:

Digitalhawk96 wrote:

A gigantic and elderly Unfallen has taken permanent residence among the mountainous landscape; its limbs stretch across the peaks, gripping them akin to a massive throne; down, deep, its body stretches through the earth and under the water below. A multitude of life blooms from this living mega-structure: water, species of fungus, hanging plants, strong trees, colourful birds, different alien animals and indeed, other smaller Unfallen that is simply Dwarfed by its sheer size. Pouring through its chest cavity is a waterfall, falling hundreds of feet into the basin down below. The head rests upon a mane of moss and leaves, with vines and hanging plants adorning its mantle, the branch-like antlers casting a shadow across the landscape.

A monument, a towering city and a witness to a over a thousand years of passing. Yet the question remains, who... are they?

~snip~

I've been working on this today and yesterday, this is a landscape picture depicting an Unfallen that once roamed the land as a titan, to rest down in the very landscape itself becoming a monumental living structure.

Just impossible to comment. 

Wow that is amazing.  At the rate this is going I am going to really come around to liking the Unfallen.

Digitalhawk96 wrote:

I drew something new today:

"Worker Ant" Familiars - Wooden Spiders

The familiars are not of the Unfallen, they are a strain of engineered flora that aid their much larger Unfallen, some however go beyond this and are fully bio-mechanical creations; this stems from the degree of control Unfallen have over their own bodily growth and their ability to manipulate nature. Essentially intelligent pets or drones, they can come in a variety of shapes, different sizes and will service different purposes; some are rather small "toy" creations while others can be the size of a "large dog"; certain ones can glide or fly and others skitter around the ground or climb. It would not be wrong to compare them to small working robots or an ant colony living in the living body of an Unfallen.

Since they are more populous than the Unfallen themselves, other than acting as companions they will carry smaller objects, make repairs and tend to matters rather too small for certain, larger Unfallen. In large city-like Unfallen or on board larger constructions like ships; they can act as additional "eyes and ears", little fast moving doctors, message carriers and so on.  More advanced familiars can act in fighter squadrons while being assisted by the greater consciousness of the Unfallen they are linked to - like a controller and drones, or a master and hounds.

Besides the familiars, other tame creatures can also be seen existing within and around the Unfallen with varying degrees of intelligence. Plant and fungal species will grow and live on the surface of the Unfallen while other animals will be attracted as well, roaming the natural halls and pathways - the great bodies of the largest Unfallen are not unlike coral reefs, turning themselves into a diverse ecosystem that serves as a home for a variety of other life.

I was playing around with the idea properly this morning, but its been on my mind for a while. I remember reading on about similar ideas on a few different posts a while ago but the closest to mind is on Uriak's submission where they talk about how menial and expendable craft like missiles or fighter craft are not Unfallen but a separate species of flora so to speak:

"The smallest and expendable crafts or missiles are not grown from Unfallen but related species modified for this usage. With their rudimentary intelligence, they provide and efficient and affordable squadrons, protecting the genuine Unfallen elders."

"Missiles are living organism, housed and dormant into shps spore clusters. The creatures are born and conditionned for their delicate task, fitted with bio synth captors and huge payload for their one time trip. The inprint of the enemi and the desirable target are added to them moments before liberation. An advanced delivery system evolved from spore ejector are used to free them into the void.

Fighter and bomber are more evolved and trained to perform their tasks, nonetheless, they are still expendable since no sapient Unfallen is manning (treeing ?) them."

Now I am in the same boat in the sense that I consider that for the sheer age and size Unfallen CAN go to, that their numbers would be smaller in terms of population - more so for me, because I have embraced the HUGE quest. Heroes piloting or BEING the ship sounds fine since its like being an Ace pilot but for fighter craft and bombers and so forth it makes sense to me that a "drone" would be sent in its place or if they are willing, fighters from other races. Even then, they could be fun companions and be able to manpulate smaller objects easier and more efficiently than their larger cyber-wooden master.

With their natural affinity with plants and for "bio-engineering" and a bit of "bio-mechanical-engineering" - natural problems Unfallen doctors/scientists/engineers might face and would be common medical knowledge - they should be able to conjure up nice little bio-drones in shapes they fancy - like bred doglets.

This extends a little further than that though, now, a few of you may be familiar with what actually lives on and in us, lots of organisms... living, breeding and dying on and in us - grotesque I know. These familiars stem from a machine idea, like nanobots inside a human body, programed to do jobs and also the microorganisms that coexist with us. And also, if lets say the Unfallen itself is akin to a giant space death star, then we essentially have GNK or MSE (the Gonk and Mouse) droids running around underfoot on their own business. 

Very nice work. Getting some cute vibes from those worker ants, oddly enough. 

Really awesome , When we speak about visual for an peaceful diplomatic race, I imagine a race like Ents but with the noble aspect of a Drakken as great descendants, you nailed it ! Take my upvote

They look like the offprsing of amoeba and eldar ships. 

Awesome work!!!

Just amazing. You get my vote !