DevLog 03 - The Washer
[h2]Hello again, Washers![/h2]
We're back with another DevLog, and this time we're looking at the player model design & talking to Senior Character Artist, Matt. From concept to in-game changes, we're going on a little adventure on the steps it takes.
We have some cool Washer concept art to show you today, as well as some early original PowerWash Simulator Washer model concepts at the end!
[hr][/hr]
Matt starts, "I was lucky enough to get the task of designing and modelling the player character for PowerWash Simulator 2."
"This sheet shows my first attempts at the new concept. Some of the direction I received was to try to make the character look a bit friendlier than the original, by imparting more child-like proportions to the hood and mask, and swapping the knee-high black boots for something less imposing. Otherwise, I was free to rework the design in ways I thought would improve it and make it fit in a sequel with plenty of visual upgrades but wanted to be careful to preserve the instantly recognisable look that has come to be strongly associated with the game.
Originally, we thought we might also want to nod to a certain new feature of PowerWash 2, as in the first image, but this was quickly dropped for various reasons." We'll be taking a look at this new feature in a future DevLog, so we'll leave that there for the moment đź‘€ We won't leave you waiting too long though.
"Another concept artist, Nick, provided some very good feedback about raising the belt, which really improves the balance of the design, and suggested we make the drop logo shiny. The unusual zip placement on the suit is meant to represent a wave, or perhaps a fin, as well as echo the slightly fantastical feel of the rest of the PowerWash world."
"Here is more development of the concept. We tried a few different colours for the boots, which we didn’t want to be too eye-catching, but eventually came back to the yellow I started with. I did experiment with adding a bit of grime to mute their colour, but anything not actually washable in the PowerWash world must be sparkly clean!
The hood and mask probably got the most iteration. By obscuring a character’s face, you run the risk of making them seem cold and inhuman and possibly even intimidating, so our lead artist (now Project Director) Torger provided me with constant feedback pushing friendly, child-like proportions and shapes. I also added a few other touches to give the mask the feeling of having a smiling face."
Matt continues, "This is the final concept, where I added a smartphone in a waterproof case, replacing the tablet worn at the belt of the original character and redesigned the washer backpack. The new backpack design is less square and blocky than the original, uses a simpler colour palette, and is made of more premium-feeling materials. This all serves to make it feel like an upgrade."
"Some progress shots, and a final turnaround of the ZBrush model. I focussed a lot on the stylization of the cloth—the detail is clustered up to leave plenty of empty space, matching the clean simplicity of PowerWash Simulator’s art. I also tried hard to preserve the androgyny of the character."
"Once the model was animated and in-game, we found that the gloves didn’t hold up to being very close to the camera—they were too low-poly and worked better seen as a small part of an entire character than close-up and in isolation. I remade the gloves with more detail and fabric texture, and with a design that hopefully looks good when viewed on its own as well as part of a greater whole."
[hr][/hr]
We hope you've enjoyed this look into the player model with Matt! As promised, we also have some early sketches and ideas for the player model for PowerWash Simulator.
[hr][/hr]
Next time we'll be taking a look at another level coming to PowerWash Simulator 2, the Teapot Tea Room! đź«–
We'll also be live on the FuturLab Twitch channel tomorrow, Friday 16th at 4pm BST to take a more in depth look at the Removal Van from last weeks DevLog.
To keep up with all PowerWash Sim 2 news, you can wishlist it here ⬇️
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2968420/PowerWash_Simulator_2/
If you missed it, you can catch up with our last DevLog here:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2968420/view/510705846181692695?l=english
Stay clean, Washers đź’¦
Follow our Socials here: Discord: https://discord.com/invite/powerwashsimulator
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/powerwashsimulator.co.uk
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PowerWashSim
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/futurlab
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@powerwashsim?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerwashsim/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/powerwashsim
PWS Wiki: https://powerwash-simulator.fandom.com/wiki/PowerWash_Simulator_Wiki
PWS Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/PowerWashSimulator/
We're back with another DevLog, and this time we're looking at the player model design & talking to Senior Character Artist, Matt. From concept to in-game changes, we're going on a little adventure on the steps it takes.
We have some cool Washer concept art to show you today, as well as some early original PowerWash Simulator Washer model concepts at the end!
[hr][/hr]
Matt starts, "I was lucky enough to get the task of designing and modelling the player character for PowerWash Simulator 2."
"This sheet shows my first attempts at the new concept. Some of the direction I received was to try to make the character look a bit friendlier than the original, by imparting more child-like proportions to the hood and mask, and swapping the knee-high black boots for something less imposing. Otherwise, I was free to rework the design in ways I thought would improve it and make it fit in a sequel with plenty of visual upgrades but wanted to be careful to preserve the instantly recognisable look that has come to be strongly associated with the game.
Originally, we thought we might also want to nod to a certain new feature of PowerWash 2, as in the first image, but this was quickly dropped for various reasons." We'll be taking a look at this new feature in a future DevLog, so we'll leave that there for the moment đź‘€ We won't leave you waiting too long though.
"Another concept artist, Nick, provided some very good feedback about raising the belt, which really improves the balance of the design, and suggested we make the drop logo shiny. The unusual zip placement on the suit is meant to represent a wave, or perhaps a fin, as well as echo the slightly fantastical feel of the rest of the PowerWash world."
"Here is more development of the concept. We tried a few different colours for the boots, which we didn’t want to be too eye-catching, but eventually came back to the yellow I started with. I did experiment with adding a bit of grime to mute their colour, but anything not actually washable in the PowerWash world must be sparkly clean!
The hood and mask probably got the most iteration. By obscuring a character’s face, you run the risk of making them seem cold and inhuman and possibly even intimidating, so our lead artist (now Project Director) Torger provided me with constant feedback pushing friendly, child-like proportions and shapes. I also added a few other touches to give the mask the feeling of having a smiling face."
Matt continues, "This is the final concept, where I added a smartphone in a waterproof case, replacing the tablet worn at the belt of the original character and redesigned the washer backpack. The new backpack design is less square and blocky than the original, uses a simpler colour palette, and is made of more premium-feeling materials. This all serves to make it feel like an upgrade."
"Some progress shots, and a final turnaround of the ZBrush model. I focussed a lot on the stylization of the cloth—the detail is clustered up to leave plenty of empty space, matching the clean simplicity of PowerWash Simulator’s art. I also tried hard to preserve the androgyny of the character."
"Once the model was animated and in-game, we found that the gloves didn’t hold up to being very close to the camera—they were too low-poly and worked better seen as a small part of an entire character than close-up and in isolation. I remade the gloves with more detail and fabric texture, and with a design that hopefully looks good when viewed on its own as well as part of a greater whole."
[hr][/hr]
We hope you've enjoyed this look into the player model with Matt! As promised, we also have some early sketches and ideas for the player model for PowerWash Simulator.
[hr][/hr]
Next time we'll be taking a look at another level coming to PowerWash Simulator 2, the Teapot Tea Room! đź«–
We'll also be live on the FuturLab Twitch channel tomorrow, Friday 16th at 4pm BST to take a more in depth look at the Removal Van from last weeks DevLog.
To keep up with all PowerWash Sim 2 news, you can wishlist it here ⬇️
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2968420/PowerWash_Simulator_2/
If you missed it, you can catch up with our last DevLog here:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2968420/view/510705846181692695?l=english
Stay clean, Washers đź’¦
Follow our Socials here: Discord: https://discord.com/invite/powerwashsimulator
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/powerwashsimulator.co.uk
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PowerWashSim
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/futurlab
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@powerwashsim?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerwashsim/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/powerwashsim
PWS Wiki: https://powerwash-simulator.fandom.com/wiki/PowerWash_Simulator_Wiki
PWS Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/PowerWashSimulator/