Meet the woad
It’s update time!
For this post I want to introduce the woad – one of the races that inhabit the world of Unto The End. These native creatures will be regularly encountered during the game and, given their status as one of the main residents of Unto, Stephen and Sara at 2 Ton Studios put a lot of thought into their conception and design.
This is just a quick snapshot of that process and how the woad has evolved along the way.
The rugged brute you see above is the initial woad concept. Looks good, but wasn’t quite right and failed to meet one of 2 Ton’s tenets of creature design, namely that a creature should ‘be realised enough that an expansion could be built around them as the main character’. So, back to the drawing board/sketch book…
A few sketched alternatives later and a final design for the woad was found, although rather than being based solely on one dedicated form, a hybrid was chosen that blended elements of the warrior and simian styles seen above. The warrior was too human-like and the simian too animalistic, but together they combined to make the perfect woad!
And here he is, the final version of the woad. He’s the one on the left wearing the skirt/kilt. In creating the woad, Stephen and Sara wanted to come up with a creature that was agile and athletic, animalistic but intelligent, approachable yet fearsome, and this design really embodies those characteristics.
Having arrived at the final look of the woad, the next job was working to ensure its new, more athletic build was reflected in its movements. The woad’s agility is deftly demonstrated above as it flows from one motion to the next in a near effortless display of terrain mastery. Needless to say, for Unto’s human hero, attempting to run away from these guys won’t be the best strategy.
Hope you enjoyed this introduction to the woad. Comments and questions welcome!
Matt | Digital Uppercut
For this post I want to introduce the woad – one of the races that inhabit the world of Unto The End. These native creatures will be regularly encountered during the game and, given their status as one of the main residents of Unto, Stephen and Sara at 2 Ton Studios put a lot of thought into their conception and design.
This is just a quick snapshot of that process and how the woad has evolved along the way.
Fore-woading
The rugged brute you see above is the initial woad concept. Looks good, but wasn’t quite right and failed to meet one of 2 Ton’s tenets of creature design, namely that a creature should ‘be realised enough that an expansion could be built around them as the main character’. So, back to the drawing board/sketch book…
Woad works
A few sketched alternatives later and a final design for the woad was found, although rather than being based solely on one dedicated form, a hybrid was chosen that blended elements of the warrior and simian styles seen above. The warrior was too human-like and the simian too animalistic, but together they combined to make the perfect woad!
Woad is me
And here he is, the final version of the woad. He’s the one on the left wearing the skirt/kilt. In creating the woad, Stephen and Sara wanted to come up with a creature that was agile and athletic, animalistic but intelligent, approachable yet fearsome, and this design really embodies those characteristics.
Fast for-woad
Having arrived at the final look of the woad, the next job was working to ensure its new, more athletic build was reflected in its movements. The woad’s agility is deftly demonstrated above as it flows from one motion to the next in a near effortless display of terrain mastery. Needless to say, for Unto’s human hero, attempting to run away from these guys won’t be the best strategy.
Hope you enjoyed this introduction to the woad. Comments and questions welcome!
Matt | Digital Uppercut