The GW2 Art team

[Tro]

I was wondering, does anybody know who the art team for GW2 will be?


I hope this time around, the art team will be more creative with their Armor and Weapon models.

Some people hate it, but I like fantasy oriented looking gear.

Hope that the PvP gear will have a special look, rather then a dulled down Asian looking set.

Also I am looking forward to the adjustment of Character models.

Maybe to have more customization options, as well as mutiple body models per-new race.

[Simply Kedde]

You're really far off if you think they haven't been creative with weapon and armor models.
I agree the eotn armor wasn't the greatest idea, but weapons and other armor are very diverse and have some amazing looks that aren't super unrealistic.

[Jair of the Forest]

Some people hate it, but I like fantasy oriented looking gear.


Than this is the wrong game for you, World of Wartoys would suffice :wink:

[sorudo]

Than this is the wrong game for you, World of Wartoys would suffice :wink:
i think you're wrong here, GW is a fantasy game, so fantasy armor and weapons belong here.

[Nemeon Lion]

i think you're wrong here, GW is a fantasy game, so fantasy armor and weapons belong here.


Not exactly. Fantasy doesn't require that all high-end weapons to be lanterns at night, almost blinding you with their glow (rendering their beautifull design worthless. Who can see with that much light?)

GW already has its fair share of "glowers". Chaos Axes, Chaos Gloves, etc.

Most of the high end weapons and armors are fantasy based. Zodiac, Celestial, Destroyer and Tormented weapons don't exist in real life and, therefore, are fantasy.

To reiterate once more so that this topic never sees the light* of day again, Fantasy =/= SUPER BLINDING GLOW!

*Pun intended.

[Akirai Annuvil]

Anyone who does not consider the GW armor and weaponry, and especially their related artwork, to be fantasy is a moron.

[Rhinala]

Guild wars have a wonderful design, it is a realistic fantasy gear.


Not exactly. Fantasy doesn't require that all high-end weapons to be lanterns at night, almost blinding you with their glow (rendering their beautiful design worthless. Who can see with that much light?)
.
I totally agree with you on this one, the glows that you get on weapons that have enchantments in wow or an endgame weps, is mind blowing, and so for the robotic end game armor.
I prefer a beautiful wep/armor without any glow or have a minor glow effect like the tormented scythe.

[Lamuness]

Anyone who does not consider the GW armor and weaponry, and especially their related artwork, to be fantasy is a moron.

/agree

Fantasy is not limited to elves and dwarves and orcs. Anything can be fantasy. Cantha is a fantasy version of China. Etc.

And their art team has done a good job up to this point. Though some of the armor art is questionable, I find the armor art to be better looking than most games. The only problem that I have is that the characters don't have much of a different silhouette. Like in TF2, you know exactly what is running up to you at all times. In GW and even in WoW, it's harder to tell if it's a mage or a warrior or hunter or whatever from a distance. It would be nice but if we can't have that, then oh well, that's what tab is for.

[Erring Ryft]

Anyone who does not consider the GW armor and weaponry, and especially their related artwork, to be fantasy is a moron.

Also agree...as most bows in reality don't usually have lightning shooting up them.

As a sidenote, is there anyone else out there who would just love a short spoof GW video of the aftermath of an Assassin tripping over a rock?

[lavenbb]

I actually hope that zodiac weapons will make it to GW2. I don't mind if it's just copy and paste. I just want to have a set of that for collection. Otherwise, something similar is okay too. I like the style set.

[Rayala]

As a sidenote, is there anyone else out there who would just love a short spoof GW video of the aftermath of an Assassin tripping over a rock?
If you don't mind, I'm going to steal this idea for a little comic-thing. Never thought of this until you mentioned it, but oh gods you're right... every single set of sin armor is like a self-impalement waiting to happen.

[PwnyRide]

I was wondering, does anybody know who the art team for GW2 will be?


I hope this time around, the art team will be more creative with their Armor and Weapon models.



http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Image:Mesmer_Primeval_armor_f.jpg

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Image:Mesmer_Monument_armor_m.jpg

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Image:Elementalist_Istani_armor_f.jpg

That's just some off the top of my head.

But back on topic ~

Concept art will be and more than likely is extremely plentiful, if you count all the research and exploration required in the much of the design field.

All of it is just kept under wraps. Besides if there was any art revealed, that concept could be changed drastically through refinement on the way to the mock ups.

[Nathardia]

anyone who does not consider the gw armor and weaponry, and especially their related artwork, to be fantasy is a moron.
qft!


123456789

[Arkhan The Black]

Even though I like a lot of the GW armors I wouldn't mind if they made a few more traditional looking armor sets.

[Lais Irideika]

I think that OP likes all things that shine and all things that are ridiculously unrealistic. I highly suspect that that is his notion of what creative-looking is. If that is the case, I would recommend he sticks to games that don't strive for lines, beauty and an effort for a minimum of realism while still having a feel of fantasy and of a virtual world over merely the in-your-face wow-factor. Pun intended.

[Lamuness]

I think that OP likes all things that shine and all things that are ridiculously unrealistic. I highly suspect that that is his notion of what creative-looking is. If that is the case, I would recommend he sticks to games that don't strive for lines, beauty and an effort for a minimum of realism while still having a feel of fantasy and of a virtual world over merely the in-your-face wow-factor. Pun intended.

You can still have all that and still have beauty in your artwork. It's been understood that OP wants GW2 to be WoW-mini in every one of his other posts. That being said, you think a real person could hold the Charr sword (http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Image:Charr_Sword.jpg)? That thing will impale you before you even hold it over your head. It's not really realistic. I hate it when developers try to be TOO real. It's too limiting. And it urks me even more when the player things realistic is the best thing ever. They all have their spots. You can't say Team Fortress 2 is a crappy looking game because it's not realistic. Nor can you say Gears of War is a great looking game because it's realistic. Stylized is the key.

Sorry for the rant. Back on topic!! :soapbox:

[sorudo]

Not exactly. Fantasy doesn't require that all high-end weapons to be lanterns at night, almost blinding you with their glow (rendering their beautifull design worthless. Who can see with that much light?)
mmm, i think you need reading lessons, never said that....:huh:

[Simply Kedde]

So then you'll need comprehension lessons. It's obviously an overstatement in most cases, used to clarify his point.
Because the game is in the fantasy genre every high end item does not need to be extremely shiny and pumped up to the extreme. There can be realistic yet beautiful and diverse items.
Having them far over the top is just stupid as it adds nothing to a game other than making it look stupidly unrealistic, and that's not a must because its a fantasy game.

[genocide raven]

but then if u think about it fantasy can still involve abnormally sized gear, on top of that some people in this game do want to have there unit be fully eqiuped with the most destructive lookin stuff (pulls out char sword) ;p

[Lais Irideika]

You can still have all that and still have beauty in your artwork. It's been understood that OP wants GW2 to be WoW-mini in every one of his other posts. That being said, you think a real person could hold the Charr sword (http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Image:Charr_Sword.jpg)? That thing will impale you before you even hold it over your head. It's not really realistic. I hate it when developers try to be TOO real. It's too limiting. And it urks me even more when the player things realistic is the best thing ever. They all have their spots. You can't say Team Fortress 2 is a crappy looking game because it's not realistic. Nor can you say Gears of War is a great looking game because it's realistic. Stylized is the key.

Sorry for the rant. Back on topic!! :soapbox:

Well maybe "realistic" was the wrong term to use to illustrate my point. I think you described exactly what I was trying to get at. Stylized is a better word. That charr sword, imo, looks awesome. It's not "realistic" because that wouldn't work in real life, but it's not so over-the-top unrealistic that it looks ridiculous.

[Karn the Betrayer]

what we really want is good variations of armor better dye results and no damned clipping, i hate seeing shields go into a players leg when they are holding it

[blahteeb]

I don't think it is a terribly bad idea to have glow... just make it reasonable. Arena.Net tries to enlighten to a large group of players, and some of those groups enjoy the lightbulb stick look.

A reasonable way would be... add lightning on a lightning sword, misty shadow on a shade staff or something that makes it understandable.

Yes, there is magic in the game, but that doesn't mean everything has to be super fake.

[Divinity Archer]

what we really want is good variations of armor better dye results and no damned clipping, i hate seeing shields go into a players leg when they are holding it

And you want less clipping with more extreme fantasy armor/weapons?

[Lais Irideika]

[snip] Arena.Net tries to enlighten to a large group of players, and some of those groups enjoy the lightbulb stick look. [snip]



That's exactly right. And they have been doing that. They have a fair number of items that appeal to those who like things flashy and/or fake-looking. (think celestial shield, chaos axe, etc for flashy. Think elemental sword, saurian scythe, etc for fake-looking)

So that pretty much says to me that I am not sure why we are all even having this debate. Everyone should already be happy with the fact that there are both beautiful realistic looking weapons and some that appeal to those who like flashy weapons.

[blahteeb]

^^^^

What I was going for :D

[PwnyRide]

Everyone should already be happy with the fact that there are both beautiful realistic looking weapons and some that appeal to those who like flashy weapons.

N.

There are not enough practical skins on weaponry, that cater to the people who just want something plain, simple, and not a pain in the friggin *** to look at.

When you played through the Canthan storyline, how many Katanas or shinobi blades, sais and bo-staves did you come across, being dropped from enemies. These are the epitome of simplicity when it comes to weaponry. Thats right, and this was oriental themed.

For every Longsword (which is one of the most simple yet effective sword designs in all three expansions, along with the Eonian gladius), there are 20 elemental swords. This shouldnt be the case. Blame it on drop rates when farmed. 'Fancy' skinned weapons should not be as much of a privelage as they are right now.

(And no, before anyone asks, i wont go into the effect this will have on the economy, because no i dont really care.)

It's simplicity that's missing in this game unfortunately.

The concept of 'less is more' has been thrown out the window. Otherwise, people dont use elemental swords, and tormented weapons because they like it (i find it very hard to comprehend such diespiccable taste) but because of the e-peen value and the pre-concieved 'look at me, i'm an evil person, i'll destroy you with my awesome weapons and tacky name'.

(if you where, realisitcally, someone who destroyed everything that was the torment, i doubt you would attempt to even touch tormented weapons, if not only for their awkard shapes.

Such examples (AND ARE ONLY EXAMPLES, so dont go jumping to any 'she's just jeleous conclusions)-

Getting your ~

-Tormented sword stuck on shrubbery.
-Stabbing yourself with your Tormented Bow whilst running
-Getting stabbed through the transparent lights in the Tormented Shield
-Getting your Tormented staff caugh in one of the many extravagant bells and/or whistles haginng off your armor.
-Constantly mis-placing the little floaty bead in the Tormented Scepter
-Permenantly blinding a fellow party member with your Tormented Focus (no, it's just really silly looking), and stabbing yourself in the thigh.
-Having to use your Tormented Scythe backwards, because the foreward side is completely blunt.
-Realising you cant dislodge your Tormented Daggers in the middle of an attack chain.

[raspberry jam]

PwnyRide :starry: you do your name justice!

But, I think there should be both flashy and practical-looking skins. I do agree though that "elite" or unique weapons shouldn't look as horrible as today. "Less is more" is indeed a great concept; if the standard weapon skin is normal longsword skin, then a longsword with, say, some faint blue runes on the blade would look simply awesome. That awesomeness disappears when you put it next to something that looks taken straight from a toy shop.

[Amadei]

The concept of 'less is more' has been thrown out the window. Otherwise, people dont use elemental swords, and tormented weapons because they like it (i find it very hard to comprehend such diespiccable taste) but because of the e-peen value and the pre-concieved 'look at me, i'm an evil person, i'll destroy you with my awesome weapons and tacky name'.



I'm definitely in the "less is more" camp, but I also have a Torment Staff because I genuinely think it's pretty. I typically like sleek, simple and elegant designs (my favorite sword skin is the Runic Blade), and the Torment Staff (just the staff, the other Torment weapons don't look very good, imo) is an exception to my usual rule.

I'd like for GW2 to have a healthy mix between the extravagant and the simplistic, so everyone can have something for their taste. I think a lot of the popular skins are ugly (Chaos Axe, Frog Scepter, that Dragon staff thing), but if people like it, more power to them. I'll just go around wielding Runic Blades and Jittes :D

[sorudo]

So then you'll need comprehension lessons. It's obviously an overstatement in most cases, used to clarify his point.
Because the game is in the fantasy genre every high end item does not need to be extremely shiny and pumped up to the extreme. There can be realistic yet beautiful and diverse items.
Having them far over the top is just stupid as it adds nothing to a game other than making it look stupidly unrealistic, and that's not a must because its a fantasy game.
sure it does, now go play with MR teddy beer, he'll like to listen to you :cloud9:

[Rayala]

Some of the plainer items in the game definitely look quite cool, and I support using whatever items you think look best. For a very long time my monk's caster weapon was an inscribable Spatha, because it amused me to do so. One of the great things about guild wars, really- you can have any skin you want and your gear can be just as effective as any other max gear.

As far as fancy skins, I still don't understand the Amethyst Aegis... it hurts my eyes. But just because I think that a pink crytal shield with A BAJILLION FACETS that all flicker in seizure inducing chaos looks kind of ridiculous doesn't mean I think less of the people who have them. Maybe I think less of their fashion sense, but that's not really a big deal in the great scheme of things.

To some extent I think that most people who get those items do so because they like them. There may also, for some people, be the feeling of prestige... but my faith in the human race is enough that I don't think there are more than a couple people who would equip an item they didn't think looked cool just because they thought other people would respect them more.

[Erasculio]

There are not enough practical skins on weaponry, that cater to the people who just want something plain, simple, and not a pain in the friggin *** to look at.

IMO, there are. They are simply not seen that often since they're not sought by that many players, but they are there. I think bo staves are my most common item drop in Factions, for example.

The real problems, IMO, are two:

1) Some people like to show off. And it's much easier to show off if you're holding a big neon sign than if you're holding a realistic weapon, even if only because the former is more obtrusive. Chaos Gloves are a very good example of this.

2) We don't have any way to find "common" items easily. This is a horse I have beaten to death elsewhere, but to make it short, if someone wants to buy a simple Tribal Shield, he/she would have a far harder time finding someone selling it than someone selling one of the flashier items such as a Voltaic Spear. This is made worse by the lack of inscriptions in Factions and Prophecies - the great majority of those bo staves I keep getting have ridiculous mods, like a Protection Prayers req and a bonus to Domination Magic.

Erasculio

[Nemeon Lion]

To some extent I think that most people who get those items do so because they like them. There may also, for some people, be the feeling of prestige... but my faith in the human race is enough that I don't think there are more than a couple people who would equip an item they didn't think looked cool just because they thought other people would respect them more.



If you knew the truth... :rolleyes:

[Rayala]

2) We don't have any way to find "common" items easily.

True, I suppose- you'd have to hope to get one out of a chest. But on the plus side, most of the common skins are sold by collectors, if you don't mind not seeing that lovely gold text when you hover the mouse over your gear.

[PwnyRide]

IMO, there are. They are simply not seen that often since they're not sought by that many players, but they are there. I think bo staves are my most common item drop in Factions, for example.



Thats it, i just sort of worded it wrong in my typo-ridden post, being late in the evening and whatnot.

Of course yeah, the issue of incriptions not being available in Factions can be bought up, but that's a dead horse.

[Xerox]

I somewhat agree with the OP in a sense that the armor designs we have aren't too impressive. Im not going to say all of them look like crap but I think there is room for improvement. Now I'm not saying we need WOW type designs, I just think we can have more realistic designs yet jaw dropping designs.

Me personally love playing the elementist but EVERY single set they've ever had for ele, to me, looks like crap and doesn't fit that class in anyway. And armor that had potential to look amazing have been major disappointments. (Keep in mind I play all Male chars). Where as some ranger armor and assassin armor just look amazing to name a few.

[Arkhan The Black]

I don't mind the flamboyant unrealistic weapons. If I can live with a sea made out of jade then I don't question the plastic looking swords.

Although a bunch of the more realistic weapon skins tend to look more impressive then the flamboyant shiny ones. But I think it is great that there are something for everyone, not just the nitpicking old geezers that yell at kids and tells them how things where much better back in the day when swords where made out of steel.

[raspberry jam]

EVERY single set they've ever had for ele, to me, looks like crap
(...)
Keep in mind I play all Male charsI think I found your problem

[lavenbb]

I think I found Anet's problem

There, fixed.

I also think that Anet artists should re-think their vision for male armors. It really doesn't take long for people to figure out that most male armors are very very similar in design. Just look at the huge difference between male and female mesmers. When it comes to armor cloning however, nothing beats male elementalists. 9 out of 10 of their outfits use the same mesh.

I understand that the developers has set out guidelines for the styles of each profession, but that should never hinder creativity. If the current artists aren't prepared to work around the rules, maybe it's time to seek help from outside sources.

[Lamuness]

I don't have any male characters for reasons that all of their armor just is plain ugly. I think using the same mesh is fine, but modify! They're just being lazy.

[Xerox]

I think I found your problem

Unfortunately I can't get myself to play female. When I play an MMO I'm always trying to make him reflect some aspect of me and last time I checked i don't have boobs lol... but that doesn't mean every single set for male elementists should look like crap =/. I'm sure they could put some more effort in the sets and give us one really nice set..

[lorddarkflare]

Different strokes for different folks, i have 5 characters, all short, 4 white, one black. This is a stark contrast to myself: Tall,black,male.

Almost completely opposite from you: i just cannot get myself to stare at a dudes backside for hundreds of hours.

But despite this, i see your point when it comes to the male elemetalist stuff, but they are the worse case (except maybe the necrs, all their stuff looks alike to me).

[lifestream]

I'm so glad someone other than myself brought up the stupid male armors (assassin are actually very nice!).

Log in to GW, and click to create a new character.
Look at all the male necros.
Notice all the ugly scars, and notice how many of them look handsome.
NOW, I know what you're going to tell me. "Duh!, necros are supposed to look dead, so why should they look pretty?!"

Ok.. Now go to the female necromancers. Don't they all look like dolls? Maybe 1 or 2 have "undead-ish" eyes; that's it.


I could go on about Warriors too, but to spare you, I'll summarize: females look like Cinderellas and princesses, while males look like they actually took years and years of training to become strong. Last I checked, spending hours putting make-up on and brushing your hair purdy didn't make you super strong.

You get the idea.
Is it really that hard to make some good looking men?!
If so, why not have some normal looking girls? What if I want to make a chubby female character, because I don't like skinny ones?

You'll also notice there's youngish and old looking males, yet females all look pretty damn young.
Even Dejhah (not sure how to spell her name correctly, she is a female dervish engineer on one of the NF missions) is supposed to be 60 years old (if I recall from the Nightfall booklet), but she looks 20 years old, at most.

-----------------------------------------------------------

It's understandable, we wouldn't want a old woman playing, would we? How about a old ranger wearing a bikini while she fires a bow, ew, who could stand staring at her boobs jiggling?! /sarcasm

It's depressing going trough wiki looking at what armor to buy for your male character, and ... there just isn't anything exciting.
Go through all of the armor sets (http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Armor_types), and regarding each one of them, notice which gender's armor was given a lot more thought/care.

Why are most male Heroes either mons (http://wiki.guildwars.com/images/thumb/8/8f/Vekk.jpg/150px-Vekk.jpg)ters (http://wiki.guildwars.com/images/thumb/3/3c/Zhed_Shadowhoof_Veldrunner_armor.jpg/192px-Zhed_Shadowhoof_Veldrunner_armor.jpg), fat (http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/gw/images/thumb/0/07/Norgu.jpg/128px-Norgu.jpg), old (http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/gw/images/thumb/c/c3/Dunkoro_Armor_Starter_Front.jpg/145px-Dunkoro_Armor_Starter_Front.jpg), stupid (http://wiki.guildwars.com/images/thumb/4/4d/Goren_Vabbian_armor.jpg/150px-Goren_Vabbian_armor.jpg), (hey, and a robot!), yet female are all slutty, or... slutty.. or... a slutty bear woman... or... helpless "Ew! Blood!", ... *scratches head*
(I don't need to give you linkies for those)

Thankfully Melonni and Anton are not so bad.

And Razah has got to be my fav hero personality wise. His looks actually do fit his story which is great :D

But if fantasy (and beer?) can make any female look drop dead gorgeous, why can't it make gorgeous males too?!

I could honestly IMO say that even the worst female armor is better done than the best male armor.


If Anet wants some ideas for their male armors and NPCs, I'd be more than happy to go give them some well thought-off armor concepts.

I'm sure you do know that having a character that you are proud of is a GOOD thing when playing a game. And yeah, looks can be part of it.

I don't want to stare at naked butts of females, or butts of females, or boobs of females, so my only choice is playing a male character. But there are very few good male characters to choose from..


/end_venting


Regarding weapons... I think anet is quite creative there, but staves wants and magical offhands could look a lot better. MBP was very good IMO.

[Terus]

I just want the option to make a Male character that wears PANTS and SHOES regardless of what class I pick.

I see no practical reason why only certain classes should get this option, with 4 retail boxes worth of armor sets to choose from.

[lifestream]

I just want the option to make a Male character that wears PANTS and SHOES regardless of what class I pick.
Ummm Dervishes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dervish) (please click and scroll down to see all the images regarding real Dervishes) are supposed to wear "skirts" :)

Now regarding Paragons I cannot make the same comment :P
But I guess if you think of a Paragon as an Angel, you'd clearly see why they were given a skirt :P

Giving them pants would no sense whatsoever. Why can women wear pants but men cannot wear "skirts"?
Not too long ago, women weren't even supposed (allowed?!) to wear pants in the real world, but now they do. See, nothing wrong with trying something different, is there?
Wearing pants doesn't automagically make a woman a man, so wearing a skirt or dress, or whatever you want to call it, won't make a man become a woman.

Hmmm also what's wrong with sandals...?

[Terus]

what's wrong with having the option to wear Pants?

I'm not complaining about Dervishes, they're fine. they're wearing Robes, which is fine with me honestly. all of their robes look sweet too.

but I fail to see what is so wrong about Paragons having the option to wear Armored Pants. I understand the notion behind the Paragon armor choices, but I don't see how having that option hurts anyone here.

Rits have pants on a few armor sets, but they are few and far between. that's fine too. the option is there if someone wants it.

I don't see why Paragons can't have at least one armor set that is a chestplate and pants.

as for the rest of your comments, i'm not sure what it has to do with anything here.

[Terus]

eh, looking at the wiki, I gotta take that back.

Paragon Males have exactly ONE set of Pants, on the Norn Armor set. which is a skirt, with leg armor underneath it, and looks fantastic.

wish there were more options like this to choose from.

the Asuran Armor, with the Leg Armor underneath the skirt would look AMAZING.