"In this project I aimed to create assets for a Japanese inspired expansion for Blizzard’s World of Warcraft, consisting of architectural, armour, sword and creature designs. I personally found the game’s current eastern inspired areas to be lackluster in comparison to their extensive western inspired realms. I followed closely to the contemporary 2D digital painting movement currently being implemented in industry standard work, taking inspiration from Mark Gibbons, Jimmy Lo and Rich Carey most notably. I created line drawings then flatly coloured them. I was loosely inspired by Art Nouveau, including ornate and floral details to achieve a high fantasy aesthetic to suit the game and reference the natural themes integrated in Japanese culture. In my design I first researched reference material, learning the typical elements of Edo architecture, armour and mythology, acting as inspiration for my deration. After brainstorming ideas I selected 1-3 designs to refine based on their aesthetics, functionality and whether they fit with pre-existing designs I had completed."

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