Dev Discussion We're The DCUO Art Team. Ask Us Anything!

1. What's the development cycle like for a new aura or material? From concept to deployment, and do you guys operate in traditional 21 day sprints?

2. For every finished booster bundle or capsule, on average, how many items don't make the cut or need to be reworked before launch? I think my rationale for this question is, I'm guessing sometimes that capsule might be more ambitious in concept than development

3. What has been the toughest piece of content you have developed and why? Manpower hours, tehcnicality etc etc

Here is another question that I mentioned 2 years ago. (Its a technical one);
Link to the original post

Partial Chroma Material Pack
We get 3 different partial chromas from the box.

Partial chroma - 1: only effects 1st color slot of gear. Other 2 slots remain uneffected.

Partial chroma - 2: only effects 2nd color slot of gear. Other 2 slots remain uneffected.

Partial chroma - 3: only effects 3rd color slot of gear. Other 2 slots remain uneffected.

That way we can make detailed costumization while keeping original textures of two color slots.


Is this material possible?

i was wondering why some of you brilliant items bleed through each other and will they be fixed in the future for example the new jacket from st paddies day and the kilt ?

Hello team and glad to have you just have a few questions

First off i want to say you all have done a great job with the artwork the last few years especially with the new models of old characters

Questions

1.) any way for us to get a cheerful/joyful human model. I love the new human skins you guys came out with a few years ago but I’d like my hero to look happy.

2.) i absolutely loved the astro slimline…. Anyway you can give Superman’s suit the same treatment ? Chest (no emblem) his chest wokld have a wider neckline (noble warrior is a good example) and pants with his boots attached, belt, and maybe a cape that we can put our own emblem on?

3.) can we please get more styles that aren’t associated with specific iconics as well? I loved this new loot box even tho the style isn’t for me I loved that it looked very original, I’d love more original styles.

4.) can we please get normal looking materials, like “leather” “velvet” “cotton” “latex” “Lycra” etc these wouldn’t be flashy but would help us be able to mix and match old slim lines that as they are their materials don’t match other slimline styles

Thanks for the question. We are always looking to upgrade the FX any chance we get. As to pre-existing powers they will most likely stay the same for the time being as we create new FX across the game.

I'm a huge fan of all comics. There's characters and stories that I like from all publications. Obviously big fan of Batman and the Flash. I'm a big fan of Deadpool and Wolverine. Most of the comics I read are from the smaller publications.

There is a lot of good advice, but advice based on personal experience is to keep sculpting, keep creating the art you like to do and keep applying to a lot of stuff. Always keep trying even if it feels like its going nowhere. Even if it is hard to find time during the week. Setting aside even a small amount of time can help with pushing forward and help to continue improving your skills.

I really love this idea! I think it would be really cool to have outfits that are based off of certain artists style.

I would love to make Punchline and new version of Penguin!

I personally love anything super creepy or more gothic- like my dear Batman Who Laughs or Grail I made XD. Also, love making creatures - that seahorse was so much fun to make and watch get animated.

Hey dev! Was just wondering if it would be possible to get a classic champion style in a tank top version and a classic champion cape that would be awesome,also some new body shapes,skins,and hairstyles

1: That would be Fizz. He's been working hard and really put some love into the new materials. On the Environment end we have developed some really awesome master materials that NOW USE NORMAL MAPS AND SPECUALR! As well as improved our shaders to get as close as we can to PBR

2: Probably! Not my department but everyone loves the wet paint material!

3: We use MAYA, Zbrush, and for texturing we use Substance painter designer, photoshop.

4: Working with a library of 12 years worth of assets it would be inefficient to re make the same wall for each episode. It does depend on the episode. But we try to strike a balance knowing how important it is for the DLC's to feel unique. For a map I made (coming soon) I created 24 unique assets, for example.

5: I have only made 1 character being an environment artist. ROCK ADAM!

I'm only able to answer question 1 cause I'm an environment artist. We have been talking about it.

Hi devs thank you for all the work you do. Can yall add more Girly clothes and longer hair pleasee -eventually? That's really my only question.

1. As a character artist I can say that strong Fundemental Art Skills are more important than software knowledge. Don't get me wrong you definitely still need to learn those technical skills! But a strong understanding of balance, shape language, anatomy, color theory and other basic art skills is super, super important. So do those zbrush tutorials but also don't forget to do things like figure studies, value studies, color studies ect. It'll help your portfolio a lot.

2. Oh man I've been on the team a while so this is a hard one. I think it might be a tie between the gear set based on The Drowned and the gear set inspired by Lobo.

3. For the character team the short answer is our Producer usually tells us what to do and we go "Yup sure thing!". The longer answer is Design makes lists of things they want us to make and we sit down together to decide what's doable. Quite often the art team will sit in on brainstorming meetings for things like seasonal rewards and we'll give our ideas. If an artist really wants to do a specific character or gear then it gets put on their schedule.

5. I love working on Iconic NPC's because I get to stretch my art muscles a bit more.

1) Keep working on your portfolio, watch tutorials, learn the latest software, experiments with new techniques, ask for feedback, and don't be afraid to fail.

2) My favorite base item is the Neron's Throne! I had a lot of fun working together with Pinkhavok to make such a complex prop.

3) On the environment team it usually starts with planning meetings to identify the locations and iconic assets we might make for an episode or seasonal. We then gather references and assign tasks to each artist.

4) I actually would like to make more base lairs!

5) Environments! LOL

Hi Zoe!

"Any tip you can give young artists starting in the industry?" The answer can vary from artist to artist and between the various disciplines. Since I am on the 2D Side as a Concept Artist (and occasional Illustrator) I'll answer from that perspective. So if a young concept artist wanted some tips when starting in the industry I would say:

• Work on your fundamentals. You can always get better so focus on drawing and gesture.
• Study from life and understand how light and shadow interacts with various objects.
• Learn how to digitally paint and draw. It's always great to understand how to use traditional media (I started that way) but in the video game industry 99.9999% of the time you're going to have draw and paint in a digital program. Photoshop is the standard but in no way must it be the preferred program. You could use Procreate, Clip Studio, etc.
• As a concept artist, it's important that you can work in all areas (character, creature, prop, environment, vehicles, etc). The more that you can do the more easily you'll be hired. Having a specialty is awesome but be comfortable in all areas of design!
• Learn 3D to help with your workflow. I use Blender to help with environments, props, and vehicles and Zbrush (digital sculpting) to help with Characters (and sometimes the other areas as well). It sounds funny but 3D is a crucial part of a 2D Concept Artist's workflow in the modern age.
• Never stop learning even when you get hired. The industry is extremely competitive so realize just how high of a quality bar you have to "break in" and make sure you keep growing so that you keep up with the standards of the industry.

" Is there anything you want to make (Style set, accessory, base item, etc) that you haven't gotten the chance to make to yet?"
I would love to do a Knightfall Style Set. I love the look of Knightfall Batman so something like that would be amazing. My second pick would be a Cyborg Superman Style Set!
" What's your favorite type of art to work on for the game?" Concepting Style Set Costumes are my favorite part of art to work!

3. How many people work on modeling an NPC and/or character costume?

On the character team we have one artist make an NPC or a player item on their own! Also, those full gear suits you see are always created by one artist as well. It takes a really long time to make a gear suit - around 2 months, so often we help out the artist at the end stages of integrating the suit because it's so much!

5. Have you ever found something that was loved by the art department, but was left on the cutting room's floor?

So, a long time ago there was a parrot base item that we internally named Captain Peppers made by the incredible JayHawk. He was originally supposed to be a shoulder item and it was months of testing and trying to get it to not break, but in the end it couldn't be achieved and he lives happily on his base item perch.

Hello Zoe! I want to say that the single most influential thing to help me grow as an artist was to find a community of people that were enthusiastic about my discipline of art I was working in (3d character art for me) and were willing to give feedback on things I made for my portfolio. I have stayed in contact with these people throughout my life and some of them recommended me for jobs along the way in my career! I met a lot of these people through my university where I took courses for a 3d art degree, but these days there are so many art groups online you can get into on various social media, and I still engage in these types of communities even today.

Don't be afraid to be bold with your art and asking for feedback! It's a lot of fun to feel like you are doing something together with other artists that are growing as well. At this point in time there is so much educational art content online you can teach yourself so much outside of formal schooling, so to me, finding other people to go on this journey with is incredibly rewarding (because you can help others too!) helpful, and enjoyable!

I think a lot of artists will say hard work on your art is the first and most important thing about being an artist, but personally, being a part of a community is Incredibly motivating and makes the journey easier, and being comfortable with social skills and working with others will make it a lot easier to land a games industry job in the future.

There's a lot of ways to make your way through the industry, so focus on what feels right to you!

Great question! My favorite comics vary but some of my all time favorites are "The Dark Knight Returns" (I love old Batman) and Batman Year One. I also love Flashpoint (such a fun concept). The New Frontier was also an amazing comic, I loved seeing all the Justice League characters in the 1950s and 60s!

3: Sometimes it's doable some times it's not, just based on bandwidth. We try to not use older items as is - we have higher standards than PS3 now.

4: That is most likely a Dev's cat from launch they most likely have moved on so who knows!