JustinOperable

While waiting for response I did a scipio africanus rough as well. I'll begin finishing costume and color on these three.

Also i'm going to submit a hannibal variation where he only has one eye, so if there's a punic wars campaign, his iberian exploits can be with the first portrait, then after the alps and all that, he can be shown with one eye. If such a campaign ever happened I could even do an older portrait for the later game.

Yea, I hope a little variation is ok. So far I've been going off of what historic references I could find especially with ashoka. If anyone wants to post a screen cap of the units in game, it would be helpful, af I cammy currently update to alpha 12 right now. Thanks for the ref and the kind words. I saw you posted alexander the great reference but I was told before it was being worked on, was the portrait abandoned?

Hey all, A while back I offered to do some portraits for the game units but was unhappy with my portraiture at the time. I have since remedied that dissatisfaction and so i'm back to paint some heroes. First is hannibal, second is ashoka the great. They're rough works in progress and their costumes are left vague for now so people have a chance to throw reference at me before I waste time rendering something inaccurate. I intend to do a portrait for each faction then move into whatever appeals. Let me know what you think.

The patch is on the wrong side because I flip the painting during my process to see errors, so the side its on changes. It's simple enough to change back. As for Alexander, I looked in game at the different heros and the portrait there seemed to be a model render but that may be because its so small. I'd love to have a go at it anyway to update it to the newer style of portrait that seems to be developing from the Xerxes and Cyrus and now from my future pieces. But if I would be stepping on someones toes, I understand.

Just so people know I'm alive. Here's a rough sketch. Not sure if I'm happy with it, I might start over, but I thought I'd post as proof of interest. To keep myself interested I'd like to do a series of at least six portraits, one hero of each civ. If possible I'll begin with Hannibal, then move onto Scipio Africanus, Boudicca, Darius, Viratio and Alexander the Great. I think Pokemoning the civs will keep me interested and you'll get more use out of me. And by then I'll have done some research for each civ and can do more paintings for other units. Interested to hear everyones thoughts.

Is anything being done with this idea? I hope I'm not being a thread necromancer, but I think this or something along these lines would be excellent. I know formations and other features will change the game dynamics a great deal, but I think something like this could go a long way to allowing us to set up interesting scenarios, campaigns and historical simulations. For instance, how would you have a battle like the one between Vercingetorix and the Romans at Alesia with the current system? It might be possible once walls and formations are figured out, but I think something like Mythos proposed would allow greater realism and fun in this regard. And as was pointed out, it takes me out of the game personally when attacking individual units all at once is such a better strategy than using formations and facing the enemy all together. Additionally, when one unit meets an identical unit, the one who strikes first always wins, this takes me out of the game and reminds me I'm looking at a computer screen. Anyways, not criticising whats been done so far too hard, but I look forward to seeing this line of thinking continue to influence the mechanics even if this particular system isn't adopted. i.e. Formations, Facing and Environmental factors and perhaps a small bit of chance to mix the game up a bit.

I'm not ready yet to go all out on a large illustration although I someday would love to do the Carthaginian Splash Screen. I think I'm just gonna start with a badass portrait of Hannibal and a badass portrait of Scipio Africanus so when the Second Punic War campaign is made, both will be ready.

For sure. Alright, I'll stick to the units costuming, but I'm just gonna do a head and shoulders. Not very exciting for me to do a full body if the costume is already designed for me. I should have something to show in a couple days.

I was trying to avoid referencing the unit art too directly since it basically means I'd be repainting that very nice reference painting you posted. I will fiddle with the pose. I also learned that triple disc breast piece was not actually carthaginian, but was found in a carthaginian tomb, and was likely of campanian make. But I can keep it if people want. There's just not much design in it if I'm painting the costume that already exists in the reference painting. But if thats what's desired.

Decided to go about it like a character design just for fun. Did some costume mockups. Let me know what you guys like or suggest. Just having fun with it at the moment.

Additionally, as shown in the game, I was thinking of using blue in the cape and crest instead of red. Would this be a historical no-no? I just figure red capes and crests will be used a lot in roman unit art (It already is in the splash screen) and want some way to differentiate them. But if historically carthaginians used red, I'll go with red.

Oh awesome, yea I have read that before, I don't know why it didn't register. I will probably get started in the next few days. If any history buffs wants to send me some cool reference, it's somewhat hard to tell on the net what is accurate and what is fantasy.

Thanks for the reference. I could make Hannibal blind in one eye. Is there some historical reason for this? or just to look badass?

I'm so in. Hannibal is one of my favorite historical figures. Should I do just a bust? or should I do a full body for pr that can be cropped down to a portrait. Also, I definitely wouldnt do hannibal looking Germanic, but for reference purposes, can someone give me a clue as to which modern ethnicity most closely resembles what carthaginians looked like?

Well thanks for the warm reception. I'm glad to hear there's some use for me. Unit portraits might be a good place to start seeing as I've done a lot of them for FLARE and Wesnoth. I am very interested in doing title screen illustrations (and hopefully someday campaign illustrations. The Second Punic War and the Conquests of Alexander the Great will be so fun) but I should probably start light and integrate into the community before biting off something like that. It may be difficult for my inner dweeb to keep the armor historical and not turn it into some crazy unrealistic video game stuff, but I think I'll manage. I'm trying not to leap in too quick and make promises I wont keep, and my life is very hectic, but I would like to be involved consistently. So let's begin easy, can someone give me a list of unit portraits which need to be made? And maybe a suggestion or two as to which are most pressing. Also can you guys clue me into your specifications for the portraits; size, backgrounds, amount of the unit showing. etc? Thanks, I look forward to helping out and getting better at beating qbot. Justin

I know there's almost no use for someone with my skills since most everythings designed and illustration requirements are slim. I do have some modeling abilities, but I usually just do blocky models, sculpt them into rough forms then paint over top. Not an especially useful workflow for a game like this. Still, I like 0ad so much that if there's something I can help with, I'd like to know.

Do you understand that Wildfire Games is a non-commercial project, work for 0 A.D. is volunteer, and work is done for free? Yes Do you agree to distribute all your work for Wildfire Games under Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license? Yes, I insist on it Name: Justin Nichol Email: anok at riseup dot net MSN Messenger: no msn, got aim from long ago if need be. Location: California Availability: Five to ten hours a week if there's compelling work. Maybe more if it really draws me in. Age: (Optional) 27 Occupation: Entertainment Design and Game Design Skills and Experience: I've studies at several ateliers, and offered my services to other Floss games including Battle for Wesnoth and FLARE. I have also done commissioned work for indy game developers. Motivation: I like making games and painting, but more than that I like creating media that can have a social impact. I think 0AD is a game that can actually be socially meaingful, especially as campagins develop as we could craft play experiences that teach Ancient Western History in an engaging way. Personality: Ambitious and motivated, but pretty easy going. Just a guy trying to figure out a way to make painting robots and monsters meaningful in this world. Short Essay: I found out about 0AD through FreeGamer. I just wanna do my part to create a really fun, educational, beautiful game, and it's also amusing to see your work as part of a larger collaborative piece of art. Interests and Hobbies: I enjoy painting, watching films, history, political activism, gardening, throwing DIY concerts, fiber arts, hitchhiking and cycling. Adventures and creative endeavours basically. Staff: No Community: FreeGamer, Battle for Wesnoth, Blender blogs Favorite Game: Honestly, 0AD is my fav at the moment. Favorite overall is probably Pandemic in Boardgames, Diablo 2 for Computer games. Work Examples: https://picasaweb.google.com/105743149671074747863/JustinNicholPortfolio?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJ32zL2lqY3SvwE&feat=embedwebsite