Dev Diary #2 — Reimagining the D&D Monsters for Battlemarked
How the art team does it
Designing the creatures for Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked was a real highlight for our art team. We leaned into a more stylized aesthetic to keep true to the look of miniatures from a tabletop game, giving the appearance that they are molded from plastic. Every dent, divot, and battle scar is dialed up just enough to make them seem as realistic as possible. We kicked off the design process with research, referencing the current Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook, all Dungeon Master materials, and some of the older edition sourcebooks too!
Then we enter the concept phase. We took those familiar creature designs and gave them our own twist to adapt them into the art style for Battlemarked.
Silhouettes were a big focus of our design process to ensure that players could see them better on the map. The large monsters didn't feel as big as they would in real-life, so we put a lot of work into the silhouettes and the colors to make them especially intimidating.
Take the Kobold, for example. We wanted it to feel a bit nastier than usual and if you look closely you'll see that it's a short, vicious thing. All of the creatures in Battlemarked look like they're going to cause you a problem; and that's exactly how we want you to feel when you encounter them.
Compared to Demeo, we improved a lot on the 3D models to add more details like cleaner and sharper textures on the character models. We can't wait for you to face them in-game!
Tune in later this week for the third of our previously released Dev Diaries, focusing on how we blend Demeo-style combat with Dungeons & Dragons lore to make Battlemarked a new experience.
