Darkness_Falls

I'm sure we could use just about anything for a 'concept,' but I think the question is ultimately, 'How much truly original artwork do we need to create for DarkMod paintings?' I, personally, don't have the time to make 10 pieces of artwork from scratch that are comparable to Rembrandt paintings for DarkMod. On the other hand -- if we're able to take Thief 1/2 paintings, or original paintings from 100+ years ago, and then tweak them... then that'd be a lot easier for us. Or, if some paintings are perfect for our use, as is, then are we able to use them? Is anyone here a lawyer? LOL

You'd be surprised. I believe I've heard of 150-year copyrights on some things...

I think our thief should have a little scruff... some 'five o'clock' shadow, if you will. After all, we're talking about a dingy, oily, etc. environment and I don't think it's as realistic to have a squeaky-clean, clean-shaven thief. He's just getting by on odd jobs anyways and probably doesn't care too much for personal hygiene. Even though his nose and mouth will likely be covered by cloth eventually, texturing underneath with some scruff might still be a good idea. I liked in T2 when the guards would sometimes mumble something like, "Oof, good lord, what's the smell?" when you got near them. I'd like us to look into doing this for DarkMod. It added another element to the AI -- they were subtly reacting to you being nearby -- but they never knew what it was or that it was Garrett. Just a polishing touch that I appreciated and was sorry to see not present in T3. Thus, another vote for why 'scruff' would be good to have.

Ooh, that'd be cool if we could do that! Is that legal? Good job on the photoshopping EDIT: I was suggesting adding famous paintings because it seems like that's what they did in T2. (Not necessarily "famous," but at least pre-existing artwork that was well done and seemed classical.) The artwork on the walls in T3 seemed boring to me in comparison to T2's and I was just hoping to spice the DarkMod up a bit by using old artwork somehow. If we could simply tweak originals, that'd be awesome.

Again, this was just a mixture of many different sound effects to showcase some capabilities of my keyboard Considering I might be working on sounds effects, music, atmosphere, and/or menu noises, etc... I threw in several different sounds with little or no aim for continuity and didn't intend for any of the tracks to be used (as is) for DarkMod.

Where is the project definition thread? Can a link be provided? Being a concept artist, I hardly ever delve into the other threads and there are lots of threads to try and figure out which one you're referring to

That looks like a neat book! Some good references there.

Thanks! Some of the perspectives are off, and some things don't appear as I'd like them to, but that was mainly a result of using a mouse to draw it, rather than a Wacom tablet. It's sometimes hard to make a mouse follow the lines you need it to (e.g., the marble stands). The paintings used brings up a good point. Are old paintings (e.g., from the 1700s, 1800s) 'public domain'? That is, can we get copies of famous paintings from the internet and put them in DarkMod?

They're meant to inspire us, not make us copy them. As artists, we draw from many different resources for inspirations -- and nothing, truly, should be off-limits. We're not going to "use" that concept artwork in any way other than to inspire us to create our own. Heck, maybe some things will only get slightly tweaked by us to put our own 'stamp of DarkMod approval' on it. But probably not. If you can't tune the original concept artwork out when you're making your own stuff, then don't look at it... is the only advice I can give. To me, it's helpful to view these things and thought I was doing a favor by sharing what I found with others. If I'm going to be working on Kurshok- or Craymen-like creatures... or blackjacks or bows... I think it's best that I know a little bit of what the original ones look like and even see some concepts. From the DarkMod website, it states: Resembling Thief games would not be a bad thing, since I think that's why most of us were drawn to begin working on DarkMod in the first place. If Disney was going to make a new Transformers-like movie but didn't hold the rights to Transformers, are they not going to watch past Transformers episodes just because they're making their own spin on it? Heck no, they'd totally study past Transformers episodes and movies, and anything else they could get their hands on. Nothing would be off limits for their artists. It's all about studying what you're working on. If I'm working on tables, it's best to look at pictures of tables for reference. If I'm working on pillars, it's best to look at existing pillars for reference. Etc.

I don't think we should steer clear from any references, including original concept art. Concept art, photographs, drawings, pictures, etc. are meant to generate ideas and help pull off our own concept drawings and/or ideas. What's wrong with getting visual cues from from anywhere we can find them, including Thief predecessors? Those crystal tips from the original concept art are very well done -- at the very least from an artistic standpoint -- and posting things like this should only help us to make our own art and ideas. Just my take on it...

Here are possibly more arrow inspirations from TheCircle:

Here are some concept art references from Thief-TheCircle -- and some 'beast' descriptions -- for T1 and T2. Even though most/all of you have probably already seen this, I thought I'd bring it up to make sure, in case it helps anyone: The Thief Bestiary: All the animals and monsters seen or mentioned in Thief TDP, Thief Gold, or Thief 2. http://www.thief-thecircle.com/guides/bestiary/ T1/T2 Concept Art: http://www.thief-thecircle.com/media/concepts/

Will do

How awesome!! It's neat to see color/texture on the character! I'd suggest a more serious, intense look through the eyes. This could be accomplished through some eyebrow tweaks you already mentioned were needed. E.g., a slight scowl. Well done so far!

We could possibly have reflections in mirrors, windows or other reflective surfaces where the player could look into and see his- or her-self as the thief character.

I much prefer the T2 style of lockpicking.

Click here for slightly larger version of image -Darkness Falls

Yes, a glowing crystal would be cool... but I feel it would have to be VERY dim and subtle -- for the same reason. Like a 10% opacity or something. Of course, I'd have to actually see what 10% opacity looked like before deciding on that percentage, but you know what I mean. The fire arrow would have a brighter glow.

I'll work on these. PS: I just posted a sample environmental scene in the Art section: http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showt...findpost&p=1795

LOL, ummmmmmm.......someone has my login I think -- or the forum's trippin'. I didn't write this. Considering this other thread that's going on (http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?showt...st=0entry1247), I'd say something's amiss with the forum.. or someone's playin' gamez.

3D modellers we are not. Except Renz is having a go, bless his soul.

This question was asked in the Ion Storm forums a while back. I thought it might help us to conjure up more resources and spur more creativity... Source: http://forums.ionstorm.com/index.php?showt...ndpost&p=290033 The City is an amalgamation of times and places, both actual and fictional. Medieval & Victorian London and France, modern-day Prague, and even parts of Boston (home of the ghosts of Looking Glass) have been mentioned as real places that influenced the look & feel of the City. Some oft-cited art references are The City of Lost Children, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Name of the Rose. The works of Mike Mignola (Fafhrd / Mouser stuff), Tim Burton (Mr. Wrought Iron Himself), Jules Verne, Charles D-i-c-k-e-n-s, and Alan Moore / Eddie Campbell have also been mentioned a fair few times as influences. That's just a sampling, there are dozens of others .

I agree. I wised there was a tad more interaction possible with the T2 environments, with all the desks and stuff around. Let's have a few mirrors in our environment, too. Doom3 had mirrors and they worked well. It's always fun to see the character you're playing in a mirror.

Ahh, good point. I'm mixed on this. I think moveable drawers and swinging cupboard doors would be a nice-to-have. If we're to make a campaign, tho, I think we should try to avoid putting mission critical info in the drawers. I hate having to open every drawer or cupboard to complete a mission or risk missing out on key story information. Maybe just have 'extra' things (miscellaneous loot, miscellaneous background story notes, very unique non-mission critical weapons or tools, etc.) in them if they're implemented?

Me? No, I was just showing a different shape for the hood and how the shadow might fall over the thief's face. I whipped that side-by-side out in a few minutes cuz I had to jet. I wasn't trying to get a certain texture or color. I agree with everything you said, except for brightening the face like in T3. Garrett's mystique was somewhat ruined for me by his face constantly being shown in cutscenes, etc. in T3. Conversely, I don't remember any parts in T2 where Garrett's face is fully lit up and I appreciated that more. A thief who makes his living from the shadows carries with him a certain mysteriousness. Why ruin this? PS: In viewing the above thief file from the side -- I've confirmed much of his face would be exposed to the light: