When developing the Tidal Soldier visually, I decided to test with concepting on paper first as it forced me to draw from a farther distance. It allowed me to work more loosely and I was able to develop the idea of making his armour resemble a tidal wave in some way, so I curved the visor inwards. Using some of the practices from the concept art I studied, I did several close-ups of important areas such as the gauntlets and the patterns on them, too.
I referred back to the Tidal Soldier’s mood-board when moving back onto digital.
With this as a reference, I drew up a developed concept for the initial rough one I did for my summer work, this time, approaching it in layers, so that I would be able to gauge the logic behind each piece.
I wanted to conceptualise the armour layer by layer, as I planned for the very base of the set to be the standard armour that would be worn by many Tidal Soldiers that protect the coast from any terrors. Through developing the design in layers, I was able to determine what aspects to ‘personalise’ in the standard tidal soldier set, to make it unique to the main character. I still wanted to keep the pirate-like elements of the design by giving it boots, and various aspects of ripped cloth to suggest that it has been worn a great amount of times, and has been through much conflict, I also gave the laces around the boots wrap around the bottom of the boot as I felt it added a level of unique character. I also experimented with an emblem for the Tidal Soldiers’ affiliation, as that was something that I wanted to put on the back of his cloak. They fight on behalf of the Sun, so I incorporated sun-like elements with some sort of spear or trident, both being weapons that are commonly associated with the water/ocean due to spear-fishing and gods of the water like the Greek Poseidon and Roman Neptune wielding it. I didn’t want to corrode or add any markings or evidence on the armour yet as I wanted to figure that out when I had the final rendition of the concept. I then moved onto several colour tests, experimenting with ratios of gold, black and silver to hint at the Tidal Soldier’s connection to Sol and Selen without making it look too much like he was of nobility or looked too wealthy.
I also experimented with an ‘expression’ or more story-oriented piece that gave the character context and broke away from the idle nature of the concept art. I decided that when he woke up, he had a small fragment of the original Seal of the Sun, much like the one that Mercedes would have, but much weaker and had less influence.
WEAPON DEVELOPMENT
The Tidal Soldier was always synonymous with his unique weapon, and was greatly known for his special sword that could harness the power of the Sun and his shotgun. I decided to develop upon this concept and expand it. So, to begin this concept I wanted to combine the element of a common soldier/pirate and mesh it with a refined and noble looking sword. Eventually the idea came in that it would be some sort of fusion weapon comprised of two weapons that could be taken apart, like the various ‘trick-weapons’ used in Bloodborne, such as Ludwig’s Holy Blade, which could be turned from a small, lightweight sword to combine with its handle and then be used a great-sword, and the Whirligig saw which could be used as a baton or club of sorts, but then combine with a circular saw to create a long-hilted saw. These two weapons would then form a bayonet-like fusion of a sword and shotgun which would have to be lightweight for optimal use, I looked through various sword types, and ended up settling on a rapier, as not only was it light weight, and had a refined and noble aura, it also allows for quicker pierces, and it usually had a meter length, which was longer than a shotgun, and much thinner, which would ultimately result in a unique, yet balanced design that was efficient. I also looked at various rapier hilt styles and ultimately settled with a quarter-hilt style that protected the hands, as it produced a better silhouette.
After looking at how shotguns are held, using many stances and pictures as reference, I managed to fuse it in an ergonomic and logical way that didn’t feel too clunky or gaudy.
I mainly looked at the Winchester Model 1887/1901 for reference when it came to the shotgun, and I kept the blade of the sword thin as rapiers are.