Unfortunately my iPad did not record a timelapse of me working on Amalgam, so I am unable to show development snapshots. I do have some snapshots of Amalgam in different poses, however.
Since Amalgam pretty much necessitated a more dynamic and interesting pose, I opted to model it first in Blender. This gave me the ability to mess around with poses without having to worry about being anatomically correct or accurate to proportions, focussing instead on raw posing and posturing. I opted for 3 poses that showcased different aspects to Amalgam: 1 showcases a defensive, ready to pounce stance, 2 showcases a stealthy, agile stance, and 3 showcases a regal, proud stance.
To make sure I knew which pose really made the most sense, I decided to draw all of them in the enter_universim art style. I really like all three of them, but I definitely think pose 1 is the best. Amalgam is an offensive Conjure, so I think it’s best to highlight that. I also think it has the most interesting composition and sense of movement out of the lot, and just feels like it has more personality, which is ideal for Amalgam.
I didn’t make many changes from the final artwork in Procreate, but I did add some wind and noise to the piece in photoshop, to emphasise Amalgam’s power and aggressive disposition, but also to highlight its paradoxical nature.
To begin the Lifeline design process, I once again took Amalgam into Blender. For its Lifeline, I wanted to convey something different about Amalgam, whether it be its pride as the apex of its locale (far left and middle left), or its flight (far right). I also did another combat based pose, just in case it stuck. I ended up going with the far right idea, the one of Amalgam flying, simply because its flight isn’t something I’ve really contemplated focussing on yet, and because it adds a new dimension to Amalgam. It feels mystical and regal, just like the first two ideas, without being confined to the ground. I feel like it really highlights how Amalgam is a true ‘king’ of its kingdom in every sense.