Conjure Brief:

• Create a biomechanical/cybernetic Conjure based on intrusive thoughts
  • The Conjure should be a strong combination of both organic and and synthetic, experiment to discover a harmonious balance
  • The Conjure should be humanoid
• The Conjure’s form is to be difficult to fully comprehend, as it is in a constant half-state of digitisation and physicality.
  • This should be represented by a glitchy, smoke effect that fades into the Conjures ‘physical’ state.
• The Conjure should have no expression, but should still ‘look’ uncanny and somewhat fear inducing, as to represent the fearful nature of intrusive thoughts, but also how they are a normal part of the human psyche.

Sketches and Ideas

I jumped straight into Blender for this design, as I felt it’d benefit from simply messing around with geometry and shapes, as well as the ability to easily move objects around to effectively ‘assemble’ it, especially given that Spectre is a cyborg/biomechanical being.

I basically spent my time just taking objects and putting them together, ending up with these two designs. I honestly forgot why I opted for TV screens across its body, but I believe it was because of the ability for each screen to show something different, obscuring Spectre’s true expression or feelings. The pose is inspired by Fireblight Ganon from BoTW, as I love the simultaneous feeling of playfulness yet malice the arm pose gives off. I’m really happy with these designs, but I felt like something wasn’t quite right about them for Spectre. They just felt a bit too restricted, as though their motions didn’t quite fit in line with the brief. I think the next step is to design Spectre in a way that makes it look streamlined, and a bit cleaner. I also think these might be a bit too detailed to be well conveyed in the enter_universim art style, so I think simplification is the way here.

Designing Spectre

1. After a lot of anatomical research, I ended up with a design that definitely nails the whole cybernetic/biomechanical feeling I’m going for, but feels streamlined and loose enough to fit Spectre’s high mobility. I opted to remove any sort of expression from Spectre, as I didn’t want the viewer to think Spectre was actually malicious in any capacity. Since intrusive thoughts are natural a normal part of the human consciousness, I felt it important to make Spectre look quite ‘neutral’, whereby the viewer is unable to determine any good or bad will.

2. I ended up opting for a head-down pose, with a relaxed posture, since I wanted to leave enough space to showcase Spectre’s ability to disassemble and reassemble itself in two different states of existence. I made sure to use very minimal highlights, enough to show Spectre’s shape, but also enough to show Spectre for what it is, a cyber-ghost (thing).

3. I began adding the a smokey, glitchy effect behind Spectre, and made the highlights wisp away to blender into the smoke. I didn’t like the colours, but I loved the idea and direction.

4. I tinkered with effects and colours until I ended up with this design, which I think hits the nail on the head. I can’t imagine Spectre looking much different, so I’m really happy with this. I ended up opting for a reddish colour, as to allude to the horrific nature of intrusive thoughts, and to contrast Spectre’s otherwise peaceful and reclusive nature.

Final Default Artwork

Lifeline Protocol

1. I wanted to showcase Spectre’s transition into code more explicitly, showing Spectre’s form in both planes of existence simultaneously. I opted to begin this by creating a clear ‘half’ line through lighting, demonstrating the two sides to Spectre.

2. I added a grid into the background that fades from the digital side to the physical, with this divide also being portrayed by the glowing red lines, which go along the edges of Spectre’s features, as to suggest a wireframe. Unfortunately, I ended up leaving this idea here, as I wasn’t too keen on the direction it was going, so I went back to Blender to mess around with poses.

3. I ended up with this head-up pose that, to me, is reminiscent of Star Trek’s teleportation technology; the act of looking up and letting the force take you. Since I’m focussing moreso on the code rather than the physical for this piece, I opted to turn the lighting red, since this will reflect the change in reality.

4. I added back the grid and noise in the background to symbolise a digital environment. I added distortion to Spectre’s body, as to represent the transition from physical to digital, also adding bloom and glow to the piece as well. However, the streaks of distortion gave me an idea which I ended up acting upon, as shown in the next picture…

5. I wanted to really hammer home the digital side to Spectre, so I wanted to incorporate code in to the piece somehow. The streaks in the previous piece made me think about the Matrix, and how people literally become code, and how their bodies break down into code as they transition from place to place. With this idea, I wanted to make it clear that Spectre was becoming digital, so I am adopting the inspiration from the Matrix.

7. Now, it’s just a matter of messing around with blending modes to find a fitting mode that really sells the digitisation process.

6. I used a really interesting technique to add Spectre into the piece. I used the displace distortion effect on photoshop to distort the text layer based on the shape and shading of Spectre, so the text effectively weaves around it and goes through it simultaneously.

8. I then added bloom and glow to the piece, as to come across as though Spectre’s body is breaking apart and becoming free of its physical form, which I really like. This is the first piece to be made without a single element actually being draw, yet it still fits in with the style for Lifeline Protocols, which I am quite proud of.

Final Lifeline Artwork