Birds of Prey Dev Diary: Key Art and Character Art!
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Community Manager Ted “Mepps” Stone conducted two Dev Diary interviews, one with developer and artist Megan “Megzilla” Cheever about creating the iconic DCUO Birds of Prey Key Art, and with three character artists Glitter, JayHawk, and Jazz who brought to life the character models in game with the transition of the Birds of Prey models into the Rebirth designs.
Learn a lot more about their job, what’s involved and the amount of work it takes to bring art to life in the DC Universe!
Key Art Interview
Let’s start with the basics. What is your role here on the DCUO team and how long have you been at it?
I’m the 2D Artist for DCUO – I handle concepts for our gear suits, our UI (such as the icons and menus), texture support for our environment artists, emblems, and I help out with marketing art - which includes key art! I’ve been helping design for DCUO for about 4.5 years now.
What does it mean to be a 2D Artist? What things do we see that you make?
For concept art, I help give a road map for our 3D artists (character and environment) to help visualize what a prop or gear suit would look like. My job there is to solve any discrepancies between a comic book suit and how our styles are broken up in the game. Translating a 2D comic into 3D is not always as simple as it might look.
My icons, UI, and texture work are pretty straight forward. Sometimes I’ll help make a pattern or do a monitor screen or a poster. My actual in-game handiwork is emblems that players can wear, and I’ve been doing the key art, or promotional art, for episodes since Deluge in Spring 2018.
What tools or software do you use most?
95% of my work is done in Photoshop. For all the previous key art, the art team would work within our UE3 editor to get our DC characters posed and lit to start off with, though that’s not the case for Birds of Prey.
How did you get into the industry and find yourself at Dimensional Ink?
I went to Academy of Art University for art school, which is in San Francisco. I attended GDC in 2014 on a student pass and made sure to go talk to as many studios as I could. Life happened in such a way where I ended up in Austin, TX and one of the studios I kept in touch with was also located there. I got my foot in the door via an internship there, and by expanding my professional network.
One of my friends presented the knowledge that DCUO was looking for a UI artist, I took an art test, and now I rule the second dimension with an iron fist.
Do you have any advice for folks out there considering a career as an artist in the game industry?
Work hard and network. Educate yourself on what a concept artist or illustrator needs to bring to the table and have examples of that in your portfolio. Be open to feedback and have a growth mindset!
Do you have any advice particularly for women looking to break in?
Same as anyone else – work hard, be passionate. Don’t be afraid to speak up or have a voice.
Okay, let’s talk about key art. First of all, what is it and why do we create it anyway? Don’t just say “marketing.”
I like to think of it as our hype piece! Like a movie poster. Something that gets people curious and excited about our upcoming content. The key art is the centerpiece of the marketing material for our episodes, so it needs to convey an idea of what the episode is about and what the overall mood will be.
For example, our Metal episodes had really dark key art. For Metal Part II, I wanted to convey a feeling similar to a Frank Frazetta painting, utilizing the drama of a hero versus a big bad monster-creature. Our Birds of Prey key art is much different – more of a fun and and light tone. It features some of our key DC characters in a girl-band team-up vibe which helps convey some of idea of our story.
We also use the key art for some of our loading screens and I think that extra reminder of our comic roots is enjoyable for everyone.
It’s episode time and the team needs you to do your magic with key art. What's your first step?
When we are getting ready to start key art work, I like to have a meeting with design, marketing, community, and other stakeholders to discuss what we want to convey. What are the key story points, who are our DC characters, what are we trying to say?
Usually we don’t start this process until we are about a month or two out from releasing the episode, since we were utilizing our in-game models, but for Birds of Prey we went full illustration, so we were able to brainstorm together much earlier. It was a really fun and collaborative process.
How much do you refer to the comics directly in this process?
We rely a lot on our own narrative for the storytelling in the key art. For a couple pieces, we’ve done an homage to other comic book covers to give “our spin” on something we thought was very cool. Our Metal Part I key art took inspiration from DC’s Batman Who Laughs comic book cover, and this Birds of Prey key art is very much inspired by a gorgeous DC Batgirl and the Birds of Prey cover by Kamome Shirahama.
With Birds of Prey, there is a different mood going on. What makes it stand out?
This episode is FUN and features completely new refreshes on our major DC characters – doing a “band” style illustration allows for the piece to focus on the DC characters. It is much more subtle storytelling than something like our Superman vs. Doomsday key art, but we are also telling a different story in this episode. The mood comes across as entirely different, and that's the point.
Can you speak to that tone or vibe you were looking to communicate, about the episode itself?
Light-hearted! Teamwork! Funny! They let me draw Isis chewing on cords. :)
You mentioned the Birds of Prey key art is full illustration, which is different than the way some other key art was done. Can you explain the differences?
All previous key art that I have worked on utilized our 3D models set in our actual environments. There were a lot more hands that touched the art – we had environment artists help with the levels and posing our character artists’ models, we had our animator making specific poses, and then I helped composite and fill in any gaps. There is a lot of collaboration among the different disciplines, which is really rewarding. This also means it gets done much quicker!
In the past, we have also had a couple of amazing DC artists do key art for us (Age of Justice, for example) and I thought those turned out super neat. So this time, I asked if I could do an illustration for Birds of Prey.
A lot of the collaborating was done on the front end so we could hammer out the finer details of the background, the poses, etc. I worked with another concept artist here on the characters themselves, since it is always good to have another set of eyes checking your work. A lot more of my time goes into something like this since everything is handcrafted. I referred to our in-game models for some pose help and used a lot of photo reference as well.
I know getting from blank page to final piece has a lot of steps. Can you walk us through the process, and maybe shows us some of the major work-in-progress versions along the way?
Sure, here goes!
These were my first batch of thumbnails. I thought it would be cute to explore the selfie idea with this team. I could really ham up Harley with duck face or very expressive posing, and I could lean into Huntress being reluctant and DARK in the background.
It was overall a little too silly for what we wanted for this particular key art. I only had one action sketch since that wasn’t really what we were going for, but I wanted to throw it out there just to see. Since Black Canary is a singer in the comics, I liked the idea of “GIRL BAND” for this set of characters. Using the speakers as the main environment element allowed us to go more pin-up and “graphic design” rather than a literal location.
After much discussion, we went with #6 from thumbnails. The next part was for me to flesh out the sketch a little bit and make sure this was really the direction we wanted to go, as well as address any concerns. We liked the monitors from Kamome Shirahama, so I went ahead and composed those here. At this point, we sent this version to DC to get approval with this direction.
This is an example of me sending my linework to one of the other artists. I sent him WIPs of everyone when I was able – this is a great of example of how small changes can really make the difference. Here I thought Poison Ivy’s shoulders were stronger than I wanted and she was overall a little too “tough” – his changes of softening the shape of the shoulder and for the hair to drape over the ear really helped soften her look.
Here is an updated version of the color rough. I had painted in Harley and some of Poison Ivy, and this was another progress check for our internal team and with DC. Here you can see the refined linework and drawing for all the characters and background. I think characters are much more interesting to draw, so I made sure I blocked in my background and got that linework done before jumping into painting characters. Between here and the final, it’s just rendering out everyone.
Looking at this completed and now out there for everyone to see, where does your artist's eye go when you look at it? Walk us through the piece.
Harley is our bright, center of the piece – I think she definitely has the loudest personality and probably the goofiest, so by personality contrast and literal contrast, she stands out the most.
I wanted everyone to have their personality show through in their pose and placement. Poison Ivy is our femme fatale seductress, Black Canary is cool and badass, and Huntress is a little grumpy about being thrown into the girl gang, so she’s hanging in the back but also still here to be part of the group.
Oracle’s role is less front-line punchy, so I have her represented through her persona and the monitors. We weren’t confident that Catwoman could fit into this particular composition, and throwing Isis (the kitty) in created an opportunity for some humor.
Are there certain elements or choices that stand out to you as an artist that an average looker-at-art like me probably wouldn't directly notice or have the vocabulary for?
From a technical standpoint, it was interesting to separate the DC characters from the background since there is a lot going on. Then, I had to get them to read separately from the speakers themselves. There was a balancing act of keeping an appropriate visual hierarchy (which means my focal point is the characters, secondary is the background, and Isis is my third read).
Harley is very light and dark so by value contrast she naturally stands out the most. The background is relatively low contrast to not take focus away from them. There is also a vignette effect, which means I have the edges of the picture darker to guide your eye towards the center.
Are there any elements that surprised you or ended up very different than you expected by the end?
I did all the characters separately and first, which I’m not sure was the best solution to putting this piece together. The most difficult part of this was trying to get everyone to look cohesive and in the same space.
A couple of my sketches had Black Canary as a ginormous, giant woman since it is a little harder for me to tell proportions when someone is sitting, and I think I had to shrink Poison Ivy down a couple times. Harley also had some leg surgeries throughout the process. It happens!
I haven’t done very many pieces with multiple DC characters so this was an interesting learning experience. I’m definitely going to ask other artists what they would’ve done differently!
Finally, just in your own response looking at this art finished, what comes up? is there something you are most proud of here?
It means a lot to me that the team was so supportive of going this route with full illustration and just how excited about this project everyone was the whole way. And now I’m geeking out seeing the Birds of Prey art on sites like PlayStation’s Twitter. SO COOL!
One more big thank-you to Megan for taking the time to walk us through key art today. We hope you have enjoyed the little look behind the scenes.
If you have questions for Megan, she will be able to answer some of them over on the official DCUO forums, or you can find her on Twitter @megillakitty.
Character Art Interview
Welcome, everyone. Starting with the basics, can you tell us what your roles are and how long have you been on the team?
Glitter: Hey ya’ll, I’m Glitter. I’ve been a Character Artist working in the shadows on DCUO for over four years now. (No really, we keep it dark on the art side, so our computers don’t get glare while we work. It’s like the Batcave. With snacks.)
We work on everything from player gear styles to hair to NPCs. We’re generally shy, but we’ll do our best to answer!
Jazz: Hi Hi, I’m Jazz. I am also a Character Artist here on DCUO. I’ve just started and only have a couple of months under my belt here. There is still a lot for me to learn, but I do my best to help everyone out.
JayHawk: Hello! I’m Jayhawk and I’ve been a Character Artist on DCUO for almost 4 years, as well. Time flies.
What does it mean to be a Character Artist? What things do we see that you make?
Glitter: Being a Character Artist is a very cool job, but it’s also a lot of multitasking and meticulous detail-oriented work. We sculpt, retopologize, UV map, bake, create textures, paint, skin weights, use databases, test, critique, troubleshoot constantly, fix bugs, and sometimes even work to concept what we are making - all while trying to stay true to the comics.
I’ve made a lot of things, but some that come to mind are the Shim’Tar Regalia, Starro, the Tattered Cape, and the Batman Who Laughs. Most recently, I also made Black Canary and Harley Quinn. I’m so excited to see them in game!
Jazz: For me, being a Character Artist means being part of a story. I’ve always loved video games and I become mesmerized by the characters and stories of the many different games I’ve played. To me, creating the characters allows me to be a part of that big story that they are in, and its very exciting.
As far as what I make that's out now, I made the Skeleton form change for the past Halloween event. That was really fun. Other than that, I help by taking care of player gear, integrating completed work into the game, and texturing. The best way I can help is to do what I can and learn along the way.
JayHawk: In gaming, “Character Artist” usually means a 3D modeler who builds character-related assets. Everything from NPCs to the equipment you put on your toons to the monsters and minions you fight. If it has a face and moves around, we probably had something to do with it.
What tools or software do you use most?
Glitter: Oh dear, so many. In fact, we often have them all up at the same time to switch between them all. The ones we use most are Maya, Zbrush, 3Dcoat, Photoshop, xNormal, and Unreal.
How did you get into the industry and find yourself at Dimensional Ink?
Glitter: I was super lucky. [Editor's Note: I think we all feel this way.] I was given the opportunity to be an intern here while still in school. They needed an extra hand, so when my internship ended I was offered a job! My coworkers were very kind and helped me a lot.✨
Jazz: I also feel lucky to have ended up here. It was really hard breaking in and getting anyone to look at my portfolio, but I’m glad the hard work paid off.
JayHawk: I got my first job in gaming when I was still in college. I was working at a small indie studio here in Austin when a friend told me about a position that was open at Dimensional Ink. I really love DC and especially the DC characters, so I was really interested in working on DCUO. I showed the character team my portfolio, did an interview, and kablam! …not a very exciting story, I guess, that's just kind of how it usually happens. But it was extremely exciting for me. It’s pretty common to find out about fun opportunities from people you used to work with.
Do you have any advice for folks out there considering a career as an artist in the game industry?
Glitter: Like JayHawk was saying, make friends in the industry and stay connected. Constantly get critiques on your portfolio. It can be very difficult as an artist to get into the industry. Networking and keeping your portfolio up to date and constantly reviewed by professionals is your best bet. Also, it does take some luck, but it will happen if you keep at it.
Jazz: I agree with Glitter's advice. Networking and constantly working on your portfolio is key. For someone that had a hard time recently getting a job, just never give up. You’ll have your ups and you’ll have a lot a lows, but if this is the path you want to take then do things that keep that passion alive and keep moving forward. Play video games, look at the very top artists that you follow and analyze their work. Build a standard or goal you want to achieve and shoot for it. Keep trying and keep that inspiration going.
JayHawk: Along with networking and working on your portfolio, I‘d like to add that being an artist who loves games isn’t the same thing as being a game artist. I’ve met some amazing artists who have tried to get their start in the industry but struggle because they aren’t in love with the type of work we do.
It takes a lot of passion to maintain the skills we need to do our job, a lot of work in a ton of different tools, and it really is a special process creating in this 3D space. So learn early what sort of daily tasks you would end up doing in your dream position and make sure that sounds like something you would actually want to do all day every day. If you know you’d love it then get that portfolio together!
Okay, let’s talk about creating iconic DC characters and especially about upgrading existing ones. What’s the first step when this lands on your plates?
Glitter: Well, first our creative director and the designers look to see what NPCs will be needed for the content - how many and how iconic they are can determine how we budget our time. The team pitches ideas and we get DC’s approval on the character concepts before we get started on making them.
Time is a huge obstacle in how many refreshes or repaints or new characters we can make in the cycle for new content or a new episode. Making a new NPC can take up to 18 days depending on the complexity and problems that sometimes arise.
Once we figure out the time we have, internally we put together a lot of DC reference and real-world reference to help us interpret the comics in a 3D space. Sometimes we have Megzilla (2D Artist) make us a concept and other times we work straight from the comic reference. It varies each time and depends on what specifically we are making.
A new DC character or upgrade usually gets the whole works: concept, comic reference, and real-world inspiration.
How much do you reference the comics directly?
Glitter: All. The. Time. Comics are our main reference and source, but again we also look for real references to help us interpret what the 2D shapes could look like in 3D. It often doesn’t translate very well, because artists for the comics have very different priorities and requirements. They don't necessarily need to care what a costume looks like from every angle, and they definitely don't have to worry about physics in a 3D space. So, we also improvise a lot.
With Birds of Prey, we have five upgraded DC characters in Black Canary, The Huntress, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Catwoman. How did you manage to tackle all of these for the same episode?
Glitter: We try to get started months and months in advance of the episode and also to spread out the work between us all. I actually ended up making Black Canary and Harley Quinn for this round. We sometimes can outsource part of the process, and in this case we were able to send Harley’s gear out so that I could squeeze in refreshing Catwoman. I didn’t sculpt Poison Ivy, our previous senior artist did a beautiful job sculpting her, but I put her together and textured her for this episode. So, I guess she is my step-daughter?
Iconic DC characters are not the whole job, though. For Birds of Prey, I also worked on various minions and other NPCs for the content, while JayHawk created the Oracle gear, while Jazz worked on texturing and integrating The Huntress gear, and so on. Teamwork!
For even one of these DC characters, I know there must be a ton of steps getting from comic book inspiration to the character walking around in a 3D space in the game. Can you take us through the process, and maybe shows us some of the major WIP versions along the way?
Glitter: There are many, many steps to getting a character in game, but to simplify I will use Black Canary.
Concept: Either DC will approve a comic reference or Megzilla makes one for us. For Black Canary I used comic reference that was approved and also took a little bit of artistic liberty to interpret her design.
Sculpting: There were many iterations of this character. Internally in our character pit we give feedback, as well as getting critiques from our creative director as we work. Sculpting is what it sounds like, shaping the character in the 3D space.
Getting it into the game: Several technical steps you can see [above]!
How do you approach the new version of a DC character, in terms of tone and feel?
Glitter: For Black Canary, her look and attitude in the comics has really evolved since we launched. She's even bigger and well-known, and we wanted to bring all of that evolution into our version in the game.
I really wanted to make her with a punk/rock feel, and a bit more modern. I also interpreted the reference with more of a rock-ish feel to her clothes (like the studs and spiky jacket shoulders), so she could have a bit more detail to her design. Her makeup in the comics is a bit old school, so we ended up with more of a smoky eye and a nude lip – which I really love. I’m very envious, every time I attempt a smoky eye I just look like a raccoon.
Harley Quinn was also a fun challenge – it was important to keep her very close to the Rebirth comic reference, but also I wanted to make sure that she was fun and cute with her style and hair. Sculpting her pigtails was super fun and I think that iconic pink/blue ombre she has really gives her that modern feel.
Are there certain elements or choices that stand out to you as an artist that an average looker-at-art like me probably wouldn't directly notice or have the vocabulary for?
Glitter: There are so many technical hurdles to work through. Player gear has way more technical hurdles considering all the pieces of gear in a full set, how many thousands of styles we have and will make in the future, and how they all have to work together since the player can choose any combination. NPCs have their own hurdles, especially in matching the reference and our vision.
We have to determine clothes and design that will work with our animations and really think about how things will bend and move. We have (somewhat) limited cloth physics, so we are unable to do a lot of things without getting into a lot of clipping. If the low poly phase of making the NPC has issues it can lead to texturing and skinning problems later in our process. It’s a fun and challenging system to troubleshoot through and changes all the time depending on the character design.
JayHawk: Looking at a piece of comic art and interpreting how lighting should react with the surface of a character’s costumes is a huge part of creating a character for a game. A hero could be wearing a cool set of armor in a comic book but what is that armor made of? Is it shiny? Is it reflective? Is it brand new or should we add dirt and scratches? How might it look in a dark cave compared to how might it look in bright and sunny Metropolis? When you forget this step you end up with a character who looks flat and doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the characters in game.
This was important when I was working on Oracle’s robot. The comic art made it look like she was made of metal, but what kind of metal? Then on top of that parts of her needed to glow, so how does the metal react to that glowing? It took some experimenting to get her to look right.
Are there any elements that surprised you or ended up very different than you expected by the end?
Glitter: I’m surprised how many players want Black Canary’s jacket! Okay, not really that surprised. I also would like it myself in real life.
Finally, just in your own response looking at these characters finished and in-game, what comes up? Is there something you are most proud of here?
Glitter: I really love seeing all the NPCs I worked on in game all together in our content, shoulder to shoulder. It’s really cool to see them all together. I also was really happy Megzilla and I were able to get emblems slots onto the Harley gear – hopefully we can do more gear sets with this option in the future!
JayHawk: I grew up obsessed with DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains as a kid, so when I finish a character it really feels like I’m getting to be a part of this thing that’s had a big impact on me my whole life. And seeing our players get as excited as me makes it even better. It's a shared experience that ends up being really special.
Thanks again to Glitter, Jazz, and JayHawk for joining us today, and thank you for getting back to work real quick-like so we can have more awesome DC characters and gear soon.