FINAL FANTASY XIV VISUAL & CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH
Looking at the actual renders found inside the game itself, and the promotional material provided it’s a good source for inspiration when it comes to designing a gear set which would fit into the world of Final Fantasy XIV. What I notice with a lot of these designs is the amount of detail, the little bits of armour and accessories which has pretty much become a staple with the franchise at large. It’s interesting to see the difference between the Mage gear and the Disciple of War gear. Since the brief itself asks me to design a Casting gear I will mainly focus on looking at what kind of gear is already in the game and go from there. What I also need to consider is how the gear would work in game, with the programming and clipping and so on. Seeing how the initial concept art translates into the CG models is really fascinating and helpful overall as well.
From CG renders to the actual concept art for a lot of the gear, especially for Stormblood. This is the kind of layout that I would have to create for my own designs, with a fully detailed front and back with possible notes about the design itself. Looking at these examples of the concept art used and the individual character sheets is really helpful in regards to how I may layout and go about presenting my own designs. Thankfully the team at Final Fantasy XIV don’t mind sharing their process, they have had livestreams in the past where the creators and designers speak about what the thought process is for designing specific gear sets.
For aesthetic influences I’ve been looking at a favourite of mine, who just happens to have worked on Final Fantasy XIV as a key concept artist and character designer. Akihiko’s designs have always been inspiring, considering how fluidly he uses colour and expression in all of his work. He is also a famously traditional artist, which has always been treasured above a sea of digital artists. Specifically, his work on Final Fantasy at large has been a big influence and tells me a lot about the kind of aesthetic most of these games aim for.
Another concept artist and character designer who has worked on Final Fantasy. Although he hasn’t worked on Final Fantasy XIV specifically, his character designs and the amount of detail he puts into specific characters is a good start. It’s interesting to see different artists work on the same project, or franchise overall. Final Fantasy has always had a specific kind of aesthetic when it comes to their colourful casts of characters. Roberto in particular has a lot of shape, colour and dynamics in his designs.