PORTFOLIO
Welcome to my portfolio! Below is a limited collection of my work—due to privacy restrictions, some of my most recent work is not available to share publicly. Please reach out to me at [email protected] for a private link.
FINAL STAND: RAGNAROK
Final Stand Ragnarok is a Co-Op Hero Action-Slasher game that was released in Early Access in March of 2024. During my work on the game, I have created everything from character concepts and costume designs, enemy NPC concepts, and fully developed illustrations like the game’s main promotional art above, to fully modeled and textured 3D character and weapon models for in-game use (see the 3D Modeling section below).
CHARACTER DESIGN
One of my main tasks for FSR was to design new character skins for existing characters. The Jotunn outfit set was a great opportunity to test a more cohesive simplistic aesthetic in the game. Each character was distilled down to a basic color scheme, while ornamental detail and chunky silhouettes took the center stage.
To create the Champion Elite Outfits above, I had to reference the preexisting main champion model and find ways to level it up and improve the look while retaining the general aesthetic of the older model. I also had to ensure that the new geometry wouldn’t create problems when it came time to animate.
I have had the opportunity to create a variety of illustrations for the game as well, including this battle scene which became the game’s main loading screen.
CARTHALON
As a brand new playable character, Carthalon went through many different explorations and iterations of development to hone in on the final idea. Mapping him on to existing rigs and animations also created strict limitations on proportion, costume, and weapon design. I worked closely with our animation team and 3D modeler to make sure that the concept would fit these limitations.
To match the aesthetic of the other characters, I created a highly detailed 2D concept that was projected onto the mesh by the 3D artist, Jon,. We worked closely together during the development process, during which I was able to make some direct edits to the mesh and materials in Zbrush and Substance Painter.
ENEMY NPCS
Sometimes more complex character designs require some and VFX explorations. The Dead Caller had several different abilities that needed to be visually communicated to the player in unique ways.
3D MODELING
In recent years, I have had the opportunity to expand beyond my role as a concept artist and immerse myself in the workflow of 3D modeling for in game assets using Zbrush, Blender, and Substance Painter. Not only has this influenced and improved the way I approach 2D art, but it has deepened by understanding of the overall production pipeline, including everything from concepting to sculpting, retopoligizing and UV mapping, texturing, and even rigging and animation.
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FSR: CHAMPION SKINS
One of the most interesting challenges while working on Final Stand: Ragnarok has been occasionally trading my concept artist hat for that of a 3D modeler. I modeled and textured the following outfits as skins for playable characters, based on concepts from another artist.
Aella Beach Skin — concept by David Szilagyi, pose by Sandra Pavulaan.
Gwen Beach Skin — concept by David Szilagyi, pose by Sandra Pavulaan.
Bjorn – Raven Axe — concept by David Szilagyi.
ALICE
Among the many exciting things I’ve explored with 3D modeling are working with basic animations and cloth physics in Blender. For this project, I used one of my favorite moments from Resident Evil (2002) as a way to explore this workflow. The models were sculpted and textured from scratch, then linked to a basic rig and set of animations from Mixamo. I then modified the animations and weighting and added real-time cloth physics to create this rendered animation.
Alice from Resident Evil (2002)
DEMON PREDATOR
In addition to working with cloth physics and modifying pre-existing animations, I have also explored creating my own animations from scratch in Blender. The following scene was modeled in Zbrush, retopologized and UV mapped in Blender, textured in Substance Painter, then rigged and animated in Blender.
For this scene I also experimented with using camera animations, depth of field, and volumetric lighting to create a more immersive viewing experience.
OTHER CONCEPT ART
Over many years of freelance work, I’ve contributed to a variety of different projects, many of which have required visual development of some key concepts, characters, environments, and so on. Below is a selection of some of these works for various projects, sorted by the following categories.
CHARACTERS
Creating compelling characters requires a thorough understanding of their background. For each character, I am building upon extensive briefs and research, everything from the historical roots of the culture, to a character’s demeanor, story arc, and relationships.
Concept art for A Viper in the Court.
The pose or silhouette of a character is one of the most important expressions of their personality. It must be immediately readable and convey the character’s essence in their body language. That’s why the first exploration of any character begins with pose variations.
MECHANICAL
The most important question I ask myself when designing something mechanical is this: how does it work? This isn’t something that comes right away, but rather an exploration that evolves with the development of the art itself. With every new detail, I have to ask myself how it will affect the function as well as the form.
ENVIRONMENTS
The goal with environment concept art is not just to paint a pretty vista—it’s to provide a window into the experience of the characters in that world. Every element should tell a story about the people who live there, what their lifestyle is, and the history of the landscape.
I want to show exactly how the viewer can navigate through this environment and what they will encounter along the way. Usually I create some sort of visuall pathway so the viewer can envision themselves moving through the piece.
It’s also essential to fully develop every asset that a character can expect to find in that space. Everything from trees to rocks and important landmarks should be carefully thought out and designed to match the rest of the scene.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Here you’ll find a sample collection of illustrations that I’ve completed over the years from various independent projects.
This concludes the portfolio tour! If you would like to return to a specific section, use the navigation above.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to send me a message at [email protected].
Cheers,
Eben