As a miniature painter, the WoW textures always looked like they were done by a mini painter or someone who understood miniature painting. Look at high end heavy metal or comic-book style minis and you'll see the a lot of the same dramatic edge highlights, texturing, and contrast. Love it.
since you worked on both league and warcraft, would be interested to see how those styles differ. it seems like its subtle, but there's definitely a difference (I just cant tell)
League has more Anime/Manga influence, which Blizzard hated about my work, but Riot loved. However, once Overwatch was a success, they hired me back on contract to contribute to that.
Thanks for sharing. I have always loves the blizzard style, and have been collecting reference and books of the art work for a while to study and breakdown when I get some free time, but you just gave me a jump start and did most of the work! Keep it up
I've been looking a video like this for the longest time!! I'd love to watch more videos about the principles of good stylization and shape design aimed to get that sort of look , specially in environment design!
I love the artstyle between your style and Joe Madureira. Some of Glenn Rane. Totally awesome, World of Warcraft and now some of League of Legends/Arcane, has definitely shape up all my art!
i remember when i was starting digital art in 2017, i always watched your sketchbook pro videos because it was always so satisfying to just watch and learn while i was beginning , i think nowadays i definetly find myself inspired by the painterly art you make, i hope one day to do game design and concept art, keep it up man
"Who would hold that?! I've been in some discord groups where I got asked this question, and when I said same as you did "it doesn't matter" it's stylized . This specific lady got so mad.😆
I always liked Darksiders' (2010) graphic style, because it seemed a slightly more realistic version of WoW style which alway looked a bit too potato-ey for my taste, for my lack of a better word. Joe "Mad" Madureira really did a great job on it ant part 1 is still my favourite.
Darksiders was the first (and AFAIK, only) game that somewhat felt like Blizzard, without being Blizzard. And they are still different enough to be clearly different.
The new grease pencil in Blender can do some of this stuff so easily with modifiers. You should check some of the animations people make with it and even still art.
This style shape-wise was Mastered in the Secret Of the Monkey Island, IMO Monkey Island series is probably one of the best-designed and drawn games ever made, the legacy is huge. The artist used copic markers back then and they scanned backgrounds. Anyway, great video, very informative
actually a good summary of blizzard's artstyle comes down to its origin: copying warhammer minis. When designing a character, can i cast it in resin in ~1:28 scale? a scroll needs to be thick, otherwise it will break. all the details need to be chunky and exaggerated, otherwise it will be hard to cast and not very visible in this scale. Same goes for the textures, games have lighting models, but minis have specular highlights that are handpainted
One thing I learn from Blizzard art style is stop overthinking bout everything, just start to make cool stuff Btw nice style dude, especially your hair, image change? :3
This is an interesting topic... usually when I look up "stylized" art style stuff, I end up seeing 90% WoW stuff, where then again some people might say "this isn't really original, it's just WoW". I'm having a hard time finding stylized styles that are not typical WoW style xD
Every studio has an art language they can be distilled down to. Always felt League of Legends pulled a lot of its design principles from World of Warcraft
If you played WoW for even an hour, you would never think "who would hold that?" or "How does that even work" you can throw logic out the window. I love their art style, so do many others. It ages well and the goofy over the top art style means you can make things actually unrealistically cool.
I'm not the biggest fan of Blizz style, though that's partially due to overexposure from the innumerable styles that have been inspired by it. But one precursor to it seems to be the Joe Mad's Battle Chasers approach combined with WH Fantasy subject matter.
Cool vid, but "Nobody else paints like this, nobody else textures their models like this" That's a 2005 take. From 'Torchlight II' to 'Wildstar', Blizzard style knockoffs have been common since WoW took the market by storm.
epic hair bro and yeah, not a single developer managed to make as epic art as blizzard, its actually main reason why World Of Warcraft still king of all times and not going to be dethroned any time.
@@nef36 actually its mainly hand painted art direction allowed first mmorpg to be playable on all computers without lags or unpleasant graphics. It is the main reason why WoW became popular. When other mmos looked like trash, WoW looked like gold. Gameplay wise WoW had super-silky smooth action, which made gamers into addicts.
Is there a way I can get the My ULTRA SECRET Watercolor Techniques Photoshop tutorial? I thought it was included when I bought Trent's ULTIMATE BRUSHES COLLECTION. The thumbnail was a little misleading. ^^;
Blizzard had much better art before the over stylistic cartoonish look demonstrated in this video. I could page hours through their old manuals from Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo2, Warcraft 2. Then around Warcraft 3 they went all in on the cartoonish style
I don't really agree that War3 went full on the cartoonish/Disney style. A lot of the art still has this epic feel and looks more solid/hard and unique. The modern art of blizzard looks really goofy, soft and bland.
Blizzard making some of the most unrealistic cumbersome goofy weapons ever. They haven’t adapted since the beginning and to be honest the art style got old through the years. Now every sword and armor looks the same.
Yeah pretty much, and to me their art style is so generic looking. Guy says no one else does this art style, but I see it all over the place. I'm tired of it.
The glut of ridiculous looking paddle swords is why I never play melee classes. Vanilla had plenty of normal looking swords but now its all about making things as cartoony and stylized as possible.
It's just a generic cartoonish style. When they made diablo 3 look like a cartoonish parody I was very disappointed. Thankfully D2 resurrected and D4 looks good.
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
I like that even your hair has Blizzard shape language.
Hair looks great Trent. And so does your art! (This guy's wearin a hat 👒 this guy...)
Loooool 💀😂
"Who would hold that?!"
"It. Doesn't. Matter."
I love it.
As a miniature painter, the WoW textures always looked like they were done by a mini painter or someone who understood miniature painting. Look at high end heavy metal or comic-book style minis and you'll see the a lot of the same dramatic edge highlights, texturing, and contrast. Love it.
I love your hair.
Yeeee
@Herrgommel1 you have bad taste lol
@@puppethound You have shitty opinions.
He even chunkafied the haircut, very nice touch
since you worked on both league and warcraft, would be interested to see how those styles differ. it seems like its subtle, but there's definitely a difference (I just cant tell)
League has more Anime/Manga influence, which Blizzard hated about my work, but Riot loved. However, once Overwatch was a success, they hired me back on contract to contribute to that.
They rejected anime art, only to come back to it lol
/j
Thanks for sharing. I have always loves the blizzard style, and have been collecting reference and books of the art work for a while to study and breakdown when I get some free time, but you just gave me a jump start and did most of the work! Keep it up
I've always loved and adored Blizzard's art style. Thanks for the video!
I've been looking a video like this for the longest time!! I'd love to watch more videos about the principles of good stylization and shape design aimed to get that sort of look , specially in environment design!
I love the artstyle between your style and Joe Madureira. Some of Glenn Rane. Totally awesome, World of Warcraft and now some of League of Legends/Arcane, has definitely shape up all my art!
i remember when i was starting digital art in 2017, i always watched your sketchbook pro videos because it was always so satisfying to just watch and learn while i was beginning , i think nowadays i definetly find myself inspired by the painterly art you make, i hope one day to do game design and concept art, keep it up man
"Who would hold that?!
I've been in some discord groups where I got asked this question, and when I said same as you did "it doesn't matter" it's stylized . This specific lady got so mad.😆
I always liked Darksiders' (2010) graphic style, because it seemed a slightly more realistic version of WoW style which alway looked a bit too potato-ey for my taste, for my lack of a better word. Joe "Mad" Madureira really did a great job on it ant part 1 is still my favourite.
Darksiders was the first (and AFAIK, only) game that somewhat felt like Blizzard, without being Blizzard. And they are still different enough to be clearly different.
The new grease pencil in Blender can do some of this stuff so easily with modifiers. You should check some of the animations people make with it and even still art.
Loving the Creed cut
This style shape-wise was Mastered in the Secret Of the Monkey Island, IMO Monkey Island series is probably one of the best-designed and drawn games ever made, the legacy is huge. The artist used copic markers back then and they scanned backgrounds. Anyway, great video, very informative
actually a good summary of blizzard's artstyle comes down to its origin: copying warhammer minis. When designing a character, can i cast it in resin in ~1:28 scale? a scroll needs to be thick, otherwise it will break. all the details need to be chunky and exaggerated, otherwise it will be hard to cast and not very visible in this scale. Same goes for the textures, games have lighting models, but minis have specular highlights that are handpainted
Oh wow! This is so cool! Thanks for the neat insights, man.
One thing I learn from Blizzard art style is stop overthinking bout everything, just start to make cool stuff
Btw nice style dude, especially your hair, image change? :3
Chunkify? I didn't know I was blizzard style
Yeah, can't get away without talking about blizzards Warcraft shoulders either. Those things can be absolutely massive.
This is an interesting topic... usually when I look up "stylized" art style stuff, I end up seeing 90% WoW stuff, where then again some people might say "this isn't really original, it's just WoW".
I'm having a hard time finding stylized styles that are not typical WoW style xD
I always loved the art style of the Luigi’s mansion games
That stone slab hack is OP
I am on my handpainted journey. The timing of this video and finding this channel is a sign
Still such a underrated and useful Channel.
PS: Cant wait to play Twilight Monk!
Ironic that "no balls" is the opposite of having no balls in your design.
Straight out of the textbooks of 80s fantasy comics.
Every studio has an art language they can be distilled down to. Always felt League of Legends pulled a lot of its design principles from World of Warcraft
Since you mentioned it in this video, would you be able to do a Diablo painting style tricks video?
"Who would hold that?"
I mean... Have you seen the type of guys Samwise draws? xD
The secret is breaking the symmetry of the geometryc figures, look at the buildings in world of warcraft
Joe madureira kinda reminds me wow/hearthstone art
Darksiders have much in common with wow when it comes to aesthetic
Dude even applied that style guide to his beard.
Very curious and so simple. Thanks for the tips!
0:34 ah yeah, Big Noodle Too Oblique. Aka The Overwatch text font.
If you played WoW for even an hour, you would never think "who would hold that?" or "How does that even work" you can throw logic out the window. I love their art style, so do many others. It ages well and the goofy over the top art style means you can make things actually unrealistically cool.
legendary video for only being 7 mins.
thank you sir,i needed this
just one to point out that this is also the foundation of your style Trent, so I would say in a way you gave the blizzard this style.
I'm not the biggest fan of Blizz style, though that's partially due to overexposure from the innumerable styles that have been inspired by it. But one precursor to it seems to be the Joe Mad's Battle Chasers approach combined with WH Fantasy subject matter.
Thank you, really good and helpful video!
That poison bottle's curves have me acting unwise.
The hair adds alot of edge, time to go hard on the branding
When I scrolled down the comments, I had the video still playing and you sometimes sounded like Mordecai from Regular Show :D
So this is why I'm never getting a faithful update to the Warblade of Caer Darrow.
Thank u for sharing! ❤
Truly appreciated sir!
The art style has almost become a parody of itself in modern WoW. Look at frostmourne and then look at the huge inflated balloon swords we get now
How did you do that symmetrically??? Are you working in Photoshop?
He works in Ps, but any decent drawing app will have a symmetry tool
Wow ive been using google images as textures for years i had no idea professionals also did that :D
Forget painting. I need a hair style guide from you
Cool vid, but "Nobody else paints like this, nobody else textures their models like this"
That's a 2005 take. From 'Torchlight II' to 'Wildstar', Blizzard style knockoffs have been common since WoW took the market by storm.
epic hair bro and yeah, not a single developer managed to make as epic art as blizzard, its actually main reason why World Of Warcraft still king of all times and not going to be dethroned any time.
Other games have art either on par with or close to as good as WoW's art, art direction is not the only thing thr game has going for it lmao
@@nef36 actually its mainly hand painted art direction allowed first mmorpg to be playable on all computers without lags or unpleasant graphics. It is the main reason why WoW became popular. When other mmos looked like trash, WoW looked like gold. Gameplay wise WoW had super-silky smooth action, which made gamers into addicts.
When I had this type of hair my classmates called me pidgeot 😢
Awesome vid, thank you!
Is there a way I can get the My ULTRA SECRET Watercolor Techniques Photoshop tutorial? I thought it was included when I bought Trent's ULTIMATE BRUSHES COLLECTION. The thumbnail was a little misleading. ^^;
Trent, you're the best
One for the old League of legends style as well?
Hope Trent is legally allowed to make this vid 😅
2:55 - that is the thickest map I have ever seen. How would someone be able to even roll/unroll it?
"no balls"
my brain:
me: don't
Ty master❤
Hey man, I saw a guitar behind, have you posted some music? what do you like to play?
I love this! Awesome Tutorial. ((KABLAMO!!) Thanks, Trent!!!
BLIzzard is no more blizard and we can see that they lost their unique artstyle with overwatch 2 hope you correct me if i m wrong here
Looks like they paint heavy metal style from WH games workshop.
Interesting tip!
Blizzard had much better art before the over stylistic cartoonish look demonstrated in this video. I could page hours through their old manuals from Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo2, Warcraft 2. Then around Warcraft 3 they went all in on the cartoonish style
I don't really agree that War3 went full on the cartoonish/Disney style. A lot of the art still has this epic feel and looks more solid/hard and unique. The modern art of blizzard looks really goofy, soft and bland.
The map is probably drawn on leather.
Larger shoulder pads.
Blizzard = No Balls.
Here at 10k views, before it becomes your most watched video on the channel
Dude what PC build do you use my Photoshop is lagging as hell.
NO BALLS!
"no balls"
Erm...Yeah...I'm actually way ahead of you on that one...
Yes I too have no balls in my art.
"no balls" haha
Blizzard making some of the most unrealistic cumbersome goofy weapons ever. They haven’t adapted since the beginning and to be honest the art style got old through the years. Now every sword and armor looks the same.
Yeah pretty much, and to me their art style is so generic looking. Guy says no one else does this art style, but I see it all over the place. I'm tired of it.
@ lots of copycats wanted a piece of the pie. Not sure how well Blizzard is doing these days. Jumped off that train years ago.
The glut of ridiculous looking paddle swords is why I never play melee classes. Vanilla had plenty of normal looking swords but now its all about making things as cartoony and stylized as possible.
@ yeah it got old fast.
Blizzard fucked up Warcraft 3 reforged so bad they're using AI to make their upscaled icons and textures. SAD
Sadly this video highlights why I don't like most blizzard art now days. It just makes me miss Sons of the Storm art.
it's just exaggerating shapes, it's not exactly a secret when you can see it with the naked eye. all stylized games do this in different ways
Cool video
Very interesting.
It's just a generic cartoonish style. When they made diablo 3 look like a cartoonish parody I was very disappointed. Thankfully D2 resurrected and D4 looks good.
does the hair need to be a little bit extra too?? :P
it feels illegal to watch this for free
Call me a bummer, but 90s Blizzard style was much more realistic than this :P
I don't think realism is their art style (at least not anymore), and it doesn't have to be realism to be good art.
Hellyea you look like a viking
isn't this a company secret?
NO BALLS
WOW art is crap. i prefer old Games Workshop "Warhammer" style.
No balls!!!
heheh WoW factor.
first
Your hair is doing warcraft style, doesn't make sense, but is pretty epic.
I have no thoughts about his hair… but I enjoyed the video