Updating The Offering Logo
Not all things age like fine wine, and often art is no different. I started practicing digital art in early 2018 when I found it was one of the best forms of communication when designing a game with other people. Even if one or two people in the group were already proficient artists, being able to effectively communicate design goals the most rudimentary concept art helped streamline production and get things right the first time.
The Offering was my first big undertaking in both a larger team setting and as being one of two artists in the group. We had three weeks to create a vertical slice and then just 2 months to complete the game. For each landscape we photo-bashed references and painted everything in a very chunky, unblended style to make each piece less time consuming. And while I'm proud of our accomplishment and all that working on The Offering taught me, there was one part that bothered me the most: the logo of the Four Wights.
2018 Version
2022 Version
Despite it initially being designed to look as though it could be carved into a tree, the icon of the four Icelandic guardians was held together by shaky lines and an absence of better artistic interpretation. It looked rushed (it was) and drawn by someone with little artistic experience (more or less, at the time). It's haunted me for several years now, and I've always wanted to return to it in a quest for redemption. And finally I have.
2018 Version
2022 Version
Besides the black and white logo, there was also a gold logo of the Four Wights based off of the actual antique coin we used as reference. While it may not be as iconic as the more often used monochrome logo, it was the first ever version of the logo I drew and I felt as though I had something to prove to myself with this. In the past four years I've really come to love painting gold. Having a project where there's gold to paint is an easy motivator. It's a challenge, but it's satisfying when it looks right and it's great practice.
The original drawing is bumpy and pale, lacks shading and smooth lines. Back then I really wanted to make it look embossed with those brown lines, but I was too inexperienced at the time to know the best ways to do so. But now it's been redeemed, and the 2022 version is something I can feel proud of and have no hesitation in showing it off.