3:06 PM: There are 4 people on the world design team, and another 7 artists that work creating the physical zones. They use mostly pressure-sensitive Wacom tablets to work interactively.
3:07 PM: The zone design process. First there is a big brainstorming meeting takes place where anyone can come and talk about every aspect of the zone. After that, an Illustrator map is made that determines the zone's size, its mobs, its basic details and how it interacts with the zones around it. The next step is an internal Zone Editor layout, which creates a very basic 3D version of the zone in which devs can run around. Only at this point does the detailed concept art produced. This art functions as a "road maps" for the colors and atmosphere of the zone. Tilesets come next. These tilesets make up the repeating textures of the world, mostly its ground and basic elements.
3:10 PM: Trees are very important. The redwoods in Grizzly Hills, for example, give the zone its basic look.
3:11 PM: Once everything to do with the "look" is finalized, then the designers get down to actually building and placing the assets. (An example of working with a basic World Editing programs is shown. It promptly crashes.)
3:12 PM: Everything in the exterior world is hand-painted and hand-placed by individual members of the team. Very little is done procedurally. (Credit screen for the game artists is shown.) Only recently have they split up the art teams and made a very specialized world art team.
3:14 PM: The character design team works on all character/armor/weapon art.
3:15 PM: The creature design process. The Character team does all the work from model to texture to animation and implementation. First the model mesh is created, and then the texture is mapped on and checked in a previewer. The textured model is previewed in-game with lighting before final approval.
Concept art for creatures also serves as a "road map". However, it is often done first and everything from the model to the animations are based on it. (An example of a creature in each step of development is shown.)
3:17 PM: All creatures and items for them are made in a variety of color variations. Textures are often done with a lot of iterations to play up certain elements of light, shadow, and expression.
3:18 PM: Concepting is sped up greatly by work done in other departments. Cinematics, for example, really help establish how large certain mobs should be and how they should be lit and textured.
3:19 PM: Some examples of new Wrath models are shown. New wrath mounts, including siege weapons with multiple seats. "Dynamic anatomy." The anatomy of a creature and how it is put togetehr plays into the creature's personality.
3:20: Armor system. Armor is textured all the way around in 3D. Armor also has a lot of texture variation produced. Textures are often created with "themes" that are recognizable even if you are only wqearing a few different pieces.
3:21 PM: New weapon examples shown. Weapons often get a very quick paint job to start with and then are refined as they are seen with various player models and armor types. Using different painted materials (stone, metal, bone, etc) can lend weapons a totally different look, even if they use the same model.
3:23 PM: Creatures are textured in the very same way as player characters. They can wear all the same kinds of gear, thought they often have their own unique looks or color combinations. Taunka and Tuskarr NPC models are shown.
3:24 PM: Effects art. Death Knight spell effects will be highlighted. Effects art and animations are separate departments, but work closely together.
For the Death Knight, they tried to create a brand new, eye-catching, epic visual style that had more "pop" but was still Warcraft. The graphics engine was upgraded a bit to accommodate it.
3:27 PM: The Effects team toolbox uses 3DS Max, Photoshop, and some internal particle system software.
3:28 PM: To start with, the class designers tell the effects team what the new spells are all about, and then the effects teams creates new visuals for each one. A feedback meeting is called, and tons of feedback from the class teams are collected. Does the look of each spell really fit with the Death Knight class? A video with all the versions of Blood Presence is shown, representing about 2 days worth of work from initial concept to final spell effect. The original one was much more complex, including glowing eyes. Also some random new spell effects and a few that are not yet implemented in the game. Army of the Dead involved pretty much every art department to get the final spell effect finished, including all the summoned ghouls.
3:32 PM: Prop design team. The prop team creates all the little interactive items in the game. Dungeon doors, quest items, holiday items, etc. The barber chair. A dungeon setting with and without props is shown. Dalaran is shown with and without props. Items are placed in the world by level designers.
3:34 PM: Hundreds of unique objects are created for any given area, like Dalaran for example. Props are built over concept sketches and placeholders inserted by level designers. Many visual cues are taken from the zone's character and world concept art. Props are the final bits of dressing that bring everything together. They "blend in" unless they are specifically meant not to. In dungeons, there is often a more specific theme or look, and so often the concept process is skipped entirely. Prop items in Dungeons are often interactive, and so they have to be eye-catching.
3:37 PM: Holiday items are often the final things to be creative Holiday item examples are shown, including a disco ball.
3:38 PM: Dungeon art. The dungeon team works on the dungeons and raids, but they also work on the outdoor cities and the pvp objectives in world zones.
3:39 PM: A preview clip of Dalaran is shown. Dalaran took many departments working togetehr to create. A time-lapse video of Dalaran's evolution is shown, representing about 6 monthes worth of work. One modeler named Andy was the "gatekeeper" for all of the work done on Dalaran. The Prison and Underbelly/Sewer areas were handled by seperate individuals.
3:41 PM: The basic design philosophy behind Dalaran was "What would Elf and Human mages make if their cultures came together?" The original blocking of the zone was done with Stormwind assets, though eventually they had to be abandoned because they began to influence the design process. The architecture was a bit too colorful ("Candyland"), so they went back in and based it more on polished stone and muted mosaics.
3:43: One the basic blocking is done, then concept art is fionalized. After all concepts are done, modelling and texturing xcomes directly from that palet. All textures are hand-painted and all items are hand-placed. Lighting and particles effects/fog finish everything off.
3:45 PM: The Q&A session is starting:
Q: Can you tell us about the artists who do the amazing wallpapers and production art? Does he work closely with your departments? A: Wei Lang is a Chinese illustrator who does a lot of the patch art. He's contracted to the creative development department. He often works from model screenshots and works with Chris Metzen and the art departments to make sure the images are true ton the source material. Otherwise he works on his own.
Q: Can Shamans please have some more pants? (Laughter) A: Well we hope you are wearing pants underneath the kilts! You could plya a Paladin, they seem to wear the pants in the melee family... (Laugher)
Q: Seeing the Dalaran art, will there be a Caverns of Time instacne for Dalaran? A: Maybe! You'd have to ask the Dungeon and Raid guys.
Q: Taunka females have the exact same models as female Tauren. Will they have a unique one?
A: Time was an issue. There are no unique female Taunka or Tuskarr because of time constraints. There actually are female Tuskarr, they just have beards. Hot...
Q: Troll females do not blink. It's creepy! A: There's no plans for that right now, but maybe the next expansion... (Laughter.)
Q: Male Draenei /roar is awesome, but Human males look awful... A: He looks like he's pinching a loaf, thanks, I was constipating while painting that texture. (Laughter)
Q: Any plans to revamp other Heroes or Faction Leader like Varian Wynn was? A: A lot of designers would love to.
Q: There are a lot of cool new Dungeosn and Zone. What is your personal favorite. A: One dev answers Grizzly Hills. Another loves Azjol-Nerub. Another loves the starting zones and Utgarde. Another loves the Vrykul buildings and Utgarde. They really set the tone for the expansion. He also loves Crystalsong and the Sewers in Dalaran (What does a sewer look like when Mages have been dumping magical goo in them for ages?). They love them all!
Q: Is there really a Caverns of Time Stratholme instance? (WTF?) A: Yes.
Q: MedievalDragon from IncGamers Network: What happened to the external zone of Azjol-Nerub that wasn't instanced? A: That's more of a design question. You might want to ask Dungeons & Raids panel.
Q: Where did you get the idea for the Rogue helms for all the new tiers. A: Samurai Showdown (Laughter.) There is definitely some Japanese fighting game and anime influence.
Q: You can easily see where a player has been by their armor, except for Druids! Any plans for armor on Druid forms? A: You mean like adding some attachments points for armor on forms? They discuss it from time to time. Should we do it? Let's do it! (Applause) Throw the shoulders on the Bear. And some pancakes on his head too!
Q: Helms and Shoulders have great effects. Wings, etc. Are there any plans to add some flash to the other pieces of armor? Flaming capes or frosty shoes? A: There are some technical constraints. Helms and Shoulders are more speertae from the character model, so they are easier to add elements to. They'd like to do more with other pieces.
Q: Barber shops are amazing. Are their plans to add more styles? A: We had to make sure the new styles were not so superior to the old styles that they looked like an entirely new game. There were also some texturing issues. They'd like to be able to do more with them,, including new facial hair, earrings, etc.
Q: Varian Wynn's redesign is great, but could his son please have a redesign instead of being like every other Stormwind orphan? A: We may be able to throw a Burger King crown on him! (Laughter). Varian has the spotlight right now but he'll catch up, don't worry.
Q: Where do you come up with the inspiration for world design? Do you drive around the country or something? A: Talking about Grizzly Hills specifically,m we always wanted to do a Redwood forest. So a dev did go up to the Redwoods in California and took some pictures to base the pallet on. For Dragonblight, it started out as one thing and was completely done. And then a designer came up with a brand new tree and the design team took some extra time on their own to add in the new trees and completely redefine the zone.
Q: Will Druids in tree form ever be able to change their leaves? A: Never! (Laughter) One designer is always on their case. They'd love to add more color and options to forms (Cheers.)
See the WCRadio.com Schedule Page for upcoming broadcast information! Check the Blizzcon page for a link to the WoW Art Panel audio broadcast as soon as it is available.