Hi revolutionnàires! [b]One of the key features of Banner of the Maid is its art; [/b]this blend of Japanese anime visuals with a French Revolution setting is quite unmistakable, both in the pixel-art battles and the more realistic character and background artwork. We wanted to [b]share with you some small secrets on how it was created[/b] – a “making of Banner of the Maid”, so to speak! For this purpose, we present to you today a dev diary written by one of the key artists of the game. Enjoy the read! * * * First thing I should do is introduce myself. [b]My name is JiuJiangzi, and I am the lead artist of Banner of the Maid at Azure Studios. [/b]This was my first project as a lead, so I’ve learned quite a lot along the way! I have taken care personally of creating the ladies of the game, while the masculine characters were mostly drawn by another colleague. When we started this project, [b]we spent a lot of time researching and studying this era, looking for a way to recreate their elegance [/b]and complexity. As I studied their clothes and styles, I fell gradually in love with this charming (if quite complex) age. On the other hand, we had to make some compromises to appeal to modern audiences without losing the unique charm of their fashion. Finding a balance was difficult, but I think we managed it! I want to share with you some of the character designs I created; we’ll focus mostly on Pauline Bonaparte, our heroine – but also a real character, although Napoleon’s sister was quite different from our Pauline, as she was more a socialité than a military leader. [b]This was the real Pauline: [/b] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/34696828/0d61a6a61c3e4a16d065f9396922e2731b314e86.jpg[/img] Our Pauline became a military hero after a trip to Toulon to visit her troops, where she found herself in charge of some troops in the middle of a chaotic battle. [b]Her design is the most detailed in the game, [/b]even if she is not (on purpose) the most beautiful lady of this story. When we started working in her, we drafted the character with different clothing schemes inspired by Napoleon’s early military uniform. Some of the elements of these preliminary drawings have remained, like the small bow tie and jacket. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/34696828/13d1b612cf3b29aeaf0101ca0c34d2c1e57ec2d6.jpg[/img] Once we had reached a character design we were happy with, I started drawing her in different situations to see how to reflect her personality. I thought of how she would look like when she was involved in the war for the first time and she thought it was too late to change dresses before rushing to the battlefield, and [b]how her face could suggest heroism, wisdom, calmness…[/b] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/34696828/ca01f0951638f612590317eadd153a5d81d3e52e.jpg[/img] Finally, I dug deeper into this character study, trying to highlight both her firm and strong beliefs and her tender manners. I also redesigned the hairstyle so it echoed the real Pauline’s curly hair while showing its own personality. We also had to create [b]two sets of clothing, one for the battlefield and one for social settings;[/b] for the latter we went for an exquisite, but not too luxurious style, as she is supposed to be accommodated enough but not of noble birth. The last touch was finishing the design for her military clothes. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/34696828/2e730e2b52f6abe0e4e7d4848d99157a07112fa5.jpg[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/34696828/4471e68253df66b08c267375f08e6eaebeacf942.jpg[/img] This is all for today; on another occasion, I want to show you the making of another character from the game. [b]I hope you have enjoyed this short trip through our design tables![/b] Good luck in the battlefield, and see you soon!