As always, we started with some poses.  I think I have a slight regret about picking the one that I did, as the one in the center was so dynamic, it would have looked really cool.  The shield was supposed to have kind of a mirrored quality to it, and it just didn’t come out right.

That’s not to say that what we ended up with was bad!  Hozure did a huge amount of work with this piece.  There were a lot of details in place, and what you’re seeing here is just the work-in-progress.

The final version shows a lot more shine and color in all the right places.  He almost looks statuesque in this armor.  I think Zachariah is one of very few character Hozure did for us that had a lot of gear like this, and he did an awesome job with it.

Well, that’s it for our collaborations with Hozure.  It was great working with him while we could, but it seems like it’s not in the cards for us to be able to collaborate with him anytime soon.  I’m crossing my fingers all the time for a new opportunity.  We’ll see what the future holds.  In the meantime, in a couple of months we have a new artist who we were fortunate enough to meet with who has taken up the torch, so to speak, and is doing these “figure” looks at our characters.  Stay tuned for that grand unveiling!

The post Character Art – Zachariah Caista appeared first on Tellest.

After a lot of coercing, we were finally able to convince Pear to finish that third commission.  This is the tale of that creation.

As always, we started with a simple sketch.

Our guard captain wears a magnificent suit of mirrored armor, though for the sake of Pear’s sanity, we dialed it back to some normal looking plate.  You can see Zachariah in his bulky armor here.

After almost a year, Pear made a subtle tweak to the sketch, making sure that Zachariah’s neck was a little less exposed.  What’s the point of all that armor if someone can just jab a spear in your throat without any issues?

It was time for the shading and more exquisite polish to be placed upon the piece.  I think at this point he looked very much the part that we expected.  His armor pops a lot more in this finished form.

Of course, as is always the case, the finished piece eclipses all the forms that come before it.  Pear did an awesome job with this artwork, and we’re so happy she relented and did it for us.

Unfortunately, that’s the last we have from RedPear in our queue. She’s busy in school, so we’re stuck waiting until the end of the semester to commission her for more work.  Wish us luck!

The post Art – Zachariah by RedPear appeared first on Tellest.

Today, we’re bringing you his completed versions of Zachariah, Atalatha’s captain of the guards.  He’s a bit younger than Kaos, but man does his ambition drive him to great things.  Joman did a fantastic job capturing the essence of this fan favorite character.

I mean come on!  The more artwork I see, the more I want the cast of Tellest in a warriors game.  Is that too much to ask?

And of course, there’s the little bit of flourish:

We’re pretty sure that’s it for Joman through the end of the year, but we’re anxious to work with him again soon!  If he keeps on delivering the awesome like this, we’re in very good hands!

The post Art: Zachariah Completed Piece appeared first on Tellest.

But to me, these made up characters are just more friends in my deluded mind.  A lot of people struggle to make friends.  I actually make mine.  So to speak, I mean.

And while creating these artificial people and learning their fears, their desires and their histories is pretty fun, having some other artists to lean on for help crafting an image for them is pure bliss.

Today, we look at Zachariah Caista, brought to life by Joman in his signature style.  Zachariah is young and brash, and he’s this shining pinnacle of law enforcement in Atalatha.  As such, he has a pretty spectacular set of armor, and a shield to go with it.  We started with that in mind, and came up with our poses.

While we really liked each of these poses, we felt that (2) was the one for us. It was more expressive and gave a nice look of the shield while letting Zachariah’s body show as well.

After that, we knew that we were going to get a nice Dynasty Warriors-esque character, especially with the overly large shield.

Those poses barely scratched the surface of what Joman had in mind for the character though.  I swear, he keeps getting more and more impressive with every character he creates. Zachariah was no different.

And then of course, we finished off the preliminary portion of the art process with the lineart:

Somehow, that black and white always looks so darn good!

We’ll be back next week with the lovely conclusion to the process, and a version of Zachariah that pops even more than this part!

The post Art: Zachariah Concepts appeared first on Tellest.

Early Life

Zachariah Caista is known for being the captain of Atalatha’s guard.  His parents died when he was very young, leaving his brother, Stephen, as his guardian.  Unfortunately, neither brother was left well off.  Zachariah spent much of his youth in subpar housing, while his brother pursued techniques of the sword.

The brothers’ luck changed when Stephen began training Atalatha’s guards in combat.  Though Zachariah was still left to his own devices for most of the day, he was afforded some time to pursue an education.

Country Life

When Zachariah was slightly older, his brother took on a personal task.  Years earlier, he had seen a young child named Michael Kreegan in an obstacle course during a city-wide celebration.  Stephen uprooted his small family, and moved to the Kreegan farm, in an effort to train Michael to be a master swordsman.  While doing so, he began training Zachariah how to be Michael’s squire.

During the war with Blacklehn, the Kreegans took Zachariah in, treating him like a second son.  All of the children enjoyed the addition, leading to more fun in the countryside.

Return to Atalatha

When Stephen returned from the war, he brought Zachariah back to Atalatha with him.  Stephen was renowned for his prowess in battle, and for his many feats in the north part of the country.

With the Caista name in good standing, Zachariah set out to make his own name stand out.  He applied for the Atalathian guard regiment, and began working his way up to the top, becoming the captain of the guards in a short amount of time.

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