(GNN reporter RU) 2017-06-26 16:13:07
To welcome the Diablo III class pack "Rise of the Necromancer," launching in Taiwan on June 29, Blizzard held the "Necromancer Returns" art contest. The gold award went to FrostOcean's "BORN," the silver to Wei's "The Return of Rathma," and the bronze to SHIN's "Rise of the Necromancer," with honorable mentions for Jiunn Kuo's "Undying Summons" and M.'s "Necromancer."
Gold award: BORN
Silver award: The Return of Rathma
Bronze award: Rise of the Necromancer
Honorable mention: Undying Summons
Honorable mention: Necromancer
Blizzard's Diablo III "Necromancer Returns" art contest drew over 150 entries, from which the above winners emerged. The gold award carried a NT$15,000 prize and a Diablo III mahjong set, with NT$10,000 for silver, NT$8,000 for bronze, and NT$5,000 for honorable mentions. Blizzard recently invited three of the winners to its Taiwan office to share the ideas behind their winning works and their everyday creative thinking with Bahamut GNN and other media.
From left: winners Jiunn Kuo, FrostOcean, and Wei
FrostOcean, Creator of "BORN"
Fresh out of high school, FrostOcean is passionately devoted to creating. She says a hunger to create burns inside her — creation is her life, and it once saved her in a period of depression. After seeing the contest on the Bounty Hunter platform, she was immediately interested and signed up. A self-described workaholic who doesn't rest once she starts painting, she finished "BORN" in about four and a half hours. Having never worked with death as a theme before, she found it fresh and became fully absorbed. She named the piece "BORN" because the Necromancer immediately conjured images of bone; combining that with the idea of insect vessels, life is born from bone — when the living die, their bones become nourishment that gives birth to the Necromancer. To convey the necrotic feel, she used cool tones, with cyan-blue evoking the souls of the dead, blended with the color of bone.
FrostOcean attended night school in high school and took commissions during the day, gaining real-world experience. She believes creation has no age limit — anyone who pours their life into it has a chance to make good work. On the day the winners were announced, she checked the Bounty Hunter platform first, thought she hadn't won, and felt a little crestfallen — until an unfamiliar phone call revealed, "Wait, I won?!" She could hardly believe it at first, and was overjoyed once it was confirmed.
The gold award came with NT$15,000 and a Diablo III mahjong set
Beyond her winning entry, the official presentation also shared FrostOcean's everyday work, such as the mythological figure Lilith. She says her painting style jumps around — she loves trying diverse styles. She used to work mainly in an anime style, tried a new direction this year, and also loves exploring design.
Lilith (image courtesy of FrostOcean)
As for the Blizzard artwork that left the deepest impression, she loves the key art of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls — its colors and composition feel mysterious and make you want to dig into who the character is. If she could choose any Diablo character to paint, FrostOcean would pick the Wizard, because she loves the magical and fantastical — the more it jumps, the better.
Wei, Creator of "The Return of Rathma"
Wei, who now runs WeiChen Studio 維真工作室 with his wife taking commissions, dearly loves to draw. He has collaborated with many game companies on characters and scenes, and contributed cover and interior illustrations for elementary and secondary school textbooks. Discussing "The Return of Rathma," he noted that while Diablo mentions Rathma often, it doesn't introduce him in depth. Rathma is one of the first Nephalem, and the Nephalem left a deep impression on Wei; he wanted to depict Rathma leading his undead legions onward. The game's sparse introduction actually gave him enormous room to imagine and create.
Wei says he first encountered the Diablo series in college when a junior classmate invited him to play — he played badly and it left a small scar, so this creation healed that old shadow while making him think: on a similar commission, how do you imagine from written descriptions alone and reach for something more original? He initially planned an all-cool palette but worried it would be too plain; since Rathma's lore includes fire-related necromantic powers, at his wife's suggestion he added fire elements for balance, giving the piece a warm–cool contrast — fitting, as the Nephalem themselves were born of the contradiction between angels and demons. Wei is truly grateful to Blizzard for holding the event. When he learned he'd won, his mom pragmatically asked how many people entered and how much the prize was (laughs). Seeing his parents' reaction made him happy, because it let them know what he does. Many who draw for a living face worries about whether art can put food on the table, especially in low moments — recognition like this brings joy, but more importantly it lets family know what they're doing: "Don't worry — we have our direction." Wei has also painted Blizzard fan works such as D.Va from Overwatch. Since D.Va is a Korean character, he thought of Korean groups with a Taiwan connection and landed on TWICE's music video "TT." He happened to be between commissions, so with TT crying, he vented his feelings a little and had the small mech beside her do the TT pose too. He loves tucking small elements into his images so viewers can find something new on a second or even third look. He has also painted Sombra from Overwatch — to him the most fascinating Overwatch character. He loves using computer ribbon cables in character design, and wanted to draw Sombra casting her hack — though before she's mastered it she probably needs more practice, and in a slip she ends up completely tied up, which became this piece.
D.va TT (image courtesy of Wei)
Rookie Sombra (image courtesy of Wei)
The Blizzard artwork that struck Wei most deeply is the Arthas cover art of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne — Arthas's expression captivated him and stayed with him. Given the chance to choose a Diablo character himself, Wei would paint the Witch Doctor, whose look he loves for its primal shamanic visual elements.
Jiunn Kuo, Creator of "Undying Summons"
Jiunn Kuo, who graduated from university last year and now freelances, has loved drawing since childhood. A lifelong gamer drawn to game art, he committed to the field the moment he encountered digital painting. He entered this Blizzard contest after a friend told him it suited him, and he was glad to take part. Discussing his winning "Undying Summons," Jiunn Kuo said he loves skeleton themes and low-angle viewpoints, which lend a sense of authority. For this piece he referenced his younger brother's face and hairstyle — so he kept thinking of his brother while painting (laughs). He deepened the lighting and sense of space, and added the chain design, hoping to evoke someone disciplining and commanding the skeletons.
He rendered "Undying Summons" in cool tones, since cold light feels more soulful; he considered adding orange but felt it read too cheerful, so he kept the palette cool. Jiunn Kuo said he was thrilled when notified of his win — it felt like recognition. If he could choose a Diablo character to paint in the future, he most wants Diablo himself: he usually draws people and craves the challenge of giant monsters and epic scale. Beyond this contest, he once painted Winston from Overwatch for the 2016 BlizzCon contest. Since he rarely draws animal characters, he gathered piles of reference for Winston and even acted out poses himself to work out how the character attacks. Feeling that steampunk takes were scarce, he designed his own look, hoping to capture an all-out brawl.
Rage of Winston (image courtesy of Jiunn Kuo)
Asked whether any Blizzard artwork left a deep impression, he recalled a standee themed on an orc whose fur was entirely hand-painted — so exquisitely detailed he has never forgotten it.
Article reprinted from: Bahamut: "Diablo III: Rise of the Necromancer" Art Contest Winner Interviews — The Necromancer's Many Faces
