This is some of the key art I created in early 2025 for the game Veil of Ashes by Greifenmaer Games Studio. Veil of Ashes is a real-time tactical game focused on tank and infantry skirmishes set in a dark steampunk world.
I love combining history with fictional battlefields, so I was very excited when they contacted me. Creating epic key art that reflected the nature of the game was both challenging and rewarding. The team had an overall vision and completely trusted my skills and design sense to create memorable images.
Below I explain how I approached this challenge. If you need tools for your own digital art, check out our guides to the best digital art software and the best drawing tablets.
Layering and composition
I started with 3D as it offered some 3D hero assets for major tanks and aircraft. Griifenmaer’s team also submitted an initial in-game layout to help kick off the creative brief.
I immediately moved to blocking out the entire scene in Blender, building the environment, and placing soldiers with basic equipment.
Convert 2D knowledge to 3D
All VFX effects and post-production had to be planned from scratch. Blender’s Compositor lets you control and fine-tune color balance, exposure, lens effects, and more.
Most of the additional VFX used 2D image planes with emissions (explosions) or alpha planes (dust, particles). This saved a lot of resources.
final step
I was then able to render a high-resolution pass in Blender and polish the image in Photoshop. I was given creative freedom to introduce some 2D touches, such as brushstrokes along the edges and subtle painterly effects to soften some of the “fake” 3D look.
This article originally appeared on ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX Don’t overlook the problem. Print and digital subscriptions are available.
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