#Vis dev: Rustam Hasanov

[toa-archive]

Frequently blowing around the internet and rarely sourced/credited, here's one of the early potential designs for Angor Rot by Rustam Hasanov!

Source

[brent-tumbles]

[War Hammer, Hand of Tobias]

Toby’s war hammer was one of the coolest things i got to work on.  it went through quite a few iterations,  and with a lot of help from Rustam Hasanov,  we finally ended up with what you see in the show.   as a fan of fantasy weapons I was really excited to work on this it brought me back to my days of obsessing over MMORPG weapons. 

you can see my process of concepting.  It initially started off as crystal on a pike,  and then after many rounds of notes.  eventually formed into a crystal surrounding a demon head statue. 

 Please watch Trollhunters on netflix if you havent checked it out yet.

[toa-archive]

The making of a Trollhunters intro

Thanks for the responses on the recent poll. This was one of the affected posts that wouldn't allow video to be added in because ~tumblr~. Here's everything we have at the moment for the Trollhunters intro!

Since being posted originally, it was discovered that Hyunjoo Song had the netflix logo storyboard sequence on her twitter. Here's the screenshot of the tweet:

Unfortunately due to the upload having a flashing gif image putting a cut right here as it's on auto play. I've added a second bold marker below the gif so if you're potentially affected, scroll straight to that to avoid it.

Source

The above gif is the flashing image. If you scroll down to this point there will be nothing further to worry about.

After this Andy Erekson rough boarded the main bulk of the title sequence which is on his instagram. Still has the old orange logo even!

Source

Still need a good idea what sort of colours will be used and what sort of atmosphere you need though and that's where colour keys come in! This one is by Rustam Hasanov and it's quite horizontal so might pop out weird.

Source

We’re lucky enough to have two early development shots by Jonatan Catalan Navarrete thanks to his Artstation account as well! He worked on lighting/shading of visual development and while it is a bit eerie seeing bald Blinky, these are still gorgeous images.

Source

This is of course a mere fraction of the process but it’s always a joy to see and a reminder if there ever were one that it’s a team effort to make what we come to love. Netflix even put it on youtube so you can watch/compare whenever you feel like too.

Also since posting the Tales of Arcadia soundtrack came out and it included the full extended version by Alexandre Desplat. Due to other time commitments this was the only part he did for the franchise with Tim Davies taking over for the rest of Trollhunters.

Try and stop me now tumblr.

[toa-archive]

Tumblr has been fairly ratty today so lets see if it functions long enough for this to be posted or at least doesn't crash on me a second time. Either or.

The next piece of artwork Rustam Hasanov snuck onto his artstation account features Toby's armour! The image below was not online in any form previously and in a sense, not in the artbook either. By comparing them it looks like this version is the final refined version of this knight vibe they were going for which is neat. That profile shot is not there in any form.

The vespa version is mostly in the artbook, if missing many of the callouts and Toby's profile. There is also a cropped version of it on Rustam's instagram so it's nice to finally see the full thing in large chunky glory and great for reference! While many things had to be toned down likely for budget/clipping issues on the rig they really took Jim's vespa to heart... And armour.

Source

Because of the schedule on twitter the final artstation surprise will be posted next Tuesday and is completely brand new. Funnily enough the same day this was discovered Toby's Defenders of Arcadia model was as well so do let me know if you'd be interested in seeing it!

[toa-archive]

Usually whenever any new artwork from Trollhunters specifically turns up, it's someone's blog or a non-english website. To date that's been a Chinese fan wiki, a Mexican blog, an Italian Disney site and a Brazillian website. These you can't really look for deliberately, you trip over them hopefully before any decay or removal sets in. The other sort which is more common for the entire franchise is artwork will sneak onto existing portfolios which has happened a lot in regards to one particular artist. Those tend to be weekly checks as it happens so frequently you want to grab them before they vanish back into the void.

This next to never happens on artstation particularly post their decisions regarding AI and tearing down any pro Ukraine artwork. Rustam Hasanov however at some unknown point did it anyway and this is just one of the surprises that came with it.

Source

What makes this even more interesting is that this is not the first evidence of Claire having Morgana like colours for her armour. Yingjue Linda Chen posted these which suggests the idea stuck around before settling on her now signature purple.

Source Tumblr for tumblr reasons is breaking the direct link to the image, it's on the top row.

Bar the body of the purple armour (The head is the 2D artwork with the helmet added), none of these are in the artbook. Enjoy and run riot!

[toa-archive]

Today is the last of the unexpected artworks by Rustam Hasanov and is certainly the most mysterious in the form of this guy. Only one of the images has a file name where they are referred to as "Creature".

Now does the build remind you of anybody at all? They have Tronos colours which is fun of course but that's not all. Apart from being very scuttly in build which would make them a great climber, they share traits with a certain alien called Buster from 3Below...

Source for both images

It's more noticable when you have them side by side thanks to Alfonso Blaas who uploaded this paint over Fury Galluzzi's linework. She never had any Trollhunters artwork before that part of her website was shut down so sadly I we don't have that. Still, this was when he was part of the Trollhunters part of the franchise, more specifically as a "spider" in Merlin's Tomb. It certainly lines up!

Source

Just as a bonus of the only other non-storyboard art of Buster since the opportunity is here. This one is by Francisco Ruiz Velasco aka Fruiz.

Source

Even has six legs on the final version which certainly seems suggested above just like our red boy!

You're probably wondering why the heck spider keeps being brought up as there was never any spider! Well there wasn't in the final version no, there was however a draft version where there was one. Buster survived the process long enough for artwork to be produced and refined before he sat on the back benches. Then he'd have his official debut in 3Below as more than just an obstacle.

Source link. Includes a script too I don't feel comfortable reposting on tumblr.

As for the link to Buster, well here you go :)

Source

[toa-archive]

Sites going down has been a routine theme of late so for something a smidge different, an article that's breaking. Previously on the Animation Magazine article you could see white boxes that you could click for the images but now uh.

Yeah it's pretty broken and the only way to access the 'missing' ones is through the source code. To save you faffing around with all of that, here they all are :) Figuring out the artist behind each has been an ongoing project thus not all pieces have been figured out at the time of typing.

Darklands environment

Rémi Salmon - L shape of art Simon Rogers - Top right

Darklands environment

Unknown artist - Top left pair Rustam Hasanov - Everything else apart from the circular area bottom left Unknown artist - Circular area

Eclipse Armour

Alfonso Blaas - Helmet, shield, glaives, Eclipse armour Yingjue Chen - Eclipse blade

Dictatious

Headless Studios

Gunmar - We do have a larger version of this image though for the purpose of this post the original has been uploaded.

Unknown artist - Top left Rustam Hasanov - All middle images and top right Headless Studios - Bottom left Unknown artist/seeking confirmation - Bottom right

Nyarlagroth

Alfonso Blaas - Middle image painted over Yingjue Chen's lineart Yingjue Chen - All the rest

Enjoy!

[theslayerbrother]

that's So Cool

Nomura Design Path

Apologises for the slight delay on this, health issues cannot be helped. Storyboards from Just Add Water will be crossposted tomorrow.

While there is a solitary addition in the artbook where her human form has swepy bangs instead of a fringe and wearing gloves, we're fairly lucky in that there's a fair amount of Nomura's concepts are online! This one by Headless Studios is the earliest so it's unknown if she was a hit the ground running after being redesigned from The Crooked Man or there was anything else prior.

Her weapon choice being swords seemed to settle fairly early though and were basic katana at the time. Her hair style, limbs, belt and horns appear to have been the biggest back and forth until settling on a combination.

[Source]

We also have this beefy slide that appeared at the 2016 Annie Awards, where Trollhunters won best Character Design, that contains two additional expressions too.

[Source]

And one extra from the official instagram for luck.

[Source]

In addition thanks to Rustam Hasanov, Trollhunters' Art Director, we have a maquette of her! This is a video with a turnaround.

[Source]

But wait you might be thinking, she has the khopesh already here so where did those come from? Well thanks to Brent Noll we can answer that one! Below shows Headless Studios with the updated Nomura design holding one of her fabled weapons. From this he created a full break down including angles, perfect for evil perspective needs.

[Source] Will need to scroll down a bit there's no direct link.

In addition to that, Jessica Bulinski has both a Nomura paint over of the changeling herself, a good look at her weaponry and a full process of how exactly it lights up. Because the eye glow is an effect it's not shown here meaning you can see the base colour easier.

[Source] Will need to scroll down a bit there's no direct link.

Enjoy the chaotic gremlin/Curator Troll! All previous design threads now have titles too to make them easier to spot, debating making a specific tag.

[toa-archive]

Draal - Bular - Gunmar Design Path

Today we're taking a look at the very funky design path that Draal, Bular and Gunmar went on during Trollhunters pieced together as best as possible through the power of file names, matching things and the artbook. The order of events is as accurate as I can guess as for understandable reasons I cannot see an exact timeline.

First up from one of Headless Studios' posts we can see what is very definitely a purple Draal as I've been affectionately dubbing him looking a big brutal boy with Caveman Spongebob is also a frequent comparison.

Source

He appears again on Juan Solis' Artstation (The model is miscreditted as Headless Studios in the artbook) having gained a new fancy arm blade. The file name for this? TROLLHUNTERS_bular!

Source and of note there is also a Ms. Janeth on his vimeo account.

On the official Tales of Arcadia instagram he pops up again looking a lot more familiar in his blue though lacking a nose ring. It's very possible this stage was when he was still tied to Steve as a changeling's troll form which would account for the gruffer look.

Source

By the time we get to Alfonso Blaas's paint over on the 3D ambient occlusion model and Headless lineart Draal is looking much more like the troll we know and love!

Source

So what was going on with Bular if he was purple Draal? The short answer is at one point he was Gunmar's design which had a funky journey too. He sure went places before the finalised banger we got. This art is by Headless Studios.

Source 1 / Source 2

On Francisco Ruiz Velasco's blogspot account there are few bits of Trollhunters art from back when it's a film and the filenames in the url are very interesting, the first confirms that IS Gunmar while the second suggests it is the Battle of Killahead... The other thing? He only has one eye!

Source 1 / Source 2

This suggests that at some point during this design process he lost it.The following headshot is by Headless Studios is clearly a Bular design with the glowing eye that is a defining Gunmar trait becoming more evident

Source

"Gunmar" is getting closer to the Bular we know and love at this point and now in colour. Francisco Ruiz Velasco still has the filename whereas Headless Studios is really rolling with the funky glow.

Source 1 / Source 2

After the thread was posted (And on here) I managed to track down the Annie Awards slide which has an alternate expression on the right and the front view of the above image as well. This is being added for completion and because it’s neat!

Source

Headless Studios’ version was adapted over Francisco Ruiz Velasco's design as can be seen in this image collab between him, Sergio Casas and Alfonso Blaas. Is this the point of Bular and Gunmar officially split into separate characters? Could be!

Source

Along with the extra Bular art Gunmar art was found belatedly online! Some of these are in the artbook while others are unique to this.

Unknown artist/seeking confirmation - Top left

Rustam Hasanov - All middle images, top right and possibly top left

Headless Studios - Bottom left

Unknown artist/seeking confirmation - Bottom right

Source

[/edit 10/10/2021] The top right image source was discovered confirming it is indeed Rustam’s work! Given his description this is either before “Gunmar” hit his Bular stage or after their split.

Source

You sure went through a dramatic phase finding your voice Gunmar.

[/edit 23/05/2023] He appeared to cement with no design wiggle compared to Angor Rot’s more last minute change too. With the benefit of a close up of this chunk of Killahead by Anthony Romero we can even see his carvings.

Source

Thus Bular settles into his new found role of "the son of Gunmar" as shown in this Character Development by Leo Sanchez Studio & Visual Development/Shading n ​​​​​​​Lighting by Jonatan Catalan Navarrete and paint over the 3D ambient occlusion model by Alfonso Blaas his journey now completed.

Source 1 / Source 2

[/edit 23/05/2023] As some people might be using this thread as troll reference in general , we now have a clear shot of the skulls on Bular’s belt courtesy of Anthony Romero! 

Source

[toa-archive]

There was a bit of an unintentional thread for storyboards on the twitter side of the Archive this week so crossposting it here too :)

The intro for a show will go through a process much like anything else and this includes storyboards! Andy Erekson boarded the one for Trollhunters and has the sequence on his instagram which the below is a screenshot from.

Source

Still need a good idea what sort of colours will be used and what sort of atmosphere you need which is where  colour keys come in! Because it’s a long image the twitter crop has unfortunately zoomed in where there’s not much to look at so I recommend clicking through to see it properly.

Source

We’re lucky enough to have two early development shots by Jonatan Catalan Navarrete's Artstation account as well! He worked on lighting/shading of visual development and while it is a bit eerie seeing bald Blinky these are still gorgeous images.

Source

This is of course a mere fraction of the process but it's always a joy to see and a reminder if there ever were one that it's a team effort to make what we come to love. To finish up here is the finalised version.

[toa-archive]

Nomura Design Path

Apologises for the slight delay on this, health issues cannot be helped. Storyboards from Just Add Water will be crossposted tomorrow.

While there is a solitary addition in the artbook where her human form has swepy bangs instead of a fringe and wearing gloves, we're fairly lucky in that there's a fair amount of Nomura's concepts are online! This one by Headless Studios is the earliest so it's unknown if she was a hit the ground running after being redesigned from The Crooked Man or there was anything else prior.

Her weapon choice being swords seemed to settle fairly early though and were basic katana at the time. Her hair style, limbs, belt and horns appear to have been the biggest back and forth until settling on a combination.

[Source]

We also have this beefy slide that appeared at the 2016 Annie Awards, where Trollhunters won best Character Design, that contains two additional expressions too.

[Source]

And one extra from the official instagram for luck.

[Source]

In addition thanks to Rustam Hasanov, Trollhunters' Art Director, we have a maquette of her! This is a video with a turnaround.

[Source]

But wait you might be thinking, she has the khopesh already here so where did those come from? Well thanks to Brent Noll we can answer that one! Below shows Headless Studios with the updated Nomura design holding one of her fabled weapons. From this he created a full break down including angles, perfect for evil perspective needs.

[Source] Will need to scroll down a bit there's no direct link.

In addition to that, Jessica Bulinski has both a Nomura paint over of the changeling herself, a good look at her weaponry and a full process of how exactly it lights up. Because the eye glow is an effect it's not shown here meaning you can see the base colour easier.

[Source] Will need to scroll down a bit there's no direct link.

Enjoy the chaotic gremlin/Curator Troll! All previous design threads now have titles too to make them easier to spot, debating making a specific tag.

She's awful and we love her for it.