The serpent fighter. Samurai. Two soldiers fighting for the opposing sides of the revolution. Four distant characters, united by a brush of talented artists from all over the world, in this year's "Archives" event. Overwatch has teamed up with Yusuke Kozaki , a Japanese character designer who has worked on games like Fire Emblem, Pokémon, and No More Heroes, to create new historical skins .
All of the Legendary Skins added in this year's Archives event are inspired by the different historical eras of each character's home country. Zarya, as befits one of the most powerful characters in Overwatch, has turned into a mighty and brave hero-serpent fighter. Genji donned artfully forged samurai armor from the Sengoku era, a period that followed the collapse of the feudal system in Japan, when the samurai warlords and various military clans fought for power in the country. And Tracer and Soldier-76 at this time occupied opposite sides of the American Revolutionary War, wearing cocked hats and bright uniforms of the respective armies.
Kozaki and Overwatch Concept Artists David Kahn and Daryl Teng will provide details on the backstory and process of creating the Cavalier for Tracer, Soldier 1776, Samurai for Genji, and Raspberry for Dawn.
Yusuke, tell us a little about yourself. How did you begin your career as an artist in the gaming industry? How is your daily life going?
Yusuke Kozaki : I dreamed of drawing comics since I was 10, and when I was about 19, I was finally able to release my first comic in one magazine! After that I started my own illustration website, and gradually more and more orders for character design and illustration creation began to come in. And so it all turned out. As for my daily life, I have a new job - looking after my two daughters. I really love to cook, and I often do it at my leisure. I consider art to be both cooking and painting; for me there is nothing more pleasant than immediately seeing the result of my efforts when I prepare food for my family. Also, I like to ride my bike. Last year I covered almost 600 kilometers - from Tokyo to Osaka!
What is your favorite thing about Overwatch?
Kozaki : I really like the team aspect of Overwatch. Getting together with friends and going into battle together is very exciting. But perhaps my favorite part of Overwatch is the strong character imagery and visuals. While there are limits to the possibilities of art, there is something about Overwatch's graphics that allows it to push those boundaries. I never cease to be amazed at how art can simultaneously have visual beauty and influence the unconscious of the human mind.
What was the most fun part of your collaboration with the Overwatch developers?
Kozaki : For me, the most interesting was the cycle of attempts to bring the character's image to match the overall style of Overwatch and the continuous process of improving and improving the images. [Overwatch Character Art Director] Arnold Zahn, who commissioned me to design these skins, used to visit my site a lot as a student, and although we didn't have much contact with him back then, I was still glad to have the privilege of working with him on such a big project. !
What kind of historical imagery inspired all of you to create these characters?
Daryl Ten: When creating the Samurai skin for Genji, we tried to focus on those types of samurai armor that were designed more for combat than for beauty. When we studied samurai armor, we devoted most of our attention to the Sengoku era, but were also open to other ideas.
David Kahn : For Zarya, we did the initial sketch ourselves and then sent it to our talented freelancers who refined the sketch and created the final look. Designing for her was a lot of fun. The look of "Polenitsa" was created in the image of Russian heroes, heroes of many fairy tales and paintings. Our producer Natalia was a huge help in creating the overall impression and armor for this look, because she is from Russia. During the development process, Polenitsa went through many changes.
Yusuke Kozaki : [For Soldier-76 and Tracer] I added additional design details to the skins based on the soldier's uniform from the Civil War and the Revolutionary War.
How do you think the theme of each of the skins matches its character?
Ten : I think Genji fits very well with the image of a samurai from the era of the warring provinces. It is easy to imagine how he, in armor shiny in the sun, hits enemies on the battlefield with his "Lightning Strike", covered in blood from head to toe. Speaking of the design of the Samurai skin, first of all, I decided to decide on the type of his mask. I didn’t want to use an oni or demon mask; it would be too similar to his "They" appearance. When I figured out the design of the mask, everything else went like clockwork.
Kahn : I think this look is great for Zarya, because she already resembles a modern hero in futuristic armor. Therefore, the heavy battle armor sat on her like a glove
