Black Dragon Outdoor Armor Concept - Paul Lam – Associate Concept Artist
(Plate | Mail | Leather | Cloth)
Our character Lead, Kelvin Tan, had initially created some sketches for the Black Dragon outdoor sets. We took those concepts and pushed the theme of the black dragon kit, with its aggressive, swooping, sharp shapes. Incorporating the dragon elements throughout the sets was really fun: the huge heads on the plate, the gnarly jaw shapes on leather, and the wings that make up the drapery in the cloth. The mail set was definitely a challenge—there's this idea of a dragon's body wrapping around the shoulders, but we also still wanted it to feel like functional armor. We approached this by having the shoulder pieces be symmetrical in their overall shape, adding the asymmetry on top with the pieces of the dragon head, and then having pieces that trail off, the claw gripping the arm, and the tail coming off the other shoulder.
Black Dragon Outdoor Weapon Concept - Thomas Yip – Senior Character Artist
These weapon concepts work in tandem with the awesome dragon infused armor designs that Paul Lam created for the Black Dragon outdoor theme. I also drew much inspiration from the bold shape language of Ashkandi and Crul'shorukh from the Blackwing Lair raid. Developing ideas for this theme was a great opportunity to combine classic sensibilities with a flash of contemporary flair. Sharp and dangerous!