3D Toolkit: Artist Research and Comparison: Warframe

In the following project, I will develop a character for sculpting. Unlike the last project, this character will not be based around specific prompts: I will come up with my own design. The following are two 3D character artists that have influenced my work who have both worked on the same game, Warframe, and utilise the same software: ZBrush. I will use their work as a benchmark when it comes to designing and modelling my own character.

Mike Brennan
Mike Brennan was an art director who worked at Digital Extremes, a Canada-based games company known for their work on Warframe (Digital Extremes 2013), a free-to-play MMO set in a far-future version of the Solar System. He was the lead Art Director of the game from 2013-2016 and created the first designs and 3D models for the main characters of the game, the biomechanical robots known as the "Warframes", primarily using Photoshop for 2D concept art and Zbrush for 3D character models.

Brennan has spoken about the influences for Warframe stating that, initially, the team was very influenced by the art styles of other media, including Metal Gear Solid 2 (Konami 2001) and Neon Genesis: Evangelion (Gainax 1994). When speaking of these inspirations in an interview, Brennan stated that they were initially "Very obvious" in Warframe's design and that a lot has been added to design inspirations since, stating a belief that - in terms of characters: "something that works well for design is to have three of four varied inspirations that mix together into something new..." (Brennan 2013).
Brennan has also taken inspiration from different cultures across the world in Warframe designs: many of the firearm weapons, for instance, are influenced by flintlock pistols and other antique weaponry. With the game having "ninja"-like theming, many character designs are also influenced by Eastern culture and folklore. This is because, from an art direction standpoint, the end goal was for Warframe to stand out sharply against similar science fiction titles. In the same interview, Brennan expressed this by referring to other science fiction games that had released in the near past, citing how he felt that some had not pushed their art direction far enough by "treating sci-fi different to reality... making everything too slick" (Brennan 2013). He then went on to state that, when designing the factions, characters and weapons of the game, he wanted to create something distinct that was still relatable, leaning on real-world inspirations to base attributes of the game's art style off real life, making everything seem futuristic yet worn; of science fiction yet with a tangible reality grounded in its real-world influences.

Concept art for the "Nidus Prime" Character. (Brennan 2023)

In the story of the game, the Warframes themselves are biomechanical in nature, being part organic and part artificial. This has been shown in the art of the game through very anatomical designs that blend human anatomy with sleek metallic forms, with textures of muscle fibres and sinew blending into shining metal.

Examples of Warframe characters designed by Brennan, produced in the game's early access in 2012. Left: Rhino, Right: Ash. Note how musculature integrates into the more mechanical and armoured forms seen covering the body. (Warframe Fandom N.D)

The above designs were early 3D Warframe models created by Brennan in ZBrush. I can see how several ZBrush tools I am familiar with could be used to create my own designs in a style similar to this: for instance, symmetry is common across both designs and fine details such as the dimples in Rhino's pauldrons or the divots in Ash's arms may be created using VDMs. Fine details such as the noise across Ash's torso may be mimicked using Alphas, whilst smoothing could be used to create slick metallic forms. This could create a juxtaposition between areas of smooth metal and areas with a more rough texture, which may help in showing textural differences between different materials in the model. As with my previous project, I may create elements of my design in Blender or Maya before importing them into ZBrush: if I were to create cloth then I would use this process, though elsewise I will try to keep the model one consecutive whole. This can be seen in both the Ash and Rhino designs, as armour plates blend into the anatomy of the characters in a manner that makes then appear organic, almost as if they were bone plates or of a similarly organic origin. This also leads to differences in these designs which stray from typical human anatomy: this can be seen particularly in the thighs of Rhino, where plates protrude out from the anterior muscles, and in the torso of Ash, which does not bear accurate pectorals, which I may use in my design if I were making a similarly armoured character. This could help in pushing the armour out from the form of the body and could help in making the design seem more unique or alien in nature. 

Examples of production art for character helmets that Brennan handed off to character modellers. Brennan commented that they were produced quickly to accord with tight deadlines. (Brennan 2013).

Examples of Warframe concept art. (Brennan 2013).

Michael Skyers
Michael Skyers is another character artist who works on Warframe and similarly utilised ZBrush in creating character assets. He has worked on many assets for Warframe that are intrinsically more organic in nature, such as wholly organic alien animals and "The Infested", a faction of enemies based around a zombie virus that overtakes the body and puppets those infected. When modelling enemies that are a part of this faction, Skyers has described how he seeks to break up the typical geometry of the character, showing how the infestation is warping their form in a manner that remains within the boundaries of the game's art style (Skyer 2015). 

For example, the model shown below shows an infested enemy based off the "Corpus" faction. This faction is largely comprised of blocky square shaped: when creating the infested variants, Skyers added lumps and growths across the side of the silhouette to break apart the blocky shape language. Some remnants of this initial shape language remain, juxtaposing the two designs together to show the infestation now sits atop of the Corpus, having overtaken the design, trailing up the silhouette as it has spread over their form (Skyers 2015).

Infested Corpus Sculpt (Skyers 2015).

Another example of Skyers' work is his model of the "Grineer Pale Queen", which is based off a concept created by Mike Brennan. I find this model to be significantly more complex than the Warframe examples I analysed by Brennan, being much more asymmetrical with a high amount of details sculpted directly into the form of the model. These details appear to have then been placed over a low poly version of the sculpt through the use of a textural normal map. Some areas of symmetry can be seen, such as in the incredibly detailed tail, the braids and in the proportioning of the torso and arms: if I were to create a design following this inspiration, chaotic in terms of symmetry, then I would first create a symmetrical base mesh which I would then alter in specific chunks. I feel that a detailed orthographic would be incredibly important in such a process, as it would better help me to plan out where specific areas of similarity and difference could lay. Another area of this model that I would be unfamiliar with the creation process of is that of the braids: mimicking such a process in my own design would take experimentation, though perhaps could be done through the use of IMM curves that I could then sculpt upon. 

Grineer Pale Queen high poly Sculpt (Skyers 2016)

Grineer Pale Queen textured Sculpt (Skyers 2016)

Generally, I find that Skyer's designs are much more complex than Brennan's. Whilst still abiding by the overall look and style of the game, utilising many more flowing shapes and a higher amount of sculpted detail that is baked into the textures of the model. Though this may be due to the evolution of the game's art style, with more complex characters being created as the game gained its footing, I believe that it creates an interesting comparison between the comparatively more modern designs created by Skyer and the designs created by Brennan in the game's infancy. I believe that, in the more complicated designs, details are used more so than shape language to sell the idea, theme and personality of a character.

Shown below are two examples of character models created by Skyer: Ivara Prime and Khora Urushu. Unlike the previously shown Grineer Pale Queen, these are characters that the player can control and play as throughout the game. They are also premium skins and cost the spending of real-world currency to unlock. These designs differ from those produced by Brennan in the nature of their complexity, being vastly more detailed in nature and brimming with sharper and more defined shapes that blend together on the whole. To this degree, I feel that the tassels on Ivara Prime and the petals across Khora Ushuru are almost too cluttered in nature, and detract from the overall form of the design because of this. Both make sense in the context of the game, however: Ivara's jellyfish-like appearance fits with her aquatic theming, as does Khora's with her in-game powers being based around sharpness. 

Looking to the previous examples of designs produced by Brennan (the characters "Rhino" and "Ash"), it is clear that a more simplistic design philosophy was used, with bulky shapes being used to block out the forms of characters instead of great quantities of detail; whilst Ivara Prime uses a jellyfish design morif to push forward her aquatic theming, Rhino uses a bulky - if largely plain - silhouette and musculature to show his imposing physique, with the in-game functions of his powers based around strength and might.

Ivara Prime promotional art (Skyers 2019).

Khora Urushu promotional art (Skyers 2020)

Looking to both design pipelines, I feel that I will use elements of both in the design of my character. I feel I will follow a process similar to Brennan's in nature, focusing on strong shape language to show the nature and personality of my character design. 

Bibliography:

Michael Skyers, 2019, Ivara Prime [online]. Artstation. Available at: https://skyerzz.artstation.com/projects/295w2v [Accessed 25 February 2025]

Michael Skyers, 2020, Khora Urushu [online]. Artstation. Available at: https://skyerzz.artstation.com/projects/qePxkR [Accessed 25 February 2025]

Michael Skyers, 2016, Warframe Worm / Pale Queen [online]. Artstation. Available at: https://skyerzz.artstation.com/projects/3D3xv [Accessed 25 February 2025]

Warframe | Devstream 4 - The Art of Warframe, 2013. [youtube video] PlayWarframe, 24 April. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFlqIzxLcxQ [Accessed 25 February 2025]. 

Warframe | Devstream 56, 2015. [youtube video] PlayWarframe, 10 July. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTrlFzr7_Jw [Accessed 25 February 2025].