Art War 5

I took part in the Art War 5 art challenge last year in the 2D character concept art category. I was required to pick a country and design a champion that would represent this country in a war. I chose my home country Singapore and created some thumbnails:

Thumbnails

After polling my followers on my socials, the fifth design emerged as the favourite. The idea for that design was to have a muscular hero (modelled after our national swimmer Joseph Schooling) battle fitted in a futuristic armor (since Singapore is always depicted as a model city for the future). His accessories represents iconic Singaporean symbols and buildings. His right shoulder pad was inspired by the flower domes in Gardens by the Bay. His left shoulder pad has a lion head, which is the animal most people would associate Singapore with. He is holding a staff that is shaped after the sky trees, also from Gardens by the Bay. His main colour scheme is red and white, which is reflected in the country flag's colours.

Final Character Sheet

For the final splash illustration, I portrayed the valiant hero standing in front of a neon cyber-punkish reimagination of Singapore. Behind him is our iconic Merlion. Being in a tropical island that is subjected to the monsoon season, I decided to feature rain in the scene.

While I did not got into the finalist category in the challenge, I still have a lot of fun conceiving this character.

Final Splash Illustration