WAR Cinematic Trailer – Part Two: Orc vs. Dwarf
Following the catapult sequence
in the WAR Cinematic Trailer, we introduce our first Realm vs. Realm™ pair – Orcs vs. Dwarfs.
This sequence features two of the most iconic characters in the Warhammer universe - the Dwarf Slayer,
with his shocking orange mohawk, and the heavily-armored Black Orc. Their contrast in size makes for a
remarkable battle but as every Warhammer fan knows, the solid little Dwarf can more than hold his own
against the massive Orc.
This battle is the only pairing from the original script to survive pretty much as envisioned (though we had to loose the decapitation in the revised script).
With an approved script in hand, Blur was able to storyboard the fight and give us a sense for the flow of combat. It is remarkable how dead-on these simple pencil sketches are when compared to the final video.
Click Image to View Storyboards
Based on early in-game models, Blur took a first pass at the concept for the Black Orc as he would look in the video. His legs were a bit too stumpy and his head and neck up a bit too high, but that would be fixed in the modeling phase.
Based on the storyboards and concept art, Blur next created a very rough first pass of the video. The goal was to bring the storyboards to life to make sure the action and camera angles worked as planned. Loved the addition of the spitting of the tooth at the end.
Click Image to View Animatic
When building the Black Orc, the first models came back too green.
The skin was darkened and an armor “skirt” was added to replace the loincloth. Now our Black Orc was ready for combat.
The Dwarf Slayer was created directly from Games Workshop source materials, big gut and all. In the original model, the height of the mohawk and color/design of the tattoos just weren’t right. He also lacked any elaborate beard ornamentation.
These issues were remedied in the second pass as the Slayer came to life.
While the characters where being finished, the rough work-in-progress models were integrated into the video along with first pass animations. Note the Dwarf looks more like a monk and less like a Slayer without the hair.
Click Image to View Video
To get the physics and effects in the video just right, the team at Blur did all manner of animation tests on everything from clothing to spit trajectories.
With final animations in place, a first pass at the full-color render was done to give us an idea of the final look and feel of the video. Sure the Slayer is lacking hair and weapons, but that just makes the little fireplug look even cooler going up against the Orc. That Slayer really wants to go out in a blaze of glory!
Click Image to View Video
In this last version of the video, the environments are completed, special effects are in place and the great little details in the video (like the fact that the spit tooth got lost against the background so it’s replaced with a big glob of spit/blood) are seen for the first time. Final sound is added and the Orc vs. Dwarf battle is complete.
Click Image to View Video
To learn more about the making of the WAR cinematic trailer, check out the making of the Catapult sequence and the Warhammer Alliance interview with Jerome "Jed" Denjean, CG Supervisor, and Leo Santos, Animation/Layout Supervisor, from Blur Studio.
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Step One: Scripting the Movie
This battle is the only pairing from the original script to survive pretty much as envisioned (though we had to loose the decapitation in the revised script).
Step Two: Storyboards
With an approved script in hand, Blur was able to storyboard the fight and give us a sense for the flow of combat. It is remarkable how dead-on these simple pencil sketches are when compared to the final video.
Step Three: Concept Art
Based on early in-game models, Blur took a first pass at the concept for the Black Orc as he would look in the video. His legs were a bit too stumpy and his head and neck up a bit too high, but that would be fixed in the modeling phase.
Step Four: Video Animatic
Based on the storyboards and concept art, Blur next created a very rough first pass of the video. The goal was to bring the storyboards to life to make sure the action and camera angles worked as planned. Loved the addition of the spitting of the tooth at the end.
Step Five: Character Models
When building the Black Orc, the first models came back too green.
 |
 |
The skin was darkened and an armor “skirt” was added to replace the loincloth. Now our Black Orc was ready for combat.
 |
 |
 |
|
The Dwarf Slayer was created directly from Games Workshop source materials, big gut and all. In the original model, the height of the mohawk and color/design of the tattoos just weren’t right. He also lacked any elaborate beard ornamentation.
 |
 |
These issues were remedied in the second pass as the Slayer came to life.
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 |
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Step Six: Video Round Two
While the characters where being finished, the rough work-in-progress models were integrated into the video along with first pass animations. Note the Dwarf looks more like a monk and less like a Slayer without the hair.
Step Seven: Animation Tests
To get the physics and effects in the video just right, the team at Blur did all manner of animation tests on everything from clothing to spit trajectories.
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Step Eight: Video Round Three – Look and Feel Render
With final animations in place, a first pass at the full-color render was done to give us an idea of the final look and feel of the video. Sure the Slayer is lacking hair and weapons, but that just makes the little fireplug look even cooler going up against the Orc. That Slayer really wants to go out in a blaze of glory!
Step Nine: Final Render
In this last version of the video, the environments are completed, special effects are in place and the great little details in the video (like the fact that the spit tooth got lost against the background so it’s replaced with a big glob of spit/blood) are seen for the first time. Final sound is added and the Orc vs. Dwarf battle is complete.
To learn more about the making of the WAR cinematic trailer, check out the making of the Catapult sequence and the Warhammer Alliance interview with Jerome "Jed" Denjean, CG Supervisor, and Leo Santos, Animation/Layout Supervisor, from Blur Studio.
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