My only concern is about Rohan arrives: what about a picture in which you can better see in details the army? I'm afraid, even if i got the atmosphere behind it (the line of riders aligned with the horizon looks really awesome),it could be not so clear in game especially with a smaller size. What do you think? it's all about a technical matter ,the picture looks good
I'm really glad you liked the proposed art, Aulë, and knowing that others have appreciated the effort is likewise delightful
Thank you for the precious feedback, also.
Rohan Answers was a little bit of a tricky icon to come up with, for the exact same reason you've mentioned in your post. I wondered whether a full display of horsemen (the entire army) would result in a fitter rendition, or even some excerpts from the widely renowned scene of the king rallying his troops and delivering his magnificent speech. Including the actual concept that I have ultimately opted for, those were the only three solutions at hand.
Well, eventually, the current icon did turn out to be the best of the three.
Pictures of the whole host just showed the mass of knights riding towards their enemies, leaving out other evocative elements like the weather or the terrain (a poorer kind of scenery, compared to the others); thus, a quite rowdy and chaotic ensemble, whereas I needed something more iconic. Using the scene involving Théoden would have been too situational for the purpose and too much centred on the character himself (who is already the leader of another faction and the focus of Rohan's central spell); choosing too situational scenes might go against the idea of a truly iconic/timeless art, because the latter is the final goal. I can give you some examples of that:
Arrow Volley will have another icon as well, which I decided to craft due to the previous cartoon-like design, and I had initially chosen a picture displaying Galadhrim firing their darts from the pinnacles of Helm's Deep. Now, where was the issue in such a concept, that was undoubtedly a fine concept (the suspense, the rain, the great angle from which you could gaze at all archers and their orderly formation)? The issue was exactly Helm's Deep; the footage was way too much absorbed into the context. Or, take Eagles into consideration: I strived to find a proper rendition with a precise reason; if I had included fell beasts, and that was nonetheless an extraordinary scene, the icon would have been situational, too. In our ancestral language, we could say that things were too much
in medias res The current image, however, wonderfully portrays riders being about to get to the battlefield. The army has not arrived in its entirety yet, with this symbolising the final answer of Rohan and the fact that they came at the latest hour of strife, after a quite troublesome journey and not without some doubts from the very king's side. Therefore, hope comes, at last, in the guise of far silhouettes appearing on the horizon. Moreover, and this is the pivotal aspect of the picture, you really get an overview of the weather; the clouds of ashes sent by Sauron to darken the skies are swiftly blown away by light and benevolent winds. Light versus darkness. I couldn't have asked for a better footage.
I hope I've made all a bit clearer. I'm sure they'll do greatly in the game