Last time, we wrote to you about the changes awaiting W.A.N.D. Project's spellcrafting and its visual representation. The main heroines defending Tokyo will also receive more attention from us, and you can be sure they will be truly magical!
In the demo version of W.A.N.D. Project, you only saw placeholders. This applies to the heroines and the mysterious wand leading them into battle. We are constantly experimenting, and none of the images below are in their "final form" yet. However, we wanted to show some evolution!
The Evolution of Maki
We started working on the final look for our main characters in the W.A.N.D. Project from scratch, looking for the right direction of art that would appeal to our players and also emphasize the anime feeling of the game. The first attempts were based on the Chibi models we use in gameplay - we focused on consistency as a major goal. That is how the first version of Maki came to life.
Interestingly, the feedback from the team regarding the first Maki version was crushing - unfortunately, this Maki was not even close to the initial idea, so we completely changed the style! In search of the best solution, the next step was to create something more “cute” based on the vision we had determined with the help of AI tools.
Another round of feedback ensued - and the biggest problem was Maki’s hairstyle. The artist behind our W.A.N.D. characters prepared the third project based on what we accomplished while working with Stable Diffusion - this was the main idea we used AI for in the early stages of prototyping the game. We aimed to find appropriate references and determine the visual look of characters that would reflect their skills, personifications, and character traits. We spent many hours designing the final game heroines, preparing descriptions, researching benchmarks and anime culture, and preparing our placeholder in AI tools. Then, our artist stepped into the project and prepared the final design - which you can see below as a GIF.
Of course, there was much to discuss, even if this version suited us best. We were looking for the final touch in the form of details. This led us to another concern - with or without? 🙂
We then reconsidered Maki’s color scheme.
Eventually, we established Maki’s appearance with the red hoodie. The decisive argument (beyond just the visual aspects) was that the blonde girl's name references red flowers because "Maki" means poppies in Polish, so it should be red, without hesitation!
We are currently working on our main characters' different emotions and positions. Here, you can see Maki's second pose.
How about the rest of the girls?
The rest of the in-game art is also already done, so we will leave you some sneak peeks to show how far we have come with them. You are probably familiar with the first one of the girls, who will be available within the game, as Yumi was the first to appear in the demo version. And to give you some insight into the third character, here is our work-in-progress version of Rina and a combination of her facial expressions.
Of course, we remembered to show you the final version of Yumi. Here’s what she will look like in-game.
As you can see, we have already confirmed three sorceresses fighting demons for Tokyo. Each of them will have unique abilities and their own spellcrafting. Who knows, more will appear if you meet the appropriate requirements in W.A.N.D. Project? We will tell you more about this on another occasion, so follow us on Twitter (X) and TikTok, and remember to join us on Discord.
Be sure to tell us your thoughts about their appearances - we would love to hear some feedback and suggestions, as these artworks are not final.
Thanks for your attention!