Aethereans - Early ideas

These are very early ideas for the Aethereans at a moment where we were developing their lore and abilities. In my opinion, that is the best time to do concept art. That's the moment where you dig for references and symbolisms and tie them to the needs of the game in order to create cohesive and effective designs that could be expanded in the future if needed.

The ring-shaped head was discarded early on because at that time, out of nowhere, a bunch of games decided to release exactly that same idea. The concept I had was having them wear halos so they looked divine in nature. Eventually I proposed that during a battle, part of the halo's top could be broken so they would end up looking like horns instead, completing their visual transformation from good to evil.