I'm reconcepting Chrono Trigger, let's do it together. [Latest update in OP]

Deleted member 5621 · Oct 6, 2019

Raging Spaniard said:
OK so the NEXT big thing I want to work on is a screenshot mockup. Im using Ni No Kuni as a "base" for this and Im also treating it as a chance to flesh out the world.

Very early WIP, Guardia Town, 1000 AD

This is something I can use ERA's help with. You can see Guardia Castle in the background, Im wondering if this should be a late game screenshot and have the Black Omen floating in the sky as well. This is NOT the MIllenial Fair grounds, so no Lenee Square here, no Gato but yes to random delicious chicken just waiting for you to eat it.

What else? You can see I have two big spots open, what kind of houses or shops should be there? NPC's? Any ideas to help fill out this scene would be hugely helpful :)

Since there's a bunch of small towns reasonably distant from the Castle/Square area, and somehow the castle doesn't have access to jerky easily, I like to think that the the "capital" is mostly services and expanding the urban area to eventually reach all towns and then have inns, restaurants, farms, etc. After all, everybody, even the soldiers, seem to live in the castle. So blacksmiths, nurseries, churches, carpenters (there's a forest around after all!), etc.

I know that doesn't make a lot of sense but it's how I've always interpreted the geography of Guardia =P

Bruceleeroy · Oct 6, 2019

I have nothing to contribute other than to say Avi I've known you for a long time from the early gaf days and you're even more talented now than you were then which is insane because you were amazing the second we started seeing your stuff. Truly excellent work

XaviConcept · Oct 6, 2019

WarRock said:
Since there's a bunch of small towns reasonably distant from the Castle/Square area, and somehow the castle doesn't have access to jerky easily, I like to think that the the "capital" is mostly services and expanding the urban area to eventually reach all towns and then have inns, restaurants, farms, etc. After all, everybody, even the soldiers, seem to live in the castle. So blacksmiths, nurseries, churches, carpenters (there's a forest around after all!), etc.

I know that doesn't make a lot of sense but it's how I've always interpreted the geography of Guardia =P

Makes sense to me! Basically I should pile up all the little houses around Cronos house and make a town out of it. Having a forest between nobility and everyone else makes enough sense within the setting, kind of like the gardens in Versailles, which are gigantic. Thanks for your input, it definitely helps and will be used!

Bruceleeroy said:
I have nothing to contribute other than to say Avi I've known you for a long time from the early gaf days and you're even more talented now than you were then which is insane because you were amazing the second we started seeing your stuff. Truly excellent work

Thanks Bruce, your constant support over the years has been noticed and appreciated :) I still remember seeing your MGS4 OT and going "oh shit, this guy knows whats up" haha. Thanks for being there, I'm only getting started!

XaviConcept · Oct 7, 2019

Happy Monday! The screenshot "project" is going to take a while and be ongoing, so in the meantime, I have more work to show for myself. Im also starting to make character sheets! These are usually1/3 pagers that showcase the character doing various personality based actions, this helps the teams get to know the character.

For me, I really want to explore female Crono since thats my original design and I really want to flesh out the character. She should feel different enough from her male counterpart but still very much relatable

ahbs22 · Oct 7, 2019

wow
nice work of art

XaviConcept · Oct 9, 2019

No update today as two big things happened

work moved to a new office, its great!

and my face got busted the fuck uppp

(whole day at the ER and 3 stitches later, Im alright)

Also BIG THANKS to Jawmuncher and crew for the time in the spotlight, super appreciated!

Deleted member 5621 · Oct 9, 2019

Time for that Cody cosplay.

XaviConcept · Jan 5, 2020

Hi Chrono fam, new year, got some vacay and I think Im ready for some more art :)

Picking up where I left off, I wanted to get something with Ayla off the ground, and the feast seemed like a very natural thing to illustrate and ... make some changes, haha

Looking forward to keep this project growing in 2020, your support on this means a lot so please stick around!

AuthenticM · Jan 5, 2020

Raging Spaniard said:
Hi Chrono fam, new year, got some vacay and I think Im ready for some more art :)

Picking up where I left off, I wanted to get something with Ayla off the ground, and the feast seemed like a very natural thing to illustrate and ... make some changes, haha

Looking forward to keep this project growing in 2020, your support on this means a lot so please stick around!

it looks amazing

Hailinel · Jan 5, 2020

Raging Spaniard said:
Hi Chrono fam, new year, got some vacay and I think Im ready for some more art :)

Picking up where I left off, I wanted to get something with Ayla off the ground, and the feast seemed like a very natural thing to illustrate and ... make some changes, haha

Looking forward to keep this project growing in 2020, your support on this means a lot so please stick around!

Excellent work! It's cool to see you're still at it.

lunanto · Jan 5, 2020

Just passing by to say congratulations. Your talent is bigger than the bowl in that last drawing.

XaviConcept · Jan 5, 2020

Hailinel said:
Excellent work! It's cool to see you're still at it.

Thanks bud, its been good to have a project to fall back on when I feel like drawing but not necessarily create something from scratch, plus its fun to see all the progress!

ChronoMonarch · Jan 5, 2020

Welcome back Raging Spaniard ! I am excited for more artwork for our favorite game, Chrono Trigger. Happy New Year to you too!

hersheyfan · Jan 7, 2020

Just dropping by to thank Raging Spaniard for his sterling work. Fantastic job man, even more so considering you're only working on this unpaid side project in your free time. I shared this thread with a bunch of like-minded Chrono Trigger fans offsite, and they all loved it.

Maybe someday Square will take a hint and bring us more Chrono!

Edit: Regarding specfic feedback - the female Crono looks amazing! The baggy look also suits the male version, it was a good idea to make him look a little dippy considering he still is just a kid.

Magus v2 looks great as a character in a vacuum, but the dangling jewelry and additional accents you gave him somewhat of a Southeast Asian feel (I want to say... Malaysian?) that doesn't give that same Magus "feel". Again, it's a really cool design, it just feels like a big departure from the OG look.

XaviConcept · Jan 7, 2020

hersheyfan said:
Just dropping by to thank Raging Spaniard for his sterling work. Fantastic job man, even more so considering you're only working on this unpaid side project in your free time. I shared this thread with a bunch of like-minded Chrono Trigger fans offsite, and they all loved it.

Maybe someday Square will take a hint and bring us more Chrono!

Edit: Regarding specfic feedback - the female Crono looks amazing! The baggy look also suits the male version, it was a good idea to make him look a little dippy considering he still is just a kid.

Magus v2 looks great as a character in a vacuum, but the dangling jewelry and additional accents you gave him somewhat of a Southeast Asian feel (I want to say... Malaysian?) that doesn't give that same Magus "feel". Again, it's a really cool design, it just feels like a big departure from the OG look.

Thats really nice! Is it somewhere I could take a look? Would love to hear more opinions on this

This project is a really good chance for me to use the skills I use in my everyday job but I never get to share them online, plus its a great fit for building a portfolio a Japanese company might relate to.

Re: Magus. It definitely is a departure, but one Im comfortable with. As a concept artist you need to inject your own sense of flair and story into your designs, with Magus I wanted him to still have some Zeal roots in his wardrobe, and the more complex silhouette helps in selling him as a more complex character. I still adore the original design, but this project is less of an homage and more of a reinterpretation.

SPRidley · Jan 7, 2020

Raging Spaniard said:
Happy Monday! The screenshot "project" is going to take a while and be ongoing, so in the meantime, I have more work to show for myself. Im also starting to make character sheets! These are usually1/3 pagers that showcase the character doing various personality based actions, this helps the teams get to know the character.

For me, I really want to explore female Crono since thats my original design and I really want to flesh out the character. She should feel different enough from her male counterpart but still very much relatable

Little late here but I love your female crono Xavi. She has tons of charm and those face reactions are great.
I know someone made 3d model of frog, but I just wanted to ask for permission.
Im doing 3d character model classes right now to expand my portfolio and I would love to tackle a 3d model of female Crono, if thats cool with you of course :D

Also loving the newest art you posted. Keep them coming! :D

XaviConcept · Jan 7, 2020

SPRidley said:
Little late here but I love your female crono Xavi. She has tons of charm and those face reactions are great.
I know someone made 3d model of frog, but I just wanted to ask for permission.
Im doing 3d character model classes right now to expand my portfolio and I would love to tackle a 3d model of female Crono, if thats cool with you of course :D

Also loving the newest art you posted. Keep them coming! :D

Yeah of course, Id be flattered! I can probably do a turnaround this week, it should be helpful!

And yes be on the lookout for more art this week :)

SPRidley · Jan 8, 2020

Raging Spaniard said:
Yeah of course, Id be flattered! I can probably do a turnaround this week, it should be helpful!

And yes be on the lookout for more art this week :)

Oh that would help greatly. Was gonna use the full body concept you have in the drawing were she was with male crono also, but i loved so much the laughing one maybe I tried going for a bust of that also.
What I dont know is when will be able to start it, so no rush with the turnaround, I know you are busy so just do it when you have time :D

XaviConcept · Feb 2, 2020

Small update, although I do plan on new artwork next week :)

Got off my ass and compiled all the work so far on my website, it's all the work you see in this thread but in a gallery format. I think some people here would like to have that link saved up

Check it out here

OldGamer · Feb 2, 2020

Those are some great art concepts. Bursting with charm and personality, yet still true to Chrono Trigger.

Thanks for sharing, they were a treat.

BrokenIcarus · Feb 2, 2020

Wow, this is some truly great stuff!

Lwill · Feb 2, 2020

I don't know how I missed this thead before, but I now I have it on my watched list. Very cool redesigns for one of my favorite games of all time.

Menchi · Feb 2, 2020

These are really great! I love your thoughts and reasoning for your choices too.

XaviConcept · Mar 11, 2020

Well hello there. Seeing how today is the 25th anniversary of the game figured this was as good a day as any for an update.

Moreover, lets finally get to the Three Gurus! Gaspar first :)

Not too much of a redesign, more of an updated! I like the classical look from the original, but I also see Gaspar as somebody who is a bit out of touch and not as good at disguising his magical nature as he thinks he is ... maybe he floats a bit by accident while he sleeps! I added some color accents reminiscent to his Zeal design and overall made him look a biiit more "magical gnome" like which I think fits him well

Razorrin · Mar 11, 2020

Nice work! I always appreciate that extra level of consideration and character building when trying to create or adapt personalities! You did an awesome job with Gaspar, can't wait to see more when you get the chance to make more!

I'm surprised you haven't made a patreon or something to get a little extra for your hard work, though I can imagine the extra stress that would put on what is supposed to be a fun excercise.

Regardless, great job! Always a pleasure to see you posting!

XaviConcept · Mar 11, 2020

Razorrin said:
Nice work! I always appreciate that extra level of consideration and character building when trying to create or adapt personalities! You did an awesome job with Gaspar, can't wait to see more when you get the chance to make more!

I'm surprised you haven't made a patreon or something to get a little extra for your hard work, though I can imagine the extra stress that would put on what is supposed to be a fun excercise.

Regardless, great job! Always a pleasure to see you posting!

Thank you! Thats very kind :)

Monetizing this project (aside from an eventual book or selling prints) is not really a motivation, that starts getting me into legal waters I dont want to get into and like, EA pays me enough money, haha, its fine. The rewards really do come from the work itself and the chance to make something that resonates with the fanbase.

And if eventually Square Enix wants to hire me that would be cool too

frenchmovietheme · Mar 11, 2020

Holy smokes these redesigns are incredible. Nice work fellas!

KtotheRoc · Mar 12, 2020

Not sure where else I can post this, but what do you think of Masato Kato's concept art before Toriyama took a crack at it?

XaviConcept · Mar 12, 2020

KtotheRoc said:
Not sure where else I can post this, but what do you think of Masato Kato's concept art before Toriyama took a crack at it?

I dont have a strong opinion because theyre just extremely foundational drawings. Its the characters you know by the guy who drew the NES Ninja Gaiden cinematics and art wise theyre much closer to Chrono Cross which, again makes a lot of sense. If he had done a few more rounds where he refined his ideas it would have been interesting where he would make edits, for what it is you can tell its meant to be used for a quick pitch

You can definitely see how Toriyama took these ideas, grabbed the best bits and came up with some cool ideas. Toriyama still has some bad habits, hes used that Marle design in the past for Dragon Quest and Dragon Ball, but thats his role as a freelance designer, just get as much out as you can. His good use of color and basic shapes always made for really good 2D sprite interpretations of his work though

Protoman200X · Mar 12, 2020

Raging Spaniard said:
Well hello there. Seeing how today is the 25th anniversary of the game figured this was as good a day as any for an update.

Moreover, lets finally get to the Three Gurus! Gaspar first :)

Not too much of a redesign, more of an updated! I like the classical look from the original, but I also see Gaspar as somebody who is a bit out of touch and not as good at disguising his magical nature as he thinks he is ... maybe he floats a bit by accident while he sleeps! I added some color accents reminiscent to his Zeal design and overall made him look a biiit more "magical gnome" like which I think fits him well

Gaspar always resembled a mushroom with a moustache in the original game, so I'm giving you brownie points for keeping that silhouette with this updated design.

FantasticMrFoxdie · Mar 12, 2020

holy shit only just barely stumbling on this thread.

Amazing work 😮

XaviConcept · Mar 12, 2020

Who knew all I needed was for work to enact a WFH policy for my productivity to come back ;)

More Three Guru's. This time Melchior, the Guru of Life! Good chance to make some changes. I always thought he had a very playful personality, I see him as more of a swordmaster, a war hero, a flamboyant old man, somebody who likes to laugh and tell stories, possibly blind. Affable, open and mysterious all at the same time He didn't even change his aesthetic when he time traveled, hinting at a deep love for his Kingdom of Origin so lets push that!

XaviConcept · Mar 13, 2020

Made some edits to Melchior, seems like I rushed some shit last night, haha

Later today I'll have Belthasar who I can tell you will both be black and female. Gotta get more representation in there, yall

DealWithIt · Mar 13, 2020

Always glad to see this stuff. Thanks!

XaviConcept · Mar 14, 2020

The Guru of Reason, Belthasar!

Great chance to make some changes and add some damn melanin into this game. I wanted her to look really sage and have some good contrast between her and Melchior. Still classy but more flowy, less harsh silhouette, somebody you could see work in isolation for a long time

Might still make a Zeal Gaspar design but glad to have these three done

XaviConcept · May 8, 2020

So ... this thread started a year ago today and I was ... pretty surprised! Wanted to celebrate by making a new design. Somebody who should really become a named character in a potential remake, Chrono's mother!

Her original design, not seen in the sprite, is actually kind of buff. I loved that. Single mom, lives far away from the city, raising a for sure rascal and she has to handle all of that shit on her own. I also LOVED presenting every party member to her whenever you return home, such a cool way to build character!

Ghostswillpass · May 8, 2020

Wow, incredible as ever, so glad this project is still going!

DeadPhoenix · May 8, 2020

Hmm... Someone must have trained Chrono on how to use a katana...

Hailinel · May 8, 2020

Raging Spaniard said:
So ... this thread started a year ago today and I was ... pretty surprised! Wanted to celebrate by making a new design. Somebody who should really become a named character in a potential remake, Chrono's mother!

Her original design, not seen in the sprite, is actually kind of buff. I loved that. Single mom, lives far away from the city, raising a for sure rascal and she has to handle all of that shit on her own. I also LOVED presenting every party member to her whenever you return home, such a cool way to build character!

She looks really cool! I totally see your reasoning for your choices. And just in time for Mother's Day, too!

Syril · May 8, 2020

Raging Spaniard said:
So ... this thread started a year ago today and I was ... pretty surprised! Wanted to celebrate by making a new design. Somebody who should really become a named character in a potential remake, Chrono's mother!

In the Japanese version she's named Gina.

y2kyle89 · May 8, 2020

Raging Spaniard said:
I also LOVED presenting every party member to her whenever you return home, such a cool way to build character!

...I never thought to do that.

XaviConcept · May 8, 2020

Syril said:
In the Japanese version she's named Gina.

Oh shit, had no idea, very cool!

y2kyle89 said:
...I never thought to do that.

Time for another playthrough!

Magnus · May 8, 2020

Love this thread so much

Bladelaw · May 8, 2020

Anyone else ever think it was weird that the Guru of Life sold/made weapons ostensibly used to kill things?

DiipuSurotu · May 8, 2020

Bladelaw said:
Anyone else ever think it was weird that the Guru of Life sold/made weapons ostensibly used to kill things?

The Guru of Reason loses his sanity.

The Guru of Time is stuck at the literal End of Time.

That's their punishment after messing with Lavos in Antiquity.

It's ironic.

Bladelaw · May 8, 2020

DiipuSurotu said:
The Guru of Reason loses his sanity.

The Guru of Time is stuck at the literal End of Time.

That's their punishment after messing with Lavos in Antiquity.

It's ironic.

You know, I've played and finished this game in excess of 100 times and that only just dawned on me.

FF Seraphim · May 8, 2020

DiipuSurotu said:
The Guru of Reason loses his sanity.

The Guru of Time is stuck at the literal End of Time.

That's their punishment after messing with Lavos in Antiquity.

It's ironic.

I didn't even think about that. But didn't the Guru of Life always make weapons?

Bladelaw · May 8, 2020

FF Seraphim said:
I didn't even think about that. But didn't the Guru of Life always make weapons?

He made the Mammon machine which was supposed to give eternal life to the Zealots (Zealeans?) so that part made sense. I figured he would know how to destroy his creation (ie the red knife that became the Masamune). The weaponsmithing in the present day is what threw me.

XaviConcept · May 22, 2020

When this group of teenagers found themselves 1300 years in the future, little did they know they would come across a recording that would change not just their lives, but the fate of the world itself

Also recorded the drawing session for this, will be doing more of that in the future as well

XaviConcept · May 23, 2020

After Effects finally stopped being weird so I was able to make a timelapse, for those not wanting to watch a two hour video, lol

I'm reconcepting Chrono Trigger, let's do it together. [Latest update in OP]

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