Mooncolony joined forces with frequent partner Blizzard Entertainment to create a series of cinematic illustrations for World of Warcraft, focusing on a new lore piece for Xal'atath.
Building on the trust established through previous projects, the team at Blizzard put their faith in Mooncolony to develop Xal'atath’s character into uncharted territory. The team were given the reign to illustrate the fan favourite character’s origin story, which hasn’t been shown to audiences until now.
In the piece, Xal’atath has united the warring factions of the Void, unleashing a ravenous army that threatens to consume all of Azeroth.
One choice remains: stand and fight, or be consumed.
Creative Process
Both the story and the techniques pushed us into new territories. The overall scale of the cinematic was expansive, combining high octane action and elaborate camera moves.
We pulled off a Mooncolony and World of Warcraft first by creating a full 2D orbit shot, made up of 29 states. The result is a spectacular sweeping move that showcases the characters at the story’s peak.
We also tackled a few fun challenges along the way, such as transitioning the characters from their game aesthetic to a more detailed "live action" look, and handling Xal’atath’s transformation.
One of our favourite tasks was designing an entirely new race for young Xal’atath. This is a race that has never been shown before in World of Warcraft, so the team really got to flex their creative muscles!
We hope fans enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.
The Team
Art Director: Arthur Bozonnet
Concept Artist: Grace Tan
Lead Artist: Alex Alexandrov
Artists: Alexandre Leoni, Tulio Brito, Yerbol Bulentayev, Kelly Aleshire, Andrew Chou, Marina Krivenko, Jodie Muir, Blake Byun, Kate Ladon, Huyy Nguyen, Kate Tambovtseva, Mattia Rangoni, Vladislav Tashkinov, Tuan Nguyen, Cyprien Rousson, Dmitry Khrapovitsky
Mooncolony Production: Pauline Coogans, Katie Millar, Meghan Hamilton