The Art of Vampire Variations Volume III

 

The darkness has enveloped us. The mist has enshrouded us. The wolves are howling. Vampire Variations Volume III has been out a little over a week now.

 

Are we enjoying it? Speaking as a huge fan of Super Castlevania IV; I for one certainly am.

 

So - here we are again. Usually Dracula is revived once every century. In this case, it took just two years. Yikes. Bad humans. Is there a Belmont in the house?

 

As its title suggests, Vampire Variations Volume III is the third and final instalment in Alex 'Chernabogue' Mourey's trilogy of terrors. Or threesome of thrills. Hmm, I think the first one was better. And what a high note to end on. Pun intended.

 

VV3 re-arranges the entire soundtrack to Super Castlevania IV; originally released on the Super Famicom/Nintendo in 1991. SCIV is known among Castlevania fans as having a wonderful atmosphere of dread, as ghosties and ghoulies and long-leggedy beasties creep out of the darkness as poor old Simon slogs his way up to Dracula's boudoir. SCIV was essentially a re-make of the original, entitled Akumajo Dracula in its native Japan, which harnessed the power of the Super Famicom console to create a new version of the classic adventure; adding new game mechanics, more levels and greater graphical detail. Fitting then, that Vampire Variations comes full circle with this title as its final instalment; after starting with the original as an anniversary fan project back in 2011.

 

But this time there's a twist. The keen-eyed among you will notice that VV3 is not released through Nitro Game Injection as the previous two volumes were. This time, OverClocked Remix has stepped into the fray and released VV3 as its own original album. Furthermore - they have re-released volumes I and II with it to create a Vampire Variations Trilogy package.

 

Hours of music and all of the artwork I produced are available completely FREE at the VV website right here. You can either download any album separately or all of them as a complete torrent. Plus you can get yourself into the mood by listening to any of the tracks from the albums through their cloud player. Fluffy.

 

Yet again it seems that I am forced to provide something a little different than merely posting the artwork that you may have already seen here. So, I have looted my sketchbooks for various drawings and sketches that contributed to the body of work created for Vampire Variations Volume III. Though the process was a lot smoother this time, there still was a process, and I shall do my best to give you a glimpse of it as we go on.

 

Deep breaths.

 

 

When Alex first prodded me about working on VV3 - I was about four months into illustrating Nature, Red, and about six months away from finishing it. But I wasn't to know that at the time. Contributors and fans of the previous albums had in the past, as far as I'm aware, poked and pleaded and begged and threatened for there to be a SCIV fan album. I confess, I was also secretly one of them. SCIV has always been one of my favourites, coincidentally, as much as Rondo of Blood and The New Generation which got the VV treatment within Volume II. So you can imagine how pleased I was when a) he said that there would be a third album re-arranging the SCIV OST; and also b) said that he would like me to produce illustrations for it, similar to those produced for Volume II. After warning him that I was knee-deep in comic book production; I naturally leapt at the chance and started thinking. Then, when I could, I would start drawing.

 

 

The first ideas that struck me (and this will sound really lazy now) was more or less what actually became the final covers. But we'll get to those later. I've always loved how SCIV presented itself: the creepy title menu with crawling bugs and rumbling thunder, and the iconic first shot of the opening demo - Dracula's dirt covered grave. Since SCIV was already full of iconic imagery, it seemed natural to try and replicate this as a viable album cover. However, I was also interested in drawing Dracula and Simon themselves; considering VV1 focused on environments and VV2 focused on monsters, it seemed logical that the heroes and villains should grace this cover. All of these ideas were thrown into the melting pot of my brain - and while I slaved away on Nature, Red - I left them to simmer.

A page from my sketchbook early into the project: One of the many drawings of Dracula's grave, plus some thumbnails of the proposed album covers.

Alex seemed to agree with my idea of having the iconic shot of Dracula's grave as the cover image, and also with having the background of the tile menu as the back cover. Both screamed SCIV. However, I was still interested in drawing Simon and Dracula, so I started planning the possibility of including those too.

One of the (surprisingly few) rough designs for Simon that I came up with early in the project.

Typically for me - when I seem to have an idea that works, I then think of even more that may work. I was still toying around with other environment and character ideas for inclusion with the album - perhaps as website illustrations, or to be included within a digital booklet. I even wanted to produce the intro to the game as a short b+w comic - but sadly there really wasn't time, plus, with a digital release, it didn't really seem necessary. Tying in with the intro, I also had the idea to render Dracula not as the widow-peaked Count he often appears as; but as the demonic bat-like creature, fresh from the grave, before his powers are fully replenished.

Another early sketchbook page. Castle, environment and demonic Bat-Dracula concepts.

A sketch of Dracula's grave after it is struck by lightning. This would have been in the b+w comic; but sadly there wasn't time to produce it. However a more final version of this image was done later.

Like VV2 before it, it seemed necessary to produce a set of illustrations that would serve to advertise the album when it was announced; for use in trailers, websites, etc. I decided to carry on the idea from the previous album and do some black and white illustrations of the Gothic environments that all the Castlevanias are known for.

A more rendered version of Dracula's grave as his spirit escapes; designed for advertising purposes.

Another 'advertisement' illustration. This one and the image above ultimately ended up on the final album's disc art - included in the download package. 

Harking back to the statue illustrations for VV2, this was produced for possible inclusion on the website. Ultimately however it was left unused.

Detail of the candelabra.

With the advertisement images complete, it was time to start the covers themselves. At this point I'd more or less abandoned the idea of including Simon, but Bat-Dracula was still a possibility. That, however, would have to wait. By now also Nature, Red was finished and out of the way, meaning I had more free time available to paint the covers. The result was as you may already have seen.

The finished cover painting of Dracula's grave. In its final, trimmed cd-size.



The finished painting for the back cover. In final, trimmed cd-size. It was left deliberately sparse in detail because the track listing would inevitably be put over it.

There was, however, more to produce. Alex informed me that because OC Remix were releasing the whole lot as a trilogy of albums, they would need an image to represent the package as a whole. We both had the same idea of using the castle itself as the main archetypal image. Alex originally wanted to use the b+w render from volume II as the source, but considering I had time and the means, I said I would try and do something a little more suited to the style of the last two volumes.

Sketchbook concept of the castle image that would represent all three albums. I wanted the setting sun, the castle itself and the bright moon to represent some sort of trinity (the albums?) and also, somehow, suggesting the passing of time; as the story passes from generation to generation. Or something like that.



The final 'new' castle image. This ended up being the new cover to the OC Remix release of Volume I.

With the three covers done, they were sent to Alex for approval. While he was slaving away creating the logos and the artwork to go over the top of the covers, as well as doing the trailer and overseeing the finished album - I would get cracking on one last image: Dracula himself. Only hairier.



Early sketchbook page of more Bat-Dracula concepts.

A further study; the composition here was ultimately abandoned for the one below.

A sketchbook drawing of what became the final Bat-Dracula illustration.

The final Bat-Dracula design and the final illustration produced for the project. It ended up being used in the trailer for the album.

So there you have it. My part was finished. I just had to wait for the rest of the awesome music to come in (though I was fortunate to be able to listen to a handful of tracks in their early stages - it was good painting music ^^) and the album to be finished - a stake driven through its heart in exclamation. Below is the artwork as it appears both originally and through OC Remix's trilogy package.



Final album art for Volume III by Chernabogue. Note the slight changes to allow the logo.

Final back cover for Volume III by Chernabogue with track list and credits.

The final covers as they appear in the complete package through OverClocked Remix. The originals on the left and the new 'trilogy' versions by djpretzel. I think they're rather nice.

And so, once again, the castle crumbles about us. Dracula is dead (orrrr is he?) and all his little pixies have scampered away. The breaking dawn whispers promises of a brighter tomorrow. I guess. I do hope everyone enjoys the album and all that has come before it. It is a brilliant achievement and a real step forward in giving video game music the recognition it deserves, and showcases real musical talent among fans. My congratulations and thanks go to Alex and all his little pixies - too many to name here. But, trust me, after listening to the album, you'll know who they are forever. I will however mention a few - purely because it fits the end of this post nicely. As famously said by Bela Lugosi in 1931's Dracula - and brilliantly used in Jorito and BMC_WarMachine's track Dracula is our Vampire:

 

"Children of the night. What music they make."

The Art of Vampire Variations Volume II

It's that time again. The forces of Good are on the wane - and in the dark heart of Man lies a growing evil...

Castlevania has returned.

Or something like that. That's usually how it goes. Yes, indeed - Castlevania - Dracula's oh-so-charming abode has re-spawned in the mist and shown us the way once more. But this time to some oh-so-wicked tunes. Vampire Variations Volume II, the brain-child of Alexandre "Chernabogue" Mourey and his legion of fellow musicians is a tribute album to two specific Castlevania titles; Rondo of Blood, originally released only in Japan for the PC Engine in 1993, and Bloodlines, aka The New Generation from 1994 - the only Castlevania game to be released for the Sega Mega Drive.

The soundtracks to both of these games were released as a double album back in the day - and it is that very double album that has gotten the Vampire Variations tribute. And BOY is it a tribute. Within are tracks that cater for nearly all music tastes; be you a fan of metal, funk, electronic, orchestral, etc. VV2 is a remarkable musical achievement that should be admired by not only fans of Castlevania, but fans of video game music in general.

The album is out NOW and is available as a FREE download at the website right here. The album artwork I provided is included within the package and is also featured on the website.

So what the devil are you doing here? Well, I would bring ultimate shame to the blushing faces of bloggers worldwide if I didn't at least try something different for the artwork post. That 'something different' I have decided to be a little glimpse into the process of the whole illustrating-business of the album. I have included, as well as the main illustrations, a selection of sketches and studies that either helped, hindered or inspired the works that are now attached to the album that slowly grew and grew over just under a year. Hang on, a year!? My soul and body...

I refuse to bore/embarrass you (or myself) with further details, so let's get on with it, shall we? Are you sitting comfortably? No? Then I recommend a cushion or something...

The Concept

The first discussions Alex and myself had over the artwork side of VV2 was the 'feel' of it. It had to bring about a certain atmosphere, an evocation that would draw the line as to where the music should (and would) take you. Also, as a gimmick for this new album - Alex was keen to have multiple illustrations representing multiple covers. That way the audience could choose what cover they pleased - be it Rondo, Bloodlines, or something representing all aspects.

One thing I immediately noticed about the existing artwork for these games was their use of colour. Rondo of Blood had a very cool, blue feel to it - whilst Bloodlines had a hot, red feel to it. So it seemed obvious - carry this colour scheme over to our pieces - giving a clear distinction between the two 'discs'. For the overarching image that would represent the project as a whole - purple (red and blue combined, thank you Primary School Art lessons) seemed the logical choice for the dominant colour.

I went away and had a think. Eventually I did some drawing...

 

The initial stance was to have each image be a battle of some sort. For the Rondo cover (above) I chose the very 'blue' clash with Dracula at the end of the game. For the Bloodlines cover (below) I chose the red/orange colour of the Gargoyle enemy that the player battles atop the tower of Pisa in Italy.

 

 

For the 'purple' cover - I always liked the idea of the symbolic environments of the Castlevania games. The architecture of the castle; adorned with statues of angels and devils, gothic archways, church bells, and a Grand Organ or two lining the background. Alex seemed to share this opinion, so the concept for that particular cover was easy enough to nail down.

Such A Tease...

However well the concept stage seemed to be going - the fact of the matter was that Alex needed something 'final' to display either as a teaser website or within footage of a teaser trailer for the album in order to generate awareness/interest. We then decided to carry forward the 'environmental' approach that both represented the artwork for VV1 back in 2011. I added to this by incorporating elements of certain sculpture that appears in the games. These, I felt, would tie in nicely to the 'purple' cover.

I then produced a small series of illustrations that would serve as the 'teaser' images. For the Rondo image I decided to draw the statues that appear within the File Menu of the game. I thought these to be instantly recognisable to Rondo fans - as ANYONE who has played so much has 30 seconds of it will undoubtedly have seen them and their semi-nakedness peering at your save files.

The Bloodlines image would prove to be a little easier - considering it's based on a REAL statue, and not just a sprite. In Level 5 of Bloodlines, the player travels to France and the Palace of Versailles. At the Fountain outside the player notices it fill with blood and has to fend of the skeletons that rise from it. (Kool-Aid, anyone?) Anywho - atop the fountain is the (rather famous) sculpture by the Brothers Marsy of the Goddess Latona, protecting her children Apollo and Diana. Although seen immensely briefly in the game to those eagle-eyed enough to spot it - I thought it would be a good image for a Bloodlines teaser.

 

And for the project as a whole? Well...what better way to illustrate Castlevania than by illustrating....uh...Castlevania. Ahh, see? It's all starting to make sense now, isn't it?

 

These three images, along with some concept illustrations above, were coloured appropriately and eventually made their way into two separate teaser trailers for the album. The advert illustrations also adorn the physical disc artwork to those of you who have downloaded the package.

 

Study and Development

 

Whilst doing the advertising illustrations, there was still the matter of the main images to deal with. I still was going along with the idea of the 'duels' for each cover at this point, so it became necessary to acquaint myself with drawing the characters and monsters - which would ultimately decide the look we were hoping for.

 

Rondo of Blood is known for having a very anime style. The PSP remake back in 2007 changed this to the richer, darker style of Ayami Kojima to better suit the style of Symphony of the Night (its direct sequel) - however I wanted to illustrate something that was between these two approaches. I wanted to keep the anime look of Rondo, but apply a darker tone to the style that was better suited to me personally, AND to the look of the whole album.

 

So, sporadically over the peeling months, when I could, I drew and drew study after study of Richter, Maria, Dracula, etc. Note that I have excluded characters from Bloodlines. This was intentional - I thought it best to overcome the hurdle for Rondo first and then apply the solution to the next section. Unfortunately it didn't really work out that way... Following is a (very!) small selection from oodles of doodles/sketches/studies produced of the Rondo of Blood characters, for possible inclusion as disc/back cover art to that side of the album. A glimpse into what never was.

 

 

 

While some approaches worked and some didn't - in the end I was dissatisfied with how the characters would fit within the 'feel' of the album we were looking for. Monsters, such as Dracula's transformed state seemed to work fine, but humans didn't - in any style. My last bash at the 'duelling' approach to the illustrations was a more fleshed-out concept sketch of a possible Rondo cover, seen below:

 



 

While playing around with those ideas - I was also cracking on with ideas for the main cover. I liked the idea of some sort of statue - but it was a question of incorporating the 'purple-ness' within the illustration to differentiate it from the two other covers.

 

 

At the time I was experimenting with coloured inks - and, being water-soluble, when two colours are mixed; they blend. To achieve the purple I tried bleeding red and blue inks together - as some sort of sunset/sunrise that better illustrates the plight of the Belmonts. In the end I produced the illustration below; which, at the time, was to serve as the main cover.

 

 

I wasn't 100% happy with it, but time forbade me to mess around with it too much, so I carried on with the other two covers.

 

Less Is More

 

It was then that I decided to wipe the slate clean and go back to basics. The first VV album's art dealt with environments; such as the Chapel, or Dracula's chamber. For the VV2 ads we took that a stage further with statues from the environments. So too, then, shall be the main illustrations - Monsters were the way to be representational, but not TOO literal.

 

I suggested this idea to Alex, who agreed (and probably just wanted me to get on with them XD) and shared the idea that certain monsters could represent each game. I liked the transformed Dracula and the Gargoyle enough not to drop them, and proceeded to flesh them out with a slightly more symbolic approach in mind.

 

 

The result was as you may have already seen...

 

 

There was but one final hurdle. The main cover. I still was not happy with it, and looking at it, the purple bleed didn't come across as strongly as I wanted it to. Alex said that there was still time to have another go if I wanted to (as he was still waiting for music) and so I did.

 

For a while I toyed with the idea of producing Dracula's Crest as the main cover illustration - but that never really worked out either. Sorry folks, THOSE drawings are for perhaps another day. (Pfft. XP) I persisted with the statue idea, and after many drawings came up with a concept that seemed to work.

 

 

So - have the angel represent Good/Justice/Belmont Clan, etc. and have little goblins and devils pouring out from behind as the (purple!) darkness grows; enveloping the world in darkness as Dracula's resurrection is imminent. It always sounds so simple afterwards...

 

 

This had the effect I had hoped. So, the 'other' cover became the basis for the back cover illustration to the album. Below is how the final illustrations look as their respective covers within the download package.

 

 

So there you have it. The light of the breaking dawn filters through the windows of the crumbling castle. Dracula, and all his evil little pixies, are gone once more. But as long as there is evil in the heart of Mankind...

Until next time, Belmont!



Vampire Variations Volume II - Let's get cracking!

 

It's a good time to be a Castlevania fan...

 

Before being released on October 31st, Project Director Chernabogue has treated us to the trailer for Vampire Variations II. For those of you who didn't read the last post, or frankly just couldn't be bothered - VV2 is a Castlevania fan album remixing two soundtracks for two of its most popular titles; Rondo of Blood and Bloodlines (aka New Generation).

 

I had the opportunity to be part of the project by providing the album's artwork. This newest trailer contains the final illustrations in all their glory (plus they will be available as part of the download package), and also they will be blogged here to coincide with the release of this very exciting tribute album.

 

You can watch the new trailer below. For news updates be sure to check out the VV2 site here.