Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Modelling of Diablo IV's Cinematic "By Three They Come"

Diablo IV Posted 2020/10/25 at 10:03 AM by Jaydaa

ArtStation Magazine article by Amelia SaveryIt’s a Gate: The Modelling Behind Diablo IV’s “By Three They Come'

Amelia Savery via ArtStation Magazine

At the beginning of BlizzCon 2019, the lights fell over tens of thousands of people in the Anaheim Convention Center as the blue-hued countdown to the show slowly turned red. The sound of wind, bells tolling, a burnt wooden door slamming repeatedly against its frame. The hysterical, breathy, frightened prayers of a cleric punctuating the air, and with that, the world of Diablo IV was finally revealed to the world.

Amelia Savery via ArtStation Magazine

Shannon recalled, laughing. “Are we going to even be able to show it? We understood the environmental challenges but for this piece, what was really going to be difficult was the character performances, the dialogue, and the close-ups.” From the beginning of development, performance was key. “There was a lot of character moments where the camera is in the character’s face and they’ve got to give convincing, human performances,” Shannon said.

Although actors were cast for reference, the modeling team was also provided concept art—their task was to push the boundaries of realism back and forth between the actors and the art, both on a character-by-character basis and overall, until they landed in a perfect spot.

Amelia Savery via ArtStation Magazine

For the overall look and feel of the characters, the team was careful to push and stylize where they could to break away from photo-realism. “At Blizzard, going back to Warcraft, we’re always pushing it way more. StarCraft . . . no, StarCraft proportions are whack too,” Jason explained, laughing. “They have, like, massive shoulders. So, a lot of that stuff is what a lot of our IPs work with—very stylized but a realistic sheen. If you take Varian, the forms of his face are realistically rendered, but if you were to squint your eyes and look at him as a silhouette, he’s got huge shoulders, his chest is like a barrel. It’s not realistic. On Diablo, that’s where I would pull back—from the broader forms and proportions to the details like wrinkles, minuscule details. Let’s work with more subtlety.”

Amelia Savery via ArtStation Magazine

, "I am scared of characters not being convincing or believable. They don’t have to be realistic, they don’t have to be live-action, but they have to be convincing enough that the viewer is not taken out of cinematic because there’s something off about the character. As long as these characters are believable in their world, in the way we are presenting them, then I am good with it.”full articleMore about Diablo IVDiablo IVDiablo IV Content Overview GuideSeptember 2020 Quarterly Developer Update

Comment by KushiriI love this kind of content. More please. More behind the scenes is always good.Comment by EmmetcullenReally interesting read!

I think the Three Thy Come trailer is the best trailer I have ever seen hands down, it is unreal.Comment by KondeyI love this kind of content. More please. More behind the scenes is always good.Comment by LakaiyaThis stuff is fascinating!Comment by NymrohdReally interesting read!

I think the Three Thy Come trailer is the best trailer I have ever seen hands down, it is unreal.Comment by ThaDuderI still periodically go back and watch this cinematic. Overall I think it's Blizzards best and that's saying something.Comment by RichardMNixonSomeone put the same caption on each image in the article.Comment by ArnathonI've never had such a strong reaction about a Blizzard cinematic. And while I know they always put their heart and soul into it, this was THE teaser cinematic of the ages of gaming so far.
Just the fact that they went back to the horror-themed roots of Diablo, that feeling when you first stepped into the cathedral in the first game and heard the chilling sound of drums playing, screams of suffering from the depths, demons approaching. Because back then, Diablo was a bit of a horror-ish RPG.

And of course in this cinematic, we finally got to learn what Kadala TRULY needed all those blood shards for! :DComment by AshleyWell, time to watch it again, thanks for the reminder! By far one of my favorite cinematics they've ever done.Comment by rhuulumIf only we could get the cinematic in 4k. It was so incredible but I have no way to see it as good as it looked at blizzcon : (Comment by AenwyrmBandit guy makes me think of Bronn or Beric Dondarrion