Carnán
Carnán's face design went through a lot of iterations, this is one of the earlier versions, tapping into more of her connection with nature.
Something I'm especially proud of was the velvet effect we achieved on her moss-covered areas.
Some hair design exploration - how natural or unnatural we wanted to push the qualities of her hair and crown.
Carnán appears in several cinematics, and we wanted to show a visual progression to tie into the narrative. In her Winter Form she's lost her sight and her leaves have completely fallen.
A great shot from one of the cinematics. The lighting team did an excellent job bringing a lot of gravity to every scene she was in.
Carnán was an original, cinematics-only character for Middle Earth: Shadow of War.
A powerful spirit of nature residing in the forests of Mordor, she needed to fit the LOTR brand aesthetic, and be immediately recognizable as a nature spirit without being mistaken for the well-known Ents.
Concept by Wayne Barlowe, then Luca Nemalto, with final design exploration by myself. Art Direction by Phil Straub.
