This is a piece of key art I created back in early 2025 for the game Veil of Ashes by Greifenmaer Games Studio. Veil of Ashes is a real-time tactics game set in a dark steampunk universe, focused on tanks and infantry skirmishes.
I was excited when they reached out to me as I enjoy blending history with fictional battlefields. Creating an epic piece of key art that reflects the nature of the game was both a rewarding and challenging task. The team had a general vision and fully trusted my skills and design sense to craft a striking image.
Below, I’ll explain how I approached the task. If you need the tools for your own digital art, see our guides to the best digital art software and the best drawing tablets.
Layering and composition
I started in 3D since I was provided with some 3D hero assets for the main tanks and aircraft. The team at Greifenmaer also sent their initial in-game layouts to help kick off the creative brief.
I quickly moved on to blocking out the full scene in Blender, building the environment and placing basic rigged soldiers.
Translating 2D knowledge into 3D
I had to plan all VFX effects and post-production from the start. Blender’s Compositor lets me control and tweak colour balance, exposure, lens effects, etc.
For most of the additional VFX, I used 2D image planes either with emission (explosions) or alpha planes (dust, particles). This saved a lot of resources.
Final steps
I could then render high-resolution passes in Blender and polish the image in Photoshop. I was given the creative freedom to introduce some 2D touches, like brushstrokes along the edges and subtle painterly effects to soften parts of the ‘fake’ 3D look.
This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.
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