Loadingscreen made by Mihalceanu for the "Master of the Abyss" set
The way the Workshoppers manage every week to create spectacular and yet different sets is their secret and theirs alone!
After the last patch, Workshop artists couldn't submit their sets for a period of a whole week due to a bug, but in the end, Valve managed to fix it. Thus for the past two days the Workshop was assaulted by tons of new sets. Two sets for Zeus (one completely different from the other), a set for Storm Spirit that looks like it's ripped from fairytales from our childhood, and a new set for Underlord are the main attractions for this week
Created by four experienced artists, the new Zeus set looks amazing. With a cute little wizard hat incorporated perfectly with the rest of the set, it passes from a god to a magician--a magician that always carries his book on the waist. I reached out to Chameleon to find out more about their set.
I usually collaborate with Nobiru and usually we make sets together. In April 2016 2D artist KaAS offered us a concept of Zeus and we really liked it. When we finished models and set was ready for texturing Valve announced Warhammer contest. We took Alchemist's concept by RocketAlex so God Zeus was postponed. Collaboration with RocketAlex was incredibly informative, we learned a lot of new things and features. Therefore when a set has been opened after a while we decided to remake from scratch! New knowledge helped us make set better and finally after seven months we submitted our work in Workshop. Hope Valve will notice him and they like it!
Another brilliant set is the Volcanic Jaws for Earthshaker. I can't even begin to choose what I like most about the set: the mask, the horns or the back. All the parts of the set are perfectly integrated, and the colors are beautiful beyond imagination.
Vote, add to favorite, and don't forget to leave feedback for the artists because, look, they deserve it!
Toasty, one of my favorite Workshoppers, also came up with a Zeus set for this week. Depicting him like a true warrior, the artist also wrote a little story about it.
Shunned from the vaulted empyrean skies of Olympus, the now mortal Zeus resolved to prove himself worthy to his divine spouse. In an act of true desperation, Zeus ventured deep below the earth to the forsaken abyss known as Tartarus. He sought to take the power of the Titans, deities of unimaginable strength that the once divine Zeus had locked away.
He was however a god no longer. Zeus spoke with pride and cunning, letting no outwards sign of his weakness be known to the imprisoned Titans. Zeus demanded that each of the Titans relinquish their immense power to him, into golden relics forged by Hephaetus himself. They trembled at each crackling word that bellowed forth form his mouth, and in their fear and memory of the torment he was capable of dealing, agreed to his demands. Rising to the surface, Zeus felt the surge of new power course through his veins. For if even Titans could be struck down against his mortal power, who could stand against him?
Indubitably one of the best Axe sets so far, Wrought Legion is the type of set that you must add to your collection. The details added to the set are magnificent, both the weapon and armor are in perfect harmony of colors with the hero. The gold color in the set leaves the impression of supremacy and the metal color, which is combined with it, leaves the sensation of a fearless warrior. Words are not even needed here, you must check out the set and vote for it.
Fans of Axe, unite your powers!
Artist's description about his set:
The suffering souls which in Lifestealer's body are still trying to escape from him. So the ruthless creature uses a huge suction tube to connect his hunchback and a bloody mouth, inject these souls back. Hmmm....yummy!
"The shackle and mask were broken by Lifestealer's strong jaw. But he keeps the sharp debris,uses them as his weapon. It makes him more dangerous. His giant claw is a gift from Mordiggian. When he turn it on, the world goes mad with it."
Another week, another Underlord set. This time, Mihalceanu came up with a different approach to it. To find out more about the awesome horns, I asked him to share his thoughts with us.
Once I saw Underlod make it into the game, I already knew that I want to make a set for him. I played Lineage 2 for a few years, and I always loved the way Antharas looked. I used that as my primary reference point and searched for heavy armor/demonic references for the details. I wanted to give him a more bulky look, more menacing, and to distinguish it clearly from the standard set.
I don't usually polish my concepts, I just make some silhouettes to see if I like the direction. The horns are trophies from his victims/enemy's and combined with the chains and sharp edges design, hopefully, I succeeded in doing so.
I was inspired by the Warcraft movie with the whole "fel" dark magic, for the blade and the slight effects on the armor plates. I also made an alternative helm slot, without the hair by popular demand.
A Chen set everybody! Yes, the hero still exists and someone just designed some awesome cosmetics for it. Two totally different mounts are proposed by the artist, both very well-defined and integrated into the set. Dominating the jungle and killing neutrals to form an army ready to destroy any tower, Chen is worth our attention.
I can't decide between that two because both of them are really cool. How about you?
Inspired by childhood stories, Storm Spirit looks a lot like the genie that was locked in a lamp from Alladin. A little melancholic, I rubbed the lamp in order to reach Alexei ‘SOLMIR’ Grechenyuk, the Workshop artist that created this stunning set, to tell us more about it. Very gracious and enthusiastic, Solmir told me about his work and the fact that very few players evaluate their submitted sets.
I started with Dota Workshop seriously in June this year, we made a pudge set.Then Chaos Knight,and the Storm Spirit. So I`ve got an idea to make storm spirit looking like an East Djinny creature from a lamp like it was in East mythology. Djinn is blue, and shoes of storm spirit very similar to those, that are wearing by east people in old times.The face of storm spirit also reminds me an Arabian magician, And I hoped that valve will share my minds. Stylish turban with a red crystal, and belt with a sign of Djinny. And I was really excited about all that. I thought East mythology, Alladin and famous heroes 3 Djinny creatures from Tower castle - that was an inspiration. I was tried really hard and hope that community will like my set.
Like a true warrior, Earth Spirit looks incredibly good in this position. Jigglypuff, the artist which designed the set left a note about it: The inspiration for this set originates from the Chinese Terracotta Warriors, so we featured some jade and gold elements, and add a little armor-like design.
With six stone poses and six pieces that make up the set, the artist surly worked a lot on it. Take a look at the lovely stone statues that were made to entertain the players.
Don't forget to support your favorite artists because they really transform our game to a more plessant one. Also, the artists manage to strike a ray of light to every hero that receives a new set. Because let's be serious, how many of us didn't start spamming a hero just because of the cosmetics effects? I encourage you to check out the Workshoppers' profiles to explore other sets these people created and are waiting to hit the Marketplace.