The Emerald Dream has been an ancient realm of balance where not much ever changes. With this image, we wanted to capture the feeling of the new world tree as symbol for change and hope for the future, as well as a bridge between the realms of life and our world.
Emerald Dream Bear (Creature Concept) – Bernardo Cristovao – Senior Character Artist
The main question we asked ourselves in approaching all Emerald Dream creatures was “How can we get as many ‘forest’ elements (like roots, branches and leaves) into the design, whilst making them feel like they belong there?”
In this case, we ended up using leaves for the mane in a way that blends naturally with the flow of the fur – as if, in a way, they are all the same element.
Emerald Dream Stag – Antoine Dupuis – Character Artist
When concepting a new form of stag, we thought it would be cool to have the creature with antlers that would intertwine like tree roots or branches.
Emerald Dream Faerie Dragons – Dave Greco – Senior Visual Development Artist
This creature is a Faerie Dragon re-imagined: larger, more ancient. We’ve had Faerie Dragons in World of Warcraft for years, so it was a ton of fun to try to scale them up into a much older, thicker version of itself. I wanted to show in the concept that they are still whimsical and fun, and still showcase a ton of personality.
Emerald Dream Moonkin – Shawn Witt – Senior Artist II
This was the first Visual Development task I was given was to explore the lifestyle and cultures within the Emerald Dream. This included Moonkin – the shapeshifting form taken by balance druids -which happens to be my preferred specialization of my main WoW character. I came upon the idea of stacking stone cairns being a pastime of the Moonkin. This alludes to their environmentally friendly culture and their history of the balance druid shapeshifting form, as well as providing a fun visual juxtaposition between the hulking form of the creature paired with the delicate nature of stacking stones.
