I had the chance to art direct several support characters in Everquest Dungeons (EQD) including this Hill Giant. Here is the shot of the final high resolution character model built by talented character artist, Sven Juhlin. My creative director wanted a gentle looking and earthy giant. I thought it would be fun to have a forrest growing on his back, a living biome. His weapon would be a giant, enchanted tree from the Elddar forest.

The bone armor and scales come from its arch nemesis, a forest dragon. They provide a basis for the large scale of the Hill Giant but the log necklace, grass and moss growth on his skin, and trees on his back show just how immense this character is in the world.

The vast weight of the Hill Giant is also reflected in how the skin sags over his knees and ankles from gravity pulling down on the mass of his body.

I had concept artist, William Bao, focus on crafting a distinctive shape and profile for the Hill Giant. The arms needed to be long and powerful to be able to fight with dragons. The head is low and hangs over the chest to create a plateau for the forest on his shoulders. Legs are stumpy and provide a strong, low center of gravity. The body is pudgy and wide to balance the stubby legs and long arms proportions.

Next, we further explored the dragon bone and scale armor along with the giant tree weapon. I thought the roots holding earth like a giant root ball would make for an effective yet natural looking weapon.

Earth tones such as browns and greens reflect the origin and natural habitat of the Hill Giant.

The construction drawing for the Hill Giant.