Creative Process
All of Emperador-San's art is drawn entirely by hand digitally, with no generative AI. This is the real workflow behind every illustration and Forge Creation asset.
Sketch in IbisPaint X
Every piece starts as a free sketch in IbisPaint X, the main tool for all the work. Pose, proportions and composition are defined before moving to clean lineart.
Lineart and layer structure
For Forge Creation assets specifically, each element (body, mane, marks, accessories) is drawn on a separate layer, with identical dimensions and zero-position alignment — this lets the game engine combine layers without misalignment.
Gray base color for recoloring
Game assets are painted in a neutral gray base tone (#808080). This lets a shader inside Forge Creation recolor each part in real time based on what the player picks, without needing a separate file for every possible color.
Shading and final details
For gallery illustrations (not game assets), this stage includes full shading, lighting, textures and final color adjustments — the longest step for each piece.
Export and optimization
Everything is exported and converted to WebP in batch with XnConvert — keeps good visual quality with much lighter files so the site loads fast.
Tools used
IbisPaint X — digital drawing and painting, 100% of the art.
Godot 4 + GDScript — Forge Creation's engine and logic.
XnConvert — batch image conversion and optimization.
On the use of AI
No Forge Creation asset or gallery illustration is generated with AI. The interest in local models (mentioned in the devlog) is for future personal workflow tools, not to replace original drawing.