Everyone crowded around Ruan Guangjian's computer screen.
On it was Ma Yang's requirements document.
"Guan Yu… is a dragon?"
"Ma Chao… is a horse?"
"Then, is Zhuge Liang a pig?" Huang reasonably speculated.
Ruan Guangjian shot him a glance, "What nonsense! Zhuge Liang is a mad inventor."
"…That's even worse than being a pig," Huang joked.
After briefly scanning the requirements, Huang went blank.
How could this even be considered a requirements document?
Aside from forcibly modifying these historical characters, nothing else was detailed at all!
Forget about reference images—that was too luxurious—they didn't even provide basic physical descriptions!
The modifications themselves were wildly inconsistent.
Some turned into animals, some gender-swapped, and some transformed into high-tech characters.
It was a chaotic mess!
"Is the client insane?"
"What kind of rubbish requirements document is this…?"
Huang was dumbfounded; he couldn't believe Ruan Guangjian had actually accepted such a job.
Wasn't he worried that the client would be dissatisfied, causing disputes on both sides?
They were all poor art students. Even though they might have slightly more money compared to other majors, getting into conflicts with a client and having to handle mutual accusations was extremely troublesome.
"What are you worrying about? The client has already deposited the funds on the resource marketplace," Ruan Guangjian reassured Huang, showing him the order status that indicated the client had paid.
ESRO's official resource marketplace acted as a mediator, providing guarantees. After the client confirmed the requirements, the artist would start working.
During this period, the client would deposit money to the marketplace, which would temporarily hold it. Only after the project was successfully completed and accepted would the funds be released to the artist.
If any disputes arose, the marketplace would intervene to arbitrate.
Ruan Guangjian had all their chat logs, and the marketplace also kept the original requirements document. No matter how you looked at it, Ruan Guangjian clearly had the advantage.
"Guangjian, I still feel this isn't very reliable. Why don't you ask the client again to clarify and provide more detailed requirements…?" Huang was still uneasy.
Ruan Guangjian became annoyed, "Huang, come on! Are you out of your mind?"
"Are you really happy to keep drawing those chibi characters? Aren't you already sick of them?"
"The market is flooded with chibi-style games now. Sure, they're profitable, but ask yourself honestly—do you really enjoy drawing such simplistic things?"
"What about your artistic ambitions?"
"Now we have a great opportunity. There's no style limitation, and the requirements are incredibly loose. Think about how much creative freedom we've been given!"
"If we can make a splash with these illustrations, our future career paths will be much smoother. We might even open our own studio after graduation!"
"Or would you rather graduate and quietly enter an outsourcing company, becoming just another cog in the machine, drawing styles you don't even enjoy?"
The others glanced at each other, clearly swayed by Ruan Guangjian's passionate speech.
They were all students, not yet jaded by years in the workplace.
Each of them had their own artistic vision and was currently at a creative peak.
Who wanted to blindly follow rigid guidelines from clients and become a laborer producing traditional illustrations?
They all wanted to create art in their preferred styles!
Opportunities with a hands-off client like this didn't come around often.
Even Huang was persuaded, "Alright then, Guangjian, if you've decided, we'll help you. How are you planning to do it?"
"That's the spirit."
Ruan Guangjian nodded in satisfaction and opened an image on his computer.
"I'm planning to use this style," he declared confidently.
"Epic Ink-and-Oil Painting style."
Huang's mouth twitched slightly.
Because this style was something Ruan Guangjian had spontaneously invented earlier.
The character in the picture was a tall, muscular minotaur with one broken horn, clad in damaged black heavy armor. An enormous demon head adorned its shoulder armor, and chains wrapped around its body conveyed a sense of defiance and struggle.
The painting's overall tone was dark—black skies and a shadowy battlefield—creating an atmosphere of despair and tragedy.
At first glance, one might think of a minotaur from World of Warcraft.
But upon closer inspection, there were clear distinctions from Western-style minotaurs. Ruan Guangjian had incorporated numerous Eastern elements into the character, such as distinctly Eastern-style armor and weapon designs, facial features aligned with Eastern aesthetics, and a crimson battle robe.
He named this style "Epic Ink-and-Oil Painting" precisely because it simultaneously embodied three characteristics: "epic," "ink painting," and "oil painting."
The image wasn't detailed down to every pore of the character's skin. Instead, oil-painting techniques were heavily applied, with deliberately blurred backgrounds enhancing the unique atmosphere. Additionally, many traditional Chinese ink techniques were integrated, lending it a powerful Chinese aesthetic.
Furthermore, the scene conveyed an intense sense of epic tragedy, as if the minotaur had just endured a catastrophic war between gods and demons.
Huang and the other roommates were already familiar with this painting.
They admired Ruan Guangjian greatly. After all, in terms of technique, lighting, and detail, most average art students couldn't dream of matching him.
But could this be used as game art?
No one was entirely sure.
Most popular mobile games nowadays feature chibi-style art. Previously, all the jobs they'd received involved drawing chibi characters.
Even realistic-style PC games typically preferred brightly colored, meticulously detailed illustrations.
While Ruan Guangjian's style was undeniably impressive, it risked being perceived as overly dark and depressing for gameplay.
Because of this, Ruan Guangjian hadn't even dared to upload this artwork onto the resource marketplace, fearing it would affect his opportunities for freelance work.
Huang hesitantly raised his concerns, "I have two questions. First, does this style really meet the client's expectations? Second, you're the only one who excels at this style—we probably can't pull it off."
Ruan Guangjian was already prepared and responded confidently, "That's exactly why I said this requirement document perfectly aligns with my ideas!"
"My original concept drew inspiration from cultivation and mythological stories."
"I wanted to emphasize an epic feel, and the most crucial aspect of that epic feeling is distinctive character design! Righteous immortals and monstrous, inhuman demons—these sharply contrasting forms create powerful visual impact."
"In other words, the more inhuman the character design, the better!"
"Strictly speaking, typical Three Kingdoms-themed games wouldn't fit this style, as those are mostly regular humans—how could you achieve that epic feeling?"
"But this requirement document completely overturns traditional Three Kingdoms figures, perfectly matching my vision!"
"Guan Yu is a dragon; Ma Chao is a half-dragon, half-centaur; Xu Chu is a tiger—"
"Doesn't this perfectly align with my style?"
"As for your worries about the style, don't be concerned. I'll handle the character design and sketches; you'll help me refine them. I'll handle the finishing touches myself. Trust me—with my supervision, the style absolutely won't go astray!"