Turning a Masterpiece into a Hellscape for Diablo IV

‘Diablo’ is one of the world’s most popular video game series, known for its intense action-roleplaying gameplay and hellish aesthetics. This summer saw the release of the much-anticipated fourth title in the series, ‘Diablo IV’, 11 years after the previous instalment, and developer Blizzard spared no expense in its marketing campaigns.

From painting the ceiling of a medieval church in France to grand-scale graffiti in London, the game’s release was accompanied by a variety of ambitious, artistic activations to help build hype for the demonic dungeon-crawler. One such project was helmed by the Brazilian visual arts and animation studio Black Madre, who produced a recreation of Hieronymus Bosch’s painting ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’ - only with a Diabolical twist. The giant artwork was comprised of three panels - the largest of which measuring around eight square metres - and featured characters, settings and designs that will be familiar to fans of the ‘Diablo’ series.

Black Madre was also responsible for creating the campaign launch film for ‘Diablo IV’ in Spain. Utilising the studio’s expertise in animation, the film reveals the ‘Bosch’ painting and its devilish details, weaving the narrative of the game that is held within the artwork. To find out how the team executed such a large-scale project and did justice to one of the greatest European painters in history, LBB’s Ben Conway caught up with Icaro Yuji, head of art, and Cesar Maciel, head of animation, at Black Madre.

LBB> How did this project come about? What was your reaction to the creative idea?

Icaro> We have a department dedicated to this stage of prospecting for work. Before it reaches the creative department, the work goes through a selection sieve, a sieve that takes into account the studio's potential characteristics.

My reaction to the creative idea as the studio's head of art and as the director responsible for the project was one of the best because it was a job where, from the start, we already understood the size, complexity and challenge it would be. At the same time, it was a job that fell perfectly within our potential, so it was a place where we could show what the studio is capable of. This was a job with a very short deadline - tight due to the complexity - so at the same time, we were able to show our capacity and expand the potential of our studio through the training that this project provided.

LBB> The task was to recreate Bosch’s ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ - how did you recreate this intricate and world-famous piece? And how did you incorporate the Diablo characters and stylings into the artwork?

Icaro> With regard to recreating Bosch's style, this was a real challenge. Not because it wasn't possible to recreate his style - that would be possible - but the main challenge wasn't that. The challenge was to recreate Bosch's style in conjunction with the game. After all, the protagonist was the game, ‘Diablo IV’. Bosch's style served as a backdrop, and there was also the challenge of working in a large team, so how do we take all these potentials, these ways of working and these styles, and unify them into a union between Bosch's style and the language of the game ‘Diablo IV’?

The answer to this was not to recreate Bosch's style. We used the potential of the studio and the way we could work to find this third place, this new style where it would be possible to finish the work on time, and which would also meet the specifications of Bosch's work, as well as the language of the ‘Diablo IV’ game.

LBB> The artwork is very large - with one piece being eight square metres, - what particular problems did this pose? How did you overcome this obstacle?

Icaro> The monumental size of the final piece was a real challenge, and for various reasons. To carry out this work, it was necessary to work with a very large team of illustrators, which directly means several people, several styles and even several different computers. Not all the equipment could handle a piece of this size and complexity - as well as being large, it was very complex, so the work of production played a major role at this point because it was necessary to distribute all the parts of the work in such a way that each of the artists on the team could absorb the demand.

Another huge challenge was that this work had these measurements and was going to be exhibited in print, meaning that people were going to look at it very closely. Every detail was important so that the work didn't look empty when they approached its surface. Overcoming this obstacle required strategic thinking in the execution of the work and on this point, both the production and the direction were brilliant - it was what really made the work happen.

LBB> How long did the process take? What were some of the hardest challenges you faced on this project?

Icaro> The process took 30 days, but that was worth 60 because we worked with teams in double shifts. We had the day team and the night team, who took turns in order to meet the deadline. 

The biggest challenge was the combination of the number of elements required and the specificity of these elements, since the characters had to be in the same pose as the original Bosch painting, as well as represent specific characters from the game. Plus the whole piece had to tell a narrative. In addition to being very extensive, it was very complex. If we add these two factors together, we arrive at a very challenging job.

LBB> How did you assemble the team of nine artists? How did they collaborate on the art together?

Icaro> We used many illustrators who were part of the in-house team but in order to meet the demand, we had to rely on the support of a third-party team. The artists were divided into three categories for this project: designers, who were responsible for creating the structure of the design; painters, who were the people who brought the light, the colours and the atmosphere to the work; and directors, who were responsible for bringing a creative eye and, in the end, putting together the pieces to create a unique piece. Each of the three panels was closed by a specific director.

LBB> Black Madre also created the animated launch film for ‘Diablo IV’ in Spain - tell us a bit about that! How did you bring the artwork to life in this film?

Cesar> For the animation, we had the challenge of bringing to life and showing the many details of the re-reading of Bosch's work. That's why we thought of an atmosphere that would help tell the mini stories that take place inside the painting. We imagined it almost as if the painting were in one of the churches or halls of a shrine, which is why we used candlelight. In this way, we placed ourselves not just as spectators, but as characters, holding a candle in a dark environment, while we discovered the scenes and characters in the painting. And to help emphasise the main characters, we made small animations of movement, as if the painting was coming to life and wanted to tell us its story.

LBB> What is your favourite element of this painting and the project overall? Why is that?

Icaro> My favourite element is in the central part of the canvas, and it's Lilith because she's the main character in the game ‘Diablo IV’. Aesthetically, she ties the whole structure of the painting together, the eyes always return to her and, modesty aside, this part was a very beautiful piece. 

In addition, Lilith has a very special meaning because in the ‘Diablo’ games, there were always male characters and bringing her in as the great villain (as a highlight) for me particularly, brought an interesting element, both to the game and to the work we created. It reflects an update of the general context that we as a society are living in. So, for me, this is my favourite element of the painting.