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- Jul 28, 2021
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Before all I want to thank our great maestro of re-wrapping @Ujimasa Hojo for the models with integrated portraits!
This pack is dedicated to Demons and aims to disguise the new models as native, so that they can seamlessly merge with the original art style of good old Blizzard (this applies to both - appearance and animations).
This pack is supposed to help mapmakers with races and modelers who will find these models as worhty samples for re-wrapping and other modifications.
The following lore is my personal invention, which does not correspond to the original Warcraft lore and is intended to give the models more charisma and entourage, help in finding ideas for using the pack or just to entertain you and me.
LORE
"Demons" are races linked to the Great Abyss or creatures infused by fel magic. Mostly all demons are sentient, however, various animalistic creatures or constructs are also present in the ranks. Demons possess incredibly long lifespans, thus they have accumulated vast battle experience and deep knowledge of magic. Their army craves for power gained by conquering the outer worlds - the more souls tortured and sent to the Abyss, the stronger the cohorts. The path to the hell throne of the Demon Lord lies through portals that can only be opened by his highest servants. Some tremendiously poweful Demons usually never leave the Abyss in order to control the most unruly inhabitants of hell, but occasionally they are needed aboveground. How many Demons inhabit the underworld and how it is structured, no mortal can know.
Demon Smith
"
Long ago, these skilled smiths prepared weapons to fight the forces of evil, but after the arrival of the Demon Legions, they were captured and enslaved by the Abyss.
Hell Smiths forge swords and axes, spears and halberds, armor and even chains in order to shackle the disobedient in them. Their knowledge and skills, multiplied by the ability to work tirelessly, help the infernal cohorts to effectively arm themselves for rampant campaigns aboveground.
However, these infernal smiths can not only strike the anvil: being hardened by the infernal powers, they are able to mercilessly smite enemies of the Abyss with the best weapons they have.
Demon General
"The General's warlike spirit leads demons into battle, sword in hand."
A Demon General is the Warrior Lord for the Demon Legions. As a high-ranking Demon, he is supposed to wear magnificent armor and carry a deadly infernal sword.
Although these Demons are good magic-wielders, in combat they most often rely on great physical strength and unsurpassed intelligence of the tactician. Some rumors say that they are converted mortals, usually Humans, who were distinguished by special deceit and mind and who committed the fall and fell under the influence of the Abyss.
Their sharp mind, cunning, cruelty, strength, and leadership make other Demons fear and respect them. With their mere presence, these commanders can inspire a chaotic swarm of felspawn into a deadly force on the battlefield.
Although these Demons are good magic-wielders, in combat they most often rely on great physical strength and unsurpassed intelligence of the tactician. Some rumors say that they are converted mortals, usually Humans, who were distinguished by special deceit and mind and who committed the fall and fell under the influence of the Abyss.
Their sharp mind, cunning, cruelty, strength, and leadership make other Demons fear and respect them. With their mere presence, these commanders can inspire a chaotic swarm of felspawn into a deadly force on the battlefield.
Fallen Paladin
Fallen Paladins are warriors and casters who once fought in the name of Light, but their will was crushed and their souls enslaved by Demons.
Abyssal Lords experience special pleasure when they corrupt souls of Paladins, once again proving that will of mortals is weak, and their craving for temptations has been great at all times.
During the converstion, the Paladin's holy powers are replaced with fel energy, which he uses to protect hell cohorts and defeat his former brothers in arms in the name of the Abyss.
Demonologist
"Masters of infernal powers, the Demonologist channels fel energy at will."
These abyssal magicians are known as smart and ruthless hellbenders and poweful masters of fel energy. Craving for forbidden knowledge of fel magic creates a special bond between the souls of mortals and the Abyss. Corrupted by the power it offers, these once skilled magicians can no longer stray from their intended path to hell. After turning into demonic members of the Demon Legions, they are granted great knowledge of fel magic, incredibly long lifespan and a high status of a Demonologist.
Experiments in the field of forbidden magic and an insane thirst for it, sometimes leads to unexpected transformations of their mind and body. Thus, Demonologists can temporarily incarnate into other hellish lifeforms.
Ready to destroy any obstacle on the way to their goal, whether it coincides with the order of the Abyss or not, they will not miss the benefit of absorbing any magical power that their transformed body can only count on.
Experiments in the field of forbidden magic and an insane thirst for it, sometimes leads to unexpected transformations of their mind and body. Thus, Demonologists can temporarily incarnate into other hellish lifeforms.
Ready to destroy any obstacle on the way to their goal, whether it coincides with the order of the Abyss or not, they will not miss the benefit of absorbing any magical power that their transformed body can only count on.
Possessed
Mere mortals and occultists not capable of great accomplishments; peasants, captured by demons or who sell their souls to the Abyss for a reward, are called Possessed.
For these poor fellows there is no way back - the only thing they can do is serve the Lords of hell. Numerous and of little use in warfare, these acolytes of hell are of little value to higher Demons. However, aboveground, they constantly erect new buildings, extract resources and perform other small assignments, masterfully helping the cohorts to gain a foothold in the lands of mortals.
Thus, if you underestimate and ignore a group of such fanatics, keep in mind that after some time, hordes of bloodthirsty hell creatures will arrive from the direction you saw them last.
For these poor fellows there is no way back - the only thing they can do is serve the Lords of hell. Numerous and of little use in warfare, these acolytes of hell are of little value to higher Demons. However, aboveground, they constantly erect new buildings, extract resources and perform other small assignments, masterfully helping the cohorts to gain a foothold in the lands of mortals.
Thus, if you underestimate and ignore a group of such fanatics, keep in mind that after some time, hordes of bloodthirsty hell creatures will arrive from the direction you saw them last.
Here is a detailed "the makings of" log for those who is interested in more content:
"The General's warlike spirit leads demons into battle, sword in hand."
This is a humanoid high-ranked warlord that became a powerful Demon by being infused with fel energy.
The sword. I gave the model a big two-handed sword made of Doomguard blade material with a lordly guard to make it canonic and visually expressive.
The armor. Here I added a rich piece of cloth, thigh pads and other smaller armor pieces. I also decided to cut off one horn and tear off the cloak to highlight the militant character of the hero.
The portrait. Facial proportions is an important part of a character's charisma and thus I gave this demon Eredar spikes and jewelry, so it looks more canonic. A high forehead, bigger and deeper eyes, sharp cheekbones, chin and beard, a crooked and thin nose should resemble us the clever and cunning look of Goethe's Faust (because he's a truly classic demon and I like him).
The body. Here I worked on the proportions to make the body look more athletic and dominant compared to other Paladin-like units.
Additional improvements: removed arm tremor during some sequences; legs bend more at the knees (so they don't look like straight sticks while walking); re-animated cloth and cloak; deleted useless Stand Victory animation and replaced it with a better fitting Stand Channel; added Archimonde-style Spell animation with original RGB colors and more; removed unused mesh, frames and continued some further technical optimization.
Maybe in the future I will add more special animations.
This is a humanoid high-ranked warlord that became a powerful Demon by being infused with fel energy.
The sword. I gave the model a big two-handed sword made of Doomguard blade material with a lordly guard to make it canonic and visually expressive.
The portrait. Facial proportions is an important part of a character's charisma and thus I gave this demon Eredar spikes and jewelry, so it looks more canonic. A high forehead, bigger and deeper eyes, sharp cheekbones, chin and beard, a crooked and thin nose should resemble us the clever and cunning look of Goethe's Faust (because he's a truly classic demon and I like him).
The body. Here I worked on the proportions to make the body look more athletic and dominant compared to other Paladin-like units.
Additional improvements: removed arm tremor during some sequences; legs bend more at the knees (so they don't look like straight sticks while walking); re-animated cloth and cloak; deleted useless Stand Victory animation and replaced it with a better fitting Stand Channel; added Archimonde-style Spell animation with original RGB colors and more; removed unused mesh, frames and continued some further technical optimization.
Maybe in the future I will add more special animations.
"Demons have mastered the souls of these once holy warriors, their virtuous past has long been forgotten."
This is a fallen one whose Divine energy depleted, and now there's fel energy instead.
The hammer. This is Paladins' signature weapon, so it had to be corrupted and turned into a fel weapon.
The armor. Some other Demonic creatures in Warcraft have a special fel armor texture (e.g. Fel Orcs, Fel Guards, Demonesses) that gives us a certain sense of style. So, the texture with a wide and muscular torso & arms and armored lower body allows us to underline the physical strength of the model. Less armor also means more emphasis on the face.
The portrait. Demon eyes, large black horns, along with Eredar spikes make us realize that this creature has nothing to do with Divine powers, not anymore. The proportions are also changed to make the ears and horns look like native ones.
The book. Of course, you're not a Paladin without a book. Now it's some kind of black bible book with the sign of Death. To make it more special, I decided to highlight it with fel fire during some sequences.
Additional improvements: removed arm tremor during some sequences; legs bend more at the knees; fixed a broken leg during the Attack sequences; fixed the leg jump during the Death sequence; removed unused mesh, frames and continued some further technical optimization.
This is a fallen one whose Divine energy depleted, and now there's fel energy instead.
The hammer. This is Paladins' signature weapon, so it had to be corrupted and turned into a fel weapon.
The armor. Some other Demonic creatures in Warcraft have a special fel armor texture (e.g. Fel Orcs, Fel Guards, Demonesses) that gives us a certain sense of style. So, the texture with a wide and muscular torso & arms and armored lower body allows us to underline the physical strength of the model. Less armor also means more emphasis on the face.
The portrait. Demon eyes, large black horns, along with Eredar spikes make us realize that this creature has nothing to do with Divine powers, not anymore. The proportions are also changed to make the ears and horns look like native ones.
The book. Of course, you're not a Paladin without a book. Now it's some kind of black bible book with the sign of Death. To make it more special, I decided to highlight it with fel fire during some sequences.
Additional improvements: removed arm tremor during some sequences; legs bend more at the knees; fixed a broken leg during the Attack sequences; fixed the leg jump during the Death sequence; removed unused mesh, frames and continued some further technical optimization.
"Masters of infernal powers, the Demonologist channels fel energy at will."
There are not many vanilla models that may be used as Demon magicians, so I decided to create one, even though it wasn't meant to be a hero.
The cloak. The cloak is an integral part of this model, as it is used in most of the animations. So, we want a torn and plain one (we have enough golden patterns already) and a team-colored part of the cloak on top. Here I tried really hard to re-wrap the top to make perfect connections and lay out the patterns quite aesthetically pleasing. A nice round brooch with a black gem in front completes the picture well by utilizing empty space.
The staff. I wanted it to look pretty modest. It is quite reasonable because the model already has another signature artifact (the book), plus we risk to overload the model with details. In my opinion, the shape of an Archmage staff is very suitable here: it tells us a story that this magician was once possessed by Demonic powers, and the tip pattern also goes well with the shiny magic stone. For the shaft I also used Doomguard's blade material to keep it canonical.
The book. I replaced the dagger with a Demonic Tome, the pages of which, as you can see, are made of flesh (yikes!). Thus, we spiced up the things and added more uniqueness to the model. Lore-wise the book symbolizes newly obtain vast knowledge of fel magic. To justify the book, I also added 3 animations where I play with it.
The animations. The hero requires movements and poses flavored with pathos and canonic Chaos particles to be a part of the Legion's community. Remember that we want to dusguise our agent as a local? So here I tried to create the Archimonde's Spell Slam animation that should be well-suited for some ultimate abilities. I hope you like it.
The crow. After a lot of thinking I applied and re-wrapped the Salamander texture, so now it's a Salamander Crow! Although the role of a creature hardened by the fires of hell, it plays quite worthy. In the end, I decided to leave the crow as it looks pretty neat in my opinion. Maybe one day I'll turn it into a flying burning skull or something.
Additional improvements: re-animated the cloak globally so the limbs and other armor parts are no longer visible through it; fixed hero glow; fixed teeth weird behavior; fixed the right wing; added missing dissipate sound and blood splatter; improved animations and more; removed repeated animations, frames and continued some further technical optimization.
There are not many vanilla models that may be used as Demon magicians, so I decided to create one, even though it wasn't meant to be a hero.
The cloak. The cloak is an integral part of this model, as it is used in most of the animations. So, we want a torn and plain one (we have enough golden patterns already) and a team-colored part of the cloak on top. Here I tried really hard to re-wrap the top to make perfect connections and lay out the patterns quite aesthetically pleasing. A nice round brooch with a black gem in front completes the picture well by utilizing empty space.
The staff. I wanted it to look pretty modest. It is quite reasonable because the model already has another signature artifact (the book), plus we risk to overload the model with details. In my opinion, the shape of an Archmage staff is very suitable here: it tells us a story that this magician was once possessed by Demonic powers, and the tip pattern also goes well with the shiny magic stone. For the shaft I also used Doomguard's blade material to keep it canonical.
The book. I replaced the dagger with a Demonic Tome, the pages of which, as you can see, are made of flesh (yikes!). Thus, we spiced up the things and added more uniqueness to the model. Lore-wise the book symbolizes newly obtain vast knowledge of fel magic. To justify the book, I also added 3 animations where I play with it.
The animations. The hero requires movements and poses flavored with pathos and canonic Chaos particles to be a part of the Legion's community. Remember that we want to dusguise our agent as a local? So here I tried to create the Archimonde's Spell Slam animation that should be well-suited for some ultimate abilities. I hope you like it.
The crow. After a lot of thinking I applied and re-wrapped the Salamander texture, so now it's a Salamander Crow! Although the role of a creature hardened by the fires of hell, it plays quite worthy. In the end, I decided to leave the crow as it looks pretty neat in my opinion. Maybe one day I'll turn it into a flying burning skull or something.
Additional improvements: re-animated the cloak globally so the limbs and other armor parts are no longer visible through it; fixed hero glow; fixed teeth weird behavior; fixed the right wing; added missing dissipate sound and blood splatter; improved animations and more; removed repeated animations, frames and continued some further technical optimization.
"As time passes, the abyssal powers consumes the possessed one entirely. They are now bound to smithing fel weapons."
This model has a good role, so why not?
The weapons. Stylistically they are identical to the hero's armor, and this is the purpose. I didn't want to overload the model.
The armor. Once again I used a fitting fel Orc texture. This time I added more armor to support the character of the hero.
The portrait. Initially it had no helmet and hair, so I decided to work with Eredar forehead plates. To my mind, it turned out to be a worthy and creative solution. After this I added more juwelry and changed some facial proportions.
The animations. I decided to remove Alternate animations, added a Spell sequence and fel particles.
Additional improvements: fixed positions of weapons and their hero glow; improved proportions; removed unused mesh, frames and continued some further technical optimization.
This model has a good role, so why not?
The weapons. Stylistically they are identical to the hero's armor, and this is the purpose. I didn't want to overload the model.
The armor. Once again I used a fitting fel Orc texture. This time I added more armor to support the character of the hero.
The portrait. Initially it had no helmet and hair, so I decided to work with Eredar forehead plates. To my mind, it turned out to be a worthy and creative solution. After this I added more juwelry and changed some facial proportions.
The animations. I decided to remove Alternate animations, added a Spell sequence and fel particles.
Additional improvements: fixed positions of weapons and their hero glow; improved proportions; removed unused mesh, frames and continued some further technical optimization.
"Beings that have an inborn affinity for evil; they are granted fel power to serve the Abyss."
I think the template of this model fits the role of a Demon worker very well.
The dress. The model has a big piece of cloth that can be perfectly covered by Eredar's cloak texture. Further I decided to decorate this long plain skirt with a Demon belt to add more aesthetics. Nude torso gives us a useful gap in armor, so the model doesn't look overloaded with golden patterns.
The cape. Here I really tried my best to make all the parts come together in one visual ensemble along with team-color. In the end, we created a wonderful silhouette with a notable top and other canonical details, we achieved the harmony, but at what cost, at what cost...
Additional improvements: fixed the face blinking issue; reworked some animations to have a fel effect; removed unused mesh, frames and continued some further technical optimization.
I think the template of this model fits the role of a Demon worker very well.
The dress. The model has a big piece of cloth that can be perfectly covered by Eredar's cloak texture. Further I decided to decorate this long plain skirt with a Demon belt to add more aesthetics. Nude torso gives us a useful gap in armor, so the model doesn't look overloaded with golden patterns.
The cape. Here I really tried my best to make all the parts come together in one visual ensemble along with team-color. In the end, we created a wonderful silhouette with a notable top and other canonical details, we achieved the harmony, but at what cost, at what cost...
Additional improvements: fixed the face blinking issue; reworked some animations to have a fel effect; removed unused mesh, frames and continued some further technical optimization.
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At least Eredar needed a barbarian and strong unit.
Thank you man!
Frankly, it happens that your profound posts about my work inspire me a lot 
I also need this update before the release of the second pack in order to make them technically well comparable and worthy of each other.
And don't mind this image: it was made only to get your attention 
