From Concept to Final Polish – the Art of The Last Chieftains

Have you ever wondered how buildings and units are created for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition? Today, we go behind the scenes, talking to the talented artists at Forgotten Empires about the process and challenges of bringing these intricate new designs to life for our latest expansion, The Last Chieftains.

The new Building Set for The Last Chieftains in all of its glory.

---

The Last Chieftains is available for pre-order now on Steam, Microsoft Store, or Xbox with 15% off for a limited time!

Steam

Microsoft Store

Xbox

*The Last Chieftains will be available for purchase on PlayStation 5 at launch day, February 17th.

---

Step 1: Conceptualization and Research

Moodboard for the Last Chieftains

Johnathan, Concept Artist

When we started designing the South American architecture set, the focus was mainly on Inca ruins. For the most part, that stayed true. But early on, we decided to broaden the scope to include the rich traditions of the Mapuche, Muisca, and Tupi peoples, drawing inspiration from their every day structures like the ruka, bohío, and oca.

You’ll see these influences not just in the unique castles and wonders, but throughout the Feudal Age set. Everything is grounded in authentic sources, including contemporary architecture, historical accounts, and woodcuts.

Inca polygonal masonry, advanced hydraulic engineering, gold-plated surfaces, and the distinctive absence of intersecting roofs all guided the design of the Castle and Imperial Age buildings. The fortress of Sacsayhuamán played a big role in shaping fortified walls and universities. And yes, even the Feudal mill hides a little Nazca-inspired twist with spiral wells beneath it.

Regular/Elite Guecha Warrior

Regular/Elite Temple Guard

Lautaro – Campaign Hero

Step 2: Translating Sketches into 3D Models

Once the concept art was ready, it was time to translate those sketches into 3D models. That’s where Chris, Anka, and Inma worked their magic, creating everything from buildings and animals to heroes and units.

Pilot Model of the Imperial Age Town Center

Chris, 3D Artist

I kicked things off by creating the pilot models for the Andean set, serving as the benchmark for the rest of the team. One of the biggest challenges was getting the 3D thatch to look right. The automatic shadowing system in the game tends to make dense areas look too dark. We had to put in extra effort to fine-tune the lighting and shadows so the roof texture looked just right.

Another tricky part was the gold ornaments. To make them really shine and stand out, we added an extra light source that only affects those details, giving them that rich golden glow.

Anka, 3D Artist

Regular Blackwood Archer

For the new South American-themed units, I started with the concept art and built the 3D models from the ground up. I focused on capturing the ornate jewelry and distinct shapes for the humanoid units, and tackled the challenging task of digitally sculpting the unique features of the Spanish War Dog. The hardest part was finding the perfect balance between historical authenticity and the stylized proportions required by the game’s art style. Despite the challenge, it was incredibly satisfying to translate those cultural details into three dimensions and see the characters finally come to life.

Guacolda – Campaign Hero

Inma, 3D Artist

It was a breath of fresh air to work on these units and buildings because they are so different from what we have done in previous DLCs. During the modeling process, we have to carefully balance the amount of detail with what the player will actually see on screen. Since units in Age of Empires appear quite small, we must exaggerate the proportions of key features, like weapons, to ensure they are visible.

The toughest part of this balancing act is often cloth wrinkles. To be visible in-game and look aesthetically pleasing, clothing wrinkles almost always have to be exaggerated and made much larger than they would be in real life.

Latauro – Campaign Hero

Step 3: Breathing Life with Animation

With the models finished, the next step was animation. Nebeolise and Rajun, our animators, shared their insights.

Nebeolise, Rigging Artist/3D Animator

When starting on animations, we always first dive deep into the cultures and history to make sure every movement of the unit feels authentic.

Take the Ibirapema Warrior for example. To animate them properly, we need to understand their role in society and their warrior tactics. Even something as simple as defining an idle pose depends heavily on their traditions and weapons. Furthermore since they wield a really heavy club, we had to ensure that the weight and power were visible in its swings.

Rajun, VFX Artist

The core difficulty in creating destruction animations for buildings is figuring out how a structure will collapse naturally while staying within its own footprint and not having debris fall outside of it. A big source of inspiration for this is controlled building demolitions in real life.

Since these animations involve simulation work, the biggest difficulty is optimization. A thatched roof with millions of polygons can lead to extremely long wait times and even crashes from overloading RAM so we had to think of ways to optimize these.

Step 4: Final Polish and Rendering

Imperial Age Town Center

With all the 3D models and animations created, it was time to make them shine in-game. Enrique, our Art Lead, talked about how they made the assets look great in the final render.

Feudal Age Building Set

Enrique, Art Lead

We spent a lot of time refining the look of the set for each age. Our goal was to stay as historically authentic as possible, while also adapting the designs to the Age of Empires II style. That means colorful and vibrant, yet still believable, so everything feels cohesive with the other architectural sets.

It also helps players quickly recognize age progression in buildings and understand roles and tiers for units. This readability is especially important because of their small size at the standard zoom level.

Champi Warrior

Selecting the colors usually starts during the concept phase. Once the model is complete, we adjust materials to account for lighting and shadows in the final render. Sometimes what looks great in concept doesn’t translate well in the render, so we iterate until it feels right.

For units, there is an extra validation step when we test the default pose. If important details are hidden or barely visible, we tweak the materials or adjust the design to make sure everything remains clear.

Elite Ibirapema Warrior

King

Lautaro – Campaign Hero

Conclusion and Takeaways

The final result – Screenshot of the Pachacuti campaign

Bringing a completely new architectural set, unit roster, heroes, animals, and flora to Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition has been an immersive and challenging journey for the team. We approached this project with respect for the original art direction and a deep commitment to honoring the cultural legacy of these civilizations. We hope you enjoy playing The Last Chieftains as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Which new unit or building are you most excited about to see in action?

---

The Last Chieftains is available for pre-order now on Steam, Microsoft Store, or Xbox with 15% off for a limited time!

Steam

Microsoft Store

Xbox

*The Last Chieftains will be available for purchase on PlayStation 5 at launch day, February 17th.