The selection artwork: the canonical Leo

Five days after the design that fixed the face, that design is taken to final art: front and profile, with the sword and shield now integrated into the figure.

This is the art you see when choosing a hero, which means it has to hold up two things at once: look good at a large size and be exact. It is not a cover; it is a document.

Because this is the canonical Leo. From here he stops being a style reference and becomes the source of everything else: the three-dimensional model comes out of him, the sprites come out of the model, the dialogue portrait is measured against him, and any piece of equipment drawn later has to match the one he wears here.

Having a single source changes how you work. Before, when something did not line up, it got argued about. Now it gets checked: you put it next to the selection artwork and you see it.

The other four heroes have theirs, made the same day and to the same standard. Between them they close the design phase and open production.