This Week in Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 3rd to 9th July

Welcome to the weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program.

Every week I will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community.  

Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter.

Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured.

This week’s theme: Feathered Friends

Ikaros

Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

VP Artist: @TuridTorkil

“Who’s a good bird?”

Ikaros is the majestic Golden Eagle who watches over Kassandra as she ventures across the Greek world. The two become dear friends and share some nice moments throughout the game. Eagles were renowned as sacred animals belonging to the Gods, and therefore very fitting that Kassandra is known as the Eagle bearer. This shot does an excellent job at showcasing the beauty of Ikaros as he comes into land. The intricate details are so mesmerising, alongside the awesome symmetry. An epic action shot that has been timed to perfection.

Link to set:

Dracarys

Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

VP Artist: @Amaya_Nocturna

“I have never been nothing. I am the blood of the dragon”

It’s possible that this shot is controversial given the theme of this week, however in my eyes it is allowed. Eivor may not be the mother of dragons, but give her a Sýnin skin and an epic armour set and she could be. If anyone could be a Targaryen then it’s Eivor of the Raven Clan. This elegant capture is structured beautifully to give off Game of Thrones vibes. The focus is on point with the dragon swooping in. I love how it makes you believe that the dragon is full size. The Valkyrie armour set, with its feathered ends furthers its case for being selected. I admire lateral thinking and this shot is the epitome of that.

Link to set:

Raven Clan

Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

VP Artist: @Cll3ar

“Sýnin be my eyes”

Sýnin is the perfect companion for Eivor on his travels across the English countryside. Not only does Sýnin fit in with the aptly named Raven Clan, but she is also connected through Norse Mythology and specifically Odin. A fun fact for you, Sýnin is from Old Norse and means sight/vision. So it’s easy to see why the developers picked the name. This shot of Eivor and his bird definitely goes hard with the Odin vibes. The background with the hints of green set a tone that reminds me of Asgard. I love how the two of them have been captured, with Sýnin resting on his shoulders. Excellent choice of colour for the raven as it contrast so well with the black cloak.  

Link to set:

Companion

Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

VP Artist: @iShouldGoN7

“Getting heavy Sýnin”

Despite the obvious reason for having Sýnin be a raven, I too often pick the Falcon or Senu skin. The Bonelli eagle who supports Bayek in his revenge mission across the desert fits exquisitely with Eivor. The eagle has often been a symbol of the Creed too so seems fitting to use this skin. This exceptional capture has such a warming feel. The background is so colourful and very reminiscent of the environments in Ghost of Tsushima. I love the clever positioning with Eivor’s head omitted to allow Sýnin centre stage. I admire how Sýnin is sat on the skull, almost as if it were her prey. A truly epic shot that flawlessly fits the brief.

Hunting Buddies

Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

VP Artist: @artschoolglases

“The Eyes of Odin”

The fourth time we have featured Sýnin this week and that is a credit to the VP skills on show, but also to the variety of customisation in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Not one of the pictures are similar and that really impresses me. There is a darkness to this capture that I like, mostly brought on by the Feigr skin for Sýnin. Feigr means, near to death and that is true for anything Sýnin hunts. With Eivor firing the shots and Sýnin looting the corpses, there is always a feeling of impending doom with these two around. A dark and ominous shot that has been timed to perfection, excellent virtual photography.

The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week

Judge: @KeenEyeVP

''We can often find beauty and darkness going hand in hand. This capture shows us this beautifully. Both the tone and colours are perfect. Most impressive of all though is the positioning of Synin above Eivor, this isn’t easy to do. Excellent timing and great patience on display. An outstanding capture.''

And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list!

Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in!