Art Critique: Soluna Syandana

Let's review something recent. What better asset to review for 2016 than a syandana?

Soluna Syandana by FrellingHazmot (Steam)

Introduction

Syandana is a flowing accessory worn on the back in the universe of Warframe. Syandanas are often worn to showcase one's power or authority or for show. Such accesory debuted on the 10th update of Warframe. Since then, a number of syandanas have been made available for purchase or acquisition.

Impressions

Let's tackle this recently uploaded submission in steam, the Soluna Syandana. This is a syandana that incorporates circular designs on both the top and bottom. The flowing fabric part seem to be either chain-mail or reflective, glossy material. This syandana features a solid bottom part, resembling a crescent moon with a (small) sun embedded. There are also a number of lighted parts within the metallic sections, assembled to look like a mechanical contraption of sorts.

Judging from how the tint masks were set, there are "faded" shades which allow color blending between two colors. The tint masks are very clean, giving the syandana presentable opportunities on color customization.

What amazed the most was this feature: the top metallic part of this syandana animates! The animation suggest a clockwork-like rotation. I'm not sure if it'll just keep animating when worn or if it's triggered. Feel free to watch the video to see how it works.

Concerns

Though I am impressed with the syandana, a concern comes in to mind: actual implementation. Given the fact the syandanas have flowing parts from top to bottom (with the addition of cloth physics), the developers may have difficulties "rigging" this syandana to work as intended.

Verdict

I would love for this syandana to be included in the game. Until the developers can make this syandana plausible, I'll have to keep my expectations low. But I gotta admit: I love it when custom content creators think beyond the existing features of a game, pushing beyond the limits!

Trivia

The word "syandana" is a sankrit word meaning "flowing." That is very appropriate, since the accessory's intended function is flow during movement.

Also, the term "rigging" is used in 3D animation. You can read about it in this Wikipedia article.

All photos are from the asset's Steam Workshop page. Credits to FrellingHazmot. (Steam)