Project: Minotaur

Following some of the minotaur box modelling tutorial. I'm still getting to grips with these techniques. Ideally I'd have liked more time to work on this. I'll continue to try and make characters using box modelling. The main thing I learnt from this approach to modelling that while it was pretty time consuming that the techniques where relatively easy to follow and pick up. 

Project: Nightcrawler

Box modelling on Nightcrawler. We were given picture below to build a basic model of the character. 

 After doing a bit of experience with box modelling I'm finding it easier to do it. Again I found I ran out of steam a little bit due to the amount of time needed. 

I think I was able to achieve the basic forms and proportions to be modeled with reasonable topology. There's still much work to do and I particularly would want to work more on the feet.

Under water creature

I wanted to create a a sea dwelling creature reminiscent of a pelagic sea slug.  I originally looked at a variety of sea creatures and then decided to cross a more mammalian form with the beautiful fringed look of the sea slug. 

I made a quick sculpt of a water dragon animal inspired by the images above in sculptris, I then moved the image over to photoshop and then added various highlights and tones. I definitely enjoy the digital sculpting and I know I need to look into more complex programs than sculptris.

Troll

First stage of box modelling :

Used 3D Max's symmetry to build from basic block to this. Took around two hours of on off work to get to this point.

 

An hour or so more work.

Halloween brief

The first attempt at finishing the piece, I felt the two halves contrasted too much but I like how the details on the face stand out in comparison to other edits.

Here I added some blood, trying to bring the two areas of focus together by adding a single colour to tie them in. I think I lost some of the details I liked about the face and there is still some question about the eye on the left belonging to a wolf. 

To make the subject matter more obvious I went on to add a snout and a snarl (though I don't like the teeth in the end product) to the picture above as well as add a few more tweaks. I don't know the total hours I spent on all three but I feel like my photoshop skills have definitely benefitted from going back and trying over, adding more detail and thinking of the composition a little more.

Definitely finished with it now though!

Halloween brief part 1

Starting with the Halloween brief which involves two contrasting parts as shown in my mood boards posted earlier in my blog. 

Something about halloween and the full moon makes me GRUMPY... Lol jk, werewolves, yay!

Common go to costume, big time legend with a strong hold in popular culture (Trueblood - yay, Twilight - hiss, Supernatural - yay), no doubt monsterous. It's all hallows eve Wednesday and (by coincidence) it's a full moon tomorrow.

I wanted to use this particular beast with the image of the sanded paint on a car to create a frightening and contrasting scene representing the duality that a werewolf embodies.

15 minute or maybe a bit over torso

Paint over cannon

This is my first attempt at doing a complex gun model. It didn't turn out like I wanted it to but then again I didn't collect any reference pictures to grab details from and that was most likely the down fall of this.

Wrinkle project

Working from my previous dragon head model I worked in sculptris again to make the dragon look old and haggard. I have dubbed this beast the 'Saggon'. I tried to incorporate scars and marks to as well as extreme sags and wrinkles being pulled down my gravity. I included areas like the lip and various spines that have also drooped and lost their vitality. I would like to take one of the screen shots into photoshop and add more tone as well as details like a cataract over a scarred eye, enlarged pores and disheveled scales in faded colours.   

Wrinkle project

A swift sculpt of an old goblin exploring the brief of wrinkles. I tried to incorporate a sense of gravity and sagging. I then took a screen shot and brought it over into photo shop where I tweaked highlights and added bits of colour as well as a few features. This really demonstrated to me how effective sculpting combined with photo shop can really be. 

Space ship project

Science! Well, not really, but it was fun trying to think of a semi-logical concept for space flight without a combustion engine. It's going to be a small scout ship (two/three crew) that travels ahead of the human exploration colonies to check new planets and systems out. Equipped with small guns but the main thing is that it's agile and hard to detect in the first place.

Dragon project

Here we were set the task of using a sculpting program (I used Sculptris) to create a dragon create. This is the first time I've ever tried sculpting but it is definitely a medium I feel comfortable with and enjoy using. It will definitely require more exploration in the future. Below are some in progress and the finished images.

I very much enjoyed this. I used my knowledge from working with animals to feel out the muscles and make my dragon look like a truly viable animal.

EDIT: Below is a quick photo shop import of my dragon.