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chemb0t — Sun Chaser
Published: 2014-05-29 11:54:29 +0000 UTC; Views: 4501; Favourites: 133; Downloads: 51
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Description
Here's a sculpt I started a long while ago. I decided to finish it off as a way to practice more anatomy, and fine surface texturing using alphas. The rough skin of reptilian characters seems to be just the right subject for this kind of thing. =]Made in Zbrush using the dynamesh system. Started from a simple sphere, sculpted out the main volumes, textured, retopo'd and then posed. From there I took it into maya and decided to practice with Vray. The render preview is easier and much more useful than the last time I used vray back around 2008. Also the self-illuminating material is very spiffy.
Time to model is about 6 hours over the span of 8 months or so. Time to render is about 1.6 hours.
What do you guys think? I was considering finishing it off with a color and shader pass but I think this is a good example of what I may be able to offer as a base item along with those bust commissions.
Here's another shot:
Update: Here is a video of my sculpt process:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-Nuph…
And here it is in interactive 3d!
studio.verold.com/projects/538…
Enjoy! =]
Interested in commissioning me? Check out my Commission info !
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Comments: 19
Really cool, I do enjoy those bulky types of male figures! And the textures look really great, it must have been very time consuming to create those scales!
In terms of criticism: I would say that defining/refining the areas of different textures may look better. For example, the skin of the tummy and the scales of the inner leg/criss-cross scales (or armour plating) on the neck - they look quite jarring next to each other, I think perhaps they need more of a purposeful design to them. When I look at this guy, my thoughts are "What purpose do his scaled legs/neck have in contrast to his smoother stomach? If he is bipedal, would his scales be present so far into his thighs, especially if he walks most of the time? Why does he have plating on his throat, and how is it purposeful to the rest of his chest/body where he is covered with smoother skin?" etc.
In no way do I want to be critical of your efforts or creativity, but I look at this guy and it feels like he has scales for being a lizard guy's sake - I want to know why he is built the way he is built! Why he has horns in this way, and what benefit his scales give by being larger or softer on the different areas of his body. In the same way a crocodile is engineered with heavy duty scutes and also smooth skin - they all serve a purpose to his design (and a very good one at that hahah).
I really hope that made sense, I can't quite think of a clearer way to write it hahah...but anyway, I hope it helps and I look forward to seeing more!
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I must admit, I could have spent more time getting the scales right. The process is a lot quicker than you would think. It's just a matter of painting on patterns, much like spray painting with stencils. Applying them to this guy was sortof a means to practice with the tool and its parameters more than an intentional design choice, so things do indeed look a bit jarring. I did have a general idea in mind as far as having finer/smoother scales on the underside and more pronounced structures on the back, but using more references from nature would have helped to get it to make more sense and flow better. Also I think color would help define the separations a little better as well.
In any case thanks for the feedback and crits. =] This is it's definitely something I am aware of and will certainly focus on more next time I do another reptilian character. There seems to be a lot of designs where scales are a more subtle effect so that volumes and overall anatomy is more emphasized, and that's something I want to try out.
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I absolutely understand. I'm always a bit hesitant to write critiques, especially for pieces which are practices or finished...seems a bit silly to point out things when its done & finalized! But I thought in this instance if you either remake him, or create a similar character practice then this might be a worthwhile "tip" for next time hahah. I totally agree that the definitions could look much different with colour, too.
You're welcome, sorry it wasn't awfully clear or concise, but I'd love to see what armoured, scaled or textured creatures you can make in the future! I'm in no doubt they will look great hahah
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Thanks! Looking it over a few days later, I think I may have overdone a few parts to the point that it's obscuring some of the anatomy/volumes, but the overall l think that it still works. =]
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personally I preferred this position over the other one. And not to mention..Its AWESOME!
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Thank you! =] It's actually the same pose, but taken from a different angle. You can check it out in full 3d here to see for yourself; studio.verold.com/projects/538…
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yep i did see it 
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