The Gardener of Hearts

Rhimor

Hello everyone!
 
Many things have changed since I began working on this, so I ended up editing this first post and I will continue updating it as I go along.

Story

As I am making this "beast", a lot of new stories and ideas are popping into my head so nothing is concrete until the end.

The beast felt quite plain so I was thinking of adding some sort of clothing, however, it didn't really fit the whole character as he looks more "animal" than "human". After some thought, this dungeon wall came up to mind. It also kind of changes his story (it wasn't really clear in the first place anyway).

So far what the story (I think it's fairly complete):
   Years have passed since the Shifting Growth has become desolate. Corrupted by the ignorance of man, it has been left to wither. In one final bid to survive, nature itself has chosen an unfortunate candidate to carry the burden of the Breathing Essence. The beast, enchanted by the Essence, has developed supernatural features in order to fulfill the task of the grove. He must travel far and wide in order to locate fertile earth to ensure the reawakening of the Shifting Growth. And so the journey of the Gardener of Hearts begins…

Pedestal

After quite a bit of changes, I'm not entirely sure what the pose and pedestal are going to be yet. The only thing so far which I know for sure is that the whole scene is going to be giving some sad vibes.

Moodboards

Submission:

Full frame shot and story:



Close up shot:



Wireframe shot:



Texture sheet (tusks and fur):

Rhimor

I'm trying to figure out which kind of horns/tusks I like most so far. The head and body are quite rough at this point (as you can tell :P).

Rhimor

A little update on the head. I think I will be making his tusks huge and leave the horns small. Will continue with this tomorrow.

Rhimor

A little update on the body. Still not completely decided where the fur will be.

Rhimor

Another update! Wasn't happy with the head so I've changed it a bit.

Rhimor

Another update on the head and horns/tusks! I'm starting to like it at this stage, wasn't too happy before

Rhimor

One last update for today.

Rhimor

Added some "scale" looking skin bits 'cause the limbs looked a bit plain.

I consider adding some sort of armor/clothing but not sure yet if this guy needs it. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Rhimor

So I've removed the spots/scales, thought I liked them, turned out I didn't... and worked on the tusks today. I've not really coloured so early when making stuff, but I think it really helps me visualise what the creature will look like. Need to start doing it more often!

Rhimor

One more update. I've done some details on the skin and fixed some anatomy I wasn't too happy with. I think from here on it's just making more and more details.

Not very sure about the pedestal yet tho. That might prove a bit challenging.

Rhimor

Small update. Removed the mustaches and gave him a goatee plus some details on the tusks and horns.

Also a new idea about the pedestal. I was thinking of having him submerge his tusks underwater as he's looking into the reflection to remind himself how he looked like before.

octokitty

Those tusk/horns are awesome, love how they go through the smaller horns! 

AlexJudeScott

Really like this concept, doing a great job of showing the weight of those tusks.

Rhimor

octokitty said:

Those tusk/horns are awesome, love how they go through the smaller horns! 

AlexJudeScott said:

Really like this concept, doing a great job of showing the weight of those tusks.

Thanks guys! I'm mostly liking the tusks as well. Gotta work a bit more on the anatomy tho I think.

Rhimor

Another update. Some work on the anatomy and a bit of details here and there. Here are a few screen grabs from Zbrush.

Rhimor

One more update with a new idea I ended up with. The beast felt quite plain so I was thinking of adding some sort of clothing, however, it didn't really fit the whole character as he looks more "animal" than "human". After some thought, this dungeon wall came up to mind. It also kind of changes his story (it wasn't really clear in the first place anyway).

The new idea is that he had committed some horrible crime and he was "punished" with a curse deforming his tusks. Additionally, he was sentenced to live the rest of his life in a dungeon. He was magically bound with chains because his strength would allow him an easy escape. However, he still managed to escape, not by breaking the chains, but by ripping the entire wall connected to chains with him.
Currently, he is carrying the wall with him at all times and using his enormous tusks to partially support its weight.

The actual chains are currently missing as I will position them once I finish his pose and pedestal.

And the wall:

Rhimor

An update on the wall/rock on his back:

Rhimor

And one last for today. The chains holding the wall/rock on his back are not there yet, I will be adding them once I get the pose sorted. But as you can imagine, they will be hooked on the rings piercing his skin.

Rhimor

Update! Changed the silhouette of the wall/stone a little bit as it was too flag. Unwrapped everything and baked most normals/AO.

Here is a snap from Marmoset (teeth/horns/some other stuff missing):

Rhimor

I'm not enjoying this rush to finish him, as I'm half-assing some stuff, but hey..! It's turning out alright I think

Here is the pose + pedestal. I will be starting to texture tomorrow.

Rhimor

Started texturing yesterday. Trying out Substance Painter 2 for the first time and damn this program is amazing! I just wish I had a bit faster PC for it :P

Body so far:

Rhimor

I think I've completely finished the pedestal. Unless some suggestions/advice comes along, this will be the final version of the diorama.

Rhimor

Update on the texturing again. Tusks are done, hope to sort out the body today as well.

Rhimor

Finished the body as well! Getting there...

BrianDolan89

I love the sculpting for this creature. If I may say, as of right now (and I have no idea what you plan to do with the heart or in the future with textures. This is just a suggestion) its very monochromatic. Nothing really pops out or has areas of contrast. My eyes don't know where to go because theres no focal points. I would suggest picking a color to use to make it really pop. ( and if this is what you planned to do from the start then just ignore everything I said lol just critiquing based on whats viewable right now) Its looking great so far and I love the tusks. I just think it needs a strong umph to it. Hopefully this helps. Good Luck!  

Rhimor

BrianDolan89 said:

-snip-

Hey! Thanks for the suggestion, I always dread the texturing part when I'm doing 3D stuff, not my strongest skill. I think you definitely have a point, I haven't really thought about a focal point at all. Thinking about it now (after you mentioned it), it might end up being the "stone" on his back or the tusks. I'll texture as planned (hopefully, finish by tomorrow or the day after) and then if this concern is still around, I'll be adding some last day texture changes.

Rhimor

Resculpted the fur since the original one that I did, didn't look good at all. A bit better now, I have to retopo it tho, which will be a nightmare I think. Also, there's only gonna be a mane now, the rest of the fur didn't really do anything for the character.

Rhimor

The new fur! I'm really happy I remade this (not perfect, but an improvement from before for sure), took me a whole day to retopo those darn little bundles of fur, but definitely worth it :P

Rhimor

Submission

Full frame and story:



Close up:



Wireframe:



Texture sheet (tusks and fur):

Rhimor

Submission

Full frame and story:



Close up:



Wireframe:



Texture sheet (tusks and fur):

Rhimor

What a time to get "Your comment will appear after it is approved." hehe. Made me panic last night as I was posting my submission. :P
I'm relieved that it's finally over, ended up doing a 16-hour session in order to finish on time. Was a blast, I learned a lot and also got to try Substance Painter which is amazing! Will definitely be using it to texture my models from now on.
Thanks everyone and good luck!

borodach

Glad you did it in time. Pretty interesting creature.

Rhimor

Thanks Borodach.

I'm gonna post some extra shots in case people are interested. Didn't really get to show the "heart" in the submission, but oh well. Here is his turntable and a few renders of the heart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OhPTQrxLqc&feature=youtu.be