The Beast - Waiting on a friend

chopin

Hey guys, long time lurker here. I doubt I'll make it in time, but thought I'd give it a go.

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* Story *

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In this take of the original story the princess never came back. The beast sat on the highest tower of his castle, waiting, while his sickness spread eventually killing him. This is the moment where he knew the princess was not coming, but decided it was ok.

(Just enough to set the scene, I'll get back to it later)

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* Notes *

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I like to work with notes and not as much with image reference, so feel free to skip the following as they're not a very interesting read.

The goals for this creature are:

-anthropomorphic, so its easier to be likeable and show emotion.

-realistic style, desaturated colors.

-huge mouth ("It is said he would devour them in one bite so they wouldn't feel agony or pain")

-17-18th century (prince?) clothing - mostly naked

-indications of the spreading sickness

    |weak physique

    |deteriorating muscles

    |dark veins

    |horns, bones sticking out

-able to support the above story with the pose and expression.

    |sad but optimistic

    |sitting pose

    |holding something?

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* Latest WIP *

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For my first sketch I'll try getting a feel of the face. Hope to post a WIP later today. Best of luck to everyone, though I've seen enough to know you wont need any 

chopin

After some iterations this is what I came up with. Everything's blobby and symmetrical, but I hope his face gets the feeling across. Next I'm gonna try some weapons/acessories/clothes, decide on what he's holding and do some work on the legs if they don't get covered up. He looks very stiff right now but I'm a little hesitant to break symmetry and cross the hands. I know its still early but I'd love some feedback  

chopin

Experimented with skin medium-high frequency detail on substance designer. This will tile horribly but i'll probably randomize it in painter and apply some variations.

chopin

Attacked the torso with the standard brush. Don't like it much. Lots of cleaning/detailing to do but still, either its all gonna come together with color or end up a circus. Let me know what you think.