[WIP] Lizard Creature Recreation

apollo580

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to share something I jumped onto last week... Long story short I've lost a bit of motivation recently and have been jumping between projects. I have my necromancer model as a WIP that will be finished after this model. But basically I wanted to prove to myself that I've made some progress over the years so I decided to recreate the first "finished" model I've ever done. It's basically a lizard type create meant to be a sentient race. My plan is to outfit the new model with African/Mayan Tribal clothes and weapons in the end. Most of the body will be covered in scales and the spine will have the hardest of the scales. Below is the original finished model and the current WIP as well as my mood board.

apollo580

Started doing more detailed work on the chest and shoulder area!

At the moment Im debating if I should work on muscle definition first or adding in the scales for the body. In my head the chest and ab area will have the least amount of scales and will almost be an alpha type area. I want more distinct and sculpted scales as we move towards the spine.

I also just noticed that the lower arm seems to curve strangely near the wrist, I will work on making that a bit more straight like the top arm.

apollo580

Started working on the top scales, trying to get a rugged look and the plan is to have ridges on each individual scale.

apollo580

Redid the back scales completely and like the way they are heading now!

apollo580

More updates, I'm getting pretty happy with my secondary forms and will be moving onto the detailing stage for the body, claws, and horns. I will also start working on the secondary details for the head!

apollo580

Took a long break from art for the last few months but got back into it recently. Managed to get this guy to about 95%. I appreciate any comments on the textures before I start rigging him in the next few days!

Ashervisalis

Looks cool! I think you could push the texturing of both the character and the weapon a bit further.

apollo580

Ashervisalis said:

Looks cool! I think you could push the texturing of both the character and the weapon a bit further.

Thank you! Do you have any suggestions on how I can improve this more? 

AntoineR

A good starting point would be adding more color variation to your skin texture. For example, if you look at most lizards they have a different color on their belly compared to their back. I suggest you look at a bunch of reference to get some inspiration. Also make sure to work more on your roughness, it looks really uniform in a lot of places. Your weapon would benefit from having better transitions between the different materials. For example the part that connects the blade with the handle could be a different metal than the blade. Finally, make sure you have a good lighting setup. The one you have right now isn't really helping showcasing your work. Hope this helps, good luck!

apollo580

AntoineR said:

A good starting point would be adding more color variation to your skin texture. For example, if you look at most lizards they have a different color on their belly compared to their back. I suggest you look at a bunch of reference to get some inspiration. Also make sure to work more on your roughness, it looks really uniform in a lot of places. Your weapon would benefit from having better transitions between the different materials. For example the part that connects the blade with the handle could be a different metal than the blade. Finally, make sure you have a good lighting setup. The one you have right now isn't really helping showcasing your work. Hope this helps, good luck!

Thank you so much! I actually worked last night a bit more to push the colour variation. Going to work on it a bit more and the roughness as well, I think it needs a bit more shine to it to look more scaly as well. Ill post the final renders in a few days!

apollo580

Finally finished!


Here is the artstation link as well:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Pm1x3y