Hellhound Process - Junior work
Hi,
I’m a student. My goal here is to learn what I can, collect feedback on anything from anatomy to concept. I realize it might be too early in the sculpt to really give any feedback but I’ll add progress quickly.
The first post might be a little extensive so please forgive me.
I made a few quick grab brush pull concepts for fun and to give me some ideas. I'll add those as well.
(Nearly finished look below. Entire process below also)
I've learned more about animals (fictional or non) in the last three months than I have in my entire life. Awesome learning experience.
Most recent view as of (11/01/2022) :
**Edit 11/01/2022 - Rig is finished. Final Beauty shot
**Edit 9/27/2022 - Pushed muscle anatomy. Wrinkles next
**Edit 9/16/2022 - Pushed the head a bit. Still working on secondary details. Not really close to skin/scales yet.
**Edit 9/8/2022 - More details. Putting in the teeth/working with the anatomy around the mouth to conform to them. New territory for me but it's been fun. He's really coming along and I look forward to texturing him. Goal is to add a really vibrant color to his skin in addition to scales/roughness/lil spikes all over. Maybe even some hair somewhere? That was suggested but I have no clue where to go with that.
**Edit 9/7/2022 - Took feedback and made anatomy adjustments. Added new spines/spikes. About to push the highpoly to the end
**Edit 9/3/2022 - Made anatomy adjustments to something more feline. Adding secondary details like skin/some spines. I still plan on adding a lot more spines or tentacles or something. Still ton of tertiary details remain I've yet to tackle. It's been a very fun project :)
**Edit 9/01/2022 - Went a different route with concept. Finishing secondary details.
**Edit 8/26/2022 - Pushed the anatomy. Still going on the sculpt. He's starting to look like something.**
First reference page
First blockout:
Second iteration:
increased leg size/changed muscle structure and added fingers/toes
third iteration:
I got a little ahead of myself on parts of the sculpt but was having a good time so I couldn't stop. The anatomy is still in the works
Grab brush/pull first concepts:
I thank anyone who took the time to take a look
Replies
Sculpt is going a bit further. This a pass of grab brush concepting to give me an idea of where to take him next regarding spines/spikes. I think his head is the strongest part of the sculpt. I'm not sure exactly what to do with his hind feet.. They look as if they belong to a raptor or something but he spends all of his time on all fours.. Would it be anatomically impossible for him to have those? Open to feedback as always.
I reverted back to the original idea with a simpler silhouette. His back feet need some love and he'll have some spines. Anatomy seems better.
Hi! :)
Piece wasn't working with slender vibe and a tail. I'm a really big fan of sabertooth tiger-esque anatomy. So I went that route. The first two below this comment are the most recent iterations. Third image was a low poly blockout of what it will look like with its spines (more or less). I'm an idiot and went for my own concept on this one and I'm paying for it. He's transformed a lot since the beginning but I think this design works much better.
Regarding texture, He looks smooth now but I'll continue to push secondary details like spikes/spines etc. His hide will be scaled, much rougher, with tons more tertiary details than he currently has. I really need to track down some good reference for that and get some ideas because frankly I have no f'n clue how I want him to look.
Posting mostly for feedback and to finish what I started. I'm excited for the transformation it has gone through during the process and the invaluable practice I've had working on various quadrupedal body types. It has decent potential, I hope.
hey, cool project!
I think currently the limbs resemble more humanoid anatomy, you could adapt more from your preferred animal. To figure the bone structure out, you could trace it in your references to visualizer it and paint it in on screenshots of your creature.
With the spikes you tried earlier, I think it's crucial to keep track of the silhouette. Depending on distribution and scale the creature might dissolve into noise when viewed at a distance. Also here you could study your references by just tracing their silhouette and it might be quicker and give more control to explore those options in overpaint.
Keep it up!
I appreciate the feedback. I’m definitely going to revisit the anatomy a bit and will try the trace over. I do however really like the idea of his hands having opposable thumbs that are human-like but that might be too much of a stretch to make sense. I love the spikes but the silhouette needs some work for sure.
Thank you!
Hi :)
After receiving some feedback I chose to alter the limbs slightly to be feline in nature but still somewhat humanoid. I'm still sculpting in secondary details but it's starting to look like something. I'll add most recent looks in addition to some concepts for near final secondary details. It's definitely not perfect but I've learned a lot during the process. It's been a great study. As always, open to feedback.
Hi! I think the way the front legs rest on the ground still looks a bit weird (weightless? does it work for running?).
Here is a rough overpaint attempt, sourcing from the references:
If you want more humanoid hands, maybe something like gorilla would be interesting too (resting on fingers)? But it would probably mean a shift in anatomy weight-distribution and move away from quadruped.
You could also draw in and modify a rigify rig, maybe you get some more ideas this way.
Keep it up 🛠️
Thank you for the feedback, Fabi. I also sincerely appreciate the paintover!
Here's the final design I'm going to move forward with, I think. I'm going to fix a few things around his feet and tighten up whatever anatomy stuff I can, I'll then start adding high-poly secondary details. I'm excited but not sure about the texturing phase. I think he'll have mostly rough scales/spikes in addition to maybe a vibrant color pattern of some sort. I'll add a quick color page of sketches in a few days.
I actually put a little more work in tonight. Really wanted to get teeth in. Trying a saber tooth idea. Still pushing everything. I'm trying to find a good place to stop before high frequency details.
I'm still trying to conform the anatomy around the mouth and his teeth to make sense. This is new territory and I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing. But it's starting to look like something.
Always seeking feedback on the sculpt regarding what is or isn't working. I'm also open to ideas for texture/coloration of the skin.
I'm committed at this point and will continuously post until I see it through. I've learned a ton about animal and creature design and anatomy and am excited to share it. If not for other people's eyes, then for my own personal documentation in a well-documented place.
I'm stubborn that way.
Thank you all for viewing.
Here's a quick update / iteration render. Most of the progress during this session was done on the head. My plan was to utilize a bunch of very small spikes in addition to what he currently has. But I'm not sure if it would flood the design with unnecessary detail. It's hard to tell because so much skin texture/scales still remains.
Just an update but as ever if anyone has an idea or feedback, I'm always open.
I'm paying for using my own concept by the immense amount of time but I'm seeing positive results finally. I've improved a ton from the beginning of the project but it's definitely not there yet.
Thanks for looking!
Nice progress, the shapes have nice volume 👍️
Thanks Fabi! I think the head design works for now, I'm exploring some different eyes and textures for his "bone helmet plate"
I took one more strong pass at muscle anatomy in a few spots and now I think it's time to add some larger wrinkles and spikes to the body in addition to some slight changes and scale/texture work on the feet and bobtail.
Beyond that he should be close to ready for scales.
Here are two progress images. The first is an image where I photoshopped a concept for the future idea I have in mind regarding the spikes and plate at the top of his head. I'd like it to be made of bone.
Second is the same just without the superimposed white at the top.
I've learned a ton about animal anatomy and am thoroughly enjoying the project.
Thanks for viewing and thanks for feedback, guys!
finished up tertiary details. Retopology is done and the normal map is baked. Next is Substance Painter. It’s been all Blender up to this point but I think the best course is to move away from that for texturing and diffuse.
thanks for viewing!
Hey, I think it's coming along nicely!
I would nitpick that the hind paws/toes look a bit massive compared to the front and could be reduced a little.
Looking forward to see it with textures!
Thanks Fabi! It's getting close.
Finishing up in Substance Painter then onto Blender to wrap him up him for now.
Few more texture tweaks on the front and back claws, then it's onto rigging and posing
The next comment should be the final piece.
hey, great to see your progress 👍️
Regarding the texturing, I think you could make the bone spikes more readable by reducing/controlling the noise/normal details and adding some gradients along spikes/teeth, directions (e.g. seperate planes pointing downwards) and highlights (edges, maybe most smooth from usage). Right now the detail/noise swallows the large shapes a bit imo. Another thing you could do, is put more edges/cavities into your roughness and specular maps. Right now some areas like on the back reflect very broad and evenly, not showing skin/scale fold cavities.
Overpaint of bony parts:
Keep it up 💪
Rig was finished today. This is the first pose I liked but it's nowhere near perfect. Thanks to those that reached out to offer feedback and guided me along the way of creating my first creature.
I sincerely appreciate it.
Thank you in particular, Fabi!!
Heyo, congrats on finishing your project, it turned out nicely 🍻 Going all the way from concept to rigged creature, you surely encountered many questions and solutions, you can apply to future projects. That said, looking forward to see your next creatures.
Regarding things not being perfect/best they could be - I believe with some time passed, you might come back with fresh eyes/new learnings and tweak things further. Certainly one important aspect, which I'm personally struggling with, is a good presentation of all the steps involved in the process.
I learned so much, it's insane. I know the next one will be even better.
Again, I really appreciate the fresh eyes and assistance you offered. Long way to where I want to be but we're heading that direction, at least!
Thanks again, Fabi!