"Ant Farmer" - Traditional Sculpt

Polygoblin

A few weeks ago, My workstation went down. While waiting for repairs, I decided to work on some concepts and other traditional work. I had this idea for a scene for about a year now, and it seemed like the perfect time for a scupt!

Basic Idea: Old "Ant Farmer" with his faithful pet slug, "Fluffy"


Concept


Sketching...


Progression...



As of now...

I have my workstation up and running again, and plan to get back to my CG soon. I will work on it here and there.

C & C is welcome and appreciated! Thanks for taking the time to view my post.

HonkyPunch

wow. that's pretty badass.
Good job.

MALicivs

ahah that looks great dude, love the slug!

achillesian

Noice, but shouldn't it be an Aphid instead of a slug?

Polygoblin

achillesian wrote: »

Noice, but shouldn't it be an Aphid instead of a slug?

To be fully realistic, yes. I wanted something a little cuter and cuddlier. Also, a slug is a lot more recognizable. I have been working hard to keep the character from looking "alien", and a slug helps with that. I think an aphid would read a little more alien than I like.
However, I never even sketched an Aphid out. I thought about it, but I went with the slug. Depending on how it turns out, I may choose to go with an aphid when I go CG, since the relational size would be accurate. Ill play with some concepts, and hell, if I come up with something, I just may add it to the scene. I got plenty of clay

Polygoblin

Got some more done. close to baking, but not yet. I just have to do the right hand and the tool. On that note, I'm still not quite sure what tool I want to give the character. I was planning on building a small rake out of wire and wood, but wanted to see if anyone has any ideas. What could best fit the character, but would be possible to build by hand?

Here is the new scene photo:



Gaster:


Fluffy the slug:


Extra shot for fun:


Once I finish the right hand and tool, I will be ready to bake. Should be fun!

C&C is welcome and much appreciated!

Polygoblin

I spent a bit doing texture stamps to get the skin texture right, and it came out quite well. It really helps the details POP. Using liquid latex, I copied the porous texture of an orange peel. All kinds of citrus give a different look. This is a naval orange (delicious!), so it gives me a very broad pore system.



I did the right hand, but I realized I will have to bake it without the "tool". I opened the hand a little looser to make fitting the tool back in a bit easier. Still havent figured out what tool I'm going to make, but I'll figure it out while I'm baking it.



It is ready for the bake. I'm a bit nervous, but I'll just take lots of pictures before I put it in, in case I lose the sculpture. Wish me luck!



As always, C&C are welcomed and encouraged. Thank you for taking the time to view my post.

conte

really fun work, man!
i like the concept

achillesian

haha "ready for the bake" made me double take

"i thought this was real medium?!.... oh wait, that kind of bake."

Polygoblin

Baked, primed, and ready to paint.

....hat and rake are coming.

mLichy

Thats sick

Polygoblin

Blocked out the main colors. Figured I'd work color layers onto these base layers. Should be fun. I've never painted any of my maquettes, so this should be a fun learning experience!

warby

this has oddworld written all over it !

(thats a good thing)

ShinsetsuDesuka

great stuff, its cool seeing someone using traditional sculpting

Polygoblin

Thanks guys

Posting updates to keep the motivation going. Finding time is getting rough.



Finished blocking base colors. May have to re-do the farmer's main skin. Thinking its a bit too orange. Think I want to go redder.

Working on medium details now.

As always, C&C is welcomed and appreciated!

Polygoblin

Starting to get a bit frustrated with painting the color layers. This is my first venture painting a maquette, and I miss the "un-do" button with a heated passion as we speak. However, I hear from other artists that it takes some getting used to, but if you are patient, you can get good at it.



...Lets hope they were right

ZacD

Needs a bit of an ao pass.

LlamaJuice

First off, do you go to Full Sail?

Secondly, I'm liking the redder skin for the ant, however I dunno if I like the green you've chosen for fluffy. Did you consider making him a brownish color as well?... or something to mute his overly cartoony look? I like the model, but the cartoony diffuse is strange next to the "realistic" ant.

Also, I second the AO pass.

Polygoblin

LlamaJuice wrote: »

First off, do you go to Full Sail?

Secondly, I'm liking the redder skin for the ant, however I dunno if I like the green you've chosen for fluffy. Did you consider making him a brownish color as well?... or something to mute his overly cartoony look? I like the model, but the cartoony diffuse is strange next to the "realistic" ant.

Also, I second the AO pass.

Yea, I went to Full Sail! You go? Its a great school. Constantly expanding.

I agree about the green color. I wanted cartoony, but it seems to be too far on that end of the spectrum while sitting next to the ant. I don't think I want to go brown, but I'm going to experiment with some different color palettes to see what I can come up with.

Thanks

LlamaJuice

I just finished DRC yesterday for the Game Art degree, I graduate in a few days :P.

Anyhow, I wasn't saying brown like.. .brown brown... but a brown-green type color.



Something like that maybe?

Polygoblin

OH, CONGRATS! DRC is a demanding class. I remember many LOOONG nights in those labs. I'd love to see your reel sometime. I'm trying to get a new one together, myself.

I see what your talking about. I'm figuring out how to layer this stuff (analog) right now, and I got an idea of how to correct it.

Polygoblin

Pardon my absence. MY other projects are hogging my free time.

Starting to get the hang of this layered painting stuff. Working the secondary colors and highlights now.







NOTE TO SELF: Next time, start with darks, and work up to lights.

Any tips and pointers about how to create a complex finish (to get an insect look)?

As always, C&C is welcomed and appreciated

gsokol

This is ....awesome... Very nice looking, really digging the detail. Makes me want to have a crack at sculpting!

ZacD

try to find a glossy coating. Looks good.

Mr_Drayton

Haha, it's fantastic! :O A great piece of work, sure!
When everything is done, I suggest to add (in certain areas) that kind of translucent paint that make things look like... Ehm, mucus?
Look at this thing, you'll understand what I'm saying: http://kalapusa.deviantart.com/art/Piranha-Plant-Mouth-136193487
I think it will add a great touch of realism!

Anuxinamoon

respect for anyone who has the patience for that stuff. The great thing is that it looks great too and you painting attempt is actually really good also. Love what you are doing with the skin!

Great work

Polygoblin

Thanks guys!

I'm going to use different clear gel mediums for the finish. I want something complex, with a lot of variations like in these photographs. I have to be careful though. I don't think I'll be able to simply paint over a mistake if needed.

Of course, any other ideas would be great, since gel medium is kind of expensive. I'm not made of money!