Zbrush sculpt: Philippine Sailfin Dragon

supertydon · Aug 2018

Hello peoples! For my first post on the forums I'll introduce you all to a creature you've most likely never heard of, the Sailfin Dragon (or sailfin lizard/soa soa, whichever you prefer) which is a semi-aquatic reptile that can reach around a meter/3 feet in length and is the largest agamid (reptiles commonly called "dragons").

Below are several images of the sculpt zoomed in on different features, and below all that is an image of the actual animal for comparison.

Full Body:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/zi/mvhv4dzqo7hd.jpg

Head/Neck:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/14/k9yq2khptpli.jpg

Back/Sail:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/k8/3bxoiv4x4s4m.jpg

Legs/Feet:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/ii/nkf8uddn1dcl.jpg

Actual animal for comparison:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/4g/ju1lej7bhdke.jpg

Skinner3D · Aug 2018

That is a fun looking beast. Goodluck getting that skin right. I think your tail fin needs more spines and the torso fin needs to seem more fin like. Yours looks like a high arcing spine atm.

Gail_Blitzy · Aug 2018

A great start, looks like you've nailed a lot of the primary forms. Like Skinner3D said above, going to be a lot of fun getting the skin details in.

I'm actually doing a dragon project and have been using lizards as reference, would be nice to get your opinion on it --> https://polycount.com/discussion/204012/wip-dragon-mountain#latest

Stefmon · Aug 2018

Yo, neat! Throw in some eyeballs and teeth in there. You can keep them as separate sub tools.
As for the body, you might be going into the skin a bit early. There's a lot of detail in the fins (may be calling it the wrong thing) and neck skin.
Keep it lower res and don't be afraid to really push with dam standard and clay to get the details you want.
The heads and eyes of lizards alone are super detailed! get some close up shots of their eyes and head.

Good work! Keep going

p.s. Try using the basic material, mat cap gray or basic material 2. They'll give you clearer lighting and surface detail. Though that might just be me not liking the red wax

Zbrush sculpt: Philippine Sailfin Dragon

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