Week Summary - BA3a Week 3

3D Model Project

Spent this week continuing iteration and working up to a final design, with some leeway for changes to be made and details added while sculpting. I've decided to go with an automaton character, something akin to the 'Big Daddies' in Bioshock; not necessarily good or evil, but something that will defend itself if provoked.

It's a collector of souls for a higher authority, hence the slightly militaristic attire, something of an agent of fate. It's something respected by the populace but also somewhat feared, although it doesn't come for the souls of people outside its purview.

Thinking about function - the bottom section of the outfit rolls up to meet the top section to make a coat. The idea is that it can be rolled up and clipped to the cape when stealth is required (to mask the glow) or rolled down for easier access to the window on the stomach, which is where it stores collected souls before delivering them.

I've tried very hard to keep consistent shape language throughout the design - lots of triangles and diamonds and angular shapes, contrasted with a few organic sections to reflect the natural-unnatural nature of the character. This is also to help with the sculptural feel I'm aiming for when it comes to modelling the design.

I'm very happy with the final design for the character - I think it could be a little more refined in places, but given the time I allowed and the fact that I want to feel out more changes at the sculpting stage, I think this is a solid design. It feels like it could be a part of a larger world and have a story behind it, which is really what I was aiming for, and I think it makes a striking impression.

Wax Model

This week was working on the hips, head, and feet of the model. I'm getting more used to the feel of sculpting, and am really proud of how the hips turned out; I've been experimenting with cutting into the wax with scalpels to give it a more planar look which I think has a nice feel to it.

The model's head was loose, which necessitated some changes to make it more stable. Rather than remaking the whole section, I cut, heated and added some new wax to fix the problem, which worked surprisingly well.

Tasks

This week's task was a character design. I tried to use alchemy for silhouettes, but found I much prefer the spatter brush method I normally use. I'll probably keep coming back to alchemy, but for speed's sake I decided to use my usual workflow.

Goblins are usually enemies in most media so I wanted to make an endearing character, especially with it being a child and having a foolish personality. The pointy hat came up in my silhouettes, and I developed it into a character who thinks she's a wizard and likes to dress as such even given the limited materials available to her in a prison.

I used my usual workflow of block colour, then multiply and soft light layers for depth, and then outright painting, with some light texture overlays where required.

I would have liked to add some more additional details, but didn't have time due to the short deadline. I usually have a fair amount of trouble with colour palettes, but I'm really happy with the colour balance here even though it's not an entirely traditional palette. I enjoy the contrast between the dull, cool blue/green and the brighter, warmer yellow and orange. I'm quite proud of this piece as a whole, and might take it a little further on my own for my portfolio if I have the time.