Wow, it's finally done! This was the very last assignment of the semester for Modelling class, and I just finished it a few hours ago... This is also my very first 3D concept creature, and it was a lot of fun creating this! I have included the entire Character Bible in this post as well, so feel free to feast your eyes upon my latest creation [and read all about it as well!].
Assignment Description:
Our job was to create any believable creature that does not exist...a concept creature. We had to first convert all our references into sketches; so the front, side and top views [orthographic views] for our creatures were drawn. After much refining and tweaking, the final blueprints were scanned and imported into Maya...and from there we started modelling. We had to also create a write-up about our own creature that was to be included in the Character Bible [things that explained the physical characteristics, behaviour, etc.]
Completion Time:
The initial drawings were done in a day, and the final drawings with colour took me a few days.
The modelling was completed in 2 days.
How It Was Made:
Ok, I'm not going to talk about the 3D part of it, because I've explained that numerous times in my older posts. In terms of the 2D stuff, a lot of my inspiration was from...you guessed it, Lord of the Rings! [Well, the inspiration for most of my artwork comes from Lord of the Rings].
What intrigued me in particular were the "Wargs." I was fascinated with the overall realism and the organic structure of the body that I wanted to create something similar to that. For references I used pictures of warthogs, pigs, boars, hyenas and buffalo. When I put all these together into one sketch, and made the eyes smaller and closer to the mouth, along with the tall, curvy spine, the "Phynglut" was born! It was a little challenging to imagine the creature from the front and top views, because the side view of most living things is usually the main profile that people see and recognize.
Well, once the drawings were finished, it was quite easy to model it in Maya, and I've got to admit...that sometimes it helps to draw BEFORE you start any digital stuff! In terms of the information, it may sound believable, but it's all just creative thinking really...[you'd be surprised how creative you can get at 2 in the morning!] Note: the final drawings were drawn in Sketchbook Pro and coloured in Photoshop.
Final Words:
I think this turned out exceptionally well and quite believable for my first concept creature!
I've included a bonus composite of my creature standing outside the Black Gate from Lord of the Rings! It was a fun assignment and I'd love to continue creating more concept creatures in the future...stay tuned!
Enjoy :)
