A Weekend of Dragons

So this weekend I got out of a weeklong slump. I had not been drawing and should have been, and have been fairly under the weather causing me to fester in my own sorrow. Don't worry though, all is good now, and even moreso due to the fact that I drew some dragons that make me very proud of my talents.

I had pondered the last week of my abilities, considering whether or not I am really on the right path. After a long conversation with a dear friend I realized that yes, I indeed am doing precisely what I should be, and that is translating what my imagination gives me into works of art for others to enjoy. With that being said, I do hope you enjoy these two dragons! They will be two of many more to come, as I find they allow me to explore muscle structure and flow in my art, rather than drawing characters just standing there, showing off their outfits.



This one is named Lexis, and she will be making a decent meal out of that poor rodent.



And this one is named Mathias, another version of Matthew, whom is the talented musician that helped me realize what I am meant to do. Thank you Matt, and I hope you like your dragon!

Arturios Zbrush

So here's a little update on Arts' details. These are the big details, I have a lot more work to do on the little details, but with my other models ready for thier rotations (which I shall be sneakin' in to the school to use the sweet new computers for rendering on the weekends, hehehe) I am free to do some decent reworking of this character.




His detail work thus far hasn't taken much time, a good 5 hours or so, but it's the tiny details and texturing that will take time a patience. This is a large picture, but it shows some nice detail, and is a mix of about 4 smaller, close up screenshots from the Zbrush interface.

If anyone has comments or critiques, feel free to post!

Arturios Remastered

As of this final semester at CATO, I have chosen my final 4 models for my demo reel. They are Mana, Visarith, Vespoid Scout, and Arturios. I have avoided finishing Vladmira as her base mesh is a little floopy and my over enthusiastic approach to tackle her has caused me more time than I wished for... so on to the back berner she goes :)

Almost all of these are complete, but Arturios needed a very big fix. He was very low in poly count, and poorly done in ZBrush. This was literally my first model done with a model pack, and thus I agree it wasn't my finest of models, but I can not let him go now!

I've fixed his base mesh with the knowledge of what I've learned over the last year, and am proud to admit it's much MUCH better.


The primary changes made if you cannot clearly see are as follows:
- Body in general is smaller and more proportionate
- Features are better rounded and less sharp
- Hands and feet are more detailed to accommodate normal map
- Better use of edge loops and mesh in general
- Much easier to animate with higher poly count

All in all his remade base is much better. He's under 6k tris, and I may make room for some armor, but only if time permits. I shall be unwrapping him very soon and will get going on his normal map and diffuse. He'll also have a specular map, and I may try with some subsurface light scattering on him.

A Quickly Revamped Mana

As I had mentioned before, I was having a few issues with Mana's normal map. This was a great mistake on my part, as I missed a single crucial step of giving him a tangent property. Here's a pic of his newer version!

I am very proud to say that he looks 100% better! I hope you can all see the difference as well, and I'd like to thank my classmate Bill (sorry, your surname is unknown to me) for helping me with him! The fix took all of 5 minutes, but it was certainly an "A-ha!" moment, and it helps incredibly! Enjoy!

Daily Deviation

So I've taken the idea from a few forums to try my best and post a daily/bi-daily/weekly design or otherwise piece of artwork just to show what's on my mind. Today, as it's my first day, I spent about an hour and a bit during a slow moment in class to make this little fella.


Here's his outline and a little shading to give me an idea of how his skin will look.


And here's his final outline. I'd like to color him in the future, but for the most part he's just a little guy from my mind.

A short synopsis:
He's like a reptilian chicken thing about the size of a large house cat. He swallows his prey whole, suffocating it with his tongue, and then slowly digests it in it's exposed stomach. The orb of goo on his back is where his prey is digested, and when nothing but bones are left, he regurgitates them much like an owl. It can run about 14 km/h, and is a strict carnivore, eating creatures up to a quarter of it's size. It's primarily nocturnal, coldblooded, and aggressive, living in temperate climates . I could go into deeper details, but this will probably suffice. Hope you all like him/her/it!

Mana Completed

So I have worked well enough on making this character the best he could be, but I am wary that my skills on making Normal maps needs some attention. For the most part, Mana is relying on his diffuse more than his normal map, which is indeed sad since he'd be much more detailed if it weren't for my lacking ability. To rectify this situation, I've taken it upon myself to get a tutor. I'm quite happy how he turned out nonetheless, but for my final demo reel, I do hope his normal map will shine more.

So here's a set of picks with him slightly posed. I would like a more dynamic pose in the future, but I'm happy with this now. I still want to pump out his pants colour a little before he's done, but aside from that, I think he's a swell guy! I hope everyone enjoys him! I sure did creating him!

Vladmira Returns

As an added bonus, I finished (after a minor design and technical issue) Vladmira's base mesh. She is unwrapped and ready for ZBrush!


So here is it, a small collaboration of her side, front, and close up torso view. Feel free to critique! I have made some minor changes with her hands, and am intending to use a transparency map for most of her fins, hence the sharp edges. All in all, she was my first modeled female character, and I am, suffice to say, proud to show her topless ;) Hope you all enjoy her!