The Amaluma
The Amaluma is a bird of prey that possess a rare bioluminescent quality in it's feathers. Some say it's to attract large prey from the dark whilst others say it's strictly for find a mate. One thing is for certain, it's a sight to see when it's silently flying through the air.
Update - 1 May 2019
Concept Art I
So my journey begins with creature thumbnailing. For references I used not the physical attributes of the classic circus animals (lion, tigers, elephants, and bears oh my) but rather what made them attractive. The commonality? They look pretty, pretty dangerous, and have the capacity to entertain by doing tricks.
Having a bird of prey doing loop de loops through wheels of fire seemed the most attractive. Hence, lots of bird themes.
Concept Art II
The second creature's body (top row) and the forth creature's face (top row) were my favorites. I had to wreck my brain a bit on how it would realistically fly, and this is what I came up with. Essentially, is does the chicken dance whilst it's flying by flapping its "elbows" up and down. When it's ready to pounce, it tucks it in and is forced to dive bomb.
Inspiration behind this flying method is actually the bat. I read that their wings are an extension of their fingers. Thus when flying, they are doing jazz hands- sounds goofy in that context so I tried to make an equally goofy oversimplification for my creature.
Sculpting
Dear lord I cannot emphasize how much I love sculpting! I was still trying to figure out the flight technique with the early stages, as evident where the wing placement is.
I had to think long and heard on whether I wanted to have a poly sculpt or particle hair for the fur. In the end, I chose sculpting. The only issue? I had troubles baking everything into a low poly version. I'm a bit bitter that I lost a lot of beautiful detail and time because of this.
Texturing and Final Renders
After many hours of texturing and last minute "why-won't-you-work" I finally finished the renders. I would have loved to texture directly on the high poly model to maintain the details, but a great setback is how much my computer is able to handle. Retypologizing for texturing is a big must for me, as much as I loathe it (but hey, I'm really good at it by now). I love this Amaluma and I'm upset that I couldn't have more time on it... well I do, but not for the contest. I wished to add a flaming wheel or a carriage, but had to scrap them. Oh well, circle of life!
Final Thoughts
I feel bittersweet about this project. I loved every second and might be my record for start to finish completed character; I only started on it exactly one week before the contest deadline. I wished I was able to take the full advantage of the contest period, but for what I did, I'm proud. Should I do it again, I would do the wings first... and study more on how to make better feathers.
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