Monster Hunter Expansion - Feudal Japan

Creature Design Segment

These creatures are the base of this expansion, let alone the main game itself. Monster Hunter has always been about formidable monsters that roam the lands; You can successfully research them or hunt them down for their 'parts' to craft new weapons or armors.

Monster Design 1

While exploring the possibilities of creature designs, I wanted to keep the aspect of traditional Japanese culture and mythology present. This creature, later named Ohirume, came from the inspiration of a Chinese Dragon. Giant serpents that flew through the air with magic. Above you can see the basic thumbnail exploration and color experiments.

In order to quickly design my head so it's accurate to my mental images, I used Zbrush to sculpt the basic shapes and some simple details.

Above is the finished concept sheet for Ohirume. 

"Named after the goddess of the sun, this dragon makes its home in the mountains of ancient Japan. Its scales are used in the making of medicine, and greatly reflect light making it seem as if it radiates brightness, similarily to our sun. Its long whip-like tail allows for a non-aggressive approach to scaring off poachers."

Monster Design 2

This second creature has a design based on a few things such as the Japanese god of storms, Susanoo, and a Quetzalcoatlus. This monster uses its large albatross-like wings to glide for months at a time with little energy spent. Above you can see some basic sketch thumbnails as I rough out the designs, I already knew I wanted to heavily base the body structure off of flying dinosaurs of ancient times. 

Above is the final sheet for the Susashu. As an added bonus sketch, below is an action shot of Hunters fighting the this creature.

Monster Design 3

This creature I wanted to use the base structure of a Spinosaurus, and aquatic dinosaur. I decided to experiment with different evolutionary traits it could have possessed, and I adopted the idea of it gaining extra-long webbed fingers to help it navigate drowned cave systems. I explored the color possibilities of both male and female variants and decided on a neutral tone where it could blend into the environment it lives in. 

Instead of taking this to a rendered painting, I decided to test the limits of my Zbrush Knowledge and create a full-body sculpt, seen below (this is my very first Zbrush creature sculpt).

3D model - Legiana (Monster Hunter World)

As additional practice after the modeling of the Spinosaurus, I attempted to sculpt an already designed monster, Legiana. This sculpt was created from the concept art that Capcom has released. I used Polypaint for the colors.

Bonus - Ideas in progress creatures

Environment Paintings Segment

Below are some environment paintings I have completed for this same theme, along with a few unfinished sketch stage work. These paintings incorporate photos as well as my digital painting. 

Character Basic Exploration Segment

Below are just some simple character explorations, some armor sketches, and some weapons as well. I liked seeing what I could create with just a headshot, showing different hairstyles and tattoos to customize a character.

Extra Work - Unrelated

I have also included some other work I have completed over the past few months, either as practice pieces or just extra artwork I have ended up developing.