Burnroot

I am happy to share with you my first project developed during the first part of the CG masterclass at Skyup academy. The theme of the character was European mythology, and I was inspired by the Leshy, northern European creatures that reign in the woods.

Let's start with the final renders: 

sculpted in Zbrush, Lights and texture in Maya and rendered with V-ray.

First I studied the creature I wanted to be inspired by, then I looked for references with which to define the anatomy and shape of the character.

Then I put on paper my idea to life, I sketched some drafts including a first main pose and the a-pose. In this part I also created a short story in which I tell the background of my character.

He is Burnroot a Leshy who had his kingdom ripped away with flames, and now he wanders from forest to forest to help his kind. 

That's why I chose gray colors and warm atmospheres and the heartbreaking pose of pain.

The second part of the work was to create a maquette with monster clay.

Here I made a lot of changes to the initial concept, because with the tridimensionality I was able to better express the volumes and ideas I had in mind.

The third part of the work, the main part, was digital sculpting in z-brush.

This was the first time i used this software, and once i got over the initial hurdle of getting into the dynamics of the program it was really fascinating to learn this powerful tool.

I started from define volumes from primary to secondary to posing.

In the end I adjusted the pose and completed the work by adding the tertiary details. Here again I was able to define even better the idea I visualised and give much more details to my character. I attempted to give a realistic than cartoonish idea to my work.

The stage of lighting made in Maya.

If you have come this far I hope you have enjoyed it and thank you very much for your attention.