Week 1

This module delves into Digital Sculpting which is an alternative method of mesh manipulation that aims to be more creatively intuitive than other forms of digital modeling.

The aims of this module are to:

• Define practices involved in digital sculpting, in Games, Film and Animation.
• Engage with asset creation for CG industries.
• Practice pre-visualisation through drawing.
• Work and design to a set brief.

At the end of this module I will also need to produce a reflective learning report of about 1000 words.

The Brief

Design and construct in Zbrush a simple Biped character/creature concept for preproduction use in Games, Animation and/or Film. Your design and workflows should take into account industry standards in the construction of digital models.

My development work submission in Week 3 should contain:

• Character Research (at least 3 x A4 sheets of research material influencing your design)
• 5 x character sheets of developmental character design (at least 2 of sheets should be of your final design and show character poses, expressions and colour studies.)
• 2 x Character Model Reference Drawings in the T pose in the front and side views.

Assessment Items

1. Zbrush Project containing final character/creature scene and textures.
2. 3 High quality rendered images of your model.
3. Annotated blog containing regular weekly posts, reflecting on the process of your model build and documenting your insights, research, and character design progression.

In this module it is expected that I do Zbrush training in my own time, the time I actually spend in class is for working on my projects. With this training it is preferable to have a growth mindset (I'm finding this difficult but with practice and perseverance, I will improve).

The class blog site is http://gama2004worc.blogspot.co.uk/

Research:

• NO FUR! Very difficult to model/ like sculpting with clay.
• I definitely would rather create a fantasy creature as I have already made a human character in Maya for another module.
• I can create my own from scratch or create my own version of an already existing creature.
• Split between a forest beast and something that looks like it just crawled out of a volcano.
• I must Remember to keep my design somewhat simple, I will be creating a digital model in the end.

Initial Idea's

I know I want to do my own variation of a bipedal creature from either mythology or folklore that is not any of the obvious ones.

The first creatures that I immediately discounted were; Demons, Dragons, Animal/Cat people, Goblins, Giants, zombies and angels.

The main creatures I have considered are; Oni, chupacabra, Black Dog, jack-o-lantern, Wendigo, Leshy (Slavic forest spirit), Elementals/ Spirits, Ifrit, Asuras and several bipedal variations of creatures from Greek and Egyptian mythology (Anubis).

Quick notes: Wendigo, broken antler, skeletal, infernal, forest god, burning forest, thorns, serpentine tail, demonic, draconic, clawed feet/ hoof, natural cloak.

I have decided I am going to create my own spin on the Wendigo, a creature that exists in folklore. A mythical evil spirit residing in the Northern forests of the Atlantic coast. It is historically associated with cannibalism, murder, insatiable greed, and the cultural taboos against such behaviours.

My main inspirations are Elias from the Japanese manga 'The Ancient Magus Bride', Agreus from the game 'Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2' who is actually a satyr of Greek mythology and finally the Cleric Beast/ Vicar Amelie from 'Bloodborne'.

Some key features of my creature that will distinguish it in some ways are that it is going to be a more serpentine/draconic variation of the Wendigo. It is still going to retain the key features the spirit is known for such as the deer head and antlers, though in my versions case only one antler will be intact. My variation will also be designed more with the forest in mind, specifically thorns and vines. As well as this I am planning to experiment with both regal and barbaric looking styles of my spirit to see which one I prefer.

For my own design, I want my creature to stand alone as a more unique take on the spirit but I also want it to look very ancient and battle weary. My rendition will have been a creature that has ruled and hunted in its forest for a great many years.