Seiryuu is a koi-like humanoid dragon character whose concept draws from a number of ideas and traditions. These include:
The Azure Dragon, known as Qinglong (Chinese) or Seiryuu (Japanese), one of the Four Guardians representing the four directions and four seasons.
The story of the Dragon Gate-- the carp who leapt a waterfall to become a dragon.
The dragon generally as a chimeric creature traditionally combining the features of the tiger, the stag, the serpent, the demon, the ox, the eagle, the camel, and the rooster.
The movement of Qi Gong and related Taoist philosophy.
ZBrush digital sculpting workflow
High- to low-poly surface detail baking; applied as normal map
Full humanoid creature pipeline including eyes, teeth, tongue, hair
Polished, animation-ready topology
Subsurface scattering & custom alphas in Substance Painter
Rigging using Maya's HumanIK system-- modified for additional bones & controllers: jaw, eyes, tail, ears, dew claws
Visemes through BlendShapes
Digitigrade leg rigging and logistics
Paint Tool Sai
Adobe Photoshop
Maya
ZBrush
Substance Painter
12 weeks
This exciting project presented many novel challenges for me and represents a milestone in my journey as a character artist. Throughout the entire creative process, I committed to journalling, with a view to curating my process and reflecting upon my practice.