Wednesday 31 January 2018

Personal Work: Skeleton Pin-Up

A piece I did inspired by a skull called Hairy Mary from Curiosities from the 5th Corner on Instagram (link to post).

Personal Work: A Gift for a Friend - The Goddess of Death

My friend has been telling me about a story she's been writing in her spare time, and every now and then I'll sketch the characters she describes to me. For her birthday I wanted to do a finished piece of the first character she ever told me about: Layla, the Goddess of Death. 


Saturday 6 January 2018

Minor/Major Project: The Tikbalang - Influence and Initial Sketches

Tikbalang Influences

Quick sketches, thinking about leg length and the look of the head.

Head ideas.

Minor/Major Project: The Yeti - Further Development - FEEDBACK PLEASE!

 Developing the yeti further, I looked at what people liked from the sketches on my previous post, and combined the features into the sketches above. The yetis are somewhat like gigantic gorillas, they live in small cave communities but prefer to hunt (boar, goat, cattle) alone. The communities live in hard to reach caves high up in the mountains, all within a short distance of each other. Each community will have a matriarch, usually the most efficient hunter, who will remain in power until another female surpasses her ability. The female's long lower canines aid them in killing their prey, whilst the males have far shorter canines and usually struggle to kill prey quickly. The males' large horns are used to establish dominance, similar to mountain goats. Every few years, the yeti will wander further up the mountain for a kind of "tournament" where the males fight each other to show strength, mostly by ramming their horns into their opponents until one backs down. The matriarch of each community will choose a male companion based on his performance (this doesn't always mean the winner), and once all the matriarchs have chosen a male, the groups return to their caves. The female yeti's horns are curved in a way that helps with the carrying of young. Infant yetis are not efficient climbers, and will spend the first few months of life on their mother's shoulders. The way the mother's horns curve round the back helps hold the infant in place whilst she climbs rock faces to hunt.

The yetis body shape is something I'm struggling with, as I want the yeti to be able to walk like a gorilla on all fours, while also being able to comfortably walk like a human when required. Any feedback on which of the above body shapes seem best would be extremely helpful!

Minor/Major Project: Fae Folk - Influence and Initial Sketches


I've been struggling with the design for the fae, as I didn't want them to look like typical fairies (humans with wings) and wanted to give them a look that showed their attachment to nature and plants. I already knew I wanted pixies/goblins to be a "corrupt" version of fairies - while fairies have dubious morality, pixies/goblins are usually evil. My first few sketches I experimented with the idea of fae wearing objects given to them as offerings, but found this took too much from the natural look.

After some thought, I imagined the fairies as spirits who had taken human-like forms in order to communicate with (or manipulate) humans. Their flesh would be made from fungus and mushrooms and their bones made of twigs. This would make them appropriately delicate and small but still magical and otherworldly. After time, the fungus and twigs would grow out of control, turning to the fairies into the corrupt pixies and goblins.

Tuesday 2 January 2018

Minor/Major Project: Wendigo Modelling Progress - Body and Teeth

The body is mostly done, but still needs tweaks and fixes before I can say it's finished. However, the "base" is there, and the wendigo is coming to life.

The teeth are proving a bit of a challenge still, but I almost have a complete set of gums to start inserting teeth into. The eyes on the head are also going to require a lot more work, and I'm thinking I may have to change the placement of the eyeballs a little.