ART WAR | 3D | Druid Twisted by Dark Magic

[dkerr]

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LATEST WIP:

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Hi all, I've chosen the fantasy side. My character is an Ancient Druid twisted by dark magic and kept alive by the nature entwined within him.

My aim is to make it look like half the body is old dead and rotting flesh while the other half, being made of nature ( vines, bark, leaves etc.) is somewhat lush looking and keeping the body alive as a sort of parasite. As if the forest sustaining him is controlling his actions and forcing the body to do the ancient and evil forests bidding.

I want to have fun with the idea, exploring different methods learning and building something I can be proud of.

My main reference sheet

[dkerr]

Since I don't really have a concept to follow I've started to take bits and pieces from references and muck around with ideas as I go. This is the first blockout, was thinking about the masks shape and trying to form the body/torso around it so it matched.

Ignore the hands here they were badking IMM I used to try and get the arms shape and flow how I wanted, I still wanted to play with form so I tried a comparison between a larger build and smaller. I added a fur collar to it also so I was able to get better feedback on which direction I should have taken.

I decided to go with a more emaciated look as I thought about directions and what I could possibly do with something showing more bone. Decided to try and push anatomy and exaggerate it a bit also did some small changes so I could compare.

I'm not the greatest when it comes to anatomy so i'm learning as I go.

[dkerr]

More progress pushed it much farther and blocked out legs I thought finally fit the characters shape, for a while I wasn't sure whether to give it more human shaped legs or satyr. I also pushed the anatomy further and went as far as adding tree branches protruding from his back and ribs coming out of his flesh.

Considering the character is something created from a forest, i figured the body would be somewhat dead and being kept alive by the lifeforce of the nature entwined within it.

Quickly concepted a face under the mask, however i'm not too sure if it fits or if I plan to show it at all, i'll leave it for now and see where I go from there. Whether they stay or not I've added summoning seals to the creatures ears to act as anchors or totems it may use to allow him to summon things easier.

[dkerr]

More updates, started to add bark and vines to the legs and shape the branches from the back.

Pushed the bark around the legs and arms pretty far, trying to get the mix of flesh and nature pretty balanced while making it realistic enough in terms of movement, still needs a lot of cleanup.

A size comparison between a somewhat normal sized human and this creature.

[dkerr]

Went ahead and pushed the vines and bark a little further, however the longer bark around the knees were blocking most of the shin which I wasn't a huge fan of but wasn't sure which one to go with.

Decided to go with the more realistic type of legs, cut the bark where they overlapped the bending of the legs which also left a lot of room to add more vines and some other types of vegetation like Fungi.

I figured the character was at a stage I could safely start concepting other parts of it, although pretty rough i've designed the staff as if it was broken then quickly and roughly repaired while keeping in mind that it was an old druids staff.

I've still got quite a long way before it's complete and am down for any and all CC.

[JoseFuentes]

this is looking great

[dkerr]

Update

I've decided to go back and change most of the characters design, not really happy with the way its been shaping. Either feels like it's missing something or has too much happening that doesn't match.

The anatomy was a mess so i'm cleaning that up, also spent the day concepting different faces to match the characters overall design. Ancient druid body twisted by dark magic and entwined by the life force of nature.

I'm not the best when it comes to sculpting anatomy so if it's still a mess ill be happy for some brutal feedback.

[fantasymaster]

Great progress! I like the new version much more. This is a unique character, keep it up!

[dkerr]

UPDATE

Got a bit of time to work on it today, starting by updating the features making them more pronounced. Now trying to work out whether to go with the hair on the back of his head or go without still playing with different things.

Always down for some suggestions.

[jeebs]

I also like this new version more, great progress!

[fantasymaster]

Nice! I would try some asymmetry for the horns later on.

[Bajlox]

Amazing dude !

[dkerr]

Cheers! Actually mucking around with different designs now. definitely needs asym for sure.

[dkerr]

UPDATE

Tried some different color schemes out, want to try adding Foliage amongst his hair later and figured a moss green color for his hair would match his identity a little more?

Also added more humanoid looking eyes, but i'm on the fence with them atm. Not sure whether to make him seem like he could hold a conversation or keep it like before where he looked more like a puppet to power or something.

As @fantasymaster said I needed to add asymmetry to the horns, just some rough horn shape blobs atm but I think it works, May end up changing shape down the track but good to start cleaning them up now.

His lower half is going to get a bit work, proportions are a little off from top half now.

[sstoev]

seems like there are a lot of forest creatures 'poping ' out in the competition ... nice design tho ... well done mate

[briandolan89]

The new design looks so much better. Loving this so far

[skylarc88]

this is looking great, i really like it ^^ keep it up

[maxloegler]

great guy you have there!
for the horns, the right one has a much stronger shape. i would use it on both sides but with a slightly asymmetry.
really nice stuff you have there

[fantasymaster]

Much better now, love it!

[dkerr]

Awesome, was after a little Critique on what I had. Will definitely try out what you said. Cheers.