ART WAR | 3D | Barraggaa, champion of the woodland realm | dandoombuggy

Hi everyone, my name is Daniel McCarthy and this is my Art War entry, Barraggaa, badger king and champion of the woodland realm. (FANTASTY) So this is the first time I've built up the confidence to enter a 3D competition and I can't wait to get involved!
Advanced warning: I wanted to write some of the story behind this character but i'm not exactly skilled with words so please don't judge me too harshly, I'll more than likely get a bit carried away ;D

Barraggaa was once an average woodland badger but now exists as a powerful guardian who protects the zealous cultist mice of the fragile grove and the enchanted sacred oaks they worship.

He is bound directly with the spirit of the forest which reaches out with its countless intertwining tendrils touching the magical energy that flows through all living things. Although he can not directly manipulate this force, he can read its current and is effortlessly able to predict coming threats and events.

He equips trophies given to him by the grove mice and vanquished foes who seek to endanger the sacred oaks of the fragile grove. Upon his shoulder sits the skull of the carrion king and tightly gripped within his giant paws are the antler blades of the mighty iron oak stag. He also bares scars of his most deadly encounters such as the debilitating venom of the serpent assassin which still courses through his left arm.

It is arguable who has most control over his body and mind, is it Barraggaa or the forest itself? To those outside the closely guarded fragile glade he exists as a legend, a phantom, a story told to cubs to force them to behave.

Some creatures suspect the only way he could gain his powers would be to drink the sap of the world oak, an ancient and mythical magical conduit, supposedly hidden past the fragile grove, in the very heart of the forest. Few know that if the world oak were to die the woodland would fall to decay. However most do not believe such 'nonsense', instead choosing to continue scurrying about, building nests and burying nuts, oblivious to the closely interwoven magical web that dictates their lives.

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Currently the concept is quite loose. There's some stuff I really like (his weapons) and some stuff I'm not so keen on (wood shoulder armour, blade like fur on right arm and unarmoured legs) so I'm planning on developing it as I build the base in 3d. Also the beard is a big part but I'm considering giving it the chop... or a trim..

I originally wanted him based mainly on the European badger but the american ones have such great faces I don't think I'm going to be able to resist incorporating them... those stubby lil faces and fangs. Better get started.

Thanks guys I keep getting story ideas but it takes me so long to write anything I've had to store them at the back of my mind as I'd never make a start on the actual modeling. Hopefully I don't forget...

I got started on the high poly weapon this evening. I've mostly been on the move with no access to a wacom device on my laptop so I've had to stick to mouse only modeling in max. I'm hoping I can start blocking out the character this weekend as I'm eager to develop the initial concept.

I've added a bend in the blade to bring it closer to actual stag beetle antlers. I'm not sure how practical it is but I think it adds a fair bit of interest.

The underside of the beetle is currently covered in tree bark. I'm toying with the idea that Barraggaa can manipulate natural objects such as logs, roots and vines to help him create magical 'living' relics. The antler blades of the mighty iron oak stag would be one such item. A defeated foe, held together by magical roots and bark, bound to the will of Barraggaa and re-purposed as semi sentient weapons.

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Thanks again Aveon. The antlers are exaggerated but perhaps my mistake was calling them antlers... and referring to it as a stag. I can see there might have been a bit of confusion, as they are in fact supposed to be beetle pincers. Stag beetle pincers. I'm not sure why I keep referring to them as antlers... I'm not sure anyone does that? maybe I need more sleep.

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Infact after looking at that image I might rework the head.

Managed to get an hour or two to experiement with different forms. I liked the way the stag beetles head curves outwards nearing the thorax in the image above. While heavily exaggerated, I've now added it to the weapon design so blows to the side of the weapon might now be re-directed away from Burraggaa.

I've also made sure the weapons look decent when combined. I may need to start thinking of additional assets to help break up the symmetry when used like this.

I'll be starting to block out Burraggaa himself tomorrow, exciting stuff!

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Slow progress. Didn't have any time to work on this on the weekend so having to commit an hour each night to develop this further.

I built a very simple base using zspheres and then activated dynamesh to experiment with the main forms. I'll get this to a point I'm happy with before duplicating, zremeshing, subdividing and projecting. Looking forward to having those sub div levels to jump between.

Very early days...

Just tidying up the sculpt tonight. I'm thinking of blockout out the assets next before I do any further detailing. Trying to keep it CHUNKEH.

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Ok, I've started creating assets for Barraggaa. The wooden stump on his shoulder is a piece of sacred oak, imbued with healing properties. It was gifted to him by the forest after his triumph over the serpent assassin. If not for the gift Barraggaa would have succumbed to the deadly venom of the serpent, who caught his right arm with razer sharp fangs. The oak works to heal the wound, extracting venom and replacing dead flesh with iron hard bark.

This arm will not be covered in fur and will show signs of decay/corruption.

I'm moving away from the concept slightly but next i'll be continuing to creep roots up the shoulder piece and then experiment with sculpting fur.

Comments and crit always welcome.

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Ok so this guy is looking way too happy to be half naked. As soon as I'm done with the hair first pass I'll look at giving him some trousers. Also he's got such a happy face I'm worried making him look fierce will be harder than I anticipated...

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Thanks I'm semi pleased with the results, never really attempted stylised fur so I'm learning a lot. I am feeling it's starting to make the sculpt quite noisy so I think it's going to take a lot of experimentation to get the balance of forms right. I'll re evaluate it when I've covered the rest of his body. Very tedious stuff.