ART WAR | 3D | Dark Fantasy Vampire | Brayden

[brayden]

Latest Update:

Hello everyone! Glad to finally be starting. Better late than never, in this case.

My character is going to be a female vampire within a dark fantasy setting. Team fantasy!

With this character I generally want to move away from the very common female vampire being a seductress and take her in a more badass direction. More attitude. Anyway, on to the mood/inspiration board!

The main inspiration includes the Innistrad set of Magic: the Gathering for the gothic vampire goodness, and the Witcher for the overall dark fantasy setting.

I'll be starting on the base body today, then I'll probably do a few 2D sketches to work out my concept, even though that isn't my strength, so stay tuned!

For the duration of this journey, all critiques and comments are very much welcome and appreciated!

[brayden]

Hey folks! Here's my progress on the base body so far.

I'm not focusing too heavily on details, because most of her will be covered up, but I do want it to "feel" right before moving too far. I may play around with proportions a little bit after I get a base head sculpt done. As always, any critiques or suggestions are very much appreciated!

Next up, head sculpting and possibly some concept sketches.

[MisterWolfen]

This sounds like a cool idea from what you've written. You've got a decent moodboard and base mesh so you should have no problems in making a good character

[brayden]

Update time! Started the head. I'm not sure if I'm completely in love with it yet, but it is definitely progress.

I may move forward without locking in the head design so I can mull it over a bit. I'll need to revisit it to make an expression and open mouth anyway. Gotta show them fangs in the final!

Thanks for visiting!

[MisterWolfen]

Not bad, don't worry too much about stressing over how the expression looks, just get a solid concept out and things like that come as you work

[mathijskapteijn]

Nice start. Liking sculpt so far. Really curious to your design, since the moodboard is that interesting. Just make some paint-over sketches, your current body render suits perfectly (you said 2D wasn´t a strong point of yours). Just make sure you start sketching out big shapes first and work your way down into detail. Good look!

[brayden]

Thanks for your interest and encouraging words, friends! Here's my initial rough sketch. There are are few bits that I'm not sure of yet, like the sleeves, necklace, and corset design, but I'll work them out when I get to them in 3D. Expect a more realistic detailing (buckles, straps, etc.) in 3D.

All right. Back to the 3D world, I think. Blocking in clothing is next up. Should be fun!

[MisterWolfen]

Not a bad concept so far, a couple things to note are that, if you look at your moodboard, a lot of the characters have large defining features, and/or a signature object that adds to the design. If you want your character to come off as 'badass' think about what defining features she should have to come off that way. Eg. Does she look ready for a fight, does she look dangerous, etc.

A few things you could do to enhance the silhouette is make better use of her trench coat by making the base of it broader, like the assassin from the top of your moodboard.

Hope that helps, keep working at it and it should turn out well !

[brayden]

Thanks so much! Really great tips. Now that you mention it, I definitely want the coat to be bulkier, especially around the bottom.

I think I'll also have her holding a sword in one hand to drive home the fantasy aspect as well as give her a more dangerous look. Possibly a sword dripping blood in one hand and a wine glass full of blood in the other. A bit more of the fighter vs aristocrat contrast that I've already put in the design a little bit.

[brayden]

Long and busy weekend, but I'm back to work on this. Here's my first rough pass on her shirt. I hope to have all the main clothes blockouts/volumes done soon!

Thanks for looking!

[fantasymaster]

Realy nice so far. Looking forward for more

[brayden]

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have pants. (Most of which will be covered up...)

Looking forward to the weekend. I have absolutely nothing planned but art. Looking to have lots of progress coming up! Either going to start the coat or the boots next.

On a side note, I've been thinking about redoing the shirt as well. I think this one is slightly too fancy. If I do, I'm keeping the wrist cuffs though. I think they'll look cool under the coat sleeves with a lacy alpha.

[brayden]

Back with some progress! Here's the work I've done on the boots. They're now at a decent base stage, so I moved on and started the coat, but I don't have enough to show on that one just yet. Soon!

[maxloegler]

i like all those updates! you're doing a great job. keep them coming!

[brayden]

@maxloegler Thanks so much! I really appreciate that. More coming soon!

[brayden]

Here's a little preview of what's next:

Still figuring out how I can make the coat tight enough around the middle to be a pleasing silhouette while also making the bottom billowy and cool.

[fantasymaster]

Great progress. I think the crouch area is a bit too expressive, like from a guy. If you know what I mean.
But the clothing work is outstanding.

[brayden]

@fantasymaster Thanks! Haha! I'll rein in the bulge a bit.

[maxloegler]

selene from underworld has a nice coat, maybe this helps:

https://www.google.com/search?q=underworld+beckinsale&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7x5DAy-zRAhVMlxoKHcG4DFUQ_AUICCgB&biw=960&bih=1010#hl=en&tbm=isch&q=underworld+beckinsale+coat&imgrc=44JwkUctb6S6mM%3A

this reminds me of interview with a vampire

[brayden]

@maxloegler Thanks for that! I had a few references of Selene (I love that movie) but seeing you post that image made me realize that the coat has pleats in the back, which is probably how the coat gets a lot of the billowy look at the bottom while retaining the slender silhouette. So anyway, because you posted that, I did a lot of research on pleating, and I think I figured it out!