ART WAR | 3D | Owlbear Battlemage | haZe

Final Entry

Concept Sheet:

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Final Image:

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Marmoset Viewer:

My Details:

Name: Dan Venhardt
Email: dan.venhardt@gmail.com
Website: ArtStation Link
Facebook: /dan.venhardt
Team Fantasy

Original First Post

Howdy folks,

I've got a late start with the holidays, but I've begun concepting! I'm aiming for simple, chunky drapery and gear on this dude. Undecided whether to stick to handpainted or PBR. Here are my roughs, to get the feel I'm going for.

@bcbedford Thanks, man! Much appreciated.
@skylarc88 Thanks! I'm going to try to carry it to 3D the best I can, though I know there will be a few concessions. There's a very particular angular sensitivity I'm looking for to marry with the more rounded forms.
@aveon I have a deep love for Warcraft's moonkins, so it's coming full circle here.

Here's an update. Still blocking things in, the book on his back is literally a cube at the moment. Still fiddling with the forms. So much to do!

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Thanks folks!

Did some work on his spellbook last night. Not finished with the spine, but the chunkiness and flex is beginning to feel right. I am considering making either a version that opens or a toggled-open state, but I think keeping it simple for now will help me hit the deadline.

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Thanks everyone! The feedback is super motivating!

Did a polypaint pass on the current high poly progress. Still playing with the color palette. There are still a few details I'm planning to add. Ancient owl runes were a lot of fun to design.

I'm doing a few passes trying to find a fur treatment that fits, but am torn between that information being more painted or sculptural. Also determining curvy versus pointy fur. I'm heavily leaning towards something similar to below (props to Jarred Everson and Cubebrush for the fancy fur brush), perhaps smoothed, though I'd love other folks' thoughts on the matter. Thanks for looking!

Thanks @fantasymaster!

I did another pass on all the forms and am starting to unify things. Fixed his legs so he isn't crouched anymore. His face is starting to feel right to me. Added details to his gloves and gave him claws.

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This is great feedback, thanks @mrzhwang. I've been fighting his short height as a part of his silhouette, but realize he has to be able to bend his legs to walk and accommodate his feet. I've given his legs room to articulate and scaled his feet down a bit. I'm still trying to figure out the best fur forms to pop out. Probably going to fuss with that area all the way to the low poly.

@verycrunchytaco, @hallomy @be-evrard, @aveon and @dantert Thank you!!

@crazymoon Though it's early, I am actually considering this after the challenge is finished. I'm doing my best to not let it compromise the final design.

I redesigned/remodeled the book from the block-in. Determining the level of detail to add and exactly where to stop. The pitting is feeling right to me, but it could mean adding more wear to the belt and clothes, which I like in their current simpler state. Maybe save for the Substance pass?

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Detail of book progress:

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Thanks, @engcenti! I decided to put those sculptural details in -- if it feels heavy-handed anywhere in the finals, I figure I can tweak the normal map.

Calling this about done for the high poly. I want to give myself time to create a small pedestal and effects, so I've started retopo. I'll probably do some minor polish and detailing afterward (e.g. still considering how best to knock out the sword blade), but if anything's glaring it can still be fixed at this point.

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Sorry for the late reply, everyone, I promise I've been busy! "Bubo Baggins" is slowly getting there.

@engcenti -- Thanks again for the feedback, it really helped define things.
@dandoombuggy, @sstoev -- Thank you!
@skylarc88 -- Thanks, it sincerely means a lot! I love your work.
@popol -- Thanks for the feedback. I see where you're coming from, and will likely be tweaking things up until the end. I have some glowy plans for the sword which should make it a bit more of a standout. I may be in the minority of liking things to be simplified a bit more in general, but I'll push what I can if it feels a bit plain near the end.

I'm still cleaning up a couple normal wobbles on his gear. I'm aware he's a little dense in some places, but I'm looking for a clean bake. I'm also getting some odd seam artifacts (that oddly show up in Marmoset but not Substance?), but nothing I can't quickly clean up in 3D-Coat.

Lots of transferring and app crashes in my future.

*Minor update on gear bakes for clarity.

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@aveon -- I actually found the culprit -- I hadn't swapped out the new low poly with the corrected geo/normals (D'oh!). Everything's groovy now.

Here's my progress on textures so far. Got some good feedback and re-approached the color palette, still making tweaks. I am monitoring night and day for this character since I imagine him as a defender against giant evil pure owls. My final shots will likely be at night with him on guard in a dangerous situation.

Thanks folks!

@skylarc88 I made those changes, though I'm still getting a hang on controlling Substance Painter's output for channels. I'll do another texture polish pass near the end to isolate the maps.

My company went through a pretty big layoff this week, making it a bit harder for me to make time on this, but I'm still determined to finish it out by the deadline.

Gonna move on to pose/pedestal/presentation and revisit later with fresh eyes.

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