alexries

Goggles

Work continues, with a focus on the head region and respirator/sunvisors. Flipped the image for a new perspective.

Red!

Working on the color/forms some more. Gonna go fancy on the accessories and patterns next

Pose Tests

A couple of pose tests, both of which require tweaks before finalising, what do ya'll think?

Costuming

Working on the altitude suit for the birrin, masking in colors and flipping the image to make perspective corrections

Puffbeasts

Workin' on the high altitude suit design

Dummies

Placing some 3D models in the scene to test compositions

Photobash

Some composition tests for the birrin mountaineers.

Climb

The hike at First Mountain begins...

Reward: Custom Brushes

Hey folks, while no new custom brushes were created for the latest image, here is a link to those created for the previous one anyway!

Any issues drop me a line.

The Final - Yutikani

The image is done! Thank you greatly to all my supporters, I shall begin rolling out the rewards soon :)

Update

Now with eyeballs!

Work continues

Some design on the fly is happening while I sort out this pattern and color scheme.

Color

Work now proceeds with an elementary color scheme. Pattern experiments to follow.

3D Complete

Digital proxy complete: now begins the painting!

3D Proxy

Putting together the 3D proxy for the sea creature paintover, while learning zBrush at the same time. Two birds, one stone!

Eyestalk placement and head elevation need a little tweaking.

It Begins...

I have started learning zBrush for the first time, and did a little nonsense sculpt as part of a tutorial.

No doubt I will cringe at this in a few months, but it should make creating birrin and other creature models for painting FAR more easy

Coloring

I would like to go bold for this one, so I am using lots of spongy, rough edged Photoshop brushes to get a nice mix of hues on the skin.

A main area of design going foward is a the mouth, as it is still not quite there...

Coloring Begins

Enjoying this body plan, with a single dorsal propulsive fin in the manner of heteropod snails.

Coloring can now start!

Sideways?

Work continues. Not sure if it lives its life vertically, or sideways... perhaps both depending on its life stage/feeding strategy?

90 Degrees

Have to admit... kind of prefer it with the shield sideways! 

This allows it to use the head as a horizontal signal in the water, much like a reef angelfish.

Form Definition

Stripped back the color for now while I sort out the form of the marine critter. The image is flipped as I work at this point, which I periodically do to correct any perspective distortions.

Update and Arts

Updates have been coming slow here recently: I am working full time as a concept artist with Gree, a video game developer down here in Melbourne, so have simply not had time!  Normal birrining resumes soon; at the very latest by February when I resume freelancing.

Here are some art to tide you over!

Pattern Progress

Alas I was taken by other tasks tonight, but I did get a start on the patterns.

The species lives on dense reefs, hunting among the rubble and coral like organisms, and so I have chosen a bold scheme for this densely inhabited environment.

Eyeless Wonder

Work continues, and tomorrow I will start working out the pattern and color theme. 

However I still have not discovered a good place to put the eyes, which will be worked on concurrently. 

New Body Plan

Things are getting strange...

HammerHead

The design is moving into the B direction - the feeding apparatus is derived not from the mouthparts, which from the broad head shield now, but from some of the many fin-like limbs mounted forward under and in front of the head, which form a lunge-feeding trap.

Been rather ill so this might all be a fever dream :P

Update^2

Then again, might give it a reflective Pelagic Silver with color highlights...

Update

More pattern fun. Color (basically) works, now to refine the details of the pattern, which may turn into some kind of nightmare.

Color Tests

Pattern Progress! 

I am basing the broader scheme off a combination of cuttlefish and zebra shark patterns.

Value Study

Refining the form - tomorrow I will begin experiments with pattern and skin color.