The Lost Key

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! For gifts, I decided to draw my friend's characters. My friend Emily had a character from 2007 that she loved at the time. So I decided to give her a blast from the past. Then my friend Regine has a male character she recreates in every game we play. After a while we decided that if he had a personality, that it would be overly emotional and dramatic. So I present: Miaka and Escaton

I really had the urge to draw my character from Star Wars the Old Republic.

It's been a while since I sat down and actually drew something. Even though this isn't perfect, it was a fun quick sketch and it allowed me to study color and try out a few new techniques.

I haven't had much time but I was able to retopo the base to our little project. There are some things to address such as her hands. We haven't decided if we want to make them human, claws, or talons. The same goes with her facial features and ears. Is she going to have a human face or be part animal? That's why she sort of has a floating detached face.

After finishing my capstone and I am eager to start looking at something new, and so a friend and I have decided to tackle the manananggal. A Philippine creature that can look human but can detach it's upper body from the lower. We're both planning on creating one with something that ties them together. My friend is still learning the basics so I suggested we just work on the upper part of the bodies. Pretty neat since the creature has a separate lower part that we can create later once she gets the hang of it. Progress so far: Manananggal Zbrush Video

It was a long semester in which I basically worked only on this project. I did everything seen including animation, characters, lighting, editing, environment, effects, etc. I spread myself pretty thin on this but with the amount of time I had I will say that I am proud. Watch the video here: Capstone Final

I've almost finished my capstone. It hasn't turned into the success that I had hoped for. It gave me the chance to know what my limits are on long projects and how to overcome them. A schedule is key for me as well as having a bit of wiggle room so I can take a day to just sit back and refuel myself. The main issue is that I would continuously work long hours at my computer with no end time. Week after week I spent around 60 hours staring at a screen. I had the candle lit at both ends as the saying goes. I'll upload the finished product soon, but for now I'll leave this update as well as a 5 hour Zbrush break I did last week. The plan is to make her mother nature. Her legs will turn into tree trunks with vines and various leafs as decoration and clothing. Water veins, rocks, vines, tree parts, and bearing fruit as a sign of fertility. It will be a while before I get back to this. Until then, stay creative!