Sunday, August 23, 2015

[Video Walkthrough] “Dragon Mage” – ZBrush Sculpture


Writerly Update and Unfinished Projects


I've been doing a lot of writing lately. Specifically, I got to a point in one of my stories that I realized it would be best to return to an outline state so I could better evaluate it as a whole before moving back into writing prose. So far, so good! I recently considered what I'm calling the first draft of the third version outline of "The Apprentice of Rook," and I'm really excited to share more about it as progress continues. :) View all blog posts labeled "The Apprentice of Rook."

Along these lines, I've been trying to better balance work and my personal projects, and so I'm doing a fair bit of writing and art on a weekly basis, and it's working wonderfully so far! I've been relieved that "Butterscotch" the World of Warcraft fan art yak is finally complete, and as I was sorting through files this week, I was thinking about all the other outstanding projects I have laying around, and something reminded me of one such project I'd started in ZBrush last year, but hadn't finished off.



“Dragon Mage” – ZBrush Sculpture






Above is a short video compilation of the recent ZBrush sculpture I completed, which includes a process walkthrough, turnaround, and stills. You can also access it directly through YouTube here. Make sure to view it at 1080p HD!

For most if not all projects I'd done previously through ZBrush, I'd eventually had to stop keeping the history of each step, because after a certain point the files get completely unmanageable in terms of sheer file size. This particular project ended up being a rare exception, because I had the entire history of it saved, right from his humble origins as a simple sphere. :) So if you want to "watch" how I sculpt, definitely check out the video above!



Information About the Finished Sculpture


 



“Dragon Mage Sculpture” – ZBrush Sculpture and Photoshop - Started on August 5th, 2014, Completed on August 22, 2015

Further Information available on DeviantArt.com: http://fav.me/d96ok6t

I consider it a sort of detailed sketch of one of the races from my story that I hope to get to one day. Another one is seen below, and there's even a walkthrough for this illustration here if you're interested:



As far as ZBrush projects go, this one was poorly planned and so I didn't have enough resolution to fully detail him, but that's okay. It was a great learning experience and exercise, and I'm particularly proud of the "ear" area.

Time Taken: Approximately 3 sessions spanning 10 hours total.



I hoped you enjoyed this blog and are having a productive weekend!

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Current Story Status

Over the years I've completed over thirteen unpublished short stories and novellas about my characters and their world, and I'm currently working on a number of entirely new stories which I am intending to publish once they are complete.

All of these stories are set within a shared fantasy/steam-punk universe, and follow an assortment of diverse characters that are very close to my heart. At this point in time, I am working towards completing the premiere novel of what is intended to be an eight book series.

***** 

Book One: "The Wolf and the Clockwork Hummingbird" (Novel)
 

 

Brief:  Vargas spent his childhood immersed in tales of adventures that were a far cry from his parent's modest book shop, but when a visit to the city of Rook ends in tragedy, Vargas and his unlikely allies must uncover what secrets lie in the underbelly of the dangerous and fantastical city of Rook.
Main Characters: Vargas, Turvey, Mechanical Hummingbird, and many more
Status: Originally written as an unreleased short story, this piece is being rebooted as the first novel in an expanded series. The novel is currently in its first draft of it's fourth version. View all blog posts labeled "The Apprentice of Rook."

*****