Action Hero - Shakti, The Dark Mother (Nudity)

[petekasim]

Action Hero - The Dark Mother (Heroine)

Artist: Peter Kasim

Several years have passed, and Shakti now sits atop a throne-like structure in a small, corrugated iron hut. The washer woman perches in a corner tending to a broth and chanting clandestine prayers whilst an overpowering, noxious smell fills the room. She has been enacting this ritual, day in, day out, for almost four years.

For Shakti is a Godess, the earthly embodiment of Kali (the Dark Mother herself!) - if the villagers are to be believed. And why shouldn't they believe it? She has sprung two extra appendages, bright with an organic array of glowing colored patterns. Instead of hands, the winding tentacles have grotesque mouths and small but intimidatingly numerous teeth. Her skin has retained that "divine" blue hue and Shakti has taken on inhuman strength. Her body and breasts have become a kaliedoscope of tough, barnacle-like growths. In addition to the physical transformation, Shakti has developed the exceptional ability to intercept patterns of thought, sensing an individual's true intent before they are able to act upon it.

However, in reality, this "Dark Mother" is no godess, but rather a mobile fortress designed to protect the organism that grows within; her blue skin merely a signal of steady asphyxiation. How long she will endure in this malign creature's lifecycle is uncertain.

For now, the inconspicuous mountain village is her abode; a village that is at once a home and a crematorium. The locals are her worshippers, a sect of ostracised Aghori cannibals who's very existence - for over a thousand years - has been devoted to Kali, the godess of death and destruction.

Despite the attention, the worship, the food and gifts, Shakti has not forgotten. She has not been swayed. She remembers more vividly than ever the blight and corruption of the city, the years of turmoil, and those men; the five degenerate policemen who led her soul-mate to a secluded corner, beat him so severly that he was more pulp than person, and left him to die.

Her strength peaking, and cloaked in a chadr* in order to avoid unwanted attention, she embarks for the city streets to prey upon debauched gangs, unscrupulous factory owners and corrupt officials. All she yearns for is that the trail will lead her to the murderers who have festered in her memory for what feels like an eternity.....

*large cloak, traditional Hindu garment



I'm pleased to finally get to upload my work for the Action Hero contest! I have been creating a character and scenario set in modern day India, and have been consulting a friend of mine regarding some details of Indian culture. Unfortunately I'm no expert on the topic, so if any Indians see this please feel welcome to criticize any mistakes and set me straight! I really hope to deal with the subject matter with due care and attention.

Here are some of the quick sketches I have made to get the creative juices flowing:

img01.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27%27,%27img01.jpg%27,1,0%29)
img02.jpg (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27%27,%27img01.jpg%27,1,0%29)
img03.jpg (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27%27,%27img01.jpg%27,1,0%29)
img04.jpg (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27%27,%27img01.jpg%27,1,0%29)

(http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27%27,%27img02.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[petekasim]

Some preliminary work. Things are definately hit and miss with the anatomy, I've never modelled a female before and it's been surprisingly difficult to adapt! Still, very early days...

Comments and crits would be very helpful, cheers!

ZSphere progress
prog01.jpg
prog02.jpg
Le sculpt, a bit dodgy in places, requires extensive tweaking and general chin-scratching
prog03.jpg
Started on the face, deciding what I want her to look like.
prog04.jpg
The tentacles...
prog05.jpg
Joined in a series...
prog06.jpg
Experimenting with the look of the ugly thing
prog07.jpg
prog08.jpg
ZSphere hands = FIDDLY
prog09.jpg

I had to cheat a bit and leave ZBrush to help create the basemesh for the tentacle/caterpillar thingy. I created a segment using ZSpheres and exported it to an external app to sew all the parts into a long chain. Couldn't think of a better way around it using ZBrush, due to the adaptive skin behaving REALLY strangely when I tried to make the entire chain inside ZB....

Anyway, I'll be working my ass off over the next few weeks so please do watch this space :)

[wethand]

looks nice so far.
the proportions are good. looks like an older woman

ah yeah, and welcome and good luck! :)
have fun!

[leandroloaiza]

the concept looks realy good and the proportions looks good keep in the path :lol: :lol: :lol:

[maxinkuk]

Hi Peter, I just read the story and I was really gripped by it. Very good setting, I really felt the inspiration there. And the sketches are great, searching for an idea, jotting. And then finish of in Zbrush, which allows to sketch in 3d.
The ugly tentacles already look very ugly (it's a compliment) and the woman's model is a very good start. Best of luck.

[SolidSnakexxx]

Really interesting setting and good character. Look forward for more.

[dustbin1_uk]

Woah! Fast work!! Well done!

[petekasim]

A small update, I've been working on the hands and feet. I'm going to retopo soon and begin refining the model once I've established a pose I'm happy with.

Many thanks to everyone who left comments, I'm really keen to get feedback :)

wethand: thanks, I made her features quite defined as a starting point. I might soften them a bit when I begin working on the expression

leandroloaiza: many thanks, I hope the proportions are reasonable, I'll spend most of my time tweaking once the pose is sorted

maxinkuk: cheers! I'm glad you got into the story, I spent a lot of time fleshing the character through several pages of notes. I knew I had to make a character I cared about, otherwise I'd lose interest half way through the contest.

SolidSnakexxx: thank you!

dustbin1_uk: cheers!

Anyway, here's the rough forms of the feet. I'll retopo and then pose them before I go any further

feet02.jpg

[Moni-Poroni]

Hey petekasim, iI really like your concept...
and you´ve done a good job so far :)
I love the details on her feets and legs :tu:
Best wishes
I´m looking forward for more:)

[petekasim]

Thanks Moni-Poroni for the kind words. Hope you'll like the hand, too

C & C please guys, it's really hard to be objective about this so all your fresh eyes would be such a great help,

thank you!

hand1.jpg

[maxinkuk]

Great hands, no critics from me.

[Hamilcar]

wow awesome work so far:tu: :tu:

[Y/Haüss]

Very refined Sketches and Sculpt!
Congratulations!!!

[petekasim]

maxinkuk, Hamilcar, Y/Haüss, thanks for the input. Good to know things are generally going in the right direction

I've been messing around with ideas on paper, here are a couple that I liked. Don't know if I'm crazy, but I really like the idea of adding a second figure as kind of a "prop" to show off the girl's tentacle attack.

What do you guys think?

darkmother03.jpg


darkmother05.jpg

[SolidSnakexxx]

I really like the one with the tentacle hitting the opponent head. Not sure about the 2nd character and the rules though as they call for a single character.. But the pose does look more complete with one. :tu:

[wethand]

wow! your hands anatomy is just looking awesome! keep it up!

[3dMob]

Thanks for the comment, and I will have her have some beer lol. So far your body parts are looking pretty cool man; I want to see her face and how it turns out. That is the selling item on a female model dude. Don't make her a butter face! Good luck.;)

Action Hero: Titana


3DMob

[maxinkuk]

There has been some discussion on the main competition thread about having more than one character and the advice was that it's best avoided.

[raguyarts]

The concept and sketches look really cool! And you do good sculpts :tu:

[petekasim]

SolidSnakexxx, yeah there's something stasifying about the composition when the other figure gets introduced. Something to think about

3dMob, there's a thin line between distinctive features and a butter face! I'm tying to walk that tightrope right now

maxinkuk, yeah, I saw the advice was against a second character. I'm going to put all my energy into making the main character everything she can be, and if there's time I may do a second one. My reasoning is that I'm not actually going to design a second character, it will just be a generic Indian policeman in uniform, plus you won't see his face. More of a prop than a character.

raguyarts, many thanks!

Anyway, here's video showing my retopoed model. Now I can go to town with refinements, tweaks, and most importantly, the pose!




http://www.vimeo.com/2781891





(If anyone can tell me how to embed videos please let me know! I couldnt find anything in the site FAQs)

darkmother06.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27121491%27,%27darkmother06.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[Drakelot]

Fantastic concepts and great details on the hands and body. Cool creature too.

[gordon-v]

hey petekasim!
Really nice skulpting is going on here!
Your hands are looking very good! I always got problems getting them right.
I also would like to know how to imbed vimeo videos. So please if someone knows it, please let us know!

[Lucky_1]

Hi pete,
beautiful sketch style you have and man that's awesome sculpting.
Love to see the final piece.

Keep it up!

[jeffmeckley]

Hi petekasim.

Nice work and best wishes. Here is a link to vB codes for zbrush central. Look towards the bottom and you will find instructions on how to imbed different types of video or from youtube or veoh.

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/misc.php?do=bbcode

Hope this helps

[fluxist8070]

Really nice anatomyand the concept is very interesting!

[animastur]

I like your sketches. You model fast y well. :)

[wethand]

hey there. very nice sketches and progress so far!
take a look here: http://zbrushcentral.com/zbc/misc.php?do=bbcode

[ravioli_rancher]

petekasim,

Amazing, intricate entry and storyline. The pose sketch looks fantastic. If you can't find the time to have her crush another character, maybe all that pose needs is an uprooted tree, or rock about to be tossed at an oppent quivering offstage to keep it balanced.

The hands sculpting really conveys her emaciated, tortured existence. She's clearly suffering from the worst case of tentacled tape worm ever recorded. :)

Anxious to see more of your great efforts. :cool:

[spimmy]

Wow, really nice love the facial details, great stuff! :)

[- FoOD -]

looking good ...nice sketches and good motion for a pose

that thing is vicious :D

[petekasim]

Phew! Had to have a break this weekend, had a rotten two-day hangover and so I'm a bit behind in my schedule :o

Drakelot, gordon-v, Lucky_1, jeffmeckley, fluxist8070, animastur, wethand, spimmy, FoOD, thanks to all of you for the encouragement, it really means a lot! :)

ravioli_rancher, your idea of doing an uprooted tree is an excellent one! Depending on how things go, I think I may well end up using your suggestion... many thanks!

Here's another sketch I did just tweaking the overall balance, trying to adjust the composition so Shakti remains the focal point. Whether I use the guy or an uprooted tree remains to be seen.

posetweak.jpg

And here is some rough blocking out in 3D, just playing with the forms and trying to achieve a pleasing balance. The floating guy and the terrain is only a placeholder

rough01.jpg





(http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27122296%27,%27posetweak.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[Lucky_1]

Great update Pete!

upupup ;) !

[petekasim]

Cheers Lucky!

Here's some of the transpose work I did to achieve the pose. I didn't record the entire tweaking process, that would have been a seriously long video, I tell ya

uLj-Gj8qwTs

And here's an image of the post-transpose sculpt, I'm only just getting started though, there's loads to fix at this stage

C&C exceedingly welcome!

wipangles.jpg (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:zb_insimg('122567','wipangles.jpg',1,0))

[wethand]

that pose is really nice!!!
are you going to add this dragon-magic-thing she shoots?

really nice pose!

[petekasim]

wethand, I believe this is what you were referring to...


I basically used zshpheres to plot the tentacles path around. Sculpting all the details on these things is gonna be a job and a half! I certainly don't make things easy for myself.

At this stage the bloke there is still placeholder, I'm becoming more and more convinced that I should change him into an uprooted tree, as per ravioli_rancher's advice. Cheers again rav!

C&C at this stage would be fantastic :)

tentacle01.jpg

tentacle04.jpg

tentacle03.jpg

tentacle02.jpg

[Gohanf22]

looking good pete. i cant wait to see it textured. looking forward to your next update. glad to see someone is doing good here exception of myself.:cry:

[KrakenCMT]

Beautiful action! It almost looks like she's dancing too! :tu: :tu:

[wethand]

ah, nice update!!!
this magic thing is very nice!
like it how complex it is! nice progress! keep it coming!

[Harmonic]

That's what I have been waiting for! That is looking great. I really like the rhythm, lines and composition you have going there.

[bryzol]

I love the pose... It's like some strange kind of dance... The anatomy of movement looks great.
I am not shure about this second figure, it seems to take attention from your main character and as I see it is "flying" I think there is something in rules tab about it... You better check it out.
Anyway I love the screen from 10:48 PM - the pose is awesome, the body looks sexy!
Oh - I found a little problem with left knee-cap - it is streched unnaturaly...
I hope it will help. Keep it that way! :tu:

[maxinkuk]

Excellent composition! It'll end up as a very scary piece.
I find a bit strange the way she bends her back though, I think that the pose would be more convincing if she'd be carving inwardly, this looks a bit like a dancing pose now rather than a fighting action pose. I don't think that that would be compromising the overall feel of the sculpt.

[industripop]

great fluid motion! like a menacing dance of some sort. love the sculpting and the pose. it feels as if her head should be looking at the enemy though. maybe adding eyeballs will help the feel of that. good stuff man!

[Teyon]

Very cool pose. Her face comes off a little older than her body would suggest it should. I think it's the cheek area. Anyway, like where you're going with it.

[petekasim]

Hey guys

Gohanf22, hey thanks for the comment, but seriously, don't get yourself down! I've been beating myself up for years over my art, and I still do. It feels like a constant struggle, and that's what art is - if you're finding it easy then you're doing something wrong!

It's the restlessness and self-punishment that gets you through and helps you improve. A masochistic pursuit, I know, but worthwhile if you love your craft. Just keep going and make sure you're enjoying it! Otherwise, what's the point?

KrakenCMT, wethand, Harmonic, heartfelt thanks, your words mean a lot

bryzol, thanks for the input. The second character is something I'm deliberating over. Structurally I think it should be sound though, it's not free-floating but being held by the tentacles. Thanks for pointing out the knee, I'll pay due attention to that when I do the next pass

maxinuk, thank you for the continued input. As far as the dance thing goes, that was actually my intention. I watched a lot of Bollywood films when researching the character, and I wanted to capture something of the grace of hindu dance with the pose, blurring the line betwen fighting and showmanship.

industripop, thanks, I am going to add eyes looking in that direction, but I think you're right, the head could also be tilted a bit further towards her target

Teyon, yeah, you're the second person to say her face looks a bit old! I threw it together quickly with little thought, I'm going to totally redesign her face.

My update is a quick paint-over exploring costume. I wanted something tribal looking that shows off her anatomy, but also includes traditional Hindu elements such as the jewellery and gypsy headwear.

Always feel privileged to know what you guys think :D

paintover.jpg

[Captain Sensible]

Wow that's some seriously nice work!

The pose is awesome. It works really well. It's gonna look great I just know it.

Keeping my eye on this one now! :tu:

[dirkrulz]

wow, nice composition and concept,
her hind leg could be a little more angled backwards to balance out her front leg
and yes even i think she is looking a little aged
it will be interesting to see how this will turn out

[threetails]

one of the best poses yet, nice paint over as well, love the work flow.

[slashpot]

Great work, I love your posing, which stems from your exceptional use of line. Your drawings are beautiful to look at, and your understanding of movement and balance excellent.

This will be one to watch! :tu:

PS: Are you drawing on paper or digitally?

[SolidSnakexxx]

I like the pose you have so far....especially the tentacle grabbing her enemy...very cool idea. :)

[Hamilcar]

It's looking great! Love the last paintover :tu:

[jarlaxle00]

Wow that's one wild pose, I love it....but is that going to be able to hold it's own weight as a 3d print?

[spimmy]

Really nice pose, and I love the setting of the scene too, great work!! Looking forward to the next update :tu:

[wethand]

the paintover tells, how the final will feel. :P

this is awesome! and if you are going to detail the girl like your paintover, this will be a first class image!!!! keep the track

[SolidSnakexxx]

Very nice paint over... I think a bit of cloth transparency and a hint of Indian style would fit very well. :tu: :tu:

[petekasim]

Hey everybody!

It's been a very quiet week for me, I've had other commitments to get along with so I've done very little work on Shakti. This update is a confirmation that I'm still "in", so to speak.

captainsensible, thanks very much - flattering words indeed :D

dirkrulz, thanks fot the input, I see what you mean regarding the leg. It would need adjusting if she was standing still, but she is actually being propelled backwards. I think I need to push the pose further to convey this motion more clearly

threetails, it's a pleasure to hear positive feedback from you, thanks :)

slashpot, thanks so much. To answer your question, all the sketches bar the last one and the paintover have been on paper

Hamilcar, thanks, very pleased you like it

jarlaxle00, that's a very good question :confused: - If I make it that far, I would certainly hope it can hold it's weight!

spimmy, thank you, but this update might be a tad underwhelming...

wethand, thank you for the encouragement!

SolidSnakexxx, Many thanks for the kind words. Cloth stransparency would be ideal, but whether that would be possible in a print is another matter. I'm hoping to push the "Indianness" further, keep posted for more

Anyway, here is the beginning of my work on the cloth and head-piece

CharacterStrip.jpg

dramaticangle.jpg

[sendhilv]

Wow! I love this pose a lot, Coming along very good.... good luck! :tu:

[Moni-Poroni]

I like the pose..and nice start with the clothes..:)
I´m looking forward to see more. The paintover looks promising :)

[Harmonic]

Looking fantastic! I really like it.

[Hamilcar]

Looks great! really beautiful & elegant sculpt!! Keep up the great work :tu: Thanks for the great crit on my thread :)

[petekasim]

sendhilv, Moni-Poroni, Harmonic, as always, many thanks for the encouragement :)

Hamilcar, thanks! and as for the crit, don't mention it. I love what you and the other entrants are doing here and I feel privileged to be a part of the creative process, even if just a small one




Anyway, been working on the base a little. I'm going to add human remains scattered around, the earth should look burnt as this is the site of a cremation...

Excuse the slightly wonky legs, I still need to address those with a bit more transposery

It would be cool to hear opinions on the base, It's always difficult for me to guage what I'm doing when it's something like random rocks - there's no reference involved, just trying to create pleasing forms and textures

outcrop.jpg

[Captain Sensible]

Damn that's looking good, Pete!! Great work on the base. Once you get the cloth in there and all those lines intertwining it's gonna be mesmerising! :tu:

[rasmusW]

hey pete!

nice progress here. great work on the base aswell.
she's quite scary actually :D

-r

[SolidSnakexxx]

I like the base design of this entry...almost like a deity statue...with great balance. :)

[Harmonic]

Beautiful work as usual. I have been loving this piece the hole way there. So much movement and rhythm, great stuff! :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

[Hamilcar]

Hey great work! I like the rocky texture of the petastle, but as it is the overall shape reads as a tree stump, I'm not sure if that was your intent?

[Gohanf22]

looking good pete. very good indeed. this character is pizazz. nice work. :D

[Seavannah]

:D Wow this is really great. Love the pose and her detailing. Keep up the great sculpting.

[petekasim]

Captain Sensible, thanks so much, but I do hope things don't get overly crowded. Hard to maintain a clean design when there's a lot going on

abyss103, thanks man! Hopefully she'll be getting even scarier...

SolidSnakexxx, thanks as always! A statue of a hindu deity is exactly what I had in mind when posing her, thanks for noticing :)

Harmonic, thanks man!

Hamilcar, yeah, I see where you're coming from. I mainly just wanted a dynamic looking form, despite the fact that i's just rocks. I'll be adding more stuff to the base soon...

Gohanf22, cheers, and thanks for the continued support, it really helps

Seavannah, thank you very much!



Ok, another less than constructive week for me. It's getting horribly close to the deadline and I've got absolutely LOADS to do.

I've been agonizing over her face for three days, trying stuff out and discarding it. I think I've finally reached a balance I'm fairly pleased with (so far)

faces.jpg

There's still work to be done such as assymetry, refinement and details.

I tried REALLY hard to stay away from generic comic book type beauty. One of my favorite artists, Katsuhiro Otomo (of Akira fame) once said "Anyone can make a beautiful girl, it's much harder to make ordinary girls", or something to that effect.

I'm not trying to make her "ordinary" as such, but rather I wanted her to be distinctive with strong features. Also I want her to be scary as hell, but it's been REALLY hard to stop her looking ugly or masculine in the process (at one point she looked like a frightening drag-queen).

Anyway, I hope I'm on my way to accomplishing what I set out to do

[petekasim]

a quick update before bedtime :)

faces2.jpg

[SolidSnakexxx]

I can see the close up view..she's one really angry looking person ;) Look forward for more update.

[maxinkuk]

It's a very good face, plenty of character, but I wonder if her eyeballs wouldn't benefit from sinking in the skull a bit. Try looking at the profile and draw (even just mentally) where the eye sockets should be.

[Captain Sensible]

I like the expression. Beware pushing in too much especially around the cheeks and mouth corners. Looks almost caved in in some areas where it should look more filled out but I guess you are still refining it. Also the eyeballs are rather large but are you going for a stylized look?

[petekasim]

SolidSnakexxx, yes she certainly is angry. She's after the killers who tore her away from her childhood soulmate - and now she's looking do dish out some serious vengeance

Max, you were spot on about the depth of her eyes. I've sunken them in slightly and it immediately looks a lot better. Cheers for the input! :)

Captain Sensible, I've shrunk her eyes in accordance with your comment. There was meant to be some exxaggeration, but I don't want her to end up looking like a freak! Thanks for pointing that out :)

As for the pushed-in cheek area, I'm trying to make her look a little bit gaunt. Don't want her face filled out too much - she has been living a tribal existence and her body has been put under a lot of stress. Still need to refine things, and hopefully I'll capture that look successfully without her looking weird

Here's a look at the changes:

faces3.jpg

[wethand]

i like her expression very much! it looks really evil!

[Lucky_1]

Looking all very nice Pete,
maybe you can make her nose smaller to give her a more girlie look
(don't know of that is what you are aiming for ?)

Keep it up !

[petekasim]

Wethand, Lucky, thanks!

I'll play around with her nose some more. Don't want her to be overly girly, but it is a bit of a shapeless lump right now.


Here's a small update. Against my better judgement, I've decided to get stuck in and do the second figure after all (as opposed to a twisted tree trunk)..... I just couldn't help myself!

Here's some wrinkles in the unfortunate prey's army uniform

C&C welcomed with open arms!


lunch.jpg

[maxinkuk]

I think that in this case a second figure is fully justified, it's the intrinsic sense of humor that provides the justification.:tu::tu:

[SolidSnakexxx]

Nice update... I think the victim's looking nice..even we are seeing only his cloths. :tu:

[Seavannah]

:lol: Ha ha :lol: love his head being sucked in lol. Great facial features on the Dark Mother. Love it. The sculpting of the wrinkles are very well done indeed. Keep it up and good luck. :D

[Marsyas]

This is looking great! Love the dynamic pose, the base, clothing, anatomy, expression... Great stuff. :tu:

[spimmy]

Very nice facial expression, and great clothing detail for the other dude. Looking very good!:cool: :tu:

[petekasim]

Max, I'm glad you like :). I'm often told I have a somewhat dark sense of humour, I guess there's just no escaping it!

SolidSnakexxx, thanks pal, here's a little more...

Seavannah, Marsyas, spimmy, big thanks for all your comments :)


Here's another minor update. I've started making the fella's boots and spent some time tweaking his pose (twisted the body a bit, played with his legs and feet position). Still plenty to refine in terms of drama and balance, but it's slowly edging there.

Plus, I found this HELLA cool matcap on the pixologic website. Frigging ace!

Love to know any opinions, you guys have been a great help

latest.jpg

[Moni-Poroni]

Great update! :)
I love the pedestal-very nice details :tu:

[AVTPro]

Posing is awesome and the color is unique.

[wethand]

outstandning pose! love the sculpt!
it has very much of dramatic in it! love it! :tu: :tu:

[fluxist8070]

agile, gracful, and evil. very nice!

[Captain Sensible]

Great stuff! I'm not too sure about the blurring though.

[SolidSnakexxx]

I like the rhythm of her pose... and her one leg stand on the base.. Great update, petekasim :)

[petekasim]

Moni-Poroni, AVTPro, wethand, fluxist8070, Captain Sensible, SolidSnakexxx, I'm so pleased you guys like it and big thanks for the support :)

Been working on her costume a little more today

costume01.jpg

[spimmy]

Wow, that is really nice!! The costume is just great!! :tu: I love the flow, the style. Awesome work! :cool:

[Captain Sensible]

Very nice. It's good to see the outfit getting in there now. Looking more closely at your last render I really like how you've handled the belly, hips, legs and feet. And you have complimented it well with the flow of the skirt. Very nice work indeed! :tu:

[maxinkuk]

Great pose, I really like the way it flows, and flows, and flows and....
And talking of one detail, I love her feet.
I would like to see a turntable at this point.

[Harmonic]

That is looking so sweet! Getting better and better, very original. :tu:

[monstermaker]

I like this a lot as well and as has been said before it really has a nice flow to it. Best of luck in the contest.

[petekasim]

spimmy, Captain Sensible, maxinkuk, Harmonic, monstermaker

Thank you all!

And to Mr Baker, do you realize how much mental scarring I had to endure as a kid as a direct consequence of your abominations?!?!

I remember being less than 10 years old repeatedly watching the making of Thriller just to reassure myself it wasn't real so I could get a sound night's sleep.

Well, here I am obsessively making nightmarish visions of my own, down to you in no small part I'm certain! Thanks again for the encouragement, it really means the world :D


Anyway guys, this could be my last update before the final. I've got a problem with the turntable though, it's spinning around a wierd axis and I can't for the life of me find a solution. Anyway, here you go

tentacles.jpg

RvwNyPadHjU

[maxinkuk]

Oh Yeah! It's glorious!:tu::tu::tu::tu::tu:

[monstermaker]

This looks really cool! I glad that I had something to do with warping your mind. Please call me Rick from now on. Mr. Baker makes me feel old, which I am but i don't like to be reminded of it.

[petekasim]

Thanks Max and Rick! My gosh I'm literally blushing

Now that I think of it, I'm absolutely positive that Thriller featurette was THE pivotal point I decided I just HAD to work in film special effects.

20 odd years later, and the closest I've come was an interview for a running position at Framestore... which I didn't get. So close to where the the magic happens that I could literally smell it!

Still, now I get to improve my modeling skills instead of my tea-making and sushi-delivering skills, and I know the effort will bear fruit in the end :)

[DAnconia]

WOW. youre anatomy is fantastic. Her right leg is absolutely fantastic. That knee is awesome. Are you going to have another head of the monster that we get to look at? I think that would really send this over the top. Another head about to strike? That way the viewer gets to see the face of it.

I would love to know as much about anatomy as you do.

I couldnt sleep for so long after i saw thriller. I would look down at the foot of my bed in the dark waiting for a dance line of the dead to arise! lol.

[Hamilcar]

Fantastic, Dynamic and Beautiful :tu::tu:

[SolidSnakexxx]

She's one scary heroine....Can't imagine the pain of her victim.....getting bitten in the head! :D

[Lucky_1]

Wow looks great Pete,
love the overall movement/comp just awesome !!

[petekasim]

DAnconia, hopefully I'll get enough time to add that extra head... thanks for the encouragement!

Hamilcar, SolidSnakexxx, Lucky_1, cheers guys!


Here's a closer look at her face, I'm reworking it slightly - making it asymmetrical and refining bits

closerb.jpg

[spimmy]

Wow absolutely great detailing dude!! :cool: :tu: Great facial expression!:)

[Harmonic]

Fantastic, looking so stylish!

[threetails]

looking great, i like the animated quality of all the movment, really good.

[Moni-Poroni]

Very great details.:tu: :tu: :tu:

Love her mimic and the way she´s holding her hands is really beautiful. :)
The monster is great -I love it.. all in all amazing work! :)

[Marsyas]

Really great pose and turntable. :tu: So fluid and interesting. The details are coming along nicely.

[MonteCristo]

I love this one. Really fantastic pose. Probably the best pose I've seen so far in the comp actually. :)

[petekasim]

Thanks everybody!

Sorry I don't have time to reply individually, I'm struggling against the clock here...! But all your comments have been so helpful and I don't think I'd have made it this far without your support

Here's some polypainting in progress, I have buckets to do, so must dash!

polypaint01.jpg

[Moni-Poroni]

Oh wow... interesting colour.:) :tu:
and great start.. love the skulls.
Good luck.:)
Hope we all ge it done in time.

[- FoOD -]

Looking really cool petekasim - good job:D:tu:

[SolidSnakexxx]

Nice color of choice for her body and great job on the skulls..they are tiny skulls...making me think they could belong to kids... :tu:

[Belltann]

Yup. I really like the weight and lines on this one :) Keep em coming.

[Hamilcar]

Yes!! nice work on those accessories...love the cloth, skulls, bones, rope:tu::tu:

[spimmy]

Really nice polypainting dude, it's looking great!!:tu:

[wethand]

oh wow!!!! didn't see the progress for a long time...

oh damn, this looks really nice!!
the amount of details is stunning.
and i really like the color sheme! it looks really like a "dark mother" :tu: :tu:

[petekasim]

Moni-Poroni, FoOD, Belltann, Hamilcar, spimmy, wethand, thank you :) I've been working like a deranged, coffee swilling lunatic trying to make this look half decent. I'm starting to hallucinate due to lack of sleep!

and it's still as rough as heck

polypaint03colorcorrect.jpg

[SolidSnakexxx]

This Dark Mother really look amazing with texture.... :tu: Love the blood trails on her legs.

[spimmy]

It's really looking nice!! Love what you are doing with the textures! Look forward to seeing the finished model :cool: :tu: :tu:

[maxinkuk]

Very effective, it really makes a statement, and it's a very good statement, it's also very much in the tradition of comics' hero bold coloring styles.

[Captain Sensible]

Wow. Good choice of colours. Very nice :tu:

[Hamilcar]

25min left I hope you make it buddy:)

[petekasim]

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02.jpg
03.jpg
04 copy.jpg
05.jpg

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[jp_smith]

Great job Pete, your pose and paint job are absolutely awesome! The paint really pushed this to a whole new level. Great job.

[Moni-Poroni]

Yes, the colour! :tu: :tu: :tu: Didn´t expect that. But it looks definitely cool! :)

[SolidSnakexxx]

Agree, the colored version really makes the character so believable. You are so skilled at poly painting. :tu:

[Hamilcar]

Congrats! You got it in on time! and it looks great! This is some very fine sculpting:tu::tu:

[Lucky_1]

Congratulations Pete with your final.Awesome Job !

[wethand]

hey pete,

you really made a bunch of work on this one.
i really like the dynamic and the textures.
nice! and thank you for your kind replys during the con. :)

[spimmy]

Really loved your entry dude! :tu: loved the sculpt alot. Great final image. Great work mate!!

[Etcher]

Hi petekasim! Congrats on ajob well done man! This would make a beautiful print! :tu: !

[Captain Sensible]

Great work Pete. Definitely the best pose and the most dynamic. Easily deserves a print. Thanks for all your help during the contest too. Much appreciated buddy :tu: