HERE WALKS THE SWAMPGHOST! WIP's and more from Terry...

[SwampGhost]

Hey everyone, I'm Terry, aka SwampGhost.

Been hanging out here for a while now and have so far not posted anything, though I have dropped a couple of comments.

So I decided to end the cycle of procrastination/always being too busy today and post some stuff. Everything I have right now is WIP, so keep that in mind. When I have something finished, you guys will be the first to know!

First up, Happy Vic (shortened from Hapless Victim). Just wanted to do a comically frightened character, like the guy in the horror movie--usually right at the beginning--who is just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and ends up unearthing, disturbing or otherwise ending up as the first feeding/possession/evisceration of the film. He's usually just some poor working man going about his business (night watchman, grave digger, beat cop, etc.), or even some unlucky homeless guy.

There is still a lot of detailing to come for Vic, and many things are going to be redone entirely (especially some of the fibermesh elements), but his general form is final. He's meant to be in a sort of caricature style.



A couple of regular BPR renders with no LightCap.



Playing a bit with LightCaps and then RenderPasses in PS. All of this is pretty new to me, though I have done digital art with Corel Painter for a number of years, mostly in a very analogue way. I recently became addicted to the noise filter in PS, and I love simulating depth by hand with the blur brush.



Lastly, this one was a bit of an attempt to get a cinematic feel, with the framing and--again--some noise to give the impression of film grain.



I welcome comments and critiques. Thanks for looking!

Terry

[CookieMonster]

Great work man!

Love the rounded feel of the character!
do you have a picture of the person you used as a reference?
just curious.

easily on of the best i have seen in a long time!

[SwampGhost]

Great work man!

Love the rounded feel of the character!
do you have a picture of the person you used as a reference?
just curious.

easily on of the best i have seen in a long time!

That's really so kind, CookieMonster! I'm sincerely grateful that you made the first comment I've received on my work here so positive. It's very encouraging and motivating!

To tell you the truth, although I said that Vic is done in a caricature type style, it is probably more accurate to just say "cartoonish", as there was no subject or reference; I just made him up.

Thanks again for taking the time to look and comment!

Terry

[SwampGhost]

This is basically me fantasizing about my dream Batman movie, made today but set in around 1939-40.

I originally just planned a bust, but I now think this will end up being a full figure. Some things will likely change from what you see here, too.

I wanted to have special lenses in the eyes to match the way they are always colored featureless white in the comics, but then have them bug out just slightly, in a somewhat sci-fi way.



Went for a hint of that fanning out shape that the ears have back in the early Detective Comics appearances.Also tried something a bit different with the chest emblem, which I don't remember seeing before, though I wouldn't be surprised if someone else has already done it. The general idea is that it represents a bat so huge that it blots out the moon, casting its shadow over everything. The rivets on the "moon" are hopefully a way of keeping it retro-looking.



At first I thought I might go with a color and material that referenced the 1970's era look of the character (left), but when I tried the Outline material (right), it just looked so much like a real life version of the way the cowl was so often inked. I like the idea that the mask is imitating a gargoyle face, and also having a few somewhat "unsexy" lines where seams and edges are, such as the "face plate", to keep it a bit dated looking. Hopefully it even has the vaguest hint of an Adam West feel to it, minus the camp.



Hinting at a bit at fetishism here, but also just trying to stick to what a man with the resources might have made for himself in 1939. The zipper was done with 3D-User's awesome zipper brush.



Just did this poster for a bit of a laugh, using my chest emblem design in a way similar to the marketing of the 1989 Tim Burton Batman movie.



Thanks for looking! Hope you enjoy, and share your comments and critiques.

Terry

[Pixolshaper]

Great treatment of an icon! Only nit I'd pick is that that mask is a bit too "busy." Looking back at the old Kane/Robinson Batman, the front of the mask is smoother. Nevertheless, I really like this!

[SwampGhost]

Great treatment of an icon! Only nit I'd pick is that that mask is a bit too "busy." Looking back at the old Kane/Robinson Batman, the front of the mask is smoother. Nevertheless, I really like this!

Yeah, I totally agree about the mask, but the idea was to sort of re-imagine it for a period movie made today, and that would definitely call for more detail. That spareness of detail in the old ink drawings of the comics has a beauty all it's own, but it would just play as bland in a sculpt or a movie costume, I think. Also, I really wanted a bit of the gargoyle-come-to-life in his appearance; a snarling beast visage above his neutral-looking mouth. It was important for me to harken back to the whole idea of preying on the fears of "cowardly, superstitious" criminals, which rings a bit more true in the period setting.

Anyway, thanks for checking it out and for your feedback. So glad you like it! I hope for it to become a finished piece soon.

[Dragon]

Hi SwampGhost, saw you comment at another post and thought I would just drop by and see what your all about. Behold, your Batman is looking cool. I have mixed feelings about the too busy mask and not. One side of me is really digging the 'detailed' mask, the other, the outline material does make sense in the way you explain it. Man, that's a tuff one. But, here are my thoughts, if you don't mind. One, if it is going to simply be an image, then, I think the outline material should not be a prob. If your going to do a physical sculpt (if it's not ment to be super cartoony, but more comic book like work), then not using the outline material and just going with 'details' I THINK would be the way to go. As you know, collectors 'seem to like to pay for the extra details (of course as we both know, not all but seems like with most).

Man, tuff one here. But, simply, very nice what you have going on (I like the proportions of his face). Best, Dragon.

[SwampGhost]

Hi SwampGhost, saw you comment at another post and thought I would just drop by and see what your all about. Behold, your Batman is looking cool. I have mixed feelings about the too busy mask and not. One side of me is really digging the 'detailed' mask, the other, the outline material does make sense in the way you explain it. Man, that's a tuff one. But, here are my thoughts, if you don't mind. One, if it is going to simply be an image, then, I think the outline material should not be a prob. If your going to do a physical sculpt (if it's not ment to be super cartoony, but more comic book like work), then not using the outline material and just going with 'details' I THINK would be the way to go. As you know, collectors 'seem to like to pay for the extra details (of course as we both know, not all but seems like with most).

Man, tuff one here. But, simply, very nice what you have going on (I like the proportions of his face). Best, Dragon.

Hey Dragon, your comments are most welcome and very much appreciated.

I think I understand what you are saying about the mask. I definitely wouldn't want a 3D print, for example, to have that kind of finish on it, and would be looking for a more subtle material/paint/whatever.

My aim with ZBrush, and any 3D modelling in general that I am learning right now, is to ultimately create printable models, design toys, etc. But that's still in the future; for now, today, at my level of learning, my practical use will be mostly as a new tool for creating my 2D artwork, so--yes--this Batman would be for an image.

Thanks for the kind words, especially regarding the facial proportions, as faces are what I love to do most. You will see a whole lot of those in my gallery here as time passes.

I'm enjoying watching the progress on your Mayan/jaguar. Such a fun style (Frazetta meets Disney is right!). I love doing cartoony stuff and caricatures, etc. as well.


Maybe you'll get a kick out of this...just a quick little bit of fun using the Liquid filter in Photoshop:


Have fun!

Terry