Hey all,
I wanted to do a real dark lucifer sculpt, so here are the beginning stages prior to creating the skin textures. I will eventually add some bat wings after I get the muscles and skin and position I want. C&C are welcome.
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Here are some updates on my model. The balls will of course be rocks later. I changed the position a lot so it looks more natural. I still need to work a lot with the teeth, horns and skin textures. Let me know what you guys think?
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Wow, that’s impressive! 
Thanks Eric.
As I work further, what’s a good reference for facial cracks and textures as well for the body? I want to try and make a pretty weathered look, but keep the muscled fresh look, if that makes any sense.
nice start, personally id like to see it more evil 
Bnut - I like where you are going with the sculpt. Here are my suggestions before you go to the detail stage - these are much the same issues I had before I secured my 2 private sculpting coaches (one traditional (Jake Dobsha - freaking amazing traditional sculptor, painter, sketch artist and everything else he has touched - still not won him over to ZB but I am trying, heh) and one digital - SandPiper on the forum (Jesse Sandifer of GreenGrass Studios)) which have been a huge help in my progress and growth:
- Anatomy Overall: there seem to be places where the mass is missing and there is a type of “folding” in the model which likely came from TPosing the model which often requires further sculpting - focus on the all joints
- Anatomy Legs - thighs seem too long for the shin area - looks like you accidentally pulled on the MOVE tool rather than used the ROTATE brush to position the legs to meet the balls rather than move the balls to meet the feet
- Bone structure - I like where you are having bones come through the muscle/flat layers to show structure, but these bones could be more defined in certain areas such as the ribs - look how much more convincing the face is and it has not been deformed by posing - all bone showing should not be sharp, but it should all be “readable” as just that - bone structure - and not still look like a certain type of brush stroke:)
- Continue to build “connective tissue” between muscle/bone structures such as you did on the side of the chest muscles, but not before you totally nail down the form which is normally completed before you get above 3-4 subd levels - I always try to never get above those levels (don’t even create those levels) until your form totally reads solid - this will avoid the “gumby” effect that models sculpted at a higher subd level will often have - look at it as NOT adding water to your clay - get the “dry” clay as close as you can before you start adding water and getting into the smoothing - helps me
- Readdress the wrinkles such as around the inner elbows which were probably correct before you posed the model - they look to have been stretched by posing and just have not been looked at again
- Make sure you vary the brush size often to avoid getting a uniform look accross a model’s muscle mass
Lastly, I highly value thoughtful critiques and consider them an honor when someone puts real thought into my work so if you ever have such crits for my work please, please post or pm me:).
UPDATE: On the lips - I really like how you sculpted the bottom of the lips, but look at the cheek connection part of the lips - with the mouth open like this that area would probably be straight with a small connection area rather than in a “C” shape - it seems now that there is a small “pulled tight” area and a very large area where the top and bottom connect - that area is almost always extremely small and tightly rounded - hope this makes sense - if not I can create a mark up when I have more time - let me know.
Excellent start!
Hosch, Thanks for your comments. After going back to make adjustments, it just started looking better and better. Here are some updates. I haven’t posted his back yet. I know it needs some work, so thought I’d post it and see if I get any feedback before I fine-tune it up. I made him much bonier than he previously was. Haven’t worked completely on the fingers yet, and removed the teeth.
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I am honored you took my critique so seriously. I see definite improvement, but there still seems to be some slight “bubbling” of the muscle and skin flow (forearm, stomach/rib area) - I have had this happen on the guy I am working on currently and it was normally from one of two mistakes I was making:
- Sculpting in one view for too long - I try to make sure I am constantly rotating the model to get a true 3d perspective - also turning perspective on and off helps me get the objects appearance from more than one … perspective
- Also, trying to work too early on a model at a subdivision level that is too high - it seems the more I work at the lower levels the better my work looks when I get to the higher levels - another way to do this is when you want a wrinkle - go down a level from where it looks smooth - create it there - jaggies and all - them move up a level to smooth it - gives a more subtle approach - of course this is not always the goal, but it seems to help my work
By the way - I really like the direction you took the palm of the hands.
Thanks so much for the thoughtful crits on my work. They are definitely taken to heart.
Thanks Hosch - I really appreciate your thourough critiques. They have been unbelievably helpful. I really do take them seriously. Thats awesome that you were in the Corps. I have a cousin that just got his wings in the Air Force, so I have a vague idea of the timeline.
Again, without your help I would’ve pushed out another model at the earlier stage. The more I tweak the little things, the more it looks exactly how I planned it to look. Hopefully I will have another update version to push out here in a little bit. I have been trying to put all the nails on, however its difficult because he’s not symmetrical at all.
No problem at all.
Since I am no longer filling AD boots, and working to get my own artistic skills back up to snuff, I always try to have others critique my work as much as possible - it seems when we work on our own stuff we can get tunnel vision sometimes. The artist I directed were much more skilled than I for sure yet it was surprising what they would miss before reviews - just nature to not see our own flaws I think, LoL - now I tend to do the same thing in my own work if I am not careful.
Another good thing is to take a break every so often and for sure between stages to review reference or at least work that you aspire too before moving ahead - you would be amazed what you will catch once you come back with a new and clear perspective. It is never ok to copy another’s work of course, but it is just fine to compare the quality of your work to those you respect - or better yet - reality (if that is your goal). It is very nice to get a bit of sleep before finalizing a major stage as well - fresh perspective is always nice.
Probably the best piece of advice I can give that has helped me is about “perfection” we need to know our limits and the limits of the people we critique if possible - there is a balance (in personal work) of trying to achieve perfection and turning out work that helps you learn. Client work should always be at the very best skill you can muster given the factors of the project, budget, timeline, etc., but personal work should be turned out as often as you can reach your top end skill at that time - don’t hold up a personal project (in most cases) for absolute perfection or you will literally never get a single piece completed.
I find, for me at least, that turning out more work is better than an endless line of unfinished pieces that I grew board with because I never finished them due to lack of “perfection” … keep trucking ahead … next year’s projects will eclipse these as they should:).
Thanks again Hosch for your insights. You are right on. For me, throughout my college career I focused on a major in Internation Business, however I knew my true passion lies in art of different sorts. I am currently getting my Masters in MIS for work advancement purposes, but still think and spend a whole bunch of time with graphic art or researching anatomy and positioning.
You are really the first person that took time to give me specific areas that will help me improve. Although I am a beginner in 3D art, I have had my share of art courses throughout High school and college as electives. Surprisingly enough, every time I push out a project, I find improvement in my skills as an artist, but also knowledge and recollection of the forms I have studied prior.
Throuhgout this year I have a goal to push out 3 quality 3D projects, and I need to thank you for helping me through this so far. Personally, I would like to push out a fine piece of work, maybe not always perfect, rather than pushing out models for the sake of models, especially since my current career is not one I wish to stay in.
I am ranting, but here are some updates I have worked on, along with smoothing out the pieces you pointed out. Let me know your thoughts. I will be checking your thread as well to see if you have any updates as well and will critique what I can. Thanks again.
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Here is the latest update:
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I like it very much but may be the wings are too short larger wings and more look like filled with wind ( some bended wings ) would look more impressive.
I say much bigger wings. The wings can really bring this piece together.
Blaze, Dali - Thanks for the comments. I agree with you both, the wings need to be much more grand. Probably a little booken and torn in some wing areas. I will work on this aspect.
I would agree on the wings - either much, much larger or much smaller and obviously dwarfed for a reason - like he “lost his wings” when he was cast down or something, lol. Never do anything in the middle on a character like this - extremes all the way I am thinking:).
Thanks Hosch. I created some larger wings and smoothes out my character a little bit more…I included some veins on the body, just for some effect.
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looks much better with the larger wings. Good work small_orange_diamondsmall_orange_diamondsmall_orange_diamond
Thanks Nubus. Here is a colored version of my model…I may make some changes, but would like to get any feedback about it. I have not yet spent the time to compose the image in PS, but will work on that shortly.
Hope you all enjoy
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