Well, your talent as well as all the preparation you do really shows in your work Lonnie. It is well worth the outcome, this one is going to be great.
on a side note, how is Elder Scrolls III? I was planning to get it this weekend. Is it Multiplayer? I have been playing Dungeon Siege which is a pretty good game.
I haven’t the word… Mentat u are very best in zbrush!!! 
I agree with everyone else… I just don’t have the words! This is really good and I love looking over your shoulder… keep us updated please!
a wonderful project. that you are taking us along is priceless. 
LOVE that atmosphere!! Those mushrooms rock.
The second render is killer. Thanks for the peak into your brain. 
To me, the MOST valuable part of this forum, outside of the trust, fairness, and general sence of respect, is the openness to share.
Posting artwork you’ve spent long hard time on.
Talking details; the how’s why’s and what for’s.
Posting ZTLs, MTLs, PDF’s, Tutorials.
THIS is the richness of ZBC.
(sorry Mentat, your thread just kinda kicked this tribute out of me)
I’ve been to MANY other BBS’s in my time. People complain, pick on, degrade, make fun of, pick apart, and generally are so patronizing, divisive or smartass, that no one comes or goes feeling better about themselves or the software.
ZBC is the epoch of software forums. The precedent setting event.
It’s not how many dots or stars that are by your name. It’s how many times you’ve shared a thought, a tool, an idea. It’s how many people you help in a thread. IT’S WHAT YOU HONESTLY ADD to the forum.
Thanks Mentat for being one of many who are the pillars of our little community.
Thanks for the insite into your working process, Mentat. I’ll be looking forward to the finished piece. I can already tell it’s going to be awsome.
Nice work !! --the landscape in the second one looks very Frazetta–that’s a compliment I hope you do super stuff!!
a great post Kathy, i couldnt agree more. thanx mentat7
I like how the strangeness of the creature matches the strangeness of the landscape. Strange is good! :rolleyes:
Kathy, that was a very nice statement.
Well I was able to squeeze in a good half-hour to work on this some more. Here you can see where I have finished the modeling of the torso. Notice the sketch in the background? Normally I don’t have a need to sketch but in this instance I needed to have a guide for the flow of the body. I originally had the head and mandibles visible when I drew the sketch on a seperate layer. I deselected the head layer and began working on the torso. You will notice I have continued to experiment with coloring/texturing. I will continue to do that right up until I bring the piece together. I am very close to deciding on the final color scheme and have found the lighting that I want to use (although not evident in this picture). I have some legs and the beginnings of the abdomen to post as well as some more of the background. It is coming together just fine. I will try to get some time to post an update tomorrow.
Wonderful work, Lonnie, and totally AMAZING texturing…!!!
Oh, sorry, I’ll quiet down now… 
Fantastic job, Lonnie, and I’m looking forward to the updates…Way to go, buddy!
I agree with Kathy’s comments…mr. pillar of the forum community 
I know you are a busy man in the real world also and I appreciate you taking the time to share with us. That body bugs me though…(it’s a joke get it…"bug"s me…snicker…so I am lame) I love it big guy and can hardly wait ot see you bring it all together…
Can’t wait for the next posting…
Fasinating and inspiring! Thanks for sharing your working method with us. Love to see it all forming and coming together step by step.
It really helps us relatively new ZBrushers to see how more complex projects are tackled.
The texturing truly is amazing… It promises to be one scary insect beast.
Cheers.
You’ve really come a long way buddy!
Every new piece you make keeps on getting better and better.
Keep it up!
Well I’m a day late on the update but work and family had to come first. 
In this image I have just about finished with all the body pieces. I have several smaller pieces to create and I will make adjustments in the legs so that the “knees” rise higher above the abdomen. There are several layers here…head, front sword arms, torso, abdomen, rear legs. When I do the final image I will place the parts, bake the layer then continue with the next. This will allow me to avoid the awkward shadows created from the interaction between the various parts (a prime example can be seen on the front of the beast under the head where the mandibles and sword arms cast strange crossing shadows.) This is very close to the final coloring…I am quite pleased with it. I have found that I can pick out detail by using a small black brush to sketch around the edges of intersecting pieces. It is a basic illustrative style that seems to work well with this image. I am using the Spherical Blend material for the chitinous texture (no way I would paint in all those scales myself! 
). I have been progressing with the background as well and hope to have an update on it soon. I have created several more props…mushrooms, plants, small creatures…to flesh out the background. At this point the image is about 60% complete. The abdomen is made from a single sphere and each leg is made from an elongated sphere (with tons of deformations…one of my favorite tool menus).
Magnificent!!! You’ve worked very hard on this, and it shows. Can’t wait for the finale.
Excellent my friend. I am anxious to see the final image!!
Wonderful work, Lonnie!
!!!WoW!!!..
Thatz amazing
thnx for the heads up Lon I have been lookin forward to this update…reallllllly realllllly kewl…the body sorta reminds me of the bug creature in Men In Black…you could do concept are for Buffy the Vampire Slayer with this style for sure…I luvs me bugs