Australian artist Alex Ries has created what I consider the most original alien species since H.R.Giger’s designed alien first stepped into view in Ridley Scot’s first Alien film in 1979. His art can be seen at
The creator of this species has granted me permission to create a 3d model of this wonderful species but I fear that I am not talented enough to do this creature justice. I am here to ask for the help of the fantastic and talented artists here so that I can have a finished model that both I and Abiogenisis can be proud of. To start I am asking for people to take a look at my current progress and let me know where my topology mistakes are, where the mesh can be improved.
My work so far
My .blend can be downloaded from http://www.pasteall.org/blend/21991
if anyone wants to take a better look at my mesh.
Oh and thank you all ahead of time for taking the time to help me learn and grow with Blender.
I was just thinking that I should explain what I hope to do here, describe the “workflow” I have in mind. My plan is to box model the entire creature, copy and subdivide the copy. Take the copy into sculpt to add all of the finer details. I have never done a model as detailed and realistic as I want this before so I will need lots of advice including telling me if my workflow idea is wrong.
I hope to create the textures and normal maps within Blender and to use them on a low poly mesh, will I need to retopo my model?
Please consider me a noob since all of my previous work was geared toward low poly game assets.
I have started on the legs and arms but it’s just the basic box model at this point. One thing in case anyone is wondering, the textures are temporary, simple basic colors to help me visualize the body features and placements, they will be removed later.
I’m still worried about the topology on this model, especially on the head. At a later time I plan to separate the head from the neck so that I can subdivide and sculpt them separate, at least some of the sculpting anyway.
Edit:
I am not looking forward to the sculpting because I have only done it once years ago in version 2.49, I’m sure it is going to be ruthless and challenging. I just hope that the sculpting doesn’t bring my work to a halt.
If that’s the only reference you have, box modelling then scultpting will work. But for me having worked with SDS box modelling and recently trying out Blenders Sculpting tools and Scultpis (love Sculptis) I suck at all of that- and have a graphics pad! Nothing in my head transfeers to the screen. I’d personally vertex model that for total absolute control.
Vetrex (point by point) modeling is a pain and can get really messy, but it’s an option.
What you have going so far looks pretty good though.
Thanks for the advice MeanPi2, I might do just that. I just finished the basic shape minus the hands, the artwork by Abiogenisis doesn’t have any really good views of the hands to go by. I think I will model the hands seperatley so I can experiment with them some. I still need to add the ear stalks as well. Anyway here is the sketchfab of my mesh as it is now.
New update:
I did a little work on the feet, corrected the stance so that the legs didn’t seem so artificially straight and added a little more detail. I’ll soon be ready for sculpting and I think I do need some sculpting to get the fine details and I’ll get started on the textures. I will be modeling the clothes and accessories after the basic creature is complete. I think the last thing I will do is rig and pose her and I have already started thinking about how to rig her, I would be grateful for any suggestions about any part of the process.
I also added the wings, in some of Abiogenisis’s artwork the species has ear lobes in the same position, I really love the idea of ears on the back or shoulders and the thought of them using them to communicate is an awesome concept so those are ears. I modeled them as wings because I believe that that was the artists preference but bringing something from 2d into 3d allows a little room for interpretation.
That is what excited me so much when I saw this art, this creature looks nothing at all like us and yet we can see them in everyday situations and relate to them. Thanks for the comments guys.
It’s coming along. i’m looking forward to seeing you start sculpting. i’ve been meaning to learn this myself and it will be great to see someone else go through the painful process first
Ok Monk, that was just cruel lol. The only real sculpting I will need here is to add the wrinkles around the leg/arm joints, I think the neck looks good already. I would like to add some texture to the hide but like the areas that seem to be peeling, I think that can be done with textures and normal maps.
Right now I need to start working on the hands since that is the area that is giving me the most trouble.
Although I only started to model the hand today, I have been thinking about it since before I asked for permission to model this creature. I tried to stay with the design that shows in the first painting of a Birrin that I posted at the start of this thread. There have been a few comments in the art comment area of Deviant art about the hands, most people agree that the Berrin couldn’t do very much with what appears to be a cloven hoof. The Berrin hand has a split hoof like structure similar to a pig or a deer, this hand would not be capable of doing things like fastening buttons yet you can see buttons on their clothes. I searched Abiogenises’s art and noticed the hand on an earlier sketch called the spearbearer, this rendition had what appeared to be a boneless, tentacle like hand. I combined the newer hand with the tentacled one and using the foot design as a template, I came up with a two thumbed hand. The smaller thumb in my design wouldn’t have a bone in it but rather it would be an independently movable muscle much like our tongue.
Just a note about our own tongue. Our tongue is the only muscle in the human body capable of pushing. All muscles pull against bone or sinew, even when you push a car it is the muscles pulling that creates the “push”. Our tongues can curl,flip forward, flip backward, roll, stretch and draw back, I thought that would be a handy feature for a thumb like structure on a clawed/hoofed hand.
lastly I have started working on the compound eyes but they are not that nice at this point
