The Harvester and Sorrow

[DKK]

Hi guys, new here, excited to be a part of what seems like a good healthy community for artists.

This is a 3d render I did that I painted over top of. I call him The Harvester, and his sword is named Sorrow. I did this to submit to the Substrata Project. I started off knowing I wanted to do some kind of embodiment of death, and that I also wanted to use purple; although maybe I should have tried for a female, but the goat skull muscle guy came to me early and I ran with it. Anyway the way I see it, he's one of four or so embodiment's of the endless death that are all mini bosses in this hypothetical game, this one being the slow lumbering heavy type. I'm pretty happy with this, but not feeling it in it's entirety, but I lack the experience or where with all to find the particular issues. Any and all help is much appreciated!

Here's the current, Sorry it's giant!



and a lighter skinned variation, I'm entertaining the idea that maybe his skin drains of redness as the player depletes his life.

http://imageshack.us/a/img827/4978/cab5.png

[Amit Dutta]

Nice model, I think it would work nicely in a game. In terms of the illustration itself, maybe a more dynamic pose would help add some life and character to this. It is a bit static. At the moment the weak points are where the cloth meets the body. Add some shadowing to show thickness and think about the drapery of the cloth on the form; it looks like a cut paste job at the moment.
The perspective of the sword doesn't quite match the perspective of the character, looks like a separate side on render, so maybe bring the two models together into the same scene. You may as well use the 3d to its full advantage.
In general a bit more grunge and texture will help to add interest and variety. Maybe a bit more design work, like tattoos or body markings, fabric designs, accessories etc. These will really bring it to life.
Also...add a ground shadow...you always want to ground your characters to give them weight. Hope that was useful

[DKK]

Hey thanks dude! awesome feedback, I took it to mind and worked a bunch on it, here's the newer version.

[Amit Dutta]

Nice update. I would make the lighting on the sword match the figure. ie that warm rimlight and cold top light. On second viewing that sword looks ridiculously large. Maybe scale it down a bit. I still have issues with the perspective integration of it but I guess you're happy with it,. It doesn't really seem to weigh anything because of how he's holding it so maybe think about that.
Accessorise him even more, with some non-symmetric elements if you can and try using different materials. Fur, gold, bone etc. I think you need to put more detail into his face...that is where the main focus will go. Also consider extending your image up a bit as his head is almost tangent to the canvas...same thing with sword, but if you reduce the scale of it that would take care of two birds.

Hope that helps. It's coming along!

[DKK]

Hey thanks dude, having trouble figuring out what to do with detailing the face, I like the sculpt, but the shapes don't come out very well in the render. Trying not to do a ton more work on this though, because although it needs work, I think it's a bit of an issue of the base level design being a bit weak, I could've ended up with a stronger piece if I had a better idea from the get go, but I like it, and I appreciate all the feedback, you've helped me tremendously to improve this piece. Tried to add some more asymmetry and also some fur, It helps ground him a bit more, and make the design more interesting, but I'm thinking of leaning away from gold, and also from painting in a bunch of stuff that isn't based on the render, I tried to add in some armor, but It was not working at all, and that's when I realized I was going to far. The weight of the sword is a problem for sure, but It's inspired by Darksiders so I wanted to do something over the top.
Anyway, heres an update.

[img][/img]