On the way to CG Grooming. My Story. Episode 4 - 2017 - Forester Frank

 

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➡️ARTSTATION - there are more pictures, Sketchfab files, etc.

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And here you can see the sculpture, the very first concept.

As you can see on Artstation, I recently posted some renders of the forester and his fur.

In my last post I mentioned that "ShiDo" is the best friend of the forester, the main character in the project of the same name. I also said that I had taken on too much with this project and that I would return to it one day. I said that my ambition was high, but my skills were not enough.

But there was another reason why I stopped working on the project. I realized that it would take me a lifetime to learn everything I needed to know, especially the things I am not really interested in. It is one thing to look at a cartoon, film, or movie and imagine making one yourself, but it is another thing to actually immerse yourself in the process and realize that not all aspects of creation are interesting to you. I've always lived by the principle of "don't do what you're not interested in.

Gradually I began to distance myself from this project. It was not easy to quit everything and start my own way, a way that was 100% aligned with my interests. I had responsibilities, like my YouTube channel, where I had promised to create a lot of content. I had also made promises about the project in interviews with Corona Renderer team and 80lvl. However, I knew I had to follow my heart and focus on the things I was passionate about.

One of the most memorable moments of this journey was when Aaron Sims, whose company creates some of the most amazing monsters, liked my work. Some of his work has been featured on the TV show "Stranger Things. Even though he liked another piece of mine, it was still a memorable moment.

My relentless interest in new technology and the desire to cover everything and anything has led me astray on many occasions, but it has also given me the experience of realizing what I really want.

In 2017, I was still undecided about my path, but I was eager to learn new things. I decided to create a monster character, and I did everything myself, from sculpting to texturing to rendering. The monster was so impressive that I was invited to interviews with 80.lv and Corona Renderer.

At the time, the Corona renderer had just released a new skin shader, and I was eager to try it out. This was my first serious render in Corona, and it was a challenge. But challenges are what have helped me grow as a 3D artist.

There were many challenges in creating this creature. First, I had to sculpt a monster that I had never sculpted before. I also had to create fur, vials, bandages, an axe, torn boots, and monster skin.

The process of sculpting this creature was as follows:

And also the process of rendering and creating the wool:

I had to learn Substance Painter to understand how to draw skin, glass, scratches and other things in it. I also improved my sculpting skills in 3D-Coat, which I preferred to Zbrush at the time. This is because 3D-Coat had a SculptrisPro mode for a long time, and it still has many more cool features than Zbrush. The developers are constantly improving it. I love Zbrush too and it has great features. But 3D-Coat has even more.

The forester's name is Frank, and he wasn't always this ugly. He was just an ordinary man with an axe, but over time the forest turned him into this creature and made him a guardian of nature. The most interesting thing is that the oblivion of the forest that I imagined was perfectly depicted in the game Kena: Bridge of Spirits.

It's funny that the game Kena: Bridge of Spirits came out much later than I started creating my project. I once said that the parts of each person's brain are connected, and the thought processes sometimes overlap. What goes into your head comes to others at the same time. Many aspects of our lives prove this. So I was not surprised that the same idea of the forest came to the creators of this game a little later, actually 4 years later.

Frank lives in a fairy forest with the forest fairies Mooka and Duya. Mooka is orange and Duya is blue.

The Forester was actually a very large project that would include several characters and the environment in which they would all be placed. The main goal of the project was to give it my all and show all the experience I've gained since 2009, as well as learn new tools that could speed up my work.

By the way, a few environment concepts - I did make for it and recorded a bunch of Making Of:

I always set the bar very high and want to achieve quality results. I said this in an interview for Corona Renderer, but later I realized that it is better to grow in one area and become very steep in it. Of course, in 2017 I didn't fully understand it. But more about that in the next posts.

This is where Frank's story ends. Write in the comments what global projects you've come up with. You can even share some links to them. After all, mutual PR is the best thing people can come up with.

Thank you and have a nice day!

With respect,

Andrew.