Re-return of the Thesis Updates! (Stardate 06242013)

It has been just about 2 months since I've updated regarding my thesis. Ben's passing, as well as a very busy summer semester, has kept me from blogging as much as I was expecting. But to be honest, not much work has happened on the thesis, anyway. I am currently in 2 CG classes, one focusing on hard surface modeling (in Maya), the other on digital sculpture (in ZBrush). These 2 classes are helping me learn A TON that will make working on my thesis characters this fall go much, much more smoothly.

The work I have been doing on the ol' Thesis has been in my Animal Anatomy class. Besides learning all about anatomy of mammals and birds, I have been using that time to really solidify the structure of my creatures. Since they are amalgamations of real animals, I better get the anatomy right. ...And it's just darn fun.

Way back in April, when I presented my idea to the Thesis committee, their feedback was to work more on Stubs, as he didn't seem as resolved as Spaz and Sarah. So that's what I've done!

The first design of Stubs:

Some of the critique said he felt too calculated: one leg, one eye, one tusk... So I went back to the drawing board with some of the same ideas.

It came down two animals I wanted to mash up: walrus and rhino. Because baby rhino's have the best feet ever, and baby walruses cuddle. Adorable.

So starting with words and doodles and trying to figure out what I want Stubs to be, I then did some anatomy studies:

Turns out it's pretty easy anatomically to mash up a walrus and a rhino. So then it was time to figure out how to make this creature interesting.

I knew I wanted him to be a gimp, as the inability to move well is something I really wanted to keep with the whole "sickness" thing. But then something unexpected happen: he got too cute. There wasn't anything super gross or terrifying about him. So the next natural step: parasitic mouth. The tusks are out, the sucker is in.

So here is the new Stubs! I still need to figure out his skin issues. He still has one missing eye, and may still have ribs showing like the previous incarnation. We'll see.

I've also been working on the maquette of him. That has been super fun, and you can see a quick Vine I did of stage one.

Next is to figure out texture and color, but I'm really liking this pathetic, lumpy, adorable sad sack of a creature.

Next week: The Anatomy of Spaz.