The all-father; Odin.
In norse mythology, Odin is the guide of souls and ruler of asgard. During a quest for wisdom, he traded his right eye for a drink from Mimir's spring to gain wisdom of the ages. As ruler of asgard, protecting the bifrost is also his duty. behind Odin i've put the world tree in which all worlds are connected to one another; this idea was given to me from the movie thor, as was the armour that i've put on my model (ryan hall). I created this piece by manipulating feathers to create pieces of armour and shoulder pads. I've also got some chainmail from deviantart to fill up some negative space. The clouds in the background reprisent his position; ruler. as he's above everyone else.
In norse mythology, Odin is the guide of souls and ruler of asgard. During a quest for wisdom, he traded his right eye for a drink from Mimir's spring to gain wisdom of the ages. As ruler of asgard, protecting the bifrost is also his duty. behind Odin i've put the world tree in which all worlds are connected to one another; this idea was given to me from the movie thor, as was the armour that i've put on my model (ryan hall). I created this piece by manipulating feathers to create pieces of armour and shoulder pads. I've also got some chainmail from deviantart to fill up some negative space. The clouds in the background reprisent his position; ruler. as he's above everyone else.
Odin progression
This picture was probably one of longest in time to edit. I started by rendering the focal of my model out and editing his pupils. I had also made the saturation close to being the lowest to give off quite a silver-ish feel. After i had the focal done, i then used feathers from deviantart resource section to create some armour. After that, i searched for a white skull which i could use for his shoulder pads. I then used the wings for a side-head helmet and coloured in his pupils and gave an energy source looking liquid dripping from his head and mouth. After this progression i then started to fill in the background with clouds. Once again, stocks from deviantart. The world tree was placed in the background with the letter "o" reprisenting Odin. After this, i started working with selective colour and gradient maps to create some sort of atmosphere. I wanted to achieve that "golden" asgard feeling so i moved it from a blue tint, to a yellow tint, adding facial paint to his face to finish the piece off.
This picture was probably one of longest in time to edit. I started by rendering the focal of my model out and editing his pupils. I had also made the saturation close to being the lowest to give off quite a silver-ish feel. After i had the focal done, i then used feathers from deviantart resource section to create some armour. After that, i searched for a white skull which i could use for his shoulder pads. I then used the wings for a side-head helmet and coloured in his pupils and gave an energy source looking liquid dripping from his head and mouth. After this progression i then started to fill in the background with clouds. Once again, stocks from deviantart. The world tree was placed in the background with the letter "o" reprisenting Odin. After this, i started working with selective colour and gradient maps to create some sort of atmosphere. I wanted to achieve that "golden" asgard feeling so i moved it from a blue tint, to a yellow tint, adding facial paint to his face to finish the piece off.
Heimdall - The all hearing, all seeing guardian of Asgard.
This piece was inspired by the Norse mythology. I had taken up the character of Heimdall, the wisest of all the gods. Another inspiration from this piece would be from the movie "thor" released in 2011. Heimdall appeared in the movie wearing a suit of golden armour and a huge sword that would summon lightning once he put it in the bifrost. The reasoning behind the two focals in the image is quite simple; The all seeing god ( at the top, however both focals take up the same persona ) is always gazing down on things. The focal at the bottom is trying to show his "tough" side, as it's said in norse mythology Heimdall and Loki kill one another during ragnarok.
This piece was inspired by the Norse mythology. I had taken up the character of Heimdall, the wisest of all the gods. Another inspiration from this piece would be from the movie "thor" released in 2011. Heimdall appeared in the movie wearing a suit of golden armour and a huge sword that would summon lightning once he put it in the bifrost. The reasoning behind the two focals in the image is quite simple; The all seeing god ( at the top, however both focals take up the same persona ) is always gazing down on things. The focal at the bottom is trying to show his "tough" side, as it's said in norse mythology Heimdall and Loki kill one another during ragnarok.
Heimdall progress.
During this piece, i once again used two focals using two different photographs that i had taken. Firstly i outlined my model and made the background black, duplicating the layer and dodging & burning to create some lighting and depth. After this, i then added a "crown" to the model. the crown was made from feathers which is free to download at deviantart. I had also edited the eyes to suit this god. I made his pupils white, with white paint on his face and dark shadows around his eyes, giving him a blind-ish look. The next step i added some lightning, the lightning refers to the movie "thor" where he puts his sword into the bifrost to send thor and his crew to slay the ice giants. I also added some clouds and put some more enhancements on the eyes. The next step consisted of adding more feathers and re-colouring them to look like armour. I also put some circles there to make it appear as though they're being held together. i painted some more on the eyes and added a logo to his chest. The final steps i added a hand, with lightning erupting around it, as if he's about to smite. I then added blue lightning to the piece, going down further to another image of him looking in another direction - after all, he is the all seeing god. I then finished the piece off with some selective colours and gradient maps, to create depth, atmosphere and better blending.
During this piece, i once again used two focals using two different photographs that i had taken. Firstly i outlined my model and made the background black, duplicating the layer and dodging & burning to create some lighting and depth. After this, i then added a "crown" to the model. the crown was made from feathers which is free to download at deviantart. I had also edited the eyes to suit this god. I made his pupils white, with white paint on his face and dark shadows around his eyes, giving him a blind-ish look. The next step i added some lightning, the lightning refers to the movie "thor" where he puts his sword into the bifrost to send thor and his crew to slay the ice giants. I also added some clouds and put some more enhancements on the eyes. The next step consisted of adding more feathers and re-colouring them to look like armour. I also put some circles there to make it appear as though they're being held together. i painted some more on the eyes and added a logo to his chest. The final steps i added a hand, with lightning erupting around it, as if he's about to smite. I then added blue lightning to the piece, going down further to another image of him looking in another direction - after all, he is the all seeing god. I then finished the piece off with some selective colours and gradient maps, to create depth, atmosphere and better blending.
Doppleganger:
This piece takes up the folklore of doppleganers. The character to the right of the image is the innocents, where as the mysterious character to the left is the doppleganger; bringing about a bad omen and ultimately death. I've tried to symbolize many things in this piece, such as corruption. I tried showing how the innocents of one person ( to the right ) is easily corrupted. I did this by creating a more de-saturated tone using hue&saturation on the left side of the image. I also rendered his pupils red to show death and horror. The black and grey splatters symbolize a shocking force. This technique was inspired to me by a video game called Tekken, where the splash art had splatters throughout the whole piece to show strength.
This piece takes up the folklore of doppleganers. The character to the right of the image is the innocents, where as the mysterious character to the left is the doppleganger; bringing about a bad omen and ultimately death. I've tried to symbolize many things in this piece, such as corruption. I tried showing how the innocents of one person ( to the right ) is easily corrupted. I did this by creating a more de-saturated tone using hue&saturation on the left side of the image. I also rendered his pupils red to show death and horror. The black and grey splatters symbolize a shocking force. This technique was inspired to me by a video game called Tekken, where the splash art had splatters throughout the whole piece to show strength.
The right side of the image is more saturated to show a good natured human, where as the left side is in close to greyscale. This is to show that theres no life where he is, and that soon the innocent
The progress of the Doppleganger.
As always, i rendered out the two focals using the pen toolfrom the original image. Once done, i then put the background image as a hedge, something from nature. This is to show to neutral balance between the life and death of a doppleganger. after this step, i placed some splatter brushes that i felt would compliment the image that i had in mind. I added a lens flare made in adobe after effects with some slightly colour changes. The third step was more complex, i added more splatter brushes, this time with clipping masks, and a wide variety of selective colours and gradient maps. I tried to get that dark blue/green tint to the image, to show beauty but yet death. I placed some splatters on the eyes of the focals and also coloured in their pupils for effect. After this, i dodged and burned the applied image to help with lighting and depth. The final step was some colour changes, i gave a more yellow tint to the piece to show warmth... whereas the other side of the image where the doppleganger is, the saturation is lower, and you can see a red shaped pupil, with even more splatters. The splatters are to show corruption, whereas the light is to show good.
As always, i rendered out the two focals using the pen toolfrom the original image. Once done, i then put the background image as a hedge, something from nature. This is to show to neutral balance between the life and death of a doppleganger. after this step, i placed some splatter brushes that i felt would compliment the image that i had in mind. I added a lens flare made in adobe after effects with some slightly colour changes. The third step was more complex, i added more splatter brushes, this time with clipping masks, and a wide variety of selective colours and gradient maps. I tried to get that dark blue/green tint to the image, to show beauty but yet death. I placed some splatters on the eyes of the focals and also coloured in their pupils for effect. After this, i dodged and burned the applied image to help with lighting and depth. The final step was some colour changes, i gave a more yellow tint to the piece to show warmth... whereas the other side of the image where the doppleganger is, the saturation is lower, and you can see a red shaped pupil, with even more splatters. The splatters are to show corruption, whereas the light is to show good.
Faun
This image i've edited my model to be a modern-mythological creature of a faun. It's said that fauns where gods of the forest, and were first to help man when in need of guidance. Although they're kind-natured at heart, they were feared upon many as a single roar could kill hundreds. I've given my model pointed ears, long beard and horns. as it's said they lived in the forests, i have leaves in the background with a reflection of trees in his sunglasses where he's looking up.
The reason i chose a faun is because i feel like their importance to mythology is being pushed away, when there's actually multiple stories and lores about them. i thought it'd be interesting to manipulate as even though they look like harmless creatures, they strike fear into people and thats how i can consider a faun to be slightly horror/horrific.
This image i've edited my model to be a modern-mythological creature of a faun. It's said that fauns where gods of the forest, and were first to help man when in need of guidance. Although they're kind-natured at heart, they were feared upon many as a single roar could kill hundreds. I've given my model pointed ears, long beard and horns. as it's said they lived in the forests, i have leaves in the background with a reflection of trees in his sunglasses where he's looking up.
The reason i chose a faun is because i feel like their importance to mythology is being pushed away, when there's actually multiple stories and lores about them. i thought it'd be interesting to manipulate as even though they look like harmless creatures, they strike fear into people and thats how i can consider a faun to be slightly horror/horrific.
Faun progression
This is the stages i went through when creating the faun piece. Firstly i started off with the regular photograph that i had taken of my model. I then proceeded to pentool out the background and render my focal. To create the darkened atmosphere and skin tone, i duplicated the layer and put it on multiply, setting the saturation to its lowest, thus- creating the darkness. I then got a 3d model of a horn which is provided on deviant art in a pack for free in the resource section. I clipping masked the ear and used the clone tool to create the elf-like ear. After i had gathered the overall concept, it was time to add my "wow" factors. I added a glare to his sunglasses and a background with directional lighting. This was just to set a mood in the image if anything. After this, i added multiple selective colour layers and gradient maps, setting an atmosphere this time. I had also burned and dodged the image to improve the beard a little, giving him a little more facial hair on the cheeks. After this, i had painted some more of the beared using a white softbrush 2px. The reason i chose white was due to the directional lighting, as the beard is black it would make it stick out more and it'd be blended fine. To finish up, i sharpened the image and faded it to around 65% so it doesn't lose quality when sharpening.
This is the stages i went through when creating the faun piece. Firstly i started off with the regular photograph that i had taken of my model. I then proceeded to pentool out the background and render my focal. To create the darkened atmosphere and skin tone, i duplicated the layer and put it on multiply, setting the saturation to its lowest, thus- creating the darkness. I then got a 3d model of a horn which is provided on deviant art in a pack for free in the resource section. I clipping masked the ear and used the clone tool to create the elf-like ear. After i had gathered the overall concept, it was time to add my "wow" factors. I added a glare to his sunglasses and a background with directional lighting. This was just to set a mood in the image if anything. After this, i added multiple selective colour layers and gradient maps, setting an atmosphere this time. I had also burned and dodged the image to improve the beard a little, giving him a little more facial hair on the cheeks. After this, i had painted some more of the beared using a white softbrush 2px. The reason i chose white was due to the directional lighting, as the beard is black it would make it stick out more and it'd be blended fine. To finish up, i sharpened the image and faded it to around 65% so it doesn't lose quality when sharpening.