I decided to catalogue my workflow on this portfolio project I aptly titled "The Deep". I wanted this to be another creature project but this time my desires lied in pushing my artistic ability further than the more solo creature pieces I've done in the past. Thus I got to experiment with new techniques in ZBrush that assisted in making, what I would consider to be a successful monster piece.
I took inspiration from Pascal Blanche', a wonderful CG Artist you could easily find plastered all over ArtStation (and rightfully so). I tried to use Color Range selection methods to really amplify the saturation levels of this image which then further amplifies the Bio-Illuminescense of the tentacles. This is done by utilising a contrasting color palette mixed with the genuine atmosphere of the ocean, further extenuated by some dust and particle compositing work.
What I wanted to accomplish with this Photoshop paint over was to really sell the "texturized" look of all of the components of the creature piece. Keeping everything harmonised but still capture the uniqueness of each material in the objects. I didn't go in with much of a plan in color palette which may have held me back direction wise, this is something I'd like to improve in future portfolio pieces.
The images above detail my sculpting process which differed heavily from any piece I've done in the past. I focused on multiple subtool sculpting; a main body, sea shells and tentacles. I also played around with transparent materials within ZBrush itself to get the bioilluminance on the rear tentacles working. As you can see, despite the consistent brush usage between the subtools, there was a variety of Alpha Brushes used to gain different levels of detail.
