The completion of the gladiator's 3d model

     Modeling the gladiator was not an easy task. From retopoligizing the head, modeling the body from rough primitives to making him look like the way I intended to was a slow and long process. Since my gladiator is quite muscular, I wanted to make sure the volumes but also the proportions were right. After all, his body will be seen a lot since I was not planning on adding heavy armor.

After that, I went in and gave him individual toes, Individual strands of hair, and also eyebrows that are not welded in. 

At this stage, there has been a change in the design, since I was planning on making him have long hair, but I realized that would be too complicated, so I ended up making him a ponytail. 

Modeling the clothes and the armor was not hard at all. I made use of the skills I have acquired retopologizing the head, while also keeping an eye on the topology underneath. Then I cut the body parts that were not going to be seen and welded everything together. For the feet and hand armor, I have made a copy of the body part underneath, added a shell modifier, and added form after. 

I am really happy with how the gladiator ended up looking like, and I think it embodies quite nicely the initial image I had in my head at the start of the project.  

Wekk 17 - Virtual Tour – The Natural History Museum

 For this task, we had to take a virtual tour of a museum, find dome interesting skulls or skeleton, make some preparatory sketches them move to the final piece.

After taking the tour, I was able to find some specimens that caught my eye and made some quick sketches.

For these sketches, I have used a 2B pencil and a white one. I ended up choosing the last sketch and I moved on to the final piece.

I started with the sketch, trying to refine it as much as possible and get right the overall shape.

After that, I used some graphite powder to get a nice starting shade and also determinate the tonal value of the object, making sure to erase the highlights. 

The next step was starting the shading process, which was not difficult at all, but it took a long time since the skull was quite detailed.

In order to make the highlights more visible and pop out, I ended up giving the skull a darker background.

I am very happy with the final result, and since this was the first time drawing a skull, I think I did a great job.

For the shading I used a variety of pencils: starting with an F, an HB and a B for the highlighted parts, ending with a 2B, a 4B, and an 8B for the darker ones.

Week 16- Composition and Compositional Principles - Still Life

 For this task, I was more than thrilled that we had the option to choose colour pencils. I have not done a colour pencil in such a long time, so that is what I chose to use. 

I started with the thumbnail sketches, trying to decide which composition works best for my drawing, I wanted to keep these simple and easy to read. 

I ended up choosing the first one, and then I started sketching the final piece. I wanted to make sure that the ellipses were right but also the perspective for the wooden box.

After that I started colouring the objects, starting with the one furthest away and making my way to the closest one. I have used tons of different shades for every element, which gave them the realistic look I was aiming in the first place.

Also, I made sure that the colours from one object will realistically reflect on the other.

final piece

In the end, I can confidently say that I am very pleased with the result, but I think that the ellipses of the grey dial got messed up in the process of shading.

Start of the Gladiator Project

Designing a gladiator is not an easy task. Back in those days, in order to be able to fight like that, you had to be in very good physical condition. That means that when I actually get to model it, I will have to reflect that.

Reference is key, so I started looking for it right after I found out about this project. From anatomical, sculpts and drawings, face models, to clothing. I have to have everything mapped out, so when I get to actually making him, I will have an already well-defined idea of how I want him to look like. I chose my gladiator to be male, seeing this project as an opportunity to learn more about the muscle structures of the body. 

As for the face, I have already mapped out a picture for him. Looked through tons of photos, and I decided to make him a mix of multiple people, taking the nose from one guy, the lip shape from another, the eyebrows shape from another, and the semi profile from another. I want him to be unique, and that seems the best way to achieve that.

As for the clothes, I am not planning on going crazy with them. I want to showcase the musculature, so I'm thinking about maybe a shoulder pad, some fabric around his waist, maybe some slight armor on the lower part of his legs.

Week 15- Shading techniques

 This week's task was about producing 2 different final pieces. One making different objects, each with a different shading technique, and one that combines them all into one piece.

 I was really excited about these 2 drawings since I used to experiment with different shading techniques a lot in the past. So first thing I did after I saw the task was going to look for objects in my house since I needed a lot of them. 

The first one I did, the orange, was done using hatching, the technique I usually use for my drawings, so it was very intuitive.

The banana was done using cross-hatching, another technique that I personally like using.

The third was done with graphite and the technique was rendering. I have never used this technique and I have never used graphite as well. Considering that, I am surprised that I was able to pull it off, but there is still room for lots of improvement.

Final piece

The mug was done with scribbling, and I can say that really am not a fan of this technique whatsoever, but it was a challenge experimenting.

The crystal was done with stippling, another technique that I have never used before, but I can say that I am quite happy with how it turned out.

The speaker was done using circling, and I am a big fan of the texture that it created.

The candle was done by smudging the pencil, and I find this technique very effective for the glossiness of the glass. 

For these drawings I have used a variety of pencils: F, B, 2B, 4B, and 6B and graphite for the plant.

 Moving on to the other task, I picked up a statue that I had at home a banana and an orange. 

As per usual, for the sketch, I made sure that the symmetry was right and that the other objects were right from a perspective stand view.

For the background, I have used graphite, for the statue I found circling very suiting, giving it the impression of roughness that it had in real life. 

final piece

For the banana, I have used crosshatching and for the orange hatching but also stippling, giving it an organic feel.

Overall I am happy with how this piece turned out, but I think I could have added more lines to the banana, to make the lighting scenario more evident.

For this drawing I have used an HB, a B, a 2B, a 4B, and a 6B

Week 11- Value Range and shading

 For this task, we were required to draw a still life with objects of different tonal value. I searched my house and I was able to find a black big candle, a white clock, and a slightly darker shell. After that, I made some thumbnail sketches to help me with producing the final piece.

After that, I moved to the final piece. I started with the sketch making sure the symmetry of the objects was right and also the ellipses. For the shell, I spent more time making sure the perspective was right. 

Then I started the shading process, as always starting with the object that is the furthest, and then moving on to the closer ones.

Since the lighting was coming from the top left side of the objects I tried to make sure that the shadows were cast correctly.

I also made sure to add more detail to the objects closer to the eye, in this example the shell.

final piece

In the end, I wanna say that I am quite pleased with the result. The objects really show that they have different tones, but I think I could have added more detail to the piece.

For the candle, I have used a 2b, 4b, and 6b pencil, and for the other two I have used a Hb, a B a 2B, and an F  pencil.