Xenokeryx 2019 https://www.artstation.com/artwork/kDKJ0A
Xenokeryx 2020 https://www.artstation.com/artwork/DAgJ40
After doing the Masterclass at Lightbox Academy, the magazine Renderout! reached out to me to talk about the process I follow when creating a prehistoric creature.
When I do palaeoart, the pre-production is the most important step. I talked about scientific research and anatomy but also about the software I use to bring them to life.
Renderout! is the main digital magazine for Spanish speakers and I was so glad to share my workflow with them. Thank you Marco Delgado for the opportunity!
You can download the latest magazine for free and read the article here (page #96).
Earlier this month, I was honoured to do a Masterclass at Lightbox Academy, sponsored by NVIDIA. I enjoyed so much talking about my professional experience and the audience was so participative. 🤖
Thank you Juan Nieto for the invitation and to everybody who followed the masterclass, we had so much fun!
A summary of the Masterclass (in Spanish) can be found here:
https://lboxacademy.es/masterclass/masterclass-lookdev-david-blaya/
There is also video with the interview:
https://lboxacademy.es/masterclass/masterclass-lookdev-david-blaya/
¡Hey! Este sábado 3 a las 11:00 AM estaré en Lightbox Academy hablando sobre "Lookdev en grandes producciones" 🎬
Podréis verla online, aunque me encantaría que vinieseis a la masterclass en directo si estáis por Madrid 🤩
https://lboxacademy.es/masterclass/masterclass-lookdev-david-blaya/
02 Scutosaurus karpinskii
03 Rugops primus
Once we have the skeletal system of our creature, it's time to put the muscles. Just like the bones, I had other well-known ruminants as reference like horses and giraffes.
I did not draw all the muscles and many of them are in a wrong position, but this part is an useful draft for putting all together in ZBrush.
Go check the original project to see the final model:
All we know about xenokeryx amidalae is thanks to the fossil remains.
The skull is a well-known part but there are not many fragments of the post-cranial region. For this time, I decided to compare with more close relative creatures. The body structure of the ruminants doesn't change pretty much between species.
However, I warn you that I did not found many information from this, I made a bit of speculation so is clearly possible that the real skeleton was different. Next episode: the muscles!
Go check the original project to see the final model:
Hey everyone!
Once we have covered all the information, it's time to start with the ZBrush modeling. The skull is the most recognizable piece and sometimes is the most common measure tool for keep the accurate proportions.
When we are modeling a living animal is easier to cover good references, but if we are reconstructing an extinct animal this gets to be serious. In this case, the species is a mammal with very well-know relatives, so I took as main reference one of the two living giraffids: okapia johnstoni.
I had some trouble with the occipital because there is no remains and is an important point where the three appendages are fused.
I'll keep you updated, hope you like it!
Go check the original project to see the final model:
