Update 9 - 13 April

After this week's modelling, the dragon is almost finished and ready to be imported to Mudbox.

The topology of the head was prepared for adding the four larger spikes shown in the concept design. Although the polygons were already quite dense in this area, it proved very difficult to find enough space to add these in, and as a result, some of the vertices are crammed into very small areas.

The polygons were arranged and shaped to fit the desired size of the horns, and turned around so that an extrusion would follow the neckline.

The shape of the horns was made using the line tool with smooth curves, and as the base of the horn was prepared, the base polygon was extruded along the line.

The horn after extrusion. The shape was altered separately to fit better.

Final layout of the head with added horns.

Head with turbosmooth.

Next on the list to do, and the final piece to the puzzle, was creating the wings. The wings were fairly tricky, and although steps of the same process could be repeated for many parts, such as the wing membrane, there were parts that proved more difficult than others.

Extrusions of the wing arm. This made up the basic shape of the wing and would provide the topology needed.

 

 

The wing "fingers" were extruded from separate groups of polygons with the same length in between. The membrane seen modelled in this picture was made by extruding an inset along the arm, and welding the vertices together to create a solid, narrower part.

The membranes between the fingers were created generally in the same way as explained above, but because of their small distance, the Bridge tool could be used to connect them easily. The Bridge was done along an inset running along both sides of the fingers, allowing for the membrane to be thinned than the spikes. The innermost polygons of each membrane, however, could not be bridged or connected the same way, but had to be welded together separately.

The Bridge method worked well until the final stretch of wing, where I had to extrude the membrane bit by bit and weld the parts individually to the arm. The wing would connect to the dragon's back.

 

The wing was finally connected to the arm and the dragon, and details could be added. The arm was made thicker at the base to allow for muscular structure to be added, and spikes were added to the end of each of the fingers.

Final screen-cap of the dragon with turbosmooth.

Dragon from different angle.

Although the dragon is basically finished and ready to be exported to Mudbox, there are a few minor tweaks I would still like to do to it. For example, the snout is still a bit broad and short, and the wings are too straight for my liking. Hopefully I'll be able to bend them into a more relaxed pose without messing them up!