So, as I promised, this blog is going to follow my progress as I create assets for a 3D CGI graphic novel. I don't know yet whether I will use them primarily as still images, or if I will use them to make a (reviled) motion comic. The adaptation is based on material that we hope to turn into a film, so a full-out animation would probably be superfluous.

To describe the project a little bit, the novel is the first in a series that examines a supernatural force of evil who stalks troubled souls and forces them into choosing between their lives and their souls. The novel was a collaborative process--my co-writer had the initial idea for a film, set mainly in the present. The novel traces the character, named Ferguson, back to his origins in ancient Ireland, but is mostly filtered through the experiences of an anti-hero known as the Brehon, a masked justice sent by King Fergus on a dangerous mission.

The character of Ferguson is the product of a witch and the devil, and the novel traces his early years, from infancy to young adulthood. The character I am currently working on is Ferguson as he will appear at the end of the novel: larger and more muscular than average, and with a face mostly obscured by barbed hairs that hide all but his cruel mouth. As you'll see in the render below, I have not worked on the hair system yet, nor does he have clothing yet. I've begun separating the parts that will make up the clothing and the hair, but I realized that the way I was picturing the characters clothing was as it would appear in the second novel--so I need to do a little more thinking about what he will be wearing at this point in time. The character has been sculpted and painted in Autodesk Mudbox.

You'll notice that he doesn't have any eyes and the top of his face is rather unfinished--that is because his eyes, etc., will never be seen.