Winter Lion
The premise of this piece is a lion-guardian character protecting his forest in the winter season. The lion has a growth of roots around his torso with large leaves/wings sprouting from his shoulders.
The lion and roots were initially modeled in low resolution then detail and definition were added in Mudbox. The models were textured using a combination of hand drawn details and manipulated photographs. The lion's mane was created using various CV curves and converting these into 'Maya hair'. Sub surface scattering was used on the leaves and body to soften the shadows as if it were fur and a final gather render was filtered in to improve the look of the shading.
The final composition was put together in Photoshop, combining each render to improve and adjust the colour of the piece. The background consists of several images of a snowy scene stitched together and blurred out of focus.
