Friday, March 6, 2015

Reworking the Feral Shadokesh


The files for the armored Shadokesh have been delivered and China is working their magic. 

Time to start on the Feral Shadokesh. I am no Zbrush expert so everything takes longer than it would if I had the same level of competence I currently posses with Rhino. I think this is the third Zbrush model I have worked on?

The base model is unposed and the arms and legs are still a work in progress. Once complete I will pose up six Ferals and add some interesting bits and details so that they are not just naked Shadokesh.   

What is a Feral Shadokesh? There is a segment of their population who through injury or birth defect, cannot join the Great Call, a mass melding of intellect that resets and reprograms their base drives and desires. Not so much a hive mind but a weekly brainwashing session meant to get the collective working together towards a single purpose. They emerge from the joining still very much individuals but all now mirror the primary desire of the collective.

When a Shadokesh cannot hear the Great Call, they begin to revert to a far more primal mindset. Over time they become feral; Wild beasts with a rather ill temper.


The four bones protruding from their back are the first knuckle of what was once a vestigial set of wings. The Shadokesh being ultimately pragmatic and utilitarian, clip the rather useless wings at the first knuckle. They keep the first bone because it contains fluids and function like a human’s inner ear, assisting with balance. 


I went a bit more exaggerated on the musculature than I felt comfortable with but sculpting for miniatures requires large exaggerated details or they will not ‘read’ in the final production piece.
 
 

If you ever wondered what a Shadokesh looks like without clothing or armor, here you go…



 


5 comments:

  1. You have an eye for this 3D work my man. Really looking forward to the forces of this faction and the Stug hovertank concept. The armor design looked great in the conceptual renders and the societal ideais great - kind of like the race of warriors in DS9 if they did not get their 'dose' would lose intelligence and a self control; it's a great scenario builder for combat missions against stranded Shadokesh :)

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    1. Agreed!

      It also allows for gamers to fight their own kind.

      When I created the Eisenkern faction I did so with the thought that each player represent a 'household' within the Eisenkern parent faction. That way you could make your troopers unique and still remain true to the game. It also allows for fights Eisenkern vs Eisenkern.

      The Shadokesh presented a problem, being mush more a tight knit society. There are two way to handle Shadokesh vs. Shadokesh. The first is separation by distance. Once a Shadokesh force moves out of range of the Great Call, they are no longer attuned to that group and are viewed as an enemy clan, even if they came from the same clan. The second is Feral vs Non Feral, both are viable options that will allow players to fight with players that own the same core army sets.

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  2. How much taller are Shadokesh than Eisenkern stormtroopers in Armour?

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  3. Hello Dai, they run anywhere from 10-18mm taller than the Eisenkern Stormtroopers depending on their pose.

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  4. Looking at these guys makes me think that their Leviathans are going to be beyond wierd.

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