Baba Yaga

I was working on wooden logs for the past few weeks. Since I wasn't entirely satisfied with them I had to redo them a couple of times. Now when I'm more or less happy, I can focus on details like doors and windows. By working with logs for soo long I come up with a great system to create a wood pattern, this way I was able to work quicker and more efficient. I use Mallet Fast brush to soften the edges, then clay brush to make a base texture, Standard brush for deeper cracks and Rake for multiple soft cracks. The last step is to smoothe the surface a bit with a Trim Smooth Border brush. I also added some Slavic pagan signs by making an alpha texture in Photoshop and dragging it on to the object with a standard brush. Like with logs  I made a low poly first in 3Ds Max.                                                             ...

I created a list of parts I need for each model, so I could finally start modelling. To make the job easier I created a basic, simple model of the house, which is going to work as a template for a final build. To save some Uv space I decided to make a model out of modular parts. I am going to create multiple versions of each component, so I will be able to get some texture and shape diversity. The bottom part will be made from long, wooden logs, the tower will be wooden as well, but logs will be placed vertically to get some variety in lines. I decided that I will make 4 different versions of logs for the bottom part and 2 for the top. I come up with a workflow which is efficient and easy to use. The first step is to create a low poly version of the object in 3Ds Max, next is unwrapping and exporting to ZBrush. In ZBrush, I can quickly subdivide the model and sculpt the high poly version to get a normal and ambient occlusion map. The last step is texturing in Substance Painte...

It was time to get Baba Yaga also come to life. In my mind, she was always a typical old lady living in the woods, far away from people. I wanted her to look mad, insane and obnoxious. I started to work on a concept by gathering some photos to make a moodboard. Next, I started to work on a t-pose. I used 3D.sk website to get some good photos of a human body, to make sure that proportions going to be correct. I picked 2 images and mixed them to get the shape I want. Her body will be skinny, old and wrinkled. She's going to wear dirty, worn-out clothes and a bottles with undefined substances around her waist. I also started to work on her face, I wanted her facial details to be sharp and pointy, to make her look more evil. To show her unnatural powers and connection with the dark spirits I gave her goat horns. The final concept is not fully finished yet, but I set up colours and a pose. Trello Board Mood board reference: custom-gwent.com (n.d.)...

Within the strong idea in my mind, I started to gather a lot of references. I focused on a house first, so I was searching for the concepts already made by other artists, to give myself a starting point. However, I was also looking for photos of existing buildings and objects. At that time, I was considering the style that I am going for, and I decided to keep the textures quite realistic, but at the same time a bit stylised with the proportions and overall look. I created 2 mood boards: one with pieces of art made by other artists and the second one with existing objects I found. The main building is inspired by the old, wooden log cabins, plenty of them can be found in the small villages in Poland. I would like to add more personality to it by including details like hanging dry herbs, pieces of cloth, skulls, and torches. I want this place to fill somewhat neglected and controlled at the same time. I begin the concept art creation by study the overall silhouette of the bui...

When I was younger, I used to read a lot of legends and tales about fantasy creatures. I was particularly interested in Slavic mythology, ritual and beliefs. Then I started to play The Witcher, game based on a book written by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. This story was full of  Slavic tales and legends, so I was inspired to create something related to this. When I was a kid, I went across a very famous tale about an old, grumpy woman with supernatural powers called Baba Yaga. Origin of this story is not exactly clear, probably it came all the way from Russia. However, it seems like a lot of different cultures have a creature similar to Baba Yaga in their mythology. For example, Germans have Frau Holle, Italians Befana, and English Black Annis. But there is something special and creative in Slavic stories, so Baba Yaga doesn't have an ordinary house in a forest, she lives in a house on chicken legs, which she can move wherever she wants to.  I remind myself of this s...