I wasn't sure how to start a WIP for this contest, so I followed the lead of others.Thanks to Slayerazazel for leading the way.
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Link to Artstation Blog Entry: https://www.artstation.com/palex/blog/oQQ9/cc-digital-human-contest-2020-wip-the-smiling-knight

9/3/2020

Artstation WIP: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/AqQK4o

75% of original size (was 669x19) - Click to enlarge
75% of original size (was 669x19) - Click to enlarge
75% of original size (was 669x19) - Click to enlarge
75% of original size (was 669x19) - Click to enlarge

For this design, I've chosen the subject of 'The Smiling Knight' (Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire). No real description of the character exists that I'm aware of, except for the thoughts of Jamie Lannister who held him off in combat:

"The Mountain of my boyhood. Half as big but twice as mad."

I started by gathering references of images I had floating in my head of 'smiling' characters'. I chose the Joker (obviously), Bellamy (One Piece), and the Marquis of Death (Marvel). For the overall feel of the character, I want him to somewhat be able to exist in the Game of Thrones and One Piece universes. One Piece is a treasure trove for character design ideas.

Design Thoughts:

- Big, twisted Smile.
- Relatively slender.
- Probably wearing leather or chainmail (he was a bandit/outlaw).
- He is lost in insanity, and due to the era, probably has crooked yellow teeth.
- No Joker 'mouth scars'. Were his smile due to scars and not madness, it probably would have been referenced by Jamie.

The assets is currently wearing are place holders. I will attempt to fashion some fitting armor.
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Link to Artstation Blog Entry: https://www.artstation.com/palex/blog/DWW3/cc-digital-human-contest-2020-wip-the-smiling-knight-v2

9/4/2020

I've added some custom armor. It's original except for the waist piece. I was tempted to do hand-painted texture, but decided I should master that skill before using it in a contest. I adjusted the character's proportions, and added some SkinGen details, including scars and blood spatter as though from a recent battle. Changed hair, I may adjust it further. I shrunk the length of the teeth by maybe 10%.

75% of original size (was 669x19) - Click to enlarge75% of original size (was 669x19) - Click to enlarge75% of original size (was 669x19) - Click to enlarge

No major update, but I took some time today and refined his armor a bit. It will go through a few more passes before I'm happy with it.

75% of original size (was 669x19) - Click to enlarge

I decided to take the character into a more cartoonish, stylized direction. The previous version was fine, but I felt I was at a dead-end with how to go forward with the design. It would be difficult to describe the steps I took to achieve this, as it was a lot of trial and error. I basically made the character as thin as possible then smoothed out the deformations in Blender. I played with how far to exaggerated the head... I like that the smile and mouth are his most defining feature. Very exaggerated. This is also a learning experience for me, so I want to push designs as far as I can.

75% of original size (was 669x19) - Click to enlarge

75% of original size (was 669x19) - Click to enlarge

In the time I have left I'm going to be doing spin-offs of the characters I've developed, rather than start from scratch. Some may or may not make it into the contest submission.

I created this stylized Pennywise off the Smiling Knight prototype.

75% of original size (was 669x19) - Click to enlarge
75% of original size (was 669x19) - Click to enlarge

Real effective use of Reallusion Product Pipeline Products. Very impressive.

So good. Love the Pennywise.

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75% of original size (was 669x19) - Click to enlarge