Matthew Kozel - Character Art 2024

Ghost Rider Concept

This piece started out as an untextured concept of the character I had envisioned. The concept's aim was to blend elements of many different depicitons into something uniquely my own. Revisiting the piece allowed me to shift to Unreal 5 as my renderer (instead of my usual Marmoset) and add the fire particle effects.

Software used: Zbrush, Maya, Substance Painter, Marmoset Toolbag 4 (untextured concept), UE5 (textured concept)

I knew from the outset of the project that I would rather use particle effects for the fire instead of compositing fire onto a render in Photoshop. Looking back, I'm glad that I went this route because it allowed me to get some more practice with Niagra particles in UE5.

Blockout

After roughly placing down some landmark details, I immediately started defining his skull. I knew that the fire would immediately draw attention to it and it needed a nice level of detail. With it being just a concept piece, I went straight to working out a pose and began to dial in the details for his head and upper torso.

Once I was happy with the level of detail for the upper torso, I added some surface detailing to the pants and boots. It was around this time that I also decided on the upper chain's final position and posed it in a way as to convey motion.

Space Wolves Leviathan Dreadnought

This piece was my final for one of my Zbrush classes at SCAD. Our prompt was to create a mech or robot and I chose a leviathan dreadnaught from the Warhammer 30k universe themed to the Space Wolves legion. I wanted to be as accurate to the tabletop model as possible; so, many of my references were from the tabletop models as well as the model sprue itself.

Software used: Zbrush, Maya, Substance Painter, Marmoset Toolbag 4 

The choice to use a 30k model allowed me to use an older legion paint scheme. This more subdued paint scheme really let me play with overall dirt and grunge levels while still letting certain elements pop. The color palette came from referencing the hex codes of the Citadel paints used in the legion's standard colors.

Blockout

Just like always, my process is to start with a very rough blockout of the model's basic shapes and add on details in sections. For this particular sculpt, I started dialing in the details for the legs after I had the basic pieces assembled. From there, I worked my way up the torso chasis and over to the cannon and claw.

A large portion of this modeling process was used making sure the mechanical bits on the backside of the model all aligned perfectly with their real world counterparts. Once that was finished, I added some surface level damage to large flat surfaces on the model's front to accentuate it's combat role as a breacher.

Necron Scarab Overlord

For this piece, I set out to design a model that was uniquely my own by combining  new elements with the established visual identity of the Necrons from Warhammer 40k. The Necron race heavily draws upon early Mesopotamian and Egyptian imagery. My goal was to create a model that stayed true to these influences whil also adding new elements such as a scarab beetle body and khopesh arm weapons.

Software used: Zbrush, Maya, Substance Painter, Marmoset Toolbag 4

It was incredibly important for this piece to look at home in the Warhammer 40k universe. I had to make sure I followed and complimented the established design language of the Necron model line while also blending in new elements like the khopesh arm blades.

Blockout

After plotting out the general shape, I begin to experiment with different configurations for the wings and how they affect the overall silhouette. This piece changed a couple of times during the refining phase. My initial attempts were more Necron adjacent rather than looking like they fit the model line. When I was happy enough with the look of the sculpt, I moved on to defining more details.

The shape of the body was easy enough, but I knew I needed to nail the distinct look of the head to really get the feel of the model correct. Once that was accomplished, I added the khopesh arm cannons and started on my favorite part of this process - surface detailing and weathering. I really got to push the amount of wear and damage on this model. I needed to convey a being that's been buried and inert for thousands of years and capable of extreme self repair - albeit a repair system that may not be fully functional after so many years.

For the pose, I opted for one with a strong, commanding presence to make it seem as if he's leading his troops from the front.