3D Character Faces 2022

With another year ending, time to reflect on progress. How about a collage of all CSD characters that have been rendered in 3D using Blender. Some haven’t been worked on for years and some are in their early stages, but these are the character models that currently exist and are decent enough to show.

Row 1 left – Agwilika Rhe
Reija, Syrsi (national guardian)
Anjil, Ayra Katrin sorcerer
Crinos Kylal, Leader of the Seven Star Nation
Row 2 left – Elehura
Tatyakori, the Divine Dragon
Salus Mudrah, the Immortal Emperor
Seros, Warrior in the Order of the Eclipse
Nuzoko, Healer and sister to Seros
Slyvette, Warrior in the Order of the Eclipse
Row 3 left and row 4 – Sheshai the Purifier
Sheshai, Healer in the House of the Hand
Miryin, Commander in the House of the Shield
Sheshai’s “Shadow”
Besuri, Second Commander in the House of the Shield
Azel, Warrior in the House of the Shield
Woklah, Warrior in the House of the Shield
Adri, Scout in the House of the Shield
Ulrae, Mentor in the House of the Hand
Saydah, Civilian and exile of Lukaudalin
Row 5 – Sharpheart
Kemadrel, Tanteru and Sha Rephart Council Lord
Lunark, Lurin and Sha Rephart Council Lord
Tatyarori, Dragon and Sha Rephart Council Lord
Besudores, Sha Rephart soldier, inspiration for Besuri
Lady Obmunjalae, Lurin in Gwil form, owner of the Voidplane’s largest vessel
Lukaud, Lurin and Lady Obmunjalae’s natural form
Yuzukh’ay, Suyen and adopted daughter of Lady Obmunjalae
Tisi, of an unnamed aquatic Voidplane native race
Upper right – Miscellaneous
The Red Triplets: Baku, Biri, and Bayzil
Pagol, Healer of distant past in Elehura’s world
Shekki, a long-necked ‘desert clan’ Gwil
Unnamed Suyen male
Unnamed “Forest” Gwil, some possible inspiration for the Red Triplets

So you can see there is a definite bias for Gwil/Dragon-type characters going on here (the lack of hair/fur to deal with probably helps), and I have yet to tackle a human 3D model. We’ll just have to see what new things 2023 may bring.

The Red Triplets and their Restaurant

Getting another post in here before the year ends, filling in more backstory to this trio.

The Red Triplets run the Three Leaf Restaurant (Ry Ajun Yumbeko in their Gwil language) in a small stopover along an inter-city road. The name comes from the leaf-like marking on their tail tips. And that there are three of them, obviously.

Baku (center) is wearing her hosting uniform, which was something I initially drew up… wow, ten years ago. Biri (left) is the primary cook, and Bayzil (right) helps out where she can. Having to cover her eyes puts some limits on what she can do. She has made various excuses for her skimpy outfit over the years. People have come from all over to seek her mystical abilities, so perhaps the look bolsters that reputation.

Anjil as an Akelikan

Anjil from Agwilika Rhe is one of my longest-existing characters. My earliest drawing of him is over 20 years old.

Recently I was thinking over how I haven’t modeled or drawn many gray skinned Gwil/Akelikan characters. As I thought over who I could work on next, I got the idea to change Anjil from a green Agwilikan to a gray Akelikan.

This would add a new dynamic to the story. During the time it takes place, there is a strong split between the Agwilikan and Akelikan populations, with most of the latter living in the downriver cities controlled by the Army King. Few Akelikans live in Agwilcress, and they have to live with a lot of distrust from their Agwilikan neighbors. Despite this, he became an adept and respected sorcerer of the Ayra Katrin.

I guess some new symbolism can be had with the two protagonists (him and Reija) working together.

The Red Triplets

They are not a part of any of the other mainline stories, but I have been putting some time into these characters so I decided to post about them.

The triplets started off as a red color variation of Sheshai the Purifier’s 3D model (at first nicknamed Sheshai-Hen, basically ‘Red Sheshai’), but they developed their own personalities over time.

The have a few anomalies separating them from regular Gwils. They don’t age and have narrow slit eyes and sharp teeth. Gwils are normally herbivores, but not in this trio’s case.

Baku on the left is the energetic, outgoing one. Bayzil in the middle has a quiet, mystical aura about her, and has a curse that requires her to wear a mask over her eyes. On the right…

…is Biri, the laid back and somewhat nerdy one, who also happens to be a butcher that takes her job quite seriously, as you can see by her gear.

Sha Rephart Island Pics

Adding on to the outside of the North Circle – a set of magic fueling stations for Voidplane vessels to charge their “batteries”. Even the massive Obmunjalae can stop here to top off.
Changes to the city docks. The light projection over this section is now a full hexagon shape instead of a half hexagon, and a frame goes around the outer edge to support it. This frame is also adorned with the national symbol. The port of entry building has changed a bit, and there is a spire on the roof that acts as an anchor point for the projection’s center point.
Added some detail to the inner courtyard of the apartment hexagons that sit at the top of the residential districts. Note that the light projections block light instead of emit it in one direction, so it appears that the area underneath then is dim. The effect is weaker at the edges so you can see extra light bleeding through around the perimeter.
An updated full view of the island. You can see a new circular path inside each of the social districts now, going off the style applied to the apartment courtyards.

Sha Rephart North Circle

The North Circle is the largest expansion of Sha Rephart island. Its central feature – literally and figuratively – is the Generator. This device absorbs large amounts of potential magical energy from the Voidplane and transfers it to an array of storage crystals enclosed in two rings of spheres. That energy can then be transferred into nodes within the island’s core or into vessels. There is a element of instability with this mass absorption of magic, which is why there is a large gap surrounding the Generator.

Outside of that gap is the largest park in the nation. It includes national botanical gardens as well as community gardens that citizens can apply to get a personal growing plot in. There are a trio of triangular bipyramids off to one side of the circle. These may be purely decorative.

And because it’s available, here is another shot of the entire island.

Shots of Sha Rephart Island

This view centers on the Residential District. The entrance to the Night District is on the far left, adjoined by the city wall. The city rail loop sits between the wall and the main house rows. Some new streets going between the house rows were added this version, each parallel to a rail station. The blue projections of the Social Districts and the gold projection of the national capital are seen in the back.
A view of Beach Island. There is a new building complex accessed from a long staircase seen on the left.
One of the city docks. The building in the middle is the port of entry into the city where arrivals and departures are screened.
A view from the entrance of the Night District looking back towards the city’s center. The twin stairways of the rail station are in view, along with a prototype of the vehicles that traverse the tracks. Behind is one of the new roads in the Residential District. These have stairs that travel up the terraced house rows. This particular road leads all the way up to one of the main complexes of the Social District.

Sha Rephart Island

Well, it’s been over ten years since the last time I made a post about Sha Rephart’s main island, though I have been working on it here and there.

The island is the core of Sha Rephart (“The Nation”). The structure bathed in golden light at the center is the national capital. It is surrounded by a fortress. The six lighter blue hexagons and the three-pointed areas between them make up the Social Districts. Adjoining those are the Residential Districts, made up of numerous rows of stock housing and four apartment complexes. Two Industrial Districts occupy the trapezoidal areas between the four gaps (and right now don’t really have anything in them), with the city docks attached to them on the east and west ends. A transport rail circuit and the city wall loop around the other areas.

Some expansions have been added to the island over time. To the northeast is a fountain (which needs a lot of further development). To the southeast is the Night District, a nocturnally themed sister to the main social districts.To the southwest is Beach Island, a massive attraction due to the rarity of large bodies of water on the Voidplane. To the northwest is crescent park and a large walled circle of void (its purpose to be determined).

Expect more details on areas of the island soon.

Obmunjalae: Kinetic Engines and the Magic of the Voidplane

The Voidplane is a place saturated with magic. The most common applications of the power to defy the physical rules of the universe are based on manipulating elementary components of reality. The most commonly mastered types of these are thermal energy, light, electromagnetism, object manifestation, and kinetic energy. Specific applications of these are often classified into elements such fire, lightning, water, blade, and wind, especially when they are used in combat.

So a random thought crossed my mind last night. Why do the Obmunjalae’s engines use air propulsion like an Earthly jet plane instead of utilizing direct kinetic magic?

The twin nacelles attached to the back of the vessel are its main propulsion. In the picture you can see that I changed them to be symmetrical on the front and back, removing the previous air outlet nozzle. The engines work by inducing magical kinetic energy directly into a material that is highly sensitive to that kind of magic. One added benefit of changing how the engines function is that they could be capable of reverse movement now.

I’ll have to consider if the openings for the lateral engines still serve a purpose. Perhaps the kinetic impulse generates waste heat that has to be vented. This also means I’ll probably have to update the Voidskimmer vessel again. I made complicated air inlet/outlet ducts on the sides, and now I have to consider if they are unnecessary.