Gossamer Evolution 2017-2023

Gossamer is a long-running personal character project that I’ve revisited and refined over the years as my 3D skills have progressed. The character—a mechanically enhanced prehistoric giant bear fitted with industrial drill gauntlets and a furnace-powered flame system—became one of my primary test subjects for learning the entire 3D production pipeline across multiple software packages.

This project represents a full evolution study. Early versions of Gossamer were first rendered in KeyShot in 2017, when the character was initially concepted. I’ve deliberately included these early renders alongside the newer work to visually document how my modeling, sculpting, grooming, texturing, lighting, and rendering abilities have dramatically improved over time. What began as a simple idea has grown into a fully realized, cinematic character.

My Role

Sole Creator: Everything (Design, Modeling, Sculpting, Texturing, Grooming, Rigging, Lighting, Rendering, Compositing)

Responsibilities:

Concept & Design

• Designed Gossamer from scratch, exploring multiple silhouettes, mood boards, and stylized proportions.

• Developed the visual logic behind his furnace-powered flame anatomy, exhaust patterns, and mechanical augmentations.

• Evolved the design from simple early shapes in Zbrush, (2017 KeyShot era) into a polished, detailed creature.

Modeling & Sculpting

• Created all high-poly and low-poly models, including creature anatomy and hard-surface components.

• Re-sculpted and remastered the model multiple times as my anatomical understanding and sculpting workflow improved.

• Built industrial elements such as the drill arms, exhaust unit, clamps, metal braces, and furnace pack.

Texturing & Materials

• Painted all textures in Substance Painter and other tools, moving from simple base paints to complex, layered materials.

• Created believable fur breakup, charred metal, soot buildup, heat discoloration, and weathered steel.

Fur Grooming

• Used Gossamer to study fur systems across several software packages over multiple years.

• Progression includes:

  • 2017: basic polgon painting (KeyShot era)

  • Mid iterations: polygon painting, then used of stylized fur alphas and normal maps.

  • Latest versions: Fur cards with clumping, breakup, density variations, and directional flow, still experimenting with better work flows via plugins.

Rigging & Deformation

• Built a full custom rig for animation and posing:

  • IK/FK hybrid limbs

  • Shoulder and torso deformations

  • Rotation joints for the drill gauntlets

• Used for battle poses, action scenes, and cinematic illustrations.

Lighting, Rendering & FX

• Rendered early versions in KeyShot (2017) and later versions in fully featured render engines with cinematic workflows.

• Developed dramatic fire, smoke, embers, sparks, and heat-distortion FX.

• Experimented with multiple lighting moods: infernos, dark forests, industrial wastelands, and character-sheet studio setups.

• Improved compositing over time with color grading, glow shaping, VFX passes, and atmospheric layers.

Software Used

3DS Max, Maya (Rigging and Posing), Corona Renderer, Substance Painter, TopoGun 2, Keyshot, After Effects, Photoshop