Siege of the Burning badlands 2022
Siege of the Burning Badlands is a large-scale action scene set in a scorched desert canyon, depicting a desperate standoff between three heroes and a colossal, war-horned titan leading an army of desert beasts.
My Role
Sole Creator: Responsible for the full creative pipeline from concept ideation to final polished illustration.
Responsibilities:
Concept & Narrative Direction
Developed the idea of a three-hero formation facing down a supernatural desert titan.
Designed the composition to create a triangular eye-flow: heroes → titan → burning horizon.
Blended stylized fantasy with sci-fi western elements to push visual world-building.
Character Design & Modeling
Designed, sculpted, and modeled all three hero characters, each with unique silhouettes, gear, and fighting styles:
Micheal with his armored tech suit and energy weaponry.
Teodoro with his outlaw cloak, red scarf, and revolver.
Samantha with feline agility and dual melee weapons.
Created the towering desert titan, combining Minotaur-like power with mystical energy cores.
Creature & Enemy Design
Designed and sculpted the creature horde emerging behind the titan.
Ensured clear shape language and varied sizes to support depth and scale.
Rigging & Posing
Fully rigged all characters, creatures, and the massive titan using custom control setups.
Posed each hero in a dynamic standoff stance to emphasize tension and readiness.
Gave the titan an imposing, aggressive posture with a glowing charged fist.
Environment Creation
Modeled the canyon rocks, scattered desert flora, and dry vegetation.
Created stylized cacti and rock formations to frame the image and direct the viewer’s eye.
Added scorched earth textures and embers to imply recent destruction.
Texturing & Lookdev
Painted stylized textures for armor, fabrics, skin, horns, and creature hides.
Added heat-scorched materials, glowing emissive energy, and dust-worn surfaces for desert realism.
Lighting & Rendering
Built a high-contrast lighting setup with warm firelight, evening sun, and blue energetic highlights.
Used rim lights to isolate silhouettes for clarity in the chaotic action.
Integrated atmospheric haze and ground dust to create depth and scale.
FX & Cinematic Details
Added fire plumes, glowing magic/energy charges, sparks, and heat-distortion.
Included dynamic motion cues—tilted poses, flying dust, and drifting embers—to reinforce action.
Compositing & Final Polish
Performed color grading to balance warm and cool tones and highlight focal points.
Enhanced depth of field, bloom, glow trails, and volumetric effects for cinematic punch.
Layered smoke, ash, and ember particles to unify the scene’s atmosphere.
Software Used
3DS Max, Maya (Rigging and Posing), Corona Renderer, Substance Painter, TopoGun 2, After Effects, Photoshop
