The Migration 2022
The Migration is a fully realized fantasy illustration depicting a massive herd of stylized prehistoric-like proboscideans on the move. This piece was designed to capture the emotional scale, motion, and environmental storytelling of a great migratory march, blending scientific grounding with a warm, cinematic art direction.
This scene represents my personal interpretation of the Grootslang—a legendary creature from African mythology said to be an ancient elephant-serpent hybrid. I approached the design with a grounded, creature-art sensibility, imagining what a real, herd-forming species inspired by the Grootslang myth might look like.
My Role
Sole Creator: Responsible for concepting, modeling, rigging, texturing, lighting, rendering, and compositing for all characters.
Responsibilities:
Concept & Design
Developed the overall scene direction: a herd traveling together across a sunlit plain, emphasizing family structure, scale, and movement.
Designed stylized anatomical variations including armor-like dorsal plates, exaggerated tusks, and unique skin texturing to create a distinct species identity.
Modeling & Sculpting
Sculpted all adult and juvenile creatures from scratch.
Created variants for age, scale, and proportions to populate a believable herd.
Texturing & Shading
Painted skin albedo, roughness, and patterning to reflect a mix of prehistoric grit and stylized appeal.
Developed subtle dust-covered materials to unify the herd within its environment.
Rigging & Animation Posing
Fully rigged adults and calves for flexible posing.
Crafted gentle locomotion poses suggesting weight, motion, and herd behavior.
Environment & Lighting
Built a warm, grassy savanna environment to complement the migration theme.
Added atmospheric haze, distant mountains, and dust layers to reinforce depth and scale.
Used directional natural lighting to highlight the herd’s forms and emphasize their size.
Rendering & Compositing
Composed the shot to guide the viewer’s eye from foreground juveniles to the towering adults behind them.
Final color grading unified the palette with soft yellows, greens, and earth tones.
Software Used
3DS Max, Maya (Rigging and Posing), Corona Renderer, Substance Painter, TopoGun 2, After Effects
