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The Barbarian - WorkDocs
🕑 Added 2020-03-15 18:04:25 +0000 UTCBackground info on The Barbarian project
Synopsis
This series is set in ancient Rome, during the annual gladiatorial games at the Colosseum. The young emperor - a spoiled and bored, ill-mannered little brat – shows little interest in all the gruesome entertainment in the arena. But once informed about a specific quality of one of the outstanding fighters, his mood suddenly changes. An official testifies that this barbarian gladiator is astonishingly well-endowed. The hung champion is summoned to the palace later that day, where an impatient emperor – dying of curiosity and always eager for some fun - orders the reluctant fighter to fall on his knees and remove his loincloth. The Barbarian bluntly refuses. The enraged emperor - never been refused before - slaps his face. When the gladiator strikes back, all hell breaks loose. The whole court is in terror, but the Barbarian doesn’t even blink. He is more than well-endowed to give the young brat a lesson he’ll never forget.
In the Add-Ons section of this project, we’ll go back in time, to the early years of the Barbarian, to see how this hunky hero became horse hung.
NOTE: You can download a PDF version of this WorkDoc at the bottom of this post. This was made by Andrea, and you can find a complete version of his beautiful project on the Priapus Encyclopedia page.
Chapter 1 - The Gladiatorial School
We start the series with the unexpected visit of an official from the imperial court at the gladiatorial school. It’s a large vaulted room where the fighters are preparing for battle. I imagine that such a place must have been a dark, damp, and noisy space, somewhere beneath or nearby the Colosseum. On the sides of the room are large cages for the prisoners and ferocious animals that are to be slaughtered during the games. In the middle of the room are large tables with weapons and meals for the fighters. A fertility altar in the back corner is there to ensure the fighter’s strength and victory. Examples of graffiti from Pompeii on the walls praise and mock the champions of the day. It’s here that we meet the Barbarian and where one of the major wonders of the world is fully exposed for the first time. That is, to the Romans. Not to us. Not yet…
For this chapter, I had several scenes from different movies and TV series like Gladiator and Spartacus in mind. The setting is also inspired by the painting Gladiators Before Appearing in the Arena, by Stefan Bakalowicz (1891). The model for the room was based on a preset of the MICK (Medieval Interior Construction Kit).
Some render tests of the characters
Gladiators - Some sources I used to get a picture of the fighters and their world
Add-Ons Series
In the Add-Ons section of this project, we’ll go back in time, to the early years of the Barbarian, to see how this hunky hero became horse hung. Legend has it that, while hunting far away in a dark forest, he found a small temple in the woods where he was seduced by a mythical creature. The loss of his virginity in an eventful amorous encounter was rewarded with a massive member.
The setting for this part of the story is a small round temple in the middle of a dark forest. A younger version of our hero stumbles by accident on the shrine while hunting a fawn. It seems to be dedicated to an equine spirit, symbolised by many horses depicted in bas-relief on the walls, surrounding a small round altar in the middle.
My first experiment for these settings turned into a very dark place. Not something one would associate with a mythological creature from the Roman era. Perhaps more the stage for a knight or explorer, so I’ll keep this one for another project. The second version turned out much lighter and more classic, fitting much better into the style of the rest of the series.
The round temple is based on The Heart of Darkness model by the 3D artist called Stonemason. The sculptures are Sketchfab models of the famous Elgin Marbles. The drum in the middle is also a scan from the British Museum; the spirit is a centaur version of the Maxx character.
Chapter 2 – The Colosseum
This week, I started to work on the chapter where the gladiators enter the arena of the Colosseum.
It’s the place where we meet the second main character of the series, the ill-mannered and mischievous little emperor. I imagine he’s something like a young Caligula, Nero, or Elagabalus, the three most notorious characters in a long line of mad and dysfunctional Roman emperors. This emperor is universally feared and despised, and everybody at court is hoping that someday somebody is brave and bold, or desperate enough to bring him down. That day finally arrived on the opening day of the gladiatorial games.
The basis for this setting is a model of the Colosseum by a 3D artist called Protozoon. It looks great, a complete reconstruction of the entire building with lots of details, but it’s very big and not very practical to use. It took me a long time to adjust it for the project, adding many more details inspired by historical paintings and scenes from the movie Gladiator. Not exactly my favourite movie, but the images of the arena and especially the main gate and imperial box were very useful to me.
In the end, the whole setting turned into one of the biggest models I have used, bigger than the original one, reaching the limits of what the system can handle and making rendering very difficult. Perhaps I have overdone it a bit for a stage that is just used for a short introduction of the emperor, but it’s wonderful to have a chance to have a closer look at this magnificent and at the same time gruesome building.
Chapter 3 – The Palace
In the third part of this series, we arrive at the royal palace where the champions of the gladiatorial games are received for an audience with the emperor. They’re welcomed by one of the top court officials who, fed up with his master’s cruelty and living in constant fear, is eagerly awaiting the moment to be able to topple the regime. Knowing his emperor’s inclinations and the workings of his perverted mind, it seems that with the arrival of the fearless Barbarian, his opportunity to take decisive action has finally arrived.
The settings for the large formal marble halls of the palace are inspired by 19th-century drawings and more recent digital reconstructions of the imperial palace on the Palatine Hill, Nero’s Golden House, and the Baths of Caracalla.
The many sculptures I used are collected from several 3D printing marketplaces, of which the Scan The World project is one of the most interesting at the moment. It’s an ambitious community-built initiative whose mission is to share 3D printable sculptures and cultural artefacts, producing an extensive collection of free-to-download digital cultural heritage. Many scans are of exceptional quality, very manageable and perfect for my projects. Very interesting, and if you're interested in ancient sculptures, you should really have a look at this wonderful page!
Some render tests for this part of the series.
The Throne Room
The Atrium
Related sections of this project:
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Comments
Priapus of Milet
Well, it takes a while to get the hang of it, but once you know how it all works, it's no longer that difficult. It takes some practice and a lot of patience ;o) You can get an idea of the process by a few images at the bottom of this post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/workdocs-past-8127172
capybara123
it’s really not an easy work for these ancient scenes. And i always wondering how you made all these happening. Amazing ! so deep into the middle aged times .
Priapus of Milet
Thanks Nicholas, hope you'll enjoy the series :o)
Nicholas Witkamp
David, that sure is a very good sign! I am taking my time for your already completed stories. Every time
Priapus of Milet
Hi Nicholas, and hope that's a good sign ;o)
Nicholas Witkamp
Well.....that left me speechless, did not see that coming!
Sunnie Chiang
Hope there will be some fantastic giant body tease and worship by small guys :)
Priapus of Milet
Thanks Sunnie, I'm sure there'll be a big gladiator among them in the arena ;o)
Sunnie Chiang
Incredible idea! I hope that the storyline includes my favourite giant-small theme (large height difference) and some giant-being-controlled scene, as the story developed. Great job and you are alway my fav art creator!
Priapus of Milet
No, just experimenting with the render, light and texture settings. It's an ongoing process ;o)
Bourlet
Do you change the render application ? The first character shading seems different, but stay cute.
Priapus of Milet
Not sure if it's too much, but 3D is not a cheap hobby. I guess it's also quite expensive to create these models, so the price is fair. Once you have a few good models, you can use them for everything.
binary
Did you spend too much on customization, or were you able to find free resources for genitals, skins etc?
Priapus of Milet
No, only had a quick look at Blender and seemed quite good to me. But I stared with C4D many years before, so that's what I'm used to and it's far more advanced Blender. I use DAZ models, so the quickest tool to shape, morph and pose the characters is in DAZ Studio, it contains many shape & pose presets and controls that don't work in other systems...
binary
Thanks, have you used Blender? Why you chose DazStudio over other 3D tools?
Priapus of Milet
Thanks, and I do hope this project is going to work.
Priapus of Milet
Hi Greg, thanks for that! Yes, that sculpture is becoming a theme, announcing that Eros is in the house ;o)
Priapus of Milet
Thanks Binary! I use DAZ Studio for modeling the characters, all the rest is done in CINEMA 4D. You can find more about the process at the bottom of the WorkDoc of the Shooting the Past series: https://www.patreon.com/posts/workdocs-past-8127172
Priapus of Milet
Thanks! I guess they had all types in store in those days ;o)
abcdrum
While I always enjoy your hunky protagonists, I like that you include a variety of body types in your art. Particularly the three in the last image in your post, love the beary man in the center and the bigger guy on the right.
binary
Amazing work, top quality, just curious, what tools do you use? How do you model the characters?
Greg Hancock
Looking great. Love the details and can’t wait to see more. Hehehe. And your bad boy pan figure head present again. Sweet. He always leads to fun erotic times.
FHG
Seguro que va a ser un trabajo excelente como todos los que nos regalas siempre....I'm very excited !!!
