Here’ an initial reference sheet. I think I’ll make him without the head armour, snarling, standing on a cliff or rock outcrop. Still debating how much armour he has on. I think dreads will be the way to go for the hair . And he’s holding a Legolas-like head.
Blocked out basic forms, working out proportions. Here’s a first pass. I thought I’d make him a little less ripped, and go easy on the muscles.
Crits welcome.
I have to say I love the original maquette, hope you’ll bring it to that level of finish [I mean textures and all] - that’d be awesome to behold 
Buuut even modeling itself should be sweet
bzsolt, nmcelmury: Thanks! Here’s some more work.
Intervain: Yeah, it’s going to be quite a challenge. I’m going to texture him as well. I hope I can do him justice, it’s a very fine sculpt.
Here’s an update. I worked primarily on the face and the upper body. I’m going to make him without the mask for now so you can see his face . I’ve also bulked him up a bit so that he isn’t quite so ripped.
Comments and critiques are welcome.
Great idea! I think the expression on the last one is a little over-exaggerated, although it might just be me.
Hey pal,
Jaw definitely needs some more scale to it and expression is a bit weird from the side, as far as I know muscles can not flow like that, might check that out.
Jaw should be something like this:
ViolentMaid: Thanks, I’ve softened the expression a little.
menthol: Thank you, I appreciate the critique. I’ve worked on the jaw and the expression a bit, I’m looking at pictures of King Kong for that kind of expression.
Here’s an update on the body and some armour pieces. I’ve made him a little more ripped, a lot of the power in the original sculpt comes from the muscle tension imo. Also working on how much armour he has on, I thought he’d have ripped/lost some during his berserker days. I need something around the neck as my pc can’t handle a mesh of that resolution. 
It looks a bit weird if he has just a collar
Crits welcome as always.
hey pal,
looking better now, you may fix the shape of the head, I know that you may not show it but, take this as a suggestion ( not that mine is right or anything, you might check it with some real reference)
Cheers!
menthena: Thanks for the crit! I’ve worked on the head a bit more.
Finally got some time to work on him again. Added detail, asymmetry and more clothing elements. Still lots of refinement and posing to do. Critiques are very welcome.
I’ve posed him, and started making changes to fit the pose. Often forget how much stuff moves and shifts when the pose changes. Still working on the muscles and the silhouette. I had to split the file up and work on the armour detail separately, as my pc is really starting to show her age. Here I’ve placed the level 1 armour to get an idea of how the clothing interacts. Merging the two fileslater should be an interesting experience.
He’ll be standing on a jagged rock outcrop. Crits welcome as always.
Looking very good dude.
Tweak the pose to redistribute the weight a bit. Right now seems different from your reference and it doesn’t seem as powerful IMO.
either way it’s looking awesome!
cheers!
Looks cool, the expression has a lot of character in it. The pose reminds me of Cellini’s Perseus, but on a massive amount of crack.
i totally dig the expression on this its almost like hes doing the evil villain cackle haha.
David-J: Thanks Emiliano! I’ve shifted him around a bit, hope the weight works better now.
LordMcGoat: Thank you, I really like that sculpture, it’s exactly that kind of subtlety and understatement I’m going for. 
Lovely work on your blog btw.
SPIDER2544: Thanks, I hope the expression’s translated ok to the low res.
Here’s the low res, with normal maps baked in. I’ve replaced the Rohirrim rider’s head with an Elf’s. Starting texturing now.
Hope you like. Crits are very welcome.
Baked! Yummy. Looks great pal. Only thing really shines to my eyes, the elf’s had a glue on his head and that’s why he is so angry Well joking aside, if it wasn’t wip, hand might need the holding feel.
Have fun!
Cheers.
Well, I’m done. Here are the finals. The beauty shot has some more work than the orthos (updated textures & hair) as I finished those as per the last deadline. I’m rendering some other work currently so I only had time to re-render the beauty shot. Hope you like it. I worked on this on and off for a little over a month, about 70 hours in all. This was a great contest to work on. Congratulations to everyone who finished, and thank you for all the critiques and encouragement.
Description:
Urzog is an Uruk Hai berserker. He’s a dangerous warrior and a formidable opponent. He’s usually dispatched in the first wave of any attack. His temper and ferocity prevents him from attaining any position of authority. He can be seen from a distance since he doesn’t bother with repairing broken or damaged armour. His scars reflect the battles he’s been part of, as well as fights with fellow orcs. His warg proved unwieldy in battle, but received its just desserts at Urzog’s dinner table.
HMC 24 - Weta Workshop Challenge - Uruk Hai Berserker
‘The Age of Men is over. The Time of the Orc has come.’
Beauty Render:
Orthos:
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