GAC 11: Gilgamesh

#1

Hey all, I rarely post but I was in one of the Game Art Comps a while back, I did Cecil from FF2 in the video game character redesign contest, if anyone remembers. I just recently got my first job in the industry, so time is going to be limited, but this competition was too cool too pass up. Definately an opportunity for an awesome portfolio piece.

(I’m taking liberties with the details of the legend, obviously)
Gilgamesh, born 1/3rd God, son of the legendary warrior Lugh, was King of Uruk in Ancient Sumeria. Such was his prowess in battle, the only person alive able to rival him was his dearest friend Enkidu. Gilgameshes one driving goal was to find the secret of immortality, so that he and his fame may live on forever, never to be forgotten. To this end he and Enkidu embarked on many legendary adventures, such as the defeat of the giant Humbaba, and the slaying of The Bull of Heaven, prized beast of the Goddess Ishtar. In revenge, Ishtar convinced the other gods to inflict a mortal sickness upon Enkidu.
Finding death quickly encroaching upon his friend, Gilgamesh desperately searched for his lifes goal, only to return home empty handed. With the loss of the only person he could connect with, the King slipped into a fit of rage and depression. Tiamat and the other dark gods used this time of Gilgameshes weakness to slowly infect and corrupt the supernatural 1/3rd of his being.
Unwittingly bending to thier whispers and sorcery, the kings humanity began to slip away. In his last moment of clarity, he realized the threat he posed to his people, and fled into the night. Now he roams the land, killing anything he happens across, to save their souls from the torment he must continually endure.

I’ll prolly post concepts in a couple days, as I’ve got alot of reference to gather and brainstorming to do.

#2

Good choice. I am thinking about doing Gilgamesh aswell. I have been wanting to read the book, but i havent had the discipline to do it. Maby i will start reading it before i start on this GAC for some inspiration.

What concept are you going with?
I noticed you doing Cecil in a nother GAC, then i guess you are familiar with Gilgameshs appearence in the FF serier. Are you going with the FF style or the more traditional.

#3

Well, I’m going for a Capcom or Guilty Gear style for Gil. I know he pops up in several final fantasies, i’ll have to gather some pics for reference. Ancient Mesopotamian clothing wasn’t particularly interesting (for use in a fighting game style, that is), so I’ll have to see if they did anyting cool with it that I can glean ideas from. If i remember correctly, he had several arms in the FF version for some reason. It has nothing to do with the story, and seems more Indian to me, so I doubt i’ll incorporate that. Thanks for the interest!

#4

Welp, I busted out a couple quick sketches at work before I went home. I keep leaving my wacom at work, dangit! I’ll prolly do alot more concepting this weekend, as freetime SHOULD be more abundant.

The first is a concept for his head:

I’m not sure what I’m gonna do about the hair yet. :confused:
Next is his body type/proportions:

I figured the 1/3 god portion that got corrupted will be manifested in his arms, so they’re enormous, and will show signs of the Dark Ones infection. The slightly small pectorals were a design choice, to hopefully emphasize his huge arms.

I still gotta come up with his costume and accessories, but so far i haven’t found anything ancient mesopotamian-ish that would look interesting in a fighting genre. So i may have to edit the backstory a bit, so that he’s been wandering the globe for a millenia, so i’ll have more options on how to outfit him; but hopefully still give him a hint of his ancient warrior roots.

#5

Hey Runefall, I thought I recognized your work. Its been awhile. Congrats on that job, thats awesome. I still need to get on AIM and catch up with you and the crew.

Thats cool that your doing this competition, Gilgamesh is an interesting choice and I like where you are going with him. I look forward to seeing what you do for the costume. I finally joined cgtalk because these competions are so great. I’ll be doing Captain Hook.

Did you have any plans for weapons? When I saw your sketches, Gemma from Ninja Scroll came to mind, though maybe because I just watched it. He’s got those big arms and small waistline. Could be a possible reference. Anyways, keep it up, and I’ll try and IM you asap.

#6

Hey its great to finally hear from you! Yeah, get on AIM ASAP, so you can let everyone know whats up. PM me if you forgot my screenname. The gang was just up here this weekend to visit me, go sledding and drinking.
After I read your post I went and got some picks of Gemma, they should come in use for musculature reference.
As for weapons, he’ll definately have at least one. His hands and arms are gonna be all clawed and demonic, so they’ll be weapons unto themselves. Hopefully i can play around with some good effects to give him glowing brands/tattoo’s on his arms or something. I’ll prolly give him a mega oversized bladed weapon of some kind as well. I was considering putting a huge gauntlet on one arm, but that’s way too cliche, so i doubt I’ll do that.
Anyway, hurry up and post some concepts on Cap’n Hook! I’m sure they’ll be crazy. You should try some steampunk concepts, like you did with Puss n Boots. Lookin forward to it!

#7

Did alittle bit more this morning before work. In this pic I’m trying to pin down the major shapes of his costume. The shreds around his shoulders will be his human flesh, with the demonic flesh of his arms coming out from under. The cloth around his face will be a persian style face cover commonly used to protect ones face from blowing sands, its clasped in the back, and hangs down (as seen near his arm).

In the second is a sketch of what his arms look like. I’m prolly going to go for a smooth fish/lizard like flesh, with various spots and markings. Once I’ve got everything pinned down, i’ll sit down and do something fully rendered.

Sorry for the big arm pic!
Any comments/crits are always appreciated.

#8

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