Combining wildly different influences led to these unique animal-machine creature designs

Throughout my life I’ve taken inspiration from the Combine in Half-Life 2. The creatures from that universe have this brilliant blend of insect and machine, to the point where it’s impossible to tell if it’s a machine-augmented bug or the other.

For my Shimmer line up, I wanted to capture that same feeling but in my own way: something that feels alien, with a strong sense of mystery; A bit gross, but also beautiful. I combined DNA from sea life, 80s-style chrome machines and the glass-like tubes seen in custom PCs to create something fresh. The result is a semi translucent creature that’s part beast and part machine.

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How I create a translucent animal design

Images from a tutorial on how to make a part machine part beast character design concept — (Image credit: Max Froer)

For my process, I used both 3D modelling software and then 2D digital art software (Photoshop) to remove 3D artefacts.

01. Value sketches

I start with rough sketches using no more than three values. If the design feels powerful in just three values, I know I’ve got something promising. From here I work with clean topology, so I can make adjustments and design choices on the go.

02. Applying texture and lighting

Since these creatures have a translucent, organic hard-surface, I found that box modelling offers the most forgiving approach. The model is thrown into KeyShot where I set up lighting and apply materials.

I test several different lighting scenarios and materials before refining the translucency. I want the refractions to feel chaotic without becoming unreadable.

Finalise with Smart Blur filter

The model is brought back into Photoshop where I colour adjust, paint over and push shapes. I find that using Photoshop’s Smart Blur can effectively remove a lot of the 3D artefacts and stiffness from the render.