This semester at school we are making robots!
We are going to start with concept and move all the way to renders.
An exciting project but also a daunting task.
I originally thought it would be interesting to do an African mask inspired robot. But as I was Google image searching for inspiration I found an amazing picture of an Aztec statue that I was really into.
I decided to take this head and design my robot around it.
I have always loved how people take mythology or legend and take it in a new direction. Zbrush central is full of realistic sculpts of cartoon characters which I have always loved. So I went on to Wikipedia and read all about Aztec mythology. I found a very interesting story about a god named Tezcatlipoca. Tezcatlipoca was the guardian of the underworld but was not an evil god like the devil. He was a devious deceiving character. He would sometimes trick evil people into doing bad things and then claim their souls. He and his brother Quetzalcoatl were responsible for creating the earth. They battled a massive crocodile god long ago. In the battle Tezcatlipoca lost his leg but they eventually killed the beast. The brothers transformed the crocodile god into the earth as we know it.
This is my design for a robot Aztec god. He still has the same head that I found. I have tried to work in as many design elements from his story as possible. He is a deceiver so I thought it would be interesting to have him have the posture of an old man. I want him to seem like a man at first glance but when you look closer you see that he is definitely not. I am going to put robot eyes somewhere other than the face. I think this will make it clear that the robot is pretending to be a human.
It’s been a very interesting project so far but now I have the task of starting in 3D. It’s tough to get started but I am very excited to see him come to life in the renders.
