With the upcoming release of Obavnik Kommander Zerkova and Reaver Guard, I thought it would be fun to share some of the development process for this iconic character. This project was a joint effort with fellow digital sculptor Michael Jenkins who sculpted both Reaver Guards that protect Zerkova!

I’ve never worked on a Khador sculpt, and I felt like this was a perfect time to dive in and apply my sculpting style to this new incarnation of Zerkova. Studio director Ron Kruzie thought I would be a good fit for Zerkova, and with Michael Jenkins demanding to sculpt the Reaver Guard, we had a good feeling about this epic unit.

Certain aspects of sculpting female characters can be challenging. Getting the correct proportions for a female face can be difficult at such a small scale, since women’s faces tend to be smaller. Other difficulties include maintaining the feminine form through armor and portraying a graceful pose while still being threatening on the battlefield.

The concept was very well done and captured all the things I felt were important to the character. The pose fell in line with the concept: she felt regal, cold, aristocratic, and aloof while calmly striding forward.

One of the first things I mentioned was the face, and I knew we really needed to nail this one. After looking through references and discussing ideas with our concept artist, we settled on the features you can see in these screen shots.

The next step would be capturing the pose and giving her the presence the concept was calling for. There are times where capturing the pose just right can be a struggle, but with Zerkova we were able to nail it very early.

To say I was thrilled with the results would be an understatement, particularly after seeing the studio paint job by Geordie Hicks. I have already started working on my own Obavnik Kommander Zerkova force, and I hope the Khador community enjoys her new incarnation.