I have now completed the horse to a level where I think it is ready to be retopologised. This part didn't take as long as the human to do, partly because I didn't have as many complicated clothes to produce and also because there aren't as many fiddly bits like fingers and facial features which need to be just right to prevent them from looking uncanny.

I decided to go for a blackish brown breed of horse called Andravida which originated in the plains of greece and therefore could be one of the breeds used by the companions. I also liked the colour and think it will go well with the human when I get them both into the same scene. 

There were very few references for what sort of saddle and straps would be used on the horse so I mostly took inspiration from the film Alexander (2004) when it came to designing this part. I also embellieshed them with items of jewellery based on ancient greek icons and symbols. It is most likely these wont be seen close up but they will provide detail and make it look more interesting.

When modelling the template I made sure I scaled it correctly against the human template so they both match when I export them out of zbrush. I expect I will be able to make minor adjustments when they are together if I need to.

What I am now most concerned with is making sure the lengths of the limbs are correct and everything is proportionate. I dont want to find out later when I start rigging that something is off otherwise I may have to stretch the texture to get it right, better to sort it now.

For the next month my plan is to retopologise both characters and get them into 3dsmax to be UV unwrapped. I will then be able to produce texture maps which will include diffuse, specular and normals that will need to be tweaked in photoshop to get right. Hopefully I will also be able to begin building the rigs though I dont know if I will have enough time to get that far.

Right now though I will review both of the characters and add small things I've noticed I need to change and anything people point out through feedback. 

The zbrush sculpt for the Foot Companion is just about done. I've been putting a lot of effort into this to get the naked sculpt as anatomically correct as possible, as well as extracting armour and clothing that needed to be detailed enough to look realistic. I then poly painted everything and experimented with textures to bring the character to life.

Apart from the cloak the entire character was sculpted symmetrically to save time and make it easier to game res later on. Whilst I have been loosely following historical reference I tended to veer towards what looked best rather than making sure everything is historically accurate. 

His armour is designed to look like hammered bronze and includes a Muscle Cuirass, which only the most wealthy of nobles would be able to afford, and the Boetian Helmet which was just coming into fashion at the time and was preferred over other helmets like the Phrygian because it offered more protection to the face and shoulders. The horse tail crown is thought to represent a senior cavalry troopers rank.

Since last time i've been improving the anatomy slightly based on feedback, especially around the face which people said looked a bit uncanny. I've also painted in skin tones, first starting with a red base coat and then painting in white and orange colour's to give the fleshy appearance of skin

The face and hair is only semi realistic but i'm not too bothered with vast amounts of detail since the final character will be game resolution. I'm not very happy with the hair because it leaves a harsh line on the forehead but I think this wont matter too much because it is mostly obscured by the helmet.

The next job for this character is to start retopologising which I have found laborious in the past using the standard tools in zbrush. I am considering looking at Topogun which I've heard is better. I will leave that for now however and focus on sculpting the horse which I expect to have done much quicker than the human. I do now have a job to help pay the bills so I wont have as much time to work on this as before, though this will hopefully motivate me to work more in the evenings and should sustain me until the project is completed.