Sword in the Skull

After completing my clockwork projects, I was looking for another personal project to work on in my down time and I realized October was on the horizon and I’d like to do something to celebrate it. So, I consulted my known expert on the topic of horror and creep, Miimaas. She suggested I do a skull. It really caught my imagination and I got to work modeling the skull while I started to imagine the scene I wanted to create. After doing the initial model of the skull I started sculpting, and by the time I’d finished sculpting I knew what scene I wanted to do. The Sword in the Skull, More focus on the skull but with a nod to my sword in the sphere theme. I retopped the skull then got to setting up the scene. Once everything was in place I made the materials and worked on the lighting tweaking things as I went. In the end the most challenging part of this whole project turned out to be the blood texture. I still feel like it has eluded me despite all the research I committed to. It’s just a bit off, and If anyone has any tips on that I’d be thrilled to correct it.

The skull model will be available here on CGTrader soon.

Specifics
Polygons: 17,227 (before subdivisions)
Verts: 17,566 (before subdivisions)
Samples: 128
Resolution: 1500x1920
Software: Blender 2.79

Resources and References used
• Images of skulls from google for reference
• Images of blood splatter Licensed for reuse on Google
• Circus HDR from HDRI Haven