Creating Intricate Imaginary Creature with ZBrush & Marmoset Toolbag

Introduction

Hi! My name is Viacheslav Nikulaichev (Hellbrush). I was born in Russia, in the cold Siberian region of Altai Krai, but I currently live in Cyprus. I work as a Lead 2D/3D Artist at Airicore Studio.

I’ve been drawing since early childhood, but I started seriously considering a career in art during my university years. At that time, I was into heavy music and created logos and album covers for metal bands. A few years later, I attended a conference where I was drawn to the idea of using 3D graphics to create dimensional, volumetric artworks.

At that time, I was inspired by artists such as Oleg Vdovenko, Maxim Verehin, Mark Kolobaev, and Jama Jurabaev. I believe they had a strong influence on my style and creative approach.

I later completed several courses, including a concept art course taught by Mark Kolobaev, and got my first job in a studio as a 2D artist. That’s where I began combining my 2D work with 3D. The more I worked in 3D, the deeper I dove into sculpting and modeling. Eventually, I was promoted to a 3D artist and later worked as a lead 2D and 3D artist on various projects.

I started out working on local projects for brands in my hometown and later moved on to mobile games such as Kingdom Clash: Medieval Defense, Dark Days, Magic Battle Arena, Dead Raid, and State.IO.

Inspiration & References

The project I’m currently working on, which is tentatively titled The FLY, was started around two years ago. My friends and I decided to sculpt insect-like humanoids just for fun, and that’s when I started this project. But I soon put it aside, only to return to it recently with fresh energy and ideas. I began updating and developing it into something I now see as the foundation for my fictional universe.

What inspires me the most in my work is organic design. I love the way nature braids muscles, folds, and skin into flowing motion, forming elegant lines that interact with light in beautiful and vivid ways. With this project, I aim to showcase the beauty of organic form and continue refining my skills.

For this project, I gathered references of insects, human anatomy, and examples of high-quality visual presentation. I believe it's very important to have visual anchors, even if the final result ends up looking very different. They help keep the concept clear and the creative process focused.

In the design, I wanted the creature to retain a fundamentally human base rather than fully resemble an insect. This creates a sense of familiarity for the viewer, while the creature still reminds us of an insect through characteristic features like wings, compound eyes, a hunched posture, and a twisted body shape. The folds in the skin emphasize the humanoid anatomy beneath the surface.

Modeling

I usually start working on a model from a simple sphere. I pull and shape it to sketch out a rough silhouette, forming the initial concept — especially since the design often evolves during the sculpting process.

In the images above, I captured the first iterations and marked with lines the elements that play a key role throughout the entire process. I always pay close attention to the flow and silhouette of the work. At first, it may look awkward or even a bit goofy, but over time, it develops its own character. I also test the pose and proportions of the body parts right from the start.

Next, I decided to experiment a little by adding hair using FiberMesh. It looked interesting, but I eventually dropped the idea. At the same time, I started shaping the face. I’d like to emphasize that even when I’m creating something entirely fictional, I always base it on realistic anatomy — the logic of how it might function if it were a living being. That means I still start with the underlying structure of the human face and then layer the creature’s design on top of it.

As I move into the detailing phase, I approach muscle sculpting like pencil shading. I use the Clay Buildup brush and start sketching out the volumes, gradually building up surface relief over the base form. I separate muscle groups into distinct, logical areas as I go.

At this stage, I had finalized the design. I reviewed how the silhouette worked from all angles, making sure everything was readable and that no elements interfered with each other. All of this was still done within the ZBrush editor. For the render settings, I enabled AO and Wax.

Rendering

Next, it was time to render the model in Marmoset and check for any issues that might appear under lighting, reflections, or shadows. I set up a simple lighting setup consisting of a rim light, a fill light, and a key light aimed at the head.

At this point, I ended up taking a break from the project for nearly a year due to various circumstances and other projects.

But I returned to the project with fresh energy and new ideas. I decided to slightly rethink the design, improved the overall dynamics, added more detail and sharper forms, applied Polypaint, and added small horns, which I felt made the character a bit more interesting.

The break turned out to be beneficial for this character. It gave me a chance to rethink the design approach. I completely redesigned the wings, enriching them with organic interwoven structures. I also fixed some silhouette issues. Now, all that remains is to create the pre-final render and continue adding detail to my high-poly model.

For rendering this scene in Marmoset, I used the following settings.

In the end, the project stretched out over two years, but I’m confident it was worth it.

There’s still more work ahead. I plan to move on to retopology, texturing, and animation in the next stages. For now, I’d like to share a brief look at how I approach organic sculpting step by step, along with the brushes I use.

My usual brush set includes: Move, ClayTube, CIO, Inflat, MF_Form, and Standard. To speed up the brush selection process, I use a program called AutoHotPie.

Conclusion

To wrap up this article, I want to share that the most difficult thing I deal with is self-criticism. I’m very hard on myself and don’t allow myself to produce poor work, because I believe that everything I create becomes part of my legacy and reflects who I am as a creator. I want to be remembered as an artist who values detail and takes a thoughtful, precise approach.

My advice to anyone starting out in creating monsters, characters, or any kind of art is this: don’t be afraid of making mistakes, but also practice self-reflection — both during the process and even after some time has passed. Identifying your weaknesses is the first step toward improving them.

I also recommend keeping a personal blog or project journal where you share every key step of your creative process. People genuinely enjoy seeing how work evolves, and later on, you’ll likely enjoy revisiting your own thoughts and progress. That’s how I manage my own social media — in fact, while writing this article, I looked back through my old posts to gather and organize all the material.

Many thanks to 80 Level and their editorial team for the opportunity to share my project. If readers have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them through any of my social media channels.

Viacheslav Nikulaichev, 3D Art Lead/Creature Artist