I began the project with no preliminary sketches, only a rough idea of a warthog mount. I box-modeled the warthog from references and took anatomical liberties that rendered a more fantastical version of a warthog. Similar to my “Rider Speedbuilds,” I approached this project intuitively and freestyled along the way, “sketching” with elements within Blender, scrapping elements that didn’t work and fine-tuning those that did.

This was my first project where I employed a fur particle system (rider’s headpiece). Drawing from references of Central and Eastern African masks, I tried to emulate a straw/fur look with the rider’s headpiece. After issues with line art not being rendered correctly on the particle system, I was obliged to try another feature in Blender that was foreign to me: Geometry Nodes. Taking curves from the particle system and converting them to real geometry solved my issues, and it was a fun way to learn two new features. This hurdle exemplifies how I enjoy learning – through experimentation and problem-solving, which naturally leads to new skills. The prospect of applying newfound knowledge in future projects is what excites and motivates me.