Phoenix concept - Zbrush Illustration

This piece was initially started with a phoenix in mind: I really wanted to do a bird with lots of long, flowing appendages coming out of its head. I had this itch to make a piece with contrasting light sources as well, so I experimented with the cyan/yellow lights you can see in the final render. What I find satisfying is the fact that the bird's eye is - quite unintentionally - positioned more or less in the center of the entire piece. I rather like the overall effect this creates.

The initial stages of this project was done with Zbrush, and then finished with some photo texturing as well as digital painting.