My ascent to the DEMON MOUNTAIN in the CARPG IX competition

Protagonist’s room

It is small, but contains everything you need to live and work on the ship. There are studied specimens, books, and a tree that reminds of life at home.

The hexagonal shape refers to the emblem of the ship. Orange and dark blue are also earthling colors here.

Here I had to remember the skills of building an interior in a 3-point perspective.

A Thousand Waterfalls valley

Place of the disaster. Thousands of streams of spilled fuel that will react very quickly with susceptible local flora and fauna. On the horizon, a mountain and the second part of the ship mark a path that could lead to survival.

Mucus

The original enemy appears: Mucus.

This well-known alien organism is an inside-out stomach and has an instinctive mind focused on nutrition.

Although it initially looks like a simple form, over time this creature evolves into something more complex.
The creep sneaks up and attacks with agility like a jellyfish in water.

Near the shipwreck, the Mucus turned dark with iridescent tints.
This organism was specially designed to resemble a clot of fuel oil, but it still stood out from the environment with its glowing lights.

Vulture raptor

Local chameleon reptile.
At first, he seems cowardly: he hides among stones, vegetation and in swamp puddles.
The reptile feeds on carrion, but can easily stand on its hind legs and catch fresher prey.

I didn't want to make him look like a half-bird half-lizard, as suggested in the assignment.
In my case, it's just a reptile with this way of life.
It is important for the vulture to have «tools» for eating carrion, and to easily stick its head into the carcass of prey.
I added a semblance of a beak, a long neck, a bald head, sharp claws.
All this in itself adds to the resemblance to a vulture bird. Sharp spikes on the back for defense and attack. With a powerful tail as an extra weapon, the vulture-like creature is a formidable hunter in its habitat.

The Walking Swamp

Walking through the swamp, one can encounter a remarkable creature — an evolved Мucus.

It inhabits marshy areas, camouflaging itself as a mound.
Its presence can be identified by its distinctive smell and luminescent lights.
It assaults unsuspecting victims with surprise by emerging from the water accompanied with long tentacles.

As the second week of the competition came to a close, i was feeling a bit drained.

I devoted all my energies to this project and in moments when i wasn’t actively working on this, my mind was occupied by ideas and their interconnections.

My days typically consisted of 10–12 hours of work  physically and mentally.

Whenever i had to render something, i took it seriously — making several variations of the form, then sketching it in perspective followed by clean liner, shadow painting and color matching before finally coloring and rendering. It’s a long process but due to the time constraints imposed by this competition (2 days per concept) i had to find ways to speed up things without compromising on quality.

Therefore, I gave up hope to show beautiful sketches as well. My photoshop sheet turned into a continuous mess, like plasticine, where I mixed spots and lines into one heap and «sculpted» silhouettes from it.

…And I'm ready to face the boss.

The Witch. Boss

The boss is the most feared enemy at a certain stage.

It must be a rare, powerful creature.

 The task had two key points:

1. The witch must lure travelers.
2. After defeating her, the hero, Yuuto, gains a superpower.

In my universe, «Witch» is the «queen bee» of the jellyfish-like creatures.
This name was given to the creature by scientists from Michi.

 It is a cross between a plant and an animal.

 It produces the Mucus that, when properly fed, grows to the Walking Swamp.
On rare occasions, the Mucus will transform into a new Witch.

Witch, in addition to dangerous tentacles, also uses electromagnetic impulses, which temporarily disable weapons and cloud the mind.

…In the fog, only the outlines of her silhouette are visible, which can be confused with a human one.

There may be a few survivors around her, who are intended to feed her offspring. The clouded minds of the survivors make them call for help…

It's hard to get past.

Ulta (character's special ability)

The Witch's blood gets on Yuuto's skin and he gains new powers.

However, these are the powers of a new being.

Irreversible mutation processes begin.

And for Yuto it becomes obvious that adaptation to new conditions on this planet is happening rapidly.

Fingertips change color, skin turns red and blistered. Something alive is growing under the skin. He can manage it.
After a while, he can control the flow of energy, weakening opponents with impulses, or fueled by their energy.

In the concept, I showed how the infection develops, and, in fact, the use of a new ability on a small character. The tentacles tear apart the enemy, while his energy is transferred to the protagonist.

The Temple Mount

Yuuto leaves the marshlands and has a view of the Mountain.
At the top is his goal. The second part of the ship.
He needs to get to the radio module, report what happened and transmit all the important information before he loses his human form.

A Trickster

According to the assignment, this is a thief who puts the hero to sleep with a lullaby.

I wanted to create an almost harmless creature. Small, thieving.
It behaves like a raccoon. Makes lulling sounds similar to birdsong and flute sounds.

When threatened, it runs away or curls up into a ball.

The Oni Demon

Closer to the top of the mountain, Yuuto encounters a mutated member of the ship's security team. The former ally is extremely aggressive and seems to have completely lost his human mind.

The Oni Demon is a very recognizable Japanese demon. In my concept, Yuuto could call a mutant that because of his aggressiveness, redness of inflamed skin and resemblance to a demon. He sees this for the first time, so he gives everything new names based on his culture.

Thе Epic Temple

Finally, Yuuto reached the top of the mountain. The wreckage of a spaceship rises above him. Yuuto sees a bright light and realizes that there are survivors inside.

The Shadow Eater

The origin of this creature for Yuuto will remain a mystery. Because it «does not have a physical body.» (such a condition in the assignment)

According to my assumptions, this is a mutated person who was oversaturated with energy from the ship's nuclear reactor.

Abilities obtained from the Witch do not always work the same way. In this case, a person, having passed the stage of tentacles and absorbing the energy of enemies, turned into a clot of light. It flashes so brightly that it can burn out the eyes or blind for a while.

It roams the ship's corridors like a ghost

The Demon Lord

Yuuto enters the captain's bridge and finds…  the first mate.

Surprisingly, it seems that he completely retained the human mind, and gained incredible strength through mutation.

After a short conversation, Yuuto realizes that he is no longer talking to a human, but to an evolved version of the Witch. Now it thinks like a human, it anticipates all the actions of a human. This seems to understand the very essence of a human.

The power of the demon is also enormous because it is fueled by a portable nuclear reactor.

The Artifact

Portable nuclear reactor on the Michi ship.

The source of the Demon Lord's power. The explosion of the artifact is capable of destroying the top of the mountain, along with all the demons and Yuuto. And also destroy a few surviving shuttles.

 The choice is up to the main character.

The 3rd and 4th weeks were the most difficult, nothing seemed to be going right.

I had to make an effort to take my mind off things, go for a walk or watch something, because my thoughts were becoming very stagnant.

Therefore, this has taught me that in future it is important for me to ensure that i am getting enough rest, sleep and exercise whilst also allowing myself time for distractions.

I was able to apply the skills i learnt from the course which made me feel capable and gave me a boost of confidence when it came to solving problems — this was extremely rewarding!

My speed improved drastically; what used to take three weeks now only takes two or three days with accurate rendering.
Plus, taking on such a big project and meeting deadlines without giving up is no small feat!
All these combined have helped me accumulate new skills while simultaneously correcting any errors — making the next contest even better!

When i compare my progress over 1.5 years it fills me with pride and joy knowing how far i have come!