Evil Octopus

Created by CGI artist Rafael Vallaperde and produced by the studio he works at (Lightfarm), Evil Octopus is both a creative endeavor and a talent showcase for the outsourcing studio, capturing the genesis of an idea, it's production and completion by one artist. Using a mixture of Modo (An increasingly popular 3D software suite) for block in modeling, Zbrush for detailing the octopus and rough textures followed by rendering and finishing in Modo again, the final image is pretty stunning.

Going back to that earlier point, outsourcing studios typically put out videos like these to attract potential clients, a series of high end demo pieces unrelated to actual projects on their plate to show off their versatility and talent level. From the studios I've had a chance to talk to as well, these projects also help boost artist morale by giving them a chance to flex their own creative muscle, be it with a multi-discipline project like a short film or something like Evil Octopus above, a beauty shot.