Finally, it is complete! My first subdivision model:
This represents roughly 8-9 hours worth of work (both modeling and texturing, spread out over two weeks thanks to some long hours keeping me at my day job). The shape itself is simple enough, but I went through several iterations, figuring out what worked and what didn’t. Neither did I have any kind of design plan, so building it was rather like jogging through an obstacle course at night while blindfolded and drunk.
This is also a good demonstration of just how much a difference materials, displacement maps, and lighting make, as seen in the final render:


