Sumea Modeller Challenge

Ok I looked thru some of the concepts.. and scared myself silly at the level of shear talent around these parts!

but here are some pics for my ideas

at first he was going to be a warrior getting a gift from each of the goods - but then the ixnay on the wings happend!

I was going to do the gryffon as a sidekick (classing it as a weapon *grins*) but after messing with it he turned out to take about 1000 tris and didnt feel like making such an expensive sacrifice

so the basic idea is that he will be the son of Hephastus... and have some cool gear - including a shield with the head of the gorgon on it

I figured that there were so many wargod warrior greek games chars out there that i wanted soemthing different - so no he isnt a dwarf (well maybe he is) but I figured I would go for the mangaish super deformed style - and make him small stocky and have big oversized bits...

weapons and shield pics to come later

the gryffon idea

Aerion the warrior

more than happy to have some feedback - thanks

edit: tried adding the pics directCoyoteNinja2007-07-09 14:33:50

Cool great start Mr Ninja! with those links you need to click the insert image button and then insert your image url.

killadee: thanks
tried that the first time with no luck!
will try again!

well darny look at that! it worked!CoyoteNinja2007-07-09 14:35:11

if you're going for chibi/super deformed, his head needs to be huge!

OK so here is the basics of the head.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b316/ponkavitch/Head_left.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b316/ponkavitch/Head_Front.jpg

Working on th body now. More to come later. Still need to work out how I am going to arm and armour him. A lance would be cool but they are a bit post greece. maybe a spear and I should look up what I can on Greek horse barding.

-Ponkavitch

Grrr! My original post didn?t work so here it is again. But shorter.
Here it is so far.

I?ve been reposing the legs a bit so they don?t look as silly and long.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b316/ponkavitch/Body_Left.jpg
http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b316/ponkavitch/?action=view&current=…

-Ponkavitch

Cant have animal features below the neck unfortunately :(

Something that jumps out at me - the horse head perched on top of a human neck looks odd, I'd imagine he'd need some pretty powerful neck and back muscles to hold up the added weight, no?

You can choose to have an animal head or animal features on the head of your character if you like, but other parts must be human looking. So no hooves are double jointed limbs, sorry. We're trying to keep this strictly a humanoid god contest. If your entry is allowed then people will be questioning why they can't have animal limbs too.. Souri2007-07-09 21:22:26

Right so after a lot of work on the section of the legs that I had to remove I have made some new feet for him.

On to the hands next.

-Ponkavitch

looks like your back on track ponk, great stuff. I think if you make the head more realistic and beef up the torso (super hero proportions) + give it some heavy amour, it would look rad. Killa Dee2007-07-12 03:25:13

Thanks Killa,

The head is based on photo reference but I?ll have another look at it though it probably won?t matter as I will be adding a helmet that will obscure a lot of the details.

I based the model on a template for a muscular man but I guess it was for a ?real world? muscle man not a ?comic book? muscle man. So I have widened the shoulders and beefed up the muscles.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b316/ponkavitch/muscledback.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b316/ponkavitch/muscledfront.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b316/ponkavitch/muscledleft.jpg

his legs are in a funny pose because I moved the legs into the right position for the extended legs before I had to modify them. But it is a pretty good position since it is about half way though each joints movement range.   The arms would be in a similar pose but I was using a template for the musculature which is in that pose.

Now I need to work on clothing and armouring him. I was thinking I was going to equip him in standard Greek hoplite armour since (in case you haven?t figured it out yet) this is the ?Trojan Horse? the won the battle of Troy. But that may be a bit boring.

I was also thinking of giving him some ?stilts? to make his feet look more horse like if that isn?t breaking the rules.

Here is a little something i wipped up for the B5 fans.
Look it's a Cenatauri!

-Ponkavitch
Ponkavitch2007-07-16 17:30:47

OK. So I have finished the breastplate, greaves and helmet. Next up is the ?Pteruges?(skirt thing). I?m not really sure how I want to do that. I think I will just make a skirt and ass the armoured strips on to that.

Perspective.

Front (remember the legs are bent so they will look rather short.)

Left

-Ponkavitch

No skimping on the concept stage this time around, hells no!

I'm inspired by the concept of Ares, the Greek god of savage war, and the practical implications thereof.

Sooo I scribbled many thumbnails and picked a few shapes that I like:

I plan on taking a couple closer to a finished level in terms of fitting the brief(these things dont look Greek enough!) and solving design elements, no rendering

Guaccamole

As a guy said in an technically great looking game, with boring ass gameplay.

Nice!!

are you planning on giving him a spear, as he is traditionally depicted, or something a bit more savage as per your thumbs?

Cmon shika.... we wanna see awesome Zbrushing stuff
stop hiding your real talent

cool quick sketches btw

thanks doods
The concept of a god of savage war is what inspired me, not the image of Ares himself(not sure ive even seen him come to think of it)

I decided to start a concept sculpt based on a couple of silhouettes in the above thumbnails to see how I like the weight(I want him to be a big dude!)

on his chest is a bronze embolon, his back holds a lion

radical start shika, your thumbs are very cool and your concept model shows some unique creative. Keep up the great work.Killa Dee2007-07-09 02:18:26

Finalizing the concept before I get to work on the final base mesh

giggity goo

need to work on the scale a bit, I'm not getting the "huge mofo!" look down just yet even with the embolon and Greek shields.
I have a few ideas....
shika2007-07-10 07:47:26

Great concept, i was worried before that it was looking far to monster and not human at all. Now you can tell theres a person there :D

crazy, good work! love the details on the helm awesome.

Nice Shika as stated the helm looks awesome . I Also like the body piece it looks badass

Awesome entry dude, as always your work is above par.
My favourite entry so far. You've inspired me to come up with an entry for this comp.

-caseyjones

Thanks for the encouraging words, guys :)

Jess: I was originally hoping to push the brief a bit(or appear to) by designing some wacky armor just to trick the eye and make the viewer wonder WTF is really underneath it all.

I'll do some more sketching to see if I can bring some of that feeling back...



caseyjones: awesome! glad to hear that CJ. You're off to a good start



not much of an update, just didnt want to post without an image ;)



Here's the base mesh, but it'll change as I add to the design

Very unique design! I love the hints of "Silent Hill" and "Final Fantasy" - though they may not have been intentional inspirations for this design.



My only 'critique' would be that this character - at least imo - appears to be more of an antagonist, rather than protagonist. My eyes tell me he's more a villain than a hero. But there's something to be said about 'beauty and the beast' archetypes. Unexpected sentimentality and compassion in something that otherwise appears brutal and murderous is a nice juxtaposition.

looking good shika, I really like the idea of masked characters, makes them more mysterious. I also like the armour style, he really does look like a dude who doesnt want anyone standing in his way, thumbs up 4 me.



Waiting 4 the awesome texture and normal map 4 this guy, which is not surprising as ur work is always awesome

[QUOTE=faultymoose] Very unique design! I love the hints of "Silent Hill" and "Final Fantasy" - though they may not have been intentional inspirations for this design.



My only 'critique' would be that this character - at least imo - appears to be more of an antagonist, rather than protagonist. My eyes tell me he's more a villain than a hero. But there's something to be said about 'beauty and the beast' archetypes. Unexpected sentimentality and compassion in something that otherwise appears brutal and murderous is a nice juxtaposition.[/QUOTE]





thats a good thing that u see that



quoted from wikipedia

Ares is the son of Zeus (ruler of the gods) and Hera. Though often incorrectly referred to as the Olympian god of war, he is more accurately the god of savage war, or bloodlust, or slaughter personified.



Among the Hellenes, Ares was always distrusted





so pretty much hes a badass angry son of a bi*ch and i think Shika has portrayed that pretty well :PMassius2007-07-23 20:54:46

[QUOTE=Massius]

so pretty much hes a badass angry son of a bi*ch and i think Shika has portrayed that pretty well :P[/QUOTE]



Most definitely! There's a strong sense of brutality in this design.

No internet at my new place, so just a quick update before I get to work. I'll comment later.

insane! dang thats good shika.

god damn, thats insane



I'm going to have to pick up my game.....jesus

First impressions of your concept was a bit mixed, with all the armour complicating the form, but now that we have a better idea of what your idea is, I am blown away Excellent eye for detail as usual.

OMG That's sooooo good.

Outstanding, looking forward to the final piece.

Nice. I love the muscalature of the legs, makes him look like he's been carrying around all that baroque armour for a looong time. :)

Needs more cats dude. Lots and lots of cats.

holy crap thats awesome, just a quick question though how much of the detail will come out on the normal map, if it was a 2048 map i would not be asking, ummm i don't ask to be rude or anything

That looks damn awesome, the mesh flow is so well defined and the normal map completely pwns. *After looking at this V!rus looks at his own character in comparison and hits the delete button multiple times . Nice work cant wait 4 pose and texture.

The amour is nuts

woot internets!



faultymoose: I'm glad you got that impression. After reading the wiki description for Ares I had imagined he would be a huge scary barbarian you'd hope only to meet in a nightmare - "slaughter personified" has all sorts of scary connotations :)



drewus: he only needs one steed



shadowbreeze: good question, I'm usually surprised at how much a 1024 can carry, but in any case I'll be instancing and mirroring UV's like crazy. Guess we'll find out how much detail will come through soon





Thanks for the kind words, everyone!



I took a break from this guy, so I don't have anything new to show except this self critique, which isn't too interesting heh.



http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3/shika01/bodyrender05crits.jpg



One thing that I didn't put in there was his narrow shoulders.

Demionosus

The New God Of War

I have decided to make my own god of war instead of picking an
existing greek god, e.g. 'Hades, Ares, etc..,' as I want to try and come up with
a completely original design. My god of goes by the name 'Demionosus'(pronouned
"dem-eye-o-nosis")> BAsically the story behind my character is that he was a
demon that escaped the underworld, whom wanted to overthrough Ares and
take Ares's places as god of war in order to wreak havoc and destroy
all factions across Greece.

I was aslo wondering if this character is within the guidelines, if not any
help towards making changes so that it can be accepted with the guidealines.

this is the first concept of my character, it is not finished but it is a start, the design style I am going for in my 'god of war model' is my own design and it's head is half goat half human. It will be in a full greek armour set but I will be modifying the armour to my own style in order ot keep it original. I wouldnt quite say it is a 'god of war' model yet atm it is more like a warlord, but then again the concept still needs to be built up and updated:)

happy_virus2007-07-22 22:44:07

this is the next updated concept I have for it, any suggestions on how it can be improved just give me a buzz.

happy_virus2007-07-06 20:27:43

This is the first concept for my shield and swords. Inspiration of the shape of the sword was taken from the greek Hoplite and as well as Achilles' sword. The Design on the sword was my own.

The Shield's shape is based on Achilles' shield and again the design is my own.

Looks like your off to a solid start virus. It would be great to see some small black and white thumbnail images of your entire character. Keep up the good work.

This is full body concept of my character and some earlier ones collaging around it.

I have also posted a concept of the character from front, side and back views. I will be later posting these two as textured photoshop versions with the 3/4 full body model being a teaser concept. I was thinking of adding deomn wings on the character, but then I thought maybe it would start moving into a monster design and falling out of the guidlines. If anyone thinks it stilll maybe possible to ad wings on my God of war dude just send me a buzz

Also any helpful crits to extend my idea dont hesitate to post them

happy_virus2007-07-08 20:53:39

sweet your cranking it out, great stuff. Here is a link may be some good reference for u proprtions and character pose .Killa Dee2007-07-09 04:28:31

I have done the final poses for this character, now Im gonna start modelling, as well as the finished shiled design. Im going to leave myself these 4 months for textures so that I have enough time to make an excellent texture job for my character.

As u all might notice, I have changed the design of the shoulder guards and that is because I wanted them to look more badass. His body has also been bulked up a bit.

Ill Put one in each post to make it easier.

Shield

happy_virus2007-07-13 19:31:20

This pose shows the final cocept skect of the character from 3/4 view.

Final Fullbody

And Finally, this is the fullbody Concepts from all four views.

I have kept some of the areas on the concept untextured, e.g. from the rear view of the character he has a cape on so I decided not to go nuts with the drawing there.

Final Pose from Front, 3/4, Side and Back
happy_virus2007-07-13 19:35:41

loving the new shoulder pads

cheers hope Im allowed to use them in the armour piece tho

Also will be posting my first WIP shot of my model. So far, atm it is around 2800tri's which means I still have a lot of tris left to eork with, so every1 stay tuned soon .

Also once WIP is added, as usual any crits on how to make it better please post them happy_virus2007-07-16 16:32:34

Very nice Happy_Virus. The only crit I have at the moment is that he will be a bit restricted when lifting his arms...

yeh I might have to alter them a bit, thanks for the comments , might also do a test rig to see how far I can get the shoulders to raise.

I have a few WIPS of the model so far, 2 were taken yesterday and the other 2 were taken today

Here are the 2 I took yesterday:             

For the other 2 Ill make another post in order to keep all images neat.

These were the first WIPS before I had changed a few things and as well as updated the model. One change which might easily be noticed if u look closely in the newer WIPS is that the horns are much neater and more believable than be4, also some smaller changes whould be the face shape is more gaunt now.happy_virus2007-07-17 08:06:14

These are the other 2
Here are the 2 I did today

As for the shoulders piece what I could do is maybe tilt them back so that the shoulder pieces go behind his neck which might allow more raising of the arms, but as stated I cannot tell this without doing a test rig.

These are still very WIP and the proportions are still quite incorrect but I guess it is a start happy_virus2007-07-17 08:01:37

I have 2 new WIPS to show of my model, he is starting to kick into the high 5000 poly mark anyone got any ideas on what I can do to make this less just post a reply.



This is a major update 4 me coz my model is nearly ready for normal maps

Man this looks crazy good! nice mesh flow

This is a WIP of my Normal and Specular map, I am actually not happy with it at all and atm it looks reallly bad.   I will post it anyway as an intial idea and If anyone has suggestions on how I can get it looking good just chuck me some crits.

Keep at it ! the face is looking pretty amazing I love the wavey shape of the horns. Some areas look a tad too round, like the feet, spikes coming of the leg and cape you prob still working on them tho ^_^

you have been very busy great work!

Atm I am actually reworking the normal map, as for the strange cape that is just 3dsMAX's smoothing groups, this is not a Hi-RES model, tis mearly the character mesh smoothed with the normal map on it. The only6 reason I had the mesh smooth was to see the details betta.



None the less I am still reworking the normal map in Zbrush and well see what I can come up with . Btw thanks for the comments

well i have decided oh Hades.

so here's some initial concepts, still a lot to research, but i did find out hades has a really cool two pronged fork/spear as a weapon,

i will be adding some hair maybe slick back and oiled and some sort of facial hair too.

looks like a solid start, cant wait to see what you output if it's half as good as your DW2 entry it will kick ass.

What a beefcake! =D
Looking good, the weapon sounds neat and nasty too! goodluck <3

Sweet as, good old Hades i dig the old man face in the belt - who is that.... Zeus ?

killa dee - thanks a lot i'm going to put a lot more effort into this one now i know a few new tricks.

Anuxinamoon - yeah i usually don't make my characters so beefy, so i wanted to give one ago as he is the king of the dead, he needs to demand respect just on size alone.

HazarD - yeah it is meant to be zeus, but i might change it??

so here's a bit more work.

damn that is looking sweet cant wait to see it in 3d :D

yeah it's been a while, but i'm still in, so here's an update of where I'm at as you can see it's a slight change in direction but one i like.

Thats really nice man, the dog heads are cool and the extra hands are a really nice idea.



Looks awesome, cant wait to see the rest

Benny_s thanks, i must admit i was a bit iffy about the dogs heads, but in the end i'm happy with them, oh and there is a third one at the back sort of to represent the heads of Cerberus.



so here's a bit more i have designed another type of helm, still undecided.

that looks fantastic, personally im a fan of the hood, but ofcourse upto you =), the detail is just great

hawt! very nice work shadow, just gotta say love that last piece you posted on the main sumea page, that was pretty sick! I think maybe the dogs heads look a little tame, maybe you could make them mean like Cujo. Perhaps a rotting bear head carcass for the helm with the fangs just setting above your characters eyes. Seriously dude this is look rad, keep up the good work. Killa Dee2007-08-27 04:52:09

Wow, that's such an excellent illustration (although the arm is a tad bit short). I don't recall you drawing figures this well before though. Have you been practising figure drawing all this time or something?!

Nah, I haven't really been practicing for a while =(. I used a ref pose pic for it, as I don't want to spend to much time making my concept neat; just put my ideas down and get stuck into modeling =)
Thanks for the comment Souri <3

Cool Presh :) do some more!

I like the direction of where u want to take this character. Cant wait to see it developed more :)

P

awesome sketch ! maybe for some inspiration is to look at the Korean artists. They are awesome illustrators.
Id love to see more :)

WD

C'mon man, you gotta be in it.

We only do this once a year!

ok, I will clarify.... I'm in, but not confident I will finish.....

Ok.... I've done some research, and I have decided to base my entry on Tisiphone, one of the Erinyes....

I'm officially calling bagsies on it.....

ok, so... haven't really made much progress on this thing unfortunately, between spending a week in QLD, work kicking my arse, and generally not getting around to it, I'm pretty much behind the 8 ball as per usual on this one......



I have had an idea in my head of exactly what I want to do with this from the first week the comp started, however, I am anything but a decent concept artist...... which is why I always have so much trouble getting past the concept stage.... last night I managed to bash out a 5 minute scribble of the general shape I'm going for..... Hopefully in the near future I will find some time to try and concept some actual details so I can get started on modelling....

Am liking the wing design, and I'm hoping to some great stuff from you in this challenge

After some deliberation I'm messing with concepts for Talos, brass giant and defender of Crete. Can't decide if I should make him mechanical (gears and crap in the joints) or magical (fire or lightning).

ohh damm thats who i picked too =/ do you mind if i do her as well?

Not at all! Go for it :)

First little sketchy

After doing a fair bit of research I've decided to emphasis 'the bringer of disease' side of Artemis.

She will be scantily clad at most, and fairly young around the 18 - 20 age. I will probably have to label this thread with a Nudity Warning.

I decided to go with a bow made from the antlers of a deer, though im not sure about this due to polygon restrictions, might change it a bit.

She will be quite alluring, but I'm going to go for a skin with am ever-so-slightly tainted/demonic/undead look to it, and its as if she infuses each arrow with a part of that tainted essense to spread disease.

Will continue to develop ideas...HazarD2007-07-05 04:03:36

Clothing idea 1:

pretty simple Lingerie style approach..

Will do a few of these until i find the right one, this might be a tad too new school lingerie...

Also the Quiver is on the wrong side for now, a bit awkward reaching for arrows from this side, but compositionally its working so itll stay .... for now. HazarD2007-07-05 06:10:13

looks great HD! love the bow, very creative.

LOL damn it u people already have concepts.... :)
anyways cant wait to see it man.....im guaranteed to see awesome stuff.

great start and the bow is looking like its going to be pretty awesome.

Yay ^_^ shes very sexy and love that bow, im sure you will be able to make it and have plenty polys to spare!

Neffy: Thanks! but im not sure, especially now i have 2 sets , im hoping to spend the majority of the budget on her face and hair.

big bow.... big quiver... big see through cape / nightie.HazarD2007-07-08 06:29:22

Been working on my base mesh to throw into zbrush.







Alot to muck around with still, i think her feet maybe a bit small, belly button too big, and the head well i wont even go there.



As a rough putty stage most of the important things are there.



Im going to build, polypaint, light & render this high before ripping everything back to the final ingame mesh methinks.

Bow silhouette
Neffy2007-07-07 00:59:14

C&C welcome (something looks off to me 0.o )

zaaaaaaaaap~! thats hot, great start nef.

nice work nef cant wait to see more

Nice design

damn NE hoonters hehehehehehe

P

[QUOTE=panthr] damn NE hoonters hehehehehehe

P[/QUOTE] I play a sexy beast female troll hunter XD

ur still a hoonter!! :P but ur horde so all is good lmao

what server?

Jubi'thos I'm rather inactive tho =/ played the other day for the first time in like 3 weeks haha :P lvl 68 still TT__TT

(i did play a NE hunter too tho lawl XD My toons)Neffy2007-07-12 18:28:44

Cool Neffy! our two versions of artemis are going to be so different noone would ever know they were meant to be the same goddess!

Awesome :D i was hoping it would work out like that ^_^



Ok sorry everyone Ive been rather Dead ! so here is a head ahahahahah :P XD its craptacular but i don't think theres much more i can do for the face .. except mudbox it I dunno .. I think the proportions might be weird

has no ears =)

Some more :D and my colour scheme which will probably change as I go :P Cause i like changing things :P

the hair/head piece look nice =)

great update, this will turn out awesome!

That looks great Nef keep it up

woooooo go killa !!!!!

I'am going to pick, Nyx the goddess of ninja. Killa Dee2007-07-15 02:48:03

Sweet man, I think its within, cant see why it wouldnt be.

I dig the beads/pearls all around her you could make them shiny black pearls if you wanna be really evil.

very nice, i hope you can go with it, i look forward to seeing what other Z brush tricks you have for this one, the DW2 one was very cool i'll have to learn that one.

nice work killa it looks brilliant and it is well presented too nw

goddess of ninja and the goddess of completely awesome kick your ass :D

I'm pretty sure all Greeks Gods were 1337 ninjas.

I'm trying to refine my design, any suggest would be most appreciated.

Killa Dee2007-07-07 09:13:44

The first one. It is clean and my eye is not bombarded with useless small details.

The first one is really cool =D

I like the 3rd one's dress and the 1st ones hair/shouder guards

hmm, it seems like you're already set on a direction here, but I'm curious...Why do those spiffy silhouette studies and go with the least interesting option? There's gonna be plenty of realistically proportioned females with fancy costumes in this comp.

Out of all your thumbs, the third and last *feel* god like. Which I think is an extremely important point most people will miss....shika2007-07-08 03:18:39

ID say a combination of the first and the third, as for the second it looks awesome although it seems to follow more of a japanese style trait than a greek trait.

Id say like have the cuirass from the first on the third design but I dunno, it is just what I think then again tis not up to me

Nice work though keep up the nice designs look forward to final render happy_virus2007-07-08 20:49:30

I like the middle one lol... but i agree with happy that the style doesnt have much of a greek trait but that can easily be tweaked to fit in. Great job so far! :D

P

Thanks for the great comments, I think I'm edging closer to settling on my concept.



Killa Dee2007-07-23 04:32:01

It's very cold here this morning, so i'm typing this msg with 1 fingerrrrr!



Killa Dee2007-07-23 04:32:16

whoa that is brilliant it looks like something out of WoW cant wait to see the model

nice man, i really like the dragon head armour. this will turn out really cool

Great concept killadee, can't wait to see the model.

Nice looking concept, though I fail to see any Greek element at all. I agree with what happy_virus said regarding the WoW comment. It really does look like a fantasy style character especially with the dragon gauntlet. I don't really remember any dragons in Greek mythology. Maybe changing it to a head of a Phoenix, Cerberus, Minotaur or any other creature of Greek mythology would help push it further to the concept that is required to fit the brief.
In the end, it is your concept and your choice. Plus I don't know how strictly comps are judged here regarding the brief so it may be more than acceptable and it may only be judged based on execution of the concept and not the concept itself.
Overall, you're off to a great start and looking forward to seeing how this one pans out.

-caseyjones

[QUOTE=caseyjones] Nice looking concept, though I fail to see any Greek element at all. [/QUOTE]
Thanks for the great input Casey, my design is not intended to be generic, and I'm certainly not claiming to be an expert in the field of Greek mythology. I will read over the guidelines again and re-evaluate my concept and reference.

?Design and model your own God of War / fantasy Greek mythology character?
?The character for submission has to be an original design of your own creation?
?Your character has to look unique, superhuman, tough, suited and battle ready!?

#WIP# I didn't enter this competition to win the kudos or bionic implants (however teh bionic implants would be good), more to improve my skill level and talk shizzel Dizzle ma nizzel grizzel hizzel pizzel chisel fizzle with all you other like minded 3d warriors. [QUOTE=caseyjones]I don't really remember any dragons in Greek mythology[/QUOTE]Ladon, Typhon, Ceto, Phorcys, etc . Teh shield I guess could be 1 of teh 100 heads of Landon, but the phoenix or chimeras head would also look rad.

Keep it coming Casey your on the right track, I love your un-sugar coated response thank you.Killa Dee2007-07-17 22:38:15

[QUOTE=Killa Dee] Ladon, Typhon, Ceto, Phorcys, etc
Keep it coming Casey your on the right track, I love your un-sugar coated response thank you.[/QUOTE]

out of those guys listed Ladon is the only real one that comes close to being a dragon in the sence most people think of them, he was a serpent with 100 heads, so moulding that dragon head into a more serpent/snake like style could work well,

Typhon was a titan, serpent like from the waist down

and this is ripped from wikipedia, but i have somthing similar to this in a mythology book at home, In Greek mythology, Phorcys, or Phorkys was one of the names of the "Old One of the Sea", the primeval sea god, who, according to Hesiod, was the son of Pontus and Gaia(mother earth). In ancient mosaics he was depicted as a fish-tailed merman with crab-claw fore-legs and red spiked skin
and Ceto was the personification of the dangers of the sea, unknown terrors and bizarre creatures, and Phorcys wife

Casey's ideas of a Phoenix or cerebus are good ideas, looking at other dark creatures from greek mythos will help as well

the Primal goddess of night is a good choice, ill be interested to see how ur stuff comes out :D hope this was helpfull

Well put, yes thank you it was very helpful. I 2 read that wiki this morning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragons_in_Greek_mythology

lol @ Phorcys, fish-tailed merman with crab-claw fore-legs and red spiked skin. (Maybe he would make an interesting shield)

Cerubus the 3 headed hell hound might be a bit of a squeeze, a phoenix isn't a bad idea either i will have to think about it some more. Cheers! I do need to work the night theme into it, maybe some cosmic flares
Killa Dee2007-07-18 00:20:46

Shhh... Its not a dragon shield, its the head of a Hydra ;)

-caseyjones

yeah! hahaha it does look like 1 of teh heads of hydra http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hydra.html

I think your onto something Casey in your last post about it being a gauntlet, i like that a lot. This has been quite enlightening, thank you 1...

I don't really understand greek mythology, for example a fish-tailed merman gave birth to a hundred-headed dragon?   orealy!

Killa Dee2007-07-18 02:12:06

[QUOTE=Killa Dee] [QUOTE=caseyjones] Nice looking concept, though I fail to see any Greek element at all. [/QUOTE]
Thanks for the great input Casey, my design is not intended to be generic, and I'm certainly not claiming to be an expert in the field of Greek mythology. I will read over the guidelines again and re-evaluate my concept and reference.

?Design and model your own God of War / fantasy Greek mythology character?
?The character for submission has to be an original design of your own creation?
?Your character has to look unique, superhuman, tough, suited and battle ready!?[/QUOTE]

It's also emphasized in the guideline that "The armour, clothing, and weaponry for your character *must* be influenced by the ancient Greek period." Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that you can't be a bit creative, but it does mean that it has to look like it was influenced from that period.

I know I used the word "fantasy" in there, but I didn't mean that to describe the Tolkien influenced fantasy that most people think of, but more in the sense that it has to be fantastical and "make believe".

Now, I'm not going to be part of the judging process (my specific role at the moment is to make sure challengers adhere to the guidelines so that their final submission is accepted), so any general artistic comments I make on concepts or work in here have no bearing whatsoever on the judges decisions, but if you look at the past challenges, the judges do treat the brief pretty seriously.

If there's anything they can pick you apart with, then they will do it without hesitation. If the general consensus is that your concept doesn't look like it fits with the challenge brief, then you can be sure that the judges will get you!

sweet thanks Souri, less fantasy more ancient Greek, beware of judges and fish-tailed mermansss.. check

Back online! i was getting a little worried...hahaha

Anywhos, I decided to change my concept.

That looks better love the serpent staff , Medusa is an awesome choice can't wait to see that serpent hair in 3d

Nice update Killahappy_virus2007-07-22 22:27:04

Bit disappointing to see you changed your concept, but sometimes the first choice isn't always the best.

I will say, you probably did make a wise choice because this new concept already feels a lot stronger than your last one.

I don't know if this is going to be your final concept, but here's a few links to some Medusa/Gorgon concepts by Charlie Wen for the God of War series which may help push your concept further. His work for both games has been a huge inspiration for my entry for the comp (which will be posted soon, so it will be your turn to start ripping into me :P).



medusa1_resize

71_resize

medusa4_resize

fat_medusa1



I hope these are of some use to you. I'd personally like to see you keep pushing your concept just a little further in the design and don't be scared to try new things. It is a 4 month comp so there's really no need to rush into anything. Experiment, that's what the whole concept phase is all about.



Quoting Jack Monahan (awesome dude and great concept artist) on concepting:

[quote]-don't marry your first girlfriend. you remember her, right? when you were like 13? (or 37?) is that really who you want to spend the rest of your life banking on to see you through? of course not. and so accordingly, you also shouldn't get married, which is to say, too immediately invested or committed, to your first idea or concept. you want to have a good look at several good ideas before you put serious time into any of them. and if it turns out the first one was the best after all, what's the harm? you've proven that it's a good idea, and probably refined it along the way too.[/quote]

-caseyjones

thanks for the links, some awesome artwork. Yeah not finished sketching just yet, + I'm in no real rush to start modeling so yeah you hit the nail on the head again Casey. Here are some new thumbs, sry there a little freaky I was listening to drum n bass..



Killa Dee2007-07-23 04:25:53

caseyjones +1



your latest thumbs are a step in the right direction

WOOOOT!

interesting....

to be honest, i wasnt expecting something so....narrow in scope.

but, its going to force everyone to do some research and think outside the box, otherwise all the entries will be very similar. unless i can think of something pretty killer, i might sit this one out (although i did want to make a spartan for my own projects =])

seriously though, is it all possible to make it just 'god of war', without the greek limitations? i guess not.PeterDavis2007-07-01 05:31:14

Like you said, if you don't be creative and you submit something like a simple muscle bounded guy with a toga, then you run the risk of not standing out from the entrants that do go that bit further with the concept.

But I think there's plenty of room to be creative, with plenty of possibilities with the character features, armour/clothes/helmet designs and weapons.

Hey fellow insomniac artists

Finally Sumea Forum let me register!

So I am in....

a clarification if I may:

"Weaponry will add to the Poly count... "

does this mean that 6000 is the limit, including weapons?

It is indeed!

"Your God of War must be bi-pedal (two arms, two legs), and male or female.You could choose to have an animal head or animal features on the head of your character if you like"

does that mean the body has to resemble a humans? or is there scope for animal features in the body?(tail, wings,hoofs, etc) so long as its bipedal.

bring it on Hercules !

Finally it starts...I think I might do an Amazon, couldn't sleep last night thinking about what to do, so hopefully I stick to it...What's everyone else leaning towards? We can post concepts and work in progress here right? Happy modeling everyone!   

Cool brief, I like a lot.

Just wondering though:
"6. 1024x1024 money shot which can be lit and posed (or unposed) how ever you feel fit. You can include a background. Basic scanline render -- no light tracer, no skylight, no vray, no mental ray, no brazil etc; just vanilla scanline and your flare for presentation."

Why no fancy lighting setup for the money shot? I understand why not for the other images (so the model/texture can be accurately judged), but isn't the money shot, with the posed character and environment, all about having a bit of fun and showing off just how brilliant the model can be with no restrictions?

I can understand not being able to submit vray/brazil/mental ray renders with fancy shaders and lighting when its supposed to be a game-art challenge.
It also helps level the playing field when most of us are game artists and wouldn't know the ins and outs of an offline renderer.

edit: I got the impression from the last challenge that many people would even be happy just being able to submit viewport screengrabsshika2007-07-01 19:37:29

THEME: Design and model your own God of War / fantasy Greek mythology character. Think Kratos from God of War, or the gods and heroes from Greek mythology. Your character has to look unique, superhuman, tough, suited and battle ready!

Does this mean that it has to be an existing character from greek mythology? and you do your version of it. Or does your model have to look like it would fit within the realms of greek mythology?

I was wondering the exact same thing, some clarificatin on this would be a good thing to get before starting.....

haha. there is ALWAYS somebody who asks for clarification straight off the mark. pretty funny.

Shika, yeh, I was hoping challengers would not head towards making their character too animal like. I wanted to restrict any animal features to just the head area so that we don't get the challenge turning into a monster / creature themed competition. So yeh, just the head area and probably a bit below the neck line if your character needs it.

You could come up with your own Greek god / hero or base it off existing ones. However, if you do choose to base it on an existing character from Greek mythology, please do make them more fantastical. The ones that you see in the illustrations are pretty simple and bare (like muscly guys with a toga for example), and I wanna see some kick ass characters.

Ok, I've just updated the challenge guideline to include a note that this Sumea Modeller Challenge is sponsored by the fantastic people at The Academy of Interactive Entertainment and Qantm who will be putting up prizes for it!

"Shika, yeh, I was hoping challengers would not head towards making their character too animal like. I wanted to restrict any animal features to just the head area so that we don't get the challenge turning into a monster / creature themed competition. So yeh, just the head area and probably a bit below the neck line if your character needs it."

i was planning on doing a kinda satyr entry with armour... bipedal but with goat legs... this is really dissapointing..

i was wanting to detail a human head,(i dont really want to do just a straight human??) but was really hoping to be able to put animal reference in elsewhere...

wouldnt it be more fun to be a bit more open for interpertation? seems restrictive...tojo2007-07-02 19:38:40

yeah, and satyrs arent the only greek mythological figures you are counting out by only allowing the animal features from the neck up

/agreed, not that ill finish or anything, but its fun to watch the comp :), but a little animal influence should be there, like... some of the popular characters in Greek history have animal features, It also means people have more ideas to play with than muscles + weapon + toga + optional red tattoos.farmergnome2007-07-02 20:29:18

Yeah I'm disappointed, I wanted to have wings on my guy. It's a pretty big restriction when its supposed to be based on greek mythology

Ill jump in for some toga fun. I agree that the subject matter is quite restrictive & has been seen in various medias alot recently. But i guess its a challenge to present something fresh, so good luck everyone.

The god i will be focusing on is Chronos or Aeon......that guy who controls time.

Ill try and get some concept work up over the next few weeks.ENBE2007-07-03 19:45:06

What? No wings? where does it say no wings?

Edited: This is/was a joke - no hard feelings!CoyoteNinja2007-07-03 22:47:04

"I wanted to restrict any animal features to just the head area so that we don't get the challenge turning into a monster / creature themed competition"

just cause you cant have animal features in the body doesn't mean you cant come up with a cool original character, use those artistic noggins :)

artistic?..... ahh crap.....

[QUOTE=farmergnome] /agreed, not that ill finish or anything, but its fun to watch the comp :), but a little animal influence should be there, like... some of the popular characters in Greek history have animal features, It also means people have more ideas to play with than muscles + weapon + toga + optional red tattoos.[/QUOTE]

Yep, there are a lot of characters in Greek mythology that have animal features, or are even half animals. But they're usually villains or whatnot, not gods or heroes. I want gods, people! I did, however, leave it open for some animal characteristics on a tiny scale, but like I said, I don't want this challenge to get into a creature competition. Like someone has mentioned before, and it's something that has been brought up in the past, we need to have a more level playing field. I wanted a challenge where all the entries looked like they used the same theme. If the challenge was left open like was suggested, we'd have creatures with double jointed limbs up against humans.

I'm not going to be a judge for the challenge, of course, but I'd love to see people really take this theme and push it as much as they can in terms of meticulous costume, armour, and weapon design, and a really charismatic figure to go with it. I think it's such a cool theme to tackle, and it's not something we've really gone into before in past challenges (fantasy, sci fi, etc etc)

Why can't I post pictures..?

We migrated the forum to a new server a while ago, and the new server doesn't have upload components installed. It also doesn't store sessions for very long, which means people have been having trouble changing their forum info, or even registering a new account.

So, we'll be staying on this new server until our lease is up, and then migrate everything again to another webhost which should fix all the problems. For the time being, if you want to show your images, you can either upload them to an image hosting service, or preferably, upload them to you Sumea profile account and upload them there. You can then embed them in the forum here.

Some links which may help ppl...

Greek gods..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Greek_gods

Greek goddesses..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Greek_goddesses

Awww...why couldn't it be Egyptian mythology. :P

Hey all. Here is my first early concept. I'm sticking with the Amazon. I probably won't keep her as cute as in the picture. I want to keep her sexy, but tough at the same time (clich? I know). I just need to find the balance or choose one way or the other.

I also read some stuff that the Amazon's would cut/burn a breast off so they could archer and or throw a spear better, I'd like to incorporate it into my model, which I think would help me make her look really bad ass...

Amazon_1

any idea of the prize?

already? it seems so soon. Id love to see what some people can do without normal maps, just some good geometry and nice textures.

Sounds great :)

I think 'radioactive zombie pirate ninja cyborgs' would be a cool theme.    

What was the main prize from last year?

I kind of agree with PeterDavis.
I believe it's too soon...for the same stuff.

We see very little personal work on here unless it's for the challenges and then it's all based on the same thing, a FPS character model with normal maps and a generic topic such as Uber soldier or Sci fi marine.

Why can't the next challenge be something that allows a broader scope in art direction?

Souri could set up an imaginary world/game with a list of possible models to choose from, (townsfolk, critters, heroes, whatever fits) then the entrant must display there vision of how they think there chosen character model should look in the game/world.

Be it by using an alternative shader, maybe a cel shader like in Wind Waker or by representing them using a very different art direction such Shadow of the Colossus.

I'd love to see something totally off the wall that is well executed and still fits all the specs a games model has to adhere too.

I just think it would be good to see some stretching of our imagination muscles.

If we had some time before it started then the budding designers could compete for designing the world and characters we choose from.

Malus

The challenge will start in June (3 months away), so I thought it would be nice to hear some suggestions early so I can organize things if needed. Challenge will only go for 3 months (till September) which leaves one month for the judges (October). That's usually the plan!

Some great ideas there, Malus. I absolutely agree that it's time we do something different this round.

Have there ever been some enviromental themes? I cant find the page that has all the previous comps but i was trying to recall if there was ever anything other then characters.

I love my characters most people do, but we do want to be different this time dont we -_^

I think it's never happened as it's hard to expect someone to complete an environment with all the props, buildings etc needed to do an ok job.

Characters, vehicles and props are just easier to get out in a comp format.

Not to mention the small fact that this has always been a character challenge. :)

I think if people want a different challenge it should be done in parallel with not instead of.

How would you guys feel about an architectural (and maybe some props) challenge? No bi-pedals or creatures whatsoever...

maybe ..

arrrrghhhh??? environmental... man.. as cool as that could be.. this competition is well known as one of the best annual character comps around... which i think is a great thing..... i look forward to every competition....as do others i'm sure...but im all for keeping it characters... also there is a good chance that those in the industry are more likely to be stuck in enviroment than characters anyways for a majority of the project... so character modeling could be a good change for industry people as well.. either way ill be participating most likely...

A creature challenge this time around would be spiffy. No limits on limbs or anything like that. Free range, apart from model+texture limits and a short description(similar to conceptart.org's COW - link for example)shika2007-03-05 20:45:42

Hey guys.

What about a MMOG character? The character should appear to have played long enough to have collected a unique assortment of weapons and armour. Could possibly be fantasy or sci-fi style, but character must have unique appearance through customized items. Items must match character class.

Character + environment.

What about the most important character in any game, the shop keeper. You spend more time looking at these characters than any other NPC in the game so why not give them the respect they deserve.

Model the character (any genre) plus part of their shop. Like the counter top, display case or whatever they have.

Shika:
A more creative approach, it allows for something totally different.
Giving the entrants a chance to show what there twisted little minds can dream up. Boo ha ha.

Palantir:
Sorry to be harsh but WoW and it's ilk give me the yawns.

We may as well just set the topic as a space marine chick with big boots, size DD cybernetic boobs, tattoos, skulls around her waist, her arms replaced with guns and ....SPLORT... brain damage from lack of stimulus...

FlyingMonk:
Gives the props guys something to play with I guess. Could allow it to be a collaborative effort?
The props/level folk do a set piece and character peeps create the towns person who accompanies it.
Allow the entrant to determine what defines a townsfolk, anything from the generic blacksmith to something more exotic.
Souri could decide on the technical specs to follow while allowing each entrant to determine there own art direction.

do the cybernetic boobs shoot lazers ?

the reason we play hero characters instead of shopkeepers and candlemakers is that hero characters are more heroic and therefore way cooler ;) ..that is my intellegent statement for the day.. so therefor way cooler to model... either way... i think it is time again to have higher polycount around 7000-8000 even 9000 with 2x1024 textures ...

i think shika's idea is the best so far.... im all for a creature comp.

although i could be tempted to model a 7000 poly chicken with lazers shooting out its boobies and huge space marine boots

"although i could be tempted to model a 7000 poly chicken with lazers shooting out its boobies and huge space marine boots"
Automatic winner!

My 2cents would be a simple redesign an existing video/pc game character from pre 1994.

These ideas sound great :D all of them would be super fun to do.

Another idea for the bucket!

What about having an object/item for example a blue bucket (though probably more interesting then that) then everyone has to make that the focus of there work. Either a character wearing it on there head or a large print on a t-shirt, or a farmer with one in there hand. Doesn?t matter how but somehow it has to be there. The more creativly you use that bucket the better your score is.

[QUOTE=shika] A creature challenge this time around would be spiffy.[/QUOTE]

I vote for what he said.

Don't you feel like doing something different though? I think the challenge needs a real change this year, because we really have gone through the entire gamut of interesting character themes in all the past challenges.

We often see the same names in the top five or ten finalists in the Sumea challenges, and I think it's high time we mix it up a bit. I know characters are the pinnacle for modellers, but I think a lot of you are getting too good at doing them, and too complacent. The challenge therefore threw normal mapping into the mix which was probably an attempt to offer you some sort of challenge, and it sorta made it tougher for the new challengers as a result.

It would be cool if, like I mentioned before, if it were an architectural challenge (with a common theme), or spaceship or something.. just no characters or creatures!

Creatures - there's the possibility that challengers will just run the same ground with creature design that they do with characters (muscle definition, chest, limbs etc)Souri2007-03-08 06:12:55

humm, I don?t know if i'm too keen on architectural or spaceships. I just don?t dig them

But if I could make an octopus garden under the sea (with no characters or creatures) That would be more tempting ^_^

I'm up for a small scale architectural challenge, its all pushing verts and painting pixels after all :)- though I'd prefer a brief closer to "make a gateway" than "make a building"
I just fear we'll lose a lot of entrants since the majority of artists here seem to be character people and might not be interested in anything else(especially if they're trying to land a job making characters)

It seems to me that this comp is still expanding, it would be weird to change the format when it's gained so much exposure/branding.

Maybe we could have 2 smaller comps? one of each.

[QUOTE=KILLA DEE]Maybe we could have 2 smaller comps? one of each.[/QUOTE]

I like that idea

I agree with killa dee about risking changing something that is growing in exposure for what it already is.. people get really excited about characters.. and there has been some awesome enthusiasm put into the backgrounds of their characters...
the favorite part of the competitions for me is reading everyone?s ideas... very cool...
I know a couple of people who check out the competition and aren?t even interested in the games industry.. but they go through all the entrants each year just for fun... out of appreciation for the ideas behind them.. ultimately I put them on to it ..
but they have remembered the modeling competition and look forward to seeing the entries.. maybe they would feel the same about environment assets... not sure...
the other thing that might happen is that those who have been sitting at the top with their character models.. might even stand out more if they do environment models.. as the chances are they know all the tricks and have heaps more time to do them... and likewise the wow factor you can get from a cool character idea might give you a bit of extra cred in judging that you may not get with environments..

if we do go environments.. hopefully it will be open enough for interpretation... not just one theme... maybe a 'house of dwelling' or 'guild hall' which could be interpreted as space or medieval or whatever... would be a bit bland if it was kinda 'model a space marine dock' .....

What about a complete scene? The challenge could have an open styled brief similar to the cgsociety challenges (like The Journey Begins, or Grand Space Opera), with the main difference of course being that the scene must be within specified low-poly game environment specs.

This would allow for a high level of creativity and a variety of possible designs. People could make a character model or models as well as the environment (such as a scene of a hero character escaping an exploding army base, or a scene of a crowded castle) while others might choose to make something such as vehicles or creatures in their environments (a scene from a GTA style game, or a level from Doom before the hero arrives), or maybe something that is purely environmental (such as the bridge of a starship or a detailed landscape).

Admitedly a complete scene would be a lot of work, but it should be doable with the 3 month time limit, and of course, not everyone would need to make an overly complex scene. Beats me what theme to go with though.

Why don't we theme the competition to something rather then a genre or style.
I've noticed in a lot of previous competition people avoid doing things that are tricky, like good hair on a character, feet, hands or accurate human anatomy.
So I prepose we theme it on something that forces entrants to try face tricker challenges.

Suggestions:
Cool Hair competition- The character/creature can can be any style or genre as long as the focus is their cool hair.

Fat Character comp- The character just has to be fat or have some sort of obvious fatness going on.

Hands and feet comp- Focus character is the detail in their hands and feet. Preferably uncovered. Quake boots and boxing gloves wont do.

Flesh and bone- Character must explore texture and form of flesh and bone and this must be obvious on the character.

An idea that combines (what I think) are the good points of most of the suggestions so far would be to make a creature + its dwelling. The dwelling should be as much a focus of the comp as the creature, and they have to go hand in hand. It depends on the creature of course, but the dwelling has the potential to be a small, yet interesting environment peice to compliment the creature, which stays closer to the traditional vein of the comp. And of course laser boobies are obligatory.

many great idea's, a 'hands' comp could be fun.

With environment what spec's are we talking here? (Next gen games or cinematic)

What would the specs be like?
-10k polys
-4096x4096 texture (broken up however you like)
-HDRI GI Lighting (Vray and Mental Ray are allowed)
-2 months?

KILLA DEE2007-03-12 16:01:27

I like what GuyBrave suggested =^_^=

w00t... :) lol

Nice start USF!:) Undead scuba divers are rad. Can you post up the brief that were all work to?

Congrats Asmuel and Tojo!
Looks like YOU ended up kicking MY ass, Asmuel ;)

Can't wait for the next one.

- David

well done guys. its great to get some more feedback. congrats! and i do agree with Asmuel winning. he just turned up out of the blue with a killer model, well done!

next challenge! cmon im ready! start it while the judges are still fresh from the panel!

by the way, what were the prizes? i never remember them being listed anywhere....PeterDavis2006-11-20 11:16:38

OMFG!!!!

I honestly cant believe it, I seriously thought I would fourth or fifth, clearly I guess I am my harshest critic.

Thanks to everybody that was envolved, I had to check over and over to make sure I was reading it right, which I will continue to do for the next half hour.

[QUOTE=shika] Congrats Asmuel and Tojo!
Looks like YOU ended up kicking MY ass, Asmuel ;)
[/QUOTE]

Yea I cant believe it, dont wory shika I liked yours the best personally ;) Anyways I had a great time trying to catch your ass over the duration of the competition you were the one to beat for me

again thanks to all the judges and to sumea and souri, and congrats to all the competitors for your placings and making it the one of the toughest contests austrilasia has ever seen

:)

Congratulations Asmuel!

As I predicted I knew that asmuel, tojo and shika will come up on top and very well deserved wins.

Thanks to the judges and Souri especially. Very tough competition and surely it always gets better.

Gratz to everyone that entered and special thanks to Souri and Sumea for running another great comp!

The prizes are:

1st place: will have to consult with Asmuel
2nd place: Albatron GeForce 7950GT 512MDDR3 Dual DVI/TVO PCI-Express
3rd place: Limited Edition (hard cover) D'Artiste Concept Art Book from hereSouri2006-11-20 20:35:46

nice Souri.
also, excellent choice with Ballistic Publishing prizes. cant go wrong with them.

Grats to all the winners :D i had an absolute ball of a time and i cant wait till the next one !!!!

Ninja i still think your model is so fantastic, a lot better then mine !!

Congradulations Asmuel and Shika.... well done.... well deserved..

Thanks heaps Souri for a great competition once again..
...

thanks to all the judges for participating as well..

...and of course MicroForte and Pandemic for cool prizes!!

cant wait till the next one... :)

Fantastic work everyone.
Congrats to all of you, those are some great prizes and you certainly earnt them.

Thanks to the judges, great to read your comments.

Big thanks to Pandemic and Micro Forte'.

Congratulations everyone. Hats off to the winners :)

This was my first Sumea Challenge entry & loved it. I found it very interesting to see how the judges differ so much in their opinions.

For example; Delmo's entry is excellent & was ranked 3rd by Pandemic, but 14th by Auran.

Congrads to the winners and everyone I had alot of fun with mine and was good to see so many great bits of art Really can't wait for the next one :) On that note.. unoffical challenge is there if you want to have a go or just get bored    UniqueSnowFlake2006-11-25 04:50:08

Congrats to the winners and everyone who submitted :)

3 cheers for sumeasouri and the judges!

Sure, that's fine!

I am down for this idea.

I realy like this idea, maybe with the timimg a christmas theme of sorts.

WAZUP! Sounds like fun.

Glade to see some keen people.

Ok, So we still need a topic

I've been playing a bit of Warcraft 3 again and thought RTS units might be a cool topic idea. The idea being that you would create a race for an RTS and then build a few of the units/buildings:

Units:

worker unit
melee unit
Range unit
Caster/magic unit
Hero

Builds:

Barracks
main
Defence

As an example if you wanted to do the christmas theme you could do buffed up elfs with santa as your hero and ground defence candy canes :P

So yeah just throwing that out there, anyone keen to do this??

If so we will have to do some sepcs on the characters because we don't need massive poly counts and texture sizes but I'd still like to keep normal maps for everything.

Hehe, Im in my theme is Killa Xmas Robotz.

How this sound USF

-1500 max polys per model.
-512x512 textures.
-x1 units insignia
-Must submit Worker, Melee/Range/Caster and Hero.
-Teams may enter.KILLA DEE2006-11-12 18:32:50

can i do an army of green aliens :3Neffy2006-11-25 21:36:24

of course go for it!!

Specs you said the other day sound good:

-1500 max polys per model.
-512x512 textures.
-x1 units insignia (can be apart of the character or just a logo for your race on each units final render)
-Must submit Worker, Melee/Range/Caster and Hero.
-Teams may enter.

I'm not a regular poster here, but am a long time lurker and I haven't yet seen an environment modelling contest.

I suggest making an RTS environment built to a specific theme (be it sci-fi, fantasy, realistic... not really important).

Entry constraints:
- 10k tri budget for the entire scene
- 256x256 max texture res (limiting the number of maximum allowed textures would be cool and more challenging)
- diffuse map required
- bump/normal/alpha/specularity/glow/occlusion map optional
- 2 month time allowance
- any characters built go towards texture and poly budgets (characters are not a requirement)

But seeing as its not a character comp, and there probably won't be any prizes offered. People probably won't bother.

-caseyjonescaseyjones2006-11-30 02:10:02

Ok, it looks like this idea fizzled out somewhat. However, I will be organising a small 3D activity real soon to give the modellers around here something fun to do.

The idea is to extend the idea of Sumea Pixel Town and do a Sumea 3D Town, where everyone can claim a bit of land and develop on their property what they like.

We'll be using a specific bit of technology for it, but I'll be letting you all know about it next week!

Here a rough concept I did a while ago... Asmuel2006-10-02 09:35:17

better hurry!

looks cool tho

[IMG]uploads/20061002_101736_Asmuel-1.jpg"/>Asmuel2006-10-02 10:19:35

Probably a small technicality, but you need a front, back, side, and 3/4 view for shots 1 and 2.

Just close up shots instead of beauty shots, unforseen circumstances mean no beauty shots (lack of resources). oh well times up anyway

Asmuel2006-10-02 19:18:06

Just do a simple render for the money shot (and include the relevant model info), and include a three quarter view of screen shots 1 and 2, and you're done!

ah sh*t no time left to change orthos, I thought I saw someone else do the same as me but it might have been my imagination. Oh well cant change it now I guess its 3am in New Zealand now Im not really thinking straigh need sleep bad.

I'll be accepting late submissions, so stragglers have about half an hour left, but I can't accept your entry without those small changes.

Ok, just a simple money shot which has the name of your character, your polycount info, and a list of any special maps you used, and you're in!

Thanks Souri had troulbe uploading them for a while, sorry for keeping you up. Is it ok now?? 3:24am here Im so tired

You're almost done, man. Just need that last shot!

The one with the three angles of him doesnt suffice?? Because its only 1024 X 512?? Man you guys are hardcore with the rules, Im used to the sloppy rules @ polycounts challenges, Its a good thing you guys inforce them I guess I just wasnt prepared for it.

No, I just need the money shot pic. See my post at the top of this page.

Asmuel2006-10-02 19:14:40

Ok, you're challenger #11!! Go to sleep :)

Cheers, thanks mate. Now that I look at it that render is pretty bad. I had to use modo's viewport shots which means no shadows, which is a shame with all the overhanging geometry, It also f**ks up transparency too. Oh well thats what I get for not owning good rendering software, I guess youll have to use your imagination when looking at it ;)

I added the info to my money shot Souri.

The money shot should be 1024 x 1024 pixels. If you're not too tired, can you change that please?

oh wow, very nicely done.

^ updated version of my first picture, I just noticed the sword was missing in part of it so I thought I would repost it, I will understand If its not accepted because the deadline is over

thanks PeterDavis :) I took a lot of inspiration from human anatomy when designing the armour.

ha ha
love this character so much
greast design and love the style as well
great work

Tojo, could you post your pics in the #8 challenge thread you did? Thanks...

Low poly model coming soon~ currently in Zbrushsteinwaycg2006-09-30 16:07:31

Some screenshot of ZBrushing stage --------------------------







Currently working on nromal mapping, update coming soon

it looks good, but make sure you check with the rules on whether something anthopomorphic is allowed. check before its too late.

Yep, that's fine. Very nice work so far, keep on it!

To: Peter
thanks ~ I will check it carefully ~

To: Souri:
Wow~ encourage from admin  ~ tks

Good job man - I like the more subtle detailing, and those sketches and studies are very nice.

thank~ just got a habit of visual diary,which I think is really good for us CGers I saw your concept days ago, pretty good! You must have fine arts background, am I right ?

hey Shaofang..... great to see you entering!! great work.. didnt realise you were such a great drafstman .. although i wouldnt have doubted it!!

In continuation of our slang lessons;) yo'l be da grand #$%#ing master... your sh*t drops bombs on ol that other toy sh*t, straight up d.o.p.e. and $%%^#&'s will be reaching for there f*#$*ng watches when you be telling da time ;)

make sure you finish!!

hey~ Tony dude,"Yo~ what's up, gee" glad you like it. I will keep practise the slang in office . Finally, I finished my little kitty~ here is my submission.

ZBrush update first ~

I have to say it's great fun to be ZBrusher~ hehe

Finished~! So lucky to have so many friends : Herman, Troy & Paul ...gave me so many support and made my SUMEA trip such a enjoy! Appreciate it guys Wish my work won't let you down, hoho

steinwaycg2006-10-01 10:51:10

Here is my Submission

steinwaycg2006-10-01 18:21:32

I really enjoy looking at the warm colours on this guy, Best of luck !

Well done, you're challenger #4!

This is awesome man, totally proud of you and your first effort on a normal map character.

First Zbrush, First Normal map - awesome determination to make this in such short amount of time as you did ( i know you only began a few weeks ago )

Your a winner in my book man

Thanks dude ~ Lucky I got a support team with me during production and also, a small announcement here is my character V2.0 is under processing already, seems it's time to push to another limit ~ show you guys soon

here is some renders of my high poly model nearly finished

[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/benny_s/200681924258_benny_front…"]benny_front.jpg[/url]
87.9 KB

[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/benny_s/200681924346_benny_back…"]benny_back.jpg[/url]
85.67 KB

Makes two ton seem pretty small!! Nice work mate, torso is spot on

i dunno how people have the patience too do models so complex :P
seen you working on this at school but never seen a full render like this, its awesome work cant wait too see the finished product

Is this a new model you made specifially for this challenge? One of the challenge rules is that you cannot cannabilise any pre-existing work - you have to make it completely from scratch - to enter. Obviously, this rule needs to be in place otherwise the challenge would be open for some serious abuse.

I ask this because I thought this model was familiar and was reminded that it is from your [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/sgallery.asp?p=B&news=2112"]Sumea gallery[/url].

oco & neffy: thanks for the compliments ive put alot of work into this and its good to see its appreciated.

Souri: i was told about this challenge just after it started when i began this model, i just wasnt sure if i wanted to enter the comp. Im only a new member so the stuff in my gallery is only some previous renders before i posted here.

Cool nice work!
[:)]

The rules state that your entry must not be recycled from previous work, and that it has to be made from scratch and specifically for this challenge. Therefore I simply can't allow this entry into the challenge.

If you'd like to PM me about this, please do.

[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MudBrush/20068163957_002.jpg"]002.jpg[/url]
101.92 KB

Or do you guys like this one more. I just spent a little time to modify hem in Zbrush...hehe, I may keep working on the other one unless anyone stop me.

Any one can teach me how to post the image that people can see it directly without download it?[8)]

Hey, body. It's a good start.
I prefer the first model. i might suggest more details to show his characteristic. It is cool.

nice work man, after you upload the picture there is a html code which is really long contain the picture name within it, find that sentence in your thread, then simlify it to [ img ] http//www......name.jpg [ / img ], then your picture will be shown in the site directly.

Really cool modelling work so far. I think he really needs a bit more character though (maybe you're adding more to it, I dunno). Plus, his boots are a bit too feminine, I think. Should make them more chunky, I reckon [:)] Really like his pants with nice folds. Is there a way in Zbrush to make the lines or strokes more consistent / less blotchy?

Thanks, Lakestone and Souri. You are right, I don?t have very strong idea about this guy so far. It just started, I always got ideas when I am doing it.
Souri, I haven?t done anything with the boots yet. Those will be cool parts of this character, hehe.
Thank you Openanewworld, that is really helpful.

Here is the hi-poly mesh of the face. Rendering from Zbrush. I make all the details a little bit big to make sure it can be carried by normal map well later.

C&C please!

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MudBrush/200681782555_FaceInZbru…]

Side veiw from Zbrush.

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MudBrush/200681785820_FaceInZbru…]

Great modeling! Keep it up!

Cheers 3ddada,

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MudBrush/200681884732_HalfBody.j…]

Stronger character? Too evil? I love this stage of work...tweaking the model to characterize him.

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MudBrush/200682065011_HalfBody02…]

Just some more details modeling in Zbrush.

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MudBrush/200682065135_HalfBody03…]

Do you guys like those scars? I may need build this guy as few parts in Zbrush later. Then I can get more polygons to work in the same area.

quote:Do you guys like those scars?
a bit difficult to say with that low definition.. I think it can be a good idea though if betterly done.. if it's not too deep you may probably do it with a bump too, and especially with the color map..

What happened to his chest? Did someone punch him a bit too hard o_O

tsk tsk souri read the synopsis :P The scars look cool, kinda like whipping marks.

Help!! I cannot upload a 70kb jpg file today!

Try image host.
http://imageshack.us/[8D]

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MudBrush/20068234440_Boots01.jpg…]

Haha, I got it. Thanx Killa, I didn't use the image host, but I found out the reason. The size of my image wasn't right like 800x600 or 400x300.

Like those boots? Such fun models to work with[:)].

No part of this guy has finished yet. I might build more elements for him as well. So please tell me any of your ideas, thank you guys very much for your time.

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MudBrush/200682342836_Boots02.jp…]

An other side of view of those boot.

good job man..!!

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MudBrush/20068278754_InGame01.jp…]

Hehe, too many drinks in last two days.[xx(]
Here is my first test as a low poly model with normal map(1024x1024). The image was rendered in Max.

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MudBrush/20068278186_WirFrame01…]

The poly account is 5686 tris right now. I might add more later.

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MudBrush/20068278268_UV01.jpg[/i…]

Hi,
I decided to profit of this challenge to learn Zbrush..
So I spent hours to understand the logic behind this obscure software^^
Finally I did this little exercise,
http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/main.jpg
I imported a quick hand from LW and did the details in Zbrush.

not perfect but glad enough of the result to believe I'll be able to do something with this software for the contest :P

So I started the model today..
finished the cage of the legs and the short. The rest is mainly to block the shapes.

http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/sumea.jpg

and here is an early test of the short in Zbrush (not subdivided enough ;) )..
http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/short.jpg

didn't really have time to work on it today so here is just a small update..

http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/jambes.jpg

You got lots of really cool detail in your concept which I hope you'll carry across onto your model. I wish you'd partaken a bit earlier so you'd have the luxury of time on this, but keep going! [:)]

thanks for the comment,
yeah I'm a bit worried about the time I'll have to texture.. ^^
but I hope it will be fine ;)

update:
http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/latest.jpg

still need tweaking a bit everywhere.. the elbows are not at the correct place, and the folds of the trousers are temporary ^^
cheers

the cage of the face; I was looking for a blend between asian and western style but it maybe not asian enough though.. (especially from the side) I'll see what I can do in Zbrush later:P
[img]http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/head.jpg[/img]

Im amazed at you guys who run with that kind of workflow. Looks neat

ohhh the face is looking really really nice, hes quite sexy.

ive never seen this method of modelling before, its quite interesting too look at.

thx guys for droping by... ^^

glad you like the face Neffy, yeah sexyness [8D]
here is a small update.. ears and shoulders!! ^^

http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/shoulders.jpg
the bevelled stuff is temporary..

hi! long time no see.. didn't have time to work on this those last days.. here is a small update.. hope I'll have more time in September otherwise will be difficult to finish on time..

[img]http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/belt.jpg[/img]
the hair are nearly finished.. so bored with that [:D]
I'm going for something slightly different from the concept on the kimono finally..

I spent few hours to find the way to normal map on some planes ^^

http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/test_normal%20map.jpg

and finally finshed the torso..
ready to Zbrush!!
http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/buste.jpg

UPDATE!! ^^

I finally changed my method, and decided to get my low poly mesh done first.. so here it is, 5670 tris so far, without the hair..
[img]http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/test.jpg[/img]

Kick-ass!

quote:Originally posted by TDK

Kick-ass!

thx ^^ still a long way to go though..
I just finished the model completely hair and teeth.. 5996 tri! :P
+ unwrap done ..

http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/unwrap.jpg

now I'm wondering if I should start by painting the texture and use it as a guide for the Z brushing or the opposite :D

finally decided to work on the color map first.. at least on some part where I will do the normap map from a painted bump map..
for the folds on the clothes and other parts where I'll need Zbrush, I'll do the details of the color map later.. :)

here is the colormap base applied on the mesh with the UV (before , the color was vertex based..) + specular map base..
[img]http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/colormap.jpg[/img]

start to paint now :P

here is an early test of the full normal mapped body..
[img]http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/normalmap.jpg[/img]
I just worked on the skin parts so far.. the rest is just the subdivided model without work..

Looking cool man, You've definitely captured a lot of character in this guys face and the tone in the arm muscles is working well. I think there's something strange going on with the knee caps though, maybe it's just the light but it looks to me as if they either protrude to much at the top or are set in too far just above them. Interested to see what you do with the hair, Opacity map?

littl' update;
finally finished the belt..

[img]http://kakikukeko.free.fr/sumea/normalmap3.jpg[/img]

will redo the trousers , I was trying different kind of folds..

I really like the pointed ear, suits the hair well !

Not bad at all, still think it looks like a life jacket though =P (kidding!) definitely has your style of drawing in the way you've modelled him. Although where's that frown you like to give em, his brow is dead straight!