Work in progress

I dare say its been said befor but ( WOW )[:0]

Those are looking really cool. Well done :)

indeed :)

i like the first one. great work.

that is looking spectacular, itll be awesome to see that in full swing.

I'm very excited about this game. Many of us at QATNM have been saying that Australia needs a big game/engine type thing to get the attention of the rest of the world. We've had great games come out of here, but something huge like unreal, etc. would really put us on the map. and this game is looking very nice so far: fantastic looking high-end engine with nice shaders etc. if the gameplay is as good as the visuals then i think it'll be a huge step forward for the australian industry.

I agree! We really haven't done a title (of recent times) that would be of a huge interest to the hardcore PC gamer. The types of games where a million game portal sites regurgitate news over and over about, where rabid fans salivate over each new screenshot. Granted, it seems like only FPS's are the only types of games that garner this type of attention, but if that's where the audience is (well, on the PC), why isn't there more happening. I mean, we all love FPS's, don't we? Wouldn't we love to make them instead of more niche kind of games?
I know, people are going to chime in that the bucks are on the consoles where titles sell a multitude more times than on the PC, and the FPS genre in the PC market is perhaps saturated and extremely competitive, but I seriously reckon there's enough professional talent here that can rival the Half Life 2's and Doom 3's (as long as you don't put your game out near their release date [;)]).

Actually, I just realised that Tribes: Vengeance is one of those locally made titles that got that media attention. Anyway, the U-235 screenshots look great!! If there's one thing that gets the attention of hardcode PC gamers and news sites, it's impressive screenshots!

BTW, can someone tell me what U-235 Studios were before they were renamed? I'm sure I have their old name in the database that I need to update.

Souri : As far as I know U-235 didnt have a name before hand. They are pretty new crew =)

A quick response to a couple of Posts

Souri: As the other half of the team that produced these screen shots ( I wrote the shaders etc, urgrund did the textures and models) I can tell you that u235 studios is a new development studio formed very recently (less then half a year ago). This is the first title from the studio.

LiveWire: I actually attended QANTM as a student until work commmitments forced me to end my study there. And I agree with what you said.

There are a few other big games in development here in Australia so hopefully we can make an impact on the rest of the world with the quality of work done here in Aus

I could've sworn something was renamed. o_O .. I think it might have been mentioned somewhere here in the forum. Maybe Retribution was called something else before?

Anyway, I've added [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/sdevelopersprofile.asp?developer=102"]U-235 studios[/url] into the developers database..

dont worry Souri i'll back you up. i'm sure i saw a news item on their main page a couple of weeks back saying they are "now called U-235 studios". weather the game name or compnay name was different i dont know. perhaps it was just the website name was different, cos i'm sure the same news item said "the new web address is www.u-235studios.com"

really nice mate.

I realy like the background. and the metals.

I think somthing structuraly about the face bugs me a bit. Not to sure. I think if the helmet was covering his ear, the ear would be far too back on the head. Assuming he has ears :)

Nice work But as you say a bit more detail may do it,

But still looks good. [:)]

T__T thats a totally awsome pic..and your complaining about it. BAH! BAH I SAY!

i love it. looks very star trekish indeed.

thanks for the comments :)
I spent another hour or so tinkering and I think that i will call it done now. For those that say "hey! he posted the same image again!" the one below has lighter forground features (to pull it off the background a bit more), warmer colour in the characters face and clothing highlights, a little texture etc added and a minor helmet adjustmet (thanks denz).

[img]http://home.iprimus.com.au/johnnewall/extras/character_SF1L.jpg[/img]

Well for starters its refreshing to have the thumbnails smack in the face & not a fandangled and unnecessary mish mash of flash windows that each take 2 - 3 seconds to slide in and out of the screen for every menu.

The modelling imo needs alot of work theres alot of unnecessary polygons, like an 80 tri batton, and the 128 tri shield. they could be done with less than half of that polycount. pay close attention where you place your verts and check to see if they add any definition to the silhouette - if not - more often than not, it doesnt need to be there.

On the flip side your textures dont reflect the detail in your models, they are flat and lacking alot life. head on over to cgtalk and study other peoples textures, try to emulate the folds and detail in materials etc.

Nevertheless - good start [:)]

Thanks for fedback HazarD. After couple minutes I got batton down to 56 tris and shield to 86. Will check out cgtalk as you suggested, Thanks again

I can't comment on the models (not a 3d person) but the visual consistency of your samples looks good - almost as if they were all done for a single project. And I agree with Haz about a neat, uncomplicated site too.

Nice work! I like most of the design - did you intend his face looking chimpanzee'ish ?

I was originally thinking of diablo or balrog (lotr) or even a bit of one of the creatures from the new WOW cinematic, when i started doing the head. i started moving away from what i had originally been thinking, i wasnt really thinking chimp, by now you say it i guess i can see that in it a little! Hazard you said you liked most of the design, what areas would you fix, cause i will probably tweak the model a little bit more before i unwrap etc.

Cool, I love it.
I love the mass and feeling of weight to the tail. That whole bottom section looks like it could be off a dinosaur.

Looking goood.
Not a big fan of the face though, the muscle under his eye/cheekbone area looks a little to sharp and strong.

cool :) nice work.

I agree with Makk.

Hey MAn Nice Model, Love the veins, the only thing that i question is the tail, might look better without or smaller?

personally i like the tail, a heavy long tail is not nescarily a bad thing when working with a mythical creature, those demon things from warcraft 3 (there was one in the orc ending cinematic, got killed with the axe) come to mind.
cool model, keep it up

Now that I look at it again, I get the impression that there is a balancing problem due to the size of the tail. Looking at the side view, it sort of looks like he might topple over backwards. I think it?s partly because of the massive tail and partly because his legs and feet are set is a position designed to make the creature lean forward. Imagining the exact hind section on a T-Rex type of creature, it?s upper body would extend forwards about the same length as the tail goes back, in order to have a balanced centre of mass. I think this guy needs that same balance. He seems to have the centre of gravity in a position that would not allow him to stand upright without toppling over.

I think he needs either a smaller tail, a much bulkier upper-body, or he should be hunched forward more to counter weight his tail.

Of course I may be wrong, but that?s just the impression I get. I imagine if I had a toy model of that sitting on my desk (apart from looking really cool) I don?t think it would stand on it?s own. [:)]

Insert Image: [img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/pk/2005219215310_beast_tex-pkx.j…]

hi, heres an update of the high poly model 'red demon beast'. I have tweaked the model slightly taking in account some of your suggestions, smaller tail, balance, relaxed muscles in facial area...
its now textured (still need to do teeth and gums properly), then onto rigging and morph targets for head and muscle flexing.

demonic beasties - this one's in my area [:)]

in regards to the texturing, the main points I'd say to do some passes on before proceeding would be:

-sun bleaching: consider what this beasties skin properties are - is it thin skin layered over a structure of muscle, tendons, cartledge and sinew, or does it have a thicker leathery property? If it's more fleshy, sun spots and sun tanning where the sun would hit more prominently and whiter bleached areas where not much sun touches. Likewise, if it's more leathery, cracked, darker, and harder crusted leathery areas where the sun hits, and lighter smoother and more soft diffuse areas where it doesn't reach.

-translucent meaty reds: to give a greater impression of organic mass, add in some more saturated reds in areas where the skin is thinner and the blood layers more closely to the surface such as the nose, around the eyes, thin edged joints like elbows knuckles and knees, and progressively towards the hands and feet where the blood circulation fights more against congestion.

-integration of elements: This is a bit harder to try and explain - think of it as a final checking step. blending the different elements more coherantly as one, to make the beastie read more as a whole and complete being -- what I mean by this, as an example, would be the seperation of the different elements like the claws and skin. Check out some photo referance of animals with similar attributes - how a thin skin layer merges and connects the claws (think similar to the cuticles on your fingernails), or where the wear and tear of chunks and scratches and deposits of dirt form around the horns of a bull, or how the cartledge from the bridge of a nose is visible through the skin layer. Another example would be the details of protruding veins you've put in, but they don't yet read "beneath" the surface as good as they could, it's reading more like protrusions tendons would make.

Well, that's a lot of notes [:D] I hope I've been of some use, I think you're doing very well, and I'd like to see him pushed as far as I know you can take him!

I think hes come along really well [:)]

Theres a couple of things when I first look at this guy with fresh eyes - I see powerful legs, a powerful torso, a good solid jaw, big head and a thick neck.

When I look at his arms I cant help but feel they are a tad undersize in bulk (not length) - and lacking in the power department, in paticular his long slender fingers dont say "I am a demon and I will tear you apart with these hands"

I have to agree with all of JI's notes regards the texture - I think youve made a good solid base - now its time to start throwing some environment / substance detail passes onto the beast.

Keep going with this guy hes going to come up well! [:)]

what software did you use?

hi all, thanks 4 the feedback...

Joel, cheers for the texturing tips, I will do a couple more passes on the texture keeping them in mind.

Hazard, I have been playing around with muscle flexing with morph targets, which makes the arms look more powerful. Do u have any pics/reference for powerful hands that i can check out?

Livewire, I used 3DsMax for the beast and starting to test out mental ray for rendering

Hi, I got sidetracked doing other things and didnt upload a finished pic of my beast. I thought that I might as well do it now. I thought I might have a contrasting heavenly glow to the demonic beast for this pic, hope you like!

Insert Image: [img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/pk/2005521195926_beast-z.jpg[/img]

that looks great! are those teeth supposed to look metallic though? also i wonder if in a more relaxed pose sort of thing (as apposed to posed so for ease of modelling etc) the fingers would be so spread out, on (his) right hand especially i get the feeling they would hang a bit closer together, thats just me though. congrats again on a great model

It looks great, but I still think the skin tone is to even throughout, I'll get back to you on this one.

sounds like a good enough way of building a portfolio, seems to cover a lot of bases anyway. in relation to what you have posted, its not bad but id say that you should really improve your anatomy, use this site http://www.saveloomis.org/ (this is a good forum http://www.tsofa.com/forum/index.php) or any anatomy book you find in a new or 2nd hand bookstore is good too. just keep practicing over and over, until you get a feel for proportions and the like, anatomy is a critical part of both 2d and 3d work.
one other point is what do you mean when you say you want to paint posters of the game? a good way would be to develop a backstory then do a big group shot of the characters. an important addition lacking in your current example is a background.
great idea though, im looking forward to seeing how it all progresses

Nods* all that you said are valid and noted complements and critie. ^^the marine girl is a very generic character and doesnt fit into any of my sotres. (and she loosk too scarcraftish) i DO already have character ideas and storys in and developed so thats covered. Atonmany is always a bitch but i really should grab a atonamy book in the next few months. i shouldnt have pre ordered that nintendo DS O.o

As for back ground and big character compassioion. WELL DAH! (sorry^^) i was tihnking for each poster to have the main cast of characters plus some seane locations and vechiles in the background of the image..that should do nicely...

[in advanse..sorry for my horrable spelling^^]

Somehow the torso is kind of too long... also i'm not quite sure about the handrails on the shoulders... they don't seem really purpose.
Maybe you should check out the new U.S. Marine uniform.. maybe you can pick some coulors from there to create your coulor palete..
Rizo

you won't have any problem getting into the AIE

^^thanks mate.

thats cool + warhammer is dope (aslong as theirs goblins in ur mod... theres goblins right?). My crit would be the hands seem a bit small though, perhaps just in comparison to the really really widening glove down the wrist. Also the shoulder pads look like they might be a bit high (but in truth i havent seen a chaos model in a long time).

Hey Taamati, Welcome to Sumea! [:D]

Looking good! The texture looks good in some areas but other areas like the axe head might need some more work. I think it's because some of the texture looks photosourced and other parts look hand painted.

I agree with Moonunit on the hands. Hands should be approximately the same size of the face and the feet should be roughly the same too. Then you have to consider the garments that are worn over the top. (eg, big war boots or chunky gauntlets)Your feet also look a tad small there [;)]

Godd job though! Just keep at it. [:)]

That looks really good. I'm impressed with what you did on such a low budget. Any chance of posting the wires?

Thanks for you input, I've already scaled up the hands and feet somewhat. I agree it looks way better, I kinda rushed it a bit. I did the whole character yesterday and by the end of it, I was pretty buggered.

Here are the wires

[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/Taamati/2005119191315_CW_back_wi…"]CW_back_wire.jpg[/url]
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[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/Taamati/2005119191341_CW_front_w…"]CW_front_wire.jpg[/url]
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[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/Taamati/200511919143_CW_pers_wir…"]CW_pers_wire.jpg[/url]
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Hi

Do you think this should be 2x512 or 1x1024 its for a HL2 Mod.
what do you all think.

thx

3DArty

Ken Byrnes.
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An amateur built the ark and professionals built the titanic.

It really depends on what you guys are doing with your mod, if its 3 players per team then you'll probably be fine go for higher res textures, if its 20 players then you may need less.

I'd say ask your coder, hes the one who should know whats specs you have to work with.

Love It! you finally putting together a comic alti ?

yes, it felt about the time to do a comic, i know some publishers now so it should be ok.

really nice work, i have always loved your style and its cool to see you attempting a comic book . no real crits other than the font, the normal comic lettering doesnt seem fit your work, not sure what you can do to fix it, but for me it detracts from the feeling of the images. other than that its great and ill be looking forward to some more pages

damn nice work - you've got that gritty techno-leper feel down sweetly.

I'm happy to review the textual content before you spend the hours integrating it into the art if you'd like - i notice a couple of grammar things that you might want to tweak (ie: your/you're etc.)

-d

Really cool work as usual Alti. I have to admit that the font looks a little out. It just doesn't have the gritty feel of your art.

Hey, that's a pretty cool looking character. Looks like he would fit in the Ty universe too. Steve Stamatiadis pops in here sometimes, so hopefully he'll get to see it.

cool character, though he does hold quite a bit of a resemblance to ty himself.

looks great, the hair seems to blur into the skin at one particular point on the forehead tho

Hey,

good spotting the hair MoonUnit and cheers for the feedback, ill fix it up now i guess, might finish the armor off and start another one soon.

Get back to work [:P]

Great job dude, love the contrast youve got going on here.
Finish up that armour!

Hey that looks cool! Heaps difernt from your usual RPG style, Which is good to see you experimenting with different styles. [:D] Tablets are fun aren't they? ^^'

Here is mine.

Insert Image: [img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/3DArty/200511215524_testhead.jpg…]

Any Photo Ref in that texture 3D arty ? or all hand painted ?

cool. more heads :)

3darty that absolutely rocks my socks mate!

Mostly hand done with a skin texture that i made up, eyes that ive
made up, and sample textures from my refrence files.

but no pic used for this one.

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An amateur built the ark and professionals built the titanic.

Damn. Those are some really nice textures.

Arty - That metal is really sweet :)

Ok this is the next one. the skin on this one was a lot of fun for me as I have not done darker skin till now.
No refrence was used. all hand textured as well.

3DArty

Ken Byrnes.
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An amateur built the ark and professionals built the titanic.

Insert Image: [img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/3DArty/2005113205723_reff1.jpg[/…]

Not bad 3D arty - The eyebrows look a bit like berts from sesame street, and It looks more like this guy is diseased or suffering from a nasty skin condition - is that what you intended ?

The previous texture had just the right amount of grit for a marine that had been through the wars, but i feel that this guy is a tad overdone.

Hope that helps [:)]

thx. yes thats cool im not to sure what i was trying to do with this one but ugly was my main goal, I did not try for a photo real texture
for this one, A bit more practice with the darker skin me thinks.

3DArty

Ken Byrnes.

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An amateur built the ark and professionals built the titanic.

Hey guys, hope I don't seem to be hijacking this thread.

Like everyone else here I had a go at this skinning project, having never done this before, I was wondering if I could get some advice and critiques. Here's what I've pulled off so far. It's all hand done in Photoshop, but I can't seem to get away from the painty look.

I wanted a more photoreastic result like you guys, so yeah, quite bluntly, what's the secret? Any tutes I can look into?

[img]icon_paperclip.gif[/img] Download Attachment: [url="http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/IronhideNT/2005115101544_scarygi…"]scarygirlhead.jpg[/url]
85.33?KB

Insert Image: [img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/IronhideNT/2005115101544_scarygi…]

Hi there IronhideNT[:)]

Ive made this up for you to try.

Here are some skin tones you can try and see what you can come up

with.

Photoreal art does take some work to get it looking good, But you will need to start with the base texture first. Have a look at photos of faces, find a face you like and brake it in to small squares,
and work with one squares at a time, so you get to know how that part looks and try and match it as best as you can. This is how I
got started and from there on it just takes time and the squares just get bigger and bigger.

But its mostley practices practices and more practices.

I hope this helps.

3DArty

Ken Byrnes

Insert Image: [img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/3DArty/2005115121942_faceref.jpg…]

There is allways room for inprovement[:)]

Here is an update on my dark skined face.

3DArty

Ken Byrnes

Insert Image: [img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/3Darty/20051151502_newhead.jpg[/…]

Here?s a great tutorial on how to skin a photo realistic face, step by step:
[url]http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=56847&page=1&pp=15
[/url]

Great! Thanks to both of you for posting them up. Great insight.

What do you do for such smooth blending between the tones? Brush, bluring, or a soft brush with burn like the tute palantir put up?

Nice work 3darty and ironhide :), sorry for a very delayed reply been busy with alot of stuff. Ironhide, although I havent realy done alot of realistic stuff, blur and lots of layers works good for me (assuming your using photoshop), gives you more freedom to modify the layer instead of turning it into a burn/dodge mess, but everyones different, try them all and use what works best for you.

hey doyle, nice model, i dont know much about cars, but if uve played n4s hot pursiut 2, some of those cars in that game are awsome if u have any more pics post em up

thats some pretty awesome work, the metal could perahps be improved with some more scratches and highlights. to get the actual texture of metal i suggest geting some photo material and putting on the same layer (you may need to increase your canvas size) and if you have PS 7 or above using the heal tool sourcing from the scratches and texture to then paint them onto your actual texture area. that last guy is a particular faveourite, he has so much character to him. keep it up!!!

Some nice work there Mark - I know you paint at true res, but I think you should have a crack at double res and shrink down with a sharpen filter and a 1 - 2 pixel brush for touchups, just for kicks and see what you come up with.

Use one of the same faces youve done there - I'd be interested in seeing the difference in a closeup shot like that - at the moment I feel the painting in true res is doing your skills no justice. The end result isnt sharp enough on the top 3 the bottom guy I think youve got away with it due to the larger texture size [:P]

great work, you have really full facial tones which i personally find very difficult. your metal does need work but with faces that good im sure it wont be hard for you to improve. its a cool idea for a thread, i loved going through the 128 thread and this is nice cause you get more predominantly texture artists like yourself. hopefully you do manage to get a few more variations done. you got a compliment from poopinmymouth s well, which is pretty cool. keep it up

Nice Work..! i think i better stop using painter for a while to pick up maya again!
Rizo

Nice work, i agree with the comments made

My fave is the fat guy head :) The hair is done well.

Thanks for the comments guys :)
Haz: ok, I will have a go texturing at double res. We shall see how it goes.

Heres another one-
[img]http://members.optusnet.com.au/~rowanfamily/gogglegirl.jpg[/img]
Really happy with how this turned out.
Hopefully I'll get to more of these :)

great stuff, a huge improvement on the metal in your previous efforts. maybe it would be nice to see a few more evident scratches on the areas which would get the most battering. but thats just a minor problem. cant wait for more.

Keep up this pace Mark - you're really improoving. Its good to see you attacking the lights and darks especially.

awsome work mate, my fave so far.

[img]http://members.optusnet.com.au/~rowanfamily/spacegirlv2.jpg[/img]
ok, this has to be the last one.......maybe

kick arse textuing skills.
your improving greatly makk.
The metal textures are very good too.

keep it coming.[:D]

Lookin' great Makk - keep it up!

The latest head is looking really nice Makk. The underside of her nose looks a little odd. It has a dark line. I'm not too sure if it is the texture or the lighting. She also needs some eyelashes :)

Thanks for the encouragement guys :)

Aven, yeah the nose is a bit weird. I usally put a fairly dark line under the nose since there wont be much light getting there. The problem I think is the odd shape I gave the nose. She has eyelashes!

That one was the last one, I have to move onto full characters now

Here's a [url="http://67.15.36.49/team/Tutorials/texturing_metal/texturing_metal1.asp"]really cool metal texturing tutorial[/url] which might give you some ideas on doing metal textures!

looking great, absolultely no crits man thats top work :)

Nice stuff! the perspective looks good and nice lighting :)

Far out! Thats awesome, Rizo! I can't see anything to crit. Good job! [:D]

Fantastic Job!

The only minor niggle i have with the light coming in through the windows is that toward the bottom of the panes of glass the windows look to be a bit more murky, as if they were in more shadow than the tops - yet the light blaring in on some windows seems to be even stronger than the upper areas.

There looks to be trees or something outside the windows but I feel the lower light beam should be softened just a smidgen [:)]

Well, thanks for your coments everyone... i really apreciated!
Rizo

Hi, really nice :)

My crits would be the lighting. The changing in the lighting is a bit drastic and looks a bit odd to me, from red to yellow. I dont think the red fire things would impact as to make one section of the room entirely red.When there is alot of sunlight coming through the windows and hitting a reflective surface. It feels like there is an imaginary wall there.

Nice image and concept :)

I agree with denz about the red lighting issue on the left had wall, it stops very suddenly as if the actual wall colour changes. As a framing tool the red works well though. All up it looks fantastic.

first of all some wires would be a great help. also despite your love of large pectorals i think they are slightly too overwhelming. i was wondering if you use any references for your modelling. this is really handy even if your going for a cartoon look, create the model using a reference detailing muscle systems etc. (id draw your own or get a reference similar to what you are aiming for when doing the head) then alter it too a more cartoony style, as a base in reality is what makes a cartoon great. looking forward to seeing progress though, and some wires[:)]

heh thats why i didnt want to show the torso as its only roughed out and i just created the split under the pecks so right now they look a bit... gah! the reference i use is the cartoony sketches that i draw, to retain my style (another reason i want these guys to look particulary cartoony is so you dont look at them and think counterstrike immediatly).

EDIT: update
[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MoonUnit/20051914544_firstfull.j…]

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MoonUnit/20051914558_firstfullwi…]

i should also explain, at the moment im making the base model which is to be made into multiple character models. So he will not feature things like a helmet, pads, pouches etc because they will be the changable features for each individual character.

something about that dosent entirely sit right with me, its cartoony but its cartoon realism. i think it lies in the hips somewhere, any help with that would be great but as allways all coments and crit appreciated. (the heads sitting a bit funny but thats cause it hasnt been properly attatched yet, dw about that)

EDIT: considering uhhhh... no ones commented, just another post edit for an update.

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/simages2/349_propchangeL.jpg[/img]

That?s looking pretty good. It?s difficult to post crits when it?s supposed to be a cartoony, stylised character and you haven?t posted any concept art for comparison ? it?s hard to know what you?re aiming for.

quote:it is supposed to be kind of cartoony in appearence because thats just my personal style
Regarding you preference for the cartoon style of modelling, I think you should be careful. Getting into the habit early of modelling unrealistic anatomy could potentially make it extremely difficult for you down the track when you want to start making more photo-realistic models in the search of employment. One crit I?ve heard the pros say several times is that folios with non-realistic characters in them are the first folios to be discarded by potential employers.

It?s fine to get involved with cartoon-like projects, but just keep in mind that you do need to concentrate on realistic anatomy at some point, preferable sooner rather then later. You don?t want to pick up bad habits.

That said, your guy here does have pretty good proportions. One thing that might be odd though; you said your using that computer model from the speed 3d thread in the project? Won?t that look a bit weird, having a photo-realistic prop with cartoon style characters? Though maybe not. Again, it?s hard to give accurate crits without concept art, but maybe mixing realistic props with unrealistic characters will look a bit odd?

-I hope that didn?t sound like a rant, I?m just trying to be helpful.[^] Regardless of what I just said, your doing a good job in general with your development as a 3D artist. [:)]

because my concept art is really only some basic lines which ive now discarded i cant really help you there, to give you a kind of the idea though ill point you in the direction of the art for the Xbox game fable ( sample: http://frontiernet.net/~doug.flowe/fable.jpg fable is by big blue box btw ). Its a similar sort of style.

Interestingly enough i read from a interview with a lead artist that he was really looking for non photo realistic renders and wonders why he dosent see more of them from potential employees (cant remember who it was but i can look it up if you like).
I was told that model i made of the computer had that faint cartoony style aswell by someone else so i assumed it fit that bill. Again to fable its not like vividly cartoony its more of a subtly. Most notable with characters large hands and things but you cant inject whole heap of cartoonyness into objects. I guess ill find out when i put them in unrealED together (hurray for personal projects, no deadlines, you can do that kind of thing :P ).

notes on getting into a habit and things are a good point, after this project perhaps i should have a go at something particulary photo realistic. thanks a lot for your comments

just to reiterate my point, im no pro (hell, ive still got two years of high school to go[:p]) but from what ive read in books and around forums, i really do believe that a very good way to develop both your traditional and 3d work is to develop a very good understanding of anatomy.

one prime example of this is comic books, the characters are very stylised, but the artists who draw them have a detailed knowledge of anatomy and thats what makes the cartoon even better, knowing what is important to the human figure and what can be changed to get the right effect. thats just my understanding so it up to you[^]

Coming along nicely Moony - something I'd like to add to the discussions about the art choices etc - and something that alot of artists spend years finding and that is a style & coolness that suits the end result.

Also worthy of note I believe anyway, is having a characater design with just the right amount of functionality, personality an originality.

So on that note - when your designing your characters I find it really helpful to think about the character, what he/she/it does ( in the project ) and how they feel, how they would react to a situation, what kind of environment are they going to be in etc - put yourself in the charcaters situation - where would you stash that hidden pistol or throwing star on your own body for a quick grab and throw/shoot.

On top of all that most people like to be original, so I think all well designed charcaters should portray that too - a real personalised touch somewhere, it maybe a necklace, or a strange hair style or wearing a dress made of belts Lulu .

As for the modelling youve done so far - Your style is pretty unique and this model is reminiscent of your entry from the model comp - those trademark pecs [:D] but i think whats lacking is an injection of coolness or flare. I think the proportions still need some work.

ATM hes just over 5 heads tall and im taking a punt that hes supposed to be human (wearing a balaclava and all) in which case to look more human male he should be up around 8 heads tall. If your looking to overemphasize features and proportions - like fable and peter molyneaux is pretty much consistant with - then your still looking for a balance in the design.
Bigger hands, bigger head, bigger feet and smaller frame etc.

Here are couple of suggestions for your character:

*Shoulders look a bit bunched as if his clavicles are raised - when someones relaxed the angle from the neck toward the shoulder is generally downward sloping.

*The distance from his hip to his knee is really short - lengthening that will give him a bit more height.

*Decrease the bowleggedness of the leg shape (unless thats going to be a feature)

Youll find often the best designs are the most simple and logical, with a hints or touches of personalisation.

Hopefully that helps some when your sitting down trying to design your characters. [:)]

thanks both of you for your responses and haz particulary for writing all that

conundrum: true, i have taken a few life drawing clases but never saw a male model. Ive still got a year in school and art clases so i will hopefully get another chance to have a good look at that.

haz: thanks first of all for all the advice for the future, on this specific model: the detail involved in the characters functionality comes later, this is the base model to be made into multiple models which will have their own pouches etc. Im looking into that like giving the sniper character twigs in his helmet, the tough guy have ripped off sleves etc.
his pecks arent that bad are they :P i tried to tone them down on this guy. Hes my first proper human male character.
over all the proportion of him is dictated by the skeleton i need to use for unreal, so thats not something i can really change. the other stuff ill have a play around with (like the shoulders). but yeah thanks so much again for all the advice

untill i can work out how the body is sposed to be wack this in the back of your viewport

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/rastus/2005114182151_2.jpg[/img]

even if u just use it as a guide then change shit later it helps

That's a fantastic guide, it comes from Andrew Loomis' "Figure Drawing for all it's worth"...

This book (PDF) taught me a lot about proportions etc. He's got another about cartooning called "Fun with a pencil".

I really recommend you check them out if you haven't already.

http://www.saveloomis.org/

yeah, loomis is great for anatomy, and that is particularly good ref for 3d. its lucky there are pdf's for him, actually getting the books is pretty expensive i looked for his "heads and hands" book and the cheapest i saw it was 200USD on amazon

thanks for the link and pic, i have some reading to do apparently!

(note: had a lengthier post, accidently hit back, cursed firefox, this is somewhat summerised)
Ive got my test model in game now, heres some pics of him running around in UT2k4:
[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MoonUnit/2005225202134_coolness…]
[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MoonUnit/2005225202356_frombehin…]
(note dw about the foot in floor thing, thats a UT thing)

Now im up to taking my base model and turning it into all the different characters for this machinima project. Im currently working on the russian boris and the captin sorenson (theres roughly 10 characters if your wondering. 10 main characters anyway...)
[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MoonUnit/2005225202715_borisnsor…]

can people help me with suggestions for editable items and different ways (modeling wise, there will ofcourse be texture variation) to make the characters look different to each other. Proportions are pretty locked in because the characters need to work with the unreal skeleton. Basicaly their swat special forces type guys, so pads, pouches and so on (note ive also made a third head with a helmet to be used later and ofcourse the bald one).

UPDATERIFFIC!!!

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/simages2/349_thusfarL.jpg[/img]

A few more characters still to make... ontop of other things... blah

for some reason, that last shot of all the characters in a line up reminds me of the village people :D

don't be afraid to define those curves a bit more -- use your smoothing groups to define facial features a bit better too.

lol yes the village people with their new characters like the russian and the gasmask guy :P

mmm thanks for the suggestion i might have a play around with that. In my sumea main page journal thinger falco asked for for wires and polycount, and since chuck the texan has been the most popular out of anyone who's seen the group i thought id do him.

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/MoonUnit/20056305412_chuckwires…]

The original base model was triangulated to be put into game but all the extra parts that make chuck unique are new they havent been yet, something to keep in mind when looking that over (they will be ofcourse, just that will be one of the later things i do as im still working with the geometry).

i noted someone else told you to post your efforts in exhibition but it would have been better to start your own thread as apposed to posting in someones allready existing one for showing the progress of their project. It helps to keep a focus and a "thread" of discussion. Im not a moderator or anything but things are just neater that way.

hey thats looking great, the beast in particular is awesome

great stuff, really nice and flowing modelling and appealing proportions. the only problem i can see is the way the body just stops sharp. i would rather see the the body directly mounted on the mechanical part as it would look more natural. thats my only crit though, its really agreat model. looking forward to seeing it progress

I agree; the body looks odd just stopping at the ribs. I think it needs some kind of closure; either some sort of mechanical attachment or just general guts and stuff hanging out the bottom (! [:P]).

Though apart from that little concept crit, I think it?s a great model you?ve got there, and from what I can see without a wire-shot, the mesh-flow is looking very good.

Thanks for the replies. The torso is attached to the mechanical arm by large spikes that past through the torso. It is then held in place with hooks and straps (still to be modelled). Some updated pics

[img]http://daniel-schlumpp.customer.netspace.net.au/Pictures/Centerror_Tors…]
[img]http://daniel-schlumpp.customer.netspace.net.au/Pictures/Centerror_Tors…]

Hey Schlumppy, that's looking awesome! Really neat modeling and cool concept. The only thing that I would nitpick on is the design of where the abdomen is cut off. Is is going to be hacked off with blood and guts? [:D] Or have like a metal contraption plug hanging out the bottom? Because at it looks kinda maniquin like at the moment.
But thats just a personal pref! :D

Can't wait to see it when its finnished! [:)]

Yeap, blood and guts. The intestines will be asymmetrical once he is together. I might also add a liver or a kidney or two.

[img]http://daniel-schlumpp.customer.netspace.net.au/Pictures/Centerror_Bloo…]
[img]http://daniel-schlumpp.customer.netspace.net.au/Pictures/Centerror_Bloo…]

Hey Schlummpy, this is coming along really well. Nothing to crit really, though I must say that the nose on the monster could change. At the moment its the same shape as a humans, it might look better if you changed it, like the orc noses in LOTR
[img]http://members.optusnet.com.au/~rowanfamily/lotrorc.jpg[/img]
that way it will look even more like a moonster.

Its just something to think about :)

Heya Schlumpy Nice work so far [:)]

My only comment is that from side on I feel the arse end of the beast is a tad underweight.
My suggestion would be to add a longer tail ( maybe spikey or something ) to the beast to help offset the weight placed forward of his centre of gravity when the humanoid part is positioned like it is.

I feel also that the front end of the beast could be even bigger in the chest and back ( not arms )to bring out that bulldog feel that he has and help support the weight of that humanoid swinging around him.

Hope that helps [:)]

heh heeps cool.

I like the way the spikes connect to the body.

looks good, though the beast head, under the horns, seems a bit narrow (compaired to the concept drawing) and might not be able to get away with symetrical intestines

I like how the red wiring suggests that either the man controls the beast or that the beast controls the man via some brain connection device, so which is it Schlumppy? Personally I'd like to see the beast in control, would make for some crazy attacks. Keep the updates coming.

something ive noticed is that youve given his feet a flat top where as in the concept there wasnt any.

wiz: I had the same thought until I noticed the big friggin' spikes through the man's body, and concluded that the beast controls the man (although how does he plug in the cables without the opposable thumbs that were dropped from the concept?)

:)

Thanks for the comments

HazarD: Just the other morning I was viewing a 360 rotation render of my model and I was also thinking that he looks of balance. I don't really want to add a long tail, but was thinking of moving the torso back a little bit and adding some canisters of blood or body fluids on the rear of the beast. I will change the chest making it more bulldog like, for that?s what I was trying to achieve.

Wizenedoldman, mcdrewski: No one really knows which is the controlling body of Centerror. Some believe that there is a third unseen entity involved controlling Centerror.

A bit of an update:
Have added some hands and did some work on the arms.
Moved the torso back a bit and added tanks on the back to balance him.
His arms don't look right to me, but I can't figure out what's wrong. Comments?

[img]http://daniel-schlumpp.customer.netspace.net.au/Pictures/Centerror-23-h…]
[img]http://daniel-schlumpp.customer.netspace.net.au/Pictures/Centerror-24-h…]
[img]http://daniel-schlumpp.customer.netspace.net.au/Pictures/Centerror-25-h…]
[img]http://daniel-schlumpp.customer.netspace.net.au/Pictures/Centerror_Mesh…]

I started texture this guy last night. I'm using two 1024^2 maps for him, the torso and the beast. Still have to tweak the map for the torso. I?m just working out the main muscles, and other main features. Once I done that, I'll start to add some more colour.
[img]http://daniel-schlumpp.customer.netspace.net.au/Pictures/Centerro_textu…]

looking good so far, im sure its to be changed later but right now his tounge appears to be getting peirced by his teeth! :o

Done some more texturing

Comments?

[img]http://daniel-schlumpp.customer.netspace.net.au/Pictures/Centerror_text…]

Darn Impressed, although my first thought is that he looks like he's got 'exposed muscles' - or is it just that sort of coincidental colouring?

That rear angle shows what looks like his front feet in those huge novelty slippers... perhaps some reshaping of the foot there?

but heck, it's looking fantastic either way - I guess the dirt and gore from the dismembered human toso on his back will come later? :)

Thats one muscly son'o'a'gun!

I think hes coming along nicely schlumppy - I think the shadows defining each muscle might be a tad dark tho.

Good job dude [:)]

nice work :)

the second is very nice but unfortunately the first has quite a few problems. in general, all you need to do is keep tweaking it, particulaly the size of the head and neck, they are far too small for the body. you should also try to look ata some anatomy references to see the way muscles flow, the shoulder is too boxy in the first image. The second pic has much better proportions (though the hands are very small and stumpy). you have also made better use of the polys when defining the shape of the body. keep it up

I take it that the comment was for picture two, not picture one?

sorry, i wasnt very clear

this was pic 1:
in general, all you need to do is keep tweaking it, particulaly the size of the head and neck, they are far too small for the body. you should also try to look ata some anatomy references to see the way muscles flow, the shoulder is too boxy

this was pic 2:
The second pic has much better proportions (though the hands are very small and stumpy). you have also made better use of the polys when defining the shape of the body. keep it up

Oh, I get it now. The first picture, the character is wearing body protection armour, so it looks like he is really big, but yes, I think the head and neck needs scaling up.

The hands I just started, only done the palm, no fingers, so thats why it looks very stumpy. Anyways, thankaz for the commments.

nice one john, i like how youve made the eyelids and upper lip the same colour as the hair (ish). The parting of the hair looks like it could be a little more... closer together, or like thin strands coming out of the main bulk perhaps. These are the things i immediatly noticed, good work again.

some progress, this will be the foundation of the backround, it will be pretty simple although im planning to add a few props to increase the level of sci-fi.

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/conundrum/20041223103440_Focus-P…]

Looking good

What is Space Opera Challenge about is 2D and 3D
and dose it have to be linked to some thing to do
with one game of some type I can not say that ive
seen anything to do with Space Opera is it a game?
I dont know. JUST CALL ME OLD [;)]

[url]http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=178327[/url]
Grand space opera is the massive 3d + 2d challenge being held over at cgtalk ATM. It's pretty much the best artists from all over the world going for gold. Very inspirational stuff.

Good work Conny (can I call you that?). Keep at it. [:)]

call me whatever you want palantir[:)]
just a quick change in the armour before i go to bed. any c&c would be really helpful, thanks.
[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/conundrum/20041230105342_Focus-P…]

the changes are pretty obvious, im trying this new composition to open it up to more action in the backround. discarded the usurper idea and have turned him into a defeated king or lord. any c&c would be great, thanks

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/conundrum/200511113132_Focus-Pic…]

funny pose for a defeated king! I am pleased to see you have widened the composition though, I felt that the previous one looked more like a character study than a full scene. I'll be interested in seeing how you fill in this composition. Once there is some basic detail roughed in it might be easier to give some useful C&C :)

thanks for the reply john, some significant changes, i havnt been getting much response over at cgtalk, the competition thread moves incredibly fast (34 views in 12 hours). so i was hoping i might get some help over here, once i work on something for a long time i lose sight of whats wrong so any comments would be appreciated

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/conundrum/2005113225648_Focus-Pi…]

Thats coming along nicely now Conundrum - although I think the balance is a bit skewed.
Unless theres something you plan to have going on out over the ocean I think the emphasis should shift slightly toward the defeated king a tad more, as there is alot of vacant space out to the left.

im guessing its going to change but at the moment the king really clashes the colour scheme and lighting situation of the background, downing the saturation and brightness may help.

Starting to look like a composition that communicates a story[:)]
Whilst I'm sure you intend the focus to be on the characters on the right, I find my eye focusing on the people (I assume that is what they are) on the distant bluff below. The Sombre colours and soft shapes of the coast are great and really convey a quite/defeated mood - I would hope that you retain that mood in the background as you progress.

I'm not so keen on the King and the techno-architecture in the foreground. Compositionally they are quite seperate from the rest of the image, the circular shapes all redirect your eye the the right hand corner & side. Thematically I think the design would be far more powerful if the King, rather than looking at the viewer, was looking into the scene at the distant people.

hope that helps some[^]

thanks for the replies

hazard- i added in an attacking force to the left, i had planned it but hadnt painted it in yet

moonunit- i was going for some clash, but you were right about it being too much, so i toned him down

johnN- the techno architecture doesnt work very well, but ill lose the space theme otherwise, he probably would be better looking out in the distance but i just dont have the time, 17th is the deadline.

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/conundrum/20051155755_Focus-Pic…]

thats shaping up really nicely, and i do like the changes you made to the king. keep at it! its really coming together

thanks moonunit, well this was the final image which i submitted.

[IMG]http://img8.exs.cx/img8/5302/Space-opera-final-1.jpg[/IMG]

looks great and good luck! curious, why did you decide to flip it

thanks, for some reason, when i introduced the blue it looked better flipped to me

I think you have been looking at it tooooo long! The background has become too saturated and no longer recedes properly. Flipping the image over to me seems to make little difference to the balance - probably because the area defined by [the figures and architecture] and the area defined by the [shore edge and the cloud bank] are both similar in volume and shape. The two general shapes are almost mirror images of each other and create a rather static composition :(
Hope that's not all sounding too harsh but I think aspects of you 14/01 post are far superior

no problem with the crit john, im sure i have been looking at it too long[:)]. its good to know for the future though, the whole balanced compostion thing haunted me throughout most of my progress. unfortunately its loo late to fix so im stuck with it[:p].

Nice work Conundrum! I like the flipped version. I like things that veiw left to right. Its just how my eyes read stuff.
Hope you do well in the comp [:D]

thanks anuxi, i'll certainly need the luck judging by the quality of the entries

that rocks. no crits. do more :)

What brush do you use mostly in painter? cheers.

Also can we see the sketch?

Thanks Denz :)
I used two brushes for this, the digital airbrush to block in main areas of colour then I did the majority of it with the captured bristle varient (under acylics). Also, I used the soft blender stump for blending

The sketch isnt much to look at at, but its here-
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~rowanfamily/girlsketch.jpg
Note that I upped the contrast heavily so you can see it easier.

a great piece makk, not over the top but very expressive, reminds me of linda bergkvist's work, im sure if you put in several more passes it would be getting close to that standard. that said theres always something appealing about loose lines, so its up to you. the only thing that i find nagging is the ghosting of the shoulders and hair on the background, it just seems to detract from the form of the girl. thats it though, looking forward to seeing more improvement in your next work.

it looks really good, the hair is superb in particular. my only crit is that you have done the skin texture too well. it looks quite coarse, not so bad on the body but it think it would look better if you softened up the face a bit, it should also break up the consistency in the texture and emphasize the face more. other than that its great and im looking forward to more

Hey thats pretty good, 3DArty. Only thing that is bothering me about this pic is that the texture you have going is consistant on the skin and hair and it looks good, but the red plasticy thing looks out of place. Just makes it feel a bit odd and unresolved.
Keep going tho man :)

Ok thx for that, its good to get feed back. When your look at it for a long time its hard to see what is wrong. I hope this looks a bit better.

Insert Image: [img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/3DArty/2004122010757_face2step9…]

Hey that looks heaps nicer! But you know what would make that top look even cooler? Displacement mapping! Its really easy to do in Photoshop!

Here is a link to the tutorial if you have never used it before. [url]http://www.polykarbon.com/tutorials/displacement/displacement.htm[/url]

It's just a tip tho. [:)]

ok thx ill give it go thx for the link[8D]

I thinks its come along, heres a few things for consideration :

The areas of darkness in the hair are too dark I think, even the blackest of hair under light has volume and clear strands.

The same dark areas suggest that the lightsource is to the right of the screen, but the highlights in her eyes suggest that the brightest lightsource is coming from the left of screen with a dimmer light from the right.

You mentioned that this was from an image from a magazine, so no doubt its been tweaked before printing, and someone placed the highlights on the wrong side.

Also the 2 metal rings on the top seem to have conflicting lightsources too, as do the highlights, shadows on the top material.

The new material im unsure about, it seems to be uneffected by the lighting in the scene at all, its virtually the same tone from tip of the shoulder right the way down to the breast, making it stick out as a seperate entity, where it starts heading under the arm, its starting to take a little bit of shape..

Good to see you resolved that film grain, noisey look on the skin - it was beginning to reak of photoshop filters [:P]

No doubt those are some fine skin tones happening there well done [:)]

thx for that and I see you havent forgoten me and a bit of an up late at night man to, at least It works for some of us lol[;)]

Insert Image: [img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/3DArty/20041220132742_face2step1…]

hey much improvement :) definately liking the face.

My crit would be with the overlay you have on the top. The lines should be wrapping around, or it just makes it flat.

nice work :)

its kinda good but weird too! bits are convincingly photo realistic and some bits are just a little off.
I suspect it was quite a challenging photo to work from as there would not be any definite/ strong/ single light source to help interpret shapes, the lighting (such as the twin highlights in her eyes) probably are acurate! I imagine she was lit with multiple main lights and probably several secondary light sources (included reflected light)

I just had a quick browse of Anuxinamoon's link - sounds easy! 3DArty, you should definitely give it a try out on the striped top...and do another painting to, cause with a bit more practice they will look super-cool :)

Looking pretty good there man.
As John said its good but a bit wierd.
Throw some blues and greens in to her flesh, she looks like she just came out of a tanning saloon.
The highlight on the nose bothers me, it doesnt look like its in the right spot, maybe push it down on the point of the nose, this would help express the form of the nose area as it looks quite flat.
Some shadow on the right eye might help as well.

I prefer the red cloth you did as well, the new one with the lines is a bit distracting.

I think the pic your working from isnt helping much. As its been mentoined there isnt a clear light source, so its more difficult to suggest form.

Yeah, some parts are quite good. With more practice you might get some really nice results. Keep at it! :)

I wouldnt mind seeing a scan of the reference pic.....

this is it

I think the reflected light element is missing. Like under her arm and her face.
How about some highlights on the side of her face to illuminate it?

I think the shadows on her are too strong around the collar bone area. Which causes the face and neck to lack contrast.
You also have to be careful about the shadow on her face because it looks like her face caved in because of the super dark shadow.... also the neck is pretty light in contrast.

The whites of the eyes seem to have this lumpy texture but that could have been caused by the noise specs and compression. The general shape of her eyes seem a fair bit off...in comparison to each other. Perhaps the one on the darker side of the face should look a bit more like the other? I think by pulling the botton lid up a tad and making the inner corner (tear duct area) a bit sharper.

I think I'll stop there.... have a merry christmas.

nice pic! tis a bit confusing to see what goin on (well when i say that i mean where the objects start and end) but other then that looks great

Like MoonUnit said previously, it is a bit confusing, but the lighting looks spot on! Good work!

I third those comments. The composition of the pic really focuses on the strip of light and the figure in the distance. I like the mass of objects, they make the space look cluttered but a few of them could have been depicted more clearly to create secondary focuses and fulfill the viewers (our) curiosity of what is there...I like the concept pic in general though, it sucessfully communicates the idea of a nomadic tent city to me :)

its a great first model, it would be nice to have a few more shots with an obvious wireframe though, as its hard to tell where polys are and such. i think you also need to develop a bit more shape and variety to the character, right now (with the exception of the hands which are very nice) it is quite squarish and bland, i would say that you should (if the limits of your reference allow it) aim for something a bit more classical ie [url]http://www.totaltheater.com/media/new%20typewriter%20optimized.gif[/url]. finally, his wieght isnt really placed over the wheels equally so he looks as though he might fall backwards a lot, i think moving the wheels into a more central position or nearer the hands ought to do the trick.

that said i do like the original choice of character and so far its been modelled to a pretty good level. looking forward to more

i agree with the wheels thing, they look like they need to go back a bit. On another note did you make up this character yourself? not accusing you of anything just i sware i can remember a character like this from somewhere...

No, I can't claim the invention - As I said above (luckily), this guy is from Sesame Street. Here's some screenshots from the video refs I used...

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/mcdrewski/2004121942932_ref.jpg[…]

I agree 100% with the balance issues, and that's why I tried to shorten the body a little. Here's a lazy screenshot of gmax to show wires a bit better.

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/mcdrewski/2004121944229_grey.jpg…]

heeehehee - I recoginsied (and remembered) the typewriter dude instantly! ah, the memories of childhood. If you could animate him to type out stuff like the origional did I bet he would make a popular e-card.

Hey Denz! Haha these guys look awesome! Scales and wrinkles are always fun to normal map [:D] The work flow that you posted was a bit werid to understand tho... I'm probably still asleep [:p]
I like the potential for the guy you have up there? Did you also do that in Zbrush?
Also have you considered doing some non-organic stuff for show? :)

Love the work very very nice :)

well there goes the idea of modelling that dinosour guy !! lol
Beat me too the punch, looks bloody good, got wires?

some awesome work, love the texture of the dinasaur and cant wait to see it animated. the other two are very good as well, the detail on the scales of the last one is quite something. the texture work on your website great quality. looking forward to some stuff from you.

Thanks everyone for the comments.[:)]

Anuxinamoon as for the work flow that pic just means i do initial forms in zbrush, then take the mesh into silo where i can draw the topology for a new animatible mesh (which needs a bit of cleaning up cos its not so perfect), then back into zbrush for displacement map stuff. And yeah thats for both of them.

The new zbrush update should take out the silo step [:D]

Non organics, hm actually nope! heh.I guess I should work on that but I'm having alot of fun with organics atm.

Malus, cheers here are wires. Zbrush turned all my ngons into tris :( heh. http://img69.exs.cx/img69/6024/wires1.jpghttp://img33.exs.cx/img33/2950/tri.jpg
Don't let me stop ya from making a dino!

conundrum I'm also looking forward to how the displacement maps react during animation, hopefuly well.

Cheers.

in regards to zbrush/displacement and animating (im sure you have already seen it) this is some interesting stuff by taron, i dont know much about zbrush so im not certain if this is applicable to you animating the dinasaur but may be helpful in the future.
[url]http://206.145.80.239/zbc/showthread.php?t=022061[/url]
[url]http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=187770&highlight=taron[/url]

Hey thanks conumdrum, yeah thats some really exciting stuff from taron. Especially considering that the base mesh is 300 polygons or something.

He also uses bones to affect texture maps in messiah, which is something I'd really like to look into.

Tiny update. A little bit of a test animation. Finished the rig, FINALLY get to see him with his mouth closed, the neutral mouth open pose was really bugging me heh.

http://denzil40.tripod.com/trexTest4.rar

Another thing taht is bugging me is maya. So I just took this guy a bit further in zbrush. He is ready for the next stage, I think I'm going to purchase silo, luckily it aint so expensive :).

[IMG]http://img80.exs.cx/img80/1417/dude3copy0gq.jpg[/IMG]

c&c much apreciated, cheers.

Nice zbrush modelling denz. That rhino looks sweet. Do you do your texturing in zbrush too?

Hey Denz! Just asking if you used Unified Skinning on those zshpere models? I'm starting to look into it thats all :)

Now that is one sweet arse :)

The triceratops guy is looking really sweet.

wow! cant believe I missed this!
Denz this is some really top notch work man :)
The torso has that lump at the sides, it doesnt look quite right. Theres gotta be room in the for the sides of the rib cage remember. But take that with a grain of salt as Im not that knowledgable with anatomy ;) Head maybe slightly small as well, but thats just nitpicking!!

Hey guys cheers :)

Delmo, yep all texturing here in zbrush.

Anuxinamoon, I don't think so. I use zshepes then use adaptive skin to turn it into a mesh. I use zshpheres just to establish limbs pretty much.

Makk, thanks I'll look into that. I'm not that knowledgable either so all comments help :)

Just some dude. I think I can pretty much use this base for any bipedal character.

wip's
[IMG]http://img128.exs.cx/img128/8734/guywip0td.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img120.exs.cx/img120/3236/guy8xu.jpg[/IMG]

Hey Conny (can I call you that?) off to a decent start there, and a great idea for the comp (think I may jump over and enter).

From looking at your mesh it seems as though you've concentrated too much on adding smaller details such as the bags under his eyes and saggy cheeks before making sure you've got a roughed out mesh that's in proportion and matches your reference pic.

Things I noticed are that his nose is much longer in your model, and he seems to be suffering from a case of flat face. Try to trim down his forehead a bit and bring in the bridge of his nose, while also bringing the cheeks out a little. I think his head's just a little too boxy at the moment as his cheeks almost have a defined corner to them.

What I'd do is trim the mesh down a lot, make sure you've got the proportions right first, then go about adding the finer details.

Hope these crits are constructive.

yeah, thanks for the suggestion,your right about the boxiness of the front, ive done a little bit of improvement but will work more on your suggestions. luckily this is just a subdivided version of my control mesh so it shouldbe an easy fix, i think the main problem is that i dont have a side reference for him so its been a bit of guess work

just one thing i oticed about the construction around the mouth: it's a lot like a grid, while from what i've seen it should be more like this:

[img]http://img159.exs.cx/img159/3459/wipannjul073ib.jpg[/img]

that's based of what i've seen and what i've been reading in Stop Staring (very good book). The construction should loop around the mouth and eyes for the correct deformation, particually for creasing when smiling.

thanks a lot, i know my faces are not particularly good, as yet i have never really found anything worth using as a reference but this should be very helpful. i cartainly am pretty far off around the face so ill have to try and fix that in particular.

anyway, this is my progress today on the body, im fairly pleased with it (certainly my best yet). still need to get rid of a lot of useless polys on the shoulders and biceps. any more comments will be definately be helpful.
thanks

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/conundrum/200412179458_Body-1.jp…]

Nice progress. He looks way beefed up then the head ref, but i guess it is for a fighting game :)

I agree with Wizned. Holy crap his name backwards is almost my name! Just work on the forms a bit more, your getting the saggyness of the skin across so thats cool.

Keep it up.

this is a quick look at current progress, ave joined the two and made a few alterations. the head is the control mesh and will most probably be smoothed then ill make it more ecenomical. thaks for the encouragement denz. any more opinions would be great.

[img]http://www.sumea.com.au/forum/attached/conundrum/20041219111325_Body-2…]

watch your poly distribution - you have some very high areas and some very low areas, and 15000 tris to play with.

i've been reading about this comp on cgtalk, sounds interesting. i am in the middel of building a new track for Scootarama but i might put it aside for a bit and give this a go instead.

He looks abit short, his head is abit big and his body is a bit wide compared to his hieght.
I really like the head :)