Blizzard Student Art Contest WIP "Character"

jairo0182

Hello Everyone!

I'm doing the Blizzard character and environment Contest. I have been working very hard on these pieces i hope you like it and also if you have the time i would love to get some feedback from you!


Thank you and enjoy!



Idea:

I wanted to create a Rhino because in WOW we don't have a official Rhino race besides "Kodos" and i will love to play as a Rhino.

I also would love to see a Blacksmith that fallows you in your journey like in DIII.

So based on this INFO i decided to create a Rhino Blacksmith with mighty hammers!


Reference



Concept Art
I did a few rough concepts cuz i really knew where this was going...



Model



Silhouette



Texture



Renders "Marmoset"

Im not sure with what lighting or sharpness i should go with, please take a look...





Software used

Maya: Modeling / Uv's

Photoshop: Textures

Marmoset: Renders

Zbrush: Armature with Z-spheres

3D Coat: Painting Seams

praetus

I like lighting B since it has some color backlighting and isn't just pure white light. I will say however that while this looks really great I can't help but feel like it's lacking forms in the texture map. You have these wonderfully painted textures but a large chunk of the face (the entire cheek area under the eyes) feels like it is devoid of anything interesting. There is little value change in that area and it feels flat because of it.

The same goes for the upper arm/shoulder area. It feels empty compared to all the detail and value you've pumped into the rest of the piece. Also, one of your sketches shows a shoulder pad on only one side which I think breaks up the symmetry and silhouette nicely. Despite that, I think it looks good overall, it just may need some extra care.

Brian "Panda" Choi

Man, this is awesome in terms of the amount of texture resolution you have compared to mine, haha.

Maybe baking a light gradient map might help out the textures?

pixelb

Some of the fine details (golden lines on your armor) don't look so great. WoW doesn't really do hairline details- chunky shapes are where it's at. Also, it looks like the larger forms of the skull and planes of the armor are being ignored in favor of surface details. JadeEye's right, baking out a lighting map would help.

Andy H

Really like this, my suggestion would be to really go in and define all of the edges. I can see where they are, but since this is hand painted, you want the edges to be as defined as possible so they look like actual geometry. I'd also suggest going in and giving his mustache/hair just a few more brighter strands so they pop more. Overall, really like all of the color choices you've made.

Proxzee

Lots of potential here. Lighting system in wow is very limited, so you have to basically paint in your own lighting. shadow colors seem too monochromatic. I suggest painting the character with warm colors in lights, and cooler colors in the shadows. Temperature control is paramount. Bigger thicker details too. So instead of 3 small bolts, 2 big gnarly bolts. Big bold shapes. That trim is toooo thin. THICK. Make it THICK and BOLD. Painting techinique also needs improvement. On the splotchy side. Think planes. Planes! NC Wyeth style painting+Frazetta+ Sergeant. Strong structure indication. Leyendecker is good to look at too.

jairo0182

Thank you very much everyone for the excellent feedback!

praetus: I aggree with you on the option B for sure! Abput the shoulder pad i modeled but i decided not to included because i realized that Blacksmith don't have them...

JadeEyePanda: absolutely i'll try it out!

pixelb: More chunky shapes I'll do

Andy H : Certainly i will add more to his mustache!


Proxzee:

Absolutely ! i will do a better job on the lights and shadows i also think that is too monochromatic. About the Bolts i will definitely change that. About the planes you mean that i need to describe better the shape with the painting, right?
Also, if you don't mind, could you please take a quick look at my environment piece for the Blizzard contest? Thank you

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114161

jairo0182

Update Before submission!


Texture




Lighting unsharpen

Gannon

I agree, This has a lot of potential.

Your color choices to me are spot on for WoW. Your texture though could stand to be polished a good deal more. A lot of details are getting a bit muddy and loose out on volume because of it imo. IE Rivets, Pouch, Hammer handle, etc.

The silhouette's pretty good except for the arms. I feel like the bicep and shoulders could be a bit more pronounces by taking in the elbow a bit and maybe bulking the shoulders?

Elod.H

Hey there,

This is really nice. WoW is all about texture details and your's has quite a lot. From the last three choices, I would go with A. it has a bit more dramatic feel to it.
Don't know whether you still have enough time and patience, but I`d go in and add a bit more ambient occlusion to the textures as they kind of blend together a bit too much.
You could work on their details a bit more, make them stand out from each other. Good job so far and good luck!

Oh, this guys reminds me of the kobolds . It's like he is their big bad boss leader .

jairo0182

WIP

Hey guys for this image do you think i should submit just one concept art image or those 3 look good??

jairo0182

Absolutely Gannon and Elod.H thank you

Brian "Panda" Choi

Dyou do non-perspective for the Ortho shots?

praetus

Two things. First, his pose right now is somewhat boring. I would give him something a little more interesting or dynamic. Also, the model is the prime focus of your sheet right? So, why is it so small? I understand you want to show off everything, but your shaded model takes up less space than your UV sheet. I would rework your sheet to show off the model a bit more.

jairo0182

JadeEyePanda: Im just following the example that they gave us...


Praetus: good point ill rework it !

Thanks!

Brian "Panda" Choi

So was it an orthographic side view?

jairo0182

side and front

Elod.H

What JadeEyePanda is asking is whether your viewport was set to Ortographic mode or Perspective mode. In orthographic view, distance is not taken into account, hence all the shapes remain their original size, whereas in perspective view, the farther an element is, the smaller it becomes.

So the question was what did you use for your front and side shots .

Good luck with the work btw. Keep tweaking until you can !

jairo0182

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa got it ! lol i used marmoset for everything!

jairo0182

Before i submit wanted to decide the pose !!! can u guys help me!! im between A and B more towards A

A




B





C

jairo0182

Done! and Done!

Good Luck everyone!

Thank you for your support!