Viking Batman

Itholon

Hey there!
I am going to model a Viking Batman based on this concept by Alberto Camara:


I am going to make the proportions less exaggerated, maybe something similar to the proportions from Batman Arkham series.

Please note this is my first organic character and I am still anatomy noob.
Anyway this is my very rough blockout so far.





Feedback/critique and tips are welcome.

slosh

I would definitely work at very low poly state and get your proportions right before moving forward. Hard to tell yet but the posture already looks off. There should be more arch in his back and his chest looks overinflated.

Itholon

Thanks for the feedback, I am still working in low poly state and using turbosmooth for checking how will it look. I thought torso is a little weird just didn't know why is it weird.

Emanuel_palalic

I agree with slosh, even the low poly image you have posted should be a bit more low poly. I wouldn't even worry about what a higher poly version would look like at this point. I would just focus on getting a base blockout shape of the whole body before moving on and detailing parts of him. From the looks of it your proportions are off from the reference image as well. I would focus on exaggerating those arms a bit more. Your arms look very small atleast compared to the reference. But for your first character this is looking pretty good just keep working on this and it should improve!

Itholon

Emanuel_palalic: Thanks. In the OP I said I am not making the proporitons as exaggerated as in the concept, but I am trying to make it similar to the Batman from Arkham series. I guess should have posted the reference I was using for proportions, because they differ from the concept a bit. For proportions and stuff like that I use this->http://imgur.com/a/Pn0ak, but for the design of the character I am using the concept.

Itholon

Finally got some time to work on it, finished the rough blockout, and fixed the back arch and flat chest a little. Still gotta make some work on the shape though.

Itholon

What would you guys suggest, Sub-D or sculpting?

slosh

I was under the assumption that Sub-D modeling is largely for hard surface assets. I have to admit, I'm a bit out of the loop on that stuff. I remember Sub-D mode from maya but is that what people are referring to? Perhaps someone with more experience can elaborate. As for me, on pretty much every character I do, I model a basemesh in maya, take it into zbrush and sculpt all the detail and then bake down to a retopoed low poly mesh.

Itholon

Yeah, I thought that too, but this tutorial showed me great characters could be done with sub-D too. http://cgi.tutsplus.com/articles/game-character-creation-series-kila-chapter-1-high-resolution-modeling--cg-24776

Big plus is, you don't need to retopo the whole thing. But Zbrush is still a bit easier, to make some cool muscles and stuff like that. I think the Sub-D workflow might be a little slower, but I am not confident with my Zbrush skills that much.

EDIT: Btw, still need some crits on the body.

JordanLeigh

Wait so your planning on subD modelling a whole organic character?

Itholon

No, I am asking if you would suggest to do the Sub-D or Sculpting.

slosh

This is a great chance to learn zbrush if you haven't already.

JordanLeigh

I would definitely sculpt. Use zbrush and start learning it. Take your base mesh into zbrush and start working on the anatomy and form

Itholon

I've learnt basics and did some basic bust of anatomicaly incorrect orc, but that is all I could do. So you both made a good point, I might finally learn something more in Zbrush.
Btw orc (with some horrible twitter compression)->https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BqB9OtkCYAERxZT.jpg:large

JordanLeigh

Just use this to learn some antomy but definitely sculpt it. Just remember to focus on form and not jump into to high of a subdivision level too soon. And get lots and lots of reference

Shiniku

For sculpting you're going to want even quads on your basemesh.. currently you have some really long polies, particularly in the legs. Good luck with this project!

It's a good idea to really dive in and try a finished character, but I can tell you're going to need to do some serious anatomy studies if you're really interested in pursuing character art.

Itholon

Shiniku: Yeah, I am just starting, I will learn anatomy for sure. I will make some even quads on basemesh, or I can dynamesh it.

Shiniku

True dat.

Well when you do jump into studying anatomy, I'd recommend Rafael Grassetti's gumroad tutorials. He even shows his techniques for starting his base. Really useful info. You'll probably want a bit more zbrush experience first though.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing how this turns out

Itholon

EDIT: Okay, not really pricey, I misunderstood that the first one for 22$ is a bundle :poly142:.

TheWriter

Nice!