Oh I'm sure I could get a lot better, I think almost anyone can get good at almost anything with hard work. It's just that like you said earlier, there's so much stuff to learn and I've been focusing on stuff like basic anatomy and now I'm working more on clothes and finer anatomy (wrinkles and pores etc), haven't really made design a priority.
I should make more of a conscious effort to breakdown and study cool stuff when I do see it though.
@Boozebeard Wow, yeah, I wish I had the patience to really buckle down and study more anatomy, and remember the proper terminology. I have basic knowledge of anatomy, but now I'm mostly 'playing by ear' as it goes.
Eh, I wouldn't worry too much about too much or too little detail; it depends on what you're making imo. Some of the best artwork I've seen is really simple, but very well designed pieces, and sometimes I wonder if I should have gone with a simpler idea... Thanks @Lawless Flogic!
@zetheros Looks really cool man! I love the design. Yeah some designs are really cool, yet really simple. But this is a very unique design. I wonder if youre planning on making it low poly though? It's really hard to retopo I imagine.
This is a really nice model, lots of intricate details and all that, but to be honest there's just too much detail right now. There are hardly any simple big shapes that the eyes can rest on, which IMO is a big problem as it would just turn into noise at a distance. The gauntlets themselves are beautiful pieces of art but, as I said, when it's combined with the rest of the character it just turns into noise. For an example of what I'm talking about see one of the most iconic movie monsters, the Xenomorph: It's a detailed monster but there are still some smooth pieces that makes them read well at a distance.
I can see that you've spent a great deal of time on this so I'm sorry to be a debbie downer like this.
Yupp I agree as well. If you are trying to improve make sure you don't lose sight of those basic art fundamentals. Contrast is super important in any design, so make sure you balance out the detail with areas of rest. Here is example of the front page of the forums: http://polycount.com/discussion/141313/character-workshop
I don't know what to really say, I've been impressed by character art before, but this one tops them. The constant updates, to see an ever changing design into this work of art. This would be Diablo as a Witch Doctor if he was a choice in Diablo 3.
Hey guys! Sorry, long time no update, I've just been continually refining the sculpt. I agree with you guys 100%!
I received some amazing feedback from Jonah Lobe, who was a character artist of 7 years at Bethesda (!!!). He basically said what you guys said; too many focal points, and while detail is good, I should simplify it by grouping swaths of detail together into large, simpler shapes, using hot/cold colors, muting sections with shadow, increasing vibrancy, and brightening the focal points, so that's what I've been doing so far.
I want detail, but it should only be apparent when looking at the sculpt closely, and not appear as noise when viewed from a distance.
Also, I need more anatomy practice (faces, back muscles), which is definitely on my to-do list, right after this character
However
I think I think it might be overkill for this game character, although I'm sure it
would prove immensely useful if I'm doing hyper-realistic game
characters, or if I'm making a high quality zbrush sculpt for rendering. Although... I might still use it. Hm...
For
now, I've decimated the shawl/cloak(?) trim, so that zbrush doesn't lag when I use the curve strap snap brush to make it look like stylized torn linen. I'll
see if I can finish the shoulders and upper torso section before I nod
off.
I've also finally installed the etera UV scripts for modo, which is an absolute life-changer.
didn't get it done tonight... kept adding stuff Edit: first it's Grassetti, now it's this guy?! Q_Q https://www.artstation.com/artist/maratars jelly meter over 9000/no wonder I'm still living with my dad/why would anyone hire me/ utter despair
Ulgh. I've been working on this sculpt for so long, it doesn't even look
that good to me anymore. Ah well, the upper body is ready for retopo. A
few more adjustments afterwards + bake, and I'll be able to move onto
the wings, legs, tail... and then I'm done!
The whole process of this beastly character is wonderful. I can sense and feel all the time that you have put into this. If I may ask, did you texture all of this in zbrush or used something else along with it? I've always wondered how to fully texture a high poly model first. Usually I just do the details and then after the retop is done and the normals applied, I'll then add all the bells and whistles. Would decimating it be a key factor?
@thatanimator : Well, it'll be time consuming as the lowpoly will be 150k+ tris. I do a combination of hand+automatic retopology in modo. Smaller, more detailed pieces are exploded from larger pieces, every mesh is cage baked in Xnormal, then the baked maps are transferred to the final, non-exploded mesh.
Finally, I'll bring the baked maps and model through photoshop and substance designer for a final polish, and then it's off to UE4 and material blueprinting, panning textures, glow maps, z-axis based textures, and all that fun stuff.
Animation is pretty straightforward; I'll just make some changes to a human rig I have, and add some bones to the snakes, tail, double jointed legs, wings, wing eyeballs, mandibles, etc. Cloth, and any hanging bits, will be simulated using the stand-alone version of Apex cloth, in conjunction with UE4 blueprinting.
@jman86 : The texture so far is just polypaint on a dynamesh model, with a basic white material. I use alphas, masking, and some photo sourcing, but 95% of it is hand painted. Decimating is useful for 1-click retopolgizing some static props (say, rocks) and also exporting to other 3d applications, but I don't use it for texturing.
An update on the retopology progress It's all by hand (I gave up on the automatic retopo idea), so it's been a
few grueling days of tedium, but I'm nearly done. I also figured out how
to do some simple rendering in modo!
I've been learning substance painter + designer, and made a goblet! Also, I'm going to make a water well, too. Still working on the retopo of Xathanoc.
sorry for the super late reply @samleheny! Haven't updated this thread in awhile! Since last I updated about almost a year ago, I've gotten a job as a character artist at Bare Mettle Entertainment, and haven't had a lot of time for personal projects. However, here's a posed model I made for the Polycount/Reallusion character contest. I ran out of time, but still made an exceptional portfolio piece. http://polycount.com/discussion/177986/reallusion-character-design-zetheros#latest
I'm glad that you've landed a job and especially glad that Bare Mettle still chugging along. I've backed Sui Generis many years ago fully understanding that the scope of the project is too ambitious and didn't expect them to release anything playable but they sort of did and I hope I'll see out of Early Access someday. The studio seems to forget about their backers though, it's been a while since I've received any KS update.
@dzibarik thanks! I haven't actually visited the KS page, however there's been almost an update per month to Exanima on Steam since I've joined the team.
Replies
I should make more of a conscious effort to breakdown and study cool stuff when I do see it though.
Happy New Years everyone!
Not only the execution (so much details o.O) but also the design is absolutely amazing!
Looks really cool man! I love the design. Yeah some designs are really cool, yet really simple. But this is a very unique design. I wonder if youre planning on making it low poly though? It's really hard to retopo I imagine.
keep it up!
It's a detailed monster but there are still some smooth pieces that makes them read well at a distance.
I can see that you've spent a great deal of time on this so I'm sorry to be a debbie downer like this.
Here is example of the front page of the forums: http://polycount.com/discussion/141313/character-workshop
I received some amazing feedback from Jonah Lobe, who was a character artist of 7 years at Bethesda (!!!). He basically said what you guys said; too many focal points, and while detail is good, I should simplify it by grouping swaths of detail together into large, simpler shapes, using hot/cold colors, muting sections with shadow, increasing vibrancy, and brightening the focal points, so that's what I've been doing so far.
I want detail, but it should only be apparent when looking at the sculpt closely, and not appear as noise when viewed from a distance.
Also, I need more anatomy practice (faces, back muscles), which is definitely on my to-do list, right after this character
I'm working on the cloth now. There's an ingenious method for making worn cloth here: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?177722-Torn-Cloth-Tutorial
However I think I think it might be overkill for this game character, although I'm sure it would prove immensely useful if I'm doing hyper-realistic game characters, or if I'm making a high quality zbrush sculpt for rendering. Although... I might still use it. Hm...
For now, I've decimated the shawl/cloak(?) trim, so that zbrush doesn't lag when I use the curve strap snap brush to make it look like stylized torn linen. I'll see if I can finish the shoulders and upper torso section before I nod off.
I've also finally installed the etera UV scripts for modo, which is an absolute life-changer.
Edit: first it's Grassetti, now it's this guy?! Q_Q https://www.artstation.com/artist/maratars
jelly meter over 9000/no wonder I'm still living with my dad/why would anyone hire me/ utter despair
how would one skin and animate this?
@thatanimator : Well, it'll be time consuming as the lowpoly will be 150k+ tris. I do a combination of hand+automatic retopology in modo. Smaller, more detailed pieces are exploded from larger pieces, every mesh is cage baked in Xnormal, then the baked maps are transferred to the final, non-exploded mesh.
Finally, I'll bring the baked maps and model through photoshop and substance designer for a final polish, and then it's off to UE4 and material blueprinting, panning textures, glow maps, z-axis based textures, and all that fun stuff.
Animation is pretty straightforward; I'll just make some changes to a human rig I have, and add some bones to the snakes, tail, double jointed legs, wings, wing eyeballs, mandibles, etc. Cloth, and any hanging bits, will be simulated using the stand-alone version of Apex cloth, in conjunction with UE4 blueprinting.
@jman86 : The texture so far is just polypaint on a dynamesh model, with a basic white material. I use alphas, masking, and some photo sourcing, but 95% of it is hand painted. Decimating is useful for 1-click retopolgizing some static props (say, rocks) and also exporting to other 3d applications, but I don't use it for texturing.
model
model
modelmodel
The rest is kind of under NDA at the moment, but I'll be able to post those later. Yeah, I'll finish up Xathanoc
Haven't updated this thread in awhile! Since last I updated about almost a year ago, I've gotten a job as a character artist at Bare Mettle Entertainment, and haven't had a lot of time for personal projects. However, here's a posed model I made for the Polycount/Reallusion character contest. I ran out of time, but still made an exceptional portfolio piece.
http://polycount.com/discussion/177986/reallusion-character-design-zetheros#latest
Maybe study cryptocurrency some more, and learn how to program for that, like what my brother does...