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The Bi-Monthly CHARACTER ART Challenge | February - March

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Welcome to the Bi-Monthly Character Art Challenge!

Challenge will run until the end of March
Previous Challenge Thread


How it works
  • Every new challenge, 3 Character Concepts will be provided
  • You're free to approach any of the concepts however you like, as long as you stay true to the essence of the original concept.
  • You have until the end of the deadline to complete any of the given concepts.

Guidelines
  • Leave at least one critique per post. Being able to effectively receive, and give constructive criticism is an invaluable skill as any type of artist.
  • There are no software restrictions; you're welcome to use as little, or as many different software packages as you like. However do try to make the final result game-ready
  • Post your work in progress in the thread. You're welcome to cross post on different sites (Artstation, Facebook, etc.)
  • Before starting your character, break down the concept and plan your work accordingly. Being able to effectively estimate how long it will take to complete a project is an important skill, especially for freelance artists.
  • Your final presentation should be posed and rendered in any real time engine. (Marmoset, UE4, Cryengine, Unity, etc.)
  • Don't be afraid to ask questions, but don't hesitate to find the answer on your own - chances are, the answer to your problem has already been answered within these forums
  • We're all here to grow as artists. Learn as much as you can, and share what you've learned.
  • If you feel anything should be modified or added to these guidelines, please let me know!

Resources


Concepts

Please credit and link to the artists when posting on other sites!

The Countess by Tatiana Trubnikova


Steampunk assassin by Marya Yartseva


Steam Robot regular version by Yu Cheng Hong


How concepts are chosen
  • Trying to keep it consistently one male character, one female and one other non-human (robot, creature, humanoid, etc)
  • Trying to keep the 3 concepts look like they are part of a theme or could fit in similar universe.
  • Concepts must be full body and clearly drawn. There shouldn't be a lot of guesswork on what the details or proportions are. Turnarounds are a good thing to have, but not required
  • Concepts shouldn't be too complex or too simple to allow people to get them done in the time-frame while also finding something interesting and giving a challenge.
  • Must be able to link back to the original source artist to they can be properly credited, places like Pinterest can lead to link rot and that's not any good for the concept artist.
  • If you have any suggestions of themes you would like to see in the future, send me a message!

Replies

  • adrxzero
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    adrxzero polycount sponsor
    These concepts look great! 
  • chrisoffner3d
    Amazing concepts! I particularly love the first one by Tatiana Trubnikova. :open_mouth:
    However, it looks like you accidentally degraded the image quite a bit before embedding it here. If you compare the original with your embedded version, there's quite a bit of blockiness going in the one shown here.
  • chrisoffner3d
    Amazing concepts! I particularly love the first one by Tatiana Trubnikova. :open_mouth:
    However, it looks like you accidentally degraded the image quite a bit before embedding it here. If you compare the original with your embedded version, there's quite a bit of blockiness going in the one shown here.
  • Piemaster
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    Piemaster greentooth
    Ooh yeeeees. Gonna take part in my first polycount challenge! Going for the Steampunk Assassin :)
  • Alemja
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    Alemja quad damage
    @chrisoffner3d Thanks for pointing that out, due to the original image's sheer size I had to shrink it down a bit for the forum so the size could be more manageable and be considerate to those with limited bandwidth. Looks like the JPG compression wasn't too kind with it, I think polycount also does it's own compression on top of that... This is why I always link to the original source :)
  • JasmineH
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    JasmineH polycounter lvl 3
    I'm going to give this challenge a try and create The Countess. Hopefully I can do it justice. 
  • lkameen3
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    lkameen3 polycounter lvl 2
    Love the concepts this round! I need to actually finish a challenge once i join it, Im 0/2 right now!
  • aquila
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    aquila polycounter lvl 6
    The Steampunk Assassin looks really awesome. Might go with him...
  • Mostwanted
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    Mostwanted polycounter lvl 7
    this time i think i will try it too. will take on assassin.
  • mspalante
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    mspalante polycounter lvl 6
    I think that i will also try :) I will take the Steam robot.
  • Mostwanted
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    Mostwanted polycounter lvl 7
    progress so far on assassin. would really like if somebody can help with mask concept. critiques always welcome.
  • JasmineH
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    JasmineH polycounter lvl 3
    I chose The Countess by Tatiana Trubnikova for this challenge. This is my first update and would like any feedback on how to improve. Thanks in advance. 



    mahi6038  Hi! Nice start up. The way I would go about doing the mask is blocking it out with simple shapes to get the form right. Then use maybe 3ds max or Maya to get those hard surface details and bring it back into Zbrush to fine tune it. The head also does seem a little off, as if the back part of it curves down too soon. Other than that it's a nice start and I look forward to seeing more of your updates. 
  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    Hey also going for the challenge I'm going with the assassin. Since the character is almost only clothes I decided to sculpt him in pose. Starting with a posed Daz model and bringing him in marvelous fort the clothes. Once I'm done with that I will sculpt the head in symmetry and move it to fit the pose once I retopped the head.

    Just started to get something together in Marvelous it still needs a lot of work. 
    @mahi6038 Hey your mask isn't functional yet it will fall of his face. Also it's way to thin if you take a better look at the concept you will see that it's a lot of thicker. Also the holes should be holes not sculpted circles. Since it's a gas mask It's made of multiple layers. To filter out any toxic stuff.

    @JasmineH looking good don't forget that boobs have a different shape when there is clothing against it if you're going to use marvelous, you should keep that in mind.



  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    I'm not working too fast because I have to spend some time in my school project, but here is some progress in marvelous designer
    I decided to make the base for the boots in Marvelous because it has some pretty big folds. And the boots are supposed to have an influence on the pants. I'm not happy yet about the folds I'm getting on the front of the boots and on the crotch area of the pants. Once I'm done with those I'll be moving on to the gloves. And maybe add some more fabric to the coat under the arms. And changing the fabric so it falls down a bit more so I have room for the white shirt.
  • Piemaster
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    Piemaster greentooth
    Sunray said:
    I'm not working too fast because I have to spend some time in my school project, but here is some progress in marvelous designer
    I decided to make the base for the boots in Marvelous because it has some pretty big folds. And the boots are supposed to have an influence on the pants. I'm not happy yet about the folds I'm getting on the front of the boots and on the crotch area of the pants. Once I'm done with those I'll be moving on to the gloves. And maybe add some more fabric to the coat under the arms. And changing the fabric so it falls down a bit more so I have room for the white shirt.
    Some nice progress here :) after having spent some hours so far sculpting folds it makes me wish I knew Marvelous haha. I do agree about the folds on the boot, it seems a bit too flimsy whereas the concept has a more rigid, hard leather feel to them, but I'm sure you will get there :) Otherwise good work and keep it up.

    We have very different approaches and it's refreshing to see. I should be posting my progress in the next week or so depending on how it goes.
  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    @Piemaster

    All the respect to you man sculpting clothes from scratch is very time consuming and hard haha. I'm still busy getting the hang of marvelous it's a pain in the ass getting things right sometimes. But I feel like you can get some very nice results if you're going to go for a realistic style. But ofc there will be a lot of fixing in zbrush once I get out of marvelous. Are you also going for the assassin?   

  • Piemaster
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    Piemaster greentooth
    @Sunray
    Yea but it's all about working smart not hard, I feel you are working smart :)
    Yes I am doing the assassin. 
  • aquila
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    aquila polycounter lvl 6
    Done sculpting my base mesh. I think the over all proportions look ok now. I'll be starting on extracting and/or modeling his costume using my base mesh as guide. 


  • klown
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    klown polycounter lvl 11
    aquila said:
    Done sculpting my base mesh. I think the over all proportions look ok now. I'll be starting on extracting and/or modeling his costume using my base mesh as guide. 


    https://au.pinterest.com/pin/524176844115781175/ use this and overlay it either in ZB or photoshop to see where your main issues are. If you start building now your character now, it will carry over the anatomy issues you currently have and will show in the final model.

    Remember to ALWAYS have reference and constantly compare your work to it :smile:
  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    Guys what do you think the coat is made from the main part looks a lot like leather to me but the arms look like cloth I can't really decide what to do. I was thinking of making the whole coat cloth. Except for the padding at the shoulders what do you think would be best?

    @klown Hey  your body looks just a bit unproportionate yet. Like the arms are too long, chest goes down to far,The head still feels a bit off. But what I would do is think about your body a bit more. He looks like a buff strong dude this would go fine with a warrior but, If you're working on an assassin I think it's better to go for a slim cut body. Make sure he looks like he could move fast and silent and is aggile. Your body looks like better avoid him he could break me in two. And the coat is going to look really awkward with the size of those traps.
  • Mostwanted
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    Mostwanted polycounter lvl 7
    @Sunray  i think the coat is made up of some heavy material. for now i m using gabardine material in marvelous. it has a very stiff feeling to it thats for sure. hope it helps.
  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    Got my clothes out of Marvelous made a belt in maya and working on fixing the clothes now. the coat and gloves still need the most work. I'm pretty happy about the pants already.
  • Piemaster
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    Piemaster greentooth
    @Sunray
    Looking good :) I must learn marvelous!

  • GustavoWyrnist
  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    @Piemaster @GustavoWyrnist

    Thanks guys.

    I needed a break on the clothes so I started with the head I'm pretty much ignoring the mouth and chin since it's going to be covered up.It still needs a lot of work tho.
     

  • Spoody
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    Spoody polycounter lvl 6
    Steampunk assassin, 10-12k triangles.

    mahi6038 
    I'd make front part symmetrical, centered and less triangle-shaped and eye-lens a little bit bigger perhaps. 


  • Piemaster
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    Piemaster greentooth
    @Spoody
    Great start so far, my biggest concern is that chest/pectoral muscles feel a bit too low. Typically they end closer to the area that the shoulder and bicep connect, no more than half way down the bicep, whereas yours look almost in-line with elbows.
    It may just be the angle and the t-pose creating an odd illusion but maybe try lifting them a bit.

    I look forward to seeing how he turns out :)

  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    @Spoody

    I agree with @Piemaster your chest is down way to much also your traps have a weird shape to them and the arms could have some more volume. I tried to do a quick fix in ps with my amazing liquify skills haha. Make sure to try to get the origin and insertion of the muscles right.

  • Mostwanted
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    Mostwanted polycounter lvl 7
    Hello guys,
    got some time on this weekend, Progress so far
    Out of marvelous. now will again focus on head.

    @Spoody
    i think you need to use your model from bottom up view and top view it will help you fix most of the parts. Lips are also towards inner side, when they are moved outward it will define the character's face. rest keep up the good work
  • Spoody
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    Spoody polycounter lvl 6
    Lips are very tricky to model to me. And also neck area topology doesn't cooperate. :) Maybe I should retopology the area.

    Piemaster That's right! Thanks man. I think i fixed it. But I'll continue working on his body. Here's progress so far. I also lifted up pelvis area and made legs longer.
    Sunray Yes, thank you! I guess I did bodybuilder type traps. I'm trying to achieve look of ripped like Bruce Lee body type low % of body fat and muscular enough. Will work on muscle definition and insertion.
    Your clothes are really cool. Could you hint at how to achieve folds like:

    ?
    Is it garment size, inner folds, fabric settings or phisical parameters or something else? Here's my pants.


  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    @Spoody I look up sewing patterns of clothes and use those as a base in marvelous after that I change my pattern to fit my avatar. And do some changes to get the clothes looking the way I want. And make sure I get the folds I want. I like to have a lot of extreme folds since it's easier to get rid of folds than adding them in Zbrush. Once I'm happy with te way my clothes are on my avatar I mess around with the fabric settings to get the folds to look better. Sometimes I need to change the pattern again after messing around with the settings. Also make sure to keep an eye at your strain map I find it to be very useful. 

    I wouldn't waste time on the lips since it's going to be covered and no one will ever see it except for you.

    For the neck I would bring your lowest sdiv In maya or max or whatever you use and change the topology to this. And project your sdivs back what your sculpting on now only works against you.


    Update on my head: 
    Feel free to point out things that don't feel right I'm not happy yet about the nose and the ears. And the mouth but that's going to be covered so idc about that.

  • Piemaster
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    Piemaster greentooth
    @Sunray Nose looks fine, most of it will be covered too and only the bridge will be visible. As for the ears, I think the problem lies around the ear lobe. Perhaps it's just too defined and the curve need along the edge of the side profile needs to be smoothed out. If that makes any sense
  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    I've been working on fixing the clothes adding some smaller things on them putted some more work into the belts. Started blocking out the mask I'm having an hard time with the eye patch. Fixed the ear lobes still have to work on the gloves I will probably sculpt them with symmetry retopo and unwrap them and put them in pose. Since I don't like the way they came out of marvelous(Should have put some more time in them) Probably going to work on face details/retopo/uvs and the mask and hat in the upcoming days.
  • aquila
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    aquila polycounter lvl 6
    Made some progress last couple of days. I got to say his jacket is really a little bit of a challenge. Looking at other posts this Marvelous Designer looks pretty interesting. Do you guys still have to retopo the clothes after exporting them from Marvelous Designer?


  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    @aquila Yes there are mainly two ways to do this use zremesher or a bit more complicated one that involves mayas transfer attributes. Also your jacket is really pointy like in the concept I feel like that only works for making a stylized character. If your planning to make something realistic keep in mind that cloth doesn't work that way. And your folds in the middle of the pants don't really work. 
  • aquila
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    aquila polycounter lvl 6
    @Sunray Thanks for the feedback :). Yeah I was wondering how the jacket could be so pointy, but yeah I want to go realistic so I'll make them hang more. Also yeah the pants (and all the wrinkles on his clothing) are still a wip, I'm just trying to get things started. I need to work with some ref material more I guess, right now I'm just sculpting using the concept art :).
  • aquila
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    aquila polycounter lvl 6
    @klown Sorry man I think I missed your comment. :) Thanks for the feedback. Yeah I mainly use an app called Mara3d for my ref (not sure if it's still available). It's always open whenever I sculpt and I've tweaked on the proportions since. 




    I tried improving the look of the wrinkles (and this time I used some ref material). I also started refining his head. :)
  • Piemaster
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    Piemaster greentooth
    Hey all!

    Sorry I have taken so long to post, was meant to show this to you guys the sculpt by the end of last week. So as you can tell, I'm approaching this a bit differently by going for a slightly more stylised approach. I'm thinking something along the lines of Dishonoured, though that may change later on depending on how it goes :)





    I've retopologised him and baked the sculpted details too, according to Maya, he is at 6363 faces / 12133 tris.

    Please let me know what you think and I hope you like it! :smile:
  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    @Piemaster Hey man looking really great I love what you did with the shoulders that go to the back. I Feel like your head is a bit to small If i look at your high poly But I'm not sure. And your sleeves feel really tight in the middle I also have two other points 
    Also what are you going to do with the textures I think you should try to make them like they did with overwatch that probably will look pretty cool.

  • Piemaster
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    Piemaster greentooth
    Hey @Sunray Thanks for the feedback. I think you may be right about the head, I will try to correct that. With regards to the coat being tighter, I have made it as though the coat were tailor fitted, it seems I didn't get it quite right, I will probably cheat that correction when I pose him :wink:  

    For the tubes on the mask, I have added the detail in the texture itself. And yes, the pin should be aligned to strap, I forgot to fix it the last time I was working on it, thanks. I will post the material process either tomorrow or next week sometime if I remember to XD

    I love the style of Overwatch, but I'm thinking something a little more realistic that that, not by much though. Still in the process of figuring that out :)

    Thanks again!

  • CLo
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    CLo polycounter lvl 3
    Starting late and having to shake off a bit of rust. Feel the base is coming along fairly well.

  • Piemaster
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    Piemaster greentooth
    So I have some texturing in progress in here. Most of this will probably toned down and simplified a bit, I want it to be a little more stylised possibly with some brush strokes being obvious. I dunno yet, still experimenting and still have lots to do but I think it serves as a good base to work off of. For the jacket, I was initially thinking more of a cloth type material (and might still return to it) but I gave the leather a try and I think it looks quite cool. Will see what happens along the way.

    Let me know what you think :)




    Hey @CLo I think the legs are too short and also too far apart. The thigh gap is rather large. I think the torso looks good for the most part. Keep it up :)
  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    Worked on some of the smaller things like buttons,bags, and some other things. Finished the mask hp also did made some lp for some subtools. I decided to do the same as @Piemaster with the shoulder because it looks very nice. Also made a beginning on the dagger.  

  • Piemaster
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    Piemaster greentooth
    @Sunray great stuff man, you've added some nice extra bits like the dagger holster, and the over shoulder strap buckle (I can't believe I didn't think of this XD)

  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    Piemaster said:
    @Sunray great stuff man, you've added some nice extra bits like the dagger holster, and the over shoulder strap buckle (I can't believe I didn't think of this XD)

    Never too late to add stuff right ;)
  • CLo
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    CLo polycounter lvl 3
    @Piemaster Thanks man! I was feeling like it could've been a bit off, but wasn't sure if the torso was a bit too long or if the legs were too short.



    Been working on the face a bit, feel it's definitely one of my better face sculpts and I'm still repositioning and adjusting proportions.
  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    @Piemaster
    Gloves are looking really good but I think the inside of the coat(The red) Is a bit to saturated.
  • omar_0007
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    omar_0007 polycounter lvl 9
    Sunray said:
    @Piemaster
    Gloves are looking really good but I think the inside of the coat(The red) Is a bit to saturated.
    I guess it would really depend on the material type, the wear and tear etc but yeah it is pretty damn saturated lol

    @Sunray That is some seriously good clothing there mate, nice one
  • VeryCrunchyTaco
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    VeryCrunchyTaco polycounter lvl 7
    @Sunray and @Piemaster looking great dudes!  Looking forward to seeing more.

    Starting on this thingy now, hoping to get her done in time!  Might need to age the face more, and will be working on the clothes soon.


  • Alemja
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    Alemja quad damage
    @VeryCrunchyTacoYou have a nice start but there are some things on her face to watch out for:
    • She is very gaunt, try adding some volume back into her cheeks. Even people with strong cheekbones have a little bit of fat there.
    • You're missing some vital fat around her mouth, this is giving her the "pursed lip" look
    Check out this character from Dishonored, I think it has the kind of look you are going for: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/0nPbV


    An image describing the lip anatomy:
    12032918_1652986718309539_4649227347850003344_ojpg 12751650

    Keep up the good work everyone!
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