Hi guys I just wanted to start a thread to ask experienced pro's a few questions after I had an opportunity to complete a character art test from High Voltage.
I'll post my work if you all would like to see it. Unfortunately I didn't get the job but I certainly learned alot because they did take the time to critique my test. The requirements were to make a game ready character with a poly(tri) limit of 6000, 2048x2048;normal map, spec, and diffuse. The biggest critique they had was that I used a symmetry thoughout my unwrap.
I just wanted to ask ( so I do it correctly next time) if characters aren't typically textured using a symmetry at all for the unwrap when using a resolution of 2048x2048.
A few things. Faces are mosty textured in a non symmetrical way and you could of done the same thing for the chest. The other thing I see is that the skin of the character doesn't have enough skin tones to look natural. Nice job though. Character Artists jobs are really hard to get so don't knock yourself. Without seeing the reference given if any it can be hard to comment on.
The ears seem too low. Don't show the ref unless you were allowed to.
Well I'd like to but they might have a problem with that. Thanks for the feedback. They mentioned the skin texture too, and they suggested that I also work on my anatomy some more.
The poly usage on the arms, specifically the back is really poor. Also most the shapes on his body are really basic and bland. You could have used some tri's to cut in a few major folds at the knee area for starters. As for uv's... In my experience heads are almost always unique. If they are symetry, you would go back and just tweak a few verts on the uv layout to make an eyebrow a bit diff shape ect ect. arms, hands, legs, and boots are symetried alot...but again depends on design, and what you have planed for the texture. Torsoe is almost always unique. If im given a 2048 size, i try to make as much unique as possible with out sacraficing overall quality. Others have pointed out the anatomy issues. The images you posted with textures are really small. So i cant really crit that for ya.... What I can tell is that, its mostly one saturation. So it makes it a bit bland to look at. Everything has different levels of saturation. You would need to go back with a sponge tool and soak up some of that color ect ect.
hmmm Im no character artist but Im not sure why they would critique you on mirroring your UVs to maximize your texture space. Ive looked through tonnes of Epics stuff from gears and ut3 and they mirror the shit outta most of their models! I mean yeah for the face if hes got a scar going across 1 one eye or some unique detail/pattern on his shirt, but even then I would think it'd be good practice to mirror
I think the big problem they had with how much you used mirroring was how obvious it looks. A certain amount of mirroring can indeed be very useful to help save time and space, but not when it becomes obvious even to the untrained eye.
I'm afraid that might be the problem with this model: The chest of the outfit is competely identical on both sides without a single scuff or tear to differentiate one side from the other. I'm no pro on military-style uniforms, but I'm pretty sure there tends to be different pocket placements and the like, and some might be more full with stuff than others. As already mentioned, faces are never exactly symetrical on any real face. Check out some really good character models to see where they did or didn't use symetry. These are just things to think about for your next try. But don't give up, you have a lot of promising elements going for it!!
He needs more ass.. lol. literally speaking. his backside looks kinda weird imo. hard to tell from those angles though. can I request a proper angle to view the backside that isn't dead on?
Your proportions are also off. The crotch is roughly in the middle of the body (vertically). His arms also look too short. The triceps are also sitting too far forward. Referance!
I agree, it doesn't look as bad as it sounds on all the replies here. Surely there are many things that can be improved but I wouldn't be surprised if I bought a game and saw this model somewhere... not a main character but maybe some random guy hanging around.
I had a week and I finished it in 6 days just to be safe. Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I agree with the goofy proportions I just assumed that they designed the proportions in a way that would be more heroic, the concept seemed very gears of war.
there is nothing really wrong with the model. Really, honestly, When a company knocks you on something like "Your Model looks way too mirrored" and starts getting nitpicky, It usually means "We have had many many people do this art test, and there is nothing special about this one" It just means you need more time, to develop your skills. Art Tests are like Art CONtests. You have to really make people notice, even on a generic Character.
Perhaps on this character they would have seen clever use of Asymetry as going the extra mile so to speak. 2048x2048 is a lot of space.
Replies
I just wanted to ask ( so I do it correctly next time) if characters aren't typically textured using a symmetry at all for the unwrap when using a resolution of 2048x2048.
The ears seem too low. Don't show the ref unless you were allowed to.
Alex
Search for Andrew Loomis and Bridgman. Your anatomy knowledge will soar.
Anatomy issues I see:
--your bicep is supposed to end roughly at the bottom of your ribcage, almost to your navel (this can obviously vary from person to person)
Anything else may have been a reference factor (the head seems flat in back, but the character could have been designed that way).
I'm afraid that might be the problem with this model: The chest of the outfit is competely identical on both sides without a single scuff or tear to differentiate one side from the other. I'm no pro on military-style uniforms, but I'm pretty sure there tends to be different pocket placements and the like, and some might be more full with stuff than others. As already mentioned, faces are never exactly symetrical on any real face. Check out some really good character models to see where they did or didn't use symetry. These are just things to think about for your next try. But don't give up, you have a lot of promising elements going for it!!
Perhaps on this character they would have seen clever use of Asymetry as going the extra mile so to speak. 2048x2048 is a lot of space.