Josh Kao Mech

schneller

This is my first time posting here!

I've decided to get some high poly practice so I've selected (with permission from the artist) this image from Josh Kao:

Here is a quick block out. After taking these screen grabs I've spotted a few proportional problems, but I'll correct those as I go.

Ged

cool, have you posed him like the concept to check hes the right shapes?

schneller

No, but I probably should have :P

Anchang-Style

Reminds a bit of the Spider Tank from GITS, but actually cool project, keep an eye on it

Xoliul

You really need to revise your blockout. You've missed most of the subtleties that make the design interesting. It's all very straight, square and boring.
To be honest you could even improve on the design a bit as it can be taken a bit further in terms of shapes...

schneller

@Anchang-Style: Thanks for the heads up, I'll check that out

@Xoliul: I appreciate your honesty - that's what I'm here for! You know, after not touching it for a day or so and coming back to this thread, the proportion problems are all the more obvious. I'm finishing up a high-poly modeling tut from 3d motive right now, but I will take another stab at the blockout soon. Thanks for your input!

konstruct

try to model what you see, and not what you think you see. Xoliul is spot on. If you nail all the spacial relationships this could be a really interesting project. Observation is one of the main skills needed to be able to model effectively.

I feel however without that, like Xoliul said, the concept is a little dry- no offense to Josh Kao.

krimzondestiny

" Observation is one of the main skills needed to be able to model effectively."

I agree, and disagree. Observation is the key in EVERY medium of art. There are key aspects of the concept art that are missing in your model. I would suggest starting over, and spend more time looking at the concept art than actually modeling. I feel like in modeling, more time should be spent looking at the concept art and doing textures/shading than actually modeling.

schneller

Ok, here are my revisions:




I think this turned out much more true to the concept. Actually, looking back at my first blockout, I'm kind of embarrassed I posted it in that condition...:D

ayoub44

Nice Pose man , I love it ...

Lucas Annunziata

Aww yeah! This is leaps and bounds above where your first blockout was. This is an interesting design, and the texturing is going to be a blast! Keep it up man

Sputch

Cool man! I don't think you should be embarrassed. It looks like you were just modelling for the rigger. Posing is nice to help visualize though for sure.

spectre1130

Knowing a lil about rigging now, I see where the straight boring pose was the way to go. The concept and model are strong, and can only get better I'm sure. Like this so far. I need to do some og work myself, but school starts on Tues. I will do all original stuff there but prolly will never post here. I love mechs!

Weirdboy

That thing's gonna look sick when it's textured.

krimzondestiny

Knowing a lil about rigging now, I see where the straight boring pose was the way to go.

I wasn't talking about the pose, I was talking about the modeling (which has gotten MUCH better, btw). Like, the main body section was too sharp and flat. The concept image looks more like a diamond, while he modeled it very flat. There was a sort of rib cage area that was missing in the first model, but he's added it.

Also, One of the most prevalent features of the concept is the lack of sharp edges. It looks as though he added it in the top, but the legs could use a simple 1-segment bevel. You always have to be wary of poly count when beveling, but if you're smart about it, a simple bevel and normal and ambient occlusion map could give you the detail in your final mesh that is in the concept art.

schneller

I really appreciate all the feedback I've gotten so far. I had to quit working on this due to other commitments, but now I have some free time again. After thinking things over, I'm going to take this project in a slightly different direction. I hope to retain the feeling of the concept, but as suggested I'll revisit the design. Here's a moodboard I've assembled:



My goals for the project are:
1. High poly sub-d practice (Maya)
2. Adding dents,scratches, small mechanical details (ZBrush + nDo)
3. Practice correctly generating normal maps (xNormal)
4. Creating a feeling of "wear and tear" in the textures (PS + Mudbox)
5. Practicing presentation skills (Marmoset for LP + Mental Ray for HP)

I hope to have some new concept sketches up shortly.