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The Bi-Monthly CHARACTER ART Challenge | November - January

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Welcome to the Bi-Monthly Character Art Challenge!

UPDATE: Challenge will run until the end of December January
Previous Challenge Thread


How it works
  • Each month, 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!

Santa Claus by Brom


Ulfen Guard by Akeiron


Great Father Concept by Sebastian Meyer

Replies

  • Alemja
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    Alemja quad damage
    Due to the holidays, the challenge may be extended a month. We'll see how people are feeling once the deadline approaches. :)
  • adrxzero
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    adrxzero polycount sponsor
    Sweet concepts!
  • PyrZern
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    PyrZern polycounter lvl 11
    Guess I will try my hands at the animal this time... When I wrap up my current piece.... Hopefully real soon.
  • CaesarAlbertus
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    CaesarAlbertus polycounter lvl 8
    Nice concepts definitly trying this
  • Edgar T
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    Edgar T interpolator
    I'm in for santa!!
  • Ad1
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    Ad1 null
    Hello, new here.

    I have been looking to expand my portfolio and found out about this challenge some time ago. I decided to join for this edition. I will propably go with Santa Claus. Hope we can learn something from each other  :)
  • supersnakelx
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    supersnakelx polycounter lvl 7
    Why is the character challenge a sticky but not the environment/prop challenge? It's not as important in the 3D art?
  • marcchild49
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    marcchild49 polycounter lvl 2
    I am a noob to this challenge so with the three artworks that are provided do we have to so  a exactly model the charterer as they are in the image or come up with a concept of our own keeping the Mood and the style of the original image  
  • VeryCrunchyTaco
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    VeryCrunchyTaco polycounter lvl 7
    I wanna model knives and shields and weapons, but Santa is just too awesome.  Gonna get started soon!  :D 
  • Alemja
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    Alemja quad damage
    @supersnakelx I contact the mods after I create a new thread to have the new one stickied and the old one taken down, since I do not have mod privileges. There has been instances in the past where the Environment challenge was also stickied, however it's up to the creator or the participates to get that done if it's what they want.

    @marcchild49 You pick one of the 3 concepts and make a model based off of it. I select 3 concepts every time, one male, one female, one other (robot, creature, humanoid etc). Participation is optional, and you get to decide whether or not you want to do the Challenge, if you aren't feeling it this time you can wait until the next. I try to keep all 3 of the concepts similar in look and feel and am open to suggestions if there are themes people really want to see.

    In spirit of the season, I felt like things that have a lot of fur or look like they could work in a cold environment was a good theme to go on. I tried to limit the amount of metal in the concepts since we had a lot of armored things last time.
  • supersnakelx
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    supersnakelx polycounter lvl 7
    Ah, good to know, thanks! I'll make sure to send a request.
  • PyrZern
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    PyrZern polycounter lvl 11
    Welp, guess I will kick start this then.  ;P


  • marcchild49
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    marcchild49 polycounter lvl 2
    Alemja thanks for clearing things up 
  • apollo580
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    apollo580 polycounter lvl 9
    So I didn't manage to finish the last challenge but I'm committing myself to finishing this one. I'll be working on the Viking type warrior guy!

    PyrZern My critique would be that the head looks a bit too big for the deers body, but good start!


  • Drocho
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    Drocho polycounter lvl 2

    @apollo580 Looking good so far. The ears look a bit too high up on the head to me though.

    I really wanted to do the last challenge but for a couple of reasons it didn't get past the blocking out stage.

    This time though, I'm committed. And I'm going to make sure I stay at it by showing my progress right from the beginning. Going for Santa here, I've got a rough blockout of him to build around.


  • AdamDanby
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    AdamDanby triangle
    blocking in anatomy for ulfen guard



    @Drocho, nice start. not sure i can explain properly but looking at the concept his overall silhouette should have his lower body taking more space (like a triangle). I would also make his legs longer below the knee & his head smaller
  • RuiShi
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    RuiShi polycounter lvl 4
    PyrZern said:
    Welp, guess I will kick start this then.  ;P


    Looking cool so far! Will say that deer mouths are pretty dainty so I think you should make it 'shorter', closer to ending half way up the muzzle.
    UPDATE 
    And this is my sketched base ATM, equine/cervidae are difficult, but pretty.

  • GravityBwlast
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    GravityBwlast interpolator
    Hello Polycounters!

    It has been quite a time since I took part in a Polycount Challenge. The last one I did was the December-February one. I really like the three concepts involved for this edition, and was wondering which one I would do for several minutes.

    My choice is set on the Ulfen Guard, for the main reasons that I don't don't have a portfolio piece showcasing alpha hair/fur and realistic texturing, and I do have a few creatures/muscled beasts. So here I go for the Ulfen Guard.

    To me the characters reads as a woman (cause of the hips and chest width, and face feminity) but it could also be a handsome young man with some inflated chest and hips armor parts.
    I am gonna make it as I first read it, so, as a woman. I am going for a fully realistic style, with highly detailed materials.

    Here is a breakdown I did to see where I am headed:



    I have never really worked on realistic hair/fur yet so my time estimations might be wrong for this part; but overall I estimated this character to take 85 hours to complete from scratch to final in-game mesh (not including posing); 35h for the high poly, 26h for the low poly/uvs/shading, 4h for the baking process, and about 20h for texturing (counting 10h for the fur and hair textures).

    I can do it in 3 weeks - a month, depending on my free time and current schedule.

    @PyrZern The head is way too big compared to the body. The torso and belly parts are too small. At the moment your deer looks like a young one instead of a great father. I guess it will be great fun to sculpt all the muscle masses! :)

    @apollo580 You shouldn't go this fast into a high density dynamesh. A good idea might be separating the head from the body so you can have fun already getting into details for the head. Good start on the head though. The nose is too wide and ears going too high. It is interesting you read the concept as a man.

    @Drocho You too are going too quickly in a high density mesh, in my opinion. A great way to block out shapes is extracting parts from your base body then zremeshing them with a low value and then subdividing, so you can still play with the lower levels to move the big shapes while still being able to sculpt higher details. It is how I personally proceed in sculpting my high poly models, but also for blocking out, just les detailed and accurate.

    I will post my progress soon. Let's get started!

    Cheers!
  • Markovnikov
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    Markovnikov polycounter lvl 6
    May as well try to give the Ulfen Guard a shot. Give me an excuse to finally try human/organic stuff, and to make myself a base-mesh for later use. Speaking of...

    Just want some opinions on Torso topology before I go any further. I'm very, very new to this. I hope I don't end up spamming the thread with tiny updates.

    @PyrZern In addition to the other critiques, you should probably choose a better matcap for showing it off. That one obscures a lot of the forms.

  • RuiShi
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    RuiShi polycounter lvl 4
    Leaving it here for tonight, started the muscle block out so when the fur goes on he wont look flat.


  • lkameen3
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    lkameen3 polycounter lvl 2
    @GravityBwlast  I would flip the symmetry and no symmetry colors, you have cloth as symmetry but the folds wont and shouldnt be the same on each side.  the armor looks pretty symmetrical to me, the buttons on it can be added in later without symmetry.  good luck with the three weeks!

    @AdamDanby why not use the Julie model that ships with zbrush? (I'm editing this to say nevermind, that  topology is way worse than I remember! Why not use the Nick average male and convert to female?)

  • lkameen3
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    lkameen3 polycounter lvl 2
    Okay Im doing the Ulfen Guard because I need to work on my female anatomy.  Spent the rest of my night starting to block out her major forms.  Still have A LONG WAY to go but the land marks in the concept I looked for was the nose, the eyes and the cheeks, I think those define her face the best.  
  • Ad1
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    Ad1 null
    lkameen3 Looks good but i think a bit masculine, i would make the lower lip stick out a bit more and maybe lower the place where nose starts.


    Still in blocking out phase, i am not sure if proportions are right for this guy.


  • apollo580
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    apollo580 polycounter lvl 9
    lkameen3 My comment would be that I think his legs should be thicker, they seem thin compared to the upper body.

    Here is another update from me, just trying to get the base mesh made before I work on changing him to be bulkier

  • AdamDanby
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    AdamDanby triangle
    Worked on face a bit more & blocked in clothing with MD



    @lkameen3, didn't even think about it tbh. no harm done though, i do few females so doing it from scratch was probably to my benefit.

    face is looking awesome. i would flatten the nose bridge & tip & make it less bulbous for a female. & like ad1 said inflate the lips a little. i would also recommend supplementing the concept with some reference of celebrities or women with very characteristic faces
  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    Hey guys,

    I'm planning to start on this tomorrow I've never participated in any challenge yet. Are there any things I should keep in mind? 

    @AdamDanby isn't it better to have the armor done before you bring it back in Zbrush and refine it. Since the armor has an influence on the way your wrinkles should fall?
  • adrxzero
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    adrxzero polycount sponsor
    @Ad1

    I believe his gut and lower body shapes overall should be more full and rotund, also more jolly.  
  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    Broke down the concept a bit decided on materials and looked for reference. Working on the anatomy of him now having some struggle with not having him be too muscular or too fat looking

    @Ad1 i agree with @adrxzero And his nose looks a bit too small.

  • ShortCake
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    ShortCake polycounter lvl 10
    I finally have time/ caught the challenge early enough to participate! I decided to do the Ulfen Guard, a good opportunity to do some female anatomy study. Here's my progress so far, currently working on her hands and a bit on her face so it's still pretty rough.


    @AdamDanby Like your take on the clothes! I'd suggest being mindful of belt, the fabric is looking slightly pillow-y at the moment. But i really like the pants!
  • APiotrW
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    APiotrW polycounter lvl 10
    @ShortCake
    Your start looks great! Only issue I see is that her butt looks a bit unnaturally flat
  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    first day working on this guy this will be all for today still need to work a bit on the anatomy not happy about it yet. will be doing that tomorrow probably together with cleaning up the pants and adding some more details. If you think I should change something feel free to let me know. I also haven't spent too much time on the face
  • Drocho
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    Drocho polycounter lvl 2
    @ShortCake Phenomenal start! Looks somewhat masculine though, with the aforementioned flat butt and also rather broad shoulders.

    I've just been doing some sculpting here on Santa's head and body.

  • AdamDanby
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    AdamDanby triangle
    started some minor detailing



    @ShortCake, cheers! hope the pillow look will subside as secondary wrinkles are added into the MD clothing

    your anatomy is looking great. disagree with APoitr above & would say her flatter ass gives her a nice lithe look. don't have anything to crit, very inspiring tho

    @Sunray, not sure I understand the question. pc isn't fast enough to sim a lot of clothing in md at once so I do individual parts & move them around in ZB to accommodate other pieces. also i add secondary wrinkles & any that would appear via armor or other parts manually

    i think the santa should be generally shorter & wider than you have him atm. the concept looks to me like it was influenced from fantasy dwarves so I would look to them for some reference
  • jakeroddis
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    jakeroddis polycounter lvl 3
    Going for the ulfen guard - just focused on theface this weekend. Textures were very quickly projected, i always find it easier to tweak stuff if i have some dirty textures on there. I will reproject and colour correct these later.

    @ShortCake that is looking real nice!

    @Sunray anatomy is looking good, one thing i would say is that his legs in the concept are more defined and the trousers are a lot tighter - might be worth revisiting that area
  • apollo580
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    apollo580 polycounter lvl 9
    ShortCake Wow, that's an excellent female base you made! I don't have any critique except that it's amazing.

    Below is my update :)


  • Aonar
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    Aonar null
    Hi guys. I decided to try Santa. Here are some references and screen shots of progresses. 











  • Ad1
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    Ad1 null
    apollo580 Looks good but i would add more fat in the belly.

    Aonar i really like the pants you are using as reference, do you know what they are called?

    Here is my progress, i was busy during the weekend so not much done, added more elements and adjusted the lower body.
  • RuiShi
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    RuiShi polycounter lvl 4
    @Ad1 Loving your progress so far, one bit of crit though is to make his eyes a little more sunken and his brow a little harder. 

    Heres where my deer stands atm, all the fur is going to be done in substance following Nikita Volobuev's tutorial, so only fleshy details ect i'll sculpt. 

    7a44a9d95f96454833350a76c9a56a93png
    e33d213045cfe4b40465a4b3099b0c28png
    529d6560766f8d8f092ff45ecb09b542png63c57f8604c2a8a340e679f61c7b2630png

  • Isunoj
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    Isunoj polycounter lvl 9
    Hi guys. You guys are fast.
    @Aonar, Beautiful references.
    I started to blocking Santa.


  • Ad1
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    Ad1 null
    apollo580 Looks good but i would add more fat in the belly.

    Aonar i really like the pants you are using as reference, do you know what they are called?

    Here is my progress, i was busy during the weekend so not much done, added more elements and adjusted the lower body.
  • ShortCake
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    ShortCake polycounter lvl 10
    Thanks guys for the feedback and words of encouragement!
    @Aonar Killer start! Love the face. May I suggest making his hands a little smaller? I think it would make him look bigger overall.
    @Isunoj Love his shape and proportions!


    I narrowed her shoulders slightly and gave her a little more booty also blocked out the clothes in Marvelous, now just going over it, making sure the proportions are where I want them. I'm thinking of re-doing her legwarmers, I'm not overly excited about how they turned out.
  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    Started working on the face a little bit(need to add wrinkles later on) and sculpted some more detail in the body arms still need a lot of work. @jakeroddis agreed I made the legs a bit more muscular and the trousers a bit tighter thanks. 

    @ShortCake Love the armor man looks good
    @apollo580 I feel like you defined the muscles a bit too much he looks to ripped imo.
    @RuiShi looking great so far but just a tiny little thing I would change is the nostrils. I would add a bit more shape on top of them like in the concept  




  • Colton
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    Colton polycounter lvl 2
    @Sunray
    Thanks for the images and for finding Derek Poundstone! I had a hard time finding a good reference but his body type is spot on. Your first blockout is looking good--just keep adjusting proportions. He could look less tall and more blocky.

    Here's my blockout. I'm basing the face on Russell Crowe from Noah because I think he looks sort of like Santa and I like that look more than the one in the reference. If that's going to be breaking any rules just lmk. Thanks!




  • Michael Olleron
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    Michael Olleron polycounter lvl 4
    Gonna have a go at this too, first time doing the character challenge so hello! Everyone's killing it and people are moving so fast really trying push myself to keep up. Also went for the santa concept cause its too awesome!

    @ShortCake looking so good man! loving the cloth folds
    @apollo580 really nice start man, like others have mentioned think more about adding fat 
    @Sunray  face is great but the lips are kinda bothering me, i think they're too wide maybe (wont really matter with the beard tho haha)



  • Sunray
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    Sunray polycounter lvl 7
    @Colton yeah I need to to make him a bit smaller 
    @Michealon Yeah I hate the lips as well I can't get them right hope to get them a bit better at the next sdiv.
  • apollo580
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    apollo580 polycounter lvl 9
    Sunray What's bugging me is his lips, they dont seem to fit Santa, maybe they are a bit too feminine?

    Thanks for the advice, I tried to tone it down and added a belly instead of 6 pack abs!

  • Isunoj
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    Isunoj polycounter lvl 9
    Hello, Guys.
    @ShortCake, Thanks for the feedback. Dude, your model looks fantastic.
    Here's a little update.  I made some changes to the shape but I'm still not sure about that.


  • adrxzero
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    adrxzero polycount sponsor
    @ Michael Olleron 
    Sweet Alan Moore look! also good job on shapes and proportions, I look forward to seeing more updates.
  • GravityBwlast
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    GravityBwlast interpolator
    @AdamDanby Very cool start!
    @ShortCake Wew this is next-level, I love it. How did you make the lower leg parts? Is it MD? Curious to see how you did!
    @apollo580 Nice start on the torso and face. Something feels off about his belly and knees.
    @Isunoj Nice beard!

    Here is my current progress, mainly blocking out shapes. Did a MD base for the pants and tee, and detailed the face which still isn't where I want it but I'll get back to it a bit later.
    Any crits welcomed!


  • Ad1
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    Ad1 null
    Isunoj I think his proportions are really good, i would leave it as it is.

    GravityBwlast i get the impression that her legs are a bit short propably because of clothing, maybe try rising her hips?

    Added some colors for preview and started scultping cloth. I am starting to worry about hair and fur, i have never done it right with planes.



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