Independent Study: Hardsurface Mech

cubedparadox

Hello, Polycount!
I am making a hardsurface mech to better my modeling and texturing abilities.
I post this here in the hope that you will give me some great constructive criticism that will push my model to the next level.

Current state:

Blockout Front:

Blockout Side:

Blockout Top:


Concept Drawing:


Reference Sheet:


I can't wait to hear from you!

Snader

I think the silhouette is rather boring and bland, with the head/face being especially uninterestingly shaped - while at the same time being very costly to model.

For example, how would you make the tail into a lowpoly model? You could use a cylinder but then you lose all whatever little silhouette detail you have. Or you could model the individual plates/scales but it'd be ridiculously high polygonwise. Same goes for the belly and neck.

What you want to design for is an interesting shape, which is still easy to model. For example a stegosaurus has a very simple base for the tail, with some interesting plates and spikes sticking out.

cubedparadox

*Updated First Post with more Pictures*

@Snader : I took a silhouette of my model into phoshop and added some more details, which I then built into my mesh (paying special attention to the head).


Here is the model as it stands now:


more updates to come!

cubedparadox

*Update*
Here is the current state of my high poly model:

Ignore the shading error on the tail, I'll have it fixed in the next update.

I'm pretty much done with detailing, just a few areas that I need to do, then it's off to cleaning up my topology so I can get a good bake.

I'll try to post some wireframes of a few problem areas I have on the mesh later tonight, and as always feedback is always welcome.

mospheric

My only concern is that it is not really reading as a "mech" It's too ambiguous in its form. What is the function of this mech? If it's suppose to be some sort of attack robot, then its arms look too frail.

You have decent references, but they don't seem to have impacted your design much. Observe the joints in particular and see how they function in your references.

If you are trying to go for a more mech and organic look, check out the orbital frames from Zone of the Enders.

Rednaz

A lot of the panels look like they are paper thin, I think you should add some more volume to them.

BARDLER

Rednaz wrote: »

A lot of the panels look like they are paper thin, I think you should add some more volume to them.

Definitely agree with this. The whole thing looks fragile and weak to be honest, and beefing up the plates, and his body would make a huge difference. You have to think about functionality and where his motor/engine/electronics would be at.

cubedparadox

*Update*
I gave all of the armor some thickness and tried to beef up the joints that looked the weakest, not sure if I did enough but we shall see.

The armor is pretty much done, apart from any little tweaks I need to do, and I've started thinking about the function of the mech.
I want it to be a sort of defensive guard, perhaps with some minor battle damage, and I've began working on the guns.
The cartoonish cannons I have in place right now are just placeholders to help me figure out position and scale, I'll be working on making the highpoly guns next.

Render:


I figured out how to render wires, so here you go:


I'll be trying to post more often in the future, looking forward to hearing from you!

Kon Artist

It looks like this thing would fall forward or tip over on it's side. You might want to look at some quadrupeds for reference.

cubedparadox

It's been a while since I posted, been busy with other thigs, but anyway here is the first bake I did of the normals:


there are a few problem areas from the bake, but they will be fixed next by the next update.
Speaking of, I'm done modeling so look forward to my attempt at texturing this thing!

cubedparadox

Due to time constraints and my curiosity, I've created the base textures for this mech using dDo, which is a great program for getting a lot of detail really quickly, so now I'll have even more time to actually make this look good.
here are the base textures as they sit now:

it should look better once I improve my lighting setup ingame,as well as when I start customizing the base texture.
Feedback?

cubedparadox

Done! as it will ever be...

[EDIT] Fixed sketch fab link!
https://sketchfab.com/show/eSeWO5qnxt8dX1BXOoIA8ffKNJl
Hope you like it, I know it's not half as good as some of the other stuff on the forum, but remember this is my first fully modeled and txtued ardsurface, so with practice should come improvement.
I learned a lot, but I still have a lot to learn. Thanks for all of the support, bye!