Dwarven Character Critique Please

rogermein1

Hi

I've been working on a new Dwarven character that I'd like to get some feedback on. This is a break off from my usual realistic style of modelling and I'm basically looking to see if anyone can spot deficiencies/things in my model.

Here is the main still image:



Here are the various camera shots and wireframe images to show the breakdown:





and the zbrush model:



and the texture maps:



Software used included 3DS Max, ZBrush, Mudbox and Photoshop for final composites. I didn't really use any reference per say, but the hairstyle was based off of 'Gloin' one of the dwarves from the Hobbit and I was going for a cartoon look.

Any critiques would be appreciated, especially things that I can improve. Thanks in advance!

uncle

Really ood stuff!

On the first sight I would only say that hic complexion seems really pale, very contrasting with saturated red hair. Also arms seem a bit too thin for a dwarf. Overall I love it.

rogermein1

Hi Uncle

Good catch. I've been thinking his complexion is kind of pale for a while now too. Will have to fix that. Yeah, I get the feeling I always make my characters arms/hands too small. Need to imaging bigger hands for everything in the future .

Thanks for the crit!

reverendK

the spec maps need some serious lovin...it looks like you just played with the hue/saturation from the diffuse which is making everything look really plastic - especially the hair. They're going to need a lot more contrast and material defenition.

I'm not sure why or how the hair is gathered so nicely in the back - a clip or tie or something might help - but that's a nitpick.

rogermein1

Hi ReverendK

Yeah, I actually separated the grayscale spec map from the color spec since 3DS Max has a separate slot for both. The grayscale is the one with the actual contrast. Although I'm beginning to wonder if it's just better to have one color spec map and use that for both specular strength and color hue. What do you think?

Thanks!

reverendK

yes.
and most objects don't usually have any color in the spec - and those that do seldom have much saturation. Xoliul made a nice little diagram for it in a thread somewhere...here. it's specifically about the blue skin, but it works for the principle in general.
I never use the spec color in max, though. Get the spec colors you want into the greyscale map and just use that one.

also: i can't tell for sure, but if you're just getting your renders out of max they're more or less useless for game purposes. You need to get images from a real-time. udk, marmoset, etc.

rogermein1

Hi ReverendK

Thanks a lot! That information is really helpful. I've always kind of struggled to determine when it's a good idea to include hue information into my maps, but that makes a lot more sense.

For my renders, the main one is done in 3DS Max with composites but the others are done in Mudbox. They have material and lighting presets as well as flat lighting. I think that is similar to Marmoset toolbag...or is there no comparison?

I've also looked at it in Unity. Maybe I should start doing it from there instead.

reverendK

I don't know about mudbox - i haven't used it enough to say if that's a legitimate real-time lighting option or not. Unity should work, but i'm also not familiar with their asset viewing methods. Max renders are typically a pretty bug no-no, though. It's not accurately indicative of real-time results.

*edit - render the high poly in whatever you'd like though. Just want to make that distinction.

rogermein1

Cool, I'll try Marmoset again and see if it makes a difference.

Thanks again for your help!

AlexCatMasterSupreme

It's not bad but that facial expression makes him look like he's super happy.

rogermein1

Haha, yeah that's what I was going for. I imagined him to be a pretty cheerful kind of dwarf, especially when fighting.

rogermein1

Hi guys

Just a quick update. I took everybody's comments and made some changes to the main image. Main points were englarging the hand and arm sizes of the main character, altering the specular maps and tinkered with the lighting.



Any comments on the updated image would be appreciated. Thanks!

reverendK

It looks like the spec maps are working a lot better - though I feel like the skin and hair are still a little shiny - especially the skin. The hair might not bother me so much if it were a darker color, but that level of spec with the orange makes it all crazy bright and overpowering. I'd play with the spec to continue further separation of material types a bit more. Can we see the new flats?

also - diggin the tie in the hair

rogermein1

Hi ReverendK

Thanks for the reply. I agree about the skin, and I've been trying to find ways to tone down the shinyness, although it may partly have to do with the way I composited that particular image. Just to give you an idea, the specular map looks like this right now:



This is the flat as it stands:



I actually do want to keep the shininess of the beard if that's possible, but if it really is too jarring, I'll try to tone it down.

Thanks again.