[WIP] Triceratops for UDK
Hiya thanks for coming to look at my thread 
If you have any suggestions or critique I'd love to hear it.
For this project I'll be making a Triceratops with the final rigged and animated model being displayed in UDK.
Planning
Some of the images that I'll be working from. The muscle form sketch is the image that I have been using as the main reference to make the base mesh.
If you have any suggestions or critique I'd love to hear it.
For this project I'll be making a Triceratops with the final rigged and animated model being displayed in UDK.
Planning
Some of the images that I'll be working from. The muscle form sketch is the image that I have been using as the main reference to make the base mesh.
Concept
A fairly simple concept idea, so I have a rough base ready for when I start Polypainting after the sculpt.
Basemesh Progress
A fairly simple concept idea, so I have a rough base ready for when I start Polypainting after the sculpt.
Current progress on the basemesh so far.
Replies
Additional loops have also been added to even out topology. The images below show the further additions (e.g. frill bones) to the base mesh. Geometry has been added in for the skin/partial horn on the side of the face. Also the horns have been detached from the body and geometry has been added to simulate the join to the skin which is easier than sculpting it in with no base geometry.
Basemesh Clay Renders
Several clay renders of the basemesh in 3Ds Max before sculpting to simply show any errors.
ZBrush Polygroups
This image shows the individual polygroups using UVs set in 3Ds Max, the separate sub-tools and several subdivisions applied to the model to show the model smooths correctly making ready to start sculpting.
This is the base mesh with the body at sub division 6. The initial muscle details were built up using the clay build up brush and smooth tools, at sub division 3. Some areas have also been tweaked using the move and move elastic tools to form a more suitable shape.
On this version detail is just being added into the feet which will need further work. Work still needs to be done on the horns, beak and frill. For this additional work the sub divisions will be placed back to 3, to make it easier to work with. Additionally the skin and scale details still need to be added.
New ZBrush Polygroups
To enable symmetry to be used on the areas such as the front legs when the polygoups are isolated the legs have been merged into the one polygroup. This has also been done for the back legs and the toes.
Based on feedback I've made alterations to the head/eyes and back, along with defining the muscles and added details around the toes.
Before starting to add the scales the belly has been given a little more sag and skin wrinkles have been added. The lower cheek bone has also been more defined
Scales have now been added to the body using primarily custom alphas.
You might want to add a bit more definition to the face, especially around the eyes & nose.
The horns - especially the nasal horn - seem smaller than is typical for most adult species. Keep in mind that the horns were bone covered with a sheet of keratin, and the horns of a living creature might have been twice as long as those of a fossil. As with most dinosaurs, however, living examples are rare, so we're often left guessing...
The horns should also be smoother, although they might have distinct growth rings as seen on modern horned mammals. Structurally, they were closer to cattle horns than those of a rhino, so you should probably look there for references. Many pet stores sell cow horns as chew toys for dogs and offer an inexpensive way actually see & feel the texture.
Rhinos, however, do provide some excellent ideas about the skin and feet of large, heavy browsing herbivores.
For the ZBrush sculpt a few tweaks have been made to the shape of things and fold/wrinkle details.
I'm happy to leave the sculpt details at this point and move onto the retopologised mesh that will be rigged, animated and textured then put into UDK.
The texture will come from a ZBrush polypaint so I will be back in ZBrush again at some point. Any suggestions are still welcome on the sculpt as small alterations may still be made.
For the re-top the mesh had to be 12,000 tris or under and contain animation loops to make it suitable for the current UDK engine.
These are a few renders of the retopologised mesh. The clay renders simply show theres no major smoothing errors. Some topology needs tweaking to look a bit tidier and any suggestions for the animation loops would be most welcome.
This is a simple video of a turntable for the sculpt and game mesh.
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Based on feedback changes have been made to the front legs to make them less bulky and more natural. This has been altered on the ZBrush sculpt and low polygon models.
UVW Unwrap
With these alterations made the UVW unwrap has been created. The frill, horns and rear legs will be asymmetrical to allow for unique detail to be added to the polypaint.
CAT Rig/Animation
The model will be animated using a CAT rig in 3Ds Max. The below link is a short video showing the progress of the the walk and idle animations. There are still several points that need to be adjusted such as the movement of the shoulders and front leg twist on the walk and the ankle twitch on the idle animation. The underbelly bone on the walk/idle cycle still requires key frames to ensure it will move correctly.
http://youtu.be/jljwQ8xMHT8
This is the current polypaint, the render is taken in flat mode. There are still some alterations to be made to add more colour variation.
CAT Rig/Animation Continued
This is a simple video of the current animation progress for the walk and idle cycles. The low polygon model has now been fully skinned to the CAT rig. Based on feedback for the idle animation, more movement has been added to the font legs to add asymmetry.
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The idle animation has been updated to add some natural variation and weight. However, the jaw animation had to be removed as it did not work correctly when imported into UDK.
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Polypaint Update
The modifications have been made to the polypaint before projecting it onto the low poly to create the diffuse texture. Yellow contrasting areas have been added along with a slight blue into the shadows.
The model is now in UDK with all the texture maps applied.
Additionally it has been set up so that it spawns, animates and attacks the player.
UDK Test File
A test file has been put together for others to see if the AI runs correctly. Feel free to download and test the file. Please inform me straight away if you have any problems with the file. A read me has been included with instructions on how to install the file to UDK.
Feedback would be very much appreciated on any part of the project
http://www.gamefront.com/files/23220995/3D_Organic_Triceratops_By_Rikku300.zip
For example:
In reference to the above image: You can make out the scales at a distance, they vary in shape, and compliment the form. There is definite underlying bone structure happening behind his horns that seems to be missing on you model. They eye, cheekbones, and snout have more definition and give the beast character. (Sadly our model does not express this.) The folds and creases work with the model and give a sense of weight and gravity to the skin.
Good luck.