Handpainted Prop - The Trophy
polycounter lvl 6
So I've decided to brush my portfolio up and slap a new spin on it directed towards props this year for GDC. From what I hear they've gotta be pretty damn good props though if you want to get people's attention. (No hand painted barrels then I guess 
But anyways, I don't post nearly enough of my progress on here, so I figured I'd start a thread, so I can get feedback, and just to share how I do things. I started on the concept tonight, and basically what it's going to be is a giant luxurious plaque for this enormous goblin king head. I want the plaque to work with and without the head, so I'm going to concept the entire thing out both ways. I also really want to get in some practice with good velvety cloth. Here's a lil bit of my progress. Hope you guys enjoy!
Also I can't really vouch for the colors holding up. For some reason in one of my monitors, the cloth looks just fine, but in the other it looks super blown out. Let me know what results you guys get!
But anyways, I don't post nearly enough of my progress on here, so I figured I'd start a thread, so I can get feedback, and just to share how I do things. I started on the concept tonight, and basically what it's going to be is a giant luxurious plaque for this enormous goblin king head. I want the plaque to work with and without the head, so I'm going to concept the entire thing out both ways. I also really want to get in some practice with good velvety cloth. Here's a lil bit of my progress. Hope you guys enjoy!
Also I can't really vouch for the colors holding up. For some reason in one of my monitors, the cloth looks just fine, but in the other it looks super blown out. Let me know what results you guys get!
Replies
I'd try smoothing out the brush strokes a little bit while retaining the contrast.
Your wood could probably use a more glossy look as this kinda chair would probably have some kind of finish on it.
I like what you're doing with this though, GLHF at GDC
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I will begin on the ork head tomorrow after assessing and applying any crits or comments.
C'n'C' Welcome!
Subscribed, looking forward to updates
Anyways. Moving forward to the model tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be relatively smooth sailing. If anyone is aware of any particularly good UV unwrapping for hand painted texture tutorials, I'd gladly gobble those up with my brain.
Finally had a chance to brush up and model this guy out as well as get a good bit of the diffuse finished. I'd say I'm about 75% there at this point. I still have a good ways to go on the mount though. The wood's coloring is giving me some problems, and I'm not quite sure how to tackle the lighting on the velvet base.
Any tips, comments, or suggestions are more than welcome!
I like how the concept came out. At the moment though, I feel like were not looking at the same orc head in 3d.
The concept orc head looks menacing, the 3d version almost looks like he was a nice guy. lol. You've got some great colors in the concept. Try workin in those purples under the eyes, make his mouth more disgusting, give his brow a bit more volume and shape. Also the ears look a bit flat and could use a little more depth.
I feel your pain tho, its difficult to hand paint good textures! Hehe, keep it up man, i like the progress
I've boosted the color range to hit more intense highlights, as well I've tried to pull more of the colors and hues directly from the concept.
I also did a little bit of editing to the mesh itself to give the character more menace. The crown got some love too with some much needed detail. (Pixelb, you were right, it felt far more tiara-esque till I put something to close off the top) I still plan on utilizing a bit more of the uv space to make some kind of elaborate top piece for the crown.
Here are images of the update! Feel free to let me know what you think. Thanks!
The eyes in the concept works really well with the yellow which was a nice contrats to the blue hue of the skin, now they kind of share the same color.
I'd like to see those cool details added to the model if possible, really nice job so far though! Awesome painting skills!
I added a bit more detail and accessories to give it flair, as well as a few things that weren't in the concept. Monocles have always struck me as somewhat vain and menacing, so I plopped one on this face. Let me know what you think!
Also Thanks so much for the pointers and support guys! You've really helped me push this model in directions I didn't know it could go!
Watch the lack in the texture. You can still push the highlights a lot.
I'd also say you need to break up the symmetry, starting from the geometry. The Goblin King looks so much more menacing in your painting than in 3D, like a trophy I'd be proud to take versus some dumb grunt that didn't even put up a fight. I think if you just had the taxidermist pose him a little less symmetrically, he'd retain some of that menace even in death.
Calling this one done.
Thanks again for your help and support guys!
I did a quick paint-over of the goblin. I did not have time to darken the wood on the headboard, but I would recommend doing that along with straightening his jaw, adjusting the 'pipes' on his crown so they point outwards, and possibly removing one or both gems on his crown. It's looking great. Keep up the awesome work, and good luck at GDC!