rushing to get this PDF finished and online, blaaah, sorry for the wait ...may have to wait til later tonight, idk...gotta stop promising things before they are done lol...really appreciate all the feedback!!!
@Torch nope; there was never a high poly mesh...the baked lighting was generated from the low poly mesh you see...the AO was made was a smoothed mesh, but that's it
Please let me know if this is helpful or if you'd like it...never really put anything like this together. Would love to hear your feedback on this process. Would be sweet to see other people apply this process and how it turns out...then again I feel like that's asking to have my thread derailed :P...either way I'd love to see at least a couple other people try this and how it turns out
absolutely amazing work! I love the redesign. Thanks for putting together that tutorial too! I gave it a quick read already but I'll be sure to test it out soon. Looks like some really great info in there!
Thanks artquest ...as said I'd like to go and add more to it once I get a system in place...also need to fix some typos, elaborate more on some of the steps, and add more pictures
Would love to see your results, and anyone elses
Tried it today (really quickly, my time is so limited these days) on a model on my portfolio, and it just didnt turn out well...dont think the texture was in the right polished/ quality point to try it on... Just not enough detail...I did get to quickly test it on Link's shield though and it turned out wonderful
I'm hoping Monday I can make a huge push to finish the shield and at least model out the master sword and bow...demand my head on a plate if there isnt an update from me on Monday! ;P
This is probably my favorite Link fan model. Cheers for the tutorial too, I'm surprised it hasn't been thought of before or at least in tutorial form. The results are rather stunning and I can't wait to see him finished!
Thanks Alemja the results have been a bit inconsistant for me on certain models, but as previously stated i think they just werent quality enough for it...it seemed relatively simple to me and just made sense glad you are such a fan of this link
No major update as I had hoped , but the shield is just about done
I like the redesign a lot! As mentioned by someone else, I keep getting drawn back to the bottom of the tunic, it just seems to pointy to me, but that's more of a stylistic preference then a design one.
I'll be sure to look at that area again. I actually felt like his legs were too short, so I lengthened his boots and thighs slightly, and it feels a lot better
progressing onto the Master Sword for now...Had to tweak my original design a bit in regards to the width of the sheath size, but I'm pretty happy with how it's looking.
I am a bit puzzled on proportions due to my style though...what I find odd, is when the sword is on his back, the sword+sheath look suuuuuuuuuper long, yet in his hand the sword feels short at times?
My instinct wants to beef up the width of the sword more, but as said that makes the sheath super huge and awkward looking. Just going to require some more sketching and analyzing proportions I suppose
Looking awesome! Couple of notes. The gold triforce on the shield looks a bit flat it looks like it needs some highlights and a bit of reflection faking. As for the sword the thing that I think feels off about it is it feels opposite to how a sword should feel. Swords should get narrower/thinner at the tip. Since it gets wider at the tip I feel it throws of the balance of the sword. I think if you made the blade wider at the base and narrow at point it would resolve some of those issues. Just my thoughts. Really coming along great stuff!
Hah, so I just had a great idea and I could use someones help
If someone could model an texture a cuckoo in the same style I would love you forever
I suppose as compensation I'd do something for you in return; undecided but you will def get something from me
As some form of update, this is really the last weekend I have before I move to Cali in about 2 weeks, and i only have Saturday...I'm going to force myself to work my ass off and get up super early...master sword and shield will be done, and hopefully the rig
Really want to get this project closer to completion
If i have time during lunch today ill post some updates
@AndrewHelenek, you flatter me...and you also depress me...do yourself a favor and go play one :P
@stevston89 thanks man, I totally agree...I think blades that get pretty beefy, and in those designs wider tips make sense, however, since the Master Sword is so thin in nature, and since unlike most games it actually goes into a sheath, the design I originally was going for just doesn't work....Pro tip on the tri-force, don't know why I didn't really come to that conclusion myself; thanks!
@thepapercut haven't ignored you, I'll get there...With moving to Cali my time is sooo limited, BLAH
All this positive feedback is so cool and humbling and awesome Soooo excited that everyone is digging my design and everything . I've even had two people request permission to cosplay as Link with this design ...that's the coolest thing ever
SO, getting to work hardcore right now, but I totally expect my time today to be cut super short...again
Here is the progress of the Master Sword, and I'm pretty happy with the final design I got going. I went a bit more traditional with the blade design as stevston89 suggested, and I think he made some valid points that helped me get it to where it is now. After getting the blade to a point I liked, it looked so much like the traditional design Master Sword that I just wasn't happy; the Link is definitely redesigned for sure, and the Hylian shield retains it's essence while still being recognizably different in design. I couldn't rework those and leave the Master Sword without some of my own style, so I focused on working the Hilt a bit more. I'm still not 100% of It's "enough" of a change for me, but for now I am happy with it...we will see how I feel in an hour :P
And look! It looks proportional and not weird anymore . Obviously the sheath needs more detail. I'm actually kinda bummed about using the super rich "royal" looking sheath the Master Sword uses. Maybe it's just me appreciating the brown leather sheath the normal swords use and a preference for color design, but that sheath just sticks out so oddly to me...maybe I'll have to add the iron sword to my design list...can't get ahead of myself though
Anyway, if you'd like to take a look at my production progression on the Master Sword, I also rendered out all the swords in my scene to show the different design elements I focused on and tried. The top left sword is the final form, and the bottom right is the first initial pass...so progression is bottom right to bottom left, then top right to top left
Oh, and a special thanks to @Torch for volunteering to make a Cucco for me He's been sending me progress on it and it's looking pretty legit. Can't wait to see his final product, and he needs to post it in here :P (In case you didn't want to hijack my thread Torch, you may certainly post it here man)
Epic! Everytime you update this thread it's a highlight of my day You're really making me want to go play a Zelda game. The Master Sword is coming along nicely.
Gotta comment on the shield, I think the blue in the center is a bit off, I can't put my finger on why, but the smooth fade make it look sorta like a toy. It kinda clashes when put on the character, maybe it needs just a touch of cyan to bring it closer to the blue on his chain-mail/metal bits? Other then that I can't wait to see this amazing piece finished! I smell top row!
Loving every bit of this bud and your texturing progress is stellar and as artquest pointed out, it could become quite the highlight on a few sites.
Looking over your latest turnaround I can only identify one major problem that sticks out at me and that is the pants, especially the front in the way that it droops down (if you look at the side view you can see it better). I think it's the way that it is a straight drop from his waist to his knee that really kills the silhouette in that area. Maybe by moving a few vertices forward may fix that problem.
But on the whole, I love every update so please keep at it.
Welp; its not much of an update; about 10 minutes of extra work at the end of the day, but seeing as how this will probably be my last update on him for several weeks, figured i should show something
You can sort of see the direction I'm going in regards to the look...def will have some color balancing issues to fix between the shield and sword, and then to Link himself. It's still very WIP, so go easy on critique ;P
I'll have several small projects going on the next 2 weeks that I have to get done, so look for a different thread from me if you'd like
I also am considering releasing Link (rigged, and what gear is to be determined) as an SDK for people to have fun with and do whatever they want with him ...i am a bit hesitant as he is my best work to date, but that may be more of a reason TO throw him to the internet
Would anyone be interested? My rigging abilities are enough, but nothing spectacular
I'm glad you went with the more classic looking blade. I was a little worried when I saw the other designs you had. Ha ha
Great work, still loving this.
Edit:
Woop, One thing I wanted to mention, it looks like the grip on the sword is only big enough for one hand. This would be problematic in a real sword if you wanted to use both hands to swing the sword. It's also making the sword look a little more stubby than it should. I'm sure you've seen this picture, but just in case:
Personally my favorite is the OoT one. But they're all pretty awesome.
Just wanted to bump this awesome thread - working on a Cucco for Link Talked with Aaron about the specs and tried to go for something under 600 tris, 512 map. Still got a lot to do on it, muddy areas to clean up, add more contrast, etc. Cheers!
Haha! Torch that's awesome dude! Cant wait to get Link all rigged up and have him play with that Cucco!
I might enjoy taking a stab at texturing him too for fun; hes a cute little dude!
@BobtheGreat
Thanks man! I do understand what you mean, however, I don't know if I agree with the reason per-say? I have never seen (to memory) the Master Sword wielded as a 2handed cleaver of sorta, and I have always imagined it as a 1handed device anyway. Since I am not a swordsmith, I can't sit here and say the design of the sword is never intended to be used by both hands. It IS, however, wielded by both hands in the downward thrust jump attack; this coule end up being problematic in my own design
Because of the unrealistic, slightly exaggerated style I've gone with, having the hilt be long enough for both hands kind lf dwarfs the scale of the sword and makes it appear tiny...this is something I definitely will need to evaluate at some point and come up with a solution; thanks for pointing it out and maybe I can find a solution
Hey man thanks yeah am always looking for C&C or any advice to help improve stuff I went back and changed up the feathers as the previous ones seemed a bit blurry and not to be working well... any comments would be great. Cheers!
I'm not sure I like the chicken being brown. Zelda's chicken had always been white, it's one of their very distinct characteristic. It's feather should also be fluffy instead of sharp like that.
Also considering how small a chicken would be on screen, I would only place the feather detail where it matters. A good example would be this model from Ocarina of Time where the feather is only very visible around the neck.
So, I had an unfortunate event happen and I have a lot more time before I move...before I start doing my other side projects, wanted to finish up texures to a certain degree
Still need to do the buckle on the strap, and add some ornate details to the scabbard if it doesnt end up being top busy. Also def need to re-evaluate the lighting and colors of the hilt, but I'm pretty happy
A second pass over the shield for sure has to be done I think to get it more in line with the sword, as well as to address previously stated crits, such as the shine on the blue painted metal
Also will need to address a couple last areas on Link himself
Hope you guys enjoy
Honestly the only reason I bring up being able to hold the sword with two hands wasn't so much because of Link ever using it with two hands in the game, but because the balance in the model itself seems off with the grip being kind of short. It looks alright by itself, but looks really cut down when your Link is holding it. Note this picture:
I'm not saying you should double the length or anything, but maybe another 50% extension would really help. But it's totally cool if you don't want to. I just figured I would explain where I was coming from.
I really still love where this is going. Can't wait to see it all done.
Currently tweaking the shield a bit, ill post it later as well if I get it to a good point...may have to move some uv's around on it to get proper lighting on the triforce
Really, really struggling on the lighting/texture for the shield...because of how the Master Sword is always depicted, i wanted to include that shine I currently have; and since its supposed to be a very finely crafted sword, it def needs to look polished...implementing that look onto the shield is proving to be a difficult task...may have to go back to the drawin board on one, or possibly both assets
Of course, only having a couple hours at most here and there the past few weeks really doesnt help develop these in a consistant manner
So, I had an unfortunate event happen and I have a lot more time before I move...before I start doing my other side projects, wanted to finish up texures to a certain degree
Still need to do the buckle on the strap, and add some ornate details to the scabbard if it doesnt end up being top busy. Also def need to re-evaluate the lighting and colors of the hilt, but I'm pretty happy
A second pass over the shield for sure has to be done I think to get it more in line with the sword, as well as to address previously stated crits, such as the shine on the blue painted metal
Also will need to address a couple last areas on Link himself
Hope you guys enjoy
Sorry to hear that your move was delayed. I hope all is well,
The latest updates are looking epic man! Loving it so far
Move wasn't delayed at all! So no worries there
Temporary contract gig I had to last me to my move date pretty much ran off a cliff
;P
While initially it was somewhat upsetting, I'm really enjoying the extra time with family
Also, i swear im going to extend the hilt a bit eventually
GAH; go figure
I make plans to stay up all night and work; end up accidentally being locked out and not getting much done
On the bright side, had my sketchbook with me by chance and after several variations made some wicked concepts
Bow is already being modeled, but have some errands to run
The bow is, essentially, a mixture of skyward sword's Iron bow and twilight princess' Hero's Bow
And the quiver, well, its basically twilight princess' design
Move wasn't delayed at all! So no worries there
Temporary contract gig I had to last me to my move date pretty much ran off a cliff
;P
While initially it was somewhat upsetting, I'm really enjoying the extra time with family
Also, i swear im going to extend the hilt a bit eventually
Ah, gotcha. For some reason I read one of your earlier posts and thought you were moving already. Glad to hear things are going well then.
The new bow sketches are looking awesome! Can't wait to see the model.
I'm liking that bow so far! One small thing though is that I feel the grip may be a bit too short to fit his hand and position the arrow. Also, thanks for the suggestions you gave me on my work. I'm sorry I haven't been making more suggestions for your stuff.
No worries Kosh! i'm DIGGING your shield texture...Really loved the colors used and lighting you went with...I've already saved it and will reference it on a final pass on my shield
And about the bow, you are absolutely correct; alreadt tried it and it's way too short...will be adjusting it tonight
Well I'm glad you're digging the textures on the shield. If you're curious it was simply a matter of bumping the contrast on the diffuse and using it as a spec. I'm working towards improving the scratches and damage. Good luck with the bow edits, I look forward to seeing the outcome.
This is my first time seeing this thread, and I don't know if its been mentioned but I think the hips need to higher on this guy, thats the only thing that is really bugging me about him atm.
If I try to imagine him running in-game I think the leg movement would look very constrained and it just wouldn't look very good (even if the hips are in correct position and his cloths are simply oversized).
Here is a paintover illustrating what I mean...
Sorry if this has already been discussed, I haven't read the entire thread, but I really feel compelled to mention it because it looks so cool otherwise to me.
Replies
rushing to get this PDF finished and online, blaaah, sorry for the wait
@Torch nope; there was never a high poly mesh...the baked lighting was generated from the low poly mesh you see...the AO was made was a smoothed mesh, but that's it
Please let me know if this is helpful or if you'd like it...never really put anything like this together. Would love to hear your feedback on this process. Would be sweet to see other people apply this process and how it turns out...then again I feel like that's asking to have my thread derailed :P...either way I'd love to see at least a couple other people try this and how it turns out
http://www.threenineart.com/Three9_DOTA_Technique.pdf
oh...and @JadeEyePanda....I
The triforce on his gloves get a bit skewed and turns into some other shape because of the shadow.
Would love to see your results, and anyone elses
Tried it today (really quickly, my time is so limited these days) on a model on my portfolio, and it just didnt turn out well...dont think the texture was in the right polished/ quality point to try it on... Just not enough detail...I did get to quickly test it on Link's shield though and it turned out wonderful
I'm hoping Monday I can make a huge push to finish the shield and at least model out the master sword and bow...demand my head on a plate if there isnt an update from me on Monday! ;P
No major update as I had hoped
I'll be sure to look at that area again. I actually felt like his legs were too short, so I lengthened his boots and thighs slightly, and it feels a lot better
progressing onto the Master Sword for now...Had to tweak my original design a bit in regards to the width of the sheath size, but I'm pretty happy with how it's looking.
I am a bit puzzled on proportions due to my style though...what I find odd, is when the sword is on his back, the sword+sheath look suuuuuuuuuper long, yet in his hand the sword feels short at times?
My instinct wants to beef up the width of the sword more, but as said that makes the sheath super huge and awkward looking. Just going to require some more sketching and analyzing proportions I suppose
If someone could model an texture a cuckoo in the same style I would love you forever
I suppose as compensation I'd do something for you in return; undecided but you will def get something from me
As some form of update, this is really the last weekend I have before I move to Cali in about 2 weeks, and i only have Saturday...I'm going to force myself to work my ass off and get up super early...master sword and shield will be done, and hopefully the rig
Really want to get this project closer to completion
If i have time during lunch today ill post some updates
@AndrewHelenek
@stevston89 thanks man, I totally agree...I think blades that get pretty beefy, and in those designs wider tips make sense, however, since the Master Sword is so thin in nature, and since unlike most games it actually goes into a sheath, the design I originally was going for just doesn't work....Pro tip on the tri-force, don't know why I didn't really come to that conclusion myself; thanks!
@thepapercut haven't ignored you, I'll get there...With moving to Cali my time is sooo limited, BLAH
All this positive feedback is so cool and humbling and awesome
SO, getting to work hardcore right now, but I totally expect my time today to be cut super short...again
Here is the progress of the Master Sword, and I'm pretty happy with the final design I got going. I went a bit more traditional with the blade design as stevston89 suggested, and I think he made some valid points that helped me get it to where it is now. After getting the blade to a point I liked, it looked so much like the traditional design Master Sword that I just wasn't happy; the Link is definitely redesigned for sure, and the Hylian shield retains it's essence while still being recognizably different in design. I couldn't rework those and leave the Master Sword without some of my own style, so I focused on working the Hilt a bit more. I'm still not 100% of It's "enough" of a change for me, but for now I am happy with it...we will see how I feel in an hour :P
And look! It looks proportional and not weird anymore
Anyway, if you'd like to take a look at my production progression on the Master Sword, I also rendered out all the swords in my scene to show the different design elements I focused on and tried. The top left sword is the final form, and the bottom right is the first initial pass...so progression is bottom right to bottom left, then top right to top left
Oh, and a special thanks to @Torch for volunteering to make a Cucco for me
Gotta comment on the shield, I think the blue in the center is a bit off, I can't put my finger on why, but the smooth fade make it look sorta like a toy. It kinda clashes when put on the character, maybe it needs just a touch of cyan to bring it closer to the blue on his chain-mail/metal bits? Other then that I can't wait to see this amazing piece finished! I smell top row!
Looking over your latest turnaround I can only identify one major problem that sticks out at me and that is the pants, especially the front in the way that it droops down (if you look at the side view you can see it better). I think it's the way that it is a straight drop from his waist to his knee that really kills the silhouette in that area. Maybe by moving a few vertices forward may fix that problem.
But on the whole, I love every update so please keep at it.
You should play them anyway lol! They're all great.
Fantastic work congrats on the feature, Three
progress update
I think I agree about the pants and shield...noted!
You can sort of see the direction I'm going in regards to the look...def will have some color balancing issues to fix between the shield and sword, and then to Link himself. It's still very WIP, so go easy on critique ;P
I'll have several small projects going on the next 2 weeks that I have to get done, so look for a different thread from me if you'd like
I also am considering releasing Link (rigged, and what gear is to be determined) as an SDK for people to have fun with and do whatever they want with him
Would anyone be interested? My rigging abilities are enough, but nothing spectacular
Great work, still loving this.
Edit:
Woop, One thing I wanted to mention, it looks like the grip on the sword is only big enough for one hand. This would be problematic in a real sword if you wanted to use both hands to swing the sword. It's also making the sword look a little more stubby than it should. I'm sure you've seen this picture, but just in case:
Personally my favorite is the OoT one. But they're all pretty awesome.
I might enjoy taking a stab at texturing him too for fun; hes a cute little dude!
@BobtheGreat
Thanks man! I do understand what you mean, however, I don't know if I agree with the reason per-say? I have never seen (to memory) the Master Sword wielded as a 2handed cleaver of sorta, and I have always imagined it as a 1handed device anyway. Since I am not a swordsmith, I can't sit here and say the design of the sword is never intended to be used by both hands. It IS, however, wielded by both hands in the downward thrust jump attack; this coule end up being problematic in my own design
Because of the unrealistic, slightly exaggerated style I've gone with, having the hilt be long enough for both hands kind lf dwarfs the scale of the sword and makes it appear tiny...this is something I definitely will need to evaluate at some point and come up with a solution; thanks for pointing it out and maybe I can find a solution
http://media.ign.com/boards/images/icons2/zelda_Chicken.gif
http://0.media.dorkly.cvcdn.com/65/31/0f4bc6a1a4fc7d477874cb6fbea49d8e.jpg
Also considering how small a chicken would be on screen, I would only place the feather detail where it matters. A good example would be this model from Ocarina of Time where the feather is only very visible around the neck.
http://images.wikia.com/zelda/images/1/1f/Cucco_%28Ocarina_of_Time%29.png
Still need to do the buckle on the strap, and add some ornate details to the scabbard if it doesnt end up being top busy. Also def need to re-evaluate the lighting and colors of the hilt, but I'm pretty happy
A second pass over the shield for sure has to be done I think to get it more in line with the sword, as well as to address previously stated crits, such as the shine on the blue painted metal
Also will need to address a couple last areas on Link himself
Hope you guys enjoy
I'm not saying you should double the length or anything, but maybe another 50% extension would really help. But it's totally cool if you don't want to. I just figured I would explain where I was coming from.
I really still love where this is going. Can't wait to see it all done.
@Iciban
Ill post it later tonight for you!
Currently tweaking the shield a bit, ill post it later as well if I get it to a good point...may have to move some uv's around on it to get proper lighting on the triforce
Really, really struggling on the lighting/texture for the shield...because of how the Master Sword is always depicted, i wanted to include that shine I currently have; and since its supposed to be a very finely crafted sword, it def needs to look polished...implementing that look onto the shield is proving to be a difficult task...may have to go back to the drawin board on one, or possibly both assets
Of course, only having a couple hours at most here and there the past few weeks really doesnt help develop these in a consistant manner
Sorry to hear that your move was delayed. I hope all is well,
The latest updates are looking epic man! Loving it so far
Temporary contract gig I had to last me to my move date pretty much ran off a cliff
;P
While initially it was somewhat upsetting, I'm really enjoying the extra time with family
Also, i swear im going to extend the hilt a bit eventually
I make plans to stay up all night and work; end up accidentally being locked out and not getting much done
On the bright side, had my sketchbook with me by chance and after several variations made some wicked concepts
Bow is already being modeled, but have some errands to run
The bow is, essentially, a mixture of skyward sword's Iron bow and twilight princess' Hero's Bow
And the quiver, well, its basically twilight princess' design
Ah, gotcha. For some reason I read one of your earlier posts and thought you were moving already. Glad to hear things are going well then.
The new bow sketches are looking awesome! Can't wait to see the model.
Running out the door, but render of the bow so far
And about the bow, you are absolutely correct; alreadt tried it and it's way too short...will be adjusting it tonight
This is my first time seeing this thread, and I don't know if its been mentioned but I think the hips need to higher on this guy, thats the only thing that is really bugging me about him atm.
If I try to imagine him running in-game I think the leg movement would look very constrained and it just wouldn't look very good (even if the hips are in correct position and his cloths are simply oversized).
Here is a paintover illustrating what I mean...
Sorry if this has already been discussed, I haven't read the entire thread, but I really feel compelled to mention it because it looks so cool otherwise to me.
I'm inspired to start some stylized pieces.. cant wait to get started keep it up
this looks way too awesome to abandon...