polarbear's workshop

polarbear

polarbear
Dota2 Workshop

Finished:
Frozen Remains Set for Tusk


The King's Voracity


Shattered Boulder of the One


Black Mist Halberd


Current WIP:
TBD

Unfinished and/or Planned:
A Weaver Back
Slark Dagger

polarbear

I'm very new to modelling in general and I tried my hand at a halberd for Abaddon.
It's poor in all aspects, but I'm glad I was able to finish my first item.

I was able to create this thanks to Vlad the implyer's tutroial! Thank you, it helped a lot

polarbear

here's some update on my weaver back.
I finished the textures and masks.
Next up will be skinning and testing

polarbear

Hello, it's been a while since I posted.
I've put the weaver back on the backburner, but I'll be finishing or reworking it eventually.

Right now I'm working an a Tusk set.
Below is the weapon, let me know what you think.
This is also the first time I used high poly modeling via Zbrush, I'm all ears for feedback!

In Zbrush:

And ingame:

cagdasx44

You really need to play with color. Your scuplt is not bad but color breaks the magic.

Spudnik

Regarding your sculpt, you have to work on defining and separating volumes more. For example, the cloth wraps on the handle. A quick and easy way to do that is by simply making them another subtool, then you can separate them from the handle much more easily. Same goes for the ice. For the ice (and wood), work with bigger shapes, the small details turn into mush and noise at low texture resolution. Your diffuse map needs more contrast. Here's some good reference for ice crystals.

polarbear

Spudnik wrote: »

Regarding your sculpt, you have to work on defining and separating volumes more. For example, the cloth wraps on the handle. A quick and easy way to do that is by simply making them another subtool, then you can separate them from the handle much more easily. Same goes for the ice.

Thank you for your input!
First off, I have very little experience with Zbrush. I only created a rough base in 3dsMax and imported it into Zbrush, made subdivisions and used the standard, pinch, clay buildup and smooth brushes. I am actually very glad that I was able to retopologize the mesh - that was my latest breakthrough.

Is there a video where I could see what you mean by "simply making it another subtool" ? that would help me a lot!

Now that you said it I have to agree that the ice would look nicer with bigger shapes. I will try to make it better!

Spudnik

A different subtool is just like a different object in Max. It just means that you can modify one of them without affecting the others. If you're more comfortable in Max, just make a separate objects in max (for example for the cloth wraps) and import them into zBrush. In zBrush, it will import as one object so what you do is go into Tool -> SubTool -> Split -> Groups Split. Even though it imports as one object, zBrush assign each one a Polygroup (basically the same as 'Elements' in Max) and doing the Group Split will basically split that one object containing multiple pieces that you brought into zbrush into the multiple subobjects again, allowing you to edit them separately.

MagnoHusein

I'm pretty bad with colors, but Ican say you need more color variations in your weapon, try to check dota's guide and see how it works, you need wayyyy more contrast. Try to check out how the pros do their thing.

Also you need to play more with masks, they give some cool effects!

polarbear

I decided that I don't have the time (and probably skill) to work on these myself, so I'm posting my concepts here!
These are both supposed to be entered for the CNY2014 event.

PM me if you are interested!

A staff for Furion


And a headpiece for Bounty Hunter. I really hope someone will pick this up!

It's supposed to be the chinese symbol for gold, but who knows what the internet might tell you about chinese symbols...

polarbear

I reworked my Tusk Axe. Here's the current sculpt, let me know what you think!

cagdasx44

Yes this is it, great job.

Spudnik

Great improvement, but I have some more crits:

polarbear

Spudnik wrote: »

Great improvement, but I have some more crits

Thank you so much for your feedback, Spudnik!

I haven't used hPolish or TrimDynamic before, but they indeed work wonders. Have a look!

I did work a lot with hPolish, but I didn't really get the hang of TrimDynamic yet. Nevertheless I think I'm very close to being done with sculpting this one, what do you think?

cagdasx44

I liked it but ı was wondering about your weaver's back, what happened to it?

polarbear

cagdasx44 wrote: »

I liked it but ı was wondering about your weaver's back, what happened to it?

thanks!

yea the weaver back... I put that on the backburner.
I had trouble with skinning it to the weaver bones. After not making any progress with it for a time I decided that I'm not satisfied with the quality of it.
Eventually I will take some time to rework the high poly and make textures that I'm happy with. But I will probably focus on my tusk set first, since I'm having more fun with it.

polarbear

Just to let you guys know what I'm up to, here's a quick sketch of the rest of the tusk set that I'm working on.

The backstory will be something about Tusk having survived the battles, hunts and all other challenges that thearened to kill him. And now he returns home with his equipment iced over and half broken and a brand-new fist to show off his kill.
The Fist will be a Sabertooth Tiger Head made of metal. I made a high poly once already but messed up all proportions and details, so I'll be doing it all from the start. If it's possible I want to change the "WALRUS PUNCH" text such that it says "SABERTOOTH PUNCH"...
I'm not so happy with the back piece, yet, since there is a shield in-game already. On the other hand my shield and spear are very different from the existing one.

polarbear

I tried myself at the textures and masks, please let me know what you think! I could really use some guidance!

polarbear

Here's the final version of the Tusk Axe!


For mask2 I used occlusion maps that I generated with CrazyBump. For the color map I followed Vlad's guide and added parts of the bent normal map (overlay with photoshop) to add detail to the ice.

Reyne

It is looking nice I like the concept.

I am not fantastic at the masks but I would suggest a few things:

Overall I think that using gradients between the ice and metal is missing an opportunity to have two distinct materials. I would consider authoring the maps to have a hard edge between the different values as seen in the AO map and the Normal map.

-I generally have the metalness mask off on areas that aren't metal (like the ice). If it is working for you then certainly keep it.

-Maybe be bit more specific with self illumination. Generally I have it off unless there are areas that I want glowing.

-I would consider making the specular a lot brighter and still have some specularity on the cloth areas. At the moment I imagine the specularity isn't easily seen in game.

2G should read rim light, but I'm sure you know that from the previous post.

-For the specular tint I would consider whether you want to have blue specular reflections on an already bright blue area of the model or if non-tinted white reflections work better.

-For the specular exponent I would consider making the ice section closer to white so that ig gets sharper specular reflections that show off the different facets of the ice.


As I said, I am not the best with masks, these are just some observations of my own. You can decide if they are worthwhile suggestions. Good luck with it all

polarbear

Thank you very much! This was exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for! I will try out each one of your suggestions and see how it looks. At least as soon as I find some time for it - my winter break just ended, gotta do real world stuff again...

polarbear

I wasn't in the mood to work on the masks of my tusk axe, so I decided to spend my evening scultping. I got quite far with the tusk helmet and one of his tusks!
If anyone is wondering, one side of helm will be covered with ice.
I'm glad far all kind of feedback!

Shock

for ur tusk weapon u can also try something like to break a little that *boring* shape (ofc not the one with the cup ^^ its just imagination help!)



greez

polarbear

Shock wrote: »

for ur tusk weapon u can also try something like to break a little that *boring* shape (ofc not the one with the cup ^^ its just imagination help!)

Thanks for the idea, but that's not really what I was going for ^^
I am currently drawing some new concepts for the weapon since I have the same feeling about it... =/ It's just a little too boring.
If I get around to drawing them I'll upload some ideas and see what you guys think would be the best design.

polarbear

Actually I drew only one concept, but my gut tells me this is the one.

polarbear

I found more time than I should have and was very busy!

polarbear

I spend some time working on the other pieces of the set. I also reworked the axe a little.
Currently I've got the helm, tusks, armor and axe working.
I've been experimenting with colors, let me know what you think!

polarbear

I reworked the armor and tusks. I also redid all textures. Here's the high poly and ingame view.

polarbear

Had an idea for a shadow demon set.

Lore: His body is pierced by black shards glowing with the evil power within them. It is a tradeoff: He gains his demonic powers but has to live in eternal pain for it.
In order to keep even a slight part of his own sanity he carries a rune on his back bound with chains directly to the black shards.

PM me if you're interested, since I'm busy doing my own modeling.

polarbear

I needed a break from my Tusk set - here's a Slark Dagger. I could really use some feedback!

and with polypaint on it (never done this before)

jamesman5000

Nice man i love the idea but texture does needs some work tho

belkun

Really interesting idea, but as jamesman said, the texture needs some work. I think that the style you're kinda going for is a bit too realistic. Try going for bigger, chunkier details and a bit brighter colors, also try to match them to the hero. I also think that you may have too many materials and stuff going on currently. And finally, stay away from hard edges! They don't read very well on normals. Try to add some bevels and/or smooth out them a bit.

hopgood

I feel like you really need to work on getting the volume and shapes of your items down before you jump into sculpting smaller details. The Slark dagger serves as a great example of this.

While you have some nicely detailed Coral and moss growth there, look at the heft and form of the weapon. Would this function well in reality? A weapon covered in this level of rust and damage while being this thin and flimsy surely wouldn't last very long.

The Tusk items feel like that could use similar polish. Some of the details you have here seem like they would benefit from being sculpted at an earlier subdivision level and then build the details as you go. The Tusk "Tusks" are a perfect example. While they have a good shape they come off as "blobby". Try going back and using the TrimDynamic and hPolish as were mentioned before. brushes to really clean up the form of the tusks and use the smaller detail brushes later. You really want to take your first 2-3 subdivision levels to build up the basic forms and volume of the item you are trying to sculpt.

I feel like the ice you sculpted on the first page was much stronger than the one above, but the texture work has certainly improved with the ice.

polarbear

belkun wrote: »

Really interesting idea, but as jamesman said, the texture needs some work. I think that the style you're kinda going for is a bit too realistic. Try going for bigger, chunkier details and a bit brighter colors, also try to match them to the hero. I also think that you may have too many materials and stuff going on currently. And finally, stay away from hard edges! They don't read very well on normals. Try to add some bevels and/or smooth out them a bit.

@belkun: Thanks for the feedback! I agree that I went for too many small details. I kind of started one way but wanted to know if I could make it look "real". Now I have something in between which doesn't really fit any place.
I will probably redo my concepts and try to make it bigger, chunkier and try to keep the design simpler.

hopgood wrote: »

I feel like you really need to work on getting the volume and shapes of your items down before you jump into sculpting smaller details. The Slark dagger serves as a great example of this.

While you have some nicely detailed Coral and moss growth there, look at the heft and form of the weapon. Would this function well in reality? A weapon covered in this level of rust and damage while being this thin and flimsy surely wouldn't last very long.

The Tusk items feel like that could use similar polish. Some of the details you have here seem like they would benefit from being sculpted at an earlier subdivision level and then build the details as you go. The Tusk "Tusks" are a perfect example. While they have a good shape they come off as "blobby". Try going back and using the TrimDynamic and hPolish as were mentioned before. brushes to really clean up the form of the tusks and use the smaller detail brushes later. You really want to take your first 2-3 subdivision levels to build up the basic forms and volume of the item you are trying to sculpt.

I feel like the ice you sculpted on the first page was much stronger than the one above, but the texture work has certainly improved with the ice.

@hopgood: Thank you for taking the time to give me in-depth feedback! I appreciate it very much!
I had the feeling that I was going astray at some point in my sculpting routine and now I know, just like you said, that I jump into higher subdivision levels too early. To be honest I thought I had decent enough base-meshes for the slark dagger and went directly to subdiv level 6 and started there...
As I already told belkun above, I will go back to my concept work. Moreover I will take some more time with the lower subdivision levels.

polarbear

I redid my sculpting - I went for bigger pieces and larger details. Give me some feedback!
Also: What Matcap should I use for presenting my WIP here?

dirtyjoe

As I am starting new to 3D modeling, I must say you're doin a great job polar, it inspires me to keep at it when I see how your work progresses!

polarbear

dirtyjoe wrote: »

As I am starting new to 3D modeling, I must say you're doin a great job polar, it inspires me to keep at it when I see how your work progresses!

Thank you!
I have to say this is the first time I really spent time for a hobby of mine. Before I started things and stopped because I got bored or it was too hard, but this whole thing is so very rewarding that I just kept at it. Even if I had just half an hour on a few days, I enjoyed every second of it!

But here's the question I actually want to ask:
What's the smartest way to get lod1 and lod0 version with only one texture?
I have my sculpts and uv-mapped lod1 models. How do I get fitting lod0 models? Or do I have to do lod0 from the sculpt and get the lod1 from lod0?

belkun

The way I do it (and I believe most people also do), is to make lod0 from the sculpt, get all the bakes and textures working, and then to get lod1 you start to collapse edges, merge vertices and stuff like that on lod0, always using methods that preserve the UVs.

polarbear

belkun wrote: »

The way I do it (and I believe most people also do), is to make lod0 from the sculpt, get all the bakes and textures working, and then to get lod1 you start to collapse edges, merge vertices and stuff like that on lod0, always using methods that preserve the UVs.

well damn, got a lot of work to do now...
But thanks!
I find it very easy to do my retopo in Zbrush, can I use Zbrush to collapse egdes etc?

belkun

You can do your retopo anywhere, though most people use TopoGun or Maya/Max I believe, it doesn't matter as long as it gets the job done. I'm not sure if ZBrush can do this stuff, I'd recommend you to use another 3D modelling package like Blender, Maya, Max or something like that in order to get lod1 from lod0.

polarbear

@belkun: thanks! I did a new retopo in zbrush for lod0 (had 150 tris too much..) then went to Max and used the optimize modifier and some manual tweaking to create lod0. smacked that on a uv map and used optimize again creating lod1 and then I repaired the uv mapping.
Is there a simpler way? because repairing the uv map was really time-intensive.

Nevertheless - I got all of my tusk set done, except for the fist, which I'll try to finish by tomorrow.
Have a look and feel free to give me some feedback!

cagdasx44

Looking good, hope gets ingame.

polarbear

I really did it! I got a version of the tusk fist done and I am actually happy with it!
Please let me know what you think!


The ice is supposed to reach behind his elbow.

cagdasx44

What brushes did you use to make the head. ( ı am trying to get better in natural shapes) Btw loved the idea very unique

polarbear

cagdasx44 wrote: »

What brushes did you use to make the head. ( ı am trying to get better in natural shapes) Btw loved the idea very unique

Thanks!
There were quite a few brushes:
claybuildup (for the basic form, i started with a very rough base)
Orb's Scratches (a lot! in all sizes)
hPolish and trimdynamic (for cleanup mainly, but I like to use hPolish with Zsub for my forms as well)
and of course the standard brush, smooth and masking.
also inflate when I couldn't get the form right with claybuildup.

cagdasx44

Thx!

polarbear

I did it I finished my first set!
Please have a look and rate it if you like it!
Just click the image to get to the workshop entry!

cagdasx44

Upvoted the whole set! I am glad that you finished.

polarbear

cagdasx44 wrote: »

Upvoted the whole set! I am glad that you finished.

Thanks, cagdasx!


As this is my first real piece in the workshop, can anyone tell me how my set is doing?
I guess it's pretty bad with only 1 of 6 visitors giving it a rating. =/
But this is just my first set, there's more to come!

cagdasx44

No it was always like that,
As an example my first item has 1,576 visitors but only 66 votes!

polarbear

Alright, my set didn't really get so far - now I'd like to know what's wrong with it. What were my mistakes?
I have a few specific questions, but it would be great to get some feedback at all. Just bring on the truth - I don't want you to be nice, I want to learn!

Concept (full set ingame pic)
Bad hero pick?
Does the set look too much like 6 random items put together?

Sculpt (axe, fist, shield and spear, rest)
Are my details too small?
Is the execution in general too poor?

Textures (pretty sure I can get a lot better here)
Are the colors bad?
Can my masks get better - what bothers you about them?

Promotion (link to workshop)
Do my published pictures make my set look bad?
What should I do differently?