ArenaNet Art Test

CSOConnor

Hey guys and gals, I'm modeling a female Norn based on the concept for Guild Wars 2 here https://imageshack.com/i/jj3rnqj

This is an art test for ArenaNet and I'm hoping to have the whole thing done a month from now.

I've done a really simple base mesh to get the proportions down. The head seems to be extremely small compared to the body, but that's how it looks in the concept painting so I'm just rolling with it. The armor should be fun :poly121:

UPDATE:

PyrZern

Good start I'm also working on it too. The armor is a little crazy in some areas :P It's pretty fun and challenging though.

I think you got her upper arms a little too short. And maybe forearms too long. Fingers should be able to reach the pockets, not just reaching the crotch. You might also lengthen her thighs and shorten her legs a bit.

Dimfist

It's really androgynous at this point. It could be a man or a woman. The Nords were stout but they still had curves. At this point her arms look strange as well. Squint your ryes when you look at it and if you still see a woman's silhouette then I misspoke.
Hands are pretty wonky too. I would go to a lower sub d I vision and get those forms straightened out.

DWalker

It's not really the best concept to work with since the armor seems to cover up many of the model's details, but you have to work with what you get some times...

Carrying on with Dimfist's comments, the face looks very masculine; what little of face we can see in the concept is feminine.

Aside from the already noted problems with the arms' proportions, they seem rather thin for a norn. The race clearly isn't filled with many helpless females...

CSOConnor

Thanks guys, I took your feedback and made changes. I think I successfully buffed her up a bit and changed the proportions of her arms, torso and legs. I cut out the head so I can focus on the body and get that right. I'm not worried about the feet since they'll be covered by boots, but let me know what I can fix from here. I want to get to modeling the armor ASAP because that'll be the tricky part;)

(*Disclaimer* This is my first female character sculpt :P)

CSOConnor

Le Updates....Body comp got changed alot, and I have most of the armor complete(Primaries done, I need a few more secondaries) The fur on the forearms is going in after the lowpoly is done, as cards, I'm thinking I'll do the same to the fur on the shoulders. Her boots need the most love right now. Feedback is always welcome and appreciated!

CSOConnor

here's another shot with some more surface details and updated feet...

CSOConnor

Finished up the sculpt, my next move is going to be adding some small weathering and damage details and working on the lowpoly. Feedback is welcome!

CSOConnor

I've been trying to reduce the geometry on this here norn, but I can't decide what to cut out. Should I make the armor flat planes? She's currently at 8457 and I have to get it down to 7500

M4rt3

work with the alpha. for my model i made huge polygons over the armor parts (the ones on the legs and the arms) and then cut out the stripes with the alpha texture in marmoset. (i also see that u gave some thickness the armor but if u check some guildwars 2 models u can see that those parts are usually flat polygons with normal map.
if u didn't do it yet you can also delete the hidden parts of the body

tristanCarter

Yes, you should definitely make the "floating" armor pieces large planes with a 1 bit alpha you should treat the fur the same way. You also have way too many polys being used where the chest armor meets the skin. The normal map is going to take care of all that detail, the only thing you need to do is possibly have the silhouette edge ring you have.

I attached some things you should consider.

PyrZern

Don't forget the furs, man. I used up almost 1k on all the furs I put on her. (including a few strands of hair as well.......)

tristanCarter

Pyrzern, if that's the case I'd reconsider how you built the fur for the character. The back for example can be a layered strip of planes, and to create the effect you'd only need 4 or 5.

In addition, the fur in the armscan be anything from a simple poly card carefully placed a few times or again a couple layered strips. You can definitely create the effect of layered fur with significantly less than 1000 polys.

I'm actually thinking about doing this character if it doesn't have to say, be done within the next week. What is the deadline? If it's really soon I might not bother, but if there's still a couple weeks, then I can put together an example of what I'm talking about on Monday.

PyrZern

Deadline is this 28th

Yeah, I definitely overdid the furs. But otherwise I'd have like 6k-ish poly for the whole body without the furs <_<"

tristanCarter

Yeah, if it's the 28th, then there isn't enough time for me to do it. I might still put together an example though.

Also, there's nothing wrong with having it drop to 6k in polys, especially if that drop allows you to put some polys in other areas that could help define the silhouette.

CSOConnor

Oh man, sorry for the long delay XD I went to GDC this past week and didn't have a computer with me so I wasn't able to work very much. I'm back and at it again though! With 3 days to spare hahah

Thanks for the feedback guys, I was able to minimize my geometry to 1741 with fur alphas included

Here's what I have so far, I feel as though the spec and and color need a little work. The materials don't seem to be reading properly. Besides that I'll be cleaning up my maps and posing her by Thursday!

CSOConnor

Another update! I changed the textures alot...Added a gradient map, did some color correction, and updated the spec to give the armor a bordered look. I think she's getting pretty close to finished. C&C is appreciated