Character improvement thread: Sci-Fi millitary police

rbong obong

hey polycounters i thought id start a thread to gain advice on a character i am working on which i am planning to rig and pose. the character is set in the city of citadel a almost Utopian society but recent civil wars have required for the police to up their game to more effectively combat the rioters.

i hope i can get good advice on workflows and techniques used by the pros and critiques are welcome!

Deathstick

Hey nice work on the helmet so far!

I'd really revisit the proportions of the body first though before you get too bogged down on the details. It looks like his torso is a bit long, and his legs are way too short.

I'd recommend taking a straight on picture of the front and sides of him so we can help you further with the anatomy, the current camera angle is interfering too much to be able to tell more precisely.

rbong obong

@deathstick thanks for the heads up i felt that the body looked wrong and ill fix the proportions heres the underlying body.

rbong obong

here is the improved mesh.

rbong obong

heres an update.

garriola83

Hey man, its a good start, but a couple of areas of improvement: the proportions and size looks off, check the cranium and how pointy the head looks, and from the side profile, his standing stance doesnt look natural. The hands usually rest on the upper middle of the thighs when relaxed on the side. Check your proportions.

The armor is also a good start, but methinks you have no concept to come from because it is very much like a type of modeling that is done from making stuff up on the fly. For example, the padding and designs i see are either an extude or a bevel from the body. Clothes are not like that, even in sci fi. Check out Mass Effect 3 or even movies like Elysium; the suits are not truncated wetsuits.
Pause for a second and give thought to what you are making. Gather sources from other references like armor or insects and fashion and see what you can come up with. And keep going. Good luck.

rbong obong

@garriola83 thanks for the feedback due to this i redesigned the armour a little here is it so far.







feedback would be awesome.

rbong obong

so below is a render of the high poly i am happy with.


after this im going to go on and optimize the polycount through retopology but i dont know how. am i supposed to retopologize everything as a connected mesh or should i separate hard surface parts? advice on how this is done would be great. after that ill rig and pose the character with a gun.

beefaroni

If you have $75 I'd suggest this tut. Maybe others can chime in!
http://www.uartsy.com/course/game-character-workshop-sculpting-napoleon

rbong obong

hey guys so i decided to go on and retopologise the high poly so i can rig and pose the mesh and maybe even animate it. i also wondered if the armour should be solid or hollow and if the armour as a separate mesh will work well.

rbong obong

hey guys i finished unwrapping the low poly which is the first time ive done uv unwrapping and then added normal maps here is the result.

rbong obong

well ive hand painted the textures and now here is the current stage of the character, im going to change the materials later on.

rbong obong

well its been great making this character from start to finish ive learnt loads along the way and it means ill be able to judge things better next time i make a character.
here is a rendered pose.