From photo to game engine, character sculpting()
polycounter lvl 9
Hi, I think it will be the first thread I post here with a WIP. I Used to learn by watching tutorial ( I still do) or looking at all the stuff happening in this forum. But i feel like I am standing at the point where i need other experience to go further. So here i am asking for your help, critics, advices, or whatever.
I want to make a character, realistic if i can, and turn it into game res. Maybe a bit of animation for once...
As a reference I choose an actor(lot of reference), and I am going to make my own Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan)
But first, I need a decent body, after a day, I made this.
Please, don't be shy, and thanks for reading
P.S: don't look to much at the sketch, it's more a starting point than a real ref
I want to make a character, realistic if i can, and turn it into game res. Maybe a bit of animation for once...
As a reference I choose an actor(lot of reference), and I am going to make my own Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan)
But first, I need a decent body, after a day, I made this.
Please, don't be shy, and thanks for reading
P.S: don't look to much at the sketch, it's more a starting point than a real ref
Replies
If you see something that look wrong, give me an hint.
and I also start to detail the head. hair are for reference only.
And now i'll start a retopo
Hard to tell how big the step was, but i think i am getting somewhere
You need harder edges, right now your plane changes are too gradual. Also many of the planes need to be tightened up. He has a lot of really large planes, like the broad forehead and the tall cheeks, which means that planes like the brow goggles and cheekbone are much small in proportion.
Not great at these but maybe it helps:
I love your wqork by the way.
fibermesh is just for relax
Just taking a quick glance at your cloth I can see pretty much every measurement is wrong except the inseam and outseam. If you don't know your characters measurements you can't make a good fit. The legs of the pants are way too tight in thigh, while the rise is completely off balance and way to long. Jacket construction also seems highly suspect, like there is no actual arm hole.
Are you working from a pattern?
Pants pattern
Shirt pattern
I've bought patterns from them before and had good results. Though their pattern grading tends to be based on real world average proportions. So some editing will be necessary. You can see how the pattern is graded and where to take in the measurements so it's not too hard if you know your characters measurements. Or you could use the measurements in the pattern as a guide to edit the proportions of your model.
and the pattern:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49841206/polycount/pattern.PNG
hence you get some really weird creases.
should sit like this:
Jacket collar/revers doesnt go under the shirt collar.
Trousers are too short.
The are supposed to rest of the shoes.
This is happening too much. Ive seen a lot of people just starting out jumping straight to marvelous. I can understand Marvelous being used with professional work to save time+nice results but I wouldn't (personally) like the idea of using it in stuff that's going to be put in my personal portfolio.
What's happening too much? game artists approaching clothing design like real world fashion designers? there is nothing wrong with resorting to a specialized tool.
I don't understand either. Understanding the clothing from a sculpting base, is an amount of time looking at reference to get right. if it's just about being a good sculptor, i guess being able to make any form is important, not just clothes. Now I want to use marvellous to understand how it works, and its clearly another way of thinking than Zbrush. plus i might need to refine it in zbrush after anyway... And i am starting to see a number of actual game who are using marvelous in their pipeline
I see it differently. It's a choice in how you want to approach the problem of clothing characters. Do you want to take the approach of the fashion designer, the profession who does the real world equivalent of character design, or do you want to take the approach of a sculptor? Just because you aren't hand sculpting every little fold and wrinkle doesn't mean you don't understand clothing.
I also think it's a mistake to assume marvelous designer does all the work. All it really does is the tedious stuff easily modeled through simulation. Cloth simulation is actually a very advanced field at this point in time. Marvelous designer lets you focus purely design and fit it, gives you the same footing as a fashion designer working in the real world has, minus the tedium, challenge and finger pokes of real world sewing.
Fair enough but then what do you do when you don't have MD at a studio? good luck if you've never sculpted folds from scratch. Not only do you need the experience of how cloth drapes but HOW to actually sculpt that accurately. You're just not going to be able to do this well if you focuz solely on using MD. Again, if you are using both equally in conjuction and understand both well, I don't see the issue. My point is if you are only using MD for your folds, that is the wrong method IMO...esp in the gaming industry. I'm not talking about the fashion industry. But again, maybe I'm wrong...might be nice to hear some other industry veterans chime in...
Anyways, apologies for derailing the thread. I think the polypaint does help a little with the likeness but there's still something off. One thing I do with likeness sculpts is I either set up image planes in zbrush or I take screenshots quite often and line them up with photos to see what is wrong. I also try to get photos of angles other than front, side, pers, so that you can pick up subtle facial anatomy tips to get a better match. I think you're getting closer though. Likeness is TOUGH so don't get frustrated and keep at it!
I think there is some improvement but still work to do:
The gun is the second hard surface object I modeled, there is a few mistake, but i think I get the big idea
One thing I have learnt from 3d so far is everyone has their own way of getting things done.There is no one path to getting a piece completed.What might work for u might not work for another person.I am literally getting sick of ppl always saying u should learn things the traditional way. If there is a software that helps u get things done faster and u can use it very well, what's wrong with using it?
Most clients do nor care how u go about getting ur job done. What they care about is the end result. And believe me when I say that speed is an attribute that clients will always value bc time is money.
Always insisting that one must learn the core fundamentals when it can be bypassed is not always necessary.I remember how I wanted to do some of these personal projects with a story, characters and stuff. I used to be so particular about core originality.That every model needed to be made from scratch, likewise the environments and stuffs.Softwares like poser or make human have been heavily criticised by 3d professionals that it isn't 3d art.
I have never used Poser/Make Human in my work but to be able to create things with these softwares also require skills as well. I know someone who is so good with Make Human that he can create characters that have the exact likeness with references.Its kinda depressing when u see that. Because with the app, u can create characters that are already rigged and animation ready.
What I don't get is there are some 3d artists who would say that isn't original art and it is cheating. Fact is this indivual has found a way to be creative without going through the whole pipeline. Do clients care. No. and he is making money either way.
And Xnormal:
both image use the same diffuse, and it's just a default unity specular apply