My Cinematic Characters
Feel free to critique my work, ask questions about my workflows etc. Starting this out with an Elder Scrolls themed character. This character was inspired by the breton character concept (TESO).
Software used: Modo, ZBrush, Mari, xNormal, Photoshop.
The textures on this character range from 2k to 8k maps. Shading and rendering done in Modo 801. Will also be posting VRay stuff here.
Software used: Modo, ZBrush, Mari, xNormal, Photoshop.
The textures on this character range from 2k to 8k maps. Shading and rendering done in Modo 801. Will also be posting VRay stuff here.
Replies
Thanks for the critique! The shoulder pads are supposed to be metal but you're right that I went a little overboard with the roundness of the edges of the pads. That's an area I will definitely be fixing.
On the brows I will probably try bumping up the displacement there or adding hair there instead of just using textures.
I think you could benefit from giving the clothes some stitches in places. Some more wear and tear. Someone who sees a lot of combat probably not only has dusty, but self-repaired clothes (where possible. Some damage is just not easily fixed, like a torn-off piece of cape). Dried blood is also something to consider, since it washes out badly.
Mind you, this guy is not in a modern army that just hands you a new shirt. You either take it from the dead or fix it yourself in the kind of envrionment this guy would be in.
That aside, your texturing is still a bit... Look, you have this really obtrusive cloud-grunge texture over everything. Just something, that would be fine, but everything? It's hard for me to tell where my eyes should focus on this character, the damage/grunge is just far too monotonous and uniform. You have to think about where, specifically, damage would be taking place, where things actually get dirty (in cracks, tips of the shoes, maybe someone spilled something on his chest, glossy oily/sticky patches on his gloves stains on his arms, etc). I feel like I'm not getting a proper read on the materials, either.
The modeling/sculpting/design itself is great, some of the folds are a little weird on the arms and pants, but for the most part they're fine and the smaller ones on the leather materials like the gloves are really, really nice. I think that the current texture work is going it a great disservice. Clean it up, then add in the damage and dirt again slowly and more carefully where it's needed to tell a story.
Keep it up! This looks really great, I mean it, but you could really make it incredible with just a little more thought.
Thanks for the crits BagelHero. I cleaned up a lot of the textures like you mentioned. Yeah, I also use SSS on my skin shader. Will post renders of the breton warrior as soon as I return to working on him (when I have the time and energy).
Here's another character I'm working on that's turning out a lot better than my breton warrior already. Still need to decide what I want to do with the rest of the armor. The forearms are covered by bracers, which is still hard to tell just looking at the clay render. Still missing pieces I'm going to want to model in.
Software used: MODO 801, ZBrush, Photoshop, MARI (when I start texturing).
Here's a small update of my "Blademaster" character (still missing the blades). I rendered a turntable this time around. Modeled some more armor and fitted existing stuff to sit better. Still trying to figure out some armor ideas and what materials I want to use on him. After that I'll probably start styling his hair. Probably going to try out some kind of swept back hairstyle for him.
Also need to fix those clipping issues, worst ones being the shoulder pads.
[ame]
Thanks for viewing!