Female steampunk gunslinger

gem2492

I know it's not a new concept, but I still like it. Anyway, here's the progress so far:




I also added layers for her eyes closing and her mouth opening.

They're not the best in the world, but it's not like I'm gonna use them as animation blendshapes anyway. This will be a second character I'll make. The first one wasn't so successful. Haha.

My polygon budget is 35000 triangles. Or is that too high? I'm not very familiar with this.

BakedCookie

Not able to quite pinpoint it but something's not quite right with the eyes for me. The lack of any eyebrows adds to that, but I think you should give them more definition. For a stylized character like this I don't think a polycount that high is necessary. That's if you're gonna put her in a game engine, if you're just gonna render this, then you use whatever polycount you need.

gem2492

BakedCookie wrote: »

Not able to quite pinpoint it but something's not quite right with the eyes for me. The lack of any eyebrows adds to that, but I think you should give them more definition. For a stylized character like this I don't think a polycount that high is necessary. That's if you're gonna put her in a game engine, if you're just gonna render this, then you use whatever polycount you need.

Hey, thanks for the feedback! As of now, I'm still working on completing the base before sculpting. I'll keep your suggestion in mind

And yeah, planning to put her on a game engine. Good to know that I can still go lower then.

BagelHero

Her proportions are really strange. Her lower-half-- specifically her waist down --is super small in comparison to her upper body.

It gives her a typically male-looking silhouette because her torso looks upside down triangle-ish because of the placement of the waist and width of the hips, but beyond that her legs just look absolutely teeny.

While being an illustrated reference, for learning's sake this is a good example for how large things are in comparison to one another:

(and a more realistic 7.5 heads ref)

Details are looking pretty good, though, keep an eye on the facial anatomy. 35000 is a bit unneeded, you could probably aim lower. Just be smart about it and use what you really need to.

gem2492

Thanks, BagelHero! I also find the proportions a bit funny, but since I was using a reference I decided to stick with it. But reading your reply made me think again, and I realized that since she's gonna be a game character, she has to have some appeal and thus a bit idealized. So I'll definitely change it and follow the image you posted.

Anyway, I stopped making the base for a while because I was getting bored and decided to tackle one of my worst fears...dun dun dun dun...teeth sculpting! This is my first time doing that, but before I spend so much time in it, I just wanna know if I'm even on the right track, so here's a WIP shot.



I haven't given the molars attention yet.

gem2492

This was an early iteration I did on her.

gem2492

First pass for the upper teeth. I'm gonna take a break from that now and do the lower teeth.

erroldynamic

Hey, this looks promising so far. Instead of investing so much detail on the teeth and gums you should try to focus on the facial anatomy to really make this piece shine.

gem2492

Thanks for the tip, erroldynamic!

I tweaked the body based on BagelHero's suggestion.

I also edited the face.



I find her so freakin' ugly though, and as a fan of FinalFantasy's character designs, this was unacceptable for me. So I decided to make another head based on FFXV's Stella's head.
Here are some references I found.

https://squareportal.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/ffxvstellawallpaper-copy.png

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkAeU9fXd2c[/ame]

For the video, skip to 2:00.

Here's a five-hour sculpt (took too long on trying to create the likeness). I didn't do much on the ear because I'm planning to just get the ear from my other model.


Now the question is why does she look kinda weird? What have I done wrong? Or am I just too paranoid?

gem2492

In the end I decided to just load the first version of the face (which was in the first post of this thread) and work on it again. Pretty happy with how it turned out, though she seemed to look older. Probably have to make the face less slim since I slimmed it down quite a bit.




I won't be working on the teeth for now. I'll get on it again in the finishing stage.
Hopefully I'll be having more progress now that this roadblock is almost out of the way.

gem2492

I'm still not very comfortable with adding high-frequency details. Here's what I have so far...



I was going for subtlety because it's a female, but maybe it's now too subtle that it won't even be seen once in-game. I don't know.

gem2492

gem2492

Kinda got stuck with the face. But hey, that's part of learning, right?
Here are some improvements...

Orthographic:


Perspective:


I also did a quick Spotlight projection just to see how she looks like with color.

gem2492

I decided to scrap the Final Fantasy idea. I don't know...it just doesn't feel right, so I reverted back to the old face, though I tweaked it a lot since I found a lot of mistakes. On my next project maybe.

Anyway, here...I just added more details to the clothes and tweaked the face.


I also made the legs more decent (though I'm not sure if correct) because I'm thinking maybe I should put shorts instead of pants? I'm still undecided. I just thought shorts give more room for agility.

But yeah, undecided.

Oh, and I also started the polygonal hair (the former one was Maya nHair) when I became tired of the other stuff.

Valandar

I just gotta ask... what, if ANYTHING, about this character is "steampunk" besides having purposeless goggles on the hat?

gem2492

corset, gear spurs, the gun...and others I haven't included yet.

I'm planning to add the extra bits once I'm done with the body. And since I'm not really well-versed in steampunk, suggestions are very much appreciated

Deadmon

My first suggestion is that Steampunk =/= old western. While they share some elements, I tend to see more civil-war era clothing than western.


Guns:
Your guns look like just plain ole revolvers. Steampunk guns are usually variants of 3 major designs. Steam-powered "rail guns", ray-guns, and unnecessarily mechanical kinetic guns.

In terms of clothing:
The reason you so often see goggles on steampunk characters is because more often than not steampunk characters live a world where being an engineer, welder, etc is a survival skill and a part of everyones daily routine. Corsettes are often used for both fashion and practical reasons. Thick cloth and leather is a must when dealing with heated steam and metal fabrication. While not completely practical, think of it the same way most female 'armor' isnt completely practical. :P


http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e378/tulkas_valar/steamboy.jpg

http://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsmdztQD9V1qdhvyro1_1280.jpg

https://31.media.tumblr.com/e4f1fe530d7f83dccf63664c077550e4/tumblr_inline_n3b8ltVOQL1qgp297.jpg

Visible gears, copper plating, and 'tech' addons are a must. Though when making machinery its very important to remember that steampunk often focuses on the creation of life through machinery. Sometimes, mimicking life. Sometimes more far-fetched.

gem2492

Wow. Thanks for the tips, Deadmon. I'll change the gun then. I've also done research before, and my sources say Old West is also part of Steampunk. I'll be out of town again starting today so it would take a while for me to update. Thanks again.

Deadmon

Well, when I said "=/= old western" I could have been a little less sweeping in the comment. There -are- old western style steampunk too. The third link I posted in clothing is very clearly western inspired. Hell, "wild wild west" with will smith has plenty of steampunk in it.

My intent, though I failed to word it correctly because I wrote that post in some haste, was to say that you need to make sure that the outfit is 'steampunk' and not 'western with minimal accessories that suggest steampunk'

Using the third image as a good example of an outfit that fits your characters world some things to note on it that really sell the 'steampunk'

-Thick leather sleeves/folded gloves
-copper pocket watches. Very standard issue steampunk
-Intricate corset clasps on abdomen. They seem to be a hinged C-hook clasp style. Really sells corset for me. (Edit: found a good reference pic of them)
-copper rivets(?)/detailing on the hip area of corset.
-double folded breast flaps on leather top with large copper buttons. A more 'yanky' style accent that adds to the intricacy of the outfit but still keeps the overall look grounded in western.
-large copper button on skirt/dress as a weight. Ive always found these practical considering the amount of hot steam blowing around. ;p

All these details really sell the idea of it being steampunk as opposed to just western, though clearly the entire outfit is heavily rooted in western.


ANYWAY! Hope the input helps some. Will keep my eye on the thread

gem2492

Deadmon wrote: »

Well, when I said "=/= old western" I could have been a little less sweeping in the comment. There -are- old western style steampunk too. The third link I posted in clothing is very clearly western inspired.

My intent, though I failed to word it correctly because I wrote that post in some haste, was to say that you need to make sure that the outfit is 'steampunk' and not 'western with minimal accessories that suggest steampunk'

Your intent was clear, but it didn't come through 'til I read it again now. I apologize. It was a fault in my part. You got me in 'western with minimal eccessories that suggest steampunk'. Haha.

Thanks for your suggestions and reference pics, I'm now starting to get the steampunk idea now. Though I'm still not very confident, so instead of sculpting, I decided to brainstorm and draw it first.



I'm not sure if the concept is clear, but it's just a rough anyway. Perhaps colors will help emphasize it once I'm in the texturing stage.

I'm having a bit of struggle because I'm trying to not make it deviate too much from Western, which is why I did not implement some of the things in the reference (either that or I think my skill is not enough to sculpt that yet)

gem2492

Deviated a bit from the concept image I made. Still have to add accessories everywhere.

gem2492

Little update.

I finally thought of a way to attach the holster strap to the clothes (via a latch inside the corset).

The reason why the update is so little is because I'm currently spending my time studying steampunk guns, and I'm trying to find the right balance (not making it too ridiculous or too clunky).

gem2492

I just realized she won't be able to aim with that vial thing on top. I'll just move that to the side instead.

Brian "Panda" Choi

If we're allowing for weapon realism to some degree, I'd think about allowing more space for the mid section of the gun, or somehow do a different trigger system.

With the way you have it, I have a hard time imagining what the trigger system looks like or if it has much space to do anything besides rotate on a hinge.

An existing example of a trigger mechanism:

gem2492

Hey, thanks, Panda!

Well, I was thinking it was more like a pump with the mechanisms located on the part with the three small holes. Kinda like a water gun, though not really. Not much of a fan of the design though, to be honest. So I'll probably just make something like a nerf gun instead.

Man, I'll probably have a thousand guns in my portfolio before I'll be able to complete this character. Haha.

gem2492

Another try at the gun.

Decided to post this before I add the details just to make sure I'm doing it right.

Whole body shot.