Cloud Strife - Final Fantasy 7 Fan Art

GeorgeCrudo

Current Progress: Artstation


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ORIGINAL POST

Hey everyone This is a relatively new project I decided to start in honor of the upcoming FF7 Remake. Still a very super early WIP but I would love any critiques. So far I've focused mainly on the upper torso, getting a basic facial likeness, and trying my best to get the hair silhoutte correct. I'm kind of mixing references at the moment but I think I'm going to primarily focus on the FF7 remake version of Cloud

Brian "Panda" Choi

What's your reference sheet for Cloud's face?

GeorgeCrudo

Hey Brian, I don't have a specific reference sheet. Just a collection of images across different games but primarily focused on screenshots from the trailer of the remake (and other images to fill in gaps)

Here's a small update. Tweaked the face and hair a bit more and experimenting with lighting in Keyshot.

Brian "Panda" Choi

Right now, the face proportions are off.  I'd revisit the size of the eyes and use those as a measurement bar for where the elements are placed on the face, etc.

GeorgeCrudo

Thanks Brian. I did some more adjustments to the head, and did some cloth detail, and added the rest of his belts lol. Still a lot of rough parts 

jose.fuentes

to me it seems like that nose is huge, specially when looking at it from the profile.  I would recommend getting tons of reference images.  Really focus on the face before moving on to the rest of the body 

Magihat

Far from perfect but might show be helpful. This is something you should constantly do yourself if you want a accurate recreation.


You should be careful with the nasolabial folds as they make him look like he is in his late 40s. Also, check up on the planes of the face and make sure you make them come through in your sculpt. 

GeorgeCrudo

Jose - Thanks for pointing that out! I went in and adjusted the nose. And I definitely didn't think the face was done, I just like to move to different areas of the character to break things up a bit. It's the most important part so I usually come back to it over and over and spend way too long on it lol

@Magihat - Thanks for the tips! Those images helped quite a bit I did a Layer where I just HPolished the planes of the face to match and then did some cleanup on it. Let me know what you guys think of it now. I know it still needs some work but I've been staring at it for too long tonight lol

I also went in and made the head a little bit bigger cause it was a bit too small for the body proportions.

Mateus

Hey George! 
As you know I'm an amateur, but I'd like to tell you some points that in my opinion are hurting the head of your character from the side view. 

- Ear: it usually connects to center of the head on the side view, also it's size is same as the distance from the eyebrows to the bottom of the nose.
- The forehead is too round.  
- The back of the head: from what I've learned, the bottom of the occipital bone will usually align close to the the bottom of the nose on an horizontal line.
- Nose: I think that Cloud has it a bit more pointy.

GeorgeCrudo

@Mateus That gif make its look so much better. This is why I shouldn't pixel push into 3AM in the morning... things get bad lol I will apply those fixes! Thanks man
The front view definitely has some issues especially with the eyes. I think part of the problem is that "front view" image reference I've been using (the same one a couple of people posted up there) is a bit misleading. He's not exactly looking straight ahead, his head is kind of tilted down a little bit so the brow "overhang" is a bit more extreme over the eyelid. At least thats what I think is happening. Gonna attack this from a "before midnight" mindset lol

PyrZern

If you haven't already, I think you should retopologize his head. He wears scarf, so his head could be detached from the body. And I think his torso is way too long. Same with his mid section of the face (nose, ears, eyes). Move his nose up a tad, and shorten his ears. And maybe move the eyes down somewhat.

GeorgeCrudo

@PyrZern - Thanks for the feedback man. Yeah the head is detached already. Whats the reason you were recommending retopology? I was thinking about it cause I'm starting to get some messy areas like the far side of the eyelids. I'll work on those fixes as well. The face is really bothering me right now so hoping it'l be in a better state by the end of the day.

GeorgeCrudo

Here's a newer version. Still not totally digging the eye area... I also took a bit of the expression out of the face to focus more on form first. Also please disregard the shape of the ear atm

PyrZern

The reason I recommend retop of the face is so that you can easier fix/improve issues around mouth corners, eyelids, and ears. It will also be easier to make big changes around if you have nice subdiv levels.

GeorgeCrudo

Still sculpting without expression at the moment. I think it looks a little better but still needs tweaks. I kind of ran out of time today but the bottom half of the face still looks a bit long to me. And the eyes bother me a little less but still not totally satisfied. Gonna spend some more time scrutinizing it tomorrow. Let me know what you guys think and thanks again for the help

GeorgeCrudo

Forgot to mention in my last post I did some dirty retopology with ZRemesher to get some cleaner loops around the eyes like you recommended @PyrZern. The ears need it a bit now but I'm gonna worry about that later on. Gonna take a break from the face for now lol. Here's the latest update though. Top is neutral expression but the other ones I gave him a little angry face to exaggerate that front reference.

Also I'm having way too much fun with the dramatic Keyshot renders lol

GeorgeCrudo

Moving off the head for now, I went in to adjust the torso and upper body to be a bit more proportional and have a bit of a better silhoutte. Created some rough spots in the process but I will clean them up

Brian "Panda" Choi

Your glabellar complex on the brow is lacking form, even with your current furrowed expression.  He's reading more neanderthal than anything else.  I'd really rework that brow and get it softened: make him look more attractive.

GeorgeCrudo

Spent tonight mainly making some more silhoutte and body tweaks and added the little mechanical forearm. I softed the brow but didn't spend too much time with it honestly. When I feel up to going back in the face I'll get that worked out properly cause I definitely see the neaderthal-ness in there lol

seimax

hey man , nice progression !
i would make him a little more "buff" especially in the abdomen zone , it makes the hips feel weird , here's a quick liquify of what i see :


keep it up !

Aveon

Keep at it man, you gotta be super attentive to the arms, since they're bare and anatomy is key, but you're getting there!

GeorgeCrudo

@seimax  Thanks! I took your advice and made him a bit beefier. I still think the torso shape isn't quite right on my end (the obliques up to the chest look too straight to me and should curve a bit more like your image) so when I get some more time I will tweak it a bit more.
@Aveon Thanks Yeah you're totally right. I finally got around to doing some arm work. It still needs some work but it's in a better state now. Still kind of determining the right balance I want between defined and softened muscles.

As for the rest, I added some small bits. The face still need work as Brian pointed out. The hands are just crappily blocked in at the moment as are the legs and shoes. Also still working on his little suspender straps (especially in the back. That area is a mess right now)

GeorgeCrudo

Here's the latest version with some more tweaks. Did a little work on the face structure, polished the suspenders a bit more, added a some roughed in pieces for the right arm, started to make the hands a little less ugly and added the screws on to his shoulder piece. Made a little GIF as it's easier to see changes

Zack Maxwell

Definite improvement, but he still has hardcore caveman-brow going on. His torso also seems kinda small. Though in what particular way, it's hard to say.

GeorgeCrudo

@Grimwolf  Thanks You're right. I finally went in and softened the brow a bit so hopefully it's a bit better now. Let me know what you guys think I will look into the torso more and figure out what not sized correctly

GeorgeCrudo

Just a small update tonight....started doing some work on one of the hands

stororokw

Hey there. You have made some good progress so far. Have you thought of adding in some eyebrows and eyelashes with fibermesh? I feel like it could help you to visualize issues with the face.

Also, it looks like he is doing that duck face thing. It has the feeling of a high intensity standard brush being used. The angle of his nostrils look too high as well.
You got to look at the side view because It just feels too big from front to back.

What style are you going for?

GeorgeCrudo

@stororokw Thanks for the advice I sculpted in some eyebrows to treat this project as if it were to be 3D printed (cause I might eventually)

Other than that, I tried to eliminate the duck face, and pulled the nostrils down a bit but they might need a bit more. I also added in some of the features you highlighted in your GIF so thank you for those!

The style I'm going for is the FF7 Remake version of Cloud primarily but mixing in some elements from other designs.

vavavoom

i know it's horribly blurry, but it was the quickest way i could show my suggestion on proportions...

and i really think you gotta soften that brow/ nose bridge area, i think like others said.
it's way too sharp an angle even if you're going for a stern facial expression.
something like this:

vavavoom

GeorgeCrudo

Hey guys, I decided to dust off this project and polish things up a bit. I'll post some more screens in the coming days. I did a huge overhaul on the entire head and made some body tweaks

GeorgeCrudo

Here's an update on the model. I also started the sword so I can start figuring out the pose. It's still a bit too stiff and bulky.  wanna make it a bit more natural looking

slosh

He feels very stumpy to me.  I would make his legs longer.  His hands are also a bit strange in shape as well as being a bit small.  I would say the face is better than it was before but the bridge of the nose looks too thin.  I can't really comment too much further on the face as its hard to see in these latest screenshots.  Pant folds could also use some work to look more natural towards the feet.  There's definitely some funkiness from the upper arm transitioning into the forearm.  As for the pose, the balance and weight feels a bit off.  It looks ok from the front view but you can instantly see an issue in the 3/4 angle.

GeorgeCrudo

@slosh Thanks for the feedback! I totally agree on the stumpiness and his pose. Especially from the angled views. I haven't been happy with his silhoutte and something just feels too thick about his torso and chest area to me..Now that you mention it though his legs definitely should be longer. Here's a few more angles of the full body and a close up on the face. I'm definitely going to revist the hands, arms, face and hair to get those polished up once I get the pose closer to where I want it. 

GeorgeCrudo

 I got some excellent critiques on the face from Jon Troy Nickel during his crit sessions so I went back and totally overhauled the face. I've also spent most of this weekend really digging at the pose. Still have quite a ways to go but thought I'd share my progress with a fun Keyshot render as well  

Alright so

PyrZern

I still think his eyes are too close together, and can be moved apart further.

GeorgeCrudo

I moved his eyes further apart and did a lot of small changes mainly to his legs and arms and sword.

GeorgeCrudo

Started to do some texturing and updating his hair.

GeorgeCrudo

I went in and made some small tweaks to Cloud's face and totally updated his eyes. I also finished modeling and texturing his sword

Mateus

Looking a lot better!

GeorgeCrudo

Finally finished the texturing Here are the final renders for Cloud
Artstation

GeorgeCrudo

I'm reviving this thread so you guys can see the 3D Print I did of this guy It's could still be cleaned up a bit better but I'm pretty happy with how he came out
Artstation

PyrZern

How many pieces did you have to print to put together ? Or just all in 1 piece ?

GeorgeCrudo

Here's how it was keyed - 9 pieces total