Looking for some feedback for a character I modelled in 3ds max

Ryan_Hogarth

So here's one the first characters I ever rendered back in 2013 ....juxtaposed with a new and improved version of the same character.   

The character was modeled in 3D Studio Max 2015 (Yeah I'm a little out of date) with some tweaking done in Zbrush. 

Hair was modeled using an IMM brush set in Zbrush. 

Rigging: I painstakingly made my own rig rather than use Biped or Cat.  It was a lot of extra effort but I think it was worth it. 

Outfit - was created in Marvellous designer 6.0



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and a couple of other renders.  






Basically I just want to get some constructive criticism as to the overall look of the character and what needs to be improved.

Thanks!!!

Olly89

Hey nice, good way to show how much you've improved.

Her arms/shoulders look a bit strange. Especially on the render where she has her hand on her head, but that looks like a bit of a bone weight problem as well. Also, her collar bones aren't very defined. They look like they're caught between stylised and realistic if that makes sense. But yeah that's just what stood out for me, good work.

Quick EDIT: Just noticed textures need some work as well. The boots are too shiny and the clothes are too flat.   

Ryan_Hogarth

Olly89 said:

Hey nice, good way to show how much you've improved.

Her arms/shoulders look a bit strange. Especially on the render where she has her hand on her head, but that looks like a bit of a bone weight problem as well. Also, her collar bones aren't very defined. They look like they're caught between stylised and realistic if that makes sense. But yeah that's just what stood out for me, good work.

Quick EDIT: Just noticed textures need some work as well. The boots are too shiny and the clothes are too flat.   

Thanks for the feedback!

Yeah I was kinda worried about the shoulder/arm topology. I've looked at various base meshes and online tutorials but I so far haven't found the "best" way to build a shoulder. (The quotes are intentional, I know there are always multiple ways of achieving the same effect)

Vertex weighting has always been a bit of a stumbling block for me. I've been led to understand there are scripts out there that make the skinning process a bit easier. Do you (or anyone else reading this) have any experience using them? 

Good to know about the collarbones - I was worried about making them too defined and I guess overcompensated

I just used the default settings for leather in Mental ray - I can tweak them

As for the clothes, when you say "flat" do you mean flat as in the colours aren't bright enough (Do I need up the specular? ) or do I need to use a normal map (or bump map)?

Anyway thank you very much for your feedback!

Olly89

Hoping someone else can point you in the right direction regarding bone weights/animation as I'm not too experienced (I noticed the pulling because I've seen it so many times myself ha!). And yeah the collarbones are probably just personal preference, one of the many things that you should probably keep if you're happy with it.

Yeah I meant in terms of colours. To be honest all the colours look a bit dull. Your materials definitely need some work, though it could be the lighting to some extent. Looks like you didn't change the lights for when she's sitting on the stool, so the image above that 'pops' a lot more than that one as she's facing the light. They just need more vibrancy, except the boots which look a little glossy for leather.

But yeah considering you've done every part yourself, fair play! Bit rusty on Mental Ray so not sure but I know there's mat libraries online for other engines so maybe try downloading some materials to get a feel for what looks good. Cheers.