[RIOT CREATIVE CONTEST 2017] Character Art - Magma Surfer Taliyah

Kazefield

Hellow Let's do this !


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This time I'm gonna work on a Taliyah skin. I've always loved her design.

During the first contest I kinda went on the contest without a clear idea on mind, so I decided to have a clearer idea of the design I wanted before starting on the 3D model.

Here are two fast sketches I made before starting on the model sheet :

As you can see, I was going for a "Wood Bender" Skin first, but I switched to Magma surfer. Because you know. Surfing on magma must feel super awesome XD

So here's the Model sheet ! Don't hesitate to give me feedback, I need to improve this as much as I can !

Cheers !

Kazefield

Btw some lava references look really gorgeous *o* 

specsowl

Really cool idea! Shame you can't use emissive maps but I'm sure you'll make that texturing pop. 

Kazefield

Thanks !
At first I was hesitant about it because of the fire and all, but as it's unlit, I can probably make something of it using contrast ! Sounds like a nice challenge as well

UchiLT

Would be a nice skin for Taliyah...she needs some more skins haha.By the way I love the magma idea....but who doesnt, right?  I hope it looks cool in 3D

jman86

Loving the design and contrast of your Magma skin for her. It is going to turn out awesome I believe. 

liemnguyenart

Love the concept! One note I have is the rocks at the end of the sleaves feel like a different shape language then what you have with her shoulder pad and hair which are more blocky, so maybe that is the only spot that needs a little tweek. I'm confident that you can paint a pretty successful glow! Can't wait to see more.

Kazefield

Thank you all for the feedback !
Good point, the rocks need a bit of tweaking, I ll work on that asap 

BoBo_the_seal

very cool idea!

Row'

Can't wait to see the 3D model! Good luck!
(Also, just sayin', I think you already thougth about that but may be you can simulate emissive by baking lights in the textures?) 

Kazefield

Rowww ! Thanks

Yeah, I thought of baking some light in the AO and combining one "regular" AO and another "lighted" one, but I haven't experimented on it yet.
I'll try to find some tricks. That's what makes it interesting !

Kazefield

Here is the concept update!  (only the hair changed on the side view) I decided to change the rocks on the shoulders and her hair as the rock on her sleeves were much closer to a "volcanic" feel.  I will tweak the number of detail while doing the 3Dmodel so it gets more readable in game  

As usual, any feedback is appreciated !

Will start blocking out the 3D model this week end !

Keyla

Absolutely loving your concept!! 

liemnguyenart

good morning! Great choice on the switch its looking great. Another thing I notice if you wanted to try. Is on her outfit there are a few parts that are made of her element such as the skirt and shirt that might take away from her shoulder pads and selves because they are also organic material. A suggestion would be to design those to represent her culture but keep it cloth. The boots are a good example of using the cool sharp shapes but the material is not stone. Looking forward to the sculpt!

Kazefield

Good morning to you  Liem (evening here haha)

Hm, I do see your point, it's true that for now the concept lacks an "ethnic" feel.

I like the idea she is wearing armor on the top which made her a bit more "tough looking" (and was a bit more coherent because... well... fire burns? XD), so I'd like to keep that aspect. I'll do a few sketches to see if how I can improve that  (maybe something can be done with the "skirt" part)  

Thank you !
 

Kazefield

Okay ! 

So after a few tries I updated the concept to get her a leather piece of armor In the end I like her better than before, so it was a good thing to change it X) Thank you again !

It should also be easier to tweak readability later on as it has less detail in general.

liemnguyenart

yeah that is looking awesome! good job!!!!!

Kazefield

Glad you like it

I'm looking forward to your Gnar skin (gnar is one of my main champs)

sstoev

well done! sketches look great, very good choice for a skin. I think this will eventually become a skin in League, cause cmon - earth bender, water bender and of course we need a fire bender The wood one looks more like elder-wood skin, very cool too! Keep it up mate!

Kazefield

I'm baaaaaaack
Thank you for all of the encouragements  


I started a first draft for her overall anatomy and made progress on the head design. Here's a WIP, still a lot of things to improve but I'm starting to get a good feel from it I'm trying to get an in-between the splash art head design and her model in-game.

I'll work more on the body now, I'm studying the model in game to check in how they separated the rock shoulder plate and how they worked on the sleeves(for animation purposes).

Cheers !

TouijriHamza

In a strange way i felt the version of the character in the flower green version was more original than the lava style version but still both are awesome concepts ! can't wait to see the final result !

Kazefield

I'm alive !  
It's been hard to make some time for the contest with all of the end of the year agitation But I should be back on track

Thanks for your feedback TouijriHamza 

I've reworked the concept a bit, because I felt the "ethnic" part of Taliyah wasn't noticeable yet.
I inspired myself from persian armor references (and prince of persia ).  
I've made a big update on the sculpt, I'll refine it a bit tomorrow because some parts deserve a bit more love
I'll start retopology this week, so I can finish this on time X) 



Cheers !

I'll post some more updates soon

Kazefield

Updaaaaaate !

Finished the sculpt, retopo, UVs and I made a first bake (I still need to correct it a bit here and there but it's starting to look clean)
I also added basic black and white values  but I'll rework that as well


Uv mapping       /        AO bake  + topology         /             Current Render                                          

I should be able to post an update next week  
Don't hesitate to give me any feedback, I need to improve her as much as I can !

Cheers !

maryoaminoto

well done. You've made the concept into a 3d. Hoping to see it burning in colors !

Kazefield

Will do

Kazefield

Hello again !

I did some progress on the texture . The two small shots are tests for an in-game view. This week I'll tweak the seams and improve the glow and outlines.
 A few parts feel a bit too contrasted compared to the environment, so I'll work on this as well so it feels more integrated

As usual, I'm open to any feedback !

Cheers !


(PS : Taliyah looks so cool in the new cinematic videoooo)

Kazefield

Update tiiime !

I tweaked the colors so they fit more with the rift and started posing Taliyah (WIP)

Now she's less contrasted but I think it makes her  readable without her standing out too much. Don't hesitate to give me any feedback about it, I've been quite focused on it for some time so outside opinion can help quite a lot

I needed to refresh my mind a little so I made some custom icons so I can add it to a final mock up later



I'll do a few sketches tomorrow at lunch to explore different poses Stay tuned !

fishsnack

Wow, this looks great. Nice Texture. Don't really have any critique for the character. Maybe you could try to reduce the brown color spill in her hair. Currently it looks like a bounce off of the ribbon. That's all.

For the icons: they are too dark and contrasty in my opinion. They are also not readable enough to show the actual skill if you compare them with the originals.
Anyway keep it up

P.S.: A surfer pose would be cool but you would have to create her rock than.

Kazefield

Hey ! Happy you like it
Thanks for the feedback ! I'll rework the contrast of the icons, and the dark stain in her hair!

chemotoledo

Woow! Nice! I like how this Taliyah looks! Nice concept Kazefield  

Kazefield

Hellow !

I've worked on the poses and final renders, I have to do some final tweaks on the composite and High Poly beauty shots, which I'll post tomorrow.

I'll most likely submit my entry tomorrow after I've reviewed all of them (Double checks are important XD)

Kazefield

Composite  shot coming soon !

Here's the sculpt beauty shot

Kazefield

Aaaaand done  
Time to submit !




I'm happy I could finish it on time and participate
I've learnt a lot and It's super interesting to see what everyone came up with !

I'll upload the sketchfab model soon ! 
Cheers !

Kazefield

Here is the sketchfab model  
 
model

I also made a small music for the mood (Intended to use it for a short trailer but I ran out of time XD)

Goldo_O

Wow, you sure know how to set the mood! I'm truly touched by your music and it made me want to see that short trailer even more! Hopefully you will have time to finish it later on, without the pressure of the deadline.
I really enjoyed making your model swirl in sketchfab, that pose is working perfectly for a 3D viewer.
Congrats on finishing on time and making a great character all around! I love that you took some time to work on her icons and her ult is looking great in-game! Enjoy the time off

Kazefield

Hey !
I'm super happy you like it !  Your entry is one of my favorites and it inspired me a lot

I should work on the trailer after taking a bit of rest (kinda lacked sleep on the last days XD), it would also give me some more time to do it right