Jelly Bot

Mitchellangelo

Hey everybody.  I saw this concept and I really wanted to make a 3D model of it.  Not only do I love the design but the concept behind it too.  


I've started Phase 1, sculpting out the body and the face.  This is my first real shot at stylized anatomy.  Please let me know what you think of the silhouette and the anatomy, and if anything else can be done in this phase.  Please don't hesitate, your feedback is very much welcome, especially since I'm just starting.



Here's a face closeup

  

Mitchellangelo

Hey everyone.  I have completed the block out phase for the Jelly Bot pilot.  All of the armor has been blocked out in ZBrush.  My next move is to start working on the high-res version of the model.  I'm going to work on making the hard-surface forms look more hardened.  If you have any pointers for me at this stage, please your critiques are welcome.  Thanks.

Mitchellangelo

Anything?........Going once?.........Going twice?...................

Mitchellangelo

Okay everyone.  Here is another update.  I feel like I have the proportions over all accurate to the concept.  I want to set the proportions in stone so I can re-add the details to the suit.  If you find that anything still needs work here, just let me know.

Mitchellangelo

So I've completely changed the face and now I feel it is more structurally sound and closer to the concept.  I also double checked the proportions on the arms and legs.  Once again, please if you have any feedback I am need of it.  Thank you.

Skinner3D

That is a fun concept. I like the new face better definitely. However I think yours is too young by about 5 years. Maybe widen the chin a little and define the back of the jaw some.
Also for future reference, you went through a lot of work to scuplt his body, but the clothes he is wearing are somewhat loose fitting. Probably could have saved time using a generic body model.

Alemja

For the face I think you could study how Disney stylize their faces as I think it would work really well for this concept. Even though the faces are stylized all of the landmarks and shapes are there:

I chose this image specifically because you can see the shape of the bottom eyelid/eye socket, an area that is really missing from your face, Hiro also has a similar face shape to the character you are trying to make.

Mitchellangelo

@Skinner3D, thank you.  I will definitely see what I can do to signify the right age.  I know I LOVE the concept.  As for the body, you're right I can just use a pre-modeled generic body.  I guess I always just want to get used to sculpting the anatomical forms from scratch.

@Alemja, that's a good reference image.  It's funny not only does this character resemble Hiro but he's also kind of the same character:D

Mitchellangelo

Here's an update on the face.  He needed eyelids in order to stay true to the concept.  Hopefully the shape of his eyes, his eyelids, and the his face overall, resembles the essence of the concept.


Also, here is a turnaround with his suit blocked out.  I just wanted to make sure the proportions of his suit were still in check.  Once again, any feedback you have would be fantastic.  If anything needs to be adjusted here, just let me know.  Thanks.

Skinner3D

Still doesn't look quite old enough. The area between the cheekbone and jaw needs lengthened a bit. After that maybe fill out the base shapes to fit the lines a little better.

Mitchellangelo

Thank you @Skinner3D

Mitchellangelo

Okay so here is another draft of the face.  I feel that he is starting to resemble essence of the concept.  Now he looks less like he has chubby cheeks.  Let me know what you think and if his face could still be improved at this point.



Also, I did some hard-surface editing to his suit so everything looks more solid now.  But I just want to make sure his suit still looks ship-shape on proportions and forms.

Skinner3D

Definitely better. I think if you define the back of the jaw area more it will benefit him.

Skinner3D

Looking back at your posts, I realize you went kind of backwards with the jaw. My bad, I think I caused that. If you combine the jaw/ear area from before the Hero post, with the face you have now it will be better.

Mitchellangelo

Oh oops:D I'm glad he's improved significantly, but I will definitely give the jaw another look.  Thank you for your feedback on this project so far @Skinner3D

Mitchellangelo

I simplified the face some more and did some planar work on it.  I figured a simple face meant simpler planes.  The eyes also felt slightly too small from a distance.  Please let me know if you have any pointers for me here.  Thanks.

Mitchellangelo

Here is a face update again.  I feel like this captures the overall essence of the shape in the concept more.  Also, the eyes are a much more appealing shape from last time.



Also here is a suit update.  I added some simple wrinkles to some of his suit, just for an extra bagginess touch.


I used the jeans on this character from Fortnite as a reference.

I want to start retopology soon, so please let me know if you have any feedback for me at this point.  Thanks in advanced.

Skinner3D

If you go with the second colored version then I feel like you need to cut the jaw line too. Otherwise go with the first. 

Mitchellangelo

Do you mean the material?  I can double-check the jaw line.  Do you think the clothes look okay?

Mitchellangelo

Here's a hair update.  As you can see I have the hair geometry sculpted and resembling an anime look.  Hopefully this will suffice for the over all character.  Please let me know what you think whenever you can and I will retop this hair.




I looked to this character in Fortnite as an example of how to sculpt the hair geo.

Again any feedback you have is needed.  Thank you in advanced.

Skinner3D

Want to see  jelly bot lol. Face looking good

Lukeman87

Really cool concept! The face looks solid after your edits. The bangs of the hair look solid too. The back does need more detailed hair though. Don't forget to add texture to the clothing! It doesn't have to be much nor overly detailed, but there should be some.
Look forward to updates!

Mitchellangelo

@Skinner3D, no problem Jelly bot will be up soon, lol.  @Lukeman87, I'm glad you find the face shipshape.  I can add small textures to the clothing, but it doesn't look there are any textures at all on the Fortnite characters.

Mitchellangelo

Actually, here is a turnaround on the JellyBot.  I have his overall body and hard surface pieces sculpted out.



Also, here is a transparent image showcasing the size of the pilot in comparison to the bot.

Mitchellangelo

Is there anything I can do on him before I move ahead to finalization and retopology?

Skinner3D

I think the two armor pieces in the middle are supposed to be on the forearms of the bot

Mitchellangelo

Hmm, you may be right.  Also, I've just noticed that the arms appear to pieces of geometry in them that resemble helicopter blades.  Thank you @Skinner3D

Mitchellangelo

I've done some render tests of the pilot in Marmoset.  Keep in mind this is just a test and he will later be in a more presentable pose.  I'm still trying to figure out the pixelized shadows in the hair and mildly blurry texture on the face, but do you think the lighting looks okay overall?  Please let me know if there's anything I can do to improve this step.  Thank you in advanced.




Again I used Fortnite as a reference:

Mitchellangelo

The pilot has been put on hold for now, so I've gone back to the Jelly Bot.  I have all is armor (both internal and external) sculpted and detailed.  I wanted to make sure the proportions and everything else looked good.  Please let me know if anything needs to be improved in this step.  Thank you in advance.


Here's the concept again:

Skinner3D

I think it is looking good. I dont know how you are rendering the hair, but the pixelation could be coming from your clipping mask or alpha.

Mitchellangelo

I was wondering about that too.  I wonder if it's the UVs.  The whole thing is being rendered in Marmoset

Mitchellangelo

I've done some material experiments on the Jelly Bot's materials.  This is in Marmoset.  I wanted to strike that balance between legit gelatin and stylized gelatin.  If you have anything to critique me on at this point please let me know.  Thanks in advanced.

Skinner3D

Looking good but I see a few things. First this is rendered with only half of the armor correct? (if not then your material is really screwing with stuff lol) Second the face plate thing seems to be a little wider and less tall in the concept. Third, despite the previous pic showing a good level of geometry, it almost seems like this one got rendered at a low poly level. There are odd straightlines all over the silhouette. Fourth, you are definitely going to need light cards for the final render. It begs to have the glossy shiny hotspots that come with slime. lol.
Over all it looks good and I want to see it finished.

Mitchellangelo

Thank you @Skinner3D, I'll make those corrections.  I've never heard of light cards, I'll look into it.  And yes, this is only half the geometry of armor.  I wanted to get the material right before transferring it all over.

Mitchellangelo

What exactly are light cards?...

Skinner3D

Highly visible polys. Usually with a high luminosity value. You place them off camera to give your reflective surfaces something to work with. Helps get the natural sharp highlights instead of relying completely on computer generated spec/glossiness
They are often used with 3D cars to imitate that showroom feel.

Mitchellangelo

Hmm, that would definitely give me more control over the lighting.  Actually, I have a render test right here.  Right now I'm trying to figure out how to get the lighting even between the background, the bot, and the pilot inside.  I'm having tremendous difficulties.  I've found I need to make the jellybot light in the back and the pilot more dark (without blending in to the background).  Do you have any suggestions here?:

Skinner3D

Looks good.
I actually feel like they are balanced light and dark as is.
Surround him with basic objects. Maybe put him in a basic room. Make sure that room doesn't block your lights or cast shadows. This will help you see reflection, refraction, etc. and will help you with figuring out where the lighting is truly messing up. Rendering it on a solid background messes with depth perception. At the very least, set your background to be a texture or procedural or gradient or something. Even that might help you see if you have those dark areas.
I don't know how your render software works, but in my programs I can actually setup a light to exclude certain objects. So I could light only the pilot with certain lights and only the goo thing with other lights.

Mitchellangelo

Those are good suggestions. As for the lighting software, I don't know if I can do that in Marmoset. It would really help if only certain lights affected the pilot and the jellybot. I'll look that up. You've been a big help @Skinner3D, I very much appreciate it. Thank you.

Mitchellangelo

I've done some more render and lighting tests and even included the screens inside the Jellybot.  Now it's starting to look how I wanted it to look.  I'm about to start the process of posing both characters for presentation.  Do you have any suggestions for this rendering and lighting scene?

Skinner3D

I think to take it any farther you are going to have to pose it I can't think of any ways that you could merge it into a scene as is and make it make sense.

Mitchellangelo

Wow, that's good news!  I'm in the posing process right now.  I'll post a final image for feedback one more time before I publish this piece.  Thanks!

Mitchellangelo

Okay, here are some renders of both models posed.  I know the robot itself doesn't look very posed but I tried to match it with the concept.  Just let me know if the poses changed anything or put something in a place where it needs to be tweaked (lighting, textures, etc.).  Thanks in advanced.

Mitchellangelo

Also, one more thing.  I know I'm bombarding this you all a with so many updates so sorry about that.  Here are some render tests of the pilot.  I want to make sure his solo render images look good too.  Do you think the lighting looks okay and do you think his suit needs wear-and-tear?