Nightwalker. DnD 5E Monster Critique

Lycanchief

Hey There!
 I just wanted to throw something I have been working on for a week or two. It is the Nightwalker creature from DnD 5th Edition. I plan on rigging and texturing this creature in the future but I am still in the Zbrush phase. Since I am still working on the details and I feel like I am at a good midpoint I figured it would be a good idea to post it here for the sake of critique and advice



Please note I am still working on the head, however, any advice or thoughts as a whole would be appreciated!

Ashervisalis

I feel like you're taking too many liberties on the anatomy. I'm not sure what's going on with those legs, but I would reference the let anatomy of an elk and try to match that. Also maybe make the claws and hoofs and horns as separate sub-tools? Your clavicle looks way too weird, the muscles on your neck aren't really making sense, and your monster doesn't have a rib cage. You're also giving your monster giant muscles when he's actually quite thin in the concept. The way you have your legs attach to the hip is really odd as well (I think the part sticking out in the concept is the hip bone). Regarding the head, it looks like you're going for a deer/elk style face,but that's not what the concept looks like at all.

I would pull up some anatomy reference images of elk and skinny humans, and reference those as you sculpt. Keep going!

DavidCruz

Hi:
As Ash already said.
I wanted to provide some helpful site and links:
General anatomy
Human Animal legs

Since you are at a good place to correct things you can easily fix it, lucky you came around now as later on it might've been upsetting to correct things, so good job asking for a little bit of assistance.

The idea seems solid its the execution that needs some refinements, imagery helps show you what needs to be fixed, follow the images to correct your design and you should be golden to learn the rest of what might need to be done but come back if you need more help.

Lycanchief

Thanks for the feedback Ash and David! This will be super helpful and I will post updated shots soon!

Brian "Panda" Choi

Raise the arms.  A-pose that low makes riggers sad.

Lycanchief

Hey Panda!

Will do! Thanks for the adivce

Lycanchief

Update!

I took all of your advice into consideration!

First, off I worked on the leg and fixed the problem there as well as slimming down this beefy boy to a much more manageable state, also I exaggerated the A-pose a bit more for ease of rigging later.



I have also drastically changed the face to start looking more like the concept from the monster manual. Please note the Head, Horns, and neck are not complete and still need a ton done to it. If anyone has any tips on the front profile because it looks kinda derpy to me while the side looks pretty good, Any critique would be greatly appreciated

 

Thanks in advance to all who share their thought! 

Brian "Panda" Choi

What reference are you using for the human anatomy?

Lycanchief

Hey Panda sorry for not responding sooner,

I can't find the original image but I have been roughly using a swimmer's body for reference on the original proportions similar to this.



Once I started Zbrushing I also started borrowing some dramatized features from another 3d model i saw



Granted there are some things I don't like but it was a good image that I got some ideas from.

Lycanchief

UPDATE!

I have been chugging away at the zbrush sculpt and I think I am close if not done with it.



If anyone has some suggestions please continue to let me know before I start moving onto Retopo and texturing! Regardless thank you everyone for all the feedback, this is coming together really nicely I think

oreoorbitz

Cleanness of form:

You say your almost if not done with the model, but I still see alot of lumpyness, and visible brush strokes.

Its ok to have signs of the sculpting brush your using, like the clay build up brush, but it has to be consistent with the model, and here it doesn't really fit.

As for lumpyness, you want to be confident of the forms you've put in, you need to be able to tell the diference between boney landmarks, muscle, and fat.

You also need to more clarity and details on how one form transitions to another.

You need to think of realism, and  design.

Why something is like it is, and whether it looks good.

Pink line:

why does the arm curve in that way, instead of being more straight, does it look better, is there a anatomical reason for it to be that way?

Red line:

How are the forms of the chest transitioning to the forms of the arm and shoulder, here you just have the forms of the chest end, and the arms start. Look at anatomy references on how muscle groups transition and insert into other groups.

Orange line:

Why is there this bump in the deltiod, what is the reason, is it because of underlying anatomy, or does it look good? too me, it looks weird.

I recommend you go over the entire model and break down each section, asking your self whether something is realistic, or looks good.

Clean up the roughness and bumpyness, and find a more confident look to the forms.

Take your time, if it takes you 8 hours to do the arms, and 10 to do the legs, thats ok, as long you spend that time trying to achieve correct anatomy or attractive design, you'll end up learning the principles you need.

And i'm not saying forms can either be realistic or look good, they can be both, but you can also have forms that have nothing to do in reality, but they look good because they follow principles of good design, and they have a confident feel to them.

Lycanchief

New Update! Thanks to everyone's amazing feedback I went through and touched up my zbrush sculpt. I honestly felt happy with where it was at and decided to move on to the retopo and texturing! 

Please take a look and let me know what you al think!

Ashervisalis

If you feel it's time to move on, I'd suggest not spending time retopologizing this sculpt, but instead doing more sculpts focusing on anatomy. The anatomy and silhouette, aren't portfolio worthy enough to help land a job, and if you know how to retopo already, doing so on this model might not be the best use of your time. I like the spine, and that face is creepy! I would add some width to the face beside the eyes. Have you taken any anatomy sculpting courses?

Lycanchief

Ashervisalis said:

If you feel it's time to move on, I'd suggest not spending time retopologizing this sculpt, but instead doing more sculpts focusing on anatomy. The anatomy and silhouette, aren't portfolio worthy enough to help land a job, and if you know how to retopo already, doing so on this model might not be the best use of your time. I like the spine, and that face is creepy! I would add some width to the face beside the eyes. Have you taken any anatomy sculpting courses?

I see, well I appreciate the compliments I spent a lot of time on the face and spine. I have indeed taken anatomy sculpting courses during my time in high school, college and also while I studied at the Academy of interactive entertainment. However I can recognize some of the flaws this model's anatomy has but I am still learning Zbrush and this so far has been a great project to learn just that. Best thing I can do is finish this project and start the next one I suppose  

Ashervisalis

Maybe for your next project, pick a concept which is more readable. This one is really dark and leaves a lot to the imagination.

BagelHero

Oh, another AIE alum? Good to see folks around the place.

Especially since I see your title is "character artist", I second choosing a more readable concept. Ideally, a decent front and back view too so you aren't left making up details. Honestly speaking, with your current levels of anatomy fundamentals vs how to sculpt them, I would really recommend making the thread earlier in the process so people can follow along and shoot you refs and call out fixes before you get too high poly-- it seems like you've been working on your skills for a little while so maybe you need an outside eye to pick out flaws in your process? It definitely looks like you need to stay more lowpoly for longer with dynamesh and zremesher's help, as well as maybe try splitting into more subtools to get shapes right before you connect them up.

I look forward to seeing more from you! Sorry if this is a tad blunt.