Model Doctor overhauls: The remaking of Kill La Kill characters (c 2016 - 2018)
polycounter
I thought it would be great to rework a few older pieces that I left unfinished, or finished without realising that they could be more appealing.
This thread will focus on stylised realisations of characters from the show Kill La Kill.
At the time I had approached making them as a set, and I do feel that given their different body shapes and sizes it gave me a better understanding of how to approach anatomy, proportioning and giving weight to a model which I feel is reflected in my more recent pieces.
I'll be maintaining that approach for the most part, working on models together. Some were more finished than others. I think I left one as a sphere with anime eyes
Primarily making this as a way to involve others and have fun during the process, since I am a big believer in reusing and recycling older work than scrapping and starting from scratch.
I feel that attitude builds "character" lol
The following are the span of time I last worked on each model in the set, (will be revealed over time.)
Ryuko (school girl outfit)
5-25-2016 to 3-27-2018
Majority of the work was done in 2016, with some iterations sporadically done during the remaining 2 years.
Many other model commissions were also completed during this time so Ryuko was gradually relegated to relative obscurity until a few days ago when I took her from the mothballs and decided an overhaul was well overdue.
- I had considered this model finished, but always found something odd about the face, so it didn't last too long in my portfolio.
I wasn't following the concept strictly, but going for stylised attempting to focus on appeal.
Achievements
- Stuck with the model for a good while
- guitar case was made entirely in zbrush using zmodeler
- learned new techniques for hair creation and rendering
- Model has the most staggering variations in form/shape over any other model I made, including others in the set. (other than the wierdo the character hangs out with) The first iteration is a sight to behold!
Issues
- setting camera perspective angle too high (Set at 55, should be 28)
- Obliterated most facial planes so looks more cartoony (need to add back some facial definition)
- Had a different approach to doing a mouthbox which did not result in a very clean angle of mouth (better approach now avaiable)
- Problems with eye position relative to ears, detail in the nose, size of the head. (classic errors, then again some are acceptable)
- I used a repeating normal map skin texture that seemed too harsh. (considering detailing the same way I do realistic models with scan maps, or removing it all together)
- eyes, eyes, eyes they look too harsh (will be using custom Unreal 4 eye shader with parallax)
- hair (seemed alright, though not a bad idea to try unreal's hair shader)
- textures (need to revise some of the grunge on the clothing, and output higher resolution maps (computer wasn't too strong at the time)
Model Progression
Concept
I wanted to realise this concept as a stylised interpretation, though my ability wasn't as refined so there were some uhh... interesting results.
The fact that these
started from this ABSOLUTE HORROR on the 6th of May 2016
The transition is thoroughly fascinating.
Then again they did start something. And this was well before all the current works in my portfolio.
Next up, what the model looks like today.
This thread will focus on stylised realisations of characters from the show Kill La Kill.
At the time I had approached making them as a set, and I do feel that given their different body shapes and sizes it gave me a better understanding of how to approach anatomy, proportioning and giving weight to a model which I feel is reflected in my more recent pieces.
I'll be maintaining that approach for the most part, working on models together. Some were more finished than others. I think I left one as a sphere with anime eyes
Primarily making this as a way to involve others and have fun during the process, since I am a big believer in reusing and recycling older work than scrapping and starting from scratch.
I feel that attitude builds "character" lol
The following are the span of time I last worked on each model in the set, (will be revealed over time.)
Ryuko (school girl outfit)
5-25-2016 to 3-27-2018
Majority of the work was done in 2016, with some iterations sporadically done during the remaining 2 years.
Many other model commissions were also completed during this time so Ryuko was gradually relegated to relative obscurity until a few days ago when I took her from the mothballs and decided an overhaul was well overdue.
- I had considered this model finished, but always found something odd about the face, so it didn't last too long in my portfolio.
I wasn't following the concept strictly, but going for stylised attempting to focus on appeal.
Achievements
- Stuck with the model for a good while
- guitar case was made entirely in zbrush using zmodeler
- learned new techniques for hair creation and rendering
- Model has the most staggering variations in form/shape over any other model I made, including others in the set. (other than the wierdo the character hangs out with) The first iteration is a sight to behold!
Issues
- setting camera perspective angle too high (Set at 55, should be 28)
- Obliterated most facial planes so looks more cartoony (need to add back some facial definition)
- Had a different approach to doing a mouthbox which did not result in a very clean angle of mouth (better approach now avaiable)
- Problems with eye position relative to ears, detail in the nose, size of the head. (classic errors, then again some are acceptable)
- I used a repeating normal map skin texture that seemed too harsh. (considering detailing the same way I do realistic models with scan maps, or removing it all together)
- eyes, eyes, eyes they look too harsh (will be using custom Unreal 4 eye shader with parallax)
- hair (seemed alright, though not a bad idea to try unreal's hair shader)
- textures (need to revise some of the grunge on the clothing, and output higher resolution maps (computer wasn't too strong at the time)
Model Progression
Concept
I wanted to realise this concept as a stylised interpretation, though my ability wasn't as refined so there were some uhh... interesting results.
The fact that these
started from this ABSOLUTE HORROR on the 6th of May 2016
The transition is thoroughly fascinating.
Then again they did start something. And this was well before all the current works in my portfolio.
Next up, what the model looks like today.
Replies
I know you are not following the concept "strictly" but maybe revisit it. It seems your 3D model has taken on a life of its own and does not share much with your concept.
Back in 2016 the model really was all over the place.
I feel it had a lot to do with my technique or lack of technique lol. Sort of like an exploratory phase where my eye wasn't sufficiently trained to recognise when something looked odd.
For instance, I knew she had to look pissed off, and have large eyes, and since it was anime I thought I could flatten the facial planes and flat shade render the model, which had interesting results.
I tried some variations in the composite above, still keeping my focus on her frown, or her eyes and essentially ignoring the remainder.
And that's just the face, the body was a whole other problem.
A revisit really was long overdue!
Here's a video when I picked up the model again, looking it over in Marmoset with stills,
This is how the model appears now in zbrush with the original eyes and shader (Will be testing with Unreal eyes and skin shader)
It's good to see the objective leaps in technical quality you've made, but I do agree with @OutlawHue that you maybe need to take a step back and really make sure you're making aesthetic decisions that make sense with the character.
The last two especially, many references. I am thinking her face could use a lot more roundness, though I'd like to check with the unreal shaders to see if it softens the angles a bit more.
I think UE4 eyes would also give a more natural look.
One challenge I faced was, I didn't quite settle on any one reference during the early stages instead relying on multiple images.
That created a lot of confusion.
This post is a retrospective for what I did wrong from 2016 - 2018, though I'm very flexible with the current iteration and there is a possibilty after I do the UE4 check that I might just go full on realism if the result isn't appealing.
A lot of what I did then was really quite weird, but understandable for where I was in my art ability at that time.
Face is still very symettrical, so need to add that in or during pose.
Going to test some additional skin texturing. And better HDR to bring out the lighting.