Student looking for critique on final project for school

CheeseColumns

Little background, I'm in a program for studying 3d production and interactive media. Its a super generalist 2 year curriculum, as a result I feel like I have a lot of general fundamental knowledge, but never had the chance to drill too deep into learning anything at a professional level. Basically, Im an amateur about to finish school *nervous laughter* I really want to use this project to refine my skills and make something I'm proud of, in the past I've improved most when I've had a lot of amazing skilled people telling me why my shit sucks lmao.

Anyways, onto the project. Right now I'm developing the character which will later be rigged and animated. These were my initial concept sketches:

I feel comfortable conceptualizing characters through drawing, but when it comes to translating it into 3d I'm full of doubt. Its in a pretty rough state right now but here's a sculpt that im working on.

It's quite sloppy and unrefined, the eyes and ears need to be solved still, but any thoughts are appreciated. I'm no stranger to criticism either so go ham.

My concerns right now are being confident in his proportions and volumes so I can use this base to generate clean models. The face i think needs some contrast in planar vs rounded surfaces, but Im not sure. I was thinking of putting some harder edges in his cheekbones and nose bridge.

I'm also curious on peoples recommendations for building an outfit. I want this to look as professional as I can but I need to keep my time constraints in mind, this is a 3 minute short Im producing so I need to be efficient. I went to my teacher talking about marvelous designer and ncloths (I have very little to no experience using either of these) and she recommended building the clothes in maya and just faking folds with driven keys and other methods. Apparently other students have had issues running simulations when it comes time to render.

I have so many other concerns about moving forward with building this character, but at the end of the day I really could just use some fresh eyes and thoughts. Any comments and resources are GREATLY appreciated, ultimately I just want to feel confident as I move forward that I'm going in the right direction.

CheeseColumns

Trying to push it around a bit to see if I can figure it out,

This is the first version:

And the second

yay or nay? still super rough but idk if this design has more appeal.

Fjordreig

   Hey, I like ur concepts, also good sculpting results for the first steps.

   Usually, beginners that study 3D art are not advised to immediately start creating characters, but to start with ordinary objects. Nevertheless, I can advise you to put some time to anatomy, even stylized characters require an understanding of it. Also, better to separate ur clothes from body. Stick to the principle of how these elements are connected in real life. And good luck, efforts will be rewarded  

CheeseColumns

Thank you for the feedback, and the luck lmao

I have done a bit of poly modelling of everyday objects, not a ton though I'm quite bad at it. My first scene has a lot of simple-ish objects in it so that'll be a good opportunity to get more comfortable with it.

Definitely would like the have the character feel convincing despite being exaggerated and stylized, that's a challenging line to walk so I'll probably pull up some reference to finalize the design.

I will definitely model the clothes separately, my reservation with the clothes is whether i should simulate them. It would look really nice but it can be a pain to set up and i have a limited time. Messing with simulations might take away from the time I have to actually animate. At the end of the day my priority is making the animation and design stand out, the simulation would just be icing on top y'know

BagelHero

CheeseColumns said:

Thank you for the feedback, and the luck lmao

I have done a bit of poly modelling of everyday objects, not a ton though I'm quite bad at it. My first scene has a lot of simple-ish objects in it so that'll be a good opportunity to get more comfortable with it.

Definitely would like the have the character feel convincing despite being exaggerated and stylized, that's a challenging line to walk so I'll probably pull up some reference to finalize the design.

I will definitely model the clothes separately, my reservation with the clothes is whether i should simulate them. It would look really nice but it can be a pain to set up and i have a limited time. Messing with simulations might take away from the time I have to actually animate. At the end of the day my priority is making the animation and design stand out, the simulation would just be icing on top y'know

I kinda want to keep an eye on this thread, but being short on time right now just some advice:

- don't complicate it. Focus on one thing at a time where you can, since otherwise, your course is generalist in your own words. Don't bother simulating or complicating the clothes right now. It's stylized-- imo just make 'em outta digital clay for now and focus on getting the hang of that.  I would usually ve all for experimenting but on limited time it's asking for trouble.

- You should be using references the whole time. It's definitely easier to stylize when you know what kind of landmarks are important, or even there. Anatomy4Sculptors on artstation, if you don't already use it, is handy for quick reference. But presuming you meant just reference for stylisation, highly recommend it.

I like the first version of the face more. The appeal of the jaw/chin area probably needs to be checked a little bit. look into how other people approach these areas on highly stylised sculpture. I would say the design might look a little better with the ears lowered, or maybe with the lobe tilted inwards a little more. But 2 isn't as interesting, for sure. Good luck!

CheeseColumns

Thank you! this is very helpful info! I'll check out anatomy for sculptors too, I've never heard of it.

My teacher liked the first one more as well, I definitely see why. I'll keep chipping away at that design then.

Really appreciate the feedback, it really makes me feel more confident moving forward to have experienced eyes offering advice.

If anyone knows of any good resources for creating stylized props and designing a room/environment I would definitely like to get my hands on that.

CheeseColumns

I pushed the model around a bit today and I think Im moving in a good direction.

Screengrabbed a low quality render and quickly drew over it a bit to work it out.

CheeseColumns

Been chipping away at the model every now and then, still needs a lot of tweaking (lol that ear) before I rig it but I'm happy with the progress

Ashervisalis

The thing which stands out the most to me atm is the lips. It looks like he doesn't have any lips, and it looks super unnatural.

CheeseColumns

Ashervisalis said:

The thing which stands out the most to me atm is the lips. It looks like he doesn't have any lips, and it looks super unnatural.

hm ok, noted. I'll give him some juicy dsl's and see how it looks.

kidding aside thanks for the 2 cents

CheeseColumns

Finished! Its still pretty rough around the edges but deadlines are deadlines. I stopped updating this thread pretty quickly, but if anyone is curious here it is: