[Finished] - Butterfly Knight

jtag04

Finished Artwork: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/WXdokG 

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Hello o/

I'm a third-year university student and Character Artist working on a portfolio piece, and I would love any and all feedback to improve. Currently I'm working on adjusting the face as I've gotten feedback to adjust the proportions and starting work in XGen.

(Working loosely based off of a concept)

(Hero-shot asset)

[Concept: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/3q6WXg ]

iam717

I like how the materials of the subject matter read really well.  Looks cinematic to me, the render or the lighting is also done well.

zetheros

use more armour references https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EufuojmrfDd7o6PcjAMnvHaX7_w_EJTf/view?usp=sharing

jtag04

zetheros said:

use more armour references https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EufuojmrfDd7o6PcjAMnvHaX7_w_EJTf/view?usp=sharing

Thank you so much, I'll check this out and incorporate these if I can. Bit scrapped for time as it's a Uni project so my deadline is approaching haha so I'll try to make adjustments, but I'll keep this in mind for future projects as well.

jtag04

Quick update, finished adjusting the proportions of the head and now I'm working on hair card placement. Decided to change last minute to cards to learn a new skill and I made the cards in Fibershop.

littleclaude

Much improved, well done. 

HarlequinWerewolf

Oooh, I am here for hair cards! Looking forward to seeing how these turn out

jtag04

Ended up not liking the cards I made in Fibershop as I wasn't able to make them exactly how I wanted (skill issue on my end) and ended up making them in XGen instead and baking them down in XNormals. I made the strands using XGen -> Converted it to geo using Simple Pipe [https://www.highend3d.com/maya/script/simple-pipe-for-maya ] -> Editing the geo further in ZBrush -> Back into Maya and creating groups to use for an ID Map. Made these separate maps in Photoshop to use for baking and creating the Albedo.

jtag04

From here I started placing the cards down in ZBrush using the move brush and curve modifiers - I'm focusing on the main shape at the moment trying to understand how to place the hair cards (looking at https://www.artstation.com/artwork/EaP1G8,  https://www.artstation.com/artwork/28eGyv for reference)  but it's going to be a lot of trial and error from here due to my inexperience in doing hair.

*still need to adjust the shaders

HarlequinWerewolf

I really love how her face is looking. I'll just comment on the cards as that's my jam. Looks like you've got some good placement going on so far but I think the textures could be improved. So far, they're all kind of 'samey' and the best way to get variety is to add some negative space (in red) - this will help add depth as you layer the cards. 

You could also add more variety in flyaways (in blue) to the thinner chunks you have. Even straight hair has flyaways and having them built into the texture of one card means you don't have to rely on that single strand card to add flyaways meaning you can keep the tri count lower. It's perfectly fine to bake some wave into the texture. This also helps had visual interest. 

I'm not a fan of the blunt ends on all of the major chunks. You could add some variety in how the chunks end (in green) with some length variation. 

Check out the negative space even between the larger chunks that help add some visual interest and breakup


The concept shows some flyaways which could look great with a strong rim light!

I'd highly recommend checking out Hywel's breakdown here: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/39K6Wm I know it's for scruffy hair but the same techniques apply and will help build depth and interest. 

I'd also maybe look into baking out a flow/tangent map. It won't make a huge difference to straight hair but it can help add breakup to individual strands.

Can't wait to see more of this!

jtag04

Heya everyone o7,

Despite the short time frame I'm excited to announce that this project has finished. You can check it out here:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/WXdokG

Massive thanks to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts and feedback throughout the development process. For suggestions and feedback I couldn’t implement due to deadlines, I’ve noted them down and will be applying them to future projects (especially my FMP that I'll also be posting too but will run for much longer).