You could also fiddle with the self illumination map to do a fake SSS.
It looks like you should but some dark red or purple hues underneith and around th eyes, because right now it looks like the eyes are the exact same color as his skin.
Though it is looking great! I really love his whole look, very ruthless looking.
aesir: That problem is inherent to max7, this is a render from max8, which fixes normal map display problems.
Neo_God: Yeah, I might do that about the eyes... his eyes were actually meant to be pretty much the same colour as his skin anyway. I considered fiddling with the self-illumination map to do fake SSS, unfortunately the effect it would give, if he was standing in darkness, is that parts of his skin were glowing, which would look pretty weird.
Cheers guys. Yeah Johny I probably could get a lot more detail on, bear in mind it's a 512x1024 map though, and much of it is not mirrored, and I wanna actually finish the whole thing rather than getting bogged down in details.
Also, I actually kinda like the clean look he has, he's a kinda severe martial leader, so very obsessed with neatness and keeping everything in order. He leads a small, elite team and is very careful in combat, I wanted that to be reflected in the condition of his costume - it's got battle damage, but still a semblence of being kept in good condition.
Here's a quick teaser of how the mount is coming along (zbrushing in progress)
"Sadly" I think it's looking rather good indeed! There is no sadness involved when you end up with a sweet portfolio piece like this. Looking forward to seeing the end result.
I'm gonna ask a *really* dumb question now. But what's all this obsession with viewport shaders all of a sudden? Surely they are just that, right? Or am I missing something. Don't get me wrong, the stuff I've seen is cool n' all, but is there a use for them beyond viewport display?
Daz, I think the general obsession with viewport shaders is because they more closely show a result similar to what you'd get in a game engine, plus the feedback is in realtime - in the Max8 viewport I can edit my normal map, spec map, glossiness, glow, whatever, and get real-time feedback and spin all around the model without having to re-render or reload textures.
I have to say I dig the green pants more then the new color. Even though burgundy gives it some contrast in variation.
And I think maybe you should fade that taboo going into the skull more. And break up the edges a tad so it doesn't look so perfect. Though you result in might not allow this.
That's just personal preference. This rocks MoP.
Id be surprised if this isnt in the top 3.
I feel like I should pipe up! Mop knows I think it's awesome I wish I'd been able to be more specific with the concepts, but work and school swamped me. He's done an excellent job of filling in the unfortunate gaps I've left, though.
Johny, I'm curious what you mean by "detail." Detail can mean a lot of things. I'm sure critiques would be appreciated, but you can't just say something really general and expect everybody to know what you're talking about. It would be much more helpful to make specific points about what sort of detail could be added and where.
sorry i should have indeed been more specific, what i meant for detail is to add more gear , i mean more straps, ammo belts, etc some sort of weapon, i dont know , because i think that in the chest and belly area its simply too plain and could use more stuff in there without breaking the mood of the character. Im not saying to go detail crazy , but add a bit more , holes, shapes, etc .
Oh, well he needs a weapon, yeah, I'm building that at the moment. It breaks up his silhouette nicely, and has some banners from it which add a lot.
I don't think he needs more straps or ammo belts... his weapon doesn't use ammunition in the conventional sense, and the straps he has right now are all he needs to hold his costume and weaponry together.
Personally I think the best characters are ones which have been thought out entirely as to what their function is, what they need to perform this function, and how they use these items.
Our guy is a fast attack leader, as such he wants to be as low-profile as possible - less things to jangle and alert the enemy. I don't like the idea of adding straps, ammo and pouches and stuff just for the sake of detail. I'd like to think everything he has is there for a reason, no more and no less. Think about it like this - a real soldier doesn't get all his weaponry and equipment on, then look at himself in the mirror and think "hmm, I have a large expanse of cloth in the front, I need to add more straps and ammo!" ... he gets his look from what he's wearing, which is what he needs. It's about getting the mix of "character" and "art" right, I think
I'm happy with the way the chest and belly area is looking, the expanse of more reflective metal is in fact one of the areas I like a lot.
Details are not always necessary. Good design trumps random greebles any day. You don't see people complaining that a Ferrari doesn't have enough fenders and bolts sticking out of it, because it's design is in it's lines, it's forms and it's curves.
I think this character has all the design thought out, and adding random details not in the original concept just to "fill space" and because you can with the alloted texture space and polys, is not neccessary. I think far too many games fall prey to this.
Remember
good design != busy
busy != detailed
next-gen != random crap everywhere
MoP this is great, what scares the hell out of me is that you've only used 2600 tris in this guy and he is probably one of the best generals yet...I cant wait to see how he looks with his steed too. Awesome work.
PS nice quicktime turnarounds too, they really help to give a better picture of your model.
Mop, good job so far on the character, I really like the way he's looking. I think the tattoo on the face is hurting his look. Design wise it's a bit weak, since it's so thin it's splitting his face in half, also It has the same value/color/intensity as the one on his armor which I think makes it look drawn over the character and flattens him out.
For some reason I don't think the creature matches the style of the character. It might just be that the creature is very reptilian just like the character but I can't put my finger on the problem I am sensing. It will come to me later.
i like the idea. But something seems off to me. First of all, its off balance - the body is already falling forward, with a rider it would go all the way. I also think the limbs are a little tiny for a riding animal, especially the hind legs need more beef. Id suggest bigger "thighs", and longer distance from hip to "knee".
its true if they guy sat on it the center of balance might be off, its cool how it has the same kind of leg as the guy but since they're the same size leg and this thing is much bigger, the legs read as a bit too light for the big body (to my eyes). Still diggin the lines
Hmm.. it is a bit off balance upon further inspection. My drawing skills started to dissolve last night after it hit about 11:30pm. I've been pooping out too early lately!
I love this. THe look is very effricient and leaderly. I think that the weapon ought to follow a similar design to the shapes and motifs of his armour, rather than the "Magic stick" of the concept. Melee, or missile, it should be a very "efficient" looking. Love the mount as well. Good distribution of polygons all around.
Rick, they are similar yes! Since they're from the same planet, I was thinking that perhaps the species had diverged evolutionarily not too long ago. That they would both be suited to similar lives.
Ruggels, it's not a "magic stick" exactly, though I admit it isn't very articulated in that particular drawing. It's more of a sword gun, capable of both melee and missle types of attack. You'll see when MoP posts it. I think it fits the general quite well.
Cheers guys, here's the lowpoly with a quick normal map test slapped on, it's about 270 tris. Leaves me with just over 2k for the mount, whose lowpoly is currently sitting at about 1500 in a rough stage, so I think this might work out ok in the end after all, texture space notwithstanding.
I really like the design, but functionally it doesn't seem to make much sense... if thats what you're going for. I think a trigger+hand guard would be needed, and maybe some type of ammunition location? Hopefully I'm reading the model right, and the big handle looking thing coming off the grip is a trigger.
the sword wins points for the coolness facter MoP! I wouldn't concern yourself with functionality tremendously at this stage, just get this guy finished
love the sword ! nice sketch Tully ! your drawing style resembles ALOT with a friend of mine that is maniac for dinnosaurs and whales, dolphins etc, i think ill show him your sketch lol.
hmm
I've never been a fan of the "gun/sword" i think it has to do with my utter disliking of FF8. Also, the handle end screams light saber. WHEW! that sounded NASTY!!
That being said I still consistently come to this thread excited to see what you post next, and I'm really pumped to see how you pull off the the dino-ride.
Normal map looks great...like said previously screw everyone's opinions and just finish this thing up!
B
[ QUOTE ]
Hopefully I'm reading the model right, and the big handle looking thing coming off the grip is a trigger.
[/ QUOTE ] Yep, it's a trigger, but it angles outward so that it can be used in melee combat without accidently setting the thing off (which could be bad). It fires lasery energy though, so no ammo needed.
Modeling man: I hate to admit that I sort of liked FF8, even though it was a terribly bad game. The model does look a little light sabreish, but remember it's not going to stay steely grey, so I expect that the resemblance will be cut down a lot when the diffuse is put on.
Glad you guys mostly like it I usually suck at weapon designage.
Johny: Hehe, coincidence, Tully is crazy about those creatures too
Modeling_man... as for pulling of the dino-ride... heh, it's gonna be mostly luck... I've got 2100 tris and a 1024x512 texture to make it look as good as the General, who has 4 times less surface area... good thinking, me!
However after doing some quick tests and getting some Zbrush action going, I can offer this small peek into how it's going:
WIP highpoly rendered down onto even-more-WIP lowpoly with temporary UVs (although set up in a manner not too far from how I'm thinking the final layout will work), and although it means mirroring the entire creature down the centre, I think it'll actually work out at a decent level of detail, fortunately.
Awesomeness at around 142%. This is looking sweet, Mop. That saddle doesn't look very comfortable, but I don't really know much about alien riding .
The head still seems a bit squarish; is that the remaining 10% that you mentioned? At this point it just doesn't have the smooth musculature that makes the rest of him shine.
Replies
It looks like you should but some dark red or purple hues underneith and around th eyes, because right now it looks like the eyes are the exact same color as his skin.
Though it is looking great! I really love his whole look, very ruthless looking.
Neo_God: Yeah, I might do that about the eyes... his eyes were actually meant to be pretty much the same colour as his skin anyway. I considered fiddling with the self-illumination map to do fake SSS, unfortunately the effect it would give, if he was standing in darkness, is that parts of his skin were glowing, which would look pretty weird.
i love the normal map , really brings it up , but sadly you could have much more detail on that guy , thats just my humble opinion.
Keep at it mop !!
Also, I actually kinda like the clean look he has, he's a kinda severe martial leader, so very obsessed with neatness and keeping everything in order. He leads a small, elite team and is very careful in combat, I wanted that to be reflected in the condition of his costume - it's got battle damage, but still a semblence of being kept in good condition.
Here's a quick teaser of how the mount is coming along (zbrushing in progress)
Looking awesome dude, I love the neck spines.
I'm gonna ask a *really* dumb question now. But what's all this obsession with viewport shaders all of a sudden? Surely they are just that, right? Or am I missing something. Don't get me wrong, the stuff I've seen is cool n' all, but is there a use for them beyond viewport display?
And I think maybe you should fade that taboo going into the skull more. And break up the edges a tad so it doesn't look so perfect. Though you result in might not allow this.
That's just personal preference. This rocks MoP.
Id be surprised if this isnt in the top 3.
not too crazy about the "antennas" on the head ending in black though. Looks a bit like bad shading..
Also, is that red line in the middle supposed to be there?
Johny, I'm curious what you mean by "detail." Detail can mean a lot of things. I'm sure critiques would be appreciated, but you can't just say something really general and expect everybody to know what you're talking about. It would be much more helpful to make specific points about what sort of detail could be added and where.
I don't think he needs more straps or ammo belts... his weapon doesn't use ammunition in the conventional sense, and the straps he has right now are all he needs to hold his costume and weaponry together.
Personally I think the best characters are ones which have been thought out entirely as to what their function is, what they need to perform this function, and how they use these items.
Our guy is a fast attack leader, as such he wants to be as low-profile as possible - less things to jangle and alert the enemy. I don't like the idea of adding straps, ammo and pouches and stuff just for the sake of detail. I'd like to think everything he has is there for a reason, no more and no less. Think about it like this - a real soldier doesn't get all his weaponry and equipment on, then look at himself in the mirror and think "hmm, I have a large expanse of cloth in the front, I need to add more straps and ammo!" ... he gets his look from what he's wearing, which is what he needs. It's about getting the mix of "character" and "art" right, I think
I'm happy with the way the chest and belly area is looking, the expanse of more reflective metal is in fact one of the areas I like a lot.
I think this character has all the design thought out, and adding random details not in the original concept just to "fill space" and because you can with the alloted texture space and polys, is not neccessary. I think far too many games fall prey to this.
Remember
good design != busy
busy != detailed
next-gen != random crap everywhere
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20000720/gard_02.htm
PS nice quicktime turnarounds too, they really help to give a better picture of your model.
...
Also, is that red line in the middle supposed to be there?
[/ QUOTE ]
I think that is obvius.
For me is a "war painting" and works to join the creature with his armor
Gotten my butt off the schoolwork and refined my previous design on the creature. Posted for your enjoyment and critiques, of course.
Now if you just stick 10 laser cannons onto it itll be perfect!
Thanks for the compliments
I think this fixes it though.
Scott
Since the general is so slim, it *might* be nice to put some body mass onto the mount to give it some contrast.
Ruggels, it's not a "magic stick" exactly, though I admit it isn't very articulated in that particular drawing. It's more of a sword gun, capable of both melee and missle types of attack. You'll see when MoP posts it. I think it fits the general quite well.
Here's the highpoly for the sword/gun thing. Excuse the zbrush cloth tied around the handle, it's really crappy.
FINISH MOP !!!!!
I've never been a fan of the "gun/sword" i think it has to do with my utter disliking of FF8. Also, the handle end screams light saber. WHEW! that sounded NASTY!!
That being said I still consistently come to this thread excited to see what you post next, and I'm really pumped to see how you pull off the the dino-ride.
Normal map looks great...like said previously screw everyone's opinions and just finish this thing up!
B
Hopefully I'm reading the model right, and the big handle looking thing coming off the grip is a trigger.
[/ QUOTE ] Yep, it's a trigger, but it angles outward so that it can be used in melee combat without accidently setting the thing off (which could be bad). It fires lasery energy though, so no ammo needed.
Modeling man: I hate to admit that I sort of liked FF8, even though it was a terribly bad game. The model does look a little light sabreish, but remember it's not going to stay steely grey, so I expect that the resemblance will be cut down a lot when the diffuse is put on.
Glad you guys mostly like it
Johny: Hehe, coincidence, Tully is crazy about those creatures too
Modeling_man... as for pulling of the dino-ride... heh, it's gonna be mostly luck... I've got 2100 tris and a 1024x512 texture to make it look as good as the General, who has 4 times less surface area... good thinking, me!
However after doing some quick tests and getting some Zbrush action going, I can offer this small peek into how it's going:
WIP highpoly rendered down onto even-more-WIP lowpoly with temporary UVs (although set up in a manner not too far from how I'm thinking the final layout will work), and although it means mirroring the entire creature down the centre, I think it'll actually work out at a decent level of detail, fortunately.
Thanks to Tully for her excellent musculature painting which helped me immensely with getting the arms and legs to look believable.
The head still seems a bit squarish; is that the remaining 10% that you mentioned? At this point it just doesn't have the smooth musculature that makes the rest of him shine.