Challenge #30 - SF Redesign - Goober - Cammy

Goober

Well, been lurking around here for a while, time to start contributing. This contest really got me excited, and after a week or two thinking about it, I dove in and started modelling. Here are the first few pics of my work in progress, doing Cammy by the way.



Then I got a bit more into it:


And finally today I really started making the character recognizable and not just a generic blob of polygons.



Got a little frustrated there for a while, but adding things like the hat and hair and defining the boots I think helped pull it together. I must say, reading this forum has definately pushed me to go ahead and try things like this that I wouldn't have the determination to do alone, so thanks for that in advance everyone.

Comments would be very welcomed. I'll try to start making my voice heard in the rest of the forum now too, I suppose!

movento

Not bad .I think she looks like a child atm,its cause of the head being so big.if you're gonna pose or animate her,i suggest adding more loops to the shoulders and the elbows.the hands look to flat and long.could you post a front and side view and a face close-up?

Joseph Silverman

Very childlike. And that head is gigantic.

praetus

What are you using for reference? Just curious? If you're going for a more anime style I would recomend the joan of arc tutorial. It helps for basic polygon layout. For a more realistic approach I would use real photos for reference. 3d.sk has some great stuff.

Goober

I suppose it's going for more of an Anime quality. I've been using a variety of things for references, that Joan of arc thing I've looked at many times before as well, should maybe go back to it. I don't have anything like those background planes the Joan tutorial uses, so I've been sort of figuring it out as I go.

The head is pretty huge, I think I overcompensated (it was TINY to begin with, so I enlarged it alot).

Hands and arm layouts seem to be my biggest issue, I'm having a hard time getting them away from a grid layout. Especially in the shoulder area, like was pointed out. If I add more loops it just makes it more...loopy, and not any more defined. The head and torso I feel like I at least understand how to do, and so I just have to keep working in those areas until it is just right.

Other views, slighty changed from yesterdays. I feel like the head doesn't look quite so large from an ortho view:

praetus

Shoes looks ok, but a bit clownish I guess. The thing is, much of your topology is there it's just misplaced. Even when going for an anime look, most the topolgy will remain.

Goober

I think I fixed most of the clownish/childish issues. Some of the topology is now weird, like around the shoulder and down near the base of the back, hope to get it cleaned up. The head/body proportions look better now though I think. Getting there anyways.

Should probably try to get rid of that hard angle under her arm too, and make it look more like her ribs and not like someone stuck a brick in her shirt.

Goober

I've never really tried to paint a texture before. Pretty hard! Looking at alot of references and others works, trying to figure out the basics. Adding contrast (lights and darks within the greens mostly so far) kicked it up a notch. The skin and hair and well...everything else still has quite a ways to go.



But even compared to a slightly earlier version (http://perfectasterisk.com/goobshit/cammy_textured_00.jpg) its already shaping up a tiny bit. Just need to keep at it and keep learning. I have no idea how to get the skin to glow like it should without looking gross. Been reading alot of reference on skin and it's all mostly focused on 2d painting, can't find good 3d reference, 2d takes lighting into account whileas I'm not sure how much of that to do in 3d. Hrm.

fogmann

Well, if you are not going to use normal map, but only color texture, you should paint in the light and shadow too. If you normal map your character, then the actual lighting will give the highlights to the model, as determined by specular map. Just look at photos and see which areas are shiniest (around the eyes, tip of the nose, forehead) and add a little highlight there on your texture. Pick a light direction (usually the light is from above, so areas under the chin and under eyebrows would be in shadow). You can also look at existing textures from the game characters to see how others have done it. For example, look at b1ll's textures, he's got some step by step snapshots that can help you out with skin painting. Now go go go, and get her done!

Goober

Thanks for the lead, checking those out now. And for straightening me out about normals/paints. Can't normal map very well at the moment (one thing at a time!) so I'll try and get this paint job done today.

Goober

As beautiful as its going to get before the deadline. Glad I came up with something though, tweaked a bit from last time but only put in about 20 rushed minutes tonight, been working on some other stuff. I think I learned alot and I can't wait for the next one though, I think I'll do much better.

And looking now, I think I messed my specular and or bumps way up too, if I even had them on. Just checked, I didn't, doh, this is just diffuse. Oh well, I'll fix it for next time. They were rushed anyways.
Here's my wires.