Dominance War II - Cridder

Cridder

Greetings Polycounters, I have come to join the polycount's ranks in the Dominance War (aka: I'm new here). I have gone over many entries here and was impressed by the amount of C&C you give your fellow warriors.

I've been working on this concpet inspired by Samwise Didier. C&C is welcome, I hope to have other concept art up soon so to better judge the character.

Valandar

Umm... not feeling the "31st Century" in this concept...

Cridder

Ya I was thinking that too. That is why I am busy changing him. Look for an update.

Cridder

Update.

Ok I've added some cybernetics and hope to have a turn around down by tomorrow so that my idea can be better understud. Once again C&C is welcome.

Cridder

Update.

Here is a bit of GIF action of my characters Front, Side, and Back view. Once again C&C is welcome.

indian_boy

wow! it's really interesting... i like it!
but where are u getting ur inspiration from? i'm guessing African tribesmen, but ur use of the word 'shall' in the gif suggests india?
if it is indian tribesmen, i have a few suggestions to make him look more tribey... just ask!
once again, awesome work, just be sure not to cross the 20% cybernetics limit!
good luck! and welcome to polycount by the way!

Cridder

Thanks <font color="green">indian_boy</font> I was more focused on the South American tribesmen with a mix of WarHammer 40K, very slightly to give it a more futuristic look. Both are reasons for the shall. But I am willing to here your suggestions on an indian tribesmen considering it is thought that they long ago traveled through North America into South America, so they would defently have so influance.

As for 20% cybernetics, I don't think I am going to be adding any more. As you can see from my first drawing I entered this contest at first alittle unaware that the character needed to be futuristic, and I dont want to go to far way from the nature of my first drawing.

indian_boy

lol! i shoulda' been a bit more clear!
when i say indian, i mean Indian indian! as in, south asia, indian-subcontinent indian... lol...
not native-americans! and i am indian indian also, not american indian indian...
(how come columbus' mistake hasn't been fixed in this modern world of today!?)

apart from that, i think it would look cool with the WH40K touch to it... kinda' contrary to the bulky space marines etc. but he would look shit-scary with one of em big heavy bolter type guns... and i agree that u shouldn't move to far from what you have now... it seems realy cool, but maybe the leg region needs some modernisation? just a thought!

Cridder

Ha! Thats funny, I guess my mind was alittle narrow minded. I noticed you are fom India but when I read indian my mind thought right away north american first nations.

But I agree with somthing to one of the legs. I have been fooling around with that, giving him boots and pants, stuff like that. I tried a robotic leg but it made him look over 20%. I also tried thining the legs out making them more skeleton like but it didn't lool like it could hold the machine parts of his body.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll work with them to see what I come up with.

Rhinokey

i liked the first one better, i disagree with whole 31st century = pipes and cybornetics. i mean in our current century theres plenty of cultures that are still savagge and primal, that don't rely on plasma tvs or all terrain vehicles.

indian_boy

this guy _is_ a warrior... so, even if he can't afford it, he would be fitted with implements so that he can fulfill his duties...
if sam fisher were a beggar, he would still have his night-vision and thermal goggles...

Cridder

<font color="green">Rhinokey</font> >>> Though I agree that in the 31st century would have their primal people the average person does not think of the primal side when they think of 31st century. They think cyborge, alien, human in battle armor, robots, etc. The average person believes that human kind as a hole would be advanced, that by then Earth and all it cultures would be simulated as one, the poorest of poor/savagest of savages would have better technology then we currently have but not as good as the higher class.

But enough theology and speculation, I to like my original drawing and thanks for the support for it

<font color="green">indian_boy</font> >>> I wouldn't classify him as a warrior. He is more of a Shaman, witch doctor, voodoo doctor, primal priest type character. In a game he would be considered a support(buffer)/healer, not afriad of going head to head (though a tank would be better) and not bad at healing/buffing (though a healer would do a better job at healing).

Black_Magic

Are you going to made a sketch in greyscale or color before you model the character? , I recommended you to do that, If you organize your values you will avoid a lot of possible problems with textures.
Keep working and good luck!

Cridder

<font color="green">Black_Magic</font> >>> I am planning to create a colour or greyscle of my character, probably a coloured one.

I was going to start figuring out the colouring and do a bit of modeling for this guy when I noticed something from other peoples threds... I seemed to have thrown all my eggs into one basket and kinda ran with the idea. Though I do like the idea I would have to agree that taking the time to make a few others made me really start re-thinking.

So here are a few newer ideas, yes there be only 4 but I am a slow drawer (even if they are rough skecthes) and then making a silowet of them took more time.



I thought that the top right one look more like the sub-theme that was given to polycount in the Read Brief, (EVIL) so I did a could chages to the silowet of the character to see what I could come up with.



So what do you guyz think? Stick with the old or in with a new?

Cridder

Well I seem to still like the old. Though the other ones above are cool silowets I find that I need to pick up the pase. I have started this afternoon to paint the Bone Doctor and this is what I have so far.



I hope to have the painting done so like <font color="green">Black_Magic</font> suggested, I will be able to see the definition better within the next day or so and then get going on my model.

indian_boy

it's good that u went with the bone doctor... i found him different to the massive hulks, and cool in his own right.

good luck! i love the concept!
PS: srry about the misunderstanding... by warrior i meant some1 who wrks for his ppl... wrong wrd i guess!

Cridder

Still working on the painting but I have been doing some modeling inbetween. Here is the base model that I have so far. I hope to have it finished soon so that I can bring it into Zbrush.

indian_boy

i think ur wasting polies by modelling his... 'instrument'.

Cridder

<font color="green">indian_boy</font> >>> Your problably right, I was thinking for animating purposes it would be good to have for proper deformation of the loincloth, I need not to think High Poly.

So I've been modeling the skull that will be used for the characters face and scene decorations. I will need to lower the amount of polygons I have, but at the moment this is were I am at.

Cridder

Well here is an update for were I'm at. I have pretty much finished all the base modeling in XSI and will be moving Zbrush tomorrow... this comming morning.









I'm planning to model the character in pose, so I have built a basic rigg and tried out some poses and filled them in cause I haven't weighted everything properly. What pose you guys think I should go with?

Jaco

I like 9 and 10. Are you going to zbrush the goggles as well? If you are, those triangles might give you some pinching problems on the mesh.

rooster

I like 4 the best.. looks promising!

Japhir

woow cool are those actual posed models or doodles in photoshop? they all look promising but i like 9 a lot!

Cridder

Thanks guyz for you suggestions and complements.

<font color="green">Jaco</font> >>> I'll be Zbrushing the mechanical eye, I fixed the part with triangles attached to the side of the head but the lens really wont have any deformation on it so it will not matter if it has triangles.

<font color="green">Japhir</font> >>> They are posed models though colored over in photoshop cause I dont have proper weighting, so there would have been weird stretching if I posted the screen shots of the model.

I asked my room mates and people at the school and here is what they voted.

4(x4), 9(x4), 10(x2), 7, 3, 5, 6, and the original (x2)

So at the moment 4,9,10 and my original pose seem to be leading. One of my friends reminded me that my guy was on older fellow and probably would not have such an over dynamic pose, and he has a valid point. Once I finish weighting him properly I'll do some more poses so I can here what you guyz think. Thats not to say that none of these poses are valid. C&C is still welcome

petrol

Definately 9 mate, good work so far, keep it up.

rollin

9 has a good silhouette but 4 more power.. so take one of them and fix the weaker part

Cridder

Ok I got it wieghted pretty well, well enough that I could pose and not have over amounts of weird stretching in the mess. Suggestions on poses?

Original Pose (The skull in head will be a lower polly skull):


Pose02:


Pose10:


Pose04:


Pose09 (Forgot to rigg a jaw bone, but the character would have a open mouth):

Japhir

great stuff, the original pose and the last one are definetely the best ones according to me.

rooster

in 3d I quite like 2, 4 looks a little too crouched low. Anyway don't worry too much what other people say looks cool, rely on your gut instinct and go with it I say

gwad

i like your mesh ,and cool posing ,i like the 9eme but i prefere the Original Pose, good continuation

Cridder

Thanks guyz for your suggestions and complements. I too really liked the original idea the best but thought I shouldn't throw all my eggs into one basket and see what others thought.

Anyways... heres an update of my base mesh finally finished! And... squeeking just under the poly limit.



Now to spend the night unwrapping so that I can get Zbrushing this guy.

Marisa

I like pose 9. It seems to say "WAR!" Which goes well with the contest name.

Cridder

<font color="green">Marisa</font> >>> Thanks for your suggestion, it was defently on my mind to do but it didn't quite feel old manish. Looking out into the battle feild trying to determin his next move seemed more likly. Kinda like on old man determining his next move in chess.

I haven't updated for a while so I thought I should. I have finally finished unwrapping and have started blocking out the character in Zbrush. I still have to work on blocking the hands and feet along with other parts of the body.



C&C is welcome

Cridder

Update.

Did more work on the characters structure, mainly the hands and feet.



Also worked on the skull that will be used for the ones hanging on the scythes chain.



C%C is welcome

Davision3D

Nice work
Here are some crits:
-The lower jaw of your character must be more in the back because the mouth is opened. Or it is closed and the teeth are still missing?
- His lower leg looks too short to me.

Your Skull looks funny...like hes laughing
- I think the eyeholes and the nosehole could be bigger.

Cridder

Update:







<font color="green">Davision3D</font> >>> Thanks <font color="green">Davision3D</font> for your crits I worked on the eyeholes and nosehole a bit to make them larger on the skull and yes it is laughing As for the characters mouth it is open slightly and the teath are missing, and as for the legs they are thicker like my referance picture of an old man I used to make the base model, but they are porportionally correct to the body.

Still working on the body trying to make the skin droopy in some areas and wrinkly in others. I hope to have him finished today so that I can start texturing. I took the skull and did a normal map test, its not to bad looking but I think I'll edit the normal map in PhotoShop abit.

indian_boy

wow this is coming out really nice!
if u wanna know some parts that could do with a bit of wrinkling / sagging, i'd suggest:
- wrinkle _and_ sag the butt.
- wrinkle below the eye
- sag the 'tits' (they're called pecs right? im forgetting stuff!)
- and sag his earlobes a bit. Has the big earring been removed?

good luck, this is looking to be awesome when finished!

Cridder

UpDate:







Thanks for you kind words and suggestions <font color="green">indian_boy</font>, and I had to remove the cool earing cause it couldn't fit in my bugget.

So I have been working on the diffuse abit for my character inbetween trying to get the normals working, hopefully I can get rid of some of those patches and creases but some of them are proving difficult to do. I still need to make alot of things like a AO map, Spec map and such, not to mention make Diffuse maps for everything else on the character. I'm still aiming to get this thing done (most of it) on the 19th so that I can have a week of making this guy shine.

Once again C&C is welcome

Cridder

Update:



Little update on my progress, still losts to do.

Once again C&C us welcome

Cridder

Update:



Still kicking the cat, I am most got my diffuses were I like them. Added an AO map and started working on the spec maps. I'll be building here soon and hope to have everything done here soon so that I can spend the next week lighting this guy.

Once again C&C is welcome

fogmann

This is coming along nicely, but here are a few crits. The fingers and toes feel very blocky, as if they have no normal map to give them definition and have hard edges that give harsh shadows in between them. The color map could use some more color variation - it is very pale and uniform at the moment. Try to make it more interesting to look at, since it's comprising a very large portion of your character. Definitely add some warmer tones, maybe some veins here and there (but not randomly though, look at your body and see where the veins show), and maybe even make his feet a bit dirty - who knows what crazy places that guy needs to walk in this war! The metal parts could also use a lot more work, they almost have the same feel as the skin. Not sure if it's entirely the fault of your current lighting, but he feels very flat. It might help to render him against non-black background, but also some self shadowing and greater contrast in the texture would help the model pop out more and look like it has more depth. Also, the pose is nice, it will make an interesting composition, but make sure to include a pedestal on which his leg will rest, because the pose by itself, without any support, looks a bit awkward. Keep going, you're almost here!

Cridder

Update:



Thanks <font color="green">fogmann</font> for your crits they have really helped prioritizing what I need to get done.

I've started giving the metal on the characters head (the skull) more of a metal look. I've added some rust and change the color from green (which I was planning to make like oxydised copper) to more of a iron color. At the moment I hae placed a reflection to try and figure out were I am naturaly creating a specular via my diffuse and will figure out my spec map from there.

I hope to get alot further day on things and have more to show. Once again C&C is welcome

indian_boy

talk about ur improvement!
And if u find urself in a span of not getting any crits for a while, all u need to do is follow fogmann's crit... he hit the nail on the head

seforin

well I hate to be a buster or anything, but I dunno if I agree with that head coloring.

Seems to zombish, not enough like torn human flesh kinda deal.

What I was thinking was more along the lines of something like how this guy looked


That and the shinyness of the non flesshy pieces dosent feel slimey, just shiney.

I hope im making sense at all on this one?

Cridder

Update:



<font color="green">indian_boy</font> >>> Thanks

<font color="green">seforin</font> >>> I believe you are lost on the idea that I was trying convay, and perhaps I have to much rust on the metal that it made you think that it was mucsel and viens. The skull part of the characters face is metal (rusting metal) and so it would be shinny (perhaps not as shinny as it is right now). But thankyou for the suggestion

I made the character less pasty-white and added views and stuff but for some reason they are not showing. I'll have to brighten/darken them I guess... I worked on the metal around the face abit more to make it look more metal like and less shiny but I'm still struggling to get a spec map of it right. I worked on the stand a bit, still need to finish the normal map get textures going so right now its black.

Oivay... I've still got alot to do, this is going to turn into another sleepless night. Once again C&C is welcome

Cridder

Update:



Getting a little dirty... well bloody. The Bone Doctor just finished some surgery with the help of his scythe, unfortunatly the victims died. I haven't started the dirt yet. Not quite the stage I was hoping to be at by now but I guess I should be extra glad for the extention.

I really got to fix those fingers and toes... amoung other things. As for the blood I'll be adding more depth and highlights to it and adding bumping via an updated normal map once I finished painting.

Once again C&C is welcome

Cridder

Update:

Heres a small update. I've finished makeing the normals for the stand and did a bit of texturing it for it.



Still have to improve the texture on the scythe and fix the blocky fingers. I've been having troubles with making the finger more round cause I dont have that high of a polybudget left to make them rounder. Still tweeking to see if I can pull it off.

Once again C&C is welcome

indian_boy

oh wow!
that cool!
how did u make the blood so nice?
im really loving it. but maybe u shouldn't render against a black background anymore?

Cridder

Update:


<font color="green">indian_boy</font> >>> Thanks for the praise, I'll render render my later WIPs against some other colour, probably grey.

As for the blood this is how I go about creating it. I mix Angry Blue's brushes with my own to get the basic blood look. I'll make multiple layers of blood ontop of blood using layer styles : multiply, screen, and overlay. When I get a good base I select all the layers and copy them and then merge them. I then go to filters and add a Plastic Wrap over them to help give depth. I will then make a normal map using the Normal Map PhotoShop Plugin. I'll then blend the normal map with my old one and when applied to the mesh it helps give the diffuse the bumping needed for the blood. After that I make some highlights in the blood and make a spec map to give it a nice wet look.

Hope that helps

Anyways I'm still kicking the cat. Made a quick turn around to show my current progress. I've worked on the weapons diffuse abit desided to make it dripping blood via suggestion from a friend. I still need to paint on dirt on the objects and play with lights, spec, and reflections but I hope to be finished this by tomorrow morning. It's going to be a nice 26hr day

Once again C&C is welcome

Cridder

Update:







I've been playing around with backgrounds, here are 3 that I came up with. I'm leaning more towards the second one. What do you guyz think?

Xaltar

The tree stump me imagine a background of a heavily over logged forest with polution everywhere. Maybe a city barely visible in the distance through the smog...