"don't marry your first girlfriend". though im not sure about the validity of that phrase when it comes to real relationships [ ], those words from last year were a valuable lesson to me when it came to art. its all about the process.
thumbnails away:
not madly in love with any particular one yet. but i see some potential if i do a bit of splicing. Right now though, time for a break.. gonna think more overnight.
tell me what you guys think, if anything.
i kinda' like 7, 11, and 12
thank you all in advance. I look forward to another great war. A good test of improvements in skill over the past year.
And good luck to everybody else in the war!
Nice one, mate! You posted actual art instead of just a placeholder thread.
You seem to have a bit of a consistent look with proportions with some of those thumbnails (1, 2, 7, 9, 11, 12), try to explore different silhouettes/designs more thoroughly for extra variation (like you have with 4, 5, 15, 16).
I'm really looking forward to seeing what you come up with this year. You've improved a whole lot from when you first started posting here at Polycount.
Good luck, mate.
ya, push the shapes more. like take no.4 and give it a super buff upper body with 4 arms but with shorter legs or something. just try and make some fun shapes and then worry about armor, clothing etc...
what a difference a year makes, eh?
there is promise, but nothing that really stands out... i'd like to see at least two more sheets of thumbnails like this one out of you. the difference between your entry this year and last year is really going to impress people, i know it.
woah! the response!
love the support guys! thanks!
@bounch: yea i like that headpiece too! im actually using sommin like that to look for good "hair"styles etc, or possibly a removable item [i've got some 'intense' ideas for the head, so i may not want to hide parts].
@caseyjones + oobersli: hehe, tried 'whack' proportions this time around. there are some things which i'm liking, and some things not so much [i dont have much affinity for 4 arms unfortunately]. Thanks for the advice, and the support, and the compliment !
@gauss: -bows- all thanks to polycount hehe! and gauss, i'm one step ahead of you :P! thumbnail-madness was my goal this year around. So more sheets was only natural
thanks for the support man! i hope the improvement has a few people stunned too.
More Thumbs
liking 25, 27, 30
i like a few new ideas i have.
btw: 25 has "void rocks" on his back. gonna incorporate those with the little things on the hands of 27 and 30. mess around wit that a bit.
i kinda like 25 proportins as well. needs good legs though.
will see what i can do. dont think i'll go with them though. ideas forming in my head are a bit clearer now.
Thanks for all the support so far guys!
amazing confidence boost!
thanks xaltar!
i liked that one a bit too, and i think my next sheet is pretty much just modifications of that [like, major ones though lol]
More thumbs
okay, i think my mind is honing down on some ideas i like. i really really like some of the ideas in my head. Dont know if i want to jump ahead to the next step and do some more specific concepting just yet, but i might. As you can see clearly, all the last few ideas are very similar. i've decided that the element will be 'void', and the artefact is the growth of 'void rocks', a yet undiscovered element, on his body.
36 and 39 are essentially the same guy. consider the body, head and structure of 36, and the 'pimp stick' of 39. basically it _is_ a void-rock encrusted pimp stick which is also the sheath of a very long 'chain' of sharp-edged steel. the pimp-stick then doubles as a bludgeoning weapon.
So ultimately he has the little 'void propeller' that is on his palm that shoots out 'magic', plus a huge chain to twirl around, plus a club to smack any foe comin to close to him.
"i'd like a plate of pain please?"
"coming right up!"
hehe.
tell me what you guys think about the idea.
i'm personally loving it, and i feel that i might do some more thumbs, but i'll probably end up coming back here.
I'm a fan of 33 and 38, though I'd like to see what you can do with more exaggerated proportions. While final execution is going to make the winner, nailing a powerful profile will help make your piece memorable.
You may also consider Googling up some images and putting together a collage of ideas you like or want include elements from. For example, if you want legs like that, find reference of bulls, birds, dinosaurs, etc. It always helps me get a better grasp of an idea and where to push the silhouette.
Nice to see that you are off to a good start Indian_boy. Its seems like you have a thing for backwards knee characters, if I recall your last DW character had backwards knees too. #32,33,38,39 are your stronger ones in my opinion but you got at least one more day before Fred has the entry system working, if not two, so more thumbs the better.
I would take cholden's suggestion into consideration, I would also suggest looking at professional artists and seeing how they pose there characters. Strong poses seem to have visible S-shapes and C-shapes in the body and limbs. Google some images of Spiderman, Batman, Spawn, Captain America and you should be able to see what I mean.
@cholden: exaggerate: gotcha! as for google-ing, i figured i should do that when i get a solid idea down first? like, if / when i want anatomy of wlf leg, then i google it etc etc. no?
@katzeimsack: hehe.. the big and bulkiness? or the weapon? cuz im not too much a fan of bulkiness [though i might try some stuff with that soon, along with big weapons.]
@Cridder: thanks for the tips about the Cs and Ss. i'll look into that. but should i be worrying about that for thumbs? doesnt that come in during final concepts? just tryna get a grasp of it is all.
@Target_Renegade: hehe, i put 6 aside. I really dont click with it. as for the rest, well i'm really lookin at 12, and liked lots of parts of it. mainly the head. so i think ill be keeping that head. and th arms too. 25 appeals to me aswell. i'll try to get some modifications of that done at a bigger scale. 33. hehe. i'll see about that. i suddenly feel very attached to the Void-rocks and the magic of them, so if i can incorporate them to a halberd: weeee!
hmm, i decided to push a bit to the next level, tell me what you guys think. I MAY just go back to thumbnailing... but right now, big ideas are hitting my head, and i just wanna get them down to see the reaction. im liking them both in this one, though i prefer the one to the left.
also, i've decided to move away from backward-knee legs. i DID indeed do em last year, and i continue to consider them as a sign of elegnace and grace. But time for some change... crab legs ftw! nice contrasting texture compared to flesh, and food stuff to paint on too! really excited about these new legs. hope i can pull em off.
also, im imagining similar concepts, only the pimp stick [which id fallen in love with] will be replaced by big, BIG melee weapons.
tell me what you guys think!
the support this year is awesome!
checking out what i can do with #25. i really think i can do something nice with that guy too. little crab legs that he can balance on using magic. a huge halberd or something in one hand. or maybe retractable blades. and naturally, the essence launching device in his palm.
damn this is fun!
lemme know what you guys think of the above, and the prev post.
The big guy is looking cool but I'm not jiving with the other two above. The big guy I think could pull off 4 small "crab" legs with his big upper body and harms. I would also suggest adding some asymetical elements like give his one hand a gauntlet of crystals like on the back and on his other arm have them on the elbow. Just my two bits, but lets seem more
As for S and C curves in all roughs, that is thumbs/jesters they can and should be seen for your thumbs are the start of any concept. An example were you can see both in in Sparks concept for his entry.
omfg -smacks self-
i swear on my life that i didnt read this crit before posting the next update:
funny how there's a 'gauntlet' rendition AND one of em having the void-rock on the elbow? plus i've got 4 crab legs? [though 3 are visible] are our brains connected cridder? are we alter-egos?
at the side is an idea for a weapon.
and yea, "void" and "purple" seem to match for me lol.
see what i can do about that.
Now here's the thing. I'm really really liking the idea of the big bulky guy who smokes and smacks ppl with a flick of his fingers after having stubbed his cigs on em.
i would love making this guy, and giving him a hell load of attitude and everything.
so if anybody thinks that this idea isnt too great, smack me in the face quick!
lol j/k.
yea seriously though, i'm really liking this direction. Very different from last year's elegance for SURE!
tell me what you guys think.
this is it for the day from me!
alright, one more step forward for this guy:
Concept
Note the scale? And that thing on his shoulder? That's the little "ball" that Polycount found, as per Gauss' representation.
Got a backstory shoving its way into my head, but im not gonna think too much on that until i'm concrete on this idea. Which i think i already am?
If there are any suggestions / hints / tips about the idea, that would be amazing. In my mind, this concept is pretty "killer". But then again, its just natural to love ones own work, so your opinions will really help me realize flaws / positives in this guy.
When making an upper body so bulky, beware such a small, flimsy lower body. For your consideration, the proportions on this monster from Serious Sam 2. http://www.seriouszone.com/gallery/ss2/ss2com13
With the rules, you can't use mechanical parts (ie tank lower body and gun arms), but that's not what I'm getting at. Proportion, visual strength and general badassary.
much stronger set of thumbnails.
but you know how i feel about glowing crap, and glowing crystals are a double whammy for lazy magic shorthand not all magic comes glowing out of the palm, ironman style. last three sheets have been much stronger than previous, though, so i think keeping with the huge slab o' beef may be the way forward for you. cholden's comments are right about being careful to set a big character on an appropriate sized base, unless you're going to emphasize some more heavily stylized proportions. keep sketching.
@cholden: good point. i fixed up the proporitons. And decided tat i didnt want to go the 'bad proportions = funny / cute" route, and rather prefer the "big beefy bastard" feel! thanks for the link.
@gauss: hehehe. screw glowies. I'll have very little self illum, and a slight glow on the rocks, but ultimately they'll look like either of these: [very VERY rough]
so yea. dont think they'll look too bad? as for the shooting from the hands. hehe k, well i figure most magic is cast by the hand, so 'might as well'. new route: the back of his halberd will be a staff.so he can magik-strike the guy behind him, and slice the guy infront. naturally though, every part of his body is capable of casting magic, as he himself IS the artefact [backstory soon to come]. also, i'm going to keep the random rock growths on his body. itd be a nice contrast to the skin i think?
@SupRore: yea i felt the same when i read cholden's post. too 'funny' for war... time for menacing!
@rooster: hell yeaya! i'm excited about making somebody more imposing this time around. Last year's entry looked very fragile. something i wanna switch around. plus, i like how sharp and contrasted the silhouette breaks are. Soft curves of muscle interupted by rock growth.
-turns it-
CONCEPT
alright, this is just a proportion change. changes to the body "deco" and the weapon will come in the next update [for which i fear i have not the time today]. i'll change his pose: he'll be lighting his cigarette with the back end of his halberd in a way that looks like lighting it with a flamethrower.
thanks guys!
hope u like the changes.
-runs off to do homework-
EDIT: i realize i just did one of those 'post every little change' type things... hmm. dont want THAT habit back. Well i guess its more just a 'last update today' post.
no art to post up. way to busy with art and english homewrk to have time to do anything. SO, i decided i'd end the day off with a post of my backstory. Its not in 'story' form yet. just my idea for now.
its alot of babble, but it might interest you guys. My mind tends to think these random things up.. "wouldnt it be cool if...". so here you go:
[tell me what you think if you wish to, and DO indeed read it]
:: VOID ::
basically, in the future, the element of Void has been discovered. That is to say, the 'anti' of existence... its been found that "nothing" has physical properties much like matter. Only, Void has no effects when its at low pressures / concentrations. But once compressed to a certain kPa of pressure, it was found that Void had destructive effects. It even managed to convert O2 molecules to V-air under certain specific conditions [type of radiation].
After further work, it was found that under different conditions, Void would act differently. At times it would cause Absolute Zero to be attained [-273 deg. Celsius ], at times, it would act like blue flame [the hottest there is]. It could push, pull, and basically modify the fundamental forces of nature, even at the molecular level. But to cause these specific states to occur, huge amounts of effort and machinery were necessary, and so this discovery actually ended up as useless for the Second Dominance War.
However, during the start of the Third, a strange discovery on polycount's home planet was made: Greentooth. When two adventurers [a non-human couple] first approched it, its eye lids and mouth popped open, but nothing came out.
But that was precisely it. A large amount of Nothing came out.
:: [Character name] ::
The two adventurers went on to have a child, years later. Unfortunately, the child was horribly mutated. Born with a hunchback, completely out of proportion, and collapsing lungs, along with strange growths on the skeleton. It was left for dead at the hills near which the now-hidden greentooth lay, among the vegetation.
Little did the parents know, that the strange thing they'd found years ago had assaulted their bodies with large amounts of concentrated Void. The baby was indeed a result of mutations, but these mutations would be the ones to aid polycount in the Third War. Added to the already high concentrations of Void in his body, the child, after having found shelter in the great mouth-hollow of the structure, was continuosly bombarded by more Void air. But he learnt to harness it. In the harsh conditions of life alone, he learnt to use Void to his advantage. To manipulate every aspect of it. Years later, he emerged from his hiding place as we see him today. Larger than any other being on the planet. Mutated beyond measure.
And the sole source of Void in a solid state.
He was the ultimate being.
He was the one.
He was the master of Voidic magic.
He was the Artefact.
Lookin snazzy. Although I dont really agree tho that a big upper body means he needs a big lower body. Having fun with those proportions keeps him from being just big all over, with nothing standing out. I say go nuts and keep him from becoming big monster #234123452345236435. Altho I am quite biased, cuz I cant resist funky characters.
i dont think its a matter of being big all over but maybe more about balance? i think he can have a smaller lower half as long as the legs are spread out enough to support his mass. it should just make sense in terms of the weight distribution...otherwise i think the final result will look awkward...
I agree that a smaller body maybe possible if your legs were out supporting it. I drew a quick suggestion below because I believe that at times images are stronger then words.
As for developing a character story and what not and a suggestion to putting collective thoughts together is to take a DnD character template and fill in the blanks. Not all of them need filling in but it helps organize the thought process.
Keep up the sketching and look for references for legs and other body parts from real life things. Create a clollection take parts that you like and organize them in PhotoShop or what ever program you use and then do a quick sketch to see what you can come up with.
2 am. im dieing. too much hw. but i did some work anyways.
thanks for the crits guys! and the little thumb too!
made me wanna try small lower body again.
and so i did:
very VERY WIP. i'm too tired to go on. bt this was to show wat i was attempting. unfortunately, i only just saw the little thumb, but i think im moving in a similar direction?
any and all crits are welcome.
time to go to bed, and collapse...
thanks guys, for all the support so far!
goodnight.
EDIT: i need him to have MUCH bigger legs. like in cridder's thumb. thanks for that man! really helped!
i'm personally feeling better about the proportions now, aswell as the overall look of the guy.
gonna name him soon, and finally enter him in as my official concept.
Any and all further crits and comments are more than welcome, as always.
Looking way better, everything reads better but the bottom were the legs come from. It looks like a mount of earth legs and a torso. Not quite understanding the cigar either, its not human or really human looking and so feels out of place and seems to make it look more comical then dominating. Just my two bits.
hm. ur right about the cigarette. I've removed that in this iteration, and added lotsa other stuff, so it's still changing around alot.
as for the base, i'm sure i can pull it off in 3d, though my 2d skills arent well off enough to represent it. I'm still working on it though. i'm here to improve skills, so 'no duh.'
----
CONCEPT
tried blocking in some lighting. all i had time for so far. gonna go to bed now, and pop it in here for crits.
as you can see, the head's changed. figured id bring some 'crab' to the upper body too.
and also, colour decision: the crystals will be green. saw another entry that attracted me to green crsytals [cant remember which] so thats settled.
right, so:
all crits and comments welcome!
thanks for all the help thus far!
love this concept right now. cant wait to realize it!
woa thanks for that cholden.
not familiar wit the superman universe, so that ref is good for sommin i had planned for one of his hands. just worreid it might be seen as cliched?
i'll try it though!
anyways:
CONCEPT
just added more depth etc.
had little time today to work too much, might work on it again later.
oh, and i thought up a name:
Auk-kun
derived from "aucun", french for 'not one' or 'none'.. to relate to "void". lemme know if its good!
and tell me what you guys think of the concept!
my digital art teacher liked it, ddnt show my trad. art teacher, and my friends and classmates like it.
so they got me even more confident.
its soon gonna be time to test out colours etc. i have it planned for the most part.
well anyways,
tell me what you guys think:
name _and_ concept.
modelling time:
start on the basemesh. took me only 30 minutes, so im proud. hope my meshflow and shit's improved enough such that its not as terrible a first-post as they used to be =D!
but yea. spring break is on. and so im gonna do some serious work on this boy.
hey man, see where you have that triangle in the side view coming down to the bottom of his chest? youd be better off adding a loop across his pecs and making that into a quad
and i removed some of the tris. adding 'turbosmooth' gives few problem areas [if any]. is that a good indication?
as for the thumbs, they're comin out of the "top" so to speak.
maybe this shot will show it better:
I wouldn't worry about defining the abs for a basemesh man, it may be my workflow, but to me you have a lot of un needed faces, just try to focus on evenly spreading the quads, also, I'd try to mockup the 3d mesh with very simple shapes first to get an idea of the overall proportions because I'm not sure the ones you have in this basemesh are working.
what i did this time around was change the proportions around [tried the 'simple shapes' method for a part of it], and then i removed the abs definition. I've kept the polies concentrated where i will be wanting more definition: i want his abs to be well defined, and his biceps, and his neck / shoulder regions will be heavily heavily detailed [if i can get the time to do it].
is that a good idea?
thanks for the tip vahl!
Just a few changes to the proportions, and the quad distribution.
just a bit of warm up. been a while since i've touched ZBrush:
First subdivision in. I've planned that this time around i'll be taking the parts in one by one, sculpting, and sending out, rather than completing the whole guy first. THEN i'll do the low poly mesh [whichd just involve messin around wit the base mesh].
Good start, but there are some anatomy issues, especially with the insertions of muscles. Here's a quick paintover for you.
Notice that the biceps starts from underneath the pecks.
nice proportions, is this for a sculpt, you may need to make your edges a bit more evenly spaced for easiest sculpting. Like on the shoulders there are quite alot whereas on the knees there is not many edge loops.
Reminds me of rise of legends characters, did you play it? some inspiring concepts in that game.
@Ged: thanks for the tip. I fixed up the poly distribution on the legs. one thing that i prolly shouldve mentioned is that the body [that is to say, torso, arms and head] and the base [pelvis?] and the 'lower legs' will be sent in seperately. so poly distribution should be seen within them, as opposed to among all of them together i would assume? as for rise of legends, no haven't even heard of it lol. i'll check out the concept art online though.
another update on the sculpting. up to the next sub-d level cuz i couldnt get any more detail in any of the parts. I changed the basemesh too, but not by enough to have to update it. it's basically wat it was before, with another edgeloop at the 'knees' region.
Replies
"don't marry your first girlfriend". though im not sure about the validity of that phrase when it comes to real relationships [
thumbnails away:
not madly in love with any particular one yet. but i see some potential if i do a bit of splicing. Right now though, time for a break.. gonna think more overnight.
tell me what you guys think, if anything.
i kinda' like 7, 11, and 12
thank you all in advance. I look forward to another great war. A good test of improvements in skill over the past year.
And good luck to everybody else in the war!
You seem to have a bit of a consistent look with proportions with some of those thumbnails (1, 2, 7, 9, 11, 12), try to explore different silhouettes/designs more thoroughly for extra variation (like you have with 4, 5, 15, 16).
I'm really looking forward to seeing what you come up with this year. You've improved a whole lot from when you first started posting here at Polycount.
Good luck, mate.
-caseyjones
there is promise, but nothing that really stands out... i'd like to see at least two more sheets of thumbnails like this one out of you. the difference between your entry this year and last year is really going to impress people, i know it.
love the support guys! thanks!
@bounch: yea i like that headpiece too! im actually using sommin like that to look for good "hair"styles etc, or possibly a removable item [i've got some 'intense' ideas for the head, so i may not want to hide parts].
@caseyjones + oobersli: hehe, tried 'whack' proportions this time around. there are some things which i'm liking, and some things not so much [i dont have much affinity for 4 arms unfortunately]. Thanks for the advice, and the support, and the compliment
@gauss: -bows- all thanks to polycount hehe! and gauss, i'm one step ahead of you :P! thumbnail-madness was my goal this year around. So more sheets was only natural
thanks for the support man! i hope the improvement has a few people stunned too.
More Thumbs
liking 25, 27, 30
i like a few new ideas i have.
btw: 25 has "void rocks" on his back. gonna incorporate those with the little things on the hands of 27 and 30. mess around wit that a bit.
i kinda like 25 proportins as well. needs good legs though.
will see what i can do. dont think i'll go with them though. ideas forming in my head are a bit clearer now.
Thanks for all the support so far guys!
amazing confidence boost!
I dig number 31 just popped out at me when I saw it. I gotta get some of these done for my concept too.
i liked that one a bit too, and i think my next sheet is pretty much just modifications of that [like, major ones though lol]
More thumbs
okay, i think my mind is honing down on some ideas i like. i really really like some of the ideas in my head. Dont know if i want to jump ahead to the next step and do some more specific concepting just yet, but i might. As you can see clearly, all the last few ideas are very similar. i've decided that the element will be 'void', and the artefact is the growth of 'void rocks', a yet undiscovered element, on his body.
36 and 39 are essentially the same guy. consider the body, head and structure of 36, and the 'pimp stick' of 39. basically it _is_ a void-rock encrusted pimp stick which is also the sheath of a very long 'chain' of sharp-edged steel. the pimp-stick then doubles as a bludgeoning weapon.
So ultimately he has the little 'void propeller' that is on his palm that shoots out 'magic', plus a huge chain to twirl around, plus a club to smack any foe comin to close to him.
"i'd like a plate of pain please?"
"coming right up!"
hehe.
tell me what you guys think about the idea.
i'm personally loving it, and i feel that i might do some more thumbs, but i'll probably end up coming back here.
You may also consider Googling up some images and putting together a collage of ideas you like or want include elements from. For example, if you want legs like that, find reference of bulls, birds, dinosaurs, etc. It always helps me get a better grasp of an idea and where to push the silhouette.
I would take cholden's suggestion into consideration, I would also suggest looking at professional artists and seeing how they pose there characters. Strong poses seem to have visible S-shapes and C-shapes in the body and limbs. Google some images of Spiderman, Batman, Spawn, Captain America and you should be able to see what I mean.
-caseyjones
@katzeimsack: hehe.. the big and bulkiness? or the weapon? cuz im not too much a fan of bulkiness [though i might try some stuff with that soon, along with big weapons.]
@Cridder: thanks for the tips about the Cs and Ss. i'll look into that. but should i be worrying about that for thumbs? doesnt that come in during final concepts? just tryna get a grasp of it is all.
@Target_Renegade: hehe, i put 6 aside. I really dont click with it. as for the rest, well i'm really lookin at 12, and liked lots of parts of it. mainly the head. so i think ill be keeping that head. and th arms too. 25 appeals to me aswell. i'll try to get some modifications of that done at a bigger scale. 33. hehe. i'll see about that. i suddenly feel very attached to the Void-rocks and the magic of them, so if i can incorporate them to a halberd: weeee!
@caseyjones: -bows- thanks man!
Concepts
hmm, i decided to push a bit to the next level, tell me what you guys think. I MAY just go back to thumbnailing... but right now, big ideas are hitting my head, and i just wanna get them down to see the reaction. im liking them both in this one, though i prefer the one to the left.
also, i've decided to move away from backward-knee legs. i DID indeed do em last year, and i continue to consider them as a sign of elegnace and grace. But time for some change... crab legs ftw! nice contrasting texture compared to flesh, and food stuff to paint on too! really excited about these new legs. hope i can pull em off.
also, im imagining similar concepts, only the pimp stick [which id fallen in love with] will be replaced by big, BIG melee weapons.
tell me what you guys think!
the support this year is awesome!
thanks alot guys!
More Concepts
checking out what i can do with #25. i really think i can do something nice with that guy too. little crab legs that he can balance on using magic. a huge halberd or something in one hand. or maybe retractable blades. and naturally, the essence launching device in his palm.
damn this is fun!
lemme know what you guys think of the above, and the prev post.
As for S and C curves in all roughs, that is thumbs/jesters they can and should be seen for your thumbs are the start of any concept. An example were you can see both in in Sparks concept for his entry.
Keep up the hard work.
i swear on my life that i didnt read this crit before posting the next update:
funny how there's a 'gauntlet' rendition AND one of em having the void-rock on the elbow? plus i've got 4 crab legs? [though 3 are visible] are our brains connected cridder? are we alter-egos?
at the side is an idea for a weapon.
and yea, "void" and "purple" seem to match for me lol.
see what i can do about that.
Now here's the thing. I'm really really liking the idea of the big bulky guy who smokes and smacks ppl with a flick of his fingers after having stubbed his cigs on em.
i would love making this guy, and giving him a hell load of attitude and everything.
so if anybody thinks that this idea isnt too great, smack me in the face quick!
lol j/k.
yea seriously though, i'm really liking this direction. Very different from last year's elegance for SURE!
tell me what you guys think.
this is it for the day from me!
Concept
Note the scale? And that thing on his shoulder? That's the little "ball" that Polycount found, as per Gauss' representation.
Got a backstory shoving its way into my head, but im not gonna think too much on that until i'm concrete on this idea. Which i think i already am?
If there are any suggestions / hints / tips about the idea, that would be amazing. In my mind, this concept is pretty "killer". But then again, its just natural to love ones own work, so your opinions will really help me realize flaws / positives in this guy.
http://www.seriouszone.com/gallery/ss2/ss2com13
With the rules, you can't use mechanical parts (ie tank lower body and gun arms), but that's not what I'm getting at. Proportion, visual strength and general badassary.
but you know how i feel about glowing crap, and glowing crystals are a double whammy for lazy magic shorthand
@gauss: hehehe. screw glowies. I'll have very little self illum, and a slight glow on the rocks, but ultimately they'll look like either of these: [very VERY rough]
so yea. dont think they'll look too bad? as for the shooting from the hands. hehe k, well i figure most magic is cast by the hand, so 'might as well'. new route: the back of his halberd will be a staff.so he can magik-strike the guy behind him, and slice the guy infront. naturally though, every part of his body is capable of casting magic, as he himself IS the artefact [backstory soon to come]. also, i'm going to keep the random rock growths on his body. itd be a nice contrast to the skin i think?
@SupRore: yea i felt the same when i read cholden's post. too 'funny' for war... time for menacing!
@rooster: hell yeaya! i'm excited about making somebody more imposing this time around. Last year's entry looked very fragile. something i wanna switch around. plus, i like how sharp and contrasted the silhouette breaks are. Soft curves of muscle interupted by rock growth.
-turns it-
CONCEPT
alright, this is just a proportion change. changes to the body "deco" and the weapon will come in the next update [for which i fear i have not the time today]. i'll change his pose: he'll be lighting his cigarette with the back end of his halberd in a way that looks like lighting it with a flamethrower.
thanks guys!
hope u like the changes.
-runs off to do homework-
EDIT: i realize i just did one of those 'post every little change' type things... hmm. dont want THAT habit back. Well i guess its more just a 'last update today' post.
no art to post up. way to busy with art and english homewrk to have time to do anything. SO, i decided i'd end the day off with a post of my backstory. Its not in 'story' form yet. just my idea for now.
its alot of babble, but it might interest you guys. My mind tends to think these random things up.. "wouldnt it be cool if...". so here you go:
[tell me what you think if you wish to, and DO indeed read it]
:: VOID ::
basically, in the future, the element of Void has been discovered. That is to say, the 'anti' of existence... its been found that "nothing" has physical properties much like matter. Only, Void has no effects when its at low pressures / concentrations. But once compressed to a certain kPa of pressure, it was found that Void had destructive effects. It even managed to convert O2 molecules to V-air under certain specific conditions [type of radiation].
After further work, it was found that under different conditions, Void would act differently. At times it would cause Absolute Zero to be attained [-273 deg. Celsius ], at times, it would act like blue flame [the hottest there is]. It could push, pull, and basically modify the fundamental forces of nature, even at the molecular level. But to cause these specific states to occur, huge amounts of effort and machinery were necessary, and so this discovery actually ended up as useless for the Second Dominance War.
However, during the start of the Third, a strange discovery on polycount's home planet was made: Greentooth. When two adventurers [a non-human couple] first approched it, its eye lids and mouth popped open, but nothing came out.
But that was precisely it. A large amount of Nothing came out.
:: [Character name] ::
The two adventurers went on to have a child, years later. Unfortunately, the child was horribly mutated. Born with a hunchback, completely out of proportion, and collapsing lungs, along with strange growths on the skeleton. It was left for dead at the hills near which the now-hidden greentooth lay, among the vegetation.
Little did the parents know, that the strange thing they'd found years ago had assaulted their bodies with large amounts of concentrated Void. The baby was indeed a result of mutations, but these mutations would be the ones to aid polycount in the Third War. Added to the already high concentrations of Void in his body, the child, after having found shelter in the great mouth-hollow of the structure, was continuosly bombarded by more Void air. But he learnt to harness it. In the harsh conditions of life alone, he learnt to use Void to his advantage. To manipulate every aspect of it. Years later, he emerged from his hiding place as we see him today. Larger than any other being on the planet. Mutated beyond measure.
And the sole source of Void in a solid state.
He was the ultimate being.
He was the one.
He was the master of Voidic magic.
He was the Artefact.
Yours reminds me of this guy.
WarMachineThingy
As for developing a character story and what not and a suggestion to putting collective thoughts together is to take a DnD character template and fill in the blanks. Not all of them need filling in but it helps organize the thought process.
Keep up the sketching and look for references for legs and other body parts from real life things. Create a clollection take parts that you like and organize them in PhotoShop or what ever program you use and then do a quick sketch to see what you can come up with.
Keep up the hard work.
thanks for the crits guys! and the little thumb too!
made me wanna try small lower body again.
and so i did:
very VERY WIP. i'm too tired to go on. bt this was to show wat i was attempting. unfortunately, i only just saw the little thumb, but i think im moving in a similar direction?
any and all crits are welcome.
time to go to bed, and collapse...
thanks guys, for all the support so far!
goodnight.
EDIT: i need him to have MUCH bigger legs. like in cridder's thumb. thanks for that man! really helped!
CONCEPT
i'm personally feeling better about the proportions now, aswell as the overall look of the guy.
gonna name him soon, and finally enter him in as my official concept.
Any and all further crits and comments are more than welcome, as always.
More sketching!
as for the base, i'm sure i can pull it off in 3d, though my 2d skills arent well off enough to represent it. I'm still working on it though. i'm here to improve skills, so 'no duh.'
----
CONCEPT
tried blocking in some lighting. all i had time for so far. gonna go to bed now, and pop it in here for crits.
as you can see, the head's changed. figured id bring some 'crab' to the upper body too.
and also, colour decision: the crystals will be green. saw another entry that attracted me to green crsytals [cant remember which] so thats settled.
right, so:
all crits and comments welcome!
thanks for all the help thus far!
love this concept right now. cant wait to realize it!
http://www.catskillcomics.com/breeding/DoomsdayD.jpg
Your latest concept was reminding me of him. It may inspire you further.
not familiar wit the superman universe, so that ref is good for sommin i had planned for one of his hands. just worreid it might be seen as cliched?
i'll try it though!
anyways:
CONCEPT
just added more depth etc.
had little time today to work too much, might work on it again later.
oh, and i thought up a name:
Auk-kun
derived from "aucun", french for 'not one' or 'none'.. to relate to "void". lemme know if its good!
and tell me what you guys think of the concept!
my digital art teacher liked it, ddnt show my trad. art teacher, and my friends and classmates like it.
so they got me even more confident.
its soon gonna be time to test out colours etc. i have it planned for the most part.
well anyways,
tell me what you guys think:
name _and_ concept.
didnt have too much time today:
i really gotta get to modelling soon. i'm so slow at this lol.
modelling time:
start on the basemesh. took me only 30 minutes, so im proud. hope my meshflow and shit's improved enough such that its not as terrible a first-post as they used to be =D!
but yea. spring break is on. and so im gonna do some serious work on this boy.
tell me what you guys think!
took a long time on the hands. i hate them so!
tell me how its looking!
there are quite some tri's now, wich will give you problems when sculpting.
his thumbs, are those on the back of the hand?
and i removed some of the tris. adding 'turbosmooth' gives few problem areas [if any]. is that a good indication?
as for the thumbs, they're comin out of the "top" so to speak.
maybe this shot will show it better:
anyways, keep it up man
what i did this time around was change the proportions around [tried the 'simple shapes' method for a part of it], and then i removed the abs definition. I've kept the polies concentrated where i will be wanting more definition: i want his abs to be well defined, and his biceps, and his neck / shoulder regions will be heavily heavily detailed [if i can get the time to do it].
is that a good idea?
thanks for the tip vahl!
Just a few changes to the proportions, and the quad distribution.
First subdivision in. I've planned that this time around i'll be taking the parts in one by one, sculpting, and sending out, rather than completing the whole guy first. THEN i'll do the low poly mesh [whichd just involve messin around wit the base mesh].
Notice that the biceps starts from underneath the pecks.
anatomical issues are always common in my work, so thanks for pointing this particular one out.
did some more stuff, mainly based on the paintove:
here's an update of the whole basemesh:
Reminds me of rise of legends characters, did you play it? some inspiring concepts in that game.
@Elysium: thanks for the confidence man!
----
another update on the sculpting. up to the next sub-d level cuz i couldnt get any more detail in any of the parts. I changed the basemesh too, but not by enough to have to update it. it's basically wat it was before, with another edgeloop at the 'knees' region.
Sup's also been helping me with anatomy references, so thanks alot for that man!
tell me how it is: