Trying make the first character decent...

Ajunip

Hi to all!

I'm trying make the first lowpoly character decent...
This is the concept: Here

Here is the model wip:


And guitar wip:


i hope the help of you to improve...

Sorry my bad english, i'm using a dictionary and google translator , because i don't understand much english...

TorQue[MoD]

Well I have to say that its a very good start for a first model. I'm not a modeler myself so I can't point out the technical mistakes, but I like the concept a lot. Especially the guitar gun.

Keep practicing and you'll get better.

Ajunip

Thankyou TorQue[MoD], this is not my first model, but is the first that i try make next-gen, and for my future portifolio... because the others not was very nice hehe.

Ajunip

I tried make the normal map, but when I apply the normal map, the model was very ugly... then I decided to leave without the normal map .

Model with diffuse map:

t4paN

Hey dude, that's not bad for a beginner. Post your flat textures to see how you uv mapped the character - this could help find out why your normal map was not good.

I like the guitar btw.

Here is a paintover of some things you can change easily:



The overall shape of the head could use some small changes and your edge loops need some more work.


Continue practicing and remember to look at real people's pictures to improve your anatomy.

This was posted by tinman in a thread of mine. Follow the link to find some great books to download for free.

[ QUOTE ]
This was posted in the reference thread, it could help with anatomy http://placidchaos.com/AM/index.php/2006/02/

[/ QUOTE ]

BTW, I am from Greece, so when I started it was hard for me too to understand tutorials and stuff like that. Keep practicing

Ajunip

Thx by the paintover t4paN
I am going to try improve with the help that you gave to me...

Here are the maps:





Sculpt:


Diference between preview of the ZMapper and in render of the 3ds max:

Ajunip

Hi,
The changes:


And some poses:

Ott

Your UV work needs improvement. Not sure why you didn't maximize the space given to you, but you should be cramming every pixel into your UV you possibly can.

Resize some things and make them bigger! You could also overlay stuff that is repetitive - The hair texture, the belt, the shirt, the two sides of the face...all could be overlayed with this character. I see multiple instances where you could just overlay the UVs and get more texture resolution.

Keep at it!

t4paN

Hey man, first let me tell you that I'm a noob at normal maps too. Here are some pointers however:

First of all, you have to detach the guitar from the model and texture it separately! This is important, there's no reason to have the guitar on the same UV space.

Second of all, you leave too much space unused in your unwrapped UVs. If you remove the guitar you will have more space to place the dude's UVs and pack them better.

Third, the hands are as big as the head in the UV. That means that you can paint as much detail on them as the head - but the head is bigger than the hands in 3D! The head also needs all the detail it can get because it's the most important characteristic.

So, if you make the Head's UV's bigger, you can paint it better. The same goes for the body. The body also has to be bigger, and bigger than the head too.

I re-arranged your UVs for you, but this still has a lot of empty space. Don't be afraid to rotate some UV parts so that they fit better. Think of it as a puzzle.



To be able to tell if your UVs are proportional to your model, you can use this material (set it to "Tile") on your model:



Then, you will have to be look for the squares to be in symmetry. If they look on the model like they look on this page, your UV's are ok. Do you know how to use the "Relax" dialog in the UV editor?

Your head and body look good unwrapped, but you need to make them both bigger. I hope you used pelt mapping to unwrap them, eh?

For the head:



Finally, don't be afraid to use stronger colours in your texture. You can make his face and arms a bit more red.

I have to say that I like your poses though. They fit your character very well and have a good sense of balance and weight.

/edit - and forget about the normal map for now! Focus on modeling, uv mapping and texturing for now, the normal map is easier when you are more used to those things first.

EggE

the mesh flow on the face isnt as fluid as the arms or legs but a good reference of how to model heads is Ben Mathis site www.poopinmymouth.com if you want to box model, i prefer using the edge extrusion technique. you couldve made a normalmap for the guitar and carried over some of the details you didnt have to paint, like the guitar strings, screws, ext. its a good start keep up the good work

Ott

Keep in mind that having everything 100% evenly sized UVs isn't always the biblical rule. Stuff that is going to need the most res (face, hands, etc) could get a little bit more UV space, especially since they will need the most Normal detail.