not sure if this would be the proper forum to ask but
there any rule saying you have to model in a t pose or default pose? what if i wanted to sculp my model in what would be its final pose. i wanted to work with this as if i was actualy sculpting a physical model.
I dont think they restrict you to the T pose but I do think they will look at your model in the construction shot and expect the wires to look like it can be animated and posed like a game character would be. So as long as the end result topology is good I dont see why you cant do this physical style sculpting. Thats my opinion on the matter anyway.
Help! Hey guys, do we happen to have a high resolution of our logo.
Is it just the green smiley teeth face, or do we have a specific insignia/logo that we should use for polycount? I suppose a little splash of green is sufficient to pass the rule...or does an entire arm or something have to be green? Thanks!
Insignia and Colors:
Your character MUST possess your team's colors and/or your team's insignia/logo. If you don't have the colors or the insignia located somewhere on your character, your entry will not make it into the top 50. Please represent your team properly. This is a team event so make your team proud!
Hmm, id say you need to try and seperate your masses more, everything feels very uniform from top to bottom.
With the legs, you gave him hoofs but not an extra joint to support them? would make for very very clumsy walking. (take a look at dogs, goats and horses or any other non clumsy 4 legged creature.)
I think the main thing is your being too conservative go all out and try and make something a bit more unique. So what if those crazy ideas dont work, just bring it back down to earth just enough to make it seem believable.
Anyone have any tips of how to break out of the ordinary way of thinking? What kind of material inspires you? I find i'm having a hard time thinking outside of the box for a good idea. All my ideas fall into the generic and ordinary, and unfortunately, mediocre.
Links to artists or material that inspires you welcome! The Keith Thompson link was great!
kamui, try starting small (1 inch), and doing a bunch of quick thumbnails. The idea is you don't care about success or failure of each one, you just harvest the best when you're done.
One thing I try, is make some (random) marks first. lines, or squiggles- just a few. and then I'm not allowed to rub those out- they have to form part of the character shape. so then build up forms around whatever marks you made, and hey presto! something!
do that a lot and something interesting is bound to come out
Thanks rooster. I should give it a try (the first scribbles thing). I always am thinking too much when trying to come up with ideas and it always falls back into the ordinary, expected shapes.
I was wondering if anyone had some advice on how to enter this competition?
I have a fun idea I have been sketching and want to model but I haven't ever done Dominance War before and I really want to join the polycount team!
I was wondering if anyone had some advice on how to enter this competition?
I have a fun idea I have been sketching and want to model but I haven't ever done Dominance War before and I really want to join the polycount team!
First check out the rules in the thread sticky. Second, create your own WIP thread in this forum and post your updates! That's all!
I'd say, try to roll with your idea as long as you can and then conform it to fit the rules. not the other way around. I think if you focus too much on the limitations at the beginning you'll limit your creativity and, probably, wind up frustrated.
As person who has been a judge in previous DWs, I've got to say that not "much" attention is paid to how closely you follow the "storyline" or if you followed the class descriptions to the letter. The most important thing, obviously, is the quality of your final piece, it's composition, etc.
That being said, I'm also a person who has been disqualified from previous DW comps..So, in the end, make sure you can justify that your entry fits into the rules somehow. I got nailed because, in Dw2, there was a specific genre that was supposed to be covered and sense my entry lacked that it got cut on a technicality. Keep in mind though, that since then the limitations / briefs for the comps have become much more open ended and more easily accessible...so, that kind of problem shouldn't really be an issue. The only rule that I could see becoming...meeehh...is mixing of races or classes. Questioning how much flesh a mechanical entry can have..or how much techy bits a norm can have, etc.
But yes, it's pretty easy to actually take part..just sign up and make a thread, as Kamul said. Just don't get frustrated, explore a few ideas..read the brief to get a few ideas, don't get too wrapped up in the rules and rock on from there
It's a shame this thread isn't used more. I'm sortof stumped on my concept atm. I kinda like it but the robe is bothering me and i dont know about the tentacles either, they seem out of place. Anything could help, a fresh look, a paintover, a wild idea. Details are omitted so you guys have a fresh perspective.
The concept:
Thanks in advance.
Would it be too harsh of me to suggest that his head looks like a sock puppet? Not that that's a bad thing by any means. I'd love to see you run with it.
One thing I would suggest is that you reproportion those arms. Work out where his body is under that robe and size them up appropriately. The little guy being cradled in the bubble is a nice touch. You need to accentuate him quite a bit as I didn't even notice him until I stared at the picture for a while.
I got nailed because, in Dw2, there was a specific genre that was supposed to be covered and sense my entry lacked that it got cut on a technicality.
You got disqualified from DW2? No one followed those guidelines. What did you model? A lightbulb?
From what I was told, not that I really want to get too deep into this, y entry lacked any technology that would make it relevant to the briefing. Had I of put, say, a base with metal grate sand lights and shit, it might have been okay...but my entry was too far into fantasy. Keep in mind though that DW2's judging, in my opinion, was really REALLY wacky and the briefing was a bit obscure.
It's a shame this thread isn't used more. I'm sortof stumped on my concept atm. I kinda like it but the robe is bothering me and i dont know about the tentacles either, they seem out of place. Anything could help, a fresh look, a paintover, a wild idea. Details are omitted so you guys have a fresh perspective.
The concept:
Thanks in advance.
Are you really fond of this design? If so, some suggestions: try different heads or try refining the face to give him a sense of character. See if you can give him a personality just through his face. Secondly, I already mentioned it before but i think he could use longer arms. Lastly, if you're unsure about the tentacles, try a version without them, and make him float instead, and try to create an interesting sihouette with the bottom of the cloak.
Now, if you're stuck on ideas, why not try another character altogether? It may spark some new ideas that you can use for this one.
Thanks for the imput, i'm actaully starting to think of just letting this one go. There seems not enough left to make me wanna spend 2 months with it, or i'd have to do a complete overhaul. I'm gonna think this over.
Thanks Jackablade and Kamui, expect some update in my thread soon.
A link to a bunch of great close up shots of insects. Could be very useful if you're going for some sort of insect like whatever. This was posted by another user.
I honestly wasn't even aware of this thread, looks like good thoughts here.
I've been having a rough time with the concept for this guy, wondering if I should maybe scrap it and try something else, still a lot of time to work. I like the idea of it though, so if anyone has any ideas, paint-overs or anything, I'm all open to catch'm.
LoJack> I'm having a hard time telling what the concept behind it is. What i can say about the design is that i dont think that it is very strong, while the idea of binding the legs together is interesting it makes the character lose silhoutte and since the design is fairly bland, i feel it doesn't really compensate that loss of silhouette. The design of the masks looks good but i don't know how they work.
I just want to ask some questions about workflow with making normal maps.
I know what im doing for most stages of this process except for the normal maps, but im a little bit lost with the workflows some of you vets use.
Im seeing a lot of you guys starting out at super high res, and at the same time the other half are starting with low poly. Is it just a work preference which i think it is or is there a reason for it?
It was my understanding that you build a low poly then unwrap, and take it into mudbox, zbrush? but with alot of people im not seeing this happen, they seem to go the opposite way and ignore having to unwrap, or is the only thing that matters is that the low poly unwrapped mesh is roughly the same form of the high?
I just want to ask some questions about workflow with making normal maps.
I know what im doing for most stages of this process except for the normal maps, but im a little bit lost with the workflows some of you vets use.
Im seeing a lot of you guys starting out at super high res, and at the same time the other half are starting with low poly. Is it just a work preference which i think it is or is there a reason for it?
It was my understanding that you build a low poly then unwrap, and take it into mudbox, zbrush? but with alot of people im not seeing this happen, they seem to go the opposite way and ignore having to unwrap, or is the only thing that matters is that the low poly unwrapped mesh is roughly the same form of the high?
I used to think it was beneficial to unwrap before sculpting, but i'm new to the process too. However! I find it's much more useful to sculpt first without any worries of the UVs so you can really change up the shape of the basemesh without any restrictions, and then you can rebuild your mesh afterwards anyways.
The sculpting stage is so crucial now, you don't want to feel restricted that you can't change up the shape too much. Also, you may not know what direction you want to take the model before hand with details etc and a lot of that can be found by exploring during the sculpting.
IMO, make a basemesh good for sculpting. Create your high poly the way you want it (modeling in zbrush is much faster than in maya/max). Rebuild mesh, layout UVs on the new mesh, render to texture normal and AO.
@Jerry: Hey, thanks man, it really does help a lot to hear some honest criticism you bring up some good points, and its probably why I'm not all too happy with it overall. the idea behind it is basically that he's possessed by 3 evil spirits, represented by the masks, and they give him dark powers. Thinking about it though, that doesn't really come across at all in the sketches lol.
I appreciate the feedback, going to try to mull over some things and maybe get out of this creative slump. haha
cheers for that kamui, i think i have a better idea of what im doing now.
Looks like I'm sticking to concept for at least 2 weeks till i get my new comp (trying to use mudbox on a $450 laptop doesn't sound very appealing to me). Well i had better make use of this time while im waiting!
So he has a pair of hands behind his back. Am I better off including this in the base mesh or dealing with them as separate subtools? I'm not sure, but can you retopologize in zbrush with multiple subtools? The connection between his back and the large arms are not that much of an issue.
I know a couple of things will be separate, like the shoulder armor and the knee armor, as well as the armor on the large hands.
Kamui: I'd keep the rear arms part of the main body mesh. In doing so you'll get a smoother connection and better edge flow. It'll be easier to sculpt the muscles around the back as well.
reminds me of michel angelos david (huge hands, exagerated muscles on the sixpack and legs) - looks good imho, just one nitpick on the sixpack: there should be another "pack" beneath the belly, but you might cover that anyways...
reminds me of michel angelos david (huge hands, exagerated muscles on the sixpack and legs) - looks good imho, just one nitpick on the sixpack: there should be another "pack" beneath the belly, but you might cover that anyways...
You are right I will make sure that I define that final "pack". Thanks!
One thing that's standing out to me is the placement of the bellybutton. It seems a bit low to me. Either his crotch area could use some lengthening or you can move the navel up by compressing the six pack a bit.
Also, there's some bulges next to the top of the six pack that look a bit out of place. I think you should start defining the ribs and serratus muscles coming out from the six pack and then have the lats peeking out with a sharp definintion from behind.
This is kind of a noob question I guess. Say you're working on a sculpt in zbrush and you've gotten pretty far with it, then suddenly you decide to make a drastic change in the mesh... is there any way to make the change and leep your sculpt in progress? If so, how would you do it?
I keep thinking there's a way, but I can't remember what it is at all. Maybe you have to use zspheres if this is the case? But that doesn't make sense either.
Any help would be appreciated! I'd like to know how final I need my design to be before I start my sculpt.
Hey Woog, say if you were working on the body and then decided you wanted to add an arm to the mesh, would you be able to change the base mesh so that it included this extra arm? Or would you want to sculpt the extra arm seperatly and then add it to the base mesh when you finalized your sculpt?
Also, as far as proportion changes go, what if you were to make drastic changes? I know you can retopologize your sculpt when you're done, but how about in the middle of the process, is that still ok? And is there a limit on how drastic of a difference in proportion change you can do?
Hey Woog, say if you were working on the body and then decided you wanted to add an arm to the mesh, would you be able to change the base mesh so that it included this extra arm? Or would you want to sculpt the extra arm seperatly and then add it to the base mesh when you finalized your sculpt?
Also, as far as proportion changes go, what if you were to make drastic changes? I know you can retopologize your sculpt when you're done, but how about in the middle of the process, is that still ok? And is there a limit on how drastic of a difference in proportion change you can do?
You cannot drastically change your base mesh within zbrush (or at least as far as i know). Edit: Just found out. If you go back into your 3d package and add your arms, then bring it back into zbrush, you can use the ZProject brush to copy over your sculpt to your new base mesh. Tutorial here: http://www.zbrush.info/docs/index.php/Tutorial:ZProject_and_SubTools
Or, you could keep upping the subdivision levels until you can pull out an entire arm and then afterwards retopologize it within zbrush to optimize the polygon flow a bit. You could also add it as a separate subtool but then you cannot really sculpt between the 2 objects as smoothly.
You can retopologize at any time, but it's a bit of a slow process, so you wont want to be doing it too much. Proportion changes are not an issue at all since you can either use the Move brush which works like soft selection, or you can mask off areas, blur the mask and MOVE them.
oooo kamui already got the second part of this, the first part i think works better this way, sometimes projection tool has scary results, it does work tho, you can use either
for the adding an arm..sure! what you would want to do is build the base for the new arm in your standartd 3d program. then in your ztools subtools list you can append the new arm. position it as you like then divide to the same number of sub-d levels as your main tool. clone the newly divided arm and then using the insert mesh option in your geometry menu you should be able to combine them. use the smooth tool to get rid of the seam.
there is always going to be a limit on how much you change without retop tho there is probably a good bit of your original you will be able to keep. if it is something simple like body type<ie. big strong guy vs average guy.> i would create a morph target of whichever one you have, then on the lowest sub-d level using the move tool. as well as move rotate and scale, to change to the new proportions. when you click on the switch button in the morph target menu the proportions will switch between the new and the one you just made. <NOTE: it will only allow you to switch on whatever subdivision you were on when you set your morph target>
hey woogity, i saw the meshinsert method too. It doesn't actually connect the objects right? just allows you to sculpt across them so you blend them together? However, I didn't know you could combine them at higher subdivision levels.
In any case, that's something I could have done, but I just decided to hide the seams on my model
yea it combines them into the same subtool so you can smooth across the too and make it seemless. and yup any sub-d level as long as the part your intersecting is the same as host.
ok im a bit stuck in my concept right now , Im trying to make my character more shaman like but not having much luck, Im trying to take the arms and turn them more mummified/ rotting but make them look like they fit this character versus glued on (which they feel like at the moment)
overall just having abit of a hard time...any ideas anyone? Could use a few crits/ draw overs
(I know for a fact I want there to be a soul of a person in the stomach area tied down by chains)
I like the cleaned up version a lot better gavku. I'm not sure what to suggest to make it more shaman like though
One think I would like to say is it looks more like the arms are coming out of a portal rather than from the character. That'll probably be solved later on (if you're making this 3d) though.
I'm running out of ideas here so I'm coming to this thread for help. What do you think about the upper left creature?
Replies
there any rule saying you have to model in a t pose or default pose? what if i wanted to sculp my model in what would be its final pose. i wanted to work with this as if i was actualy sculpting a physical model.
Hey guys, do we happen to have a high resolution of our logo.
Is it just the green smiley teeth face, or do we have a specific insignia/logo that we should use for polycount? I suppose a little splash of green is sufficient to pass the rule...or does an entire arm or something have to be green? Thanks!
Insignia and Colors:
Your character MUST possess your team's colors and/or your team's insignia/logo. If you don't have the colors or the insignia located somewhere on your character, your entry will not make it into the top 50. Please represent your team properly. This is a team event so make your team proud!
With the legs, you gave him hoofs but not an extra joint to support them? would make for very very clumsy walking. (take a look at dogs, goats and horses or any other non clumsy 4 legged creature.)
I think the main thing is your being too conservative go all out and try and make something a bit more unique. So what if those crazy ideas dont work, just bring it back down to earth just enough to make it seem believable.
Also have a look at keith thompson for ideas... http://www.keiththompsonart.com
I am guessing there is a strain on the server? hopefully it's jes me?
Links to artists or material that inspires you welcome! The Keith Thompson link was great!
One thing I try, is make some (random) marks first. lines, or squiggles- just a few. and then I'm not allowed to rub those out- they have to form part of the character shape. so then build up forms around whatever marks you made, and hey presto! something!
do that a lot and something interesting is bound to come out
I have a fun idea I have been sketching and want to model but I haven't ever done Dominance War before and I really want to join the polycount team!
First check out the rules in the thread sticky. Second, create your own WIP thread in this forum and post your updates! That's all!
As person who has been a judge in previous DWs, I've got to say that not "much" attention is paid to how closely you follow the "storyline" or if you followed the class descriptions to the letter. The most important thing, obviously, is the quality of your final piece, it's composition, etc.
That being said, I'm also a person who has been disqualified from previous DW comps..So, in the end, make sure you can justify that your entry fits into the rules somehow. I got nailed because, in Dw2, there was a specific genre that was supposed to be covered and sense my entry lacked that it got cut on a technicality. Keep in mind though, that since then the limitations / briefs for the comps have become much more open ended and more easily accessible...so, that kind of problem shouldn't really be an issue. The only rule that I could see becoming...meeehh...is mixing of races or classes. Questioning how much flesh a mechanical entry can have..or how much techy bits a norm can have, etc.
But yes, it's pretty easy to actually take part..just sign up and make a thread, as Kamul said. Just don't get frustrated, explore a few ideas..read the brief to get a few ideas, don't get too wrapped up in the rules and rock on from there
Gav
The concept:
Thanks in advance.
One thing I would suggest is that you reproportion those arms. Work out where his body is under that robe and size them up appropriately. The little guy being cradled in the bubble is a nice touch. You need to accentuate him quite a bit as I didn't even notice him until I stared at the picture for a while.
You got disqualified from DW2? No one followed those guidelines. What did you model? A lightbulb?
Are you really fond of this design? If so, some suggestions: try different heads or try refining the face to give him a sense of character. See if you can give him a personality just through his face. Secondly, I already mentioned it before but i think he could use longer arms. Lastly, if you're unsure about the tentacles, try a version without them, and make him float instead, and try to create an interesting sihouette with the bottom of the cloak.
Now, if you're stuck on ideas, why not try another character altogether? It may spark some new ideas that you can use for this one.
Thanks Jackablade and Kamui, expect some update in my thread soon.
A link to a bunch of great close up shots of insects. Could be very useful if you're going for some sort of insect like whatever. This was posted by another user.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7539598...7600033217670/
I've been having a rough time with the concept for this guy, wondering if I should maybe scrap it and try something else, still a lot of time to work. I like the idea of it though, so if anyone has any ideas, paint-overs or anything, I'm all open to catch'm.
thanks.
Hope this helps.
I know what im doing for most stages of this process except for the normal maps, but im a little bit lost with the workflows some of you vets use.
Im seeing a lot of you guys starting out at super high res, and at the same time the other half are starting with low poly. Is it just a work preference which i think it is or is there a reason for it?
It was my understanding that you build a low poly then unwrap, and take it into mudbox, zbrush? but with alot of people im not seeing this happen, they seem to go the opposite way and ignore having to unwrap, or is the only thing that matters is that the low poly unwrapped mesh is roughly the same form of the high?
I used to think it was beneficial to unwrap before sculpting, but i'm new to the process too. However! I find it's much more useful to sculpt first without any worries of the UVs so you can really change up the shape of the basemesh without any restrictions, and then you can rebuild your mesh afterwards anyways.
The sculpting stage is so crucial now, you don't want to feel restricted that you can't change up the shape too much. Also, you may not know what direction you want to take the model before hand with details etc and a lot of that can be found by exploring during the sculpting.
IMO, make a basemesh good for sculpting. Create your high poly the way you want it (modeling in zbrush is much faster than in maya/max). Rebuild mesh, layout UVs on the new mesh, render to texture normal and AO.
Have a look at this tutorial done by Marcus Dublin over at GA.org. It's top notch. http://www.gameartisans.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5000
I appreciate the feedback, going to try to mull over some things and maybe get out of this creative slump. haha
Looks like I'm sticking to concept for at least 2 weeks till i get my new comp (trying to use mudbox on a $450 laptop doesn't sound very appealing to me). Well i had better make use of this time while im waiting!
there's far too many entries to wade through each and every one of them without spending an age
http://boards.polycount.net/showthread.php?t=61723
-Woog
So he has a pair of hands behind his back. Am I better off including this in the base mesh or dealing with them as separate subtools? I'm not sure, but can you retopologize in zbrush with multiple subtools? The connection between his back and the large arms are not that much of an issue.
I know a couple of things will be separate, like the shoulder armor and the knee armor, as well as the armor on the large hands.
Anything above the calves is fair game to critique. the calves will be covered by some huge boots anyway, so not bothering much with them.
You are right
Also, there's some bulges next to the top of the six pack that look a bit out of place. I think you should start defining the ribs and serratus muscles coming out from the six pack and then have the lats peeking out with a sharp definintion from behind.
The deltoids are looking a bit squarish as well.
here's an example: http://www.kopykake.com/images/bodybuilder.jpg
Overall lookin good.
I keep thinking there's a way, but I can't remember what it is at all. Maybe you have to use zspheres if this is the case? But that doesn't make sense either.
Any help would be appreciated! I'd like to know how final I need my design to be before I start my sculpt.
-Woog
Also, as far as proportion changes go, what if you were to make drastic changes? I know you can retopologize your sculpt when you're done, but how about in the middle of the process, is that still ok? And is there a limit on how drastic of a difference in proportion change you can do?
You cannot drastically change your base mesh within zbrush (or at least as far as i know). Edit: Just found out. If you go back into your 3d package and add your arms, then bring it back into zbrush, you can use the ZProject brush to copy over your sculpt to your new base mesh. Tutorial here: http://www.zbrush.info/docs/index.php/Tutorial:ZProject_and_SubTools
Or, you could keep upping the subdivision levels until you can pull out an entire arm and then afterwards retopologize it within zbrush to optimize the polygon flow a bit. You could also add it as a separate subtool but then you cannot really sculpt between the 2 objects as smoothly.
You can retopologize at any time, but it's a bit of a slow process, so you wont want to be doing it too much. Proportion changes are not an issue at all since you can either use the Move brush which works like soft selection, or you can mask off areas, blur the mask and MOVE them.
for the adding an arm..sure! what you would want to do is build the base for the new arm in your standartd 3d program. then in your ztools subtools list you can append the new arm. position it as you like then divide to the same number of sub-d levels as your main tool. clone the newly divided arm and then using the insert mesh option in your geometry menu you should be able to combine them. use the smooth tool to get rid of the seam.
there is always going to be a limit on how much you change without retop tho there is probably a good bit of your original you will be able to keep. if it is something simple like body type<ie. big strong guy vs average guy.> i would create a morph target of whichever one you have, then on the lowest sub-d level using the move tool. as well as move rotate and scale, to change to the new proportions. when you click on the switch button in the morph target menu the proportions will switch between the new and the one you just made. <NOTE: it will only allow you to switch on whatever subdivision you were on when you set your morph target>
hope that helps
-Woog
In any case, that's something I could have done, but I just decided to hide the seams on my model
-Woog
overall just having abit of a hard time...any ideas anyone? Could use a few crits/ draw overs
(I know for a fact I want there to be a soul of a person in the stomach area tied down by chains)
heres a pic of what I have
One think I would like to say is it looks more like the arms are coming out of a portal rather than from the character. That'll probably be solved later on (if you're making this 3d) though.
I'm running out of ideas here so I'm coming to this thread for help. What do you think about the upper left creature?
How about this guy?
I hope you don't mind the paintover.
Combined = Win.