WOW!! Been waiting anxiously to see a new update! MIND BLOWING MAN! So worth the wait! best texture I have seen so far! There is so much character in him now more than ever! I love the stripes, I love his leg bands, JUST EVERYTHING! FANTASTIC! NOW I LOOK FORWARD TO SOME POSES!!
Also yeah, the cat skull would have not gone with the character very well. I think it would have helped to give an idea of how big this character is though. Like in the 3 ft range... but thats about all it would have done.
Good god... That is amazing work on all fronts. The textures just kick my ass up and down the street. The colors, the detail work, all of it great. I'll have to say, the colors really punched me in the nose when I first saw them, but after looking at them for a bit, they stuck with me.
I could go on, but you've heard all before. Great work man.
Spark:
Thanks man, looking forward to seeing your bakes
nrek;
Thanks, my wife wanted me to remove the stripe texture but I vetoed her
Rory_M;
Another vote for the stripes - I'll be sure to let her know
hobodactyl;
Thank you, texturing is one of the trickier parts for me
Aldo;
Thanks!
woogity;
Thanks dude Almost to the finish line..
konstruct;
Thanks, your model is looking awesome
WarNoodle;
Thanks for all the kind words, I have a couple pose ideas
Jeremy-S;
Thanks! Good name btw
MoP;
Thanks MoP, your character is very original also
garagarape;
lol, yeah sounds about right
Just looking at the shot with a pair of fresh eyes this morning, I think maybe I went a tad too psychedlic, although that was my original intent, but I'm thinking about pulling it back a little to something more subdued. That said, here is a very rough paintover.
Let me know if you think this is a better direction, thanks!
Hey man, to be honest I didn't see much of a difference other than the changes made to the glass orbs, which is fine since he looks amazing as is. But the old orbs seemed like they fit better since they had that yellow center which tied them in with the yellow of his eyes and the tips of the horns. With these new ones being completely green they really just stick out. I do think it makes sense to take the blood off of them though, mainly because he didn't have any blood on his claws so you kinda wonder how it got on the orbs.
Hey thanks man, pretty much I came into work and a lot of people here don't like the orbs as is. So this was just a quick edit based on their comments. In the end I just gotta go with what I like though
very nice texturing, may I ask what that reflection map was...kinda looks like a decimated normal map :P I like the orbs with the yellow glow inside them
Hm, interesting. The feedback here is very different from the feedback at work. I'll have to think about it. I knew from the beginning that the design I chose would probably be polarizing. In the end, some people are going to hate it and some will really like it. I'm okay with that
Awesome character. I really like all those little details around horns, it makes him very distinctive. And good usage of metal parts, kinda makes him more balanced because of funky proportions
I would like to point out a few things:
-Try adding some more yellow color to the green orbs. But only in the center. To give them bigger depth. The edges could be a bit darker green to slightly pop them out of metal plates. The tight specular highlights are great as they are
-You already did great metal texture for color. But I still think a metal should have a much stronger reflection, especially large metal parts. It would help you balance the materials between skin and metal. Also that would make him a much more interesting character.
-I would tone done the overall saturation on the whole texture. You will have much easier task, when lighting him ( less color over burn).
-I would maybe consider changing major skin tones to a green and keep the horns and mouth red. It would be much easier to read from the distance and also match with green orbs.
It's like the Cheshire cat forcefully mated with ratchets mom on some demon plane of existence... pure awesome.
Whats the story on the hole in the axe? It looks like a toothless meat grinder or a black hole-ish type thing? Does he turn his enemies into sausages with his axe-o-matic?
I see how you toned it down some. I like even more now actually. The other one for sure was pretty out there! he would have been way to bright on a battle field. lol.
Here is a pose idea I sketched up really fast. had kinda him running into battle in extreme angels like a sports bike as he looks like a very fast little squally character that just run and guns! Hope you dont mind on me doing this! I know other people through in their color thoughts ideas, thought I would throw in my two cents.
I just back into town man, holy smokes, this is so killer! I know you have a million things going on probably in your last ditch effort to finish, but there's a couple things that I think can really have an impact that you may want to address.
Desaturate his skin just a little, not much, just a little. The contrast is great, and the painover you did before made a big difference, especially with the level adjustments.
Dial in that spec map. This will make such a huge difference. Right now everything feels like it is on the same value (metal feels no different than cloth). I'm not saying it needs to look like a new car here, but some better levels on this map in certain parts will really help and will really show off this killer normal bake!
Scale. OMG, this will have such an impact. Whether you go large or small, you really need to demonstrate the scale of this guy on the pedestal. This, will just be the icing on the cake in your sheets, but should be paid extra special attention to. Most characters have a scale you can easily imagine, but with this guy, I can picture him being super small or massive, and that's why I wanted to bring this up.
Blood is awesome. Maybe make some darker bits that are a little more dry around the edges, and some that are wet and shiny around the front end of his blade.
Just a side note... I think your tendrals came out amazing, and this is the one part that you were so worried about holding up on low-poly. The downside may be that your low poly doesn't hold up well on his calf bandages/cloth wrappings. This is the weakest part of your low-poly, and if you have time, I really think you should try and address this.
Do not forget presentation. No matter where you are at, you should really make sure to dedicate two solid days to presentation.
I personally don't know shit about anything man. These are just my opinions that I hope may help. This stuff is amazing and I love the design. I just want to see you be up there in the top 10 or hopefully the top 5.
Hi guys, thanks for all the comments, I haven't had much time at all to even touch this, real life commitments taking priority. Just a tiny quasi-update for now
nrek;
Thanks for the feedback, I'll be taking the blood off the orbs on his feet.
hobodactyl;
Thanks ... Still struggling a bit on the nailing down the colors
AimBiz;
The yellowish orbs are definitely in contention to stay
morte;
Thanks!
Slum;
Thanks man Glad you like the Greentooth revamp
rollin;
Good idea, thank you
BradMyers;
Whats up Thanks... Feels like still a lot of work to be done though, hehe
WarHawk;
Thanks for the detailed critiques. I agree on the saturation and playing up the metal specularity. Those I think I will definitely address. The orbs I'm still thinking about but yellow centers are probably a good idea. I really think I'm going to stick with purple though for the skin. I know some people aren't feelin it, but I've tried some other colors and in the end I just really like purple for him
zerafian;
You're right it's a little muddled right now. Hopefully I can correct some of those issues in time
IronHawk;
I'm playing up a little more contrast in the skin as an idea. Let me know what you think
Vig;
Exactly! I was thinking Cheshire cat (which also explains the colors a bit). The hole in the axe is cause its an axe and a battlehorn at the same time. So he can swing with it to attack or blow it to teleport. The idea came from a bayonet on a gun, I figured what if it was a bayonet on a muscial instrument? And the concept progressed from there
achmed;
Thanks for your comments. I will try to increase the differentiation between the body and the armor/weapon. Although I am still thinking of poses, playing up the weapon in a phallic way might be funny
Autocon;
Thanks, another vote for yellow in the orbs. I will keep that in mind for the weekend.
ganganjain;
It's comments like yours that make me wonder if I should stop playing with colors and leave it as is Thanks though, much appreciated
WarNoodle;
Dude, of course I don't mind. Thank you for taking the time to sketch that up. I appreciate anyone who takes time out of their day to give me tangible feedback. I'm liking your idea. An extreme pose I think would be the way to go. The only way it wouldn't happen is if I ran out of time. Here's hoping
kite;
Thanks man!
Renauld;
Thanks! Yes it was inspired by WoW in some regards, I think Blizzard has infiltrated my brain
r4pture3;
Thanks, keep trucking on your entry. We are all almost to the finish line
Firebert;
Thanks for the many comments! You have a lot of great points. I really agree with all of them. I will try to hit as many things as I can, for at this point time / fatigue are a bit of a factor. Schedule wise things are getting very difficult for me to find time for this during the week.
All that said, here's another paintover of some changes I was thinking about making. Before I start editing the texture, I figured I'd just post it for feedback. If the general consensus is that it's a step backwards, I'm just going to focus on my lighting, spec maps, and pose and get this thing done But, if people generally think it's an improvement, I'll spend some extra time modifying my diffuse.
One last thing, I am considering removing the argyle pattern from the straps on his legs and weapon. I though it would be a quirky addition, but it's possible its hurting the readability. So any thoughts on that would be welcome.
Oh you're starting final refinement.
Both version have their good points.
I think you lose a little definition
on the second version (Belly area) for lighting kind of
burn volumes and colours. Understand you want to
get a more contrasted feel to get precise parting between
dark and bright areas. May be just darken the purple zones
without tweaking the bright one on the first version?
Armour parts and weapon seem to be better on the second version though. Good luck. I know it's not easy to chose coming to this point.
Keep it up.
The reality is you have the weekend (which I am sure is affecting your personal life) part of Friday, and part of Monday to finish. Fuck, that is not a lot of time man.(SEE EDIT BELOW) So narrow it down. What adjustments can you make in that time frame that are going to make the most significant difference and impact? If I were you, my list would be:
Spec map (don't spend fifty years on this, just make some key selection masks and start adjusting. select in big chunks, and you'll fly right through this)
Pedestal (keep it simple. let him stand out and hold up as his own character, but have something in there for the scale representation)
Presentation (make a statement, and finish strong)
I remember doing this comp last year man. The last week was the hardest, but it is the home stretch now and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Stay focused and keep yourself from running in circles. Just itemize your time and make room for sleep as best you can. FTW!!!!!!!!
EDIT: Ummmm, WTF am I babbling about, you have almost a week and a half! I totally forgot they had the infamous deadline extension! Dude, you've got this! You have plenty of time. Take a nap or somethin.... shit man.
Hey Jeremy, congratz on pulling this guy off, you are a great inspiration!
Id go definately with the new color style. Maybe you should try putting the yellow glowing lights on the weapon green instead, just for consistency...i think. Also, the eyes seem a bit to glowy for my taste, try adding some darker orange to make them pop more. Ok enough with the nitpick, I love this character I wish you the best on the judging.
First of all man! you have amazing character, heart and are very humble about your work. To take the time to respond back to everyone is just awesome! I know there are a lot of artist like that on here as well. Its a wonderful thing to see indeed.
Second of all! Im loving both. lol.... so maybe one in the middle between those two...
character is absolutely good! very well done, including textures and colors. just for my taste, I would bring back the colors of the old from the neck part to the belly to break the body color structure and give it a bit of a natural flow IMO.
Battlehorn teleporter, that's so much cooler then a sausage maker.
Try switching the background to gray 127 or slightly darker, pure black (and pure white) can do strange things to your perception of detail and color (There is brown in there white destroys it). Time to start working on your presentation, construction shots and then sit back and bask in the glow of being done early while the rest of us slave away =P
Really nice work here, nice design ~
I think i prefer the current skin version (less specular) with the new armor texture (more contrast), but it's just my opinion >.<.
Otherwise maybe try to harmonize the green of the orbs with the green of the polycount logo?
Thanks everyone.. I can't really sit down with this till Saturday but for now another small test while I'm trying to decide which direction I want to go in.
rollin;
Thanks man. I think I will be going with the darker armor. The blood on the foot crystals is going to go. The pink in the blade will be removed, good call. I'm still playing with ideas for the skin (see below)
garagarape;
Thanks for the feedback.. I am testing a deeper purple as an alternate color scheme.
Firebert;
Thanks for the encouragement I'm going to revisit the spec map saturday. The pedestal is modeled and baked, I think it gives a pretty good sense of his scale. I'm hoping to get that thing banged out this weekend so next weekend I can focus those 2 days on presentation.
coldkodiak;
I agree with rollin too He is a wise man..
wizo;
I'm testing this idea of consolidating colors in an alternate colorscheme, let me know what you think
IronHawk;
Thank you for the support!
garagarape;
Good thing for the extra days Part of me wants this marathon to be over with, but the extra time will be helpful in the long run
WarNoodle;
I definitely want to thank everyone for their feedback and encouragement.. If I missed replying to someone somewhere I apologize.
JeffMD;
Thanks, good ideas
Vig;
Very good point, and comes across clearly with your image. I tried a gray background for this one, although 127 feels very bright to me. So this is a dark gray (around 60 I think).
EZMeow;
I'll try my best to correct the issues with the spec on Saturday
I did this last night just to try something completely different. The general idea was to consolidate my colors, and focus more on the complimentary colors (generally speaking). Im basically trying to keep my options open before locking this down on the weekend.
For me I am definitely thinking a purple/green combo like the earlier posts, or deep purple/orange like this one. So those really are the two finalists in my mind
I'm already getting some mixed reviews about this option from the people I talk to in person (what else is new right ) but I also take the messages here under heavy consideration, so your input will help sway me to either stick with the old, or modify it to this.
This is the strongest IMO.
Maybe touches of green highlights? What I like most about this one is that you are really narrowing down your palette and I think it makes a big difference.
nice new colors man ! Just go for it And don't forget to pose him as a sneaky bastard ^^
edit : just be sure to change the colors and/or the saturation of the bandages on the legs. It's pretty hard to notice them with this new (awesome) color setup !
dude... with so many choices that look so perfect. I say flip a coin over them and bring it down to the one you will stick with.. This character could pull off a lot of color schemes.
Replies
-Woog
Also yeah, the cat skull would have not gone with the character very well. I think it would have helped to give an idea of how big this character is though. Like in the 3 ft range... but thats about all it would have done.
I could go on, but you've heard all before. Great work man.
such a cool character. and very original too
Don't know why, feel like eating acid drop
Thanks!
Spark:
Thanks man, looking forward to seeing your bakes
nrek;
Thanks, my wife wanted me to remove the stripe texture but I vetoed her
Rory_M;
Another vote for the stripes - I'll be sure to let her know
hobodactyl;
Thank you, texturing is one of the trickier parts for me
Aldo;
Thanks!
woogity;
Thanks dude
konstruct;
Thanks, your model is looking awesome
WarNoodle;
Thanks for all the kind words, I have a couple pose ideas
Jeremy-S;
Thanks! Good name btw
MoP;
Thanks MoP, your character is very original also
garagarape;
lol, yeah sounds about right
Just looking at the shot with a pair of fresh eyes this morning, I think maybe I went a tad too psychedlic, although that was my original intent, but I'm thinking about pulling it back a little to something more subdued. That said, here is a very rough paintover.
Let me know if you think this is a better direction, thanks!
Thanks for all the feedback
I also love what you did with Greentooth, very 40k Ork-ish.
the "crystals" should have more light inside thought.. to give them more live
I would like to point out a few things:
-Try adding some more yellow color to the green orbs. But only in the center. To give them bigger depth. The edges could be a bit darker green to slightly pop them out of metal plates. The tight specular highlights are great as they are
-You already did great metal texture for color. But I still think a metal should have a much stronger reflection, especially large metal parts. It would help you balance the materials between skin and metal. Also that would make him a much more interesting character.
-I would tone done the overall saturation on the whole texture. You will have much easier task, when lighting him ( less color over burn).
-I would maybe consider changing major skin tones to a green and keep the horns and mouth red. It would be much easier to read from the distance and also match with green orbs.
Anyway. Just my two cents.
Great job again!
I'd like to see some contrast between the skin and horns but thats all.
Whats the story on the hole in the axe? It looks like a toothless meat grinder or a black hole-ish type thing? Does he turn his enemies into sausages with his axe-o-matic?
so it kinda needs some differentiation between props/body/parts etc so same color but not as noisy? meh still looks ok
I have to agree that the old orbs with the yellow tint to them looked a little better. Fantastic work anyways
It looks like direct took out him some game engine ....Feel of color is awesome
Here is a pose idea I sketched up really fast. had kinda him running into battle in extreme angels like a sports bike as he looks like a very fast little squally character that just run and guns!
Desaturate his skin just a little, not much, just a little. The contrast is great, and the painover you did before made a big difference, especially with the level adjustments.
Dial in that spec map. This will make such a huge difference. Right now everything feels like it is on the same value (metal feels no different than cloth). I'm not saying it needs to look like a new car here, but some better levels on this map in certain parts will really help and will really show off this killer normal bake!
Scale. OMG, this will have such an impact. Whether you go large or small, you really need to demonstrate the scale of this guy on the pedestal. This, will just be the icing on the cake in your sheets, but should be paid extra special attention to. Most characters have a scale you can easily imagine, but with this guy, I can picture him being super small or massive, and that's why I wanted to bring this up.
Blood is awesome. Maybe make some darker bits that are a little more dry around the edges, and some that are wet and shiny around the front end of his blade.
Just a side note... I think your tendrals came out amazing, and this is the one part that you were so worried about holding up on low-poly. The downside may be that your low poly doesn't hold up well on his calf bandages/cloth wrappings. This is the weakest part of your low-poly, and if you have time, I really think you should try and address this.
Do not forget presentation. No matter where you are at, you should really make sure to dedicate two solid days to presentation.
I personally don't know shit about anything man. These are just my opinions that I hope may help. This stuff is amazing and I love the design. I just want to see you be up there in the top 10 or hopefully the top 5.
nrek;
Thanks for the feedback, I'll be taking the blood off the orbs on his feet.
hobodactyl;
Thanks ... Still struggling a bit on the nailing down the colors
AimBiz;
The yellowish orbs are definitely in contention to stay
morte;
Thanks!
Slum;
Thanks man
rollin;
Good idea, thank you
BradMyers;
Whats up
WarHawk;
Thanks for the detailed critiques. I agree on the saturation and playing up the metal specularity. Those I think I will definitely address. The orbs I'm still thinking about but yellow centers are probably a good idea. I really think I'm going to stick with purple though for the skin. I know some people aren't feelin it, but I've tried some other colors and in the end I just really like purple for him
zerafian;
You're right it's a little muddled right now. Hopefully I can correct some of those issues in time
IronHawk;
I'm playing up a little more contrast in the skin as an idea. Let me know what you think
Vig;
Exactly! I was thinking Cheshire cat (which also explains the colors a bit). The hole in the axe is cause its an axe and a battlehorn at the same time. So he can swing with it to attack or blow it to teleport. The idea came from a bayonet on a gun, I figured what if it was a bayonet on a muscial instrument? And the concept progressed from there
achmed;
Thanks for your comments. I will try to increase the differentiation between the body and the armor/weapon. Although I am still thinking of poses, playing up the weapon in a phallic way might be funny
Autocon;
Thanks, another vote for yellow in the orbs. I will keep that in mind for the weekend.
ganganjain;
It's comments like yours that make me wonder if I should stop playing with colors and leave it as is
WarNoodle;
Dude, of course I don't mind. Thank you for taking the time to sketch that up. I appreciate anyone who takes time out of their day to give me tangible feedback. I'm liking your idea. An extreme pose I think would be the way to go. The only way it wouldn't happen is if I ran out of time. Here's hoping
kite;
Thanks man!
Renauld;
Thanks! Yes it was inspired by WoW in some regards, I think Blizzard has infiltrated my brain
r4pture3;
Thanks, keep trucking on your entry. We are all almost to the finish line
Firebert;
Thanks for the many comments! You have a lot of great points. I really agree with all of them. I will try to hit as many things as I can, for at this point time / fatigue are a bit of a factor. Schedule wise things are getting very difficult for me to find time for this during the week.
All that said, here's another paintover of some changes I was thinking about making. Before I start editing the texture, I figured I'd just post it for feedback. If the general consensus is that it's a step backwards, I'm just going to focus on my lighting, spec maps, and pose and get this thing done
One last thing, I am considering removing the argyle pattern from the straps on his legs and weapon. I though it would be a quirky addition, but it's possible its hurting the readability. So any thoughts on that would be welcome.
the new version also has more contrast within the skin-colour.. but maybe a tad too much.. i would choose a version between "old" and "new"
the strong blood splashes on the foot-crystals are looking a bit weird but all in all i prefer the more saturated "old" versions
and i would make the blood darker like you can see it on the "new" shoulder armor
what also looks a bit confusing is the pink touch on the blade imo
so thats enough from me i think
rock it!
Both version have their good points.
I think you lose a little definition
on the second version (Belly area) for lighting kind of
burn volumes and colours. Understand you want to
get a more contrasted feel to get precise parting between
dark and bright areas. May be just darken the purple zones
without tweaking the bright one on the first version?
Armour parts and weapon seem to be better on the second version though. Good luck. I know it's not easy to chose coming to this point.
Keep it up.
- Spec map (don't spend fifty years on this, just make some key selection masks and start adjusting. select in big chunks, and you'll fly right through this)
- Pedestal (keep it simple. let him stand out and hold up as his own character, but have something in there for the scale representation)
- Presentation (make a statement, and finish strong)
I remember doing this comp last year man. The last week was the hardest, but it is the home stretch now and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Stay focused and keep yourself from running in circles. Just itemize your time and make room for sleep as best you can. FTW!!!!!!!!EDIT: Ummmm, WTF am I babbling about, you have almost a week and a half! I totally forgot they had the infamous deadline extension! Dude, you've got this! You have plenty of time. Take a nap or somethin.... shit man.
agreed.
Id go definately with the new color style. Maybe you should try putting the yellow glowing lights on the weapon green instead, just for consistency...i think. Also, the eyes seem a bit to glowy for my taste, try adding some darker orange to make them pop more. Ok enough with the nitpick, I love this character I wish you the best on the judging.
I pretty much agree with rollins crits at this point.
Check Dominance War website
Second of all! Im loving both. lol.... so maybe one in the middle between those two...
but still very good either way! goodluck!
Try switching the background to gray 127 or slightly darker, pure black (and pure white) can do strange things to your perception of detail and color (There is brown in there white destroys it). Time to start working on your presentation, construction shots and then sit back and bask in the glow of being done early while the rest of us slave away =P
I think i prefer the current skin version (less specular) with the new armor texture (more contrast), but it's just my opinion >.<.
Otherwise maybe try to harmonize the green of the orbs with the green of the polycount logo?
rollin;
Thanks man. I think I will be going with the darker armor. The blood on the foot crystals is going to go. The pink in the blade will be removed, good call. I'm still playing with ideas for the skin (see below)
garagarape;
Thanks for the feedback.. I am testing a deeper purple as an alternate color scheme.
Firebert;
Thanks for the encouragement
coldkodiak;
I agree with rollin too
wizo;
I'm testing this idea of consolidating colors in an alternate colorscheme, let me know what you think
IronHawk;
Thank you for the support!
garagarape;
Good thing for the extra days
WarNoodle;
I definitely want to thank everyone for their feedback and encouragement.. If I missed replying to someone somewhere I apologize.
JeffMD;
Thanks, good ideas
Vig;
Very good point, and comes across clearly with your image. I tried a gray background for this one, although 127 feels very bright to me. So this is a dark gray (around 60 I think).
EZMeow;
I'll try my best to correct the issues with the spec on Saturday
I did this last night just to try something completely different. The general idea was to consolidate my colors, and focus more on the complimentary colors (generally speaking). Im basically trying to keep my options open before locking this down on the weekend.
For me I am definitely thinking a purple/green combo like the earlier posts, or deep purple/orange like this one. So those really are the two finalists in my mind
I'm already getting some mixed reviews about this option from the people I talk to in person (what else is new right
Thanks again
Maybe touches of green highlights? What I like most about this one is that you are really narrowing down your palette and I think it makes a big difference.
What kind of pedestal will you make?
Agreed!
edit : just be sure to change the colors and/or the saturation of the bandages on the legs. It's pretty hard to notice them with this new (awesome) color setup !
My point is it feels more polycount-ish, as there is NOTHING wrong at all with the currently color scheme you have.
CHEERS
ps. I love your work man