Aqua Knight

Xoliul · Jan 2010

I'm starting a wip thread since i've been working on this for 2-3 days. It's Aqua Knight by Yukito Kishiro, a manga comic:

I'm no big manga fan, but this is one of the freshest and most original universes I've come across so far. very light-hearted and well-designed with detail put into every aspect. I just love how it's so unlike anything else, a female knight in underwater armor riding an orca in a tropical ocean world.

So anyway, WIP's:

The armor's a blockout to get the proportions right. pretty tough since she's always in extreme poses. I think the legs/waist aren't correct yet. Here some of my best ref:
http://www.laurenscorijn.com/wipdir/AquaKnight/ref01.jpg
http://www.laurenscorijn.com/wipdir/AquaKnight/ref02.jpg
http://www.laurenscorijn.com/wipdir/AquaKnight/ref03.jpg
Would like to hear some thoughts.

After the armor blockout I tried the orca/killer whale (i prefer orca) for fun, got carried away for the past two days:

Some of the "lines" (i'm not familiar with horse gear terms in english) are still wip. The orca's shapes also might need some tweaking (mouth is tough) but i'm generally happy with it. It's different yet familiar to make (like an airplane kinda), I think it's fun.

and btw, thanks to whomever mentioned Aqua Knight here on PC, that's how I found out about it a while ago.

HonkyPunch · Jan 2010

Yessssss!
I read this a while ago and it was amazingly awesome in concept, while the Manga itself was at least okay.

flatHead · Jan 2010

Looking good, and I'm really glad to see you're doing characters for a change! I'll be following this thread for sure... the pressure is on

Snipergen · Jan 2010

Hahhhaha! That's something we don't see everyday. You doing a character, ON A WHALE, I'm looking forward to it!

Espe · Jan 2010

I ll be keeping my eye on this one too ^.^

Xoliul · Jan 2010

Update, pretty renders of the helmet highpoly:

torontoanimator · Jan 2010

CRAZY idea, but damn, how can i not love it? great job on the whale btw!

Xoliul · Jan 2010

Thanks man!
Here's some more updates:

Coming together nicely I think.

Legion · Jan 2010

I completely agree. This seems like a breath of fresh air from the norm of ideas. I can't offer any real tips (if they are even welcomed) because I have not seen this manga myself (would help if I was a fan... but.. x3); however, I will mention that your models are shaping up nicely. There is nothing I can really suggest and nothing really to nit-pick. I'll be keeping my eyes on this. Keep up the good work. : )

Tom Ellis · Jan 2010

:O you do characters too?!

*Subscribed*

Interesting concept, looking great so far! Love the detail on the helmet.

Xoliul · Jan 2010

Hey guys, thanks for the comments! I've got some updates but I'll post 'em later when it's a bit more. Modeling all these curvy parts is tricky though, lots of Bend and FFD in my modifier stacks and still it's hard.