UT Characters need harsh C&C!

Polygoblin

Hello All! Thank you for taking the time to view my posts.

I took part in the 2008-2009 "Make Something Unreal" contest by Epic Games. My character submissions earned me an "honorable mention", among some VERY talented artists. I feel good about them, but I know there are still many problems there.

So, now that the contest is done, and the guidelines and limitations are gone, I would like to take the time to turn these guys into reel-quality assets. This is where you come in...

I need as much C&C as you can muster! Don't worry about hurting my feelings, or suggesting fixing something that requires too much work. We need other artists to help us see whats wrong, so we can get better. I need to get better.

That said..... RIP THIS APART!



Thanks again, guys

Rizzle

hi,
some points i came up with:

(butcher)

concept: if you aim for a stylized cartoonish character id exaggerate his proportions to get a more exciting look.

his body, compared to his face, is quite simple, so his face looks off. you could ie. make his gloves way bigger or turn his dagger into a two-handed sword over his back.

texture: could generally be more crisp.
the blood stain on his belly looks kinda random, either put some more effort into painting his injury or try with smaller scales.

riz

BeserK

They both look like children, smaller heads would probably help.
Textures need some work, especially in the butcher.
If there are any normal maps on obsidian, they aren't showing.
I think you're close to something great here, keep it up!

Cyrael

I think the textures are the biggest culprits that need some work - the proportions could be tightened up on Obsideon as well. The textures on Obisideon look really flat and are not helping the overall shape of your character. I think a nice ao map could def. help spice him up, as well as turning up those normals if you have any on. if not they'll help a large amount as well. Nice start!

Polygoblin

Thanks everybody! Appreciate the great crits

After looking at the models again (set it aside for a while after the contest was over), I realized that both characters will have to be rebuilt. This is a concept for a new Butcher head. Whaddaya think?



You will notice I kept the major features, but tried to add depth and personality. In case you were wondering, the sacs on his cheeks are for filtering toxic air during breathing.

Since I will be doing a major overhaul, I feel there is no need to waste your time or mine posting better views of what I have right now. Needs tons of work. I'll post when I knock some of it out. Wish me luck

Paulewog

Love the two concepts and good job on getting them into unreal. It looks like you have a pretty good knowledge of the modeling process and the technical side of character creation which is wonderful, that is half the battle.
I would say that the best thing you could do for your modeling skills would be to brush up on your anatomy knowledge. In my opinion the best thing to do is DRAW DRAW DRAW. unfortunately there is no easy way out of this one, learning good anatomy is one of the most difficult tasks for an artist and there is no real substitute for practice. Your skills look like they could be improved dramatically. If you are a determined artist you can do it.

Here is what I did to improve my anatomy skills. If you have an anatomy book of any kind, flip to the first page. draw whats on the page. flip to the next page and draw everything on that page, and so on until the book is finished. Another good practice is to do life drawing or something similar if real life drawing is not an option. there are some great websites that can simulate the experience and give your skills a great workout.

http://www.posemaniacs.com/

this site is great. You can pose the 3d model (with muscle reference) or you can choose to do 30 second gesture drawings which also keep your skills buffed.

I know that your characters are cartoony and maybe you are not interested in realistic art but a good understanding of the human anatomy is required even for that in order to exaggerate the human form nicely. Good luck my friend!

Polygoblin

@Paulewog

Thanks for the advice. That sounds like some really helpful exercises. Ive got some good anatomy books and plenty of sketch paper, so I'm going to take you up on that. Oh, and thanks for the link. There are some excellent poses there.

Polygoblin

Another head concept for the Butcher. Trying to create instantly-recognizable shapes and present a strong silhouette.



I decided to part ways with some key features of my idea. The "sacs" are now just more of a reptilian membrane.

Polygoblin

Did some anatomy studies and further refined my concept. What do you think?



You'll notice I didn't ink this one like I did my last ones. I'm hoping I can just fix this drawing, instead of making a whole new one to correct any errors.

Rhinokey

your art looks better with just pencil, much nicer shades an tones.

Polygoblin

@Rhinokey - Thanks I agree. I might still ink the silhouettes but the rest will be done with pencil from now on.



Heres what I have so far. Just blocking in anatomical landmarks. Still much to do...

Glad I went back to do anatomy studies. It is paying off big time.

Kitteh

Really like this guy so far, he has great character.

Polygoblin

@Kitteh - Thanks. I chose to focus on that more than anything this time. I began with a menacing beast idea, but found out that I need to get the basics done right first. Glad to hear I'm on the right path



A bit more progression (mainly ears and nose)

Firecracker197

DONT EVER USE PAPYRUS! Thats all I can think of that hasn't been said...also just for future reference, you probably want to size down your text next time you present a model..its really distracting. It should be like a 90/10 scale with your art, if not smaller.

Firecracker197

DONT EVER USE PAPYRUS! Thats all I can think of that hasn't been said...also just for future reference, you probably want to size down your text next time you present a model..its really distracting. It should be like a 90/10 scale with your art, if not smaller.

Everything else is looking good though.

c0ldhands

Nothing wrong with "papyrus", as long as you can convey some really nice sketches, I mean every design process starts on paper. Hell you can do alot of stuff with paper some pencils and some markers.

Ok lets start ripping you apart:

What you are doing so far Is good, major improvment on the artistic level. So to start off I have some points that should point the stuff you landed short on the other two characters.

-Anatomy/References: I see you are already on this one, and has actually given results. Look also at other creatures and zbrush sculpts so you get a feeling of what looks good and why it looks good.

-Sculpting/Highpoly: I think personally that the highpoly is one of the most important things and demands time and attention. If you fail here, you are fighting a loosing battle, only thing that can save you is texture.

-Texture: Is something you have to strive for to get good at....even if it kills you!(well almost).As I see it, its the domain where you have most difficulties with. The modelling isnt bad its just that the textures kills it. Watch tutorials, study other models and study real life.

Hope that helps, if you have other questions just shoot.

Paulewog

Great Improvement! I love the last sculpt. I think those anatomy studies are really helping. Keep up the good work!

Polygoblin

Thanks for the crits, guys I feel like I'm making some improvement (partly because I am starting to dislike my older models). Going to the zoo on Sunday to do some drawing. Working out of anatomy books are getting boring, so it's time to get the ole' juices flowing again!

Papyrus...

I've heard alot about that font recently (other forums, too). If it saves me any cool points, I made that BEFORE Avatar came out Definitely going to have to put more thought into my labeling...