Don't fear the reaper...'s tool

mr.sin

Hey guys!
Finally I'm going to update my folio, so I started working on an ingame model for UDK.
The idea was to create an axe with scythe elements, a tool the reaper would love to use ;D.
Sadly this reaper isn't doing his job because of his own free will... he is bound to his axe and doomed to fulfill his duty as a collector of souls.

Started in ZBrush with the high poly, than created the low poly in 3ds max. Textures done in Photoshop.
As you can see the spec map is still missing (put in a rough placeholder).



C&C very welcome!

oh and here's the diffuse:



cheers

PLyczkowski

I think you should split the mesh at the seams to fix the shading issues or use smoothing groups.

Steve Schulze

It's an interesting design. I think the spiky bit on the bottom is really going to get in the way when he's swinging it around.

Are you going to add the handles that real scythes have on them? I'd think it'd make a tool that's kind of unwieldy as a weapon to begin with a bit more effective.

rooster

yeah something's pretty wrong with the shading on the axe head, I'd spend some time sorting that out. Its also kind of hard to see the normal map at work on the final asset, maybe too much grime and overlays, and some work on the spec to get the light playing off it more?
Things like darkening the diffuse where you have the little notches on the bottom- I understand the logic, but now you can't see any shading so it looks diffuse only

mr.sin

@PLyczkowski (wow, thats a hard name...): yeah it's really bothering me.. think I'll try some creasing, hopefully this helps.

@Jackablade: thanks . yeah that this one could be dangerous for the user himself came up in my mind... but I thought it looks cool and helps him getting rid of enemies behind him faster. I kinda like the idea of the handle... will give it a try!

@rooser: so maybe a little too much dirt on it? will try to make it more specific to some areas and keep the normal map noticeable.

thanks guys for the feedback! this is really helping

Joseph Silverman

This thing has pretty weird proportions. Is it supposed to be a one handed hatchet style weapon, or a full sized scythe? If it's a full sized scythe, how does one hold, swing, block, jab with it? This carefully about how the weapon is employed, and then tweak its proportions to suit that.

mr.sin

@SupRore: it isn't supposed to be comfortable for the guy using it. But yes, you're right. I'll think about it and try some sketches of how he could actually use it ^^.

so, here's the update:
fixed the shading issue, made a spec map and smaller tweaks. Next I need to fix small uglyspots in the diffuse and clean up the normal (chain looks damn ugly).
Hope you like ^^

(click for full size)






aaaand a small pan around the model (hopefully you can see the specular better in motion ). please excuse the stuttering, my pc is pretty lame...

http://www.vimeo.com/10349916

cheers

mr.sin

ok guys, I wanted to go to bed but I got this character in my head so I had to do a little sketch...
and yes I am serious, and no I'm not drunk.

feel free to laugh, it's just an idea:
why not give this bad ass huge axe to... a cute looking fuzzy... thing? He could get some razorsharp teeth, claws and these creepy white glowing eyes. maybe something like a poncho with an big hoodie for his giant head..
anyways... here's the sketch:



let me know what you think. maybe it's just a little too late for me and I'm starting to get nuts...

cheers

gammaslam

i like the idea. Make sure you make the axe pretty huge

StevenEgan

Latest updates on the axe are looking great!

Cool character too.

mr.sin

thanks guys, good to hear that!
I think the axe is going to be bigger than this guy himself.. but lets see how they work together ;D. hopefully I can post some updates this afternoon.

cheers!

DrunkShaman

Awsome axe!!! Looking forward to see the updates!

imb3nt

This... right here.. is f'ng awesome.



AMAZING work.

mr.sin

thank you guys xD great to hear you people like it more coming pretty soon! I will see what I can do today

DerDude

aus praktischen Gründen würde ich die Dornen an den Seiten anbringen, da man beim halten sonst immer gucken müsste das man sich das Teil nicht reinrammt ^^ Aber ansonsten find ich die Axt auch interessant, nur müssten die Dornen für meinen Geschmack woanders hin

mr.sin

ich antworte mal auf englisch, damit das hier nich untergeht ;D.

I was thinking about relocating the spikes, but now with that character design I think they are not that much of a problem... his body is so small that they would hardly get in his way. But after those were so much discussed I think the best would be to sketch out a rough model of this guy and simply test how he could handle this axe ^^

DerDude

^^

rooster

axe looks a lot better
nice character too, think I prefer the nekkid one

mr.sin

@rooster: thanks and: you're a pervert...

here comes a new video in higher resolution, wires, blended wires aaand turned off diffuse. You might think the lag and stuttering comes from my pc which is too lame for handling realtime models AND recording the whole screen but in fact it's an automated algorithm so you can see every frame more clearly...:poly131:

http://vimeo.com/10392461