Character for Unreal - WIP Thread

Megabiv

Hey all, here are some thumbs i've drawn from ideas i have for a character to use in Unreal Tournament 3, it could be used for other engines too, but its being designed for UT3 mainly. I'd love some feedback on where to go from here, im currently pleased with the look of number 1 personally, with a dash of number 4 for the boots. Im after creating a robotic character but im thinking of perhaps a human/organic head perhaps could be mixed in. Im even thinking of the classic power armour type. Any ideas,comments and crits are welcomed :poly121:

Megabiv

I've picked the shape of number 1 and tried filling in the details. So below are two attempts, just looking for any feedback from anyone really to help me create a better character.

zenarion

I suggest you do more thumbnails, and really explore some different shapes, instead of "bulky guy with very short torso". #5 was really going somewhere, and looked kinda interesting. It needed some balance though. So back to thumbnails with you, and knock out something memorable.

BradMyers82

Hey, my advice is to not go with some crazy big monster dude you made up. This sort of thing is way overdone imo and people will not be able to relate to it. Its sort of like making an alien. People can always say, "that's what he is supposed to look like" when in reality the character might just look like complete garbage.
If you made a realistic human, cyborg kind of guy or something with some real world elements I think it would work out much better for you. What ever you choose, make sure you create very highliy detailed and relistic concept are before you model ANYTHING. If you can't get your thoughts out on 2d, you certainly will struggle with 3d.

Good luck!

Megabiv

Hey thanks for the comments, and tomorow i'll go back to the thumbnails. I do understand what you mean about the over used "bulky guy" design of which i am a sucker for, but i'll try something else. Im liking the idea of a cyborg style character, but its hard for me to see anything but the Strogg from the Quake games which did it so well. I'll certainly give it a try though and who knows i might get something good out of it

Megabiv

Well i've done a couple more thumbnails to hopefully get something slightly original or memorable. I've tried to add a sort of decorative neck brace for 2 & 4 to try and give the character some importance. 1 is an organic character fused with mechanical parts a bit like the Borg from Star trek or the Strogg from the Quake games. Personally im liking the look of number 3 as it giving the vibe of a mechanical killing machine. Still feedback is always welcome, help me make something sweet (modelling skills permitting)

samgriffiths

liking 3, not sure about the feet - feel a little thin and weak.

Megabiv

I get you, just my drawing skills have a bit more to be desired. The legs are meant to be mechanical, and work similar to a kangaroo's leg. Its a bit hard to get it all across in a silhouette. I'll have a bash at drawing the legs seperately and see if i can get whats in my head down on paper.

Megabiv

Heres a better picture i've drawn of the leg. So try an imagine this leg on the sillhouettes 3 & 4 as 1 & 2 have standard Bipedial legs.

Megabiv

A bit of a sketch over on one of my thumbnails. To me it has a look of an insect, such as a locust or grass hopper and more importantly it doesn't look like its from a Games Workshop setting. Feedback and crits welcomed.

Megabiv

Small update today, added some colour over my previous image with a sandy colour scheme and some blue's to complement them. When im back at Uni next week I will be starting the construction of this (since the PC im working on doesn't have Max) so any comments & crits would be great. I might have a go at trying some other designs of this character with different body parts while im in the drawing mood.

haiddasalami

Hmm this newest version seems to give me an impression of a tail

Megabiv

A huge package . Seriously though, it wasn't intended for that but now you mention a tail I might have a go at working one in and seeing what its like.

Megabiv

Right its been a while but i have my base mesh completed for now. It's still open to some more tweaks but its going to be put into Zbrush later today so no major changes (unless really needed). I've had to tweak my character due to me not being able to look at the Krall skeleton from Unreal 3 when i was making the concept. This means that the head is no longer upright as a normal humanoid, but instead hangs over the chest since thats the way epic made their skeleton thats what i have to work with. Its currently at 11K tri's and is rigged for use in the game. Oh does any one have any tips for skulpting armour or on a hard surface etc.. in Zbrush as i find that often my work in Zbrush seems to blob or just overall bumpy when i skulpt with it. Basically i find it quite hard to get a smooth model out of it.

Below is my characters silhouette from the mesh and the mesh with and without wires. Feedback & Crits welcomed

gauss

If you're going to make a character that fits the Krall skeleton, take a few other cues from that character design. While it's probably my least favorite set from UT3 notice how that at least even in it's base pose the Krall look balanced and upright. Your character from the profile view looks like he's about to tip over backwards. The arms are very short and awkward, and the legs seem awkwardly set as well.

http://features.cgsociety.org/stories/2007_12/UT3/images/Krall_HighPoly_1.jpg

Megabiv

Cheers for the input, as all feedback can be helpful. The arms were built around the Krall skeleton and are placed as the skeleton shows. I've taken a shot of my model over the Krall skeleton and my arms start and stop in the correct places. The Legs do look a little awkward and in places don't exactly fit the bones but with them rigged they work perfectly fine in the game and its this working in game that im mostly concerned with.



Here is some progress on my High poly im creating in 3ds max due to me being pretty poo at Zbrush with hard surface things.

Megabiv

Done some more work on the high poly model. Im feeling that its pretty much done now, but im open to suggestions while im working on it.

Megabiv

Right a bit more work in 3DS Max and this is what i have, shoulder pads included. I've tried adding some wear & damage to the character in max but im still undecided if i like it or not.

Megabiv

Small Update, here is my character with the normal baked from the high poly model. I've also started texturing the diffuse map, but at present its just main blocks of colour to get an overall feel of the look, more details and effort is currently underway .





Heres a shot of the character in the game. Ignor the fact its super super bright, but thats Unreal being a pain with the specular maps and it won't be any where near as glossy as this.

Megabiv

Another progress update for my character Surge. I still need to add wear and tear to the character and finalise the normal map with additional details that have been added but overall i feel its getting there. Below is a render in max and below that is a shot of the character in UT3. Feedback welcomed!

Megabiv

Well the character is finished, and i shall be uploading it for people to play with and any feed back would be great as i need it to improve.



I also have a youtube video with the wires and textured model.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvrFrcuLBZM[/ame]


I also have found a problem when trying to place this character into its own faction. Instead of going peacefully like my other models, this one refuses to load the Krall animation in the character menu and turns into a complete mess as displayed below.



If any one has any experience of getting a custom Krall faction please let me know here or a PM.

Megabiv

I've done a render of my model in Marmoset now, its the first time i've used it and it wasn't as overwhelming as i first thought :P.



And here is a picture showing my Wires, Normal and my complete map on my model.

BradMyers82

Hey congrats on making it full circle with this character. I'm sure you learned a lot, and simply knowing the workflow is def. a good thing.

What is your goal with creating this character if I might ask?

For me, any personal work I do, I create in the hopes that it will be a really great addition to my portfolio, and land me a dream job.

I'm afraid a character as stylized as this won't really help you portfolio wise. But if you were just using this as a learning experience I think it will indeed really help you a lot in the long run.


Great job tho!

reminds me of a zealot from starcraft.

Megabiv

Hey cheers, well its for a project at university and also a learning exercise for me to help me progress and work on improving my skills. If i've any chance of working in games i'll need plenty more practice, and this also gives me experience with the Unreal Ed which is a handy tool to learn too.