Urist McDorf (high poly->low progression?)

daemoria

tl;dr:
how do i make dem low polies dorfs?

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Hello Polycount, I've decided to come out from the shadows and actually get something worth posting here finished.

I do have some questions that i sort of need answered before I feel i can continue from where i currently am. My goal for this highpoly sculpt is to make a current-generation game res mesh and import into the UDK with rigging, texturing, and all that jaz.

The problem I currently am facing is how i should split this up, if at all for the low poly mesh. I can think of several ways
-method 1
naked body gets lowpoly mesh, hair is joined to it. clothing are seperate meshes floating on top of the body
-method 2
mesh everything together, join the shirt and arms together, essentialy deleting the chest/legs. possibly keep the foot cover floating.
-method 3
???

goggles are going to be a separate mesh with a strap (that i have yet to extract/import), so I know how to deal with those suckers.





any tips or advice on how to proceed you fine people can give me will be greatly appreciated. while i do feel the forms are pretty solid if you find anything horrendous about them, feel free to say so.

Also, if you absolutly hate that matcap please tell me, I am trying to find/tweak a good matcap for model presentation.

haikai

Method 2. I can't think of too many games where they'd keep the body underneath clothing as a separate mesh. Not only is it a waste of polygons, but it probably means you're wasting UV space on parts that will rarely ever be seen, and it will be a nightmare to deal with the meshes clipping when animated.

I like the hands. His neck/throat should get more narrow as it gets down to the collar bones in front. The back of his legs (knees) look a bit unfinished.

camza

Someone plays Dwarf Fortress...

I'm with haikai on this. One of the first things we're taught about game art is to delete unseen geometry. There's no point in going to all the trouble of making a body that will never be seen in-game.

MissMaddyTaylor

I second what they said^

Awesome work so far man

daemoria

I just wanted to post here again so I don't lose steam,unlikely as it may be. I've built pretty much the entire low poly mesh. Lots of optimization can be done still, but that's something i'll save for after the baking i think.

Next up is chopping off the jaw and back of the head and merging the hair mesh in.

I can tell already that this dorf will be a small nightmare to bake out.

krisCrash

Neat silhouette, especially with those sloped shoulders, different from all those square dwarves ;D
How about sculpting the beard and hair some more? Even if you are just going to do some alpha hair, it could contribute to a nice normal map.
I like his pants, even though that is a rather strange sewing pattern ;D

daemoria

Thanks for the comments people. It helps me move forward knowing someone other than me likes the character.
@haikai; I'll definatly keep an eye on the throat for my next dude, this one's beard covers it up so I dont really want to spend too much time on it.
@camza; dwarf fortress...what makes you say that? I love that game, this is my 'fan art' for it.
@terrabite; thanks!
@krisCrash; I tried to take this dwarven peasant away from the stereotypes. I find that it's more fun to create than copy what everyone else is doing. I'm actually taking this guy into zbrush for one final touch up for his goggles, they were really letting me down when i examined them closely, I'll see what i can do with the hair while im sculpting.

While im here, i might as well post what i just sketched. These are some props for a room that this dwarf (and another miner) breaks into. Sealed away in a long forgotten chamber under the earth is this nice cheerful room. I'll do some more sketches, and then start blocking this out soon.




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anyone here know how I can change up the thread title?