Disgraced Templar
polycounter lvl 9
*link removed*
Title: Disgraced Templar
Name: Paul Packham
Country: Scotland
Software: 3ds max, Mental Ray, Photoshop
This is a low-poly character design, themed on the Templar knight. The image was made to suggest a disgraced Templar (hence him not wearing the typical white cloth standard) who turned rogue/mercenary due to a bloody and greedy conflict in the 'Holy Land'.
This was my first attempt at low-poly art, so everything was done within 3ds Max using Projected Normal Maps and Render to Texture operations.
Character: 4,302 polygons, 512x512 maps (head, torso, arms, legs, boots).
Weapons: 786 polygons (708 from sword, 78 from shield). They each use 512x512 maps
The low poly models are using projected normal maps from high-poly models also created in 3ds Max.
WIP/EXTRAS PHOTOS
High Poly Model:
*link removed*
Camera shot (Wire on Shaded):
*link removed*
Camera shot (Wireframe):
*link removed*
Maps - diffuse, ambient occlusion (from High Poly), normal (from high poly), bump:
*link removed*
Render Passes - standard 3-point light set up, shaded, skylight, ambient occlusion:
*link removed*
Photoshop Composition Passes - original background with comp'd character, key-out character, final effects and blending:
*link removed*
I only discovered this awesome site today through an issue of 3D Artist Mag, so please bare with me if I left anything out. All comments are welcome, and I am looking forward to becoming an active member of this wonderful community.
Title: Disgraced Templar
Name: Paul Packham
Country: Scotland
Software: 3ds max, Mental Ray, Photoshop
This is a low-poly character design, themed on the Templar knight. The image was made to suggest a disgraced Templar (hence him not wearing the typical white cloth standard) who turned rogue/mercenary due to a bloody and greedy conflict in the 'Holy Land'.
This was my first attempt at low-poly art, so everything was done within 3ds Max using Projected Normal Maps and Render to Texture operations.
Character: 4,302 polygons, 512x512 maps (head, torso, arms, legs, boots).
Weapons: 786 polygons (708 from sword, 78 from shield). They each use 512x512 maps
The low poly models are using projected normal maps from high-poly models also created in 3ds Max.
WIP/EXTRAS PHOTOS
High Poly Model:
*link removed*
Camera shot (Wire on Shaded):
*link removed*
Camera shot (Wireframe):
*link removed*
Maps - diffuse, ambient occlusion (from High Poly), normal (from high poly), bump:
*link removed*
Render Passes - standard 3-point light set up, shaded, skylight, ambient occlusion:
*link removed*
Photoshop Composition Passes - original background with comp'd character, key-out character, final effects and blending:
*link removed*
I only discovered this awesome site today through an issue of 3D Artist Mag, so please bare with me if I left anything out. All comments are welcome, and I am looking forward to becoming an active member of this wonderful community.
Replies
-polygon distrubution seems random and could be used more effectively for a game res assett.
-some proportions seem a bit off- length of the arms seems a bit short- feet are not shaped like feet. neck seems very long almost defeating the purpose of that helmet.etc
-armor design looks a bit wierd to me- it might be good to show some reference for that- IMO it looks like you made what you *think* templar armor looks like.
-material definition on the shield/sword doesn't hold up- they seem flat and not as shiny as they should be- on the whole the materials could use some more love
lose the background for now and focus on the templar /2 cents
1. Your model looks like pieced together primatives and hardly does that poly count justice, there are a huge number of wasted polys in your model. I am guessing by polys you mean quads not tris because that mesh is way too dense to be 4k tris. You should be able to pull off this level of detail in well under 3k tris, take a look at some of the tutorials here regarding joints and then just axe all the loops that do nothing for the sillouette. Use a lot of reff and be sure to get your proportions right, as it is the neck is way too long for a start.
2. Your textures... where to begin, for one, you are using 4 texture sheets for your diffuse alone, that is bad especially with the amount of wasted space on each sheet. Typically you would fit all that onto 1 sheet possibly 2 to allow for head interchange in a game engine. Some rpg style games break up the sheets like you have to allow different armor pieces to be swapped in etc but they typically use much smaller sheets for things like hands and feet etc. I will assume that is what you were going for, given that you still need to use the space on the sheets more efficiently and then downscale them, possibly 256x256 for the amount of detail you have in your textures. Basicly scale up your uvs and fit them better into the space available then downscale the textures themselves. You are also lacking any kind of detail in the textures, no folds no rust no nothing. Seeing as you have broken up your model into sections you can afford to work on each one adding details that fit the component. Find a ton of reff for each piece, get your model shaped right then get to the textures.
The design looks pretty good, the problem is, your model looks like a mock up not a completed piece. Also aviod turbosmooth on your completed model, its fine for seting up a subD highpoly mesh but does not belong anywhere near a model destined for any kind of game. If this is purely for a still then you can use some turbosmooth but be sure to set your smoothing groups properly and apply it by smoothing group to avoid sharp edges getting lost. Your best bet to get an idea of how to put this guy together right would be to look at the low poly sticky thread, there are tons of models there you can learn from.
Great start and welcome to PC
I really don't get the sense he is disgraced, I know you explained that he doesn't have a Templar's typical white cloth. However without you telling me that I would have never noticed that detail, when I think disgraced I think he's bruised, bloodied up, has been beat down and maybe have gone though hell (could even be literally)
4K Polys (about 8k tris) isn't exactly low poly either although it depends on who you ask. Also in your final wire frame presentations it's usually best to present them in a single color, it looks a little bit more professional.
The last thing is the background looks really sloppy and when I can tell that the cutout filter was used, that's a bit of a problem. The original image you have is nice and with a little more time and love you could have changed the color and the ground and make it look much much better.
It's not bad for your first attempt though:)
I learnt alot about anatomy, reference, and good texturing from my last 3 projects which were High Poly, so I'm sure this area will improve in my next piece too.
Thanks!