Just want to comment on your progress. This is coming along nicely.
I think the emerald dragon scheme you're going towards would be cool. How far do you plan to take this thing? Rig/animate or pose in a small diorama of some such? Either way, definitely following this thread.
wheeeeew... so i finally decided on a colour scheme that i like! going for deep red + tiger/zebra style stripes to break up the colour a little bit. still need to do almost all of the scales lol.
also still need to do spec + gloss maps, see if i can differentiate between scales and skin a bit.
I think I like the blue color scheme more. I'm not sure if it was the overall value or just the darker tiger strips in the red pictures, but I felt that some of your form and detail got a bit muddled. A more subdued color scheme like your latest one makes it easier to see all the work you've done. That's not to say red can't work though if that's what you want, probably just needs to be pulled in a little.
This is awesome man!:)
To me, the blue color scheme is the best.
Just a question: are you using photoshop to paint all the diffuse or you are using another program like bodypaint, 3dcoat, etc?
I have a couple suggestions though, if you don't mind, I did a paintover of the head:
I think this guy could look really interesting if you pushed some colour gradients into the texture, and gave the harder scales (like the top of the head) more contrast with the cracks, and less contrast/smoother blends for the smaller, more fleshy scales. Notice how the orange cuts off pretty hard on the top of the head and the cheek. Getting some darker lines and brighter spots of colour in key areas like the top of the head, the cheeks and jaw will really help emphasize the shapes. Notice also the tips of the nose, the bright spots just help to make the shapes pop, similar to what's going on with the horns.
Plus, I think these warm gradients would look sweet on your dragon. (but that's just my opinion, not sure if you're going for a colder, grimmer look, or what)
It depends entirely on how you want to do this, but in my opinion, I think it would be best to just go nuts on the head for the time being, figure out the colour scheme you want to go for, how you want to use gradients and specular, and it should transition nicely to the rest of the model.
I'm looking forward to seeing more of this, and I have to say, you've inspired me to want to make a dragon myself in the (hopefully) near future.
do you have skype or steam? if possible i'd like to chat (and no, it won't be to ask you to do it for me lol) :P
edit: oh and any animators interested in having a play, please PM me. i'm happy to upload the mesh for people to use. although i might ask for a rig in return :P
I don't have/use skype, but my steamID is jonfletc (or JFletcho, I can never remember if you add people by the ID or their chosen steam name) either way I have a penguin avatar.
so over the last few days i've been re-reading a lot of my old dragon reference books. the dungeons and dragons draconomicon, flight of the dragons, and good old google came up with some good stuff with regards to the theory of flight and the mechanics behind it. i've also recieved criticism about the forearm position, and how it would affect both flight and movement on the ground...
it led me to believe that my dragon wouldn't even be able to take off the ground, let alone dominate the sky... so i've come to the conclusion that before i get way too committed to the texturing (as i was still playing with colours), i'd rather do a redesign now, and get it right... than have a finished piece i'm unhappy with and would probably redo anyway. sorry if that disappoints anyone!
but anyway, here are the general redesign points i've come up with, please feel free to do any of your own paint overs, or give criticism. i want to do this right!
Looking great. The re design is definitely in the right direction. The wing leather should always fall behind the back legs around the tail for enough lift. Cant wait to see him remodelled
Replies
I think the emerald dragon scheme you're going towards would be cool. How far do you plan to take this thing? Rig/animate or pose in a small diorama of some such? Either way, definitely following this thread.
also still need to do spec + gloss maps, see if i can differentiate between scales and skin a bit.
but still, it lets me play with colours quite easily!
To me, the blue color scheme is the best.
Just a question: are you using photoshop to paint all the diffuse or you are using another program like bodypaint, 3dcoat, etc?
Looking awesome, I like how this is coming along!
I have a couple suggestions though, if you don't mind, I did a paintover of the head:
I think this guy could look really interesting if you pushed some colour gradients into the texture, and gave the harder scales (like the top of the head) more contrast with the cracks, and less contrast/smoother blends for the smaller, more fleshy scales. Notice how the orange cuts off pretty hard on the top of the head and the cheek. Getting some darker lines and brighter spots of colour in key areas like the top of the head, the cheeks and jaw will really help emphasize the shapes. Notice also the tips of the nose, the bright spots just help to make the shapes pop, similar to what's going on with the horns.
Plus, I think these warm gradients would look sweet on your dragon.
It depends entirely on how you want to do this, but in my opinion, I think it would be best to just go nuts on the head for the time being, figure out the colour scheme you want to go for, how you want to use gradients and specular, and it should transition nicely to the rest of the model.
I'm looking forward to seeing more of this, and I have to say, you've inspired me to want to make a dragon myself in the (hopefully) near future.
Keep it coming!
do you have skype or steam? if possible i'd like to chat (and no, it won't be to ask you to do it for me lol) :P
edit: oh and any animators interested in having a play, please PM me. i'm happy to upload the mesh for people to use. although i might ask for a rig in return :P
I think the diffuse alpha is used for the burning effect when a dragon is killed?
You could make it all black with a few white spots and try to figure out if there's a difference ingame.
Holy balls man, sick paintover.
How difficult is it to get a new skeleton/animation into Skyrim?
I have an old game res dragon I'd like to put in, but he's a little beefy/chubb-o.
so over the last few days i've been re-reading a lot of my old dragon reference books. the dungeons and dragons draconomicon, flight of the dragons, and good old google came up with some good stuff with regards to the theory of flight and the mechanics behind it. i've also recieved criticism about the forearm position, and how it would affect both flight and movement on the ground...
it led me to believe that my dragon wouldn't even be able to take off the ground, let alone dominate the sky... so i've come to the conclusion that before i get way too committed to the texturing (as i was still playing with colours), i'd rather do a redesign now, and get it right... than have a finished piece i'm unhappy with and would probably redo anyway. sorry if that disappoints anyone!
but anyway, here are the general redesign points i've come up with, please feel free to do any of your own paint overs, or give criticism. i want to do this right!
And that paintover is sick.
i'm really struggling with scales at the moment, finding it really difficult to get them looking how i want them to... but i'll get there!
thanks for the feedback, and please any criticism would be gratefully received!
looks cool.