Allosaurus - A Staffs Uni project

Exyled

Hey guys,

For one of my modules i've been given an assignment to create a dinosaur that will be animated using CAT rigging and imported into Unreal. I've opted for one of my favourite dinos, the Allosaurus!

I quickly mocked up a concept which redesigns the creature slightly and adds a few new features, i.e. accessories and spikes. The whole idea behind it is to bring out the hunting attributes of the Allosaurus but to add abit of tameness to it i.e. it's been captured by a tribe and is used like one of their own hunters.



The idea is subject to change though and ultimately dependent on time frame so some of the accessories may be removed or altered.

The base mesh is complete but has been changed slightly when compared to the concept, i.e. the arms.






Here's how its currently looking in ZBrush:



Just looking for some feedback and critique as I progress through the project, hoping to create an awesome looking model and ill update this thread with any progress as it happens!

Thanks.

slipsius

Base mesh looks fine. The zBrush pic is completely useless right now though. Have you done any sculpting on it yet? It looks like you just imported it into zBrush. You didnt even smooth it yet.

The face distribution looks very even, which is great for zBrush. Afterwards, you may want to retopo it, give it less tris in some areas, and more in others, like all the joints.

Keep at it.

Exyled

Thanks for the feedback Slipsius, I haven't made any sculpting progress yet so it is just the imported model, the image is just showing where I am at the minute ill replace it with an update sculpt once theres more progress

Exyled

Progress Update:

Sculpted in a bunch of detail to the model, hopefully its starting to look a bit more life like!





Still got a fair bit left to sculpt before I can move on to the scales and skin sculpting, however im pretty sure i've got a good idea of what's left to do.

Major parts are obviously the eye needs to be shaped in and an actual eyeball placed in the mesh, the neck needs some more wrinkles and general sagging areas to look more realistic and the torso could do with abit more detail and definition in my opinion. Also looking at adding skin folds and wrinkles around the legs and tail area.



Feel free to rip it apart, best way to give me an idea of what you guys think and what I can add, all feedback is useful and appreciated!

Looking to get the sculpt finished by friday night so I can work on the skin detailing over the weekend.

Exyled

Quick update on the sculpting progress:

Started to add some more minor details like skin folds and such:





Im very happy with how the head shape and legs are looking however I do think that the neck could do with some work. There a few things left to complete, in terms of silhouette, but I think it would be wise to start on the scale creation soon.

Once again, feel free to critique and provide suggestions on how I can improve the sculpt, after all I do earn marks for taking your criticisms on board!

Thanks guys.

Exyled

Update on the sculpting, got the eye shaped in and general details all over. Got some advice from my lecturer and he advised me to make the muscle detailing abit stronger and more hard looking, also mentioned adding some more skin folds around crevice areas, which I am aiming to complete tomorrow and then I will begin scale sculpting.







I would really appreciate it if I could get some more feedback on it, as i've mentioned it helps me gain more marks, and of course will help me increase my ability!

Thanks guys.

gavku

Looking good so far, I would say just concentrate on getting the underlying muscle shapes correct first before adding in detail.

Tully did an awesome Allosaurus sculpt if you're in need of ref...

http://www.ldaustinart.com/index.php?page=3d&id=sculp_allosaurus

Narlyteeth

That's some good progress I love seeing people make Dinos on the forum. I would like to see what you are referencing for details. I know we don't have record of the mucsle structures of dinosaurs but you can still reference modern animals to help with your anatomy. I feel the wrinkles are too evenly sized and too parallel and that makes it look more like segment from a caterpillar than wrinkles of a large vertebrate animal. Keep up the work, I hope to see more

GO DINOS!!

Exyled

Hey guys, thanks for the replies!

@gavku - Yeah, i've been looking at reforming some of the muscle structures, particularly around the leg and arm, mainly because the reference images i've been using have been rather varied muscle structure images e.g. http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Allosaurus-muscle-study-202225669 and my own general knowledge of anatomy. Im definitely looking to get a more accurate depiction of the muscles and that sculpt looks like it could be really useful, thanks!

@Narlyteeth - Thanks! Again, i've mainly been using reference from various sources on google, and looking at other similar dino's, T-rex etc. Not really looked into modern animals, but that seems like a good route to go down! Recently found a great source in Vlad Konstantinov - http://swordlord3d.daportfolio.com/ so i'll be using his work as inspiration from now on.

Yeah, i'm thinking that too, I'm aiming to make them alot more varied in shape and size to make it look abit more realistic.

Thanks again for the feedback guys, ill update again as soon as I have progress!

Exyled

Apologies for my lack of recent updates, been abit swamped with work lately so ive been neglecting my forum threads!

I should also mention that because deadlines are fast approaching, I had to take the tough decision to scrap the redesign ideas and go with creating the creature on its own.

I went back and took a look at the muscle structures, but due to the time left I felt it best to not attempt any major reforms and opted for some minor changes, i.e. the leg before then starting work on the scale creation:



Used a mixture of different alphas to achieve the desired affect



Then I used polypaint to give the creature some colour, however I feel it is abit too flat and kinda covers up some of the detail too much, what do you guys think?





Retopologised the mesh and kept it to below my 12, 000 tri limit which was handy, and I also created a basic CAT rig so I can start to skin the mesh for animating:

Retop:


CAT Rig:


Im currently working on refining the diffuse and normal maps and ill update once I have some more progress!

Again, all C&C is much apprectiated guys.

Thanks!

Exyled

Before making any more refinements to the maps, the unwrap was altered to provide a better pixel density between the UV islands and to give the spikes and claws their own UV space as opposed to being overlayed:



The new unwrap is giving the overall model a better look when checkered and is also helping to provide improved maps:



Because the unwrap was re-done, the sculpt was revisited and some more work done to it, to increase the details, it was then reprojected using the cage tool in max:



and how it looks on the model:


Next step is to create the diffuse and specular maps, and to add any further refinements to the normal map. Wierd issue with the current normal map is that when it is applied to the model there are zero seams however when the map is adjusted in photoshop to any degree, seams show up over the entire model. Hopefully this wont present any issues when imported into engine.

Exyled

Just a small update showing my finalised Polypaint:

Exyled

Went back and did some refining of the sculpt due to my lecturers advice, redid my maps and put the model into UDK to see how its currently looking:







Had to reset my rig and skinning, but ill be working on that next along with further refinement of my maps.

Would love some feedback if possible guys

Exyled

Quick update, just some further refinements to the texture maps, theyre effectively complete now along with the skinning and rigging, just need to complete the animations, get it into engine and i'm all finished

Maps:



And how it looks currently in engine:





Any feedback on if and how I could improve the maps would be fantastic

Ged

looks pretty good as a model but Im fairly sure it is quite off balance and looks like it would fall on its face. is the tail too thin or the angles of the bones off a bit?

Exyled

Thanks for the feedback Ged I can see what you mean, its something ive noticed before but it's never really seemed that much of a problem till now. Im definitely going to try and take a look at fixing it, and hopefully I can sort it out in my animation as i'd prefer not to alter the mesh itself, as i'd lose my skinning data.

Hellmouth

Might be nitpicking, but if I remember correctly their palms faced inwards as opposed to backwards.

Selaznog

I'd say the tail is too small and that's what's making it seem off balance. Also, both legs are back (which I know is for rigging purposes), but if you move one of the legs forward, like it's in a fast walk, that'll really help the situation.

I don't know as much about dinosaurs as I used to, but the feet seem too small and chunky. I think it could really help the shape more if the middle toes were longer and bigger. Also, Look at these claws:


Just look at how badass those are! No offense, but the ones on yours seem small and poky


Obviously the proportional things I mentioned can't really be fixed right now with tearing it apart, but maybe keep it in mind for next time :P


And more of a personal thing, but I'm finding the colours on this guy are pretty dull.


I think the above image is something you could aim for (but with the orange skin you have). Look at a Komodo Dragon, and all you see is a yellow brown. Look closer, and there are patches of orange, bright yellows and greys. Their feet are dull from being covered in dirt. I'd say keep the colours you have now, and maybe in photoshop just at some grunge to the diffuse map. I think tweaking the colours a bit are going to make it a bit more realistic

Exyled

@Hellmouth: Is this the type of thing you meant?



Obviously that image is just a quick adjustment but if so, I should be able to solve it when animating

@Selaznog: I agree, the tail is abit too skinny for my liking, and I can see exactly what you mean about the feet, they are a little on the short and stubby side :P But as you said i'd probably have to rip it apart to fix and with the time left its not really wise. However I do completely agree with the colour thing, ive been trying to grunge it up abit and add in some more colours but its been coming out a bit iffy, but im definitely going to keep at it, thanks for the images too!

Thanks for the feedback guys, it all really helps

Exyled

Quick update, might update with images of progress but for now given the deadline is close i've uploaded a test file containing all the data needed to test the character in UDK.

The character will respawn upon death, up to a maximum of 10 times, giving the player the chance to see the physics asset and animations in motion.

Download Link:

http://www.gamefront.com/files/21649964/Allosaurus+-+UDK+Test.rar

Again, feedback would be brilliant for improving the project after the hand-in