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Help me hand texture my (low poly) elf

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polycounter lvl 11
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MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
This is just a character im making for fun, and i was very pleased with the actual model and i dont want this to go wasted. For some reason i cant get muscles right because im pretty much winging it because ive never seen any techniques before.

If you guys could guide me through this it'd be great.

Form:
elfl.png

My attempt at texturing....
texattempt.png
uvd.png

uv

uhvd.png

Right now i think my main problem is being way to soft, but when i make harder painting it looks too hard. I cant find that nice midpoint.

For some reason i've never really had a problem with faces, but heres another project that was ditched because of my inability to paint muscles:
orc.png

Replies

  • woody_294
    What's your drawing like? You should study some anatomy, there's some muscle groups completely missing from the torso you've done.
  • SkyGround
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    SkyGround polycounter lvl 11
    1 - make base ligh for whole model first, only after make shapes and muscles
    2 - use more colors, cold light and warm shadows - for examples.
    3 - shadow is more saturated than light
    4 - look at your texture with at least 50-60% ambient, or even 100 (full white)
    BUT FIRS IF ALL - read this http://itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm
  • Steve Schulze
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    Steve Schulze polycounter lvl 18
    Using a nice hard edged brush would make things a whole lot easier too.
  • achillesian
    drop photo refs in your uv, use some photoshop filters, and paint over them. Or do what I do and make a high poly, bake out a nice ambient occlusion and paint from there.
  • Der Hollander
    I agree with woody and SkyGround, and from my personal experience in doing hand-painted textures, I would suggest not only working from a photo reference if you find your drawing skills lacking, but also to draw out a concept design so you have some sort of game plan to your textures.

    I would also add that if you're having trouble with color, do your texturing in grayscale first and then go over that grayscale with a mix of layers set to Color, Multiply, and Overlay blending modes (provided you're using Photoshop) and using layers set to normal for extreme lights and darks for some added definition.

    Try experimenting on a couple of smaller assets first to see what style you might like best.
  • Taylor Hood
    I think you need to get a hard edge brush, like Jackablade said, as it would definitely make muscle structure more clear, presentable and it'd look more professional.

    I like the form of the Elf, by the way.
  • madmuffin
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    madmuffin polycounter lvl 7
    SkyGround wrote: »
    BUT FIRS IF ALL - read this http://itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm

    Man this guy is one of my favorite artists, he has some videos of him painting like a chromey looking soldier and some space marines and another one I forget, but watching his process has always really helped me.
  • SkyGround
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    SkyGround polycounter lvl 11
    madmuffin wrote: »
    Man this guy is one of my favorite artists, he has some videos of him painting like a chromey looking soldier and some space marines and another one I forget, but watching his process has always really helped me.

    It will be great if you share link, can't find it
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    As for the muscle group thing, i had the majority of them in the torso but i couldnt get the abs right so i tried to tone down the abs and just have the pecks visible. So he wasnt buff, just toned. (Not an excuse, i wish i still had the earlier paintings)

    Ill start drawing in muscles with hard brushes and post as i go.

    I was looking at a photo reference when i drew the torso muscles, but refer to my first comment.

    You know, while were talking about painting, for some reason my photoshop no longer has a targa (and a bunch other bmp etc) save for some reason. If i start a new file and try to save it then it works but as soon as i add anything in it wont work.
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    So far:
    dewd.png
    48480608.jpg
    When the torso outline is good then ill do the arm outlines and then we can start shading :P.
  • Tom Ellis
    Nice start.

    I have a question. Did you reference (copy) a model from the WoW model viewer by any chance? The reason I ask is that your form and proportion is actually pretty good, but you clearly have no understanding of muscular anatomy.

    In any case, I know it's a generic answer you don't want to hear but as others have said, study study study anatomy.

    I literally stopped all my art work and got immersed in learning anatomy for a few months and it's helping me no end. Draw, read, memorise, from books and you'll quickly learn what goes where and how it works.

    Taking the time to learn will really show in your work. You've obviously got the technical fundamentals down so worry about the art fundamentals now and your character work will improve.
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    My problem isnt so much the position of muscles, that can usually be achieved through some trial and error (with a picture ref right in front of you). But the shading is what tears everything up. Will do though, i looked at a picture for the torso i just drew also.

    Yes, i did take a model from the wow model viewer and create orthos with it (front and side render). I see nothing wrong with this because i dont have a concept artist. I make alot of things like this, and i do end up learning alot. I also left a slight wireframe on the orthos to see how some parts where achieved and what the polyflow was like.
  • Tom Ellis
    There's nothing wrong with using orthos at all man and modeling without them, or at least without any ref usually yields bad results anyway. Unless you're incredibly experienced and know your subject exceptionally well.

    The problem with just 'looking at a photo' and drawing on your model is that your not really learning anything. Also, when someone comes along and says 'the serratus and external oblique look wrong on your diffuse' you're gonna be like 'wut?'. So properly learning how anatomy works allows you to paint and model knowing what bits are where and how they all connect.

    For the shading. Try this:

    Basic round brush, 100% hardness.
    Set opacity/size to pen pressure and main opacity between 80-100%.

    Then paint your extreme values and a midtone and then alt-click to sample colours near to each other and just work the graduation in the values til they're smooth. Harsher height transitions will need shorter value gradients and longer, gradual changes in surface level will obviously call for drawn out changesxin value and smoother gradients.
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    I dont have a tablet, so i think pen pressure may be irrelevant.

    But thanks, ill try that. Im more worried about getting the get-go to start my arm muscle outlines, and then start painting.
  • SkyGround
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    SkyGround polycounter lvl 11
    frell I think it's VERY hard to make hand painted textures without tablet
    I recommend to buy one - Wacom Bamboo for example - good tablet,low price
  • Tom Ellis
    frell wrote: »
    I dont have a tablet, so i think pen pressure may be irrelevant.

    That's your problem right there.

    Painting with a mouse is going to be very very hard to get decent results. There are a very select few who manage it but it's by no means practical and if you can get hold of a Wacom then I highly recommend it. It's a great investment even though it's a lot of money up front. Also, I'm not sure if you're a student but you may be able to get one slightly cheaper. Certainly here in the UK there are a couple sites that take 10-15% off for students.
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    I can see how a tablet could be useful for sketching or drawing, but shading? Thats interesting. But pen pressure might be the key thing to shading.

    Is there any chance ill be able to complete this? I was highly inspired by http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76301 and this is a big let down..
  • SkyGround
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    SkyGround polycounter lvl 11
    frell Believe me - it's impossible to get such result without tablet
  • gsimpson91
    ya man, I have a Bamboo tablet, they are actually pretty cheap.. and are pretty good tablets i'd go with the medium size, the super small one is hard to get details, and the big one isn't really neccasary, and they are expensive, go to future shop or best by or something, there are a range of prices and sizes, it will help any texturing you will do and is a great investment.
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    Well judging by the comments i think this is the best it can get with a mouse, i used a combination of filters and just straight painting.

    62711539.png
  • Steve Schulze
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    Steve Schulze polycounter lvl 18
    Not looking too bad for a start, Frell. You've come a long way from where you started already.
    SkyGround wrote: »
    frell Believe me - it's impossible to get such result without tablet
    I'd say time consuming, rather than impossible. You'll spend a lot of time messing with the opacity slider.
  • Slash
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    Slash polycounter lvl 19
    if you're using a mouse for now, you'd wanna use 1-0 on your keyboard to control opacity, otherwise you'd waste a lot of time on the opacity slider, like Jack mentioned above.
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    I learn alot by seeing other peoples results and how they approach things.

    If someone has the time, could you please paint me a quick torso that i can tear apart and look at? And itd be great if you could do a quick step by step thing along with it, like that one wood tutorial.
  • woody_294
    I can recommend Figure Drawing by Andrew Loomis, look it up :) It had a very good description of the torso and muscles there, it's also got all the other body parts in there, male and female, I'm reading it right now ;)

    I could draw one for you but you'd be better off looking up a master!
  • phillip.bailey
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    phillip.bailey polycounter lvl 9
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    Wow thanks for those videos.

    Ok guys ive been practicing:
    humanmalebody.jpg
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    By the way guys, what res do you recommend painting on?
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    Im having trouble recreating the amazing results i got on the image above, but i found one of my problems was when i tried to repaint it for the second time i had a much harder time doing so at 1024x1024. I tried 512 again and had a much easier time:

    herbp.png
  • woody_294
    Getting better at the painting! Good job on the last one.

    Sorry for the quality of the paintover just thought I'd try and help out. The "6 pack" is much lower, and the muscles aren't of equal size. There should be a space between the pecs and the abdomen, where the sternum is. The top two are fairly large, the middle the smallest, and the lower muscles extend right into the crotch, although there may be some indentation as I've shown.

    The muscles covering the ribs are less prominent, and they should follow the line of the rib cage, which I've tried to illustrate.

    Excuse teminology, I'm not sure what they are and I don't want to guess them wrong and then someone repeat/curse me!

    herbpaintover.png

    PS. I'm no expert but I have been reading/studying anatomy for a whole week now!!
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    Ok im having a hard time moving the abs without distorting them to much, but im trying.
    Ignore the cape, im just brainstorming ideas, and the glove is not finished.
    musckles.png

    Painting:
    elfbody.jpg
  • Billz
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    Billz polycounter lvl 6
    Trust me man, if you had a tablet you'd be surprised at how good you can actually paint. Using pressure sensitivity will definitly give you that 'middle' you are looking for.

    Invest in an Intuos4. I use it for absolutely everything.

    Good work so far BTW!
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    Thanks, starting to get into this a bit more:
    elfnew.png
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    Last update for the night. Im gunna have to think of a new color scheme, i want a more 'dark' style.
    95394566.png
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    Found a much more pleasing color scheme for the elf i want:
    elfnew2.png
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    Im sorry if constantly posting images back to back is not allowed, im just trying to keep my work progress stored along with not letting my thread die.

    Final update :P Had to keep working a little more before bed XD.
    91411734.png

    Still very much a WIP, suggestions? The belt was unexpected so im going to have to figure out a way to work with the mirror. The cape will be complemented with extra armor, and will all be uved separately as gear.

    Im really excited about this, this is the best thing ive made ever along with my UMP :)

    Anyone else think i should soften the abs a bit?
  • achillesian
    you've tried to cover up where more muscles and features go with those red glyph things, not sure i agree with that.
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    you've tried to cover up where more muscles and features go with those red glyph things, not sure i agree with that.
    Not my intent at all, and why would i do that? They were going to go on the face but i also needed something on the chest and bare arms. It isnt even a solid design, its still transparent.
  • achillesian
    frell wrote: »
    Not my intent at all, and why would i do that?

    because you tend to avoid that stuff to the sides of the six packs, and don't define things much:

    Anatomy_sculpt_by_Frell262.png

    Human_Male_Torso_by_Frell262.png


    theres a lot of stuff to the sides of the abdominals that makes it more interesting
    final-all-4position.jpg

    here also is the orc wow texture, thought it might serve as a good reference as well
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    Ah. Both of those sculpts of mine are from quite a while ago (second one was one of my firsts with zbrush) and to me sculpting is much more difficult than painting.

    I see what muscles you're talking about though. Ill add them in. In the reference i was using at the time the guy wasnt completely buff, but you could see is abdominal quite well.

    This is what i had before i read your post, ill fix the muscles. Sadly im starting to lose interest in the character but im thinking its because im not spending enough time on everything below the waste. So now im going to be doing overall retouches to try and get myself motivated again. The parts i feel are weak right now are the knee pads, the boots, the belt, the face (still a WIP), and hands (havent done much to them yet).
    adfl.png
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    Took a break from the elf to practice texturing on the goblin SDK.

    gob.png

    Not that great, heres a flat
    minenv.jpg

    I am completely ignorant when it comes to wrinkles, so i just draw dark lines and blend them in a bit. Any suggestions? I have major issues with hair to.
  • Carl Brannstrom
    It's better to paint the bigger main shapes first and do the details later.
    I usually use a big hard brush to pain in the shades and lightning on all materials on the model. Then I use a smudge brush to blend them together and end with doing the details and adjustments.
    And yes, you should pick up one of those Loomis books!!!

    I made a paintover:


    pover.jpg

    Don't paint in the shadows/lightning like outlines. It make it look like there's no skin of fat overing the muscles. Try to just use a small, soft brush and paint dots with dark and light after getting the main shapes down to make it pop but maintain the illution of skin!

    Points!
    pover1.jpg

    Now I'm off for drinking.

    Good luck and goodbye :)
  • Buck
    Thats one nice paintover!
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    Thats very interesting corv, thanks for that.

    Before i buy a book, are there any tutorials on painting characters out there that are free? The keywords are waaay to broad and i dont get any results.

    right after i click post on this post ill be looking through that PSG tut for anything about wrinkles or hair.
  • pior
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    pior grand marshal polycounter
    No need for a book. Look at Corvs paintover, almost close your eyes to see the big shapes, then look at yours the same way. It should be pretty obvious. Good luck!
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    You must have missed the post above where i said i was going to take a break from my elf to practice on the goblin SDK. I posted pictures. I have no guidance on skin wrinkles nor do i know what to do to make them because i cant find any other tutorials.

    Curvs dot technique interests me alot though.
  • Mark Dygert
    A few things about the abs.

    - Abs don't stop at the belly button, they surround it.
    - A 6 pack is actually a 8 pack but due to public decency laws the last two typically aren't shown... They are normally not as super defined as the 6 pack but its important to hint at them.
    - The top of the abs are framed by the rib cage, the abs start under the rib cage, never on top of it.
    - The bottom lowest part of a rib cage lines up with your elbow which is typically where the first row of abs end.
    FrellAbs.gif


    - Don't forget about the other muscles surrounding the abs, the abs you have now look a little more like watery sacks sitting on top of everything rather than being a part of the muscle structure. I think this is coming from the overt highlights on the abs, you could either reduce the highlights or build up the surrounding muscles.
    abs2.gif
  • pior
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    pior grand marshal polycounter
    Uh ok. What I was trying to tell you is that its not about skin or wrinkles, its about the broad shapes, not the details. Reason why I am pointing at Corvs elf paintover is because it illustrates that. Keep looking.
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    This is the results i want to try to mimic, look around the eyes
    goblinfinaltexture.jpg

    I dont see how good form detail can outdo all those tiny details around the eyes. Im not arguing that forms arent important, i just think they can only hold so much detail.

    By the way, whats the best resolution to paint at?
  • pior
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    pior grand marshal polycounter
    Trust me on this, one cannot paint that kind of stuff convincingly if there is no good mass definition to hold it up. Thats the reason why yours look like they are "sharpied on" - its just a thin black make-up line on yours, because you assumed that, since it deep, it must be black. But on the reference you are looking at, there is no such thing. The wrinkles are not defined by being darker ; as a matter of fact, they are painted by recalling the values seen on the bigger shapes, only at a smaller scale.

    To do so, simply colorpick the highlight of the big shape surrounding the wrinkly spot you want to create, and use that. Same for the dark underside. But if you dont have that big shape nicely defined and painted already, you will have nothing to color pick from.

    So, go ahead and paint the broad shading on that goblin first.

    A good starting point is to bake the lowpoly shading of a good, creamy lighting setup to texture using transfer maps/rtt. Then use that as a base for the early shading. Then detail like explained above.

    As for res, for this one I would say 512. You could works 1024 and scale down but thats not necessary.
  • Two Listen
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    Two Listen polycount sponsor
    Going to second pior's emphasis on starting with the big shapes. Those lines for the wrinkles probably shouldn't even be there right now. Get your large shapes down, your volume and masses, some extra colors involved therein. Afterwords you'll have a much better understanding of where those wrinkles will be, and how to paint them in relation to the existing shapes.

    It's not about one outdoing the other, it's about using them properly to compliment eachother. And one thing is for certain - if you've got to choose between big shapes or details, go with your big shapes. And if you've got to choose which to do first - again, do your big shapes. Otherwise you'll spend 3 hours on wrinkles just to muddy them up when you finally get to forming those very necessary masses, and it'll just look like ass.
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