...nervous return...
polycounter lvl 11
first, a big thanks to all the folks here for your support, and, i think i did take it to heart too much, so my apologies to all.
I searched out my old threads before i posted this and it's seems only 2 remaining now (thanks to admin if you removed my clutter, i really appreciate it).
so, if you will allow me, i promise this will be my one and only thread now until completion, and no 'micro-tweak' posting
i did consider picking up from the last thread i posted, but with so many comments not related to the actual modelling, it seemed far too cluttered (caused by my over enthusiastic amount of updates and new threads, which i cringed at when i recently read through, again, my apologies).
so, here i am again. i had stored away my work for a while untouched, but dug it out again a few weeks ago with renewed enthusiasm and lessons learnt (i hope).
i had promised i was ready to begin texturing in my last post, but after having taken a long break and then viewing it again with fresh eyes, i decided to have a bash at fixing it up a bit more before i attempt the texture.
i am ready to begin learning to texture now, and i think i have taken this model as far as i can for my first attempt. it has dragged on for far too long and, as many members advised me previously, sometimes its better to keep moving forward and not get bogged down in the small details.
this has been my first attempt at modelling and it has been a long, frustrating, fun, interesting, foray into something i had wanted to do for a long time.
* it currently stands at 6556 polys (i wanted to keep it below 10,000).
* it's aimed at low-poly real-time use, i think..
* all images are orthographic view.
* i plan to try hand painted texture.
and..
am still, as always, eager and grateful for your crits, comments & advice.
thanks everyone
I searched out my old threads before i posted this and it's seems only 2 remaining now (thanks to admin if you removed my clutter, i really appreciate it).
so, if you will allow me, i promise this will be my one and only thread now until completion, and no 'micro-tweak' posting
i did consider picking up from the last thread i posted, but with so many comments not related to the actual modelling, it seemed far too cluttered (caused by my over enthusiastic amount of updates and new threads, which i cringed at when i recently read through, again, my apologies).
so, here i am again. i had stored away my work for a while untouched, but dug it out again a few weeks ago with renewed enthusiasm and lessons learnt (i hope).
i had promised i was ready to begin texturing in my last post, but after having taken a long break and then viewing it again with fresh eyes, i decided to have a bash at fixing it up a bit more before i attempt the texture.
i am ready to begin learning to texture now, and i think i have taken this model as far as i can for my first attempt. it has dragged on for far too long and, as many members advised me previously, sometimes its better to keep moving forward and not get bogged down in the small details.
this has been my first attempt at modelling and it has been a long, frustrating, fun, interesting, foray into something i had wanted to do for a long time.
* it currently stands at 6556 polys (i wanted to keep it below 10,000).
* it's aimed at low-poly real-time use, i think..
* all images are orthographic view.
* i plan to try hand painted texture.
and..
am still, as always, eager and grateful for your crits, comments & advice.
thanks everyone
Replies
Keep it up!
Thanks Darkleopard. yeah, the hips/thighs are pretty big. it was inspired by comments from a previous post by a member mentioning chun li's 'trademark thighs' were missing from my earlier attempts. after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing about what kind of physique i should aim for, this was the one i settled for.
**UPDATE** after more observation, i agree, hips etc. too big and some anatomy issues in that area.. so, adjusted that area somewhat. i'll post the updated model when i begin the texturing, soon (i don't want to fall back into my old habit of posting countless 'micro-tweak' updates
i guess i wanted it to have a kind of mix between stylized and real anatomy. i drew a lot of inspiration from the range of street fighter game character styles (from the recent SSIV with super-huge proportions, and the street fighter alpha series). i tried to follow more along the lines of the alpha characters following a kind members suggestion and post of a good ref image.
so , i guess i would say it's slightly more aimed at the alpha style.
i'll post a montage image of some of the various refs i used, for you guys to see and make it more helpful for crits, comments & advice
...
* it's aimed at low-poly real-time use, i think..
6556 is fine for a lower-poly character
* all images are orthographic view.
You may want to use perspective views to view and display your work, as any engine will render it out with perspective, and your model could look totally different by the end of it
* i plan to try hand painted texture.
Awesome! Hand painted textures will teach you a ton more than letting the engine do the rendering work!
As far as actual critique, the mesh is looking great so far! The butt looks like it's clenched or something, I'd move the verts out and make it look more relaxed and natural.
Past that, I'd say uv it, start painting your textures, and when you see a problem, adjust the mesh/uvs, no biggie since you won't be stuck with baked maps, you'll be easily be able to fix any imperfections if needed on the model or texture.
i just couldn't settle for the shape of the body & topology. it was really bugging me. so i shelved it for a time.
but i guess i'm determined to finish this 1 thing.. even if i never try another model again, just want to make this one good..
i guess texturing it would be a whole other huge learning process, but i couldn't be happy spending the time texturing a model i wasn't content with.
so, body parts (head/arms/torso/feet) are separate objects as i can scale/move around easier. needs a little tidying up back of shoulders/neck/back leg, couple of loops to the forearms,
but other than that i'm stopping with adding more topology.
i just really would appreciate help with the proportions (it's all about the proportions from here on now) **based on the image ref in the below picture**
(i know its not chun li anymore, just want to get this shape down now... even if it kills me!)
all advice and help with the proportions would be greatly appreciated..
knees too low?, feet too big?, etc..
So I think if you are finding it a bit difficult to pin point what you want, maybe you should just stick to the same character or something like that? I mean they look the same in terms of style of anime games etc (not my strong point in giving advice lol) but body wise they are quite different.
What you have done so far looks good, but I get the impression you are torn between the images. I completely sympathise on the whole wanting to finishing a project even if it kills you, I have a tank that I want to finish but its to much for me right now haha. So yeah keep at it and it will look good
after stopping, starting, frustration, i finally am happy i got the shape to match the reference and the overall shape looking like i finally want.
so, just gonna add a couple of edge loops to the forearms and then put her clothes back on..
pretty happy i got it at just over 5000 polys (according to top left info in 3Dmax viewport...)
thanks for going easy on me, i appreciate it
all previous attempts at this model lacked any kind of muscle definition (even though it low poly), so i really worked hard to bring good definition with limited polys.
this model has been a good lesson on how NOT to model something i guess.
but, i never had the fortune of studying modeling at college or having the time to attend some kind of classes. it's all been a trial & error mess when i can find the time to get to where i am happy with it.
this is the reference for the body i finally chose to go for.
It could be the angle ofc.
her right leg only? the model is symmetrical.. i wonder if its the orthographic view?
i find orthographic looks good for front/side profile, but when you look at something at angles, it can look odd perhaps?
but i tried modeling both in perspective and orthographic. couldn't do it very well at all in perspective..
hopefully putting the clothes back on will be easy enough, just shape it around the new body
Her lower legs do look pretty huge - they're practically the same size as her thighs. In SF4 Chun-Li does have very beefy lower legs but frankly it looks quite unattractive there as well. One thing all of your references have in common though is a quite prominent tapering in the legs, it's perhaps most noticeable in the side view of those Juri pictures. Even if she's supposed to have very strong legs I think it will make more sense - and simply look prettier - if her lower legs are a little slimmer.
In fact, since her legs are essentially Chun-Li's trademark, they will be the focal point of the model (they are emphasized by the costume design as well), and arguably they will be most important thing to get right to make the model look really perfect. Regardless whether you're going for a "thunder thighs" look or something a little reined in and less exaggerated, I think the legs should be the centrepiece of the model, but right now I would say they're a weak link. Other than that I think her physique looks great, and you're well on your way towards a very beautiful model. Her face is gorgeous and I really like the overall shape of her body. Her butt and hips could maybe stand to be a little thicker, but I guess that's just personal preference, hehe.
Looking forward to future updates!
edit: maybe something along these lines?
The new shape looks more feminine! Especially around the hips