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Star Wars - Battle Droid

polycounter lvl 8
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JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
Hello, all!

I'm working on the B1 battle droid from Star Wars.
I'm still finishing the blocking phase, but I thought this would be a good moment to show it on Polycount.

So here's a render of what it looks like at the moment:

07.jpg

This is WIP #07 out of another 6 images from the step by step I've been updating on my facebook page, feel free to visit :)

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  • Suba
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    Suba polycounter lvl 5
    Pretty cool for now. What do you use software wise?
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    Thanks! I'm using Maya.
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    08.jpg

    You can go and grab some stuff now.
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    Some reshaping work

    09.jpg
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    Been quite busy, but finally managed to finish the high-poly model. Now it's time for the low-poly :)
    Check the step by step on my facebook page ;)

    10.jpg
  • pixelpatron
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    pixelpatron polycounter
    Lookin good, never did like these guys though, not your fault. 1-3 episodes were so awful. Hopefully the new ones won't share the same fate.
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    Haha thanks, pixelpatron.
    Yeah, these guys are just cannon-fodder, but I felt like doing one of them :)
    I enjoyed 1-3 episodes because of the VFX (and Darth Maul :D), though I really appreciate when they resort to old-school special effects and depend on the digital effects only where it's strictly required, using both techniques in harmony. For what I've been reading, it seems to me like they're doing exactly this for the new ones, so I'm hoping for triumphant reviews, but we'll see :)
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    I have finished the low poly model of this guy, unfolded the UVs and am now left with these questions:

    - how many UV maps would be wise to use for the model, if it's meant to go to Unreal 4?

    - what resolution for the textures?

    I've been googling, but can't quite find the info I'm looking for. I was thinking of using a single map, and 2K textures, but I'm not sure if that's the best solution :c I know human characters usually get two maps, one of them being just for the head, but I don't think following the same MO for the droid makes sense..
  • Dan Powell
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    Dan Powell polycounter lvl 5
    what resolution for the textures?

    Yes, usually it's a texture map for the face, and then one for the rest of the body - but this is only because faces have so much intricate detail in them, whereas for this I wouldn't bother as it's hard surface, essentially.

    Try texturing it on a single 4k map, then half it to 2k if you want to? Though with that in mind it's not uncommon for high-end games to use 8k textures on their main characters.
  • Brian "Panda" Choi
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    Brian "Panda" Choi high dynamic range
    ^ Actually, yeah, that wouldn't be a bad idea, Josh.

    Heck, get creative!

    Texture maps, if you WANT to challenge yourself, feel free to keep it all on one. I'd imagine for a Trade Fed. Battle Droid, it could all stick onto a 4k map. Or an 8 k if you want to really push quality.
  • beefaroni
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    beefaroni sublime tool
    Hmm just popping in real quick while taking a break.

    I think it would be much more interesting to use a lesser known palette for the battle droids. A quick search brought up the Genosis paint scheme, which looks doooope compared to the tan (and red or yellow accent).

    Just adding a few more images, I think this even provides a good background, history for the droid. It could be a tiny diorama like the ones below!!

    1002852-geonosis-commander-battle-droid-and-count-dooku-hologram-012.jpg

    1002852-geonosis-commander-battle-droid-and-count-dooku-hologram-002.jpg

    1002852-geonosis-commander-battle-droid-and-count-dooku-hologram-003.jpg

    100285-geonosis-infantry-battle-droids-001.jpg

    Anyways looking good.
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    Thank you, Dan Powell, that's exactly what I'll do :)

    JoshuaG, JadeEyePanda and beefaroni (followed your Dandelion Observation Deck thread towards the end, congrats on the great work!), my initial plan was to reproduce one of the security droids inside the Droid Control Ship, as seen here, with no back pack or other items, keeping it kind of simple, and I'm feeling I'd like to keep it that way, at least for now. I'm planning on modeling its blaster rifle though, of course :) (Although they're still useless with it xD) And yeah, I think I'll stick onto a single 4k map!

    Thank you very much for your input guys, I really appreciate it. Will update with some textures soon :)
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    Here's an update on my work.

    the Low Poly model ended up with 20.340 tris.
    I used Quixel Suite for the textures (droid 4k - pedestal 2k):

    - Albedo
    - Gloss
    - Metalness
    - Normal

    Quixel Suite is pretty cool, it does an incredible job, but I'm not very much convinced, at least not yet.. I couldn't find a way to randomize the results.. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that, although you can make a few tweaks, those materials are gonna start to become too repetitive...

    Anyways, here's where I'm at.
    Next, I'm going to model the blaster rifle, texture it and take a few more shots of the droid(s) holding it :)

    Let me know what you think!

    marmoset_scene01.jpg

    marmoset_scene03.jpg
  • Brian "Panda" Choi
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    Brian "Panda" Choi high dynamic range
    Could use more wear and noise across the metal bodies.
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    JadeEyePanda: Yep! I know, and agree.. I ran into some troubles with Quixel, it's always crashing and doesn't let me Load Project, so I had to do the whole thing in one go (multiple times) lol. Also, I wasn't quite able to manage materials as I pleased, so yeah... :s But I'll go back to it, on DDO or Substance, and make those improvements :) Thank you for the input!
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    Okay, I made a few improvements on the textures.
    Also made a little adjustment to the camera + scenery composition.

    What do you think? :)

    marmoset_scene04.jpg
  • beefaroni
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    beefaroni sublime tool
    I like the changes; however, they feel too procedural right now. Like it feels like the wear is just visual noise and does not tell a story of how these robots were damaged. I'd say more edge wear on the parts that will get nicked and stuff and less just overall surface noise (wear) that you have going on.

    Overall, you're definitely close to being finished with this, just a few more changes!
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    I understand what you mean. I'm still getting the hang of Quixel Suite, it drives me a little bit crazy not being able to define exactly where I want the stuff to appear, I feel like I have no control gahhh.. Ok, I'll make another update soon ;) Thanks, Chris :)
  • almighty_gir
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    almighty_gir ngon master
    I understand what you mean. I'm still getting the hang of Quixel Suite, it drives me a little bit crazy not being able to define exactly where I want the stuff to appear, I feel like I have no control gahhh.. Ok, I'll make another update soon ;) Thanks, Chris :)

    You absolutely can though. You can modify your masks by hand just by painting on the masks. You can even paint on the Albedo mask for whichever layer, and then click "duplicate mask to all channels" (i think that's what it's called) which will copy the mask into spec/normals/whatever.
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    Niiice, almighty_gir, I'm testing it now, works great, thanks so much for the tip!
  • almighty_gir
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    almighty_gir ngon master
    happy to help!

    P.S. toolbag question - is the lightsaber done using the new area lights? i was curious if they'd be good for that or not hehe :)
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    It's made in post-production! I have a blue point light illuminating the droid in marmoset, but the lightsaber itself is post-production.

    I didn't find any area lights in marmoset, the only option I see is Omni (point), Directional or Spot :s You can, however, change an Omni light's size in X and Y in order to obtain a lightsaber's shape, for example, (that's how I started, actually) but it will not get this brightness nor the glow (I may be wrong, as I'm far from being a marmoset pro!). So I just made a cylindric mesh and used Photoshop to add to it a radial motion blur + glow effect :)
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    I'm... so... tired.....
    Is it better, guys?... Please tell me it's better.... T__T

    marmoset_scene04_b.jpg
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    BAM! A wild highpoly E-5 Blaster Rifle appears!

    blaster_rifle_high_01c.jpg
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    Finished the blaster rifle :)

    blaster_rifle_final_01.jpg

    blaster_rifle_final_02.jpg
  • beefaroni
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    beefaroni sublime tool
    Looking good. Right now, the base metal and the scratches look great. However, youre missing the cloudyness/dirt variation allover. Or if you do have it, its a bit too subtle right now. Im on my phone so I can't link ref but I hope you get the idea. If not I'll try to find something tomorrow.
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    Hey Chris, thanks! I have a dirt/dust layer on the AO areas, dunno if that's what you're talking about! You can see it better in the 2nd image. But please do link the ref when you're able, if you don't mind :)
  • Bummer6
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    Bummer6 polycounter lvl 13
    Looking absolutely amazing. I always loved the design of these droids, but their "personalities" didn't make much sense to me... It makes sense that droids like R2D2 and C-3PO would develop personalities since they never get memory wiped and their models rely more heavily on interaction with humans or in R2's case, other droids and computers. The battle droids of the prequels get frequent memory wipes and they're mainly focused on combat, yet they act like the three stooges. The super battle droids and droidekas were more in line with what I imagined battle droids to be like.

    end of stupid Star Wars fanboy rant
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    Thanks Bummer6 :) Yeah, and besides that, sometimes they don't even *try* to do what they're supposed to xD I mean, they just stand there, some of them on the back of the jedis, and there are times when they don't even take a shot, just waiting to be lightsabered! That's kind of exasperating x)

    Anyways, I've finished this work! Here go a few images:

    droids_with_guns01.jpg

    droids_with_guns02a.jpg

    droids_with_guns03.jpg

    droids_with_guns_presentation_03.jpg

    droids_with_guns_presentation_04.jpg

    droids_with_guns_presentation_05_wires.jpg
  • almighty_gir
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    almighty_gir ngon master
    solid portfolio piece man, good stuff!

    You should try making a red area light in the shape of a laser blast just to see what happens hehe.
  • JorgeBarros
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    JorgeBarros polycounter lvl 8
    Thank you very much, almighty_gir :)
    Haha yeah, that idea crossed my mind too, I will definitely "take a shot" at it ;P
  • Crazy_pixel
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    Crazy_pixel interpolator
    pew pew :D:D

    very nice model :thumbup:
  • skyline5gtr
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    skyline5gtr polycounter lvl 9
    tk421 why arnt you at your post! awesome stuff
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