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The Escapade: Iris

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polycounter lvl 19
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poopinmymouth polycounter lvl 19
I'm far enough along that it's time for a polycount thread for this.

My roommate and I are starting to work on a small game using the Torque engine. He's covering programming, I'm covering art. We're keeping it small in scope to cater to the small team size. Right now he's busy with work/school, so I'm just getting as far as I can on the main/only character. The thread title refers to the game name (The Escapade) and the main character's name (Iris).

A short blurb about the game. It takes place inside of a pop-up book. You're a teen aged girl transported inside the book, and each page is a level. You must figure out a way through the level to get to the other side of the page. Some level elements must be manipulated using wheels, tabs, and sliders just like a real pop up book. There will be a timer, and you will most likely need multiple attempts to make it through the level on time. Each attempt you'll figure out more puzzles, and be able to progress through those parts faster the next try, till you are able to get through the whole level in the allotted time. Should you wish to do away with the timer and just explore, that's a perfectly valid option.

The focus is on character control, and puzzle interaction. No enemies, nothing to collect, no dialog to progress through.

This is my working concept, I decided not to shade too much, as I can model off of this, and the time is better spent on texturing later. I was inspired heavily by the Finnish street fashion found on www.hel-looks.com. Seems those scandis were heavily inspired by J-pop. I just like the fun look of all the colors and overlapping fabric types. It's completely non-functional.

iris_concept.jpg

The art style of the game will be full bright models, with a few full screen shaders to tie everything together. While no shading per object will be in place, there will be colored shadow maps cast by objects. Right now she's 7,900 tris, but there is tons of overlapping and duplicate geometry. I expect to get it down to at least 7k, possibly 6,5. Since she's the only character on screen though, I'm not too worried.

iris_06.jpg

Closeup of the face.

iris_07.jpg


poop.gif

Replies

  • Turoid
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    Turoid polycounter lvl 17
    Very very nice work ben, Love the hair and all those other details on her. Can't wait for the texture smile.gif

    Game sounds simple but fun, looking forward to see it all come together.
  • LoTekK
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    LoTekK polycounter lvl 17
    I absolutely love the model (the face looks especially divine), but that color scheme on the clothing and accessories is hurting my head. laugh.gif
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    The color scheme/clothing remind me of punk brewster all grown up wink.gif Excellent design though smile.gif
  • pior
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    pior grand marshal polycounter
    Getting there!

    I like the model, yet I still disagree about the elbow setup!
    I'm not sure about where you want to go for the face - she as really sad eyes atm. But it might be intentional.

    Less talk more Poop!
  • Quickel
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    Quickel polycounter lvl 12
    I love the model! Awesome work. Do you start all your models from a base mesh or from the ground up, just curious...
  • Dennispls
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    Dennispls polycounter lvl 16
    She looks sad:(
    nice model so far:)
  • Miguelito
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    Miguelito polycounter lvl 18
    yeah. i also think that those arms will be hard to rig well. im glad you added some hair to the concept smile.gif
  • JKMakowka
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    JKMakowka polycounter lvl 18
    Sounds like a great concept for a game, and that character looks sweet too.
    Not too sure about the color theme... But lets wait how it turns out on the actual model.
  • Mongrelman
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    Mongrelman polycounter lvl 18
    Love the style and modelling, looking forward to see how this goes.
  • Maddness
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    Maddness polycounter lvl 11
    [ QUOTE ]
    I absolutely love the model (the face looks especially divine), but that color scheme on the clothing and accessories is hurting my head. laugh.gif

    [/ QUOTE ]

    hey! i dress just like that when i'm reading books.

    but the model looks awesome. I too love the hair coming out of the hoody. nice style. Can't wait to see the finished product.
  • Mark Dygert
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    Looking good Ben! I see what you are going for with the arms. It gives character to the hands, something you have always been good at. The hands themselves could use a touch more poly definition but that depends on how important they are to the game and how much texture work you are going to do on them.

    Any plans to do some high poly sculpting?

    I can see why some people have an issue with it but I would reserve judgment until it is rigged and posed. Once she is a more natural pose I bet the complaints about the arms disappear, or a few people might even think you changed them hahaha.

    I can't say I'm all that hot about the color scheme at the moment but you have a nack for making weird color choices work, so I'll sit back and see what happens.
  • StJoris
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    The model looks very good, lots of attention for detail but still making it part of a cohesive whole. Now I'm no woman, but even for a woman those bags look a little tiny though, but that is probably intentional.
  • JasonLavoie
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    JasonLavoie polycounter lvl 18
    Finally get to see what this project is smile.gif This is looking great Ben, and it sounds really fun as well... keep up the great work buddy.
  • Daz
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    Daz polycounter lvl 18
    Great looking model Ben. Im with pior on the arms though. If you try and actually get your arms into that exact position it feels immensely awkward. I wonder too if the hands are a little on the chunky side, but she has gloves to hard so say. Great, great face. Tons of character as always.
  • adam
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    adam polycounter lvl 19
    A pop-up book adventure starring a raver who obviously hasn't eaten anything in years? Awesome!

    She looks like I'd see her ribs no problemo, almost anorexic. I second the uncomfortable pose and man-hand comments.

    Otherwise, nice design. Resembles an FF character quite well.
  • Mr Smo
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    Mr Smo polycounter lvl 18
    gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay ;D like denz
  • gauss
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    gauss polycounter lvl 18
    great to see you continue to explore a variety of colors, cloth and textures, i'm sure you'll have fun with texturing her. ever since about the voodoo doll model you seem drawn to a very, shall we say pronounced or vivid depiction of cloth and texture, and i think it's worthwhile to keep developing in that direction.

    as far as the model i would echo some concerns about how skinny she seems, especially as you're depicting a teenage girl. it's a very difficult line to portray a naturally skinny/ectomorphic looking girl and a girl with dangerously low fat percentages. either way, and especially as a teenager, i think her breasts are a bit large for her bodyweight. they're by no means big currently, but if she's that thin, i'd be surprised if there were any but the slightest indication of a curve, layered clothing notwithstanding.
    but i'm sure you'll get it all sussed out with further modeling/texturing, since that's where the magic happens for you smile.gif definitely a visually appealing character, and as i said on MSN the face is very expressive. definitely looking forward to seeing how the texture brings her to life.
  • Kovac
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    Kovac polycounter lvl 18
    Ah! You got the hair in there now. Kickass work man, as I said on IM I love the way this piece turned out, and the facial expression is spot on. Can't wait to see how this thing turns out textured.
  • stimpack
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    stimpack polycounter lvl 10
    i venture to say the lips and nose are my favorite parts of this model. very well done thus far.
  • tremulant
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    tremulant polycounter lvl 17
    nice job, post more
  • EricElwell
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    EricElwell insane polycounter
    I approve of this model.

    really dig the face!
  • Jeff Parrott
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    Jeff Parrott polycounter lvl 19
    Nice character so far. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys get together with this.
  • Goldo_O
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    Goldo_O greentooth
    Really really nice job smile.gif I love the pose and all the details.
  • conte
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    conte polycounter lvl 18
    gauss, she's skinny, yes!
    that make her looks like teenager, and i think Ben had idea to make young girl.
    sexy
  • Wells
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    Wells polycounter lvl 18
    No, poop wanted to make a female version of me so he could put her in compromising positions with dudes.

    I'd totally bang her. Age be damned.

    concept needs more colors. hopefully texture will fix problem accordingly.

    less bewbs?
  • Por@szek
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    Por@szek polycounter lvl 18
    Bigger boobs laugh.gif
    Her face is totally wicked. I love her laugh.gif I want merry her laugh.gif
    Great work so far Ben.
  • poopinmymouth
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    poopinmymouth polycounter lvl 19
    Turoid: Thanks, I can't wait either. :-)

    Lotekk: I attribute most of the color scheme not working to the fact there is no shading. I'll bring it all together in the texture. Thank you about the face. I like it too.

    Notman: Hah, maybe Punky with a bit of Pippi Longstalking. :-)

    Pior: You be quiet you non rigger! :-) The arms work great. The sadness will be fixed when I texture the eyebrows. Right now the browridge is reading as the eyebrow line, when the eyebrows run a bit counter. Plus I like the slightly doe eyed look. :-)

    Quickel: Thanks! I normally start from scratch, but if I have a couple things that would be perfect, I'll nab those. I grabbed an old hand, ear, and shoe model, and modified them for her, but the rest is from primitives (cylinders for the body/arms/legs, and a box for the face.

    Dennispls: I'll fix the sad look in the texture.

    Miguelito: I'm already on the rigging stage, and they work fine. I decided on this pose after having modeled and rigged almost every model I've done previously, and how I think I'll get the best shape and deformation in all rotations.

    JKMakowka: Thanks. Waiting to see the texture is all I ask, this was just a rough concept, with no shading.

    Lupus: Thanks.

    Maddness: I wear full bondage gear when I read. Thanks. :-)

    Vig: As mentioned in my first post, this is diffuse map only, no high poly. I'm trying to keep poly distribution even throughout, which is why the hands aren't any higher.

    STJoris: Thanks! The bags are small because she has two! hahaha.

    Jason: Thankyou.

    Daz: I disagree. Every time I've asked someone to pose with arms at 45 degrees, this is the pose they assume. Maybe you need to exercise those apathetic muscles more. :-) I can hold my arms like this very comfortably. I picked the pose because it allows me to sculpt more bone and muscle structure showing, rather than tubey arms.

    AdamBrome: I wanted to go for a gangly look. There are definitely people this skinny, but I think if you look closely, the entire thing is stylized, long legs, big hands, narrow waist, etc. It's clearly not supposed to echo real world anatomy exactly. The really narrow torso was one such element of the stylization choice.

    Gauss: As I mentioned above, I am going for a stylized look. I wanted her to be very narrow and tall, but still have a little boobage and waist. I'm really happy with the proportions as is. I am glad you've noticed my enjoyment of material types, it's always fun, and this is a good project to push it even more. Have faith buddy, I won't let you down.

    Kovak: Thanks! Yeah next time I should probably have gotten her hair online earlier, but I'm glad how it turned out.

    Stimpack: The lips and nose (and eyes) were what struck me about the girl I used as reference as being so interesting, so I'm glad it's coming through. Thank you.

    Tremulant: Have you seen my post count? I post plenty! Muaahah.

    EricElwell: I approve of your face. :-)

    Jeffro: Thanks, I'll try not to dissapoint.

    Goldo_O: Thanks, the accessories were the most fun part.

    Conte: Thanks for the backup Mr. Kazak. Now give me some horse milk with vodka.

    Sectaurs: Lol, more colors you say? I can oblige! My aim is to make people blind from color overload. Less boobage? I think not!

    Poraszek: You just want her for a greencard! :-) Thanks buddy.

    Right now I'm working on the rigging, so not much progress to show. I managed to get helper bones hooked up to the biped in a way I like, and I'm about 1/3 through the skin weighting process. I'll post some poses when it's done, and I'll then move on to UVs.

    If anyone's interested, I am posting my daily progress to a .plan file, cause I'm old school.

    http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/escapade.plan

    poop.gif
  • pior
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    pior grand marshal polycounter
    Okay you made me do it!

    pooptwist.png

    I think this is what seemed odd to me. Looking a the topology you have on the arms made my brain think that the elbow is twisted in two planes instead of one. And since most of your pics showed no straight view of the arms it enhanced the feeling (except on the 3/4 back view).

    When taking that one relaxed pose the two forearm bones twist around each other and I *beleve* that it can be helpful to have to have the topology to reflect just that.

    On top of what, twisting the topology from elbow to wrist will permit you to avoid edge collapsing when putting the wrist in an open, front facing position.

    Just my 2 Euro Cents! Can't wait to see more!
  • JKMakowka
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    JKMakowka polycounter lvl 18
    Make that 4 Euro cents wink.gif

    I am a big fan of topology that represents the anatomy smile.gif
  • poopinmymouth
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    poopinmymouth polycounter lvl 19
    Good suggestion Pimor! I just might have to do that!

    poop.gif
  • SuperOstrich
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    SuperOstrich polycounter lvl 17
    Ben, I love the game idea you guys came up with. I hope you follow through on it and I'm actually playing a demo of it a few months from now. smile.gif

    Diggin the character too. I have no crits, she totally fits the style of the game you're trying to make. Pior's suggestion is cool though. Do that. cool.gif
  • dur23
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    dur23 polycounter lvl 19
    Benpoo: That face makes me so happy. The eyes especially. :O Oh and i second piors saying, i was gonna say something to you the next time i logged on to the msn, but i got lazy. I should stop doing that... :|
  • poopinmymouth
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    poopinmymouth polycounter lvl 19
    per128: Hah! Thanks dude, I appreciate it. I wish my stuff worked for people more often, but I'll take what I can get.

    SuperOstrich: You know you'll be the first to get a copy when it's playable. Thanks, and yup, I followed Pior's suggestion about the topology.

    Dur! Crazy Canada, I appreciate the love!

    Here's tonight's progress. Rigging, done!

    iris_08.jpg

    And here is a gif of the stretch anim to show the deformations. Skeleton is a Biped with helper bones for the shoulders, elbows, knees, and butt.

    http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/iris_rig.gif

    poop.gif
  • diZzyWalnut
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    diZzyWalnut polycounter lvl 18
    Nice one.
    When her arms goes up - the hair in front of head goes up too. Is it wanted ?
  • Rob Galanakis
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    Poop any chance you can save out that .bip stretch test and put it up for download?
  • Wells
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    Wells polycounter lvl 18
    make the boobs jiggle.

    coming along nicely, poop!
  • shotgun
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    shotgun polycounter lvl 19
    i think its one of the best figures i can recall seeing from you
    i would have suggested making her forms a little rounder, pushing that s curve, but that's a matter of taste i guess (or anyone not gay enuf too appreciate a good feminine booty, which in this case, i suppose, you are laugh.gif)
    ah just joking

    but she does feel to have little to grab, skinny on the joints but put more meat in between.. round her up a lil bit.
    anyways, very nice.
  • snap.crackle.pop
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    snap.crackle.pop polycounter lvl 18
    Just wooha ! Poop this is virtual sweetness, love it
  • Rens
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    texture!! laugh.gif

    one thing you might wanna look at is how the edges turn in her bra, maybe flipping some would make it even better.
  • conte
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    conte polycounter lvl 18
    naaaaaaaaaais
    texture texture texture
    edit: she does look sexy!
    edit: damn, i want her
    edit: ummmmmmm...
    edit: sexy again!
  • Smirnoffka
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    Smirnoffka polycounter lvl 17
    Looking tops poop. The hands are the most natural I have seen on a model.... ever.
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
  • Slaught
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    Slaught polycounter lvl 18
    Love it poop!
    Especially the face grin.gif
    Very cute.
  • LoTekK
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    LoTekK polycounter lvl 17
    That's coming along really nicely (love the stretch test). The hand flashing the peace/victory sign is bugging me, though, in particular the thumb. Did a quick paintover, if you don't mind (bit messy, and i made the fingers too long, but the idea's there):

    poop-paintover.jpg
  • Sir Gimp
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    Sir Gimp polycounter lvl 17
    Awesom work Poop. Great capture of her personality
  • conte
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    conte polycounter lvl 18
    lotekk, agreed
  • poopinmymouth
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    poopinmymouth polycounter lvl 19
    Dizzy: It just fit there in the animation timing, it's not rigged to always happen, it was just to get the weighting right.

    Professor420: I was already thinking of doing that, check the bottom of this post for the filez.

    Sectaurs: These boobs are cement, they do not jiggle!

    Shotgun: Hahaha, thanks man. I do like em skinny, but if I make a shotgun version I'll plump her up. (hint, I won't)

    Snap.Crackle.Pop: Thanks dude.

    Rens: I agree, I'll hit the edges.

    Conte: Texture is coming, just UVing now.

    Smirnoffka: Thanks! Hands are always fun.

    Mop and Slaught: Thanks guys!

    Lotekk: I can't even get my hands in that position, and I'm trying. The angle might make it weird, but the hand is posed exactly how my hand works. I appreciate the paintover though.

    Sir Gimp: Thanks!

    Ok, here is the bip file. the green dummys are helper bones. They are set to get 50% rotation from the parent bone, and 50% rotation from the child bone. This keeps these areas from collapsing when rigged. The hip helpers are parented to the waist, and only orient based on the upper legs, but they are only weighted 50%. When I tried aiming them at both the upper leg and waist, they would wig out and flip 180 degrees, so this still gives you the rotational goodness with no flipping. There are layers set up in the file already. When rigging, leave out the upper arm, forearm (both left and right) and all nub bones. Leave out the upper arms and forearms because there are twist bones set up for those areas that you do want to rig to.

    Click to download the max 8 file.
    biped.gif

    And here is the stretch animation only. I found I liked only one portion rotating at a time because it aided in me being able to focus on just that area without needing to move the camera.

    Just load it in the biped copy paste area, and switch to track mode, and paste the track. There is nothing else in this file but the animation. 0-75 frames
    http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/stretch.cpy

    poop.gif
  • LoTekK
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    LoTekK polycounter lvl 17
    Ben: Odd, that's exactly what I was thinking when I first saw the hand. smile.gif You're not by any chance double jointed in your thumb, are you? laugh.gif I can get my thumb to bend like that, but not while my ring and pinky are down. Though as you say, it could be the angle of the shot confusing me.

    Either way, the hands look nice and expressive, as I've come to expect from you. smile.gif
  • richkid
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    richkid polycounter lvl 17
    god, that is a clean sexy model ben. the face is amazing on that thing.
    and the thumb arguement, if the fingers are flat on the pad on the hand, lotekk is right, if they are raised away from the hand, poops is right, the thumb points at the pinky when it bends naturally (although mine are messed up from dislocating them breakdancing in highschool) but i think bens looks more natural

    awesome work, cant wait for the texture
  • Rob Galanakis
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    Ben why are you using those helpers instead of Biped Twist bones?
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