First post: HIGH poly game character WIP

Kamui · Feb 2009

Hello everyone, this is my first post on polycount. I haven't really ever shown any 3D work online but here's a first.

These are mainly for my portfolio as I try to find another job. I used to work at EA on Need For Speed as an environment modeler, but I'm looking to do characters now. Also **this is kind of a cheat, as the polygon count and texture map are rather high right now, but I will optimize the character down when it is finished to have a lower polygon version. I just wanted to work higher than normal since it was something new to me.

Here area few WIP shots of a new character I'm working on. Currently I'm working on the textures. I've just finished the head and I will move onto the body next. The ears are not modeled because she will have hair covering most of her face. Right now she's a bit heavy on the polygons, weighing in at around 3500 triangles for the face. The map right now is a 2048x2048 but I will probably take that down in half when I'm done. I may also do some polygon optimization later. The plan is to start off simple with a diffuse texture first, and then later I will take it into Zbrush to do a high res sculpt and add a normal map as well as other maps. I know this is against the usual workflow but since I am new to Zbrush I will try to do things old school first before tackling the new technology. I'm having a lot of fun learning new things and overcoming obstacles in the process. The goal is to produce a high polygon game character.

All work was done in 3DS Max 2008 and Photoshop CS3. These are Max viewport screen grabs, no lighting, diffuse texture only (for now). Feel free to crit and comment if you wish. I will be doing adjustments to everything for sure. I have a couple more pics on my site. Also, check it out for some of my drawings as well! Thanks!

Mezz · Feb 2009

Nice stuff, I checked out your portfolio

I really like your style, and your character designs are fun (and very sexy).

I'm no pro on modeling, so I can't give too much help with a critique, but looks pretty good to me

Good luck with it, and welcome to Polycount!

Rens · Feb 2009

some points

- the face is very round
- the face is a bit short
- the face is quite flat, seen from the side
- photomaterial used as a texture can work, but mostly you have to edit it quite a bit, looking at the ear, it just doesnt work for me. this is probably because there is no detail in the mesh there, but there is in the texture.
- the lower lip looks a bit too much like angelina jolie, bit unnatural
- the skin is too orange
- the eyes are too white

looking at the last img from the side, it looks like the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, are too big for the skull.

im just summing things up, doesnt mean that im talking the model down

Kamui · Feb 2009

Thanks for the crits Rens. I took them into consideration.

Well, here's an update. I'm not sure what to do now. I don't know if I want to take this character further or start something new.

Here's a few shots:

samgriffiths · Feb 2009

I very much like this character, can you tell me, how is it possible to use multiple UVW's on one object?

Kamui · Feb 2009

samgriffiths wrote: »

I very much like this character, can you tell me, how is it possible to use multiple UVW's on one object?

Thanks! I think what you are trying to ask is how to use different texture maps on the same object?

If so, in Max, you set up certain faces to be a particular material ID, and then use a multi-sub object with multiple textures for your result. My character is set up as a few seperate objects however.

If you are asking for multiple sets of UVs, you can do that as well with different UV channels. However, this is only needed if you want different textures that are mapped uniquely on the same polygons, usually for some shader effect. This is sort of an expensive thing to do but you would need it if you were doing some sort of multi-texturing.

AshleyTayles · Feb 2009

I like it. I like the hooded version better. Not sure why, I just do. Nice boobs...

psychoticprankster · Feb 2009

Kamui wrote: »

Thanks for the crits Rens. I took them into consideration.

Well, here's an update. I'm not sure what to do now. I don't know if I want to take this character further or start something new.

Here's a few shots:

Looking good

samgriffiths · Feb 2009

Kamui wrote: »

Thanks! I think what you are trying to ask is how to use different texture maps on the same object?

If so, in Max, you set up certain faces to be a particular material ID, and then use a multi-sub object with multiple textures for your result. My character is set up as a few seperate objects however.

If you are asking for multiple sets of UVs, you can do that as well with different UV channels. However, this is only needed if you want different textures that are mapped uniquely on the same polygons, usually for some shader effect. This is sort of an expensive thing to do but you would need it if you were doing some sort of multi-texturing.

Thank-you, the sub object answer was what I was seeking

BeatKitano · Feb 2009

I like it so far, but you really should get rid of that colored strand in my opinion.

noTor · Feb 2009

so... why would the sweater not go over her boobs?

just eye candy?

seems kind of pointless

bounchfx · Feb 2009

really nice looking so far. great boobs too.

konstruct · Feb 2009

pretty nice model man, clean modeling except that one tri in the shoulder region *might* give you deformation issus>? I`ve always ween told to avoid tris in high deformation areas. In theory it makes sense to but I`ve never tried to rig a joint that has a tri, so it might not be that big of a deal at the end of the day.

I feel like her toes could be a a bit large making her legs seem shorter than they really are. Also on the shorts, the lack of belt or bunching on a seam around the hips and waist might need some attention.- and yeah loose the pink or at least make it a richer pink, like a fucia

mmmmm fucia -

some fun stuff could be to do alpha cards over the eyes, to simulate a slight shadow over the eye ball as it rolls around, or that little bit of eye goo that collects around the edges of the eye. (also you might want to clean up that little chunk of nostril left over from the photo texture projection)

I dig it though man!

and hell yeah eye candy!! why do you even have to ask>? thats some well modeled cleave she`s go goin on!

snake85027 · Feb 2009

beautiful!

Kamui · Feb 2009

Good crtis guys and thanks for the comments! yes we can all use some eye candy right?

konstruct: very good tips! thanks! I really like what you did to the eyes... just that bit of shading gives her a much more mysterious sultry look. I definitely have room on the hair texture page to do something like that. Yes, I see the triangles in the shoulders and i'm a bit afraid to rig her too.. i think there will be a few problems in the deformation in that area. I think I ended up splitting that triangle on the hoodie to make a nice ring to separate the UV's from the sleeves. Her shoulder underneath doesn't have it.

I'm also worried that it will be a pain to rig her cuz of her overlapping clothing (and also that i haven't ever rigged anything in Max!) Anyone have a link to a good basic rigging tutorial?

also, this was my drawing of this character that she was based off of (in case you haven't seen it on my site)

TychoVII · Feb 2009

Ah that's a pretty sweet style you've going there. Seems like not too much of anything, but just the right amount of everything...detail, points of interest, little shiny dots. Love it. Plus boobs.

super_villain · Feb 2009

Looking very good thus far. Not a big fan of the shorts, but I'll wait to see how it turns out.

Sandbag · Feb 2009

is that a combat g-string?

Firebert · Feb 2009

Sandbag wrote: »

is that a combat g-string?

Hellz yeah :poly142:
i sure as hell hope so!

rossco1111 · Feb 2009

looks rather nice. few areas to tidy up but generally very good. proportions are good.
Seems a bit of a mish-mash of styles with regard to her outfit tho. but seem to be working for now. Not too keen on the short-shorts myself tho!

still, its lookin good tho!

nrek · Feb 2009

Looking great so far Kamui. The thing that bothers me the most would be the textures, they don't seem to fit the character. I would stick to the textures that you established in the original concept drawing. Keep rocking it

EarthQuake · Feb 2009

Its a cool character, the biggest thing here for me is the texturing. The concept has this great style, color and these nice contrasted shiny materials. I dont see much of any of that in your texturing. I think it would be wise to get some normal detail, spec, etc and work on pushing the colors and materials from the concept. Also loose that uniform overlay that seems to be over all of the cloth, it makes it read less like any sort of clothing material, and more like concrete.

Kamui · Feb 2009

TychoVII: thanks man. that pretty much sums up my style somewhat. Although I tend to be drawn to more simpler things, I think it would be fun to just go all out for once.

Thanks for the support from the rest of you guys! And to the guys who didn't like the shorts.. I had a lot of little issues while building her as well. Sometimes I wish she didn't have the leggings and had pants instead. Sometimes I wish she was wearing boots. I can see where you guys are coming from.

EarthQuake, nrek: you guys make good points. That's why I kept variations of my textures to make it look more like my original drawing, but I like things about both versions.

I am getting a bit discouraged with normal maps and spec maps at them moment. I can't seem to get them to work properly, since I have no real idea how I am supposed to present my character! I think I'm going to try to rig her up next and get rid of that T pose. I just figured out how to do morph shapes and eyeball constrains last night hah!

Here's a couple of variations and a close up of the back of the g-string straps!

garriola83 · Feb 2009

give her a bit of an AO pass later on, shes looking a bit flat right now. also dont forget to set the proper specularity for each material you have on her. but good overall, keep it up.

nrek · Feb 2009

That texture looks so much better already. I agree with garriola83 about the AO pass and the spec maps, both will really help push the material to the next level. My only other suggestions would be to maybe try pulling the bottom corners of the hood out away from the face more, so it has more of the shape that is in your concept. That would also help open up the characters face. And then right now the top of the shorts seem very fllat. Maybe adding a darker fabric seam and some belt loops running along the top would help sell them as a fabric item rather than a chunk of polys on her. Cant wait to see some updaes.

Kamui · Feb 2009

Just a bit of an update. I haven't done anything to the textures yet,.. just been spending the last few days rigging her up. I chose not to include her hood to make it a bit easier to rig. I think now that I know, I might rig up the hooded without the arm and shoulder polygons underneath. Her range of motion isn't that great right now but it will suffice for my needs. I also need to add a few bones to her hair to prevent it from sorting through the body. Overall it was a really good learning experience. I'm quite happy with the way her stomach is deforming.. I think it looks good. I'm also somewhat happy with the shoulders... they seem to look ok despite being a bit angular. I have a better idea of where to add polys for my next model. I was avoiding rigging her but I'm so glad I did. It really brings the character to life rather than being in the standard T pose.

I also did the bit of AO on her eyeball as suggested by konstruct.

I think next up I will revisit the textures for another pass.

Here's a few quick expressions and poses:

Firebert · Feb 2009

Nice update!
The shoulders really bother me without the sweater on. They're too far away from her torso and a tad broad. Other than that, this is progressing nicely!
She needs a waist belt of some sort. Those short shorts can't be that tight. Even if they are, it doesn't feel like their tight, it just feels like they're just there. Still agree with others that you should tone down the pink in the hair.

MoP · Feb 2009

wow, yeah, those shoulders are crazy. bulbous.

i like her face though, and the details in general. good work.

Mark Dygert · Feb 2009

I agree with MoP on the shoulders, woa. As soon as you get that under control she'll be great! Nice work!

shotgun · Feb 2009

man, she's h0t

hair and shoulders need work

Kamui · Feb 2009

Alright, thanks guys. I'll see what I can do about the shoulders.

Edit: been working on the shoulders and didn't even realise how broad they were. I tend to like my female characters a bit muscular but I see now how large I've been making their shoulders. Even my girlfriend has commented to me about them in my drawings.

In any case, they're looking a lot better. I guess I should really refer to my reference a bit more hah! :poly136:

RisTar · Feb 2009

Kamui i think that you have a few probs with the anatomy but everyone already told you what you need to change .
I saw your portfolio and i think that the 2d section is amazing, but that cool thing about your characters is the style, like a sexy cartoon style, and the model have nothing to do with it...
I think that if instead of creating a realistic face try to match the face to be as close as you can to the sketch that you created, same goes for the body.... its to generic for me, you have a great style so use it and try to create unique models....

Kamui · Feb 2009

RisTar wrote: »

Kamui i think that you have a few probs with the anatomy but everyone already told you what you need to change .
I saw your portfolio and i think that the 2d section is amazing, but that cool thing about your characters is the style, like a sexy cartoon style, and the model have nothing to do with it...
I think that if instead of creating a realistic face try to match the face to be as close as you can to the sketch that you created, same goes for the body.... its to generic for me, you have a great style so use it and try to create unique models....

Hey RisTar, thanks for your comments. I acutally prefer a more realistic stylized style for 3D rather than something cartoony. For some reason I'm not a big fan of anime or cartoon styled 3D. I like bringing more realism with 3D, but not quite photoreal. I'm not quite there yet but I am working towards it. I'm also trying to move towards that style in my drawings as well. I'm not sure, but it seems like the whole anime thing turns off a lot of employers.

However, I will consider doing different styles of characters as well. I think it would be good for the portfolio.

MoP · Feb 2009

I think your character concepts are great - but I think if you stick to what you're doing (making detailed, believable 3D characters - not necessarily "realistic" but certainly not cartoony), and keep the more stylised stuff in your portfolio, then that will be very good for your job prospects since it shows you can work in many styles, not restricted to just "always anime" or "always photosource" or whatever.

That said, it'd be cool to see a lowpoly model of one of your concepts with just a diffuse map painted in the style of your concepts, I think it could work really well. Reminds me a bit of hyung-tae kim, which is no bad thing!

Kamui · Feb 2009

Thanks MoP. That is definitely on my things to do. Ugh, I wish I spent more time keeping up with these things while working at EA. There's so many things I need to get better at, and I feel that I had a lot of time wasted.

Right now I feel like I absolutely NEED to get comfortable with Zbrush, since it's quickly becoming an industry standard... Mudbox as well.

vj_box · Feb 2009

Sexy Eyes and of course Boobs

Vj

Mauricio Cunha · Feb 2009

Awesome !

First post: HIGH poly game character WIP

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