Polycount- Generals - Chico

[chico]

Hi there...

Dunno if i will have time to finish up this one but i'll try...

Ok this is supposed to be Vahl's general's tank meca thing where she sits and rage battle. I gathered some concepts from my friend Sparth and i'll mix some of his awesome stuff together to get this done.
Go go go frenchies!

Here is the initial base concept i am using (but the legs and some parts of the body will change, colors prolly):
http://www.sparth.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=46&pos=57

And this is what i have got after 4 hours:
http://wip.global-illusions.com/WarGeneral/render1_WIP(3).jpg

chico

[vahl]

haha !! GO CHICO GO !!

[chico]

update on the meca...
it will still change as i keep on working on it...
hopefully done by the end of this week for the hi maybe

http://wip.global-illusions.com/WarGeneral/silhouette_meca1.jpg

chico

[Makkon]

That thing is beautiful! Even tough it doesn't seem to be a gneral in any way, it still rocks.

[chico]

Makkon : this is supposed to be the meca Vahl's general is riding to rage battle. So indeed, it isnt a general in any way:)
other possible design started...


http://wip.global-illusions.com/WarGeneral/silhouette_mecaOTHER(1).jpg

chico

[rooster]

rockin'

[Timex]

impresive!!!!

[Slum]

It's beautiful, keep it coming!

[chico]

thx guys...I should have more soon...

chico

[Makkon]

You could make some mounts for our top Generals to ride. It would have a very unified look. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[chico]

makkon : that would be a good idea actually...at least I could try but it was initially intended to be vahl's mount.

It can be debated though.

chico

[chico]

updated...had a chance to work a bit on this

http://www.teddy-chauveau.com/DaCrateMaster/silhouette_mecabulky1(1).jpg

chico

[Makkon]

All I can say is, I'm glad we have you on our side. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[ThE_BirD]

Very cool chico...I dig the busy\simple shape contrast

[rooster]

what was that thing, that is better than quad miniguns?.. you know.. oh yeah- NOTHING! brill /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[chico]

some more progress ( 4 hours on it) - i am still blocking out for the composition before working on anything Hi poly

http://www.planetunreal.com/saturnfive/junk_for_posting/silhouette_mecabulky3.jpg

chico

[chico]

more on this...almost blocked out..more massive

http://www.teddy-chauveau.com/DaCrateMaster/silhouette_mecabulky5.jpg

chico

[PieXags]

Looks like a pinky demon from Doom 3, with really big guns. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[chico]

yeah man, that's the idea:)

chico

[Ferg]

very cool lookin, though it doesn't really look like it could move... looks more like a stationary weapon with legs to stabalize it.

[chico]

well i got this dude ready for hi polyfication...
final block out here

ferg - yeah i noticed the rear legs were a bit too heavy ( more the feet than the legs actually)...fixed it thx

it isnt tho supposed to be a very fast mecha at all, more a heavy assault one that can also destroy buildings with its quadruple miniguns...

http://www.brokenpipefilms.com/james/silhouette_mecabulky6.jpg

chico

[Makkon]

It looks like it could hop around like a frog. If you ever animate it, I'd go for that movement. Great update. Looks delicious!

[animeboyz]

Very Intense. Love the Mad Mecha Skillz

[gavku]

Man that is looking brutal...has a real sense of power. Love the hind legs.

[chico]

started the Hi Poly woohoo:)

engine started

http://www.planetunreal.com/saturnfive/junk_for_posting/meca_engine.jpg

rear leg

http://www.planetunreal.com/saturnfive/junk_for_posting/meca_legrearWIP1.jpg

chico

[aesir]

wow, you are good at mechanical shit. Personally, Im awful at those kinds of things.

Im looking forward to seeing how you come up with a low poly for these things, and how it transfers onto a normal map.

Keep it up /images/graemlins/smile.gif

(sparth rocks)

[rawkstar]

haha VERY nice! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[vahl]

hehehe, the meca manmachine is launched /images/graemlins/smile.gif
as I told you, very cool stuff mate, the highpoly leg is cool tho maybe the "toes" should be a tad bigger, at least longer, if its meant to run fast or anything. Especially for a rear leg. (post the updated concept tho /images/graemlins/tongue.gif)

[dfacto]

Damn man, that's awesome.... O_o

[rooster]

its a bit good.. /images/graemlins/ooo.gif

[chico]

Hi poly in the work...

front arm done

http://wip.global-illusions.com/WarGeneral/meca_frontarminsidedetailsfinal(1).jpg


current state of the model

http://wip.global-illusions.com/WarGeneral/meca_histart.jpg

just need to work on the eyes (some detection system) which are totally placeholder atm and the main shell and that's it

chico

[poopinmymouth]

I don't know about the humanesque fingers. He was reading nicely as an artificial robot, with vaguely animalistic properties before, now he feels more like a person crouching down. I think they worked a bit better as angular box shapes. I'm sure it will work out fine either way, I just think the whole character would read better without human like digits.

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/images/poop.gif (http://www.poopinmymouth.com)

[chico]

hey poop, I'll have time to modify stuff here and there afterwards. We'll see when the global Hi Poly model is done
Thanks for the input anyway

chico

[aesir]

I personally think the fingers work much better if your purpose for the robot is to be a general in itself. If its simply meant to be a tank bot, then lose it. If you want it to look more intelligent, then keep the fingers, cause they certainly do add that.

[dfacto]

Not to be a drag and all, but I think you sort of killed it with this last update, even though the modelling is delicious.

The back legs looked much more powerful in the early version, but now they look very weak, especially from the side.

The front legs also look weaker because now the bot is on tip-toes, which doesn't feel right for a giant super heavy looking robot.

I think you just took the feel of weight and presence out of it by making these changes.

[chico]

thanks for the inputs guys
dfacto - yeah I tend to agree - i'll asjust the proportions when i am totally done with the detailing of each part...I definetly wanna get this weight i had in the earlier version - however, i tend to disagree / the humanoid hands - I want it to have those kinda hands cause it gives the meca some sort of agility (that is actually required, since it supposed to ajust the vertical height and uses sensors that provide him informations / the ground)
i'll post an update tomorrow with those fixes
thx for the inputs

chico

[dfacto]

Why not just make it resting on the palms? Then it has fingers, but it also has the necessary sense of weight.

[chico]

dfacto - yeah that is prolly what i'll adjust - i also will try another design for the 'hands', a more robotic design
thx for the comments

chico

[rawkstar]

the fingers make it look more agile than it probably should be, i imagined this thing being more brutish and powerful.

[chico]

ok i just finished the Hi Poly design for the whole model

here is it:
http://img467.imageshack.us/img467/8138/mecahipolyfinal6cz.jpg

and the details
of the front leg leg ( a former design)

http://img473.imageshack.us/img473/9995/mecafrontarminsidedetailsfinal.jpg

and of the rear leg here

http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/3920/mecalegrearwip16la.jpg

chico

[rollin]

Y O U ... A R E .. I N S A N E

ok but hornestly.. i realy like the design from the middle to the front.. the back isn´t realy my favorite... it doesn´t fit into the white-smooth design of the rest.. maybe you could try to expand the white thing over the rearlegs.. hmm maybe just a bit but to get them into the whole design.. do you understand my stupid english? /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[chico]

I_might_add a protective plate on the 'thigh' of the rear leg but i like the contrast it has with those brutal raw rear legs that propulse the meca and stabilize it when firing with the machine guns and the front arms that are mainly used for guidance and vertical height adjustment.
I'll see

Thanks for the comments anyway

chico

[MoP]

Looks great.

My only crit is that in contrast to the size of the mecha, those guns are really tiny... I'd make them much bigger and more obvious!

[rawkstar]

so is this still supposed to be a mount for vahl's general? does she ride inside of it or will there be some sort of a seat on top of this beastie?

[chico]

rockstar - i dont like the idea of her riding it ( it is kinda ridiculous, you dont really ride a meca)
her being inside would be closer to what I had in mind but the idea Vahl had was it was her bodyguard of some sort, protecting her during the battle - we have to discuss the idea

Mop - i dunno about a bigger gun, it'd prolly break the sort of homogeneity the silhouette currentlty has - i have time to expemriment things tho

Thx for the comments guys

chico

[dfacto]

Chico, you could put the gun inside and have the head peaking out through the armor. Basically take what you have now, cut out one of the Gatling guns, increase the size of the other and tuck it in more, and then extend the carapace around it. Could look pretty cool.

[chico]

dfacto - thx for the ideas ( i'll play with some elements and see if i like something better than what i have right now)
- as for her having the head out of the armor, no. I figured out the machine more like the appleseed mecha that encapsulates the whole body of the pilot inside the shells so the pilot would be totally inside (if we'd got with the idea), in a cabin

thx for the comments

chico

[notman]

This is a rock solid design. I love the detail you've put into the mechanics of the arms. It's a sweet looking design, while also looking menacing /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[chico]

I played around a bit (when max isnt crashing...my PC is low on RAM:(
so i made the machingun bigger and covered the rear legs with some shells...I think I am done now:

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/7194/mecahipolyfinalnew9aq.jpg

chico

[dfacto]

Well, I think a shell on the underside, sort of half covering the guns would look cool, but it's amazing as it is.

Top notch work man, your modelling is insane!

[chico]

Thx man, moving on to the Low poly model now...
I'll have 2500 tris as a limit cause Vahl is using the other 2500 tris for his chick...

chico

[Makkon]

oh man, I just soiled myself. You are another one of those people that should be making tutorials. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[Psyk0]

Man that's a really sweet design and tasty model, i agree you should put together a 'lil sumthin' sumthin' for us noobs. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[MoP]

Very nice /images/graemlins/smile.gif I think the bigger guns work much better.

[Daz]

Slick!

[chico]

ok i just covered the guns and cables a bit more, that's it!


http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/6560/mecahipolyfinaltotal8ll.jpg

chico

[vahl]

hehehe you crazy polyjunkie /images/graemlins/smile.gif

as for the cabin thing, we discussed about this this weekend, and although this is a really cool idea and we'd love to make it, it's too much work for the remaining time :/

we're still thinking about how to make the base and poses so that they really unite the two models (more than the redesign I'm currently doing on my model).

anyways, killer stuff my friend /images/graemlins/smile.gif as usual

[chico]

just finished the shell details...i move on to LowPoly for real now




chico

[MoP]

Looks awesome... very menacing, a nice mix of organic shapes and chunky mechanical bits... good futuristic look /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[EarthQuake]

The nice clean shapes were great, this seems a little overworked now.

[dfacto]

Agree with EQ. This last step was too much.

[chico]

some people dont seem to like shirow:) ahaha

chico

[EarthQuake]

I love shirow, i dont understand what you're trying to say. The render just before this has a lot of cool and clean shirow-ness, but this one just looks a little overworked with the organic type details when i think the sleaker simplier version looks a lot cooler. I personally think that this is a completely valid opinion to have and doing something like suggesting because i think this way i dont like shirow's work is just a tad silly. Unless of course you yourself think that you are shirow.

[rawkstar]

i like r2, although some of the shapes on the body don't make alot of sense to me, there doesn't seem to be an obvious pattern to the way they are laid out, so it looks random and sort of detracts from the model as a whole. I think just adding some sort of an order to the way the body plate details are laid out would help alot.

[chico]

And I am not shirow:) ( i wish i had 1% of his skills)

what I was saying is that, most of the time, people think organic details are cheap ( they mostly think it is a simple matter of smoothing the whole mesh and voila) whereas they are actually quite hard to execute properly
I thought you were criticizing the organic details based on this idea ( which, is proven to be wrong, again, it is WAY easier to stick tons of senseless rivets on a boring design to impress people - people think it is easier to do smoothed clean shapes and because they also think that a lots of rivets is "a lot of details !")


Ok, back to the model then.
I think the organic details help giving some nuances and inetersting shapes, how they also give a more insectoid feeling to the whole design. I might tweak them ( ie simplify the details here and there, make shapes more readable maybe) but i think they add something more interesting to the design that just smoothed shells (that suggets more a robotic idea IMO).

So thanks for the comments and critics and my apology to you EQ because I thought you were more critcizing the fact it was organic (with the idea that it was easy and cheap) than the fact it doesnt fit the design (or is overdone) which is totally respectable.

chico

[chico]

thx rockstar - yeah I can see where this is going - again i'll rework those shapes so they read more easily - thx for the critics guys

chico

[EarthQuake]

Cool cool, no need to apolagize for anything. Also just to be clear i wasnt trying to imply that you thought of yourself like shirow, just making a point =)

[TheMagnetic]

i want to cry tears of acid onto your hard drive. this is really good.

[chico]

refined and totally done


http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/6861/mecahipolyfinaldiagram6ps.jpg

chico

[gauss]

very very cool. personally i wish the eye clusters weren't so totally sentinel-from-the-matrix looking (maybe even just a change of color?) but there's no denying that this brute has beautiful detailing top to bottom. and like a great sports car, half of that great detail is hidden under the hood /images/graemlins/smile.gif strong silhouette, poise, etc. a winner in my book. though i'm interested to see how you're going to get so much detail represented onto the low poly version--but i guess 5000 should be enough if you're wiley. and you are pretty wiley. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[chico]

hey thx gauss
- actually as for the "detection lenses" I wasnt inspired by matrix at all ( but more by appleseed, that prolly inspired matrix etc...neverending thing)

as for the amount of tris, i am aiming for 2500 tris ( I am working with Vahl, this mecha is his general's bodyguard or some sort (we'll see about that)). 2500 tris is quite doable, when you think doom3's pinky is around 2000 triangles for the low poly ( but yeah of course you lose some definition). Should have the low poly normal mapped in a few days

chico

[vahl]

I like it, and you know this, but it lacks a cabin interior *HINT*

[Zwebbie]

If it had just one, big eye, it'd actually be cute. Nice work.

[chico]

i might actually design the interior of the cabin in High poly...very tempting:)

chico