rework of my first character - Shin

[dabu]

I'm re working one of my first ever characters from when I was a student. I can't believe how awful my topology was.... well actually I can. Nice to see how far I've progressed since 2003, and to see how I fared compared to my students.

I'm also rusty, so I needs some new work for my portfolio.

Still working out the final details of this guys design, Im thinking Im gonna just give him some gauntlets, and some crude machete style weapons to wield, maybe have them strap to his back.

Planning on normal mapping the hell out of this one, and his face will have a mask....

stay tuned,

dabu

original:


http://www.dabudesign.com/wip/shin/00.jpg

New:

http://www.dabudesign.com/wip/shin/02.jpg

http://www.dabudesign.com/wip/shin/01.jpg

[pangarang]

Nothing really huge to critique on the new mesh. But one thing that i think would help - you have alot of polys in teh back that aren't really contributing to the silhouette. I'm a huge believer in the "use 'em or lose 'em" philosophy when it comes to edge loops. I've taken the liberty and doing a quick paint over (hope you don't mind) to illustrate my point.

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/4535/exxt1.jpg

Keep up the awesomeness.

[dabu]

Totally. But I plan on sculpting first, and doing an optimized low res later, triangles included.

paint over appreciated.

[dabu]

Roughing in the body now, those are supposed to be Hakamas. Hows the hands looking? Proportions seem a bit off to me, but Im not sure how...


http://www.dabudesign.com/wip/shin/03.jpg

[WipEout]

hmmm.. I dunno... the hands seem okay to me in those images. Maybe the left hand looks a little wide in the image of his back, but I really think that's just the angle of the camera + the surface of the hand. Maybe taper the fingertips a little bit, accentuating the knuckles, but that's something you can easily do in ZBrush.

Also, remember to space out your topology on the basemesh as evenly as possible, otherwise when you subdivide the mesh in ZB, you'll have wasted resolution in places like the center/back of his head. Plus, it's not necessary, but it certainly helps to keep the quads as square as possible (I'm looking at his heels) and watch the 3- and 5-point junctions-- they're going to dimple in ZB after you subdivide. I can tell you are modeling with low-rez topology in mind still (geometry at elbows for deformation) but even there, you want to space the geo out evenly in order to achieve clean subdivisions. Remember, when you retopologize in ZB, you are drawing new edges over the higher SubD levels, so you can worry about deformations in the topolgy then.

Hope this helps. Keep it up, I'm interested in seeing where you go with this.

I'm liking the idea of reworking old models, I've been thinking about reworking some of my old stuff as well once I'm done with my current projects.

[t4paN]

I think you just have to make his neck a bit shorter together with the deltoids. Also make the head a bit smaller as well, he looks short right now. Other than that the anatomy is ok as far as I can see.

[Joseph Silverman]

Hand are way too big. They're as tall as the face, not the head -- chin to hairline. Fingers' height tapers, too.

Stahlberg: http://www.androidblues.com/handtut.html

[pangarang]

The hands could definitely use more shape. I respectfully disagree with SupRore - as in I don't think the hands are too big.

Look at how big and developed the trapezius is then notice how small the deltoids are in comparison. And that's where I think your problem is. Far as length of the arms is concerned, I think they're fine. It's the amount of bulk isn't evenly distributed.

Also, I think the hakama needs to be broadened out quite abit.
http://www.kimpacific.com/martial_arts_supply/images/hakama.jpg
You can see how big they look in comparison to the torso.

But yeah, great stuff as always. Looking forward to see you develop this character.

[dabu]

Thanks for the anatomy tips guys, his head was a tad large. The hands aren't great, but I really don't want to bother with them. Did shrink them a hair. Tweaked them with lattice deformers, and rotated the thumb in a bit. I'm gonna give him gauntlets, so the wrists will be a bit thicker with those.

Playing with dreadlocks, and some katana. I like the idea of the swords attaching to the base of the hakama, probably not very authentic, but whatev. What are those japanese sandals called? What were they used for? I have fondness left over from samurai showdown.

edit, apparently, they are called "geta". Thank you google.

Thanks david, I haven't really given the feet any attention yet.

He'll probably be getting a mask as well, so I will do a variant.

better? Sitting at 6700 tris roughly

http://www.dabudesign.com/wip/shin/04.jpg

[dabu]

added accessories, now around 7500. Guess this will come down a bit after I sculpt and optimize. Hooray for extrude along a path.

What do y'all think of the mask design?

http://www.dabudesign.com/wip/shin/05.jpg

[Joseph Silverman]

The mask is alright, but incredibly simple and boxy, especially considering you're going to normal map this.

Why not sketch out a few designs before you model, or speedsculpt if you aren't comfortable drawing?

[t4paN]

You know what would be cool with that mask? Something along these lines:

http://i25.tinypic.com/2cyr2qg.jpg

Bigger horns would also add to it. You could make the teeth sharp or something too.

I realize it's a bit punisher-y but I suppose the punisher-y would be lost in all the samurai-ness?

[dabu]

That is a little punisher - y. I kinda like this MF Doomish one, painting the details on...

http://www.dabudesign.com/wip/shin/06.jpg

[dabu]

Im liking his lower mouth becoming part of the mask design...

http://www.dabudesign.com/wip/shin/07.jpg

[dabu]

ah, I found my old thread, time to revive it. finally.

Im sculpting out my warrior dude, if anyone has advice on how to crease in zbrush, Im all ears.

also, not sure about the muscle structure on his back. The face still isn't quite working for me either. I was going for asian - ish... but stylized (hence the pointy ears, which could be exaggerated a bit I admit)

thoughts?

missed you guys,

dabs

http://www.dabudesign.com/wip/shin/08.jpg

http://www.dabudesign.com/wip/shin/09.jpg

http://www.dabudesign.com/wip/shin/10.jpg

[MoP]

also, not sure about the muscle structure on his back.

Looks like you're not really sure about the muscle structure on the front, or the arms either...

The back of the arms seem like they're kinda on the right track, but for the rest, it needs a LOT of work. Go reference-mad, get as many pictures as you can of the human body type you're trying to sculpt (athletic male by the looks of things). The muscles you've sculpted in already are mostly in the wrong place, or connect/overlap with other muscles incorrectly.

Pecs don't look like that at all. Are you just sculpting this without reference, or using a drawing instead of a photo as ref?

Either way, you have a fairly good base mesh so far, just take your time sculpting and build up the detail slowly, it looks like you've jumped to a really high sub-d level too early. Make sure the forms, volume and silhouette at each sub-d level are as good as they can be before moving up to the next level. Otherwise you can get distracted by details and forget about the underlying forms of the muscles.

Hope that helps.

[Joao Sapiro]

yeah agreed with mop , you dont seem to be even looking at reference :(

[Xaltar]

Agreed with the above. Especialy the reference comment.

For the face, if you are going for asian looking then you need to take a good look at a lot of reference. Asian bone structure is quite different from european or african bone structure. Here is a very quick paintover to illustrate some of the problems I see.

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/6135/asiandudefd2.jpg

As mop said, your base is great but it seems you are getting ahead of yourself with the Sub-d and missing a lot of the larger detail. Keep at it, this looks like it will come out great with some good reff and some patience.

[dabu]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I actually am using one of these to figure out the muscle structure.

http://www.freedomofteach.com/products/figures/figure_male_1

Granted he doesn't have skin, but this has been my guide so far. Any links to other anatomy refs for muscle dudes would be appreciated, as my searches haven't turned up much that isn't free.

I actually want this guy to be more african looking. Really, I was thinking a stylized human with exaggerated features, like wide nose, sharp eyes, big lips, etc...

Ill post a couple more shots of the arms...

[Taer]

You could do a google image search for male nude with safe search turned off. you might get some iffy hits, but the thumbnail will tell you whether it is artistic nude or porn.

Also, if you want skin-off models, image search body worlds.