Sonic the Hedgehog [Archive]

jmiles

07-29-2009, 11:27 PM

hey all.. been working on this for about a week and a half now.. trying to polish it up for the mass portfolio export to studios.. worked really hard on this.. hope yall dig, and if you have any more suggestions to kick it up a notch even further, please let me know.. thank u

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/6185/sonicfinallayoutsheetco.jpg (http://img56.imageshack.us/i/sonicfinallayoutsheetco.jpg/)

http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/1170/soniczbrushlayoutsheetc.jpg (http://img55.imageshack.us/i/soniczbrushlayoutsheetc.jpg/)

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/5963/soniclowreslayoutsheet.jpg (http://img159.imageshack.us/i/soniclowreslayoutsheet.jpg/)

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/8819/sonicmapslayoutsheetcop.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/i/sonicmapslayoutsheetcop.jpg/)

in my maps page.. it is already duly noted that i should paint the black areas the neutral object color.. like blue.. i have edge padding.. but i know i should correct that, so that studios dont think i dont know what mip mapping is.. but i've been working on it several hours today.. and now just catching it.. i'm pretty tired, i guess.. will update when i have rested up

jmiles

07-29-2009, 11:28 PM

oh yes.. and it's based off this concept i did a while back

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/6496/sonicconceptprofile.gif (http://img268.imageshack.us/i/sonicconceptprofile.gif/)

killingpeople

07-30-2009, 12:11 AM

i remember this old model... his eyes aren't very clean, fix em up!

boyluya

07-30-2009, 12:48 AM

Maybe you can remake the topology within the eye are, like industry standard I guess.. :)

ceebee

07-30-2009, 12:56 AM

I'm kind of disturbed at how he looks so human.

It's kind of like some furry art or something...what happened to my cute but rad hedgehog sonic :[

whats_true

07-30-2009, 01:00 AM

I have to say, it is a tad bit creepy hehe. I think its the muscles that take away the over all cuteness. The chest and arms could use some more work though. Very flat.

ElysiumGX

07-30-2009, 06:27 AM

Why does everyone have the urge to ruin Sonic? I'm sure a lot of effort was put into this, but from the very beginning it suffers from a lack of style for a recognizable character.

odium

07-30-2009, 06:32 AM

This actually scares me... A lot... And that face on his chest is just... Wut...

seforin

07-30-2009, 06:37 AM

:( Im a bit sad to say in the least, I had saw this concept a while back in hopes you were gonna post progress as you went along......

The overall design based from your concepts to final presentation lacks in all regards

a few things that would have helped

That fur you kinda etched in kept it flat, or kept a shader on it to make it transmit more smoother

The posture of your character is so extremely ridged , even though humanoid has no character to it , just look like a plank standing straight

his face is creepy but its due to afew reasons, mainly on the front view of your character his eyes have were shadowing where the eyeballs themself are just floating in nothing

from the side view (based on your drawings) the skull was WAY more defined were as your 3d it again lacks.

shoe design I like no real complaints there

Glove design reminds me of kingdom hearts Im not a fan of the flesh fingers sticking out, but I suppose it could grow on me if the gloves were designed a bit more with details

having the muscles on this guy is fine but heres the thing

sonic is fast

he runs fast

fastest thing alive

Ever watch the saturday morning show you should know that just by the theme song

so tell me why is his ABS SO DEFINED but his legs are just semi defined?

Does sonic run Stomach first into shit?

NO

he RUNS with his legs , he KICKS and spins with his back

Things that would have given it more character legs being more defined and OBVIOUSLY bigger (if your going for that kinda more detailed/ realistic vibe of sonic)

ok lets now think again other notable things with sonic

he attack how?

Quills on his back in a ball right?

Key word there "Back"

His back muscles / back frame would obviously would be wider wouldnt they?

Again more things Im trying to point out to hopefully help you evolve this character more :)

Im a fan of sonic/megaman/old school games

So I love to see redesigns or tribute models

I really think you should take this model back to concept really define your concept and start in your base mesh again and sculpt nicely

look into shaders that can render fur nicely (Example sonic unleashed had a type of fur shader for night werhog sonic)

Other shades similar to this were ones used for viva pinata

There tons to improve on , please take all my critics/ personal opinions with a grain of salt! But take grains of that salt to make your dish more favorable :)

Taylor Hood

07-30-2009, 06:42 AM

Hate to be mean but : A muscley midget dressed up in a shoddy sonic suit with stickers for eyes? : P
That said. The technical aspect is nicelt done in my opinion.

Pope Adam

07-30-2009, 06:57 AM

crazyfingers

07-30-2009, 07:25 AM

Not a big fan of the texturing sir. It looks like a drawing of fur instead of actual fur.

I just don't like the idea of the human like body parts being so anatomically defined. I feel like he should have a dick too.

Funny you should say that, because I totally thought his tail and thumb were c*cks.

Seriously though, the thing buggin' me most is the chin, humanizes him a little too much. Work on the jaw area a bit and i think he'll look a lot better. Interesting take on a realistic sonic but i can't help but think he'd look better without so much fur detail and a little more in his cartoony roots.

Andreas

07-30-2009, 07:31 AM

I like the shoes. The rest...not so much unfortunately. Its pulled off sorta nice, its just a creepy design...

Kovac

07-30-2009, 08:13 AM

Chaos, it hasn't even been 12 hours so stfu... some people have shit they have to do during the day. Stop trolling and go work on your own shit cause your attitude certainly isn't going to be what gets you into the industry.

I definitely thought the concept and sculpt were stronger than the final presentation. I miss the original hexagonal mesh material the red parts were for sure as well. The three biggest weaknesses imo are probably the eyes, fur material and the Leno chin. Sonic's head has always been so round that the lack of swoop straight from the mouth to the neck totally makes him seem like a different character.

The muscles aside ( cause I think it could somehow work with a little more pinching towards the elbows ), it'd be great if you spent some time silhouetting the original sonic to see what features really characterize him to be the figure he is.

cowboyorange

07-30-2009, 08:23 AM

the problem i am having is the hair texture. I think if you broke up the spikes a little maybe using an alpha or something to look more like liberty spikes
Or maybe just smooth down the hair texture in the normal so it is a little less BAM in your face!!!

mLink

07-30-2009, 09:53 AM

I like the shoes.
A couple things that could be improved:

How the fur fades into the skin, make it more like the concept, it has more variation and visual interest than the model. The transition is too abrupt right now, like he's wearing sleeveless fur overalls.

Texture is lacking variation.
Maybe have the ends of the hair spikes a lighter color or something to give more interest to them.
It needs something on the head to pull focus to it, right now my eyes are getting drawn to the gloves or shoes.

Carl Brannstrom

07-30-2009, 09:57 AM

I think the fur is the biggest issue. You have only sculpted individual hairs and to make it not looking flat, you have it really sharp and high contrast. But that will only make the texture noisy. Especially when the model is moving.

Try sculpt clusters of hair instead. It will make the fur look more realistic, detailed and more interesting. You can even get more personality with the character depending how you do all the curls etc.

Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcNnCCpNaco

jmiles

07-30-2009, 11:43 AM

ok wow.. lots of strong reviews.. so here's the deal.. the creepiness factor is not what i'm going for... nor for a cuteness... and apologies for shocking people w/ this bold new take.. i'm not going for anything, anybody has seen before .. i'm going for more of an intense, mean, and intimidating Sonic, that does stick close to the concept.. perhaps i could play around more with different postures, proportions.. and actually pose him so that he looks less ridged.. because i can see it right now at the elbows..

I see nothing wrong w/ a strong, fast Sonic.. yes as a toon, he's got noodle limbs in the other games and Saturday morning cartoons.. and he's fast.. but he runs.. and runs a lot.. any runner who does it for a long period of time, whether animal or humanoid, is going to have lean muscle.. take The Flash, for instance.. and i think it gives him a very strong silhouette..

there are lots of issues w/ the fur, I know.. I guess i went a little buck nutty in zbrush, sculpting it all in.. and at the time it looked pretty cool.. but i dont think it's workin for me anymore either.. it looks chiseled in.. there's a lot of sharp contrast and deep shadows between the locks.. i actually woke up this morning thinking about how i could get it to work very similarly to Shadow of the Colossus-- the monster's grassy looking fur.. something like that might kick it up a notch.. and sell it better

granted-- he's a hedgehog, and if he were real, his quills would be ridged.. (after thought)

the eyes.. the eyes were giving me issues.. i had initially sculpted them in Zbrush, as u can see.. but then i realized that they would not work for the model.. so i painted them out of the normals, and modeled eyes.. they were a quick fix.. and probably not the best solution.. but i still read an intense facial expression from him nonetheless.. perhaps its the angle of the screen shot.. i donno.. in the comics, and the cartoon.. the eye's are separate from the face.. they glide along the white of his eyes.. like you wonder how the muscles of his eyes actually work, if they worked for real

anyways.. great comments.. i'll take most of them into consideration.. especially the fur.. hehe.. i think this is the most comments i've ever gotten on a piece.. so i hope i've left an impression.. thanks agian :)

d00kie

07-30-2009, 12:07 PM

*cue Sonic theme music*

There's nothing more cool than being hugged by someone you like.
But if someone tries to touch you in a place or in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, that's NO GOOD.
It's your body, no one has the right to touch you if you don't want them to.
So what do you do?
First, you say NO!
Then, you get OUTTA THERE!

*cue Sonic theme music*

jmiles

07-30-2009, 12:46 PM

i lol d00kie.. that made me lol

adam

07-30-2009, 01:51 PM

Get fur on him. He looks last gen/made out of shampoo-bottle-plastic. Today's date is July 30th 2009, not April 11th 2003. Make him look current. You've a lot of competition out there.

Get rid of that nasty-ass T-pose. This isn't school, we're not your teachers. Show us Sonic as we'd see Sonic: Moving, jumping, collecting rings and overall being a cocky hedgehog. The t-pose, while possibly good for you to use while modeling, doesn't help your case when trying to SELL us on who he is. Hell, the classic Sonic pose of his hands on his hips while he taps his foot in anticipation would rock.

The human hands are neat, but I'd completely cover them in gloves. Seeing finger nails reaaaaally fucks with the brain. Is this a cartoon character you've made or some "stylized" creepy Furry about to Yiff some ready-and-waiting Amy?

SHEPEIRO

07-30-2009, 02:26 PM

i think this is one of those projects that just isnt quite right, enough to make some people dislike it but i think it has alot of potential its just slightly eschewed at the moment.

for me the colour of the fur is whats putting me off and also making it look last gen.

i would imagine him as a bit of a greaser his blue hair greased back into those spikes, slight air of 50s speed demon possibly wears a studded jacket and deffinatly likes the idea of being james dean

anyway if you could pull off a nice specular sheen on the fur and change the colours to suit a bit better i think your on to a winer weiner errrrr winner

little idea of where the colour should be, though im on my macbook and paintings an arse pretend the fur has that greasy plastic look ;-)
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/Shepeiro/sonic.jpg

Pope Adam

07-30-2009, 02:30 PM

@Adam lol yiff

carlo_c

07-30-2009, 03:36 PM

I think shep nailed the colour with his edit, already screams sonic a lot more to me.

It is a bit creepy to look at lol, especially the hands but I think if you fixed up the fur it would look much better. As you said yourself, Shadow of the Colossus is definitely a game to look at even though its last gen they did fur really well. His face is odd, it's not quite in any form of expression so adding something there would help too.

jmiles

07-30-2009, 04:10 PM

hey if it's any consolation.. i have object space normals turned on, on this model right now.. i could turn it off.. the normals get projected a bit better.. i just liked the look of the model w/ the object space norms turned on... i'll throw up a comparison.. and if some one would explain to me the difference, or what it does in a running game, or the reason they have it in an engine.. that would be superb.. thanks

ZacD

07-30-2009, 04:13 PM

The flow of the hair doesn't seem very natural/real, especially around the eyes and checks.

jmiles

07-30-2009, 04:17 PM

and thanks seph.. yeah that looks a bit more accurate to the original

slipsius

07-30-2009, 04:34 PM

Ok, well, first off, its always risky to redo a beloved character such as sonic. taking something that everyone knows, and probably has very fond memories of, then putting your own spin on it. Well, it takes alot not only do that, but post it and throw yourself out there for what could be an angry mob of fans. So kudos to you for giving it a go!

I like your take on him. though, my crit to you is the fur needs work. Right now its just too straight and seems forced. Check out the youtube tutorial that CORV posted and go back and rework it. It would give him a much more natural feel. Also, I think the chest area needs to blend into the fur more. a couple lines coming out from the fur in that area, and around the shoulders, to me, it just looks like a torn shirt or something. Of course, this is just my opinion, and your vision is probably different than mine, but I believe it would make for a stronger character with those changes!

cheers

jmiles

07-30-2009, 04:48 PM

totally.. thanks very much slipsius.. I knew what would happen when i made this version of Sonic.. and i'm well prepared for the comments.. because Sonic is very iconic in the gaming world.. and I love him just as much as we all do...

the fur will definitely be my focus these next few days..

polish and updates to come

i really value everybodys comments

Pope Adam

07-30-2009, 05:15 PM

Give him tattoos and cigarettes... and blue chest hair!!!

glib

07-30-2009, 11:21 PM

On the subject of normals, are you saying you baked out a tangent-space normal map and then told your renderer to treat it as an object-space map? Don't do that. I'm tired, and can't think of an analogy to explain it, but this is just incorrect. If you baked an object-space normal map, then nevermind.

jmiles

07-31-2009, 01:48 AM

what i did was bake a tangent space normal map for the model, but, in the marmaset engine, you have the option to turn on object space normals.. it's a check box.. and you can set it on or off per material

almighty_gir

07-31-2009, 07:41 AM

you have to? i never have...

jmiles

07-31-2009, 11:23 AM

no you dont have to.. it's just an option.. and the only reason i did it was because i liked the result i got after checking it on..

AshleyTayles

07-31-2009, 12:13 PM

For me, this falls into the uncanny valley. But it's still a good piece!

jakelear

07-31-2009, 01:03 PM

I think the topic of your re-conceptualization of a classic character has been covered enough, so I'll comment on the technical aspect a bit.

You're using 3 2048 maps. That's a lot of texture information that I think you could use more effectively. I imagine, as the model is now, we wouldn't really be able to tell the difference if you took the normal and spec maps down to 512 and the color down to 1024 or lower. This isn't to say you can't validate those texture sizes, but like Adam said, especially with this kind of polycount and texture dimensions, it needs to look current. That being said, you could also probably afford to lose some polygons. You've got a lot of loops in the "quills" or whatever you want to call his hairstyle when really they're just straight cones. Obviously theyre a large part of the model so you want to distribute your loops evenly since they're a significant percentage of the total, but I think you could afford to lose some, or when you're working with the hair, work the shapes a little so they're more swoopy (or something.) I'm also wondering how his legs work, as the geometry sits now, they would just swing underneath him (which is pretty much how classic sonic moves) but because he has such human-like anatomy elsewhere, it might be worth considering moving his legs up to his sides like a human hip works. I don't know how that would turn out, but it's weird seeing those legs just sticking off the bottom of such a human torso.

The eyes are sort of perplexing. I think that because you've gone far enough to give him human fingers and given him this grimy look, you may want to consider modelling him some eye geometry so that he could even blink. You've taken a lot of artistic license with the character, why not take it all the way and make him really strange.

Basically, you've got the polycount and texture space for a current-gen character, but you don't have the model of one. I think this could be really cool if you really push it to the next level.

GCMP

07-31-2009, 03:34 PM

I like him but agree with the uncanny valley comment. Made a paintover, hope it might help open up some new ideas?

http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu196/GCMax/sonicedit.jpg

jmiles

07-31-2009, 03:34 PM

totally.. thanks very much jakelear.. i'm building his rig currently and i'll play around with the geo before i start skinning

jmiles

07-31-2009, 03:36 PM

hah cool GCMP.. i'll definitely give this some thought

renderhjs

07-31-2009, 04:35 PM

it scares the shit out of me,

his face looks like a kuma (japanese bear), and he is so hairy - its just scary. The eyes look very wrong and almost orthogonal aligned whereas they should be more angled in a natural way like it does in the concept drawing.

The hands are also very scary, like the ones of a hair old strong man - it has almost some gay flavor to it with all the male details but still the close body (hairy) suit concept.

The concept itself however looks very good, in that drawing he is more slim his hands are less scary but more boyish (not hairy manly). His composition is more natural and the face expression looks so much better.
Show this concept a child and he will like it, show the child the 3d version and he will cry or run away.

cycloverid

07-31-2009, 05:12 PM

http://www.justinkenneallyart.com/sonicedit.jpg

PLEASE!

RobStites

07-31-2009, 05:17 PM

http://www.justinkenneallyart.com/sonicedit.jpg

PLEASE!

Oh my god.

I love it, my girlfriend and I are both sitting here giggling like retards.

jmiles

07-31-2009, 05:39 PM

hahaha.. all good here u guys.. great ideas

Frump

07-31-2009, 07:10 PM

First things first. NO GLOVE, NO LOVE. Glove that shit up.

(cycloverid: I laughed my ass off)

Next, you have the completely wrong hairstyle. Does this look familiar? Even if you are going with your own edgy design, when that design already exists in the Sonic universe, it kind of doesn't work. Right now you have Shadow or Super Sonic, with the upturned spikes, as demonstrated in the second image. Hair pointing up would cause unnecessary drag and would not really work for rolling into a ball, which is why shadow has some motorcyle and Super Sonic can fly. It looks like you kept the spikes models separate so it should be easy to flip them around and see how it looks.
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/249/sonicf.jpg
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/3642/sonics.jpg

jmiles

07-31-2009, 09:57 PM

all great ideas.. thanks frump

jmiles

08-01-2009, 12:48 PM

http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/1968/sonicprogress12.jpg (http://img372.imageshack.us/i/sonicprogress12.jpg/)

ok.. i haven't changed anything just yet.. but i am working on the rig.. but this is what i was saying about the difference between tangent and object space normals.. the visual look.. this was the question i was trying to ask initially.. what is the difference between them?.. and if one version is used over the other in actually real time game play, which one do i use?.. and why?..

i have some issues tho, w/ object space nrms turned off.. in the spines.. i get weird lighting info on the tips, as well as on the white straps of the shoes... i've looked over my normals and in all the RGB channels, and there doesnt appear to be and distortion coming from them.. and i've looked over my other maps.. and no issues there either.. however.. i think the problem is either in the OBJ export, or in the engine itself.. when i turn ON object space normals, those issues don't show up.. and that is why i presented Sonic in this fashion.. so.. whether he looks plasticy or flat or w/e.. these were the results i was getting

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/1060/toolbagmatbar.jpg (http://img190.imageshack.us/i/toolbagmatbar.jpg/)

anyways..i really like the ideas people have been coming up w/.. Sepheiro.. i'm stealing your color idea, and Frump, one of your ideas w/ the spikes turned down.. thanks for everybodys help through this.. gonna continue on and hopefully knock it out of the park

Racer445

08-01-2009, 12:55 PM

You should check the object space box only if you are using object space normal maps. You are using tangent space normal maps, so leave it unchecked.

The strange lighting you're getting is likely a smoothing group issue. Check your obj export.

Shogun3d

08-01-2009, 01:49 PM

This is pure win!

http://www.justinkenneallyart.com/sonicedit.jpg

PLEASE!

jmiles

08-01-2009, 01:53 PM

yeah i also looked over my smooth groups as well.. i'll give them another look, but when i did it the first time, i was still getting the same issues

whats_true

08-01-2009, 05:46 PM

cycloverid wins XD

dejawolf

08-01-2009, 07:21 PM

its goku the hedgehog!

killingpeople

08-01-2009, 11:33 PM

jmiles, i like what you have... these paint overs have been questionable. cycloverid's, obviously ruled.

jmiles

08-02-2009, 10:08 AM

Never built a rig before, complete w/ controllers.. I found a good book that i believe taught me some good basics.. I can now start the changes in the mesh.. then start skinning

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/8941/sonicprogress13.jpg (http://img9.imageshack.us/i/sonicprogress13.jpg/)

jmiles

08-02-2009, 10:54 AM

hehe thanks KP.. yeah, I like what I have too.. but some people here have valid design points.. for instance, Jakelere is right about the position of the spines.. they would be pointed and swooped down to make rolls, sonic spins, and the rolling bounce attacks look more accurate in game.. my design would be more like Super Sonics.. dont get me wrong tho, I like my design purely for shape of the silhouette, and the colors.. I know it's Sonic because I built him.. but if it's not reading like Sonic to others, then I guess I have some problems to fix

Sectaurs

08-02-2009, 12:51 PM

there is absolutely no mistaking who this is meant to be. it can read as nothing other than a version of sonic. it's down to just a matter of personal taste.

the only things that really bothers me in your design are his eyes. that solid slimer green just looks bad with the rest of him. it also looks as if his pupils are actually over his eyebrows a tad. I can't help but stare at them!

jmiles

08-02-2009, 01:21 PM

hehe thanks very much Sectaurs. when i work on the modded design, i will work on the eyes and make them a bit less awkward looking

JohnnySix

08-02-2009, 04:15 PM

hmm, how about going more hog and less human?

http://fc08.deviantart.com/fs49/f/2009/214/4/b/sONic_by_JohnnySix.jpg

jmiles

08-02-2009, 08:14 PM

That's an excellent idea Johnnysix :).. shoot.. man.. this is inspiring..i cant wait to rework this now

bounchfx

08-02-2009, 08:21 PM

http://dl-client.getdropbox.com/u/17615/soniclol.jpg
i couldn't help it dear god

interesting direction!

ceebee

08-03-2009, 01:55 AM

yeah dont do that please god no

jmiles

08-03-2009, 12:52 PM

little update in max viewport w/ 1 omni light.. shitty lighting, but it's all the DX shader can handle

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/8941/sonicprogress13.jpg (http://img31.imageshack.us/i/sonicprogress13.jpg/)

jmiles

08-03-2009, 12:53 PM

and lots of texture issues to fix

jmiles

08-03-2009, 12:54 PM

might actually end up re-sculpting to make things blend right, and i might go over my UVs to make them fill the space more efficient

JohnnySix

08-03-2009, 02:20 PM

It's moving in a direction now - you just need a cohesive style, right now you've got reasonably anatomically correct hands with giant anime style eyes. Either go for realism all over, with a more convincing facial structure to match the style of the hands, or fatten and shorten the fingers to make them more cartoony like the face.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3221/2851853193_2de660a17a.jpg

timwiese

08-03-2009, 02:27 PM

His eyes don't seem like they are eyeballs at the moment. They look like they are just painted on his face which is giving them a weird mask/creepy look.

I think your best bet would be to cut holes where the eyes are and put spheres in so they aren't just textured to the skull. Also this would give him a much needed eye sockets and brow line.

There is a lot of other things with the style and direction of him that need to be re-thought, but I think everyone else has been commenting on that enough already.

jmiles

08-03-2009, 05:59 PM

a little more progress today.. made a number of changes to the face itself.. the spines, the actual geo of the eyes, and over all hair style.. not too much w/ the texture just yet. but more to come..

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/8701/sonicprogress14.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/i/sonicprogress14.jpg/)

jmiles

08-03-2009, 06:03 PM

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/1741/sonicthehedgehog2006gam.png (http://img7.imageshack.us/i/sonicthehedgehog2006gam.png/)

my design isnt too much different than this.. other than him looking more anatomical.. but i could definitely change the color of his hair.. i donno tho.. i still really like this sky or turquoise coloer i'm getting.. i'll play w/ the color change tho.. Sephiero's paint over looked pretty nice

jmiles

08-03-2009, 06:04 PM

i like the snout i give him better than the flat or circular facial features too

deadpixl

08-03-2009, 06:23 PM

http://www.justinkenneallyart.com/sonicedit.jpg

PLEASE!

That is the funniest thing I've ever seen. :)

jmiles

08-04-2009, 10:19 PM

Big update tonight.. made a lot of changes to the fur, hands, and facial features.. and added a little grunge to the boots... heh.. found a new fur color that i think i like. it was a happy accident that occurred tonight that i think fits well w/ with the side of Sonic i'm trying to sell.. initially i was going for the post that Sephiero made a while back, but this is what i ended up with.. lots of areas to fix yet here.. the eyes especially.. and i'm still getting issues w/ my smoothing groups.. u can see it up on the top middle fin on Sonic's head

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/9789/sonicprogress16.jpg (http://img195.imageshack.us/i/sonicprogress16.jpg/)

anyways.. i think i'm getting there.. figuring out how the eyes actually work.. if they worked in real life... they've been a bit of a challenge for this project.. i think the pic of the rendered sonic i posted actually has one huge eyeball that has two pupils that move independently from the eyeball itself.. keeping the white of the eye perfectly rounded, while the two pupils glide across the white.. i donno.. but i dont think what i have could work, or else i just delete the geo, make an eyeball with it's own material and work the rest of the face from there

also, been reading up on real-time shaders.. i'm no coder by a long shot.. the two ideas that i came up w/, with the help from Kovac was either i build up the hair in a volumeteric fashion, or just make hair planes, and scatter them around.. however.. the problem with either of these options, would negate my normals..

i like the way i have my model now, but i feel like hair planes would push it further.. any suggestions? crits/ comments welcome.. thanks

crazyfingers

08-04-2009, 10:27 PM

Big improvement!

Color on his fur looks a little flat though, any way you could do some gradient overlays to make his spikes lighter or darker at the tips? Maybe do the same for the bottem of the legs too.

Also the top of his head looks a little flat, would be nice to see that top spike be a little more prominent from a head on view.

Coming along great!

dejawolf

08-05-2009, 12:15 AM

it still reminds me of pervy mario...

SHEPEIRO

08-05-2009, 01:54 AM

i think the colour is quite important to him actually being sonic, as alot of the other crap characters in his universe are just coloured versions of him with slightly different accesories, so to me this isnt sonic its his off the rails brother, or pervy uncle.

plus you have alot of shading issues with the normal map.

timwiese

08-05-2009, 09:36 AM

huge improvement!
keep going on this, I think if you add a few more subtle details it will be a pretty solid character.

d00kie

08-05-2009, 04:25 PM

one eyyeeeeee, one eeeeeeeyyyyeeeeeeee, one eeeeeeyyyyyyeeeeee.
Just like the orphans on Futurama say, I think he'd look stellar with one eye; like his predecessors and the posted image above!
I love those shoes very much, oh yes.

mLichy

08-05-2009, 06:31 PM

The stoner one is fucking hilarious.

GugloPWN

08-05-2009, 09:51 PM

It looks like Sonic just finished Oil Ocean Zone! I'm worried that people might think he's shadow.

NAILMASK

08-05-2009, 09:57 PM

These are great!

jmiles

08-06-2009, 06:11 PM

haha, GugloPWN :) Oil Ocean was one of my favorite zones in Sonic 2.. actually because it lead up to Metropolis Zone which i liked even better!.. i'll keep ur comment in mind and perhaps brighten up the color a bit.. plus the color variation and highlights.. Cant be Shadow tho, because Shadow is all black with red stripes, and white patches going through him.. however.. this mid-night blue color could work for him, i think.. i'll have to post a pick, but i found my original box from generation 1 Sega Genesis, and it was a Sonic Pack. So it had a picture of Sonic, w/ about the same color blue on his fur.. i'm still playing with the fur a bit, to see if it all comes together.. thanks for the commets all.. you've been a great help

jmiles

08-06-2009, 06:56 PM

found an interesting article on the history of Sonic, Sega, and their rivalries against Nintendo

http://www.kombo.com/article.php?artid=10303

and i couldn't help myself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K03fQKkN7VI

jmiles

08-06-2009, 06:58 PM

<-- Sega fanboy

crazyfingers

08-06-2009, 07:00 PM

To this day scientists have yet to surpass blast processing.

Sectaurs

08-06-2009, 08:06 PM

i rather like the darker color.

matches the darker tone your piece has

jmiles

08-07-2009, 04:17 AM

another update.. fixed a bunch of stuff.. my smooth groups!!!! turns out the UV's were being a little funky.. but now they work properly for the engine.. grunged up the boots a bit more, more bare skin color variation, and more variation in the fur...

the eyes still need work, and there are some wicked seams now.. hopefully zbrush wont be a bitch every time i use the projection master to fix my seams.. we'll see how it goes tomorrow.. er.. later today.. after i've slept.. i'm still up and it's 6am..

here's the progress

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/4361/sonicprogress17.jpg (http://img26.imageshack.us/i/sonicprogress17.jpg/)

JohnnySix

08-08-2009, 08:53 PM

Looking much better facially, the eyes especially are a great improvement - the only thing that really stands out is the bright neon green iris.

Also he shouldn't have fur on the rims of his eyes, should just be skin for his eyelids.

Here's a really messy, cross-eyed paintover of what I mean :

http://fc00.deviantart.com/fs48/f/2009/220/3/1/Sonic_Paintover_by_JohnnySix.jpg

ThatDon

08-08-2009, 11:45 PM

I'm diggin the fur treatment on his face, it kinda breaks down once you get to his spikeys though :(

Acumen

08-09-2009, 03:18 AM

i think what JohnnySix posted makes a huuuge difference :o
that's something i wouldn't have thought of, but it really makes it work so much more, in my eyes, at least.
cause the fur in the eyes would need him to always wipe the hairs off his eyes. i think that paintover gives the eyes area a much more distinctive look. i'd definately go for it :)

Rorkimaru

08-09-2009, 12:23 PM

I agree with JohnnySix's little change. It really ads a lot more life and drama to the face. that and the hair resting on Sonic's eyes just looks painful in the original shot.

This is an amazing concept and it's a direction I never imagined sonic going before. The dark fur, muscular redesign and all the other subtle little changes brings back the attitude that sonic of late has been without. I'd love to see the official games going this direction but I guess the best I can hope for is you putting this in a game (a side scrolling game devoid of werehogs)

Great concept. Reading this thread and watching him evolve was very interesting. Also, stoner sonic... priceless