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[MUTANT] Little League TEAM - skankerzero

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  • skankerzero
    just a really quick update:
    uv03.jpg
    uv04.jpg

    @_@

    Everything has a basic unwrap from HeadusUV.
    Next I'm going to go in there and begin mirroring textures and sharing uvs across geometry.
  • Swizzle
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    Swizzle polycounter lvl 15
    I want to be like you when I grow up.
  • skankerzero
    Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been busy with my other side projects the past week.

    Either way, here's the next part:


    UV Mapping your parts

    Once you've created your parts, it's time to uvmap them.

    Follow whatever pipeline you are comfortable with.
    For this I'm using Headus UVLayout. I take all my parts and unfold them.
    uv03.jpg

    I then take them back into Max and check to make sure there isn't any distortion.
    uv04.jpg

    At this point, I take some time to go and model a couple more heads and body parts.

    Now it's time to pack your uvs.


    Packing your uvs

    Before we begin packing our uvs, let's take a step back and think about how we want to lay them out.

    One thing most game artists don't know (especially character artists) is that every 32-bit texture is actually 4 grayscale textures.
    texture04.jpg

    This means that with a single 512x512 you have the same amount of pixels as a 1024x1024 if you choose to texture your character only using grayscale. This is, of course, if your game's shader system allows you to use individual channels. I'm using Terminal Reality's Infernal Engine, and it lets you do just that.

    For my model, I decided that I need full RGB for certain pieces of the model, but not all of it. So this means that I'm going to use the RGB channel to color those areas and the other areas will be mapped through the alpha channel.

    My first step is to separate the geometry into the two groups and pack each group into it's own space.
    uv06.jpg

    Each group should now have it's own set of uvs.
    uv05.jpg

    **Protip -
    As I was packing the uvs, if it turned out I needed to scale the uv islands, I would collapse the stack, select both groups, and scale ALL the islands across both groups to keep the pixel density consistent across the entire model.

    Once you have packed all yoru pieces, you're ready to move to the next step.


    Preparing the Textures

    We all have our own pipelines, but I thought I would give you guys a peek into mine. I won't break apart my pipeline as that can be saved for another time.

    Here are some snapshots:

    Baking lighting onto all the parts.
    texture01.jpg
    texture02.jpg

    Taking all the parts and piecing together your unique characters.
    texture03.jpg


    Up next is texturing.
    Then squashing and stretching the characters to all have unique proportions.

    See you guys next time.
  • seven
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    seven polycounter lvl 13
    Holy crap... big bucket of win.

    On your light rig do you have consistent intensity across all lights or do you vary them towards the bottom of the dome as fills?
  • Avanthera
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    Avanthera polycounter lvl 10
    Damn Jesse, You're only supposed to make one ya know? :poly124:

    Awesome stuff! Very happy that you're sharing your knowledge with all of us losers. :)
  • cptSwing
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    cptSwing polycounter lvl 11
    amazing thread.
  • leslievdb
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    leslievdb polycounter lvl 15
    awesome post is awesome yet again

    i never really thought of using the multiple uv channels combined with separating the RGB - A.
  • Sukotto
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    Sukotto polycounter lvl 8
    Thanks so much for sharing your workflow, I'm learning a lot and you're still not done!
  • skankerzero
    having fun with the team logo.

    logo.jpg

    texture wip sneak peek:
    texture05.jpg
  • Japhir
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    Japhir polycounter lvl 16
    That texture update makes them look a loooot cooler :). Keep it up!
  • erroldynamic
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    erroldynamic polycounter lvl 18
    Wow! This is amazingly insightful... thanks for sharing this workflow. Can't wait to see the finished team!
  • Swizzle
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    Swizzle polycounter lvl 15
    Those textures look rad. Hell, this entire thread is amazing.
  • MattQ86
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    MattQ86 polycounter lvl 14
    Wow, you're literally putting on a clinic in here. Those textures are looking amazing.
  • bugo
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    bugo polycounter lvl 17
    Nice work Jesse, keep that coming.
    I'm glad you are still using Headus UV Layout.
    I also hope Austin is treating you well.
  • Bishop313
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    Bishop313 polycounter lvl 9
    damn skank, yr mastering here the work of a whole team... impressive!
  • Tamarin
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    Tamarin polycounter lvl 17
    Studying this thread closely.
  • Broken_Lawnmower
    holy shit this thread. skankerzero, you are a magician
  • Jesse Moody
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    Jesse Moody polycounter lvl 17
    Yeah Skanker you nailing this shit down like a boss!!!

    Will def have to do a write up about your process after this... Let's talk :)
  • DockRock
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    DockRock polycounter lvl 8
    Looking stellar man, can't wait to see this team done!
  • skankerzero
    left to texture:

    1x head
    1x arm
    1x wheel leg

    Should have all the texture done tonight after I eat.
    Then it's all shader work left. :)

    I'm finishing earlier than I expected.
  • skankerzero
    Texture update.

    Finished texturing all 9 characters.
    texture06.jpg
    RGB and Alpha:
    texture07.jpg
    I'm texturing using my own style. I developed my style as a way to make my 3d models look like my illustrations. It is very illustrative. I do a majority of it with the polygon lasso tool and a couple taps of the airbrush.
    The above screens have no lighting in max.

    Up next is playing with masks to color the uniforms.

    Also. Have to build a base for the group to stand on.
    I will also be building mock screenshots for 'menu selection' to show the characters within the context of the 'game'.
  • cholden
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    cholden polycounter lvl 18
    You're so cool. Your production values are so strong that people should bookmark this thread as a tutorial.
  • slipsius
    freakin Ballin' Skanker. So well done.

    Right now most of it looks very grey. Did you do that on purpose so that in unreal or whatever, you just play with materials to add colour or what?

    Also, a little crit. Im personally not a fan of the shorts. Well, actually that's not true. I like the shorts, but I feel you need another variation thrown in there as well. They are all the same. Every other section of the body has variations, and it shows nicely when lined up. But when lined up, the shorts are clearly reused on EVERY model. Im sure it has something to do with the poly limits, but I feel that that is your room for improvement.
  • e-freak
    This thread is a great learning resource! Really like what you pulled off.

    One thing though: In your colored Texture you are using a lot of one-colored objects (each island has a very dominant color). Wouldn't it have been more efficient to use Vertex Colors for these parts as well, allowing you to use 4 individual textures (each channel one) and therefore double the Texel-Density?

    edit: OT but could you show the rig for this crowd?
    The first example is a single character that is meant to be viewed at about 75 feet or more away from the camera.
    example03.jpg
    This is considered a single character as it has a single rig that animates all the characters. The rig is less than 32 bones and would animate all the outstretched arms and random heads and bodies to create the illusion of a crowd stirring about. The polycount falls within a single character's budget (12,254 tris). and it uses a single 256x128 texture.
  • Daven
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    Daven greentooth
    cholden wrote: »
    You're so cool. Your production values are so strong that people should bookmark this thread as a tutorial.

    Agreed. Man Jesse, this is pretty sexy. The breakdowns have been extremely helpful.
  • Lord Fryingpan
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    Lord Fryingpan polycounter lvl 12
    I couldn't help but notice each of your players have a different number.

    Is there some shader magic here ?
  • skankerzero
    slipsius wrote: »
    Right now most of it looks very grey. Did you do that on purpose so that in unreal or whatever, you just play with materials to add colour or what?
    you are correct. A mask image will be used to apply color to the uniforms.
    Also, a little crit. Im personally not a fan of the shorts. Well, actually that's not true. I like the shorts, but I feel you need another variation thrown in there as well. They are all the same. Every other section of the body has variations, and it shows nicely when lined up. But when lined up, the shorts are clearly reused on EVERY model. Im sure it has something to do with the poly limits, but I feel that that is your room for improvement.

    You're right too. I was going to give one of the robots pants, but then decided against it. So right now the two captains have the pants.

    All these guys are modular, so in the end, I can add pants to whoever I want depending on the final pose.
    e-freak wrote: »
    One thing though: In your colored Texture you are using a lot of one-colored objects (each island has a very dominant color). Wouldn't it have been more efficient to use Vertex Colors for these parts as well, allowing you to use 4 individual textures (each channel one) and therefore double the Texel-Density?

    You're right. I'll go back in there and add more color to the shadows.

    There were a couple parts that were going to be colored through the shader (like the skeleton bones), but in the end I didn't have enough room in the alpha for their uvs, so I put them into the rgb.
    e-freak wrote: »
    edit: OT but could you show the rig for this crowd?
    If I get time to. The rig for that is in Maya, and I don't have access to that right now.
    I couldn't help but notice each of your players have a different number.

    Is there some shader magic here ?
    Nope, just different uv coordinates. If I had a programmer with me and this was an actual game, the uv coordinates for the numbers would be the same and I would use a font for the number. For this competition though, I just had to fake it.

    Thanks for all the feedback guys! Hopefully I'll have time to make this as awesome as I can.
  • slipsius
    Its not so much the pants that I meant. Im talking about the top half of the legs. every character has those spikes around its legs, which make them all appear to be shorts? its the upper half that i think needs variation.

    cant wait to see this finished though. You've done an amazing job so far.
  • skankerzero
    slipsius wrote: »
    Its not so much the pants that I meant. Im talking about the top half of the legs. every character has those spikes around its legs, which make them all appear to be shorts? its the upper half that i think needs variation.

    cant wait to see this finished though. You've done an amazing job so far.

    oh hmm. Yeah. not sure what to do about that at this point. The most that can be done is variation in the spikes.

    One of the limitations when it comes to making a crowd system is not being able to fully customize each character as you want to. It's all about compromise.

    I think the screenshot might have something to do with the repetitive feeling of the thigh spikes. When I rotate the model around to the front, its not so noticeable. I'm hoping when they're all posed and grouped together, it will just feel 'right' and bring them together as a team.
  • konstruct
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    konstruct polycounter lvl 18
    god damn skank, you`re a 1 man art army
  • ishii
    This is pretty cool!
  • Vailias
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    Vailias polycounter lvl 18
    Skanker: Great info. I was planning a similar submission (never got started due to real life), but I hadn't thought of using separate UV layouts in the same space for the channels. That's excelent.
  • skankerzero
    some fun!
    final_cover.jpg

    more images coming soon.
  • seven
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    seven polycounter lvl 13
    that's a taste of some sweetness right there. yum.
  • MiAlx
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    MiAlx polycounter lvl 10
    Jesse, sweeeet, love the team... Can't wait for more :D

    Thank you very much for sharing such useful information with the rest of us, I really appreciate it!
  • skankerzero
  • Tadao215
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    Tadao215 polycounter lvl 13
    wow awesome job, looks fun :)
  • seven
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    seven polycounter lvl 13
  • Alberto Rdrgz
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    Alberto Rdrgz polycounter lvl 9
    WoW. that's all.
  • LRoy
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    LRoy polycounter lvl 10
    dude you are on another level. this is all ~2500 tris?
  • Tadao215
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    Tadao215 polycounter lvl 13
    i think each one is ~2500. this challenge allows us to make multiple characters if we want to
  • Lee3dee
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    Lee3dee polycounter lvl 18
    looking awesome Jesse!
  • ranek
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    ranek polycounter lvl 8
  • SsSandu_C
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    SsSandu_C polycounter lvl 13
    Interesting process.... Really nice.
  • divi
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    divi polycounter lvl 12
    make me a beautiful mexican baby!
  • PixelKD
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    PixelKD polycounter lvl 9
  • DrunkShaman
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    DrunkShaman polycounter lvl 14
    Sir. Skankerzero has proven to this community that he is a 3d art machine...

    >.<
  • Urserker
    I absolutely loved your approach to this, building multiple characters off interchangeable parts. I'm really glad you posted your work process as much as you did, it was really insightful.
  • deadpixl
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    deadpixl polycounter lvl 9
    some fun!
    final_cover.jpg

    more images coming soon.

    This needs to happen! Get on it EA.
  • slipsius
    Any chance you could explain a bit of the shader process of how you gave the teams colours?
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