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The Witch WIP

I think I am ready to call Phoenix finished. She weights in at 14.700 triangles including the scythe. 2048 maps for model, 1024x512 for scythe and a separate 512 for hair. I decided that I'm gonna try out some different software to render Phoenix in realtime. First up is Marmoset Toolbag.

phoenix_marmoset_by_chronoxios-d5yb8w6.png

Next is a screengrab directly in 3DS Max with Xoliul Shader 2.

phoenix_beautyshot_by_chronoxios-d5uyg4r.png

I decided to make a somewhat more fun video than just a turntable so here is a small video presentation of Phoenix. Watch in 1080p please!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlP3HllEHZ4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlP3HllEHZ4[/ame]

Replies

  • David Wakelin
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    Hi,

    Overall the model looks nice however I do have some CC as I myself study Games Design at University :)

    - Armoured Shoulderpad although looks nice the bone/spike wouldnt support itself on a mere shoulder with 1 strap. However it depends whether prefer form/function.

    - The spikes on the shoulderpad are far too look, consider the character standing with its arms outstretched above her head - the spike would be piercing her skull.

    - If the front skirt section is feathers (think so?) then they are far too rigid, they should look more placid and perhaps slightly curved in the direction they are flowing in.

    - The creases on the bottom of her cape look are far unrealistic, however the top half is great.

    But as I said very nice :)

    Cheers.
  • Jonathan Dick
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    If those are feathers at the front and maybe on the gauntlets, you might just want to use alpha cards for those similar to how hair is done.

    Her legs are also a bit skinny, almost as skinny as her arms at the moment and the shoulder-pad is way too massive.
  • PaulP
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    PaulP polycounter lvl 9
    Looking cool so far. Got a couple of crits. The back of the hood is looking a bit weird, like its full of lumpy custard. Realistic clothing wrinkles/creases are tricky, just keep using reference and working on it. If the material is thick and soft, think of smooth s-shaped wrinkles. If it is thick and stiff, think of z-shaped wrinkles. I'm over-simplyfying it a bit, but if you look at reference you'll see what I mean. Other crit, the eyes look a bit small, but that could be a stylistic choice. Could you show a close up of the head?
  • Chronoxios
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    Thank you guys for the quick replys!

    David Wakelin: Form is definitely prefered before function here. I really want to go over the top. Since she's a witch the shoulderpad will be part of her defensive skills summoned by magic. Wait till you see her scythe which is part of her offensive skills ;)
    For the front section skirt I was thinking doing some kind of metal straps but I am really not happy what i came up with (although it sticks with the bird theme). Will probably redo that section. Thanks for pointing out the creases at the cape. I myself was a little unsure of the wobbly lines at the top secttion. Trying to simulate some kind of gravity there.

    Jonathan Dick: Thanks for pointing out her legs. Will look into those.

    SCB: Thanks for pointing out the hood. It really does look weird :P

    Right now I am detailing the shoulder pad. Kind of working a little all over the place. The gauntlets was probably the hardest thing I´ve done in Z

    Closeup of head:

    the_witch_wip2_by_chronoxios-d4z40ae.jpg
  • Chronoxios
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    Update. Been working on the boots as well as redoing the metal straps hanging from the armor. I also made her legs a bit bigger. Haven't reworked the cape yet, that will be for next update. C&C please!

    the_witch_wip3_by_chronoxios-d4zhst4.jpg
  • Chronoxios
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    Long time no update. Been busy on another project but tonight I decided to work a bit on this lady. Been fixing the cape and done a damage pass, as well as adding some details. Feeling pretty happy about it but C&C would be great before I move on to retopo!

    the_witch_wip4_by_chronoxios-d50uhji.jpg
  • praetor187
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    praetor187 polycounter lvl 11
    looking sweet so far, the cape is still a little funky but I know your working on that. I feel like her shoulder piece is a little too big for her, I imagine it would be very hard to lift up the arm with something that heavy (but thats more of a personal feeling) another thing I would say is look at the folds that are going in and out on the tunic and cape. What I mean by that is the fold on the bottom of the cape and tunic. Right now the problem I see is that the cloth look too flat even with the current folds. Making large folds that dip in and out of the character can give it a great sense depth, and add a lot to the character.
    (some quick examples)
    http://elegancehut.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/132.jpg
    http://media2.onsugar.com/files/2011/08/33/4/1873/18731282/9a96497d85330f87_Skirts_A.jpg

    And if i can make one more suggestion, I would say that the body itself can be made more toned. Not buff but toned for a women, athletic women would be a good reference, you can still keep the feminine look of the character while giving some good hints that she is physically strong.

    I hope that helps, not trying to step on your toes or anything, looks great otherwise.:)
  • Chronoxios
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    praetor187: Thanks for the feedback! Don't worry bout my toes, they are maid of stainless steel :P No but seriously, getting critique is why I am here. There is always room for improvement, right?

    I went ahead and fixed the cape and tunic, as well as tuned up her arms a bit. Let me know what you think!

    the_witch_wip5_by_chronoxios-d50wyag.jpg
  • Nuclear Angel
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    Nuclear Angel polycounter
    It looks really good, i love that you put a bird theme in to the character. I think it gives it an edge and more depth to it. And the armor looks Mint! Do you have a back story or anything like that?

    But to the C&C, the Hoodie she has in the back, it doesn't look like it got any weight, more like it is flying. Look in to that, and also i do not like how the folds go in the middle of the back. Because those folds i do not think would go like that, especially if the cape is heavy. The folds should go more straight down and then start fold in other directions when she moves or the wind comes in to play. But that might just be me.
    Is that an German iron cross on the boots? I like that a lot. But overall it does look good, just that little bit off tuning until you are satisfied. Keep it up.
  • Link702
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    It's looking great. Was she modeled bare and then the armor and clothes were added? Or was it all one thing?
  • Chronoxios
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    Nuke: Glad you like the bird theme. I have an incredible scythe planned out as a weapon for her which will follow the bird theme. Maybe I will take make a revision of the cape (damn, folds are hard! :P) but I am pretty sure about the "U-shaped" folds. I wasn't sure about them myself before so I made a friend of mine pose with blankets of different fabrics the same way her cloak is attached and the "U-shaped" lines were there. Same way as can be seen in this great thread if you scroll down a bit: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63208

    Link: The armor was extracted from bare body in Zbrush. The base of the gloves, boots, shoulder pad and cloak was made in 3DS Max but I would say overall 90% of the work is Zbrush
  • Chronoxios
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    Low Poly weighting in at about 12.400 tris with Normal Map and baked AO + Cavity. Next up is her scythe before moving on to textures.

    the_witch_low_poly___normal_map___ao_by_chronoxios-d53fdn1.jpg
  • Darkleopard
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    Nice bake 0_o. Did you bake the parts separately or all at once?
  • s33th
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    Not sure if you feel like going back and fixing the sculpt at this point but things to keep in mind in the future at least -

    Generally your cloth could benefit from larger forms, or at least more variation in forms. Currently all the folds are the same basic size/depth and it becomes visual noise rather than a flowing/draping form. Just an example, not that this is how your cloth would necessarily hang http://www.carpatina.com/Men_highwayman_cloak.html
    but notice how there are areas where the folds are larger or smooth out and then there are places of smaller closer together folds and then on top of that there are a few wrinkles especially on the edges where the seams are pulling on the fabric.

    The head needs some work - pull out, define, separate some of the features more - specifically the eye sockets and the nasolabial fold. The ears need some more geometry and to be pulled off the side of her head. The eyelids need to conform to the eyeballs.

    Are you going to add some depth to the armor pieces or are you planning on rendering backfaces for the character? That also brings attention to the difference in her armor pieces compared to the shoulder pad. Where the shoulder pad is this very thick and chunky organic shape the armor pieces are very thin hard forms. Carrying those elements through the entire character - like you've begun to do with the bird skull on the chest piece - would really help tie the character's design together.
  • Chronoxios
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    Darkleopard: I had to do the bake exploded, quite a lot of pieces so baking took a lot of time.

    s33th: If you mean the gauntlets and boots, my plan is to run them with backfaces. Didn't want to waste polys on adding depth to thin forms. The original plan was to get her done in 16.000 tris including weapon but I think I will land around 17.000 once eyes and hair is done.
    I will probably not return to the sculpting stage anymore but I will take your advices with me to my next model. Thanks for the feedback!

    Also, I am calling her scythe done. Moving on to textures.

    the_witch___scythe_by_chronoxios-d53glqr.jpg
  • Chronoxios
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    After a long time being swamped with game related work stuff I decided to take up texturing of this lady. She is missing a proper specular map right now and I haven't really started figuring out the hair yet. Has anyone tried using Zbrush fibermesh and managed to bake it down to something manageble for game characters?

    Using Xoliuls shader for the screenshot and am really falling in love with it =)

    the_witch_textures_wip_1_by_chronoxios-d5exezc.jpg
  • Chronoxios
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    Now with hair! I made her hair with the good old multiple plane style. Was a bit of a challenge using Xoliul shader for the hair due to the drawing order but I think it came out pretty good.

    Textures are mostly flats and still no decent specular map. Will probably continue applying some dirt and wear and tear to the metals. C&C please!

    the_witch_textures_wip_2_by_chronoxios-d5f4a3l.jpg
  • Chronoxios
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    Wasn't really happy with the head or the hair so I decided to start over and take it in a new direction. Still working on textures but please let me know what you guys think so far and what I can improve.

    the_witch_textures_wip_3_by_chronoxios-d5j996r.jpg
  • Chronoxios
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    Been kicking around texture work with Xoliul 2.0 in max viewport. Textures are still not done, please let me know if you spot something that looks completely out of place.

    the_witch_textures_wip_4_by_chronoxios-d5jcd45.jpg
  • imijatov
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    Good work man! The wrist area around gauntlets don't seem to be hugging her hands very well by the suggested thickness you gave them.
  • Chronoxios
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    imijatov: Thanks for pointing that out, I will look into it!
  • Chronoxios
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    Finally had some time to pick up this model again. Spent some time this weekend to build hair with polyplanes.

    witch_wip14_by_chronoxios-d5tt6oi.jpg
  • butt_sahib
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    butt_sahib polycounter lvl 11
    looks good but i personally prefer the version you posted on 9-17-2012
  • Chronoxios
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    I think I am ready to call her finished. She weights in at 14.700 triangles including the scythe. 2048 maps for model, 1024x512 for scythe and a separate 512 for hair. The screenshot is realtime screengrab from 3DS Max using Xoliul Shader 2. Background added in Photoshop, other than that no post work. Let me know if you spot something that looks off, otherwise I'm on to animating some cool stuff with her.

    Oh, and by the way, I decided to name her Phoenix.

    phoenix_beautyshot_by_chronoxios-d5uyg4r.png
  • Chronoxios
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    I decided to make a somewhat more fun video than just a turntable so here is a small video presentation of Phoenix. Watch in 1080p please!

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlP3HllEHZ4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlP3HllEHZ4[/ame]
  • Chronoxios
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    I decided to try out a couple of different methods to present Phoenix in realtime. This is Marmoset Toolbag:

    phoenix_marmoset_by_chronoxios-d5yb8w6.png
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