Character WIP: Agent Rayder C&C

[NeptuneImaging]

And here is Agent Rayder's head...I am sort of going for a high detail head, medium detail body...

[NeptuneImaging]

I have added the arms trying to shape them properly. The triangle count is now at 4000.

[Alpha_Hale]

Hey there. well first off it would help to see a concept or reference to get an idea of your intentions. Either way, right now it looks as if your having a bit of trouble with the anatomy. I'd suggest having lots of anatomy reference around you while you work. especially if your new at it. the porportions of your character seem off. cartoony or realistic, it doesnt look intentional.

you said your going for a highly detailed head and low detail body. thats fine.. in most cases thats how it should be done. the problem is that there is too drastic of a change between the detail of the body and the detail of the head. i'd go ahead and give the body a little more detail. (but not before getting the porportions right). anyhow, keep at it!

[NeptuneImaging]

hi...I totally agree with you about the proportions being a little off...I am relatively new to modeling characters following the Joan of Arc tutorial. Most of the detailed modeling will be on the clothes themselves as seen in this concept drawing of the clothing... (I can draw pretty well)

I also agree with adding more detail to the body, of course I am very wary of my polygon count...it is around 4244 tris, and I am trying to keep it under 6000 for the body alone...i will continue working on the proportions...

[Alpha_Hale]

the concept drawing looks great. seriously, the porportions are fine. why dont you just put it on some planes in max and trace it.

[NeptuneImaging]

Really...? thanks...

I am not using MAX, I'm using Lightwave. And I want to save polys for the hair strands and suit details based on the conceptual art...

[Foxhounder]

Those arms look really long. I'm not sure if it's the arms or the proportion of the uperbody.

[NeptuneImaging]

now that you mention it, I did lower the torso a little bit...the arms are 2.5 heads down, the wrist ends at the start of the crotch...

[Prs-Phil]

yeah the arms seem long, but I would just make the legs longer.
The model is good but its modled like a highpoly model. I would cut this unnessesary amount of edgeloops and use that polycount to give him style.

Your on the right path m8, keep it up

[NeptuneImaging]

I totally agree with you...I am going to get on that now...as a matter of fact the poly count is geared toward the half life 2 engine. I will though cut down on the loops and stuff to have enough polygons for the PDA and googles. I also have to model the clothing as well where more loops are required...

I used the Joan of Arc tutorial and it is my poly limit is around 6000-7000 tris...I will keep you guys posted, I am having problems with the hands...and not sure how much detail they should have...

Do you have any suggestions about the proportions or hand detail...?

[Prs-Phil]

the joan of arc tut is for highpoly work and you can really see that on your model.

Detail of hands hmmm ? Depends, I wouldnt put toooo much detail in them because they are fairly small and the player doesnt see them to close up anyway, so just make them that they can be animated nicely.

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey, here is a current update of the hands...I modeled them the same as always, and I do not really like the the jagged look but it is useable...I may build better ones later depending on your suggestions...

Thanks again...

[NeptuneImaging]

After giving my eyes a rest, I figure I would throw an update on here, with the pants being modeled, not sure if I want to displace vertices for the wrinkles...The model is at 5000 tris approx... hack away with critiques

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey, here is an update of my current model...I am modeling the clothing right now, and need some advice, whether or not to model the belts around his body as it is in the concept drawing just to give volume, or have it bump mapped... The body mesh that I copied from will be deleted once the clothes are complete...

Here are a few wires to gander at...

[the_podman]

Hey, it's getting much better. You should save it at this state in another file so you can recycle some of the parts for another mesh.

Keep at it. It took me almost 6 months to finish my first model.

-pod
:thumbsup:

[NeptuneImaging]

I bet...

I usually don't recycle meshes because I like to keep my skills sharp by modeling the bodies from scratch...the problem I have now encountered is whether or not to model the straps on his torso, or use bumpmapping to fake it...

[NeptuneImaging]

I have been on this model for 3 weeks...and i want to conclude it...

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey, Gamers...

I am looking right now at my hand model and I am about to attach it, but when I look at it, it looks bigger than it should... The proportions are correct at the head level, but it looks big and chunky...

I just started on the sleeves on this model so I will post that as well...

Anyone have any suggestions? Here are a few screen shots... I hope someone can offer some advice...

[the_podman]

The proportions are slightly off. Keep in mind that the forearm tapers in before the wrist. You just need to flatten the hand a bit. I modified your drawing. Hope it helps. There are some proportion issues that could easily be fixed with a lattice(if you're using Maya). The hand length is roughly the size of the area of the face of the head.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/the_podman/Rayder_modified.jpg
Also, shorten the arms slightly. Bring the elbow bend higher, it's way too low. You can duplicate the mesh, delete all faces on the duplicate except for the arm, put a lattice on it, tweak the lattice points so the arm is slightly shorter, duplicate the modified arm, then reattach. Voila, fixed proportions without moving vert after vert.

Hope this helps,

-pod
My crap (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=176727)

[NeptuneImaging]

Cool Podman,

I just fixed the wrist and shortened them. Of course I am working on the sleeves and start deleting faces...do have any opines on the body mesh for the clothes...

[NeptuneImaging]

Podman: Here are the new tapered wrists...although I am not going to keep them, I think I will keep a copy of the mesh as reference anyway for a second outfit. The arms are going to be under the sleeves. I also stretched the hands to fit between the hairline and the chin...

Also here is the newer version of the suit he will be wearing... that I called the "War Blanket" Currently at 3700 tris... BTW I am changing my Max to about 7000 tris because I have to add hair and stuff, and will take away polys to try to stay under 7000...

Enjoy and critique the "War Blanket"...

[the_podman]

Ok, looking much better. You've almost got it. Now you just need to take care of the elbow bend. The length of the arm from the shoulder to the elbow bend should be the same as the length from the elbowbend to the end of the wrist.(without the hand)

-pod

Here:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v97/the_podman/War_Blanket.jpg

[NeptuneImaging]

Well, unfortunately, I just went over my triangle count so I am going to increase it to 8000, without the goggles. The rest of the poly count will go to the hair...

Podman: Thanks, buddy. I just fixed the elbow on the model and am now going to start to shading the model carefully. I just went over my tri count when I checked so, I am going to start optimising the model once I start fusing the hand.

Anyone will more ideas, feel free to send them forward...

[the_podman]

Cool. You could easily cut out a ton of triangles. You have many edges too close to each other. Remember, keep em blocky and smooth him out using the soften/harden normals or average normals(my personal favorite). It'll give you a nice smooth surface without adding faces.

To illustrate what I mean, create a cylinder in maya and make it 8 sided all around. You'll notice that the surface is "blocky". If you smooth out the geometry by doing a "smooth" operation, it'll add way too many faces.
Instead, select all the faces of the cylinder except for the cap faces at the top and bottom. With the faces selected, goto Edit Polygons>normals>average normals. Now you've got a smooth surface.

Max has the same feature, but they are called "smoothing groups".

-pod

[NeptuneImaging]

My package is Lightwave...and I am cutting away polys now...

I am not really a fan of blocky models but I am learning about game modeling on my own.

The next model I do will be much lower though. Now for the sleeves and the hand, I can just add polys, shift inward and extend the hand polys...as for the gloves they have little lights on them... but of course I will optimise my count...

Thanks dude...

Hope to hear from you again. Your animation was cool BTW

[the_podman]

sorry, my bad! lol.

It looked like Maya from the screenshots.

-pod

Mycrap (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=176727)

[NeptuneImaging]

Yeah, it's cool. Right now my count is at 7700 tris, and I am having problems fusing the hand to the sleeves without making it look pasted

[the_podman]

You are getting that problem because you are trying to fuse two dense meshes. I would recommend cutting out all the loops going round the arm horizontally from about the second or third loop below the elbow all the way to the wrist. Then, after you fuse the arms together, you can add the loops back in if you want.

It's always hard to make adjustments with a dense mesh. That's why it's best to keep it simple in the beginning, then add all the detail once the proportions are correct.

One thing I've noticed is that you are working in triangles. It's a pain to work that way and if you keep it in quads first, then triangulate after you're done, you'll save yourself a ton of time.

I just finished reading a low-poly modeling book and it was ok except for when it said "always work in triangles, it's easier." and I was like, it is? Pretty much everyone I've spoken to works in quads. Oh, well, to each his own.

-pod

[NeptuneImaging]

Lol

Podman: I am working in quads...I am rendering in triangles...I am trying to cut my poly count down but I keep running in road blocks... my count just went up to 8500 (this really pisses me off)...I am going to add teeth and hair, not alot, then I will cut down on the polygon count. I successfully fused the hand together...I will post a final mesh before I UV Map and texture.

I also have to model the goggles which I keep it low as poosible...

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey, here is the final mesh shape I have for the blanket. It is currenly at 5500 tris. I will optimise to see how low I can get, but I will begin to make his goggles and UV Map...
I would love to hear your opinions and advice...

Here are some screenshots...

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey, fellow artists, things have been slow lately, school and what not but here is my final model, set at 9650 tris, the highest I will go on any character model, preferably for a real time. I am still not fully happy with the boots but I will fix them accordingly. I have UV's on the model already and am about to texture the model soon. I would love to hear any suggestions...

Thanks...

[G0st]

looking quite good, like the topology. Can i see a solid grey render? One thing i think needs a little changing is his ass/chest

I found both stick out a tad to much, i dunno, maybe its just me?

G0st

[NeptuneImaging]

I thought the same thing about his ass. I will fix it to see if it goes against the previous tweak...here is the gray render you requested... and some wireframes for your pleasure. I am dying to texture this model...

[G0st]

looking awsome, thanks for the grey render. Is this for a game or just for your own exp?

[NeptuneImaging]

Well, until I went over my original poly count of 8500 (currently 10,000 polygons), I guess this is just for the love of modeling and for becoming experienced texture artist and animator. I am evolved into the high res territory (eventually, you will have to learn high poly modeling too)...I will fix his ass though, it does stick on in the camera lens. The chest is a Kevlar chestplate, so they do bulk out like that. My biggest trouble was the hair, I always use a fur generator...I even followed the conceptual sketch.
After him, I am preparing another model, a girl this time...who will be much lower in polycount...

I also have to work on Rayder's goggles ( a separate entity). He is a part of my film...using polygon-only models...

Any more opinions?

[G0st]

well i am still a noob in the high res modeling, i find your model looks very clean, proportions are well done as well. Cant wait to see the skin come along, love wathcing progress.

You said your a texture artist, maybe you can help me out with my first completed texture for the Vehicle: Hummer topic. Im fairly happy with it, and it looks very good ingame but a more experianced artist can point out a few things. Dont need to of course =)

G0st

[NeptuneImaging]

I am not a texture artist, yet.

I am a high res modeler and I can help you will texture mapping though...

[oxyg3n]

Hello HaloAnimator,

I left you some more critiques on your character over at sq, but it looks like the guys here hit on the same ones. Keep up the work. Remember you dont have to model the teeth, just put a curved plane in the mouth and make a texture for the teeth. I would aslo try to take out the loops that you dont need in the legs for deformations. For example, you can probably take out several between the hip and knee and the knee and ankle.

[blotov]

the joan of arc can also work for lp models

[NeptuneImaging]

that is exactly the tutorial I used... when I model a man, I actually exclude the breasts step in the tutorial. But I have no clue how to get that muscle flow working, the muscle on your shoulder flowing to you chest...

In low poly mode, if you using Lightwave's smoothing option or Max's Smoothing Groups, you can easily make a modelk smooth by moving vertices yourself...

I just realised that the head mesh on the Joan or Arc is lighter than mine... I used Wiro's tutorial...

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey, guys and gals,

I have been away from a while, (school and stuff), but I figured I would post a recent shot of my character wearing the goggles I have for him. Current count for the goggles is 1600 tris. I also managed to get the polygon count down from 15,000 tris to 8500 tris. I am already began the texturing for Agent Rayder (Next-Gen Gaming standards). Looking forward to your critiques.

Hack away... :thumbsup:

P.S.: This was a test render, that is why is so dark. The second image was without advanced lighting...

http://www.spinquad.com/forums/attachment.php?postid=44676

http://www.spinquad.com/forums/attachment.php?postid=44391

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey, CGTalk,

I finally got around to doing the textures for this character and I would love to hear your thoughts on this since this is my first time painting a character model. the current texture size is 1024X1024 for the head and 1024X1024 for the body, and there will be a spec, bump, emissive, and gloss map. This character will be used for next gen standards.

I would love to hear your critiques and ideas.

[the_podman]

Hey, not bad for a first face paint job. I hope I fair as well.(doing my first face right now). Only thing I would do is blur out the eyes a bit, they seem sharp. Also, maybe put some dark pinkish areas around the edges of the eye to break up the pure whiteness. Anyhow, that's all I got. Looks cool.

-pod
My current crappola (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?p=1633694&posted=1#post1633694)
My amatuer portrait drawing (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=182460&goto=newpost)

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey CGTalk,


Here are some additions to the model...including a little bit of hair on the character (I am new to hair modeling as well)...I am still trying to add some forehead wrinkles and some more blemishes... This guy is at least 32 years old...


Let me know what you think so far...I will then begin painting his war blanket and the goggles...

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey,

Here is a current test render on my character. Not too sure if I should even use bump mapping...but what the hell...this is still a WIP and my foray into texturing intensely...

any critiques will benefit me well...

Thanks:thumbsup:

[NeptuneImaging]

Hi, gamers,

How is it hanging? I finally got around to completing the final colors and shading of the model and I would like your opinions on anything, shape, color choices...now mind you the yellow and the red are temporary colors... I know it is too clean, but I will be doing a super damaged version (the usual bullet holes and stuff like that) and have Agent Rayder under dynamic lighting...

this character is a soldier for an inflitration unit in the United States Gov. for a story I am working on. The final poly count is 8800 tris and the textures are 1024X1024 for the head, and 1024X1024 for the body. Will also have bump, spec, gloss, and emissive maps...

I would really love to hear your advice and critiques...and if it is good enough, I will put in on my reel...

P.S.: Please do not mind the one hand character...

[NeptuneImaging]

Here is Agent Rayder with textures, they are about 43% complete. I would like your critiques before I move on. Currently, there is only 1X1024X1024 for the head, and 1X1024X1024 for the body...

He is supposed to be a dark soldier...I hope to hear from you fellow artists...

:)

[RampanT]

Hey,

This is the first time i've viewed this thread, so i had a quick browse from the start. The first thing that occured to me looking at the near finished model, is that it seemed to lack points of interest. When i seen your initial concept, i felt it looked unresolved as a concept, and this has been carried through to the model. The result is a model that is pretty decent in terms of topography and mesh structure, but comes across a bit bland and generic i think.

Also, at 8800, the polycount is way too high. By that, i mean that you could create virtually the same model, with minimal loss of detail, probably with less than half the current polycount. I'd say it's only worth having a high polycount if it's actually justified, otherwise it just seems wasteful. But the way you've structured the mesh is good, and i think it would be easy, and very quick to trim the count in a major way. Most games these days are achieving detail in their models with the use of normal maps, but the low poly base mesh is usually 5000 polys or less. Normally less. And the high-poly model used to create the normal map might potentially be 100,000 polys or more. So this guy seems like he is somewhere in-between. Too highpoly for the base mesh, and too lowpoly to create a normal map. So the question would be where you would use a model with such a high polycount, but low level of detail?

I think the texture could do with some major amping up. I know you say you're only 43% into it (man that's a specific estimate :-) , but there is virtually no colour in the texture whatsoever. It just looks like a flat grey. Also, with using a 1024 texture, you could be getting much more detail on show i think.

Hope that doesn't sound too harsh. I'm definately not trying to be nasty or anything. I think it's a good model, - nice structure and decent start on the texturing. I just think you could amp the whole thing up. Hope this helps.

[NeptuneImaging]

Oh, no, not harsh at all, I needed this. In fact, I am very new to this skinning thing and I would have modeled the pockets. This is not for a game, but for my own experience to learn game modeling and limitations ( i was going to put him in HL2). I understand the textures feel a little bland right now. I am using my cousin's army pants as a reference, hoping to get some insight.

Most of the major details will be going in the bump map, and hopefully someone will skinning experience will give me a little push. I am making drastic changes in the color map...

Thanks alot for your encouragement :thumbsup:

[the_podman]

HaloAnimator is a lot like myself, he takes crits very well and applies it to his work resulting in improvements with each step. I'm also a beginner and only on my second model but this forum has been an invaluable asset in improving my work.

As far as the model, I feel that is looks waay better than my first attempt and it actually a pretty decent character, but yeah, it could do with a little more personality, like a scar or some kind of insignia on the jacket or some more accessories other than a simple belt.

One suggestion that's helped me a lot when it comes to skinning. I've started working in "greyscale" recently and found it to be much more intuative. It free's you from the pressures of having to decide colors right away. You can then concentrate on "tonal" values. Pushing in dark areas, pulling out light spots. THen, when done, You use the paint bucket tool on another layer to determine base colors of designated "sections" and set that layer to 'overlay' and voila! instant color. You can then always add variations of that color on top of that layer and the steps are completely reversable. I can't take credit for this method, I got the tip from a skinning meistro, Mr. David King.

-pod
My portrait drawing (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=182460)
My current model (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?p=1633694&posted=1#post1633694)

[NeptuneImaging]

I agree about the personality...I am actually going to be using Bump, spec, gloss, and emissive maps on this character. The belt is NOT a utility belt...it is actually a sensor for his nervous system. Most of his weaponry comes in the form of a sword.

I do have an insignia on the back of his vest and the front as well, but it is hard to keep it from getting pixelated up close (pixel crunching). The last character I made was 500,000 triangles, and that was from modeling everything possible, before I even knew was normal mapping was. and I hope this one will be a lesson to me. I also used David King as a reference when I was tracing my boot...

Most of the major details will be in the bump map, where I am best at. The hardest part is texturing KEVLAR...that is a nightmare...

I am hoping to wrap this model up by the end of this week so I can put him in his dynamically lit arena.

[NeptuneImaging]

Here is another update on the textures (I am still new to this). I brightened the screenshots in PS so you can see them. The textures themselves are rather diffuse, since I will be using real time lighting for this character. The yellow shapes on his vest are there to support the bump mapping, which I will be using extensively. The boots still need some work, especially on the soles which I have not even designed yet....

Any kind of critiques and advice will be extremely helpful. There is still alot of work to be done on this character's texture.

[Yasko C.]

Love Your Work And lOve halo 2 as well lol keep it up

[NeptuneImaging]

Hi, sorry to burst your bubble, Yasko, but I had no part in Halo 2. I just happen to have "HaloAnimator" as my handle because Halo is my favorite game.

[the_podman]

Have you tried bringing the model into UnrealED as just a static mesh(easy to do)? I often do this to test out how my textures will look in a realtime environment. You'd be surprised how much the 3d apps clean up your texture work. Also, the lighting in 3d apps in not vertex based by default, so it's good to see how your model will "read" in realtime by vertex lighting. I want to try this out in Quest3d for my next.

-pod

[NeptuneImaging]

Hi, podman,

I have no intentions of putting this model in UnReal ED (too many triangles). But anything I should fix on my textures? I just started on the bump map where most of the major detail will be.

I will soon be finished with this model...i may get rid of the camo pattern; I don't like it all of a sudden. It feels generic and shit.
Can you point me to a link for Quest 3D?

[the_podman]

No, I meant, like, put him in as a "static mesh" as if it was a chair or a rock or something. Doesn't really matter too much with the triangle count. I stick my character in UnrealED just so I can light the textures with "vertex-style" lighting. It helps me to see what the character will really look like in a realtime environment(way different from what it looks like in a 3d package).

Quest3d can be found here:
http://www.quest3d.com/

A couple of Cgtalk users have been posting their models with this app. Check out this thread for an example:
http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=143205&page=1&pp=15

Good luck,
-pod
:)

[NeptuneImaging]

Oh, i see. Well, thanks for the tip. I actually found this program and it looks amazing and it is node based. But I am not sure if this is a good engine for game design (because of the node based nature) and it is really hard to get my character in it.

Well, anyway here is an update on my character, with bump maps only...

[NeptuneImaging]

I almost forgot to update a newer version of this character's texture. I am going to go to design the specular, gloss, and emissive maps...any critiques or suggestions will be appreciated. (Note: All textures are designed to next generation standards)

Here is a screenshot...

[Sceme]

I like the way this goes. Nice specular :) Keep it up.

[Prs-Phil]

hey he´s coming along well.

I still think the shoes look a bit big and don´t really fit so him. You want to give him nice slim leather boots so that he can kick ass with them ;)

The texture is coming along fine allthough it looks a bit ... boring. Try getting some variation in it that it becomes visually interesting.
The specular also makes him look like he is made out of plastic but you will get rid of that by experementing around :)

I´d be glad to help you a bit with the model, so if you are interested you can send it to me

philip.unger@pu-art.com

:)

[NeptuneImaging]

Thanks for the crits

Prs-Phil: The whole body was using default specular values at the time of this experiment. I was trying to figure out how much the bump maps will appear especially on the pants (they work really good with specular maps). And after finishing this last night, I figured, a little bit of specular would bring out the bump mapping on the pants. I also have a camoflauge texture on the suit that I didn't save at all. Thought about getting rid of it. And the green tint, I may turn that back to dark grey.

Here is the render I put it in with dynamic lighting, and with less specular on the pants. The gloss maps were put on the kevlar, but I might reduce it later. As for the texture, variation might be a bit much (I'll play around some more in the color map...) especially since he is a futuristic swordsman, I would not want to make him too flashy.

I play around to see what I can do. in the meantime enjoy this render of the final suit...

[Boxsmiley]

Hey, HaloAnimator how did you get that glow around your character? Was it a texture map, or a type of lighting? Shader maybe? Thanks! Oh, by the way your character is looking great!

[NeptuneImaging]

Oh, I used a filter to get that effect. In Lightwave, there is a Post-Effect that makes the bloom effect...

[the_podman]

Hey, that really adds a lot to the character! Ever since I played through Sands of Time and Deus Ex 2, I've been seeing this effect more and more in games. It's becoming the new "thing". Really adds to the sci-fi mood of the game. Are you gonna rigg this guy yet? Would be nice to see him in pose. Maya's got a node called "glow" that does the same thing. It can also be mapped to a texture for a specific area that needs to glow.

A couple of months back, I did some weapon designs in Maya for a Ratchet and Clank contest(didn't win:sad: ). I used the glow effect alot. I attached them if you want to see.

Nice work,
-pod

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey Podman, how is everything? I put this character on this glow filter (he is rigged and will be posed, with his Rayder Blade, which has a blue glow as well) so the focus would be on his hands, eyes and back. I am still trying to design his "skull mask" which is its own object.

And yes, the whole glow thing is inspired by the prince of persia...that is an old render. The "war Blanket" is black and silver now with no camoflauge and the polygon count has been reduced a little...his goggles moves away from the "Splinter Cell" look with more of a "grim reaper" look. The newer update has glows only on his belt.

I will post a new render tonight with the Rayder Blade.

NOTE: I work to Next-Generation standards

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey guys,

Aside from Term Papers and portfolio, I have finally built the Rayder Blade. It is 300 tris and it has a 256x256 color, spec, diffuse, gloss, bump, and reflection map. Any crits welcome. I will not be working on this guy any further until christmas... The etching is Bump Only but I may change it to show up in the render as etched text

[the_podman]

Hey, that's not bad. Could you show me your bump map for that "cage like" metal. I'm working on a similar material right now strangely enough.

btw, I read a pretty favorable review of the newest Lightwave release. Animation and rigging got a whole overhaul so you could probably get this guy skinned easier.

-pod
:)

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey podman,

the "cage" like texture was handpainted using diagonal lines in Photoshop. If you use the line tool, you can make a small pattern out of it... Right now I am trying to make the "grim reaper" style mask.

I will post the render of this character with the head on and the glow on his belt and hands:thumbsup:

EDIT: Here is the bump map for the sword...and some glow renders...

[NeptuneImaging]

I also added the nametag on his vest...the glow effect will also be used on the Reaper Mask...

[danielkenobi]

You have been saing trough the whole treath new game standarts. who do you work for and what is the purpuse of this caracter, could you tell? it would be really interesting to hear that, and 6000 popys per caracter, that is more than the double used right now, wich plataform are you working for?

[NeptuneImaging]

well, I do not work for anyone. The purpose of this character is to practice character modeling with the use of polygons, as well as learn how to design from concept art to finished model. He also has a story (which I wrote), he is an agent for an organization that discreetly deals with terrorist matters, which include espionage, recon, and even assassination. I am also dealing with making my first film that appears to gamers, using technology that game designers use (such as Normal Mapping). Notice in his textures, there are NO painted highlights; that is all handled with specular maps. If I were to choose a platform to work on, it would be the Xbox.

I got his polygon count down to 7000tris.

I hope that answers your question :thumbsup:

[FreakyDude]

the proportions look very well IMO, the glow effect is also nice, even the textures while being plain and simple, look suprisingly convincing. The only con I can think of is the high polyount. 7000 is high. There are professional games which have characters that look ecually convincing, but have a much lower polycount. That's my 2 cents. Very fine job, I couldn't beat you with something like this.


Good character overall. unwrapped texture seems simple but isn't noticable on the model (wow, that's impressive, thus a con becomes a pro) and the polycount is a little high.
In my opinion anyway. Which doesn't immediatly make it a true fact.:D :thumbsup: :bounce:

[NeptuneImaging]

thanks. The model has two UV's, one for the head, and one for the body. I know 7000 is a bit high, but I will keep it in mind when I create my next character. The unwrapping is ALL PLANAR MAPS except for the head. Bump Mapping is used extensively on this character...

I still want to add more to the color map, which I will do when I finish college in two weeks. Also I have not added his 'repear mask'. In that amount of time, I should have a pose and a base ready for him.

Cheers:thumbsup:

[BananaSalat]

Sorry man but i think he looks like a plastic soldier. :D

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey, guys,

I have been playing with the specularity and trying to get away from that toy-looking feel, and. I am still working on the "grim reaper mask". but in the meantime, here are some renders and wire frames to critique. Soon. I will post a pose and a full global ilumination render with him on his pedestal...

Thanks guys...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/JamesRayderheadsidewire.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/JamesRayderheadside.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/JamesRayderfullbodywire.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/JamesRayderfrontsidewire.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/JamesRayderfront.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/JamesRayderfacefront.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/JamesRayderback.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/JamesRayder34.jpg

[BananaSalat]

Head looks much better :thumbsup:

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey, I started the NVG mask which I am going to turn into a Kevlar mask material...using support from the head. the polygon count is 896 tris. The references came from multiple sources of balaclava head gear and optical lenses. The mask can also come off. My only problem the mask is a single sided model and I do not want to raise the polygon count any further... here are some pics...

I am still optimising the mask for further enhancement... any crits will be very helpful... I am looking forward to finishing this whole character before Christmas. Thanks in advance :thumbsup:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/AdvancedNVGSide.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/AdvancedNVGFront.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/AdvancedNVG2.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/AdvancedNVG.jpg

[NeptuneImaging]

More NVG Updates


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/AdvancedNVGNew.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/NVGFront.jpg

[the_podman]

Coming along, I see. You could easily trim the loops in the front of the "lens". What you could do is take a "render" of the beveled effect you "modeled" from a front ortho view and then blend that into your texture sheet. However, I suppose, with your current polycount, a couple of tris won't make too much of a difference.

Sometimes I create a "plain" with lots of tessalation and "project" a working texture sheet onto it and model in some little details. Then, I render that, and it becomes part of my "texture sheet" for my low-res model. Not really as effecient as "painting" in PS, but it sometimes works for things that are hard to paint.:shrug:


-pod

[NeptuneImaging]

Yeah, I could try that, but of course I sacrifice the real time feel of the character. I am also changing Rayder's hair and make it more "alive". The "lenses" will have the same glow as the lights on the belt.

I know you are dying to see him in a pose, and I will do that soon before christmas.

[NeptuneImaging]

I also added the final colors (temp colors) of the NVG, of course I am not sure of the shape of the model yet... my mom thinks he looks like an alien. I will continue to modify the shape until it looks freaky enough. What do you guys think of the color?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/NVGColor.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/NVGVert.jpg

[NeptuneImaging]

This is a render of Rayder with his NVG mask. I am still trying to work on the mask and trying to make it as detailed as possible with bump mapping. Any crits will be very helpful to make details. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/NVGglowclose.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/NVGglow.jpg

[NeptuneImaging]

Here is a newer render with the near final NVG . I figure this could make him even scarier then he should be.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/RayderwNVG.jpg

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey, like I wanted to finish before Christmas, I have finally rigged and put him on his pedestal. He has his sword and his NVG, on his face. Polygons are still under the face because the mask can be removed. I will post a second pose later if I can find a good sword stance... :) Any critiques and advice will make this scene look dynamic...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/RayderFinalPose1.jpg

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey gamers,

I finally got him rigged and into a cool pose. Now if I could get IK working properly. Anyway, here is a rendered pose.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/RayderFinalPose3.jpg

[pedantic]

I could see him up against a flat black background, with a slightly reflective black floor. Allow the lights from the stage to light upwards on his body, whilst in a crouched position :)

[djkaneda]

Really really nice man. i think my only problem with it is the very little tonal differnece in his texture. i mean he's very very dark. almost like a silouhette. i think a good reference for this type of character would be Sam Fisher from Splinter Cell. while he is very dark they did put in enough variance to make his details discernable. overall though job well done!:thumbsup:

[NeptuneImaging]

djkaneda: I totally agree with you. At first I had camo but it was so cliche I dropped the idea, which is why the only tonal variation is the specular maps on his whole body. Do you think I should add it back?

pedantic: I think that would be a really kick ass pose.

[djkaneda]

i think you just need to brighten him up a bit. like use some midtone grays instead of almost all black.

[NeptuneImaging]

Yeah, before I had him mid-low grey but I hid him in the shadows and he could be seen. I am doing the textures Halo 2 style. I will though brighten up the texture a little...

[florian]

Heya HaloAnimator

I like it very much. It made a very big progress compared to your start.
But I think you could use much more detail. Com'on you are using a 1024 for the head.
Have fun with it :wip:

You could hide lots of low polyness by placing some stuff
http://img143.exs.cx/img143/4470/nvgglowclose5vg.jpg


hope you like it.
flo

[NeptuneImaging]

Holy shit dude, that is cool!! I should add some more stuff...perhaps you can help me with it... I am using spec, emissive, bump, and color...

[florian]

HOLY SHIT! :buttrock:

What`s emissive?

[NeptuneImaging]

An emissive map is a map that created the glow effect on his goggles...and belt

[NeptuneImaging]

and I also got rid of the silver stripes on the side of the jaws...

[florian]

An emissive map is a map that created the glow effect on his goggles...and belt


:lightbulb
so it's more rendering, than realtime stuff?

ok...don't know exactly how to help. You got every element in your model. Just use more of them.
BTW: check his demoreel and Nuclear Dawn work if you haven't yet.
http://retroshinobi.nuclear-dawn.net/

Usually when I paint textures for this kind of metal things, I do it in one psd.
Many Elements have similaritys. Like dirt(color) reduces the spec and gives some bump.
The metal intersections are also black on diffuse and spec.
I use lots of photo elements as a overlay in Photoshop. This way you can easily paint where dirt, scratches...are visible.
Maybe you could post your textures.

[NeptuneImaging]

The glow effect is rendering. I will post a texture sheet for the goggles so you can see...

[NeptuneImaging]

Here is the texture sheet you requested to see florian...the textures are extremely simple. Most of the details are in the bump mapping.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/NightvisionGoggles.jpg

[Ceccotti]

And by most you mean all:P looks awesome keep it up!

[NeptuneImaging]

Yes, I mean all. Just like Halo 2's Master Chief Model, I am using bump mapping for every minor detail...

[florian]

WoW! Strange mapping. I have no idea how that should work :shrug:
Looks like 3 maps at once. Or is it your watermarked?

[NeptuneImaging]

That is my watermark...my personal logo. I do not want anyone stealing it...

[florian]

That is my watermark...my personal logo. I do not want anyone stealing it...

Too late man
:wip:
I own it already. I don't know where to map it, but I'll figure something out.

[NeptuneImaging]

:sad:




:banghead::cry:

Aww...

[RampanT]

That is my watermark...my personal logo. I do not want anyone stealing it...
Eh? There is nothing to steal, it's just flat grey colours.:)

The model looks pretty good. I agree with what others have said with respect to the overall colours of the model being too dark. If there is detail on the body of the model, then its getting lost in the darkness of the colours.

[NeptuneImaging]

To those who said the model was too dark, I figured out why. I forgot I made a diffuse map for the character... I am still trying to fix some clipping issues near the leg as well...you know the unavoidable clipping of the leg when you bend it up 90 degrees... refer to the wireframes to see if anyone can offer advice to fix that problem...

thanks...I will post an updated version soon

[NeptuneImaging]

Now that I look at the model, I am noticing that the legs are WAYY too long. Does anyone notice that too?

[NeptuneImaging]

Hey,

I have made a few changes for the character. I ended up shortening his legs a little, and cutting down my polygon count a little bit...

And here is a more detailed NVG Mask with extra bump maps and other accesories. Any crits would be really cool

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/NEWNVG.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/ShortenedLegs.jpg

[ChimpanG]

Yes, I mean all. Just like Halo 2's Master Chief Model, I am using bump mapping for every minor detail... nope your very wrong there, but i can see what you mean, it does use bumpmapping for alot.
here is the masterchief texture from halo2:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/ghlpics/Chief.jpg

[NeptuneImaging]

Is that the color map or the bump map?

[ChimpanG]

colourmap.

[florian]

Don't trust him. There is no color :shrug:

[NeptuneImaging]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/Rayderpose5.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/RayderPose4.jpgI finally got around to some detailed poses and adding details to the Mask as florian suggested. The details can be seen alot better up close. I am having that crotch problem that game models have when animating, and perhaps someone can help me with that...

Anyway, here are some renders using 3 point lighting setup, critique away :) . And I know the model is dark, that is my intention... I will have more poses later on

[ChimpanG]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/Rayderpose5.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/HaloAnimator/RayderPose4.jpgI finally got around to some detailed poses and adding details to the Mask as florian suggested. The details can be seen alot better up close. I am having that crotch problem that game models have when animating, and perhaps someone can help me with that...

Anyway, here are some renders using 3 point lighting setup, critique away :) . And I know the model is dark, that is my intention... I will have more poses later on
i like! although not sure on the blue glows, shoulnt they also cast light onto the surrrounding material, and illuminate those bumps?

[NeptuneImaging]

Those glows are post processed. And the Master chief's textures are from that cameo. Anything I should fix? I am having those crotch problems...I also want to put him in extreme poses...

[ChimpanG]

hm? err that masterchief i posted is what max would call a "diffuse map"
the bumpmap is a normalmap that i also have.

[NeptuneImaging]

That's cool, ghl... I am still considering switching to 3DS max

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