Giant Cyclosect (Cyclop Insect)

[Jay007]

Added more detail on to leg, now gonna start with the main body. Im tempted to add 2 more legs just behind the head, would it be good? It seems a bit unbalanced to me.

Comments would be appreciated

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/CreaturePreview.jpg

[Jay007]

Another update if anyones interested( there doesnt seem to be :( ), i decided to add another 2 legs and begun detaling them.



http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Creature5.jpg

Heres the wire

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Cyclosectwire.jpg

[Jay007]

Heres an update, ive got most of the modelling done, just gonna work on cleaning up the mesh and finish the front legs. Been thinking about putting the model in colliseum(a small less complex one) scene being pitted against a cyclop warrior.



http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/CreaturePreview2.jpg

[Lordrych]

Very interesting, i like the idea the only think that bothers me are the feet, I think you should do some research on that, it wouldnt' be very agile with just pointy feet.

Baron

[Jay007]

Heres an update with the front legs done.

@Lordrych, Thanks for the reply, i definetly agree with you about the back feet, it doesnt make much sense a insect havent nails like that(well from ones that i have seen).

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/CreaturePreview3.jpg

[Jay007]

heres an update on cyclop dude ive been working on, Still very early and alot of tweaking needs to be done on the head(its my first attempt at a head).

c&c needed


http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Head2.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Head.jpg

[dkHamburg]

I think you dont get replies because your Project is ugly ;) Not technically but a big insect is not pleasant to look at. But i dont want to dishearten you, but help. I think the legs are to big, Insects have this big bodies resting on long thin extremities, they seem to solid, it doesnt seem agile like a real insect. Good work though, were did you get ure inspiration?

[Jay007]

dkhamburg, Thanks for the reply. I can see your point about the Insect not being that appealing, main reason why i choose something like this was becuase i intend on making a portfolio of 3d work so once i finish my games comuting degree next summer i can start applying for jobs at computer games development companies and i thought something like a creature would appeal to them.

As for the model having strong looking legs, i sort of a agree but its not strictly a insect, sort of a hybrid from my imagination. I wanted to give it a an attacking position as well as if its about to pounce. If u look at the front legs i wanted to get the look of a sprint athelete at the starting line(guess i didnt achieve it).

As for the inspiration, it was a drawing i did while i was in one of my letures and we were looking at game art and i saw one sketch which was a cyclop warrior fighting a giant insect and i just blended them together.

Also its hard to do work thats very appealing after just a couple of months learning 3d modelling but hopefully in time and alot of hardwork i'll be able to create some inspiring stuff.

[Jay007]

Heres an update on my Cyclop warrior although its not much of an update but i just need some critique on the topology of it.

I have started with the arms yet, and aside from the incorrect chest and bad neck, am i getting the corrent poly flow. Trying to create a anatomically(sp?) correct body is god damn hard so any help would make me happy.

Heres the pics

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Head5.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Head4.jpghttp://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Head3.jpg

[Jay007]

Ive completely reworked the upper body and added legs and feet. I hope the topolgoy is right so i wont have difficulties skinning(another thing to learn as well).

Gonna add the arms next which im finding the hardest to model especially the elbow. I know it aint great but for my first character im happy so far.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/B4.jpg http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/B1.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/B3.jpghttp://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/B2.jpg

Crits really appreciated, obviously it doesnt seem to be to peoples taste but im just trying to learn so help is what i really need.

[cshanks]

Looks like you've got some proportion issues with your biped cyclops. Places I see it going on is in the abdomen, the legs and the feet. Abdomen looks a bit square as well. The back muscle mass of the Latissimus Dorsi looks like its out of place. Feet look to small. Legs look to long in the region of the calf. You have a decent start, I just think you need to rework some of your proportion and get them nailed down. Look at some anatomy books such as greys or burne hogarth's dynamic anatomy.

[Jay007]

Hey thanks for pointing the porportion issues out cshanks, ive mananged to sort most of them out, i'll definetly check out that book.

I thought id give a you guys an idea as to what im aiming for scene wise. Still lots to add obviously and gonna have to deal with texturing eventually.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Scene.jpg

[Jay007]

heres an update, pretty much finished the body(hands need improving and arm) and tweakin left to do on the head. Ive started to add clothing which is new to me and not sure which way to go about it.

Ive decided to just model the clothes instead of using pluging such as simcloth or reactorCloth. Just wondering whats the best way to model clothing and items. Is it best to push cloned polys out of the body mesh or creating new items and bending them around the body. Say i want to put a sword strap around his chest whats the best way to do it? and how do u get a tight fit withought clipping the body mesh.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/B5.jpg

[mustan9]

Your making good progress!

Keep it up. I'm watching the thread :)

[Jay007]

Cheers for the support Mustan9, nice to see someone following my work. :)

[Jay007]

Got another update.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/66394efb.jpg

[mustan9]

Hi buddy,

The blade edges on the sword should have a smooth curve to it, and you shouldn't be able to see the polygons that make up the curve. You have a smoothing problem there.

The blade connects to the handle via a small point. Would the blade snap off at that location.

Also, your ears are sticking out from the surface of the skull to far.

The chest and body looks much better. I can see an improvement over your previous postings. Good job!

[Jay007]

Hey mustan9 thx for the reply, i agree the sword definetly needs some work, ive tried adding a meshsmooth but that ruins the shape. I guess i just have to keep adding lots of detail untill the edges dissappear. As for the ears i actually did them on purpose like, i didnt wanna do realistic ears.

Heres a closer pic of details.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/B9.jpg

[Jay007]

Got another update, havent had much time to work on it and wont for the next few days but ive managed a little bit of work. Started adding some detail to my scene, decided on the colour scheme and main structures. Gonna make the main area into a graveyard like area with blood drenched walls and bones lying around(left overs from the cyclosects meals). I could do with some tips on lighting the area and mental ray settings. Im not aiming for realism but i want a good render.

heres the updates.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Scene02.jpg http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/B11.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/B12.jpg

[Jay007]

I have a question for anyone willing to answer, its regard to which approach to take for texturing the cyclosect. As im pretty new to UV Mapping i cant seem the get any decent results. I figured the best approach would be to seperate the different body parts in the different Map IDs(4 legs, head, main body) and place a UV mapping on each one with the appropiate map type. But when it comes to unwrapping im having massive headaches brining everyting together to have a seamless texture map.

So bassically if someone would be nice enough to just nudge me into the best way to UV Map the model i would be very grateful.

Cheers


Even though ive added a whole scene and character to this thread im still not getting any replies excpet for a few well appreciated members. oh well, im gonna keep this live and finish it with or without replies.

[Neeno]

alright then .. The way your going about UVmapping is right way. And the only way its gonna look good is by practising UVmapping. I stil have trouble with it. It needs experience. You gotta keep having a go at it.. but im gonna direct you to a little tut which will show you how to blend seams perfectly while texturing so you get seamless textures.

Here the link...On updates i wanna see some seamless textures!! ehehe See ya soon Jay.

http://simplycg.net/viewtopic.php?t=91

I assume your using Max.

[Jay007]

Hey neeno, thanks for the tut. Very useful and yeah im using max. I'll keep at it untill i get it. Cant wait to get it into photoshop.

[mustan9]

Hi buddy,

You want to create a material in the material editor that has a "checker" procedural in the diffuse channel. Then assign this to your character, and make sure to have the "show texture" button active in the material editor.

When you do this you will see the checker pattern on the surface of your model.

You want to apply UV mapping so that the checkers are as square as possible. This is the most important part in UV mapping. So if you are appling a sphere map and you see checkers that are stretched or tilted then those spots on the model will have texturing problems.

Now you can seperate your model into different material ID's, but this will cause problems if you are going to do detailed textures. It's must better to get as much of the UV's on the same material ID.

You want to use the unwrap UV editor. It has a sub-object selection feature for the faces, and as you select the faces it will create a plan mapping for those UV's. Then in the editor you can move, scale, and rotate them into position. You want to seperate the UV's so that they are arranged in the UV editor.

After you have done all this, your UV's are seperated, and you have nice looking checkers. Then you apply a new material to the object that will render the model with wireframe (the wireframe check box in the material). Once this material is applied you use the "render to texture" feature in Max to create a JPG or TGA of the model. You will end up with a large texture you can load into photoshop that shows the UV mapping.

In photoshop you create some new layers, and paint over top the wireframe image.

Back in Max you apply your new texture, and your done.

I'm sure this was all confusing, but you can always ask more questions.

[Jay007]

I sort of know what your on about, only part i need abit info for is the arranging of UVs in the editor. Would i select and group faces by the body part from the model(ie; legs, head, body) and arange them so theres nothing overlapping and scaled properly. The problem i find with this is that it seems almost impossible to arrange everything so its seamed togehter and well orgranised or does it not need to be seamed together as then simply using flatten map would produce a checker map that is not streched or anything. Also how would i be able to take advantage of using UV mapping types such as Cyclindrical(good for the legs) or spherical(head) etc.


With the way i was doing to it was similar excpet that i just organised everything into mat ids and placed a UVW mapping for each mat id selection with the most approiate mapping type(ie sphereical, box etc) then i apply a UVW unwrap and organise everything and then use texporter to create a tiff for me(so i have just 1 texture map). Although using this way also seems very hard and tedious to organise everyhting just like your way but i guess its the only way to do it. Also using mat ids help with selecting faces on the model in the EDit UVWs screen as you can simpy just use the roll down menu and pick the selection of faces i desire by mat ids.

[mustan9]

I think you'll be ok with the material ID's for selection.

You don't have to use texporter if you have Max 7 or higher. With the render to texture feature you can include shading details in your reference texture.

[Jay007]

Hey i just wanted to get your guys perspective on the scene selection, ive got 2 types of places in mind which are similar and cant decide between them, so i thoughted id post to see.

Heres the first 1, its meant to be dark and sort of scary. Try to make it clostraphobic(sp?) and give it the impression of being trapped and now where to escape.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Scene03.jpg

Second one i had a choice on is meant to be early morning adventurering, sort of danger in the middle of the blissful surrondings.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Scene04.jpg

Id like to hear what you guys think on these and how would you rate the sort of styles im doing. This is still very early but it will have a lot of foilage and a painted jungle-ish background.

[mustan9]

I like the first one better, but the water surface is to still. Maybe some small waves or something would help.

A touch of fog might add to the scene as well.

[narutochen]

nice jay007 I can't wait you animate this it would be cool to see the fight.

[Jay007]

Hey thanks for the comment guys, i'm gonna stick with the first choice alothough i'll be widening it up slightly to allow more room for the cyclosect.

As for animating it, i might do, my upcoming smester at uni has a 3d animation unit were we must create an animation sequence so i could use this. I have a neat idea for the fight sequence.

[Jay007]

Theres been 1 thing really bothering me about my character and thats his head, its just down right rubbish and doesnt go with clothes im doing. SO ive bassically started to model a new head, im using the poly modelling technique instead of box modelling. At first i thought box modelling was easier but im finding poly modelling quite easy and im able to attain better results.

Heres an update on the body and the new head in progress.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Body2.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/05018b39.jpg

[Jay007]

Almost finished the head and ive got it attached to the body(that was a bit of hassle). Gonna make some ears fine tune the body then gonna start to texture.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Warrior.jpg

[Jay007]

Ive done some more work on the head, trying to get the right look for the character. O also wanted to find out the best approach to hair, ive got max 7 not 7.5 so i dont have any of those hair modifiers, also im strapped for cash and couldnt afford any hair plug ins.

Should i tackle hair by using the scatter object and renderable spilnes?

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/Head1.jpg

[mustan9]

ive got max 7 not 7.5 so i dont have any of those hair modifiers
You don't need 7.5, because 7 has everything you need to do a great job. I really like working with version 7 and haven't been impressed enough to upgrade to 7.5.
Should i tackle hair by using the scatter object and renderable spilnes?
Try this first and see if it works, because you can get some amazing results with textures.

http://www.cgunderground.com/tutorials/BenMathis/hairtutorial/index.php

EDIT: That tutorial has a link to the Photoshop file for the hair texture. So you can start experimenting with it right away.

I like the hat, and straw in the mouth. These details give him much more character. The blue eyes don't work to well.

I think if your going to use a solid color for the eyes, then this will draw people's attention to the eyes on the face. Once that happens they notice the shape of the eye sockets. You should try reworking the region around the eyes. I think the post you had from yesterday had better eyes. Did you change them?

[Jay007]

Thanks for the comments mustan9, im gonna give that tutorial ago although with a higher poly mesh and use a UV map to texture.

As for the eyes, they're not going to be blue, its just a sphere i used to help create the eyes around.

[mustan9]

As for the eyes, they're not going to be blue, its just a sphere i used to help create the eyes around.

Ah I see. I suck at eyes for some reason. I have tried several different eyes for my demon and don't like any of them.

Stefan_Morrel can do some killer eyes. Check out his thread

[Jay007]

those are some realistic looking eyes, defiently gonna give that method a try.

Here my character pretty much finished, except for any things picked out that need improving. Im pleased with it being my first character model ever.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/Strider007/samurai.jpg

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