Ferion Alien Race...

[The Time Serpent]

Wow:eek: :thumbsup:
can u show the wire?

[BiTMAP]

how did u get it to look like it does?

and I think it would look neat if that was just a mask over a smooth skinned (sorta underwater reptile) creature...

[NanoGator]

Originally posted by The Time Serpent
Wow:eek: :thumbsup:
can u show the wire?

Ask and ye shall recieve!

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_modeler_screenshot.jpg

and here's this one:

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_modeler_screenshot2.jpg

[NanoGator]

Originally posted by BiTMAP
how did u get it to look like it does?

and I think it would look neat if that was just a mask over a smooth skinned (sorta underwater reptile) creature...

I made a drawing of what the alien will look like and used it as a background image as I built up the pieces. I made a few generic bony pieces, then I textured them with the drawing, then I dragged the verticies around until they conformed to the shape. Basically, without that drawing, I couldn't have done it.

As for the rendering, it's simply a GI render with an area light to give it more realistic luminance. Then, I pulled it into After Effects where I added a subtle diffused glow and some color balance/levels adjustments to make it look a little more 'filmy'.

:D

The way I envisioned the alien was that it has very evolved cyber/organic implants. The ridges aren't a mask, they are part of the creature, though they're artifical. That make sense? heh. Johan described the Ferion as being a very ancient and advanced race, and that's how I see an advanced race evolving.

[Pants01]

I hope you used a proxy head for reference of how it would wrap around the head.

[NanoGator]

Originally posted by Pants01
I hope you used a proxy head for reference of how it would wrap around the head.

I'm not sure I understand that comment, could you elaborate?

*always interested in technique*

[Pants01]

You know, make a simple head to see if the mask will fit on properly.

[NanoGator]

Ah.

It's not a mask, I'm not going to fit it over a head. That is his head. :)

I see what you're saying, though. I've been paying attention to maintaining his proportions.

[NanoGator]

Wow, it really doesn't take long to fall off the map on these forums!

[BiTMAP]

yeah.. hey keep posting :)

[valu]

Great Job on that mask.i´m very curious to see the complet job done.

[BiTMAP]

I find it interesting that you guys don't read his posts, its not a mask, its the guys facial structure!

[NanoGator]

Originally posted by BiTMAP
I find it interesting that you guys don't read his posts, its not a mask, its the guys facial structure!

Nah, I can see why it looks like a mask. The 3/4ths view of the alien I did has the same proportions as a human. I fubar'd there. Heh. :)

[NanoGator]

I have a small update here. This is a concept of what the helmet will look like.

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_helmet_concept.jpg

Here's an .AVI of the rotating mesh so you get a more 3D idea of what it'll look like:

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_helmet_concept.avi

What happens next is I'm going to print out a couple of views of this helmet and draw on top of it, using the 3d concept as a guide.

Cheers all. :)

[NanoGator]

Alrighty, got another update:

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_helmet_sketch.jpg

This is the blueprint I'm going to build the actual helmet from. The proportions will more or less be the same as the concept image above.

[NanoGator]

The helmet is underway...

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_helmet_construction1.jpg

[NanoGator]

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_helmet_construction3.jpg

I've got the 'teeth' and the rim added. :)

[Ayreon]

I've been following this project in the Lightwave forum, and everytime I look at it, I'm amazed at what you've accomplished so far. Very nice concept, and very good modeling! Like what you did with the render in after effects. I'll be following your progress!

Ayreon

[verti]

love it!

v.

[NanoGator]

Thanks dudes!

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_helmet_construction4.jpg

The Helmet is filled in. I've got at least one more night of work before the modelling's done. (probably 2...)

[Eugeny]

Great design and great technique NanoGator :thumbsup:
Remind some Giger designs, really cool work , keep it up :thumbsup:

[TES]

fantastic work!! looks like some bone-bio-mechanical character:)) keep going:thumbsup:

[NanoGator]

Sorry for the lack of updates dudes, I've been nursing a nasty cold.

I don't have a 3D update to show you yet. I'm still futzing around with a problem with the helmet. I do have a drawing of what the body may look like. Have a gander. :)

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_body_concept1.jpg

[BiTMAP]

it looks like its got a kool proportion, GIve it a big bulging back :D

[NanoGator]

Originally posted by BiTMAP
it looks like its got a kool proportion, GIve it a big bulging back :D

Heh, actually I'm a little embarrased to show it because I think I made the legs way too short. I ran out of paper!

[NanoGator]

BTW, his arm isn't broken. It has an extra joint there but I did a poor job of showing that heh.

I'm playing with the idea if giving it some subtle non-humanoid anatomy. Good thing I got a dinosaur book!

[NanoGator]

Can anybody point me in the direction of web tuts or books on how to improve drawings like the one I did above?

[NanoGator]

Hey dudes,

I'm still sick and am not up to working with the 3D stuff yet. However, I have cranked out another drawing. I like to do 3 concept designs before I nail down one that really defines what the end result will be.

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_body_concept2.jpg

I decided to explore the idea of giving it less human proportions and explore what that'd be like. I think this drawing has it's strengths, but I'm a little concerned that I'm losing some of what made it so scary before. I do like how his arms are threateningly curved, though. I'll probably explore that some more.

And yes, I know the pose is a little akward. It looks like he's 'Walking like an Egyptian". heh. The reason he's posed that way is that I wanted to explore how the joints bend. Just remember though, this is him naked. If I went with this design, he'd be covered with ornamental pointy things.

[BiTMAP]

I like the "walk like an egyption" part :) (saw that music video not too long ago :) great fun)

[Xirdion]

I usually don't like the "ohhh ahhh" posts but this time i make an exception :)
the design is great i love it. keep it up :thumbsup:

BiTMAP: what music video ?

[BiTMAP]

the walk like an egyption one, it was bangles or something...

[NanoGator]

Alrighty dudes, I took another stab at the alien concept. This time semi-merged the two previous drawings together. It's a little hard to tell from this angle, but I added an extra joint in the extremities. I'm working on a side view to make that a litle clearer, curious if I can make that work. I also de-humanized the proportions a bit in order to adress some of the concerns people had.

So far, I like this design a lot more than the other two. I don't think I'm done yet, though. This is a hard problem to solve for me because there are a lot of elements to keep track of. I definitely need to refine the hips and his feet.

Here's the pic, enjoy:

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_body_concept3.jpg

[CarlCampbell]

How do you manage to draw the pic totally perpendicular to the POV? Because I'm guessing that you're building have at a time, right? So how do you draw it so that is aligns so perfectly?
Excellent job, btw!

Carl :beer:

[NanoGator]

Originally posted by CarlCampbell
How do you manage to draw the pic totally perpendicular to the POV? Because I'm guessing that you're building have at a time, right? So how do you draw it so that is aligns so perfectly?
Excellent job, btw!

Carl :beer:

I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but I can take a stab at answering your question. For the head-on sketch of the first alien I drew half and then used Photoshop to mirror it. Sometimes, though, I'll build a 3D concept model to establish the proportions, then I'll print it offf so I have something to draw on top of. That's how I was able to get both a front texture and a side texture to the mesh. :)

[NanoGator]

Woohoo, anudder update. Now, once I get this design finished, I can resume modeling!

I think this is the last revision, I'm pretty satisfied with the shape of the alien now. The details still need a little work, but not to worry. ;)

I used an interesting technique here. I doodled and doodled and doodled on my whiteboard until i came up with something I really really liked. Unfortunately, I cannot scan the whiteboard (it has ridges so it won't lay flat), and my attempts to re-draw it went unsuccessful. (for some reason I only do this really late at night...) So what I did was I made a few low-res metanurbed spheres in Lightwave, and roughed out the proportions, much like one might do with balls of clay. Here's the image:
http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_body_concept6.jpg

So, on the left you see the drawing, and on the right you see the mesh I made. The drawing on the left started off as a printout of the center image on the right. I drew the detail on top of it and went from there. Fortunately, this helped me keep the proportions in line without getting in the way of adding details like the blade on his right arm. This is the first time I've tried this process, and man I'd recommend it to anybody. Now I have a reference model to go to when I want to focus in on particular details. It's nice to be able to test these proportions before I go to build!

Well, i have a little more revision to do soon. Hopefully I'll have a blueprint to play with soon!

Cheers all, enjoy. :)

[NanoGator]

Hey dudes, this project hasn't been forgotten. :)

Thought you all might want to see the revised (finished) head blueprint that Im modelling from:

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_head_blueprint.jpg

And here's the mesh I started building from that blueprint:

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_construction2g.jpg

[Eugeny]

Cool ... I think u need better body design,
may be not byped :hmm:

[NanoGator]

Originally posted by Eugeny
Cool ... I think u need better body design,
may be not byped :hmm:

Whatcha think of this?

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_body_blueprint.jpg

This is the blueprint the body'll be built from. The legs need more revision though. (That's why it's just sockets there.)

[piajartist]

The detail is there and worth it.

[BiTMAP]

Try ape human cross like... might work :hmm:

[NanoGator]

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_construction2h.jpg

[NanoGator]

Originally posted by BiTMAP
Try ape human cross like... might work :hmm:

Is the above image ape-enough for ya? I actually drew from Bobo of MST3k fame for filling in his face, heh.

[BiTMAP]

oohh its nice actualy I was thinking bout the body form though :) I wish i could model as well as you, prolly can just don't draw as good yet :).

Goodjob! :thumbsup:

[NanoGator]

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_construction2i.jpg

Here I've got the head and neck filled in. This is pretty much a place holder while I place more detailing in it.

I guess I've run into a major problem with using a drawing as a reference: I put too much detail into it. Doh. Anybody spare a dual processor machine?

[Eugeny]

WOW :surprised
Now u talking :thumbsup:

[NanoGator]

Originally posted by Eugeny
WOW :surprised
Now u talking :thumbsup:

That's good, I was finding your lack of faith disturbing!

(That'd be cooler if I had James Earl Jones's voice...) ;)

[Xirdion]

and another "ohhh ahhh" post :< but U deserve it :)

it's just great, the amout of detail i just striking down :)
but now i just wonder how U will deal with it :) it's dublesided blade :) looking great but it must be very difficult to work with it now.... can't wait to see more thou :thumbsup:

[Crash]

Very nice indeed..... Sci Fi Meshes Community is proud of you :) so is CGtalk I think at least :buttrock: Cheers :beer:

[NanoGator]

@ Xirdion -- Wow, what prompted you to resurrect this thread? Heh I thought it fell into oblivion!

Yes, you're right about the detail, and I'm doing experiments to see what it'll take to handle it. Fortunately, the guy I'm doing this image for is very forgiving about deadlines etc, so this affords me the opportunity to experiment until it's right. Right now, I'm building a rough test-build of the mesh so I can see what happens when I rig it. You can see a sample here, but I didn't originally want to show it because it's not complete enough.

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_construction2j.jpg

As you can see, this was built from the drawing. In case you're curious, that's one of my tricks to managing this much data. There's no point in having everything visible at a time when I'm focusing on say the right arm. I have plenty of info from the drawing how it'll connect, etc. When I work on his left arm the opposite side will be invisible.

When the rough build is done and testing is successful, I'll then use that low detail mesh in the background to build the high-detail finished mesh. I can focus on just the pieces I need at that time, and that'll help tremendously. When I go to animate, I can use the rough build that updates quickly and then later replace it with the finished mesh.

If anybody has any suggestions here, i'm open.

@Crash -- Thanks man, it's appreciated. :) I don't recognize yoru nick and I don't see 'Crash' listed in SFM's DB, who do I know ya as?

[Xirdion]

ok, let's say that the tread on cgtalk is forgotten... is that mean that there will be no more further updates ? I thing that this model has a potential :)

ok the image U gave us is rather old - any progress since ? :)

yeah, layers in lightwave rox :) I love LW

remember thay U have always in your arsenal bumps and dissplacment, not evrything must be geometry

my only suggestion today... the neck is rather too "big". I mean it's almost have the same volume as head... that's all i can say now :hmm:

btw: how much polys does it have now ?

Crash is evrywhere ? ;)

cheers :beer:

[NanoGator]

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_construction2l.jpg

He hasn't been forgotten! I just took some time to learn about character rigging and to understand a few of my modelling tools better.

Now I've got the top of his head started. *Whew* I'll tell you all something, it's hard to make that many individual pieces and place them!

[aenema]

awesome modeling :thumbsup: :bounce:

[xasteycracker]

dude that model is great i am glad to see some updated pictures.

[BiTMAP]

now THAT is high poly :D

[Eugeny]

:thumbsup: It's looks better and better, keep it up :thumbsup:

[NanoGator]

Thanks everybody!

Man, texturing this guy's gonna be a challenge... heh

It will be high poly. My boss is letting me go to town on it. (Hence the slow updates...) So I'm doing everything I can, which means that I take time off here and there to do some research about techniques or tools.

One problem I created for myself is that it's not one big flowing mesh, so lots of those details are going to have to persist no matter what kind of reduction I do.

The good news, though, is that I've taken some time to learn how to manage something that big. *fingers crossed*

Cheers all

P.S. Somebody over in the LW forum asked me about how I made the mesh. Here you can see the technique I used. I posted it there because it's LW specific, but I've come to realize that it's generic enough that it might be of use to other Apps.

http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=467424#post467424

[NanoGator]

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/funny/pimp_ferion.jpg

:applause:

[NanoGator]

I've finished filling the head in.

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_construction2m.jpg

Next step: back of the head + neck.

[jah]

will he get a body??

looking very nice :)

[NanoGator]

Yep yep.

His body is still in the design phase, though. It's so closee but there's a couple of things to work out. *reading anatomy books*

[McNeely]

This is a very cool thread, I liked looking at all the pictures! @NanoGator: keep up the cool work!


cheers

[XTitan]

One word. SEXY. That's a very good model, i love they style of this character. Keep up the great work. Take all the time you want, as long as u keep doing great work like this.

[NanoGator]

Thanks dudes. :)


Anybody got any cool reference photos I might find useful here? I'm trying to design his arms but I'm having diffculty balancing 'cool' and 'funcational'. Any advice/tips/etc?

[NanoGator]

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_body_blueprint_2.jpg

Latest blueprint image. Now I can finish the head, seeing as how I can see where it connects! :D

[cdinic]

I love this character SO much!!!

fantastic job modeling.

here's what I 'm thinkin...


and maybe move the arms inward a bit...

Excellent job

-Chris

[NanoGator]

I think you're right about the calves, but I'm not sure I agree with the torso edits. Of course I'm open minded, but I was intentionally trying to give this guy a skeletal look.

Hmm.. what about some 'flare' along his sides? Maybe a grenade belt or something, or tanks containing the gas he breathes?

[NanoGator]

P.S. I think it's cool the way you showed me the criticism there. Thank ya! :)

[cdinic]

I see him as a very elemental chracter. Somthing that relies only on his his incredible strength and intelect. With that in mind I think some acsessories would be a bad idea.

but, (me being open minded as well) acssesories can often make a character; if u were to add a belt I think you'd need a some other things as well. Maybe a weapon, pack of some type and breathing apuratus. Then canisters and amunnition.

I dunno I like his being dependant on organic assest.

also, looking again at my marks I think the addition of traps isn't a good idea.. good call

but the skeltal idea would support adding a rib cage like structure no?


-Chris

[NanoGator]

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_body_blueprint_2b.jpg

Shoulders a little better here? I did a minor mod to them.

[NanoGator]

@cdinic

Hmm when I envisioned this guy I saw a cybernetically enhanced being. But the cybernetics involved in this guy are very advanced and very organic in nature. Right now, though, he's pretty much naked. (not quite naked, he's got bio armor...) Once his body's built, I'm going to figure out some form of uniform or decoration for this guy. He may very well have a weapon of some sort, but it's not clear what the first character I'm making is. Johan mentioned he'd want a few characters and I'm not sure which the first is.

As for the rib cage, there's sorta one there in the center. Try to imagine the bit on his chest looking like the top of his skull. Also ,there's lots of bony things arouond him. Very .. oh I think reticulated is the word.

The problem is that the more humanesque I make him, the more beat up I get for it. Heh.

:beer:

[BiTMAP]

try going a bit more slender for the shoulders

[NanoGator]

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_body_blueprint_2c.jpg

How'zat?

[NanoGator]

I've got the body all made up!

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_body_mockup.jpg

Want to see an animation of it rotating? Check out:

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_body_mockup_complete2.avi

It's about 4 megs and it was compressed with DivX 5.

Remember, this is just a mockup. I built it to texture the drawing with it. Right now, the drawing is UV'd to the mesh so I can fiddle with the proportions. I'm going to tweak it over the next couple of days and see what I can do to improve it.

I'd really appreciate any suggestions to improve his shape. I've worked on it so much I'm a little blind to it. So please, be candid. :)

[zzzrByte]

Killer!
I can see him guarding the ruins of some ancient advanced alien civilization... Maybe inside a maya or aztecian temple.

I know that isn't what you were looking for, but that's how I see it with the current "drawing projected on geometry" look. It has an "ancient alien artifact" look to it.

Great work! Keep it up! :thumbsup:

[NanoGator]

Hey All,

Been a while since I posted updates. I've been posting them in my journal at http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com. I figure I'm far enough along to show you some updates.

The Ferion Alien race has been successfully designed, so I've started making hte first character based on that design. His name is General Mon Tai, and he's the commander of the Ferion fleet that's holding Earth. There's more insight into how I designed this character here:

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/forumtest/viewtopic.php?t=19&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

That's also where my more minute updates happen. ;)

First I started with a concept drawing.

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/ferion_general_mon_tai_angled.jpg

Okay, by the time I got to his head my hand was really hurting. So I filled it in. ;) Actually the blueprint was done before this drawing. I *almost* liked the blueprint drawing (next image) but I didnt like his breastplates, so I did this drawing at an angle to get another perspective on it. (To be perfectly honest, I'm probably going to do one more redesign of the breastplates.)

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/ferion_general_mon_tai_concept1.jpg

Here's the blueprint drawing. That's not a cape behind him! It's a shadow. Heh. I thought it'd be cool to fill it in, but my choice of where to end the fill-in part was questionable. Oh well. It's still a cool drawing, and it's what I've based the modeling on.

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/general_mon_tai_construction-1a.jpg

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/general_mon_tai_construction-1b.jpg

A couple of in-progress shots of the decorative thingy on his belly. I really have no idea what that is other than it's supposed to be ornate. I'm particularly happy with how I modeled it. I used a form of box-modelling to do the detail, and that went SO much faster than I was doing before. When I did the helmet, I built one 'bone' and dragnetted it into place. Very slow, and I had to do a lot of tidy-up in order to make sure holes weren't visible. Not normally that big of issue, but when your polygons are single-sided...

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/general_mon_tai_construction-1c.jpg

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/general_mon_tai_construction-1d.jpg

And here I got his torso, clavicles, thighs, and calves developed. They're not done but they're significantly built. Actually I'm a little farther along now, but I haven't had time to do a screengrab. My full-time job's hit a deadline and I've been working a lot of late hours. Man I'm tired. :(


Well that's it for now. Cheers all!

[NanoGator]

Welp, I got a new sketchbook tonight, and I took it for a test drive.

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/mon_tai_hand_concept.jpg

I wanted to experiment with a loose idea of what Mr. Mon Tai's han might look like. In some ways I wish I had put a little more patience into this drawing, in others I'm really happy with how it came out.

Thought you all'd enjoy. :)

[dominicqwek]

thts one mean looking general u got there. this should really work out fine. ermm. riggin wont be easy though. i feel the crotch is a lil too high up dude. just my 2 cent's worth. Cheers!

:beer:

[ktpr]

hey i just wanted to say I really like where you're going with this. What amazes me is the synergy between your concept art and the 3d model. It's reallly cool to see something "grow" out of sketches. Rock on Man!

cheers
ktpr

[Xirdion]

cool hand :D

[NanoGator]

Originally posted by ktpr
hey i just wanted to say I really like where you're going with this. What amazes me is the synergy between your concept art and the 3d model. It's reallly cool to see something "grow" out of sketches. Rock on Man!

cheers
ktpr

Know what? I'm amazed too. When I first got his face filled in, I couldn't stop staring at it.

Thanks for the comments all! More updates in a few days. My dad was in town and I got some catch-up to do.

[Gremlin]

this has been going on for the longest time...
but its lookin good. I hope you maintain the detail that is in the face in all the body parts (legs look a bit undetailed compared to the face! :D)

keep up that stylin' work!
Cheers,
:beer:

[NanoGator]

S'happenin dudes? Got an update here:

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/general_mon_tai_construction-1e.jpg

Now just so you all know, I haven't been updating as frequently because the geometry I've been building is rather small. Despite it being rather difficult and painstaking to do, it's definitely hard to see where all the work went. Compare this to the previous image, you'll see the hand-shaped knee-guard is in place. I also did a little work filling in his leg. It probably took me.. oh.. five hours or so to do all that? (maybe subtract a little for household distractions like a household kitty that constantly reminds me of his existence by scratching at the chair or knocking stuff off my desk...) Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to use my office time at my full-time job to work on this. I can't begin to imagine how much more I could achieve in a few short hours.

Looking back after finishing this part of the model, it occurs to me I could have done the knee guard much more efficiently. Remember, I've been working from a drawing here, building the model to match it. For the most part, that process has been quite necessary because there's not a whole lot of repetition here. Each piece fits together in a very particular way and requires a lot of vertex nudging to get it in the right spot. However, when I did this bit, I should have planned it out better. It's loosely based on a human hand. I should have put a little more planning into it and done some blueprints for the carpals and phalanges. I could have put more detail into them and moved them into place relatively easily. Instead, I followed the path I was already using with the other pieces and built each piece as it came up. That's where a lot of the time was spent, particularly in making the little bits that fill in between the fingers.

Oh well. The time's spent and it doesn't look half bad. One day, down the road, I may rebuild that bit just to see what the extra design work I proposed earlier would have done to make this mesh better. Would there have been a huge difference? I just hope I'm wise enough down the road to remember to examine each aspect of the model I'm working on and look into ways to more thoroughly design what I'm building.

I have to say that after looking at this piece here, I can't wait to see what his feet will turn out like! :)

[NanoGator]

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/general_mon_tai_construction-1f.jpg

Alright, I've been poking around with his feet. Man, this part's been a nightmare. I've rebuilt his feet 3 times now until finally settling on a method to build them. I am having a problem, though. In his design, his feet are padded. As a matter of fact, those are not his bare feet. Those are custom fit boots. So he's got to have some padding! hehe. I think I'm going to build his heel first. I think that's part of the issue I'm having: starting the padding too soon.

It's hard to tell from this pic, but I've finished filling in the top of the leg. That part actually went pretty smooth. I had to adjust the structure a bit to accomodate the patches, though.

Tomorrow, time permitting, I'd like to get his leg in a finished solid fashion. I'm eager to rig it and make it bend!

Oh, one other thing. I did a test render a couple of nights ago, and these legs look pretty cool rendered.


http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/general_mon_tai_construction-1g.jpg

I'm starting to think about texturing here. I think I know how I'm going to make it, but I'm curious if anybody has any suggestions as to how to go about deciding on a color scheme? I have some idea of the scheme, but if anybody has any techniques or exercises I could try to work it out, lemme know?

[p0lym0rph]

great work:thumbsup: :bounce:

[NanoGator]

Originally posted by p0lym0rph
great work:thumbsup: :bounce:

Thank ya!

Is Polymorph a Red Dwarf reference?

[NanoGator]

S'happenin dudes?

Welp, his legs are done! He's even got a crotch! :)

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I've been working on it, just haven't had time to put the images up to view. Made some time today, though, so here ya go!

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/general_mon_tai_construction-1h.jpg

[NanoGator]

Alrighty dudes,

He's got a spine and a tummy now!

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/general_mon_tai_construction-ti.jpg (http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/general_mon_tai_construction-1i.jpg)

Now be careful about clicking on the image. It's wiiiiiiiiiiiide! However, it's split up so even on a small screen you need only scroll to the left to see each angle of him I've provided.

Hope ya like the detailing!

Cheers.

[BiTMAP]

that has to be one dense mesh, how do u work on it like that in lightwave??

[NanoGator]

Originally posted by BiTMAP
that has to be one dense mesh, how do u work on it like that in lightwave??

The subpatch cages aren't too bad. 40,000 of them or so. Neither computer chokes too badly on them yet. Also, I have many many layers. When I go to actually animate this guy, I'm going to do a light weight version of him to use as a proxy.

As for modelling him, that's why i did the blueprint. I only need work on the part I'm working on as long as I have the drawing in the background to refer to. That keeps me from having too many polys in the scene.

One other trick is to turn down subdivision. By default, when you hit 'o', it's set to 6. I turned it down to 2.

[FallenSwordsman]

Dammit - "the other forum" still isn't working!

I really like what I'm seeing here! Its really coming together nicely now - all starting to fit into place

One question - you seem to have modelled the inside of the "panelling" for each of the body parts which presumably won't be seen in the final renders - was this just for the sake of completion or is there a method behind that?
:)

[NanoGator]

I'm not sure I understand what you're referring to as only the outside of the panels are being made. Sure you're not pickingn up that I applied double sided surfaces?

[FallenSwordsman]

Ah yes- that's probably it! Okay, I'm off to the corner with my dunce cap now!:blush:

[NanoGator]

Lol dunce cap? C'mon dude, dun beat yourself up. It's a general rule ya don't use double-sided polys for some reason. (though LW doesn't seem to care these days.) I set them to two sided because I showed it to a few friends outside of the 3D space, and I'm not sure they've ever seen single sided polygons before. So I figured it'd be better for them to see. I don't think anybody here was expectingn it. ;)

Truth be told, though, I *have* had to build the inside a few times. It's funny how a strange angle here or there can cause problems.

[Meka]

You're doing a fantastic job here... I'm really amazed (but then again I'm a noob).
Not posting to crit, just to support your effort! keep it up :beer:

[JonC]

awaaw.. this is gonna be fabulous! ( it allready is actualy ):thumbsup:

[NanoGator]

I been busy. Finally got his neck and shoulders more or less done. They need more tweaking but enough of the form is filled in that I'm quite satsified with it. Enjoy. :)

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/general_mon_tai_construction-1k.jpg

[NanoGator]

Here's a concept I did for what the Ferion Title might look like. Enjoy. ;)

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_title/ferion_title_test1.jpg

Don't forget to look at the image above for the update to Mr. Mon Tai. I'm not sure many people noticed him.

[Reserved24hrs]

Wow.....I like it :eek: :thumbsup:

[Deam]

Speechless.... and Droolin.. :drool:

Wow!

[NanoGator]

Thank you. :)

Anybody have any questions for me? I'm all too happy to share!

[XTitan]

Da texturing is superb. HOW?:thumbsup:

[NanoGator]

Originally posted by XTitan
Da texturing is superb. HOW?:thumbsup:

This image probably tells the whole story:

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/ferion/ferion_alien_test_mesh.jpg

Notice the drawing is being used in the background and as a texture? I drew it, scanned it, made a texture of it, and then I make the geometry conform to the drawing. :)

[unicron]

Looking good to me!

Keep up the good work:D

[ApocGFX]

If I knew how to model like that, I could die happy...

[NanoGator]

S'happenin dudes?

Well, I think I have a new design here that's not only possible to rig, but also fits the rest of the body a little better. Enjoy. :)

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_general_mon_tai/ferion_general_arms_concept_2.jpg


P.s. Sorry about the delay, ran into trouble with rigging the arm *and* I had some family matters to dedicate full time to. I'm back now!

[KungFuJackRabit]

Great design in this guy. And if the texturing is going to look like the tittle, well I'm likin it already.

Nice work,
KFJR

[NanoGator]

Thank you. :)

Yeah, I think I am going to texture him the way I've shown before. Though, I'm going to aim for a way to do it in higher definition. More drawings, but better closeups. Maybe. Heck I dunno. ;)

[NanoGator]

Hi All,

His arm is progressing, but not in a state to show yet. In the mean time, I created a concept image of what a Ferion starship could look like. Now, it's just a concept. It's by no means a final design. I was just inspired a couple of nights ago and started it. Enjoy!

http://www.reflectionsoldiers.com/refsol/artwork/ferion_ships/ferion_ship_concept_1.jpg

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