Gods and Demons - Character - Sketchguy

[AnimBot]

Very cool. The mask itself is very expressive which will be fun to see in the 3d model. I also like the shapes very angular. Look forward to the update.

[sketchguy]

Had a few hours to start the model today and here's what I've got thus far. I'm going to treat the model like a sculpture and just dive in pushing and pulling points in poly mode. I also want to acheive a chisled look (my reference was whittled from a small block of wood).

I began with the nose, then upper lip, back of mouth, tongue and teeth. Modeled in Maya and rendered with rayDiffuse plug-in.

http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/march/render1a.jpg

[sketchguy]

Trying to keep it asymmetrical, added the bulging eyes and pointy eyebrows.

Tomorrow, I'll tackle that devilish grin and post an image of what I'm using for reference...

http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/march/render2a.jpg

[OZ]

Awesome style!!the concepts are very impressive! i like your character very much!it reminds me some indian mask or so......:cool:....gimme more !!

[maya_death]

Nice work . I like the style. Maybe with more detail it could be better

[MikaelPersson]

A thought.
You could model cracks in the shell plates. To enhance the impression that it´s made of wood. If there were some irregularities like knife cuts in the model, I think it would add a lot.

[sketchguy]

Thanks for all your comments!

OZ - Your mask is looking VERY impressive, great work!

Mikael - We're totally on the same page. Once I finish the initial blocking out I will go back and round off a few edges that need it and then create little boolean cuts to indicate the chisel marks. Notice how effective these grooves are on the top of the eyebrow area, the sides of the nose and around the grin of the cheeks in the attached reference.

Ever since I found this brilliant wooden sculpture many years ago I always felt it would present a fun challenge to build as 3d geometry. I hope to do it justice.

http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/march/detail_combined.jpg

[MikaelPersson]

I see why you wanted to make a 3D model of him. This small statue really gives you the inspiration to sit down infront of a modelling package.
Yes, the chiseled out mouth and eyebrow lines will add a lot.

[maya_death]

very good sculpt
in my mind i dont see many difference between sculpting in the real world and modeling in 3d software the guys that can sculpt in real world can do it in the 3d scenes. like you my friend.keep going

:applause: ;)

[sketchguy]

Got a few more hours in yesterday and tackled that wicked grin. Very time consuming pushing all those verts around.

I've also kept the pieces compartmentalized for now and will eventually weld logical sections together to obtain the most optimal averaging for future "hardening" of the normals.

http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/march/render3a.jpg

Looking forward to more of your comments! :grin:

[Adam Klein]

supercool, its all coming together so well, the only thing I noticed is that the forehead/eye area is a bit more square-fronted than in your model and (very nice) lil' sketch

let's see more!

AK:scream:

[sketchguy]

Finished the ears, added the horns (which broke off many years ago but I had an old sketch for reference) and scooped out the rear shell, barely visible in the overhead shot.

Tomorrow I'll start placing the boolean cuts and smoothing out some curved spots that need a bit more rounding.

http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/march/render4a.jpg

[sketchguy]

Haven't had a chance to work too much on this the past few days, but wanted to get a few opinions on which proportion you'd like to see this guy lean towards.

http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/march/proportions.jpg

[MikaelPersson]

I like the small body quite alot. You should really go in that direction. The large body is kind of boring. It´s the mask that should be pronounciated.

[Darkelfv]

I agree the smaller one looks much better

[KOryH]

Very cool!
I really like the porportions of the larger head/small body.
The mask is great. It would be fun to see it with colors. then animate it dancing around a fire or sacrificing a teenage boy to the gods. ...or not.
Keep up the good work.

[so_hi]

I Love the carved out of wood feel.

I like the small body better as well, if I have to pick between the two, but some where inbetween the two is where I would go, especially when the body gets detailed. So would suggest the head slightly to big not unweildly.

Good Modeling to you. http://www.cgtalk.com/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.cgtalk.com/images/icons/icon14.gif

http://www.cgtalk.com/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.cgtalk.com/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.cgtalk.com/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.cgtalk.com/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.cgtalk.com/images/icons/icon10.gifhttp://www.cgtalk.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[sketchguy]

Thanks for the comments on proportions. I've always felt having a smaller body would be funnier for the animation I have in mind for this character.

Basically, someone staggering around carrying this heavy, oversized mask.

Here's another late-night update (hmmm, could I become the "king of the late night update"?) :hmm:

http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/march/render5.jpg

You can also see the boolean cuts in the eyebrows and forehead. The nose booleans will probably be colored red (i'll get to those tomorrow). I used Photoshop to do a quick treatment for the eyes and will eventually create texture maps for those.

This color treatment is simply a first test and I'm not married to the color scheme - i just wanted to see what color on the pattern dictated by the poly shapes would look like. Also shooting for a Southwest palette.

How is it reading for ya'll?

[MikaelPersson]

I like the colours. He got a whole new character. I think you should continue in that direction.
Are you playing Grim Fandango to get the right mood?

[OZ]

WOHOO:eek: ! pixel perfect to the real mask! awesome!....im not sure about the colors.......may be that it need a main color whith a touch of complementar clolors too.but it is only a matter of personal feeling about colors....Great work!!!:D

[sketchguy]

Mikael - I'm vaguely familiar with that game. As I recall, the designs of the skeleton characters were very unique and cartoony. Perhaps I was subconsciously thinking about it when I made the hypnotic swirls for the eyes. It just seemed to fit the personality of the mask.

OZ - yeah, the colors might be a bit over the top. I'm continuing research in mask variations to see how other color combos have been used in the past.

One thing I'd really like to try for is a furry mane around the "neck" area of the mask. This will get me to try out Maya's fur for the first time. I'll probably have an update tomorrow or definitely by Sunday.

Thanks again for all the comments!

[MikaelPersson]

Interesting, looking forward to the fur...
I was more thinking of the day of the dead you spoke about. That game starts in that festival.. Your mask has exactly the feel of it.

[jazzthief]

Steve,

It looks like the character is coming along together nicely. Instead of adding shaders a 'ruff texture and bump maps ala African masks will give it a extra layer of verisimilitude. The Met Museum has great reference material all for a donation of a dollar. Gotta luv NY. Or are you going for a more Mexican Day of the Dead type of masks.

Btw, do you have plans to pursue a Chuck Jones style of animation or stop motion. Your character reminds me of one episode where the island witch doctor is chasing after Bugs. Funny stuff.

:david:

[sketchguy]

Here's my first Maya fur test. There are so many variables, and I've yet to try "combing" the hair. I kinda like the wild "Jerry Garcia" look this is approaching

http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/march/fur_test.jpg

Here are a few examples I found from a guy I used to know in AZ that created these masks specifically for the Day of the Dead festivals:

http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/march/fur_ref.jpg

That middle mask is incredible!

Jazzthief - yes, if you recall my first post, I was going for the Day of the Dead type of mask. And I've filled a sketchbook full O masks from the 'Met - it IS one of the best sources of reference here in the city. [but then again, you already knew that] ;)

Regarding the animation style, I suppose it might lean in the Chuck Jones direction, considering everyone feels we acheived that style in "Ice Age" and that's what I've been exposed to and thinking about the past 2 years

[jazzthief]

That hair adds an extra 'ummph!' to the character. Wicked.

You can't go wrong doing research at the Met it's a bona fide center of the arts.

The Chuck Jones animation will work with this guy especially a snapping stylization. It's too bad I had to turn down the 'Harrison' studio invitation since I was too pre-occupied directing an animated short 2 summers ago. Couldn't drop everything in the middle of production. But it would have been cool.

[Mescalito]

Whoa tres cool! :)
It almost needs no textures at all, you got the very material just by modelling it :)
Btw you can probably make the eyes slightly different (one from each other) to make it more "hand made" and natural... :)

[puddlefish]

This looks fantastic, you've captured the woodin look perfectly. I also love the colours, I think they're much better than more typical demon colours (deep reds etc.). It's a nice juxtoposition between the harshness of the edges and cuts and the softness of the colours.

Apart from that, the smaller body looks much much much better and the fur looks great too. Maybe some tufts on the wrists and ankles too.

Great stuff.

[MikaelPersson]

Hmm. Are we going to see the person underneath the mask?
Good luck with the tweaking of the fur. (I know there are plenty of sliders to pull.)

[Koma]

really cool ,i love it alot , ihope you will have time to finish it !!!:wip: :eek:

the color are really cool ,my mask its just in woods and no paint

[sketchguy]

I didn't get to spend any quality time this week working on my character, so here's the final submission for the challenge. I still plan on working on it more later and eventually will use him for some animation tests.

Thanks again for all the comments and I look forward to seeing everyones final entries!

http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/march/march_wip_entry.jpg

(posted right before the deadline even!) :applause:

[FloydBishop]

He kind of reminds me of a Scooby Doo villan. Remember the episode with the witch doctor? I think they have a clip from it in the show's intro.

Cool stuff. Got any animations with this guy yet?

[SNIPER 25]

Nice Work:thumbsup: :drool:

[Erik]

i like the small, he seem better for my taste.
good modeling

:applause:

[CaptM]

It reminds me very much of a character from a movie from the late 70's, "Trilogy of Terror", It was three horror shorts. This reminds me of the Voodoo doll that came to life when the necklace was removed

:cool:

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