Character: GI Joe in a pinch

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I must say that your modelling skills are absolutly stunning, you have brought out so much character on those two. The facial expression on the Marine is top notch :thumbsup:
The only thing i dont like about the picture is the arms, whats happened to them? On his left arm it looks like it has been unrealistcly bent backwards, im thinking you did the same for the right arm. You shouldnt place them like that, perhaps they should be bound by rope in the front? Or having them reaching out in pain.
But as i said before, excellent modelling skills :scream:

[Cured Solace]

Good modeling:)

What did you use to model it? Can I see a wire?

[JPGargoyle]

Great stuff!

Great cartoonish style.

Your work rocks!!!

Best regards.

[lildragon]

Fantastic modeling point blank!

-lil

[tvtuna]

hm hehe, my view on art is that it is to provoke a reaction in the eye of the beholder, be it one of appeasement, or disgust, etc...

The content reminds of the dali painting except far more blunt and less thought provoking.

Technically, it looks pretty good, the comical eyebrows especially,. The dog tag and tattoo look penned in later with a pen&tablet(?). The body structure looks great, and on it's own, as a bust, this would be great, the way the muscles are ripped, and yet not exact, lots of parts of the muscle groups missing to avoid comparisons with a life-like picture, and yet the inside of the mouth looks fantastic, a great contrast.

The mince looks too plasticky(sp?) however.

Anyway, I'm not saying you should change any of this (except the mince), but you're asking for a reaction, and one not based on the subject matter, I'm not entirely sure things can work that way...

[tvtuna]

second pic looks great btw, is he rigged up in Maya? or you just deform him like that..

[Witchy]

As a piece of modelling I think it is great. it has atmosphere, it tells a story, it is very nicely done.

[SheepFactory]

Very nice modelling.

[innervision961]

Man! The models are excellent, i wish I could model like that..
What all was used here if i may ask?

[pixelranger]

wow guys, you're real fast. Thanks alot!!!

thank you a lot for the advice on the lighting!! I'll bring that along to my next project!

And therefore, I'll remove the main images until I've changed the setting around the characters . But then I'll repost them.

André Hitsøy

Edit: I used LightWave 6.5b and yes, tvtuna, the tatto and the inscription on the dog tags are painted in PS with a tablet.
The models are modeled "in-pose".

[ceql]

Wow, great models and characterisation! :D

[morin]

very nice :bounce:

[santiago]

what did i just miss?

controversy is fun, but if it hit one of my soft spots... I'd be totally loco about it, i think dragon is being considerate to say the least

[biffen]

Were the images changed or something? I don't see what anyone is talking about. What M?

Could you at least post links to the original pictures so we don't HAVE to seem them, but we could if we wanted?

[tvtuna]

re-reading all that this morning and I sound like a miserable bugger.

#1 hope you don't think i was responding to you lil'd, infact when I started to reply there were no other comments.

#2 Just to make what I said clear, I think it's difficult to ask for criticism on a project when that project's intentions are clearly one of thought provocation.

#3 It's perhaps a too sensitive time at present.

On a technical merit I still think your models are superb and deserve to be plugged. So, well done.

[lildragon]

tvtuna, not to worry, I knew who you were addressing :)

salud

[cermit]

oh my gosh........fantastic

[urgaffel]

Damn, I would've liked to see the originals... Can't you provide a link to them, or maybe just private message them to me? The images that are up now are good, but doesn't mean anything, they're just good (not that that is a small thing mind :)) Just would be nice to see what all the fuss is about...

[Chabee]

Oh, cool modell and light!!! Gratulation! :eek:

[Tikisan]

the images up now are great...but i really would like to see the original post...or like urgaffel suggested...a link to them

[Edouard]

I would see the originals too, nothing is more frustrating that read a topic about something and don't see the original picture.:annoyed:

but now something about this pictures, I like your models, the pose is great, but why doen't he have eyebrows.:thumbsup:

[madmac3d]

Fantastic models! I love the detail in the face that adds to the expressions...


I think it is a shame that they have had to be withdrawn though (although I have not seen the originals).
It strikes me that artistic expression is being stifled in this forum these days....
I think it is 'in these times', that it is ESSENTIAL for us to express our feelings on these issues, whether that be through art or the written word.
I understand the argument that this forum is to discuss technical issues of CG, but are we not to discuss the artistic merit of a work too ?

I think back to the work of Peter Howson during the Conflict in Bosnia.... he was an 'official war artist' and his work also explicitly depicted the pain and sorrow of war, and the political situation. Can we not appreciate the work on this forum at this higher level, and not pander to the delicate sensibilities of the masses?

( I'm sorry for taking this thread away from the art... but I had to get this off my chest.... maybe I should post this point in the general discussions ? feel free to move me mods )
:love:

[pixelranger]

First of all: The original won't be posted (or linked to) again. I'm currently working on an update with a new setting.
The reason I withdrew the original is that I won't step on peoples toes unless I'm communicating a message that I passionately burn for. Even though I'm engaged by this war and the concern for the troops is a thought worth talking about, I feel that it is a little irrelevant now, seeing the outcome of the military operations. So I'll rather use this opportunity to express my hopes that Bush does a good job rebuilding Iraq for the better of the Iraqi people.

Feel free to move this thread to the wip section, but I expect to have it finished real soon.

This new version will be more politically correct, but still not cheesy. I don't have any problems with being politically correct as long as the message is correct and is morally defendable.

tvtuna: Thanks for the mature criticism. I really needed a slap in the face ;)

Lildragon: thanks man :) I'm redoing the scenario without the provoking elements now. (Maybe we should stop using the word provoking to appease the curiosity about the original....)

urgaffel and Edouard: Another image is coming up, which will give the poses a real meaning....

[pascal_blanche]

really amazing models just love the half realistic look of it , bravo!!:applause: :applause: :applause:

[lildragon]

Cool :) I would say once finished you better submit this to Expose :cool: your work is very cool.

salud

[azazel]

Personally I don't like "politicall correctness"....Only thing I can say is the models are great, especially if modelled in that poses ;)

[papillon]

ok, now im totally lost. i would want to see that originals, but if not, can anybody explain me what the hell has happened? what was all this about? against the war? or defending war? or what? just curious about....
oh, and the modelling is just superb, by the way

[lildragon]

For all future comments, please respect the artists descision and send him a pm or email to discuss the image that he has removed.

Please keep the comments to the art displayed here from this point on. If not your post will be deleted as this is a fair warning

salud

[MrBraun]

I don't have seen the first image, but these two are very very very good !!!!! Well done Pixelranger !!! :bounce: :bounce: :thumbsup:

[Howzat]

Death to political correctness!
Long live fantastic modelling like yours!

[samartin]

PixelRanger you are fast becoming my fave LW artist, pinhead was fantastic and these images are just superb, you capture the expressions in a fantastic way...

Can't wait to see the new approach you are going to take but then I have only seen these new images...

:thumbsup:

[JBoskma]

Man, I love the lighting on both pieces, awesome work on the model aswell. :beer:

[Goon]

Great modelling, extremely expressive. Makes me wonder what your going to use it for if this mysterious origninal content has been removed.

I dont have toes to step on! Could you please post it somewhere? or PM me?

[Vash T Stampede]

Excellent work!
:eek:

[cgwolf]

Awesome work...great detail in the models expressions.

[Dennik]

I think the models and the poses-expressions are just brilliant.
I feel very sorry that some people felt offended by the meaning, which if i'm not mistaken was against the war.

Art is about communicating with others and expressing ourselves. It is realy weird that people from a specific side of this story, get offended.

Of course its up to Pixelranger to adjust his art in a way that it is publicly acceptable, but for God's shake this is art! not diplomacy!
A great man that i don't recal his name now, said: "I don't agree with what you're saying, but i would give my life so that you are free to say it".

And thats the kind of freedom in expression through our art and our words, that in my humble opinion, everyone should support.
Not the freedom we have today, where the ones with the power, decide who is right and who is wrong.
Thanks for listening. :)

Dennis

[tvtuna]

um, I think half of you have read half the text in half the posts, then made a half-cocked judgement regarding other peoples comments who did see the original, and actually didn't feel offended by the dude's work, although rightly-so Lil'd did have concerns with the subject matter and the current tension in the middle-east and hence what others reactions would be, since he's the moderator. It's the kind of thing they do.

The crux of the matter is the poster asked for ways to improve an image, but without making judgement or comment on the subject which is, as I pointed out, rather difficult to do, nobody asked or implied the dude should take the picture down or change it, pixelranger himself posted..

"The image portrays a fear that many had at the biginning of the war, that us troops would be thrown into Saddam's grinder, while the leaders sit safely in their glass houses. And it is totally unappropriate to post it these days."

The dude feels he can improve the picture, so in the meantime cropped it, and that's all.

Now peeps are jumping the gun and, ala chinese whispers, coming to some absurd conclusion that this is all to do with political correctness and other such nonsense.

If you want to see the original then Lil'd suggested contacting pixelranger himself, or perhaps just make believe the original un-seen version was a beta release, that will be improved and reposted shortly.

So... just replies regarding the current picture now please, as it's getting silly :)

[lildragon]

thank you tvtuna

salud

[little5points]

damn...I guess I shouldn't post any of my Mapplethorpe renderings ;)

good work :beer:

[Radacci]

Yes, i wanna CRYYY!!!!!
Why cant i ever do anything like this?? actually, i never even get started! dont know where to start, and give up before i do...any good tuts where i can start learning modeling?
To bad im a perfectionist :\ it has to look like this to be woth my time:D to bad...i dont think there are any tuts where you make this kind of stuff...needless to say, your images totaly kicks ass!:drool:

[ZVAN]

wohoho.. absolutely stunning miodelling.. the facial expressions the muscle, did u create blend shapes for animation? wou, it'll be superb! welldone! :thumbsup:

[pixelranger]

So you want a small tutorial, eh?
Here are the step by step images from the process of creating GI Joe:

This time I used the point by point method (don't ask why..).
First I started with the eyes. They are in the middle of the face and when they are made, the rest of the face is much easier to make and it's easier to get the proportions right.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut01.jpg

When that was done, I used the Pen tool to make a poly shaped like an eye.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut02.jpg

Now I beveled this poly outwards forming the eyelids along the way.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut03.jpg

[Johnny_Cannuck]

I really wish you had kept the original image posted, It was great picture with an important message...

The models are amazing; would there be any way that we could see the wires?

:beer:

[pixelranger]

Now I used the bend tool to bend the eye around the eye ball and used the drag tool to define the eyebrows and the nose ridge.
I also spun a couple of quads to fix the edgeloops.
I tried to keep the poly count down in case I had to go back and edit later (which I always have to...)

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut04.jpg

Then I did the same for his mouth.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut05.jpg

Then I used smooth shift and the drag tool to make the shape of nose.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut06.jpg

I used extender to get the geometri to go back around the head.

Now over to his ears:
There are a thousand ways to model an ear, but this time I went for a method close to Bay Raitt's method (see his tutorial at
his web page (http://cube.phlatt.net/home/spiraloid/).
I made a poly with the box tool and I used Magic Bevel to drag out the shape of the ear. I set the Scale (on Magic Bevel's numeric panel) to 99.5 (how much the extrusion will shrink for every egment beeing made)and activated the "Spline" toggle button to adjust the shape. Be sure that the "align to path" toggle button is active.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut07.jpg

I then deleted the backside (the side facing toward the head).
I then mad 4 curves from the inner, upper edges.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut08.jpg

I then made a spline patch and merged points. Then I used "extender to make a couple of columns downwards inside the ear.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut09.jpg

[pixelranger]

Then I continued making polys and smoth shifted and spun quads until I had the main shape of the ear.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut010.jpg

I then attached it to the rest of the head making polys point by point.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut11.jpg

Now that that the head was finished, I chose 4 points below/behind the ear and extended them down the neck to make the muscles on the sides of the nedk. The rest of the neck I made making polys point by point.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut12.jpg

I used box modeling for the torso; I made a box with 4 segments in front view (across the chest), 2 segments in the side view and 3 vertical segments.

I scaled down the abdominal region and upped the width of the shoulders.
I tried to block out his shape very roughly. I then smooth shifted the polys marked yellow.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut13.jpg

I then smooth shifted out his shoulders and rotated them upwards.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut14.jpg

From under the extruded shoulders I smooth shifted the arms, and then I smooth shifted the pecs and the abdomenal muscles.

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/tut15.jpg

After this I spun some quads and worked a bit on his edge loops until he looked like you see him at the beginning of this thread.

[pixelranger]

And here is his wires:

http://www.rayk.be/pxlranger/saddam_nikko/wire.jpg

[Radacci]

umm, yeah, that looked quie simple...NOT! :) anyways, big thanx for your mini-tut!!
you're realy kick ass!:applause:

[Radacci]

hmm, how long did it take to do the whole thing?

[Witchy]

Nice stuff thanks for sharing that- you get amazing results.

[edited by admin] Read your pm [admin]

[flamedevil]

Clean work, the lighting on the first pic is beautiful.

:airguitar

[Radacci]

Hmm, maybee the throat is a bit long?

[johnson_fu]

Great

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

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