DWIII - 2D - walrus - Sesslyth (& Ezekiel)

[madshooter]

Nice to see ya in this challenge Dude:). Nice concept, it looks like he is flying. So Air and lightning will look good.
All the best:thumbsup:

[Vectorius]

Hello Walrus!! nice to see you !:)

nice first sketch dude! for the idea, i think you can give him some water power, your character look to me as he is a water creature, like a huge mutant shark or something like that.
whatever man, have a good war ! keep goin :thumbsup:

[OKMER]

HI Michael!!!
Happy to see you're in buddy!
You'll be a great great warrior in our army!I know that.

For your creature, really like your 1st thumbs.Pure Walrus style!
Kinda agree with Vectorius for the water suggestion.Could be cool with some translucide, half transparent skin tissues,etc...

In some kinda way your creaure inpsires the wind also.
MAybe something like when hes floating in the air he could create some whirlwind stuff and so.
Anyway, I know you'll (I think at least)do a lot more of thumbs, so I'll wait sit back and enjoy the show8
Happy War Michael!:thumbsup:

[superpauloitalo]

Wow! Fantastically organic!!! Subscribed!!!

[gu]

hey mr!! nice to see you on that challenge. Hope to see another great work from you. Have fun!

gus

[Gyorkland]

You see mine is also an invoker and I still don't know if its gonna be summoning or darkness too so this are the characters I am interested on checking out . great concept man like the evangelion face style this guy is huge and if he summons..scary thought, anyway what kind of weapon is he gonna use?.

But i have a question that nobody has answer me yet, if the character summons what kind of powers the summoned creature could have ? bcause if you make an Ice beast, that would be like mixing powers right (summon/Ice)

[NinjaA55N]

yeey! Look who is here with us :) welcome buddy and I see already it will be much fun working by ur side. First concepts r looking great, Im happy that u choose not to draw regular 2 legged warrior for this challenge. There will be plenty of us who will be borring and do exactly that ;) Great start, keep up the good work!

[Jassar]

It's about time!!
Welcome aboard :)

[walrus]

Thanks, guys, this should be fun!

Blaz - yeah, once I decided to make him a flyer, who needs legs? Finding an alternative is a bit of a challenge, but everyone else is doing bipedals. I'm trying to convey a creature for whom magic is so second-nature that they never need to walk, ever!

Gyorkland - He'll probably have some sort of staff, something he can hold in 2 hands and still have two free. I don't think there's any limitation to kind of creature summoned, but you could play it safe and not use magical fire/air/water/earth/vegetation powers with your summoned minions. Just summon non-magical creatures - demons, ox, rabbits, insects, etcetera - and leave all the magic-using to your main character.

Vectorius - Thanks for the ideas. I actually did try some much more fish-like bodies on him, but I really want him to be a flyer and not a floater. Cool ideas, though!

Anyhow, still sketching away - thinking of putting ornate wings on this guy, maybe... Well see next post! ;)

[BloodTaster]

Hi Michael!

Nice see you here too, Good luck on the war!
I'm fan of your work:thumbsup:

[xissburg]

I like the concept/idea. It seems different and inovative to me. Good Luck :)

[rawwad]

Good luck too my friend! Great start, nice design of inteligent looking elemntal dragon :D Waiting for next update :thumbsup:

[walrus]

Thanks, guys. Here's another round of sketches. I was fooling around with the idea of adding some sort of wings. What do you think?

Overall, I'm not in love with sketch #4: It's too bird-like and SunGod-esque. The chest is getting wider on #5, but I think I should push it further still. In #6, I've started adding some more carved shapes around the body and some robes, moving into a more armored look rather than the organics of sketch #1. Again, I'd love to hear some opinions.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/sketch04-6.jpg

[Gyorkland]

like the one on the middle and the tail of the third one

[Loukor]

I like #1, #4, and the dude with the exclamation point on top of him. Cheers :D

[StacyOgie]

That middle one is sexy.

[walrus]

Thanks, Stacy! That's my favorite torso out of the bunch of them so far. Actually, I like most of that sketch, aside form the tail and weapon. So here's a sketch tryting to nail down a muscle structure for the body, with some face details too. Still working on shapes for the wings, and I dunno, maybe I need more spiky bits on the lower half? See what you all think...

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/sketch08-fullbodyface.jpg

[walrus]

Just fooling around with the wings, a different tail, and some really rough sketching in of some wrinkles and such on his body. I haven't put any detail into the staff because I'm not keeping it. Instead his artifact is going to be a censer that summons souls. More on that later...

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/sketch05a.jpg

[MartinNielsen]

Hi walrus :)

Excellent work, like you always do :thumbsup: Nasty spiky looking fellor you have there.

[Hideyoshi]

looking really nice!
He's got a great silhouette and organic shapes!
With all your work, characters show strong attitude, this one's no exception!

[walrus]

Thanks guys, appreciate the notes!
So as I mentioned briefly in the last post, this guy's artifact is going to be a magic summoning Censer. I starte off with a staff, but staves and blade weapons are all over the place and I wanted to shoot for something a little different. So instead, he has a smoke-pot on a chain from which he summons stolen souls to attack the enemy. Can they harm machines? Hard to say, but let's assume they can. Can they harm combabtant troops from other forums? Oh, you betcha! Where do you think he gets all the souls from in the first place!

Anyhow, getting closer to finalizing his various wings and other spiky parts. I like the idea of a cowl because it makes him look more intelligent, and brings in the team colors too. So now I'm looking at designs for his censer. Any thoughts?

http://www.michaeldashow.com/forum_art/censer01.jpg

[LightSovereign]

Micheal, that is just inspiring work..Fascinating watching your technique developing a character..its just great!!..congratulations, Michael.

Marley

[eMysfit]

So with the summoning pot thingy does that mean you chose darkness/void or summoning? Seems like it could go to either of those depending on just how much stuff he actually does with the souls.

I was gonna say maybe do the master of vegetation idea. I doubt that many entries at all will be veggie based. I've seen maybe one so far I think(granted I havn't seen half of the threads). It would be pretty cool to see a big floating guy maneuvering vines and such all around him. Giant roots smashing through machines, thorny vines encapsulating enemy forum members, maybe even some random treefolk guardians running around.

It's all looking pretty cool though, good luck!

[walrus]

Thanks for the note. He's a dark creepy fellow all right (though he likely won't be black like this silhouette here) but his his artifact, The Psychecept, is a summoning tool, not darkness. The ability to summon souls and have them do one's bidding is neither dark/void or light/holy. The souls themselves are his weapons: He summons throngs of them to attack stuff, torment others, etcetera. The vegetation idea is neat - I was thinking about vegetation in sketch #1 - but I just like the souls idea too much.

[naitgrey]

Hey,

really liking the designs you've got going! love the expression on his face, really got a smug, self assured look to it!

[TheFirstAngel]

kick ass stuff mate, nice to see you approch 5's silhoutte for i was rather fond of the cool winfs n the tail. pot b and e are cool with the little hornedskullies :) longer horns on e to aproch the nice dynamics of b?
keep up the good work, suscribed and will check back as soon as i can :) keep in rocking :D

[walrus]

Thanks, Sacha, always great to get your input! And input is something this thread has been pretty much lacking. I mean, tahnks ot all who have commented, but overall it's been rather quiet in here, with very few responsed to the past several posts. And so I've got to wonder, is it just because everyone's busy with their own projects? Or is the sparsity of feedback a message in itself, basically a sign that the character I've been working on just isn't really cutting it? Maybe I need to start exploring a new direction...

So here are some other avenues I was sketching for DW3, some more cartoony characters who make up for their lack of spikes with more personality. Because after all, not every game can be Unreal or Gears of War. There's gotta be room for the Ratchet and Clanks of the world too. So here's some new stuff in that vein (which is closer to my natural style of working, truth to tell.)

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/sketch09-miscChars.jpg

So what do you folks think? Anyone?

[Alex Novo]

I really like you research pal! Very good creature you did above, from last sketches set with cartoony characters i like 1 and 5:)

[MartinNielsen]

No doubt: No.1 :thumbsup:

[LightSovereign]

Well clearly no1 is a good candidate for clericon...he just needs a pink tutu, and he'll charm everyone...in actuality i love your original design the most..

part of the problem might be the sheer amount of entries. and people just skimming thru each thread..i'm guilty of that..(hah im on a 56k modem and its 50/50 wether an image loads or not. its always been an issue for me on this site))


I plan to get into more commenting soon as i have been working on a character for the past days.....

but right here and now i feel you should continue with the original design.

Marley

[eMysfit]

Of the new ones I like #5. But I also liked where you were going with the souls. I like the magic summoning Censer D the best of those designs. And the cowl is nice. I would even suggest maybe adding more dangling red cloth. I always like when flying characters have lots of flowing features. Another idea would be to add little bell like things on the cloths and have a little story about how when he flies he sounds like wind chymes and that lets the enemy know they're about to die!

I'm surprised that you havn't gotten a little more response because your stuff is pretty excellent. But don't feel bad...I have posted like 5 replies to myself in a row and havn't gotten any feedback going on 2 weeks haha.

I think one thing is the threads quickly get lost on the first page. Most of the DW3 threads I'm subscribed to I linked to through their signatures from them posting on other people's threads. I'm only subscribed to about 25 and there are probably some awesome one's I am missing.

So don't get discouraged, I'm sure that whatever you choose to do will end up in the forefront of the cgsociety ranks.

[Art2]

Took you a long time to join the ranks Mike :D
Glad you joined the war!

I love the new direction. Characters 1 and 5 are my favs. Love their expressions.
Nr 1 is definitely a mage, summoner. You could give him the magic summoning Censer. I thought that was a great idea for a weapon.
Nr 5 Definitely a thief/stalker type. Also I can imagine him being a Warlord type riding a huge pet and whacking enemies with his artefact.

Looking forward for more.

[walrus]

Thanks for the comments, everyone... but what have I gotten myself into! At least before I had one entry I was working on. Now I have three possible opnes to choose from! There's the spiky guy, the chubby eel-looking guy, and the Stalker. Tough call! On one hand, #1 and #5 above have a lot of personality and are a bit more fun and original than the original guy. But on the other hand, the spiky guy looks like he could whup their behinds without a second thought, and this is a battle after all. Well, I'll keep sketching on more than one and see what comes up.

eMysfit - I like your idea of adding mroe cloth, and the bells are really a neat idea too. Thanks!

marley - I can't tell whether you're being sarcastic about the tut or not...?

Anyhow, in the meantime, while I was still thinking about these new guys, I worked up a new version of spiky-guy. Now that I've got the silhouette and musculature worked out, I want to do a few passes at what his surface detail could look like. Here's one try, based on... crabs!

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/sketch10-crabs.jpg

I'll post more tries in a day or two...

-mike

[Alex Novo]

I like it so far, funny inspiration stuff:)

[Miqosis]

This is a fantastic design, I gotta admit the initial impression I got seeing the appearance of the smile was kind goofy, but it's growing on me with each rendition you crank out. The crab reference is a good idea too as the double elbow joint helps draw him a little further away from a humanly-proportioned torso (firefox didn't catch that one in spellcheck so I'll just assume "humanly" is a real word)
You should consider the crustacean reference when choosing colours and textures for this guy too - anything in mind yet in terms of the colour pallet? (I haven't fully read each of your posts, so I apologize if you've already answered that)

[MartinNielsen]

You already have many nice concepts with great potential. But I think that spiky-guy is the winner.

[walrus]

Miqosis - Thanks, glad the smile is growing on you. I really like that part of him: It gives him a personality, making him not just another impassive beastie. Naitgrey had it right earlier: The look I was going for was smug and self-assured. This is not a guy who loses battles.
I haven't decided whether I'll keep the crab version - I'd still like to try out some different styles. If I do keep it, there sure are some interesting colros for crabs in reference. Originally I'd been thinking about his as CGTalk grey with the cloth forming the red accents. But that was when he was fleshy. Anyhow, I generally don't deal with color at all 'til I get past design and rendering.

Martin - Thanks, glad you like him. I'm still working on him, but in parallel, exploring the other characters as well. Here's one such exploration:

This is the #1 character from the earlier post. Folks called him a Clericon, but he could go either way, Clericon or Invoker. Either way, I liked Art2's idea of giving him the censer I designed earlier (but while I like B and E for Mr. Spikes, D felt like it fit Sesslyth better. But the next big question I had to answer was what he would wear. So what's that on his back? A cloak? A robe? NO! It's Ezekiel the Octopus. Ezekiel does not have any magic powers. He's a familiar of sorts. What does he do? Well, he farts a lot. And he's a good listener.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/SesslythEzekiel_sketch01.jpg

[LightSovereign]

Sorry mike, a little smiley emote mighta solved the issue, i was indeed being cheeky..no 1 looked like a tough character..hard to assume that he is at any stage even remotely interested in being a healer in a pink dress (tutu)..You are a natural with comedy, which is what i was responding to!..


Mike , i'm going to be vague in saying i am loving both Spike and Sesslyth, i can see your sesslyth happily thumping about in the Dominance war Play grounds..i suppose if you feel or imagine how a character animates (as i am now) then you've gone along way already in comunicating what you were after...and heres the thing, i get a better emotional resonance from sesslyth, than i do from spike..possibly because the DARK theme is running rampant..which i think someone might have mentioned..And with sess* his buddy ezekiel is just wonderfull!!.

well perhaps i wasn't so vague after all. I lean towards sesslyth and Ezekiel

Marley

[FrozZT]

Hellö!
Nice start.. I really like the latest concept, the octopus-cape is just hillarious! :) I dont quite feel the other crabish concept as much, too much of the same with all the pointy stuff for my taste. I hope to see Sesslyth and Ezekiel developed further! Good stuff!

Good luck!

-Niklas

[Miqosis]

Sesslyth & Ezekiel have more personality than any entry yet. I'd really love to see these guys get modeled.

[StacyOgie]

These are some awesome reditions. I hope that you didn't decide to do new concepts because you didn't get many replies before (your so good that you need no crits lol). It's kinda hard to revisit threads when new ones open up each day. That said, I like your new concepts but I've got to go with the older one. He's just BADASS and looks like he can fight whole armies of cg forum-goers and come out unscathed. That weapon was really unique too. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you keep it. I really think that you should retain your old concept; its just too good. Cheers!

[Art2]

Ezekiel for president!

That's one unique character.

[MartinNielsen]

Like I wrote before, I also like no.1 :thumbsup: It is a complete different direction though, and I just have thing for dark mysterious characters.

[VitruvianMango]

Hi there walrus. I really like your concept work--the designs are fun and I'm a big fan of marine-themed creatures. The octopus cape is nothing short of hilarious, and this character definitely has a lot of personality. I do have a question regarding the design of Sesslyth--is his face supposed to be that of a moray eel, because his image is currently reading as more reptilian to me. I can't wait to see your further development of this character and his design. Good work!

[eMysfit]

The octopus on the back is just freakin awesome! Choosing between the two would be tough. I'm glad I don't have to pick! haha jk.

I would actually recommend that you do what you like most. You mentioned that you're more comfortable with the new one since it's more in your element, maybe you should go for that. Taking advice and stuff from others is good but sometimes you gotta just go with what you want or just with what feels more comfortable to you.

[The Flork]

i like number 5! with the centipede, be cool if you colored him up like a hyena!
on your main guy, i like what going on with it, very cool, the only thing that kills it for me is the face with the goofy smile lol got all that spooky stuff and then a Disney villain smile lol id try to push it a little more sinister.

[JorgeGecov]

Love your character!

Hope to see more soon.

[njoo]

I dig both design~! love the octopus cape, only comment maybe I kinda prefer the other faces you had on the crab dude, the one on last the grey scale one had i think? can't wait to see ur next batch~!

[sagishow]

holy mama..........pls pls teach me making such concepts they are simply ....mmmmmmmmmmiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnddddddddddddddd bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbblllowing

[madshooter]

I like 2 and 7. Wow dude they all look good:scream:. 1 also looks cool, has lot of potential and it seems you have already chosen it:)

[walrus]

Thanks for the notes, everyone! No art right now - I have some costume sketches for Sesslyth, but they need some refinement before they can show they sorry heads here: They were mostly done in the car/bus on the morning/evening commute, so they're a bit... bumpy! :)

madhshooter - Glad you like some of the other ones, but yeah, I'm going to work on #1 for a while.

sagishow - Thanks! With so many incredible concept artists in this competition, I feel a little embarassed giving out concepting tips, but for me it's really all about drawing, silhouette, and reference: First, draw, draw, draw, draw, draw until you get better at it. Inside every artist are 10,000 bad drawings, so keep working until you get them out of the way and can get to the good stuff.

As for character design specifically, the key is to find an interesting silhouette. That's why you'll see so many artists in this competition start be scribbling black outlines with no surface detail. I start with lines, but I'm always keeping the outlines first and foremost in my head. Thirdly, when doing creature design, the best resource is real-life creatures. So for the spiky guy, while me earliest designs were merely the result of fishing around for strong silhouettes, once I had that worked out, I still needed surface design. As you can see above, a bunch of photos of crabs served as the resource to finish the latest idea. Look at the other sketches and you can see all sorts of hints of birds, bulls, moray eels, lizards, hyenas, and what-have-you. It's all just a matter of fooling around with proportion and stealing and assembling interesting parts to fit. Not that it has to be just animals: The very first image I posted, floating creature #1, was inspired by a photo of gnarled tree roots and mushrooms.

I dunno, does that help at all, or is it just long-winded and obvious?

Flork - Thanks! I did print out a page of Hyena references as I've been working. I don't think I'll take that guy any further right now, well, either of them, but thanks for the input. I actually liked the smile on the big guy - to me it made him more evil to see how smug and confident he was. But in the end, if I work on Sesslyth who is a bit more cartoony to start with, the facial expression is less out of place.

emysfit - Thank you! Yes, you're right, that's exactly what I should do. And in the end, as cool and bad-ass as Mr. Spikey looks, Sesslyth is more fun. Sort of like what The Flork was saying: A smile could be considered out of place on the big guy. Working on characters with more readable personalities is always more fun for me.

Mango - Glad you like the octo-cape... I'm reasonably sure no one else in the contest will have one, so at least Sesslyth gets to be on the cutting (squirming?) edge of fashion. As for the lizard influence, hey, no one said he had to be ALL moray!

Stacy - Thanks for the encouragement. I actually did most of these sketches before I started working on the big spikey guy, and just thought I'd post them to see what kind of reaction they'd get. I know the new batch was a lot more different than what others are entering in the challenge. THere is a tendency towards the biggest, bad-assiest creatures imaginable. And yeah, Mr. Spiky fits that description: He could kick anyone's butt in this contest! But Sesslyth... well, he's not as scary, he's not as big, he doesn't look as much like a contender. But he also doesn't look like a Final Fantasy reject or some lost concept art from Diablo II. He doesn't look really like anyone else's kind of thing but mine. He's very "me." And in the end, if I'm going to spend 2 months (well, lots less, now) doing all this art for a character, I want it to be a character that folks relate to me, that they look at and say "Yep, that's a Mike beastie." (And who fits in my portfolio, which tends towards more humorous art.) I've got the sketches, people know I can do big and scary. I just choose not to...

...But you're right, that Artifact is pretty cool, so I'm keeping it!

Miquosis - Thank you, that means a LOT to me. Personality means a lot to me in character design, not just creating generic impassive creatures, so thanks for thinking that the new guy fits that bill.

And thanks to everyone else for the comments and votes and notes. Sorry I didn't have time to respond to every post, but I think I covered the salient points... Okay, enough typing... I gotta get back to costume sketches! I'll post 'em today sometime... Cheers!

-Mike

[Gyorkland]

Hey man that Octopus is crazy stuff love it

[BloodTaster]

Hey Michael, just passing by to ckeckout your progress. Really inspirational, fresh and original stuff. You are giving a great contribution to this community with your comments and feedback, keep it up man!

cheers

[walrus]

So now I'm doodling around trying to figure out what Sesslyth will wear, aside from Ezekiel, of course! I really like the outfit of #1 , but I'm concerned that it doesn't show the team colors and insignia very well. #2 may be a little hard to read here, because he has so many trinkets and string hanging down from the belt, but he also has that loinclothy thing that's a perfect palce to put the CGTalk logo. But then I don't get to use the big fish buckle. :(

I also have to figure out which approach I want for Ezekeil. As drawn earlier (and here in #4 and #7, Ezekiel is a weird, double-wide octopus-like creature whose head is so wide, it spans both shoulders. In #1 and #8, Ezekeil is a normal-width octopus. In #3 and #6, he's got his friend Delilah there, providing balance to the shoulders. But that may just be too much octopus.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/Sesslyth_costumeSketches04.jpg

Anyhow, curious, as always, to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

[MartinNielsen]

LOL no.3 it is... :eek:

[LightSovereign]

MIKE NO 3 FOR THE WIN..ifirst time i have ever laughed hard at a concept, ever!..

that is awesome!..

the piece of advice you gave 'sagishow' was very helpful to me also..i'm very new to character art design i totally got what you were saying, it makes so much sense.(i;ve been working off the net ;) )

Finally i say something that was at the back of my head, i thought 'spike' was very much in the 'Diablo' region of design..but i didn't want to say it earlier incase you found itr offensive, suddenly remembering you worked on it hahaha..

now i would never have thought of two octopusses!, thats just weird ^^.

very inspiring, mike good on ya

Marley

[LightSovereign]

o yea, gotta keep the fish gauntlet :nod:

[CodeNothing]

hahaha, #3 does have a warm and fuzzy charm about it. :)

[eMysfit]

2 with the double wide ezekiel would be my vote. I like the actual armor/clothes in this one the best with the fish and chain gauntlets and the loincloth for the insignia. As far as the pets go, 3 is pretty cool and funny with the couple but I kind of agree with what you said about too much octo-pie. It seems to be at the point where it's starting to take away from the actual character. And since the little friends are neither the main character nor the artifact I think this might be a bad thing.

I agree with lightsovereign though, gotta keep that fish gauntlet! haha.

[The Flork]

number 1 is the best! the praportions of both work great together and the tenticales add to it, where as the later ones seem to weigh him down and or cluter him. i do think you should add the boots of 6 and the knee guards of 7. add that all up and for my money your good to go lol

[Ferx]

Hey Mike, great stuff! really cool sketches and concepts, I like a lot the all detail on Sesslyth and Ezekiel! on all sketches, :D Great work! Cheers :beer:

[saint-max]

Great work I liked the first character i found him unique the way the body parts are joined together but am not so sure how he can move around does he flay coz I don’t think his lower body can handle the weight of his upper body ... any way the character is good (the smile is not working with big dude) hey keep up the good work and good luck:wise:

[superpauloitalo]

My vote is for #1!

[fellah]

that's some of the coolest concepts I've seen here so far..!

what about taking advantage of the octopus arms. give him some shields, weapons or food that he can use to protect/help/feed the warrior with?
or to solve the logo problem you can give him a little flag and make him a cgtalk-patriot.

lots of ppl like number 3. to me its a bit messy and takes to much focus from the warrior himself. although it's fun i wonder what is of most importance. personal opinion though.

[raultabajara]

The weapon was a Incense...
that is a great idea! realy!
I like of the big demom version.

good job!

[IanMcQue]

Wonderful!

Number 8 for me, please. I love the way the Ezekiel character looks like he's hanging on for dear life.

Nice to see more of a whimsical approach, too.

[walrus]

Wow, thanks for the notes and votes, everyone! Thank you to everyone who's still commenting on "Mr. Spikey." He certainly has presence, and he might even be more appropriate for the contest theme than Sesslyth. I'm glad he resonates with some of you. However, I won't be following through on him for this contest. But to answer your question, Saint-Max, yes, I envisioned him as a flyer: The wings themselves are almost more decorative than functional. I pictured him more as a creature for whom using magic was so second nature that, yes, he just floats everywhere.

Back to Sesslyth: I have to say, I agree with Fellah and eMysfit: Two octopi is too much. One octopus and there's an implied relationship. The second octopus doesn't add anything to the mix, it just distracts from the main focus and makes things more cluttered. I'm glad folks found that funny, but I think it's a better, cleaner design with just one, which I hope you'll still find vaguely amusing.

I definitely plan on keeping the fish gauntlet. I'd like to keep the piscine buckle if I can, too. I'm perhaps a little worried about the rest of the outfit. It really fits him - that's why I designed it - but is it perhaps too mundane, and not armory enough to be appropriate for a war of this magnitude? I don't really see him covered in plate-mail, and I need to be true to the character... but am I heading off in the wrong direction agin? I'm not sure.

Anyhow, the weekend is upon us (or will be in a few hours) so more posts with pictures soon....!

[Art2]

I like his first outfit best. It's not too complicated and fits the character well.

I don't think he needs to be covered in plate mail. He's a wizard, he won't get into the fight up close. (and if he does, he has Ezekiel to squirt black ink and blind his enemies :D )
If you would like to add armour, I would try a small helmet or metal arm guards.

[walrus]

Thanks for the feedback, Marlon. You're right: Sesslyth is so tough looking, I sometimes lose track of the fact of the fact that he's a Wizard and not a Warrior... er, excuse me, Invoker and not a Warlord. What I probably really need is something that says more Invoker, like long robes or something like that (in addition to the octopus cloak, of course!) I've started some doodles, but nothign ready to post yet.

In the meantime, another part to refine is his head. Here are a few doodles of some new ideas, still keeping the same general theme. Some are a bit more Moray looking, while others have other influences. I can't add a beard, because Sesslyth would be hairless, but on some of them I've addead an additional soft fin under the chin, which seems aquatic while giving the impression of a beard. These are mostly just 2 pages ripped from my sketchbook, and I haven't had time to clean anything up - sorry! - so excuse the really crappy abortive ones, like #11. Some of them, though, might work pretty well... like 1, 4, 8, 13, 14, 18, and 19... I don't even have time right now to try 'em out on the body, as I have to run out for the night. Ah well, there's tomorrow, and maybe by then others will have chimed in with interesting thoughts as well!

http://www.michaeldashow.com/forum_art/NewHeads01.jpg

[StacyOgie]

I like heads #1 and #5. I must say that I admire you for your decision--not many people could do that including myself. It's nice that you want to go with a style that is yours and have fun than to pick one that isn't. I think your new concept is awesome and I love his moray eel influences. Keep us updated!

[marsyas]

Love your cartoony style!

I didn't sift through everything but from the recent cape and head designs, I think I liked #8 in both of the selections. The doubled up tentacles around the neck are a nice design and the little goatee fin is simple and understated.

[LightSovereign]

I sure like the 1st head aswell, its to do with teh shape, i think if your after an invoker feel, the 'old wisened' appeal may help and 1 has that strongest feel..One could almost imagine he has misplaced his false teeth :).

15 looks like he is never too sure of himself..

i have to ask a seemingly silly question, how do you get the copywrite sign in your signature?. typically i usually wrap a 'c' in bracketts. is it a specific font or code?.

Thanks mike

Marley

[ColdKodiak]

Dig your work, enjoy your design process Mr. Walrus.

As for these heads, I like the original in fact, and the ideas posed in 18 and 8. It's a hard choice, but i feel those have the deepest sense of character to them.


typically i usually wrap a 'c' in bracketts. is it a specific font or code?.


press alt + 0169 in the numpad

©

[MartinNielsen]

I like no.1, he looks strong and determined.
No.11 looks very friendly, but also rather stupid :)

[saint-max]

I think I will go for number 1 or 14 doesn’t look so happy and the kind of look makes me feel that he can get things done, and I liked the part under his chin :wise:

[walrus]

Thanks for the notes and opinions, all! Some of the heads were looking really nice as sketches on their own... until I tried them out on the body and they just didn't work. I've been fooling around with combinations for an hour and a half now, and what I think i really working well is a combination of #1 and #14. Saint-Max, your points were right on: He looks ready for business. He also looks a little closer to the moray references I have and less like a lizard, which I also like. And yes, I've kept the chin-fin.

I tried #8, but the face to head-size ratio wasn't right, and he just ended up looking a little stupid. #18 just looked like the wrong species for the body. #13 actually worked on the body quite well, and it did make him look old... but a bit too old (like someone you'd call "Grampa Sesslyth" instead of just plain "Sesslyth.") And he just didn't look as tough.

So here we are. You'll notice I added an eel-like tail too. That wasn't just a whim: I've been working on my orthagonal views, and from the side view, it was clear that he'd need some more weight behind his center-of-gravity to keep him balanced. Without the tail, he'd always fall forward, like a badly-designed action figure without a base.

http://www.michaeldashow.com/forum_art/NewHeads01-final.jpg

[inneractive]

Can't believe I missed this thread! I enjoyed looking through your sketches, you have come up with some great characters. You do a great job at giving your characters a sense of motion and personality and I like your stylization a lot.

The eel tail you added is a nice touch. Can't wait to see you add on the gear and Octopus.

[walrus]

Thank you, Joe!

Just to "test drive" this new head design, I filled up a notebook page with sketches of Sesslyth in different face angles, poses and emotions. I think he's working pretty well, able to show the full range of emotion. This'll work. Of course, for this kind of contest and this kinfd of war, we won't be needing expressions like the upper right one. For the final concept painting, you'll be seeing something more like the lower left one instead. But for good character design, it's helpful to have a character who can emote whatever you need.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/NewHeads02.jpg

[MartinNielsen]

wonderful expressions :thumbsup: Especially the one where he looks straight into the camera :)

[saint-max]

Really good, liked the expressions specially the one on the bottom left corner :wise: and I think the face needs one more touch from u maybe some kind of texture on the skin or something around one of his eyes :shrug: but really good keep up the good work

[walrus]

Thanks, folks!

Martin - Glad you like the front view, as I'll definitely need to use that shot for the orthgonal images. (The original head didn't look so hot from the front.)

SaintMax - Glad you like that one down there - that pose (or something similar) is what I'll be using in my final piece of concept art. As for more lines and wrinkles, I'll paint in more texture detail when I get to working on that final painting.

For now, though, I'm just doing a little rethinking for his outfit. Nothing major, but as Art2 pointed out earlier, he's a wizard and not a warrior, and as such, he doesn't need plate mail. But maybe he should have somethign more Invoker-like. Are long robes too cliched? I started doing some quick sketches to see what he would look like with something more evokative of a wizard's robe on his body. See what you think...

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/Sesslyth_costumeSketches06.jpg

[inneractive]

I like that you are not going with robes for his armor. The fish strapped to his armor made me laugh, nice touch, and the expressions turned out great too!

[LightSovereign]

WOW!, G'DAY Mike :)..glad to see you decided to go with the 1st head..that was the one that stood out..

Of the 4 costumes you've got going, i pretty much settled on 'D'..There is something to be said about keeping a nice tidy presentation by tucking your shirt in, when looking at 'B', the slates in his shirt look a little like armour, and i don't think fits so well..

'C' has that tough guy John Travolter 'Grease' era about him..or maybe Biff Tannen from "Back to the Future"...Good if you are after the bully aesthetic..its a nice muscle shirt for sure.

'A' still has that similar punky look..

IMHO D suits most..

Way to go mike

Marley

[walrus]

Thanks, Joe and Marley. Glad you like them! Just to keep things interesting, here are a handful more options...

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/Sesslyth_costumeSketches06a.jpg

The loincloth may be a little too much, but honestly, I'm not sure where else to put the logo! :)

[LightSovereign]

e and f remind me of "sub zero" or "Scorpion" from mortal kombat..very ninja, and believe it or not, makes Sess look deadly serious..they are all good..I want to pinpoint but you have a habbit of producing better combinations with your next submition :P
loin cloth works, or if you are real desperate. you could have ezekiel waving a flag, above sess's head.
hah!

Marley

[sagishow]

You r a genius man hats off to you!

[RaresH]

Haha, funny concepts. They all look pretty strong. But since hes supposed to be a wizard I would go with E and H because the loin cloths give him stature as a learned creature. F looks a little too warlord like probably because hes a little more undressed than the other two I chose.

[Art2]

I like C and H.

C: I especially like the pointy shoulder pieces (sorry don't know how to call it :) )
It is also robe like. It reminds me somehow of Buddhist (Shaolin) Monks.

H: I like it, because it's longer at the back, just like C. I think this feature fits him well. Somehow it makes him look educated and sophisticated.

I don't know about the loin cloth. It's making the design too crowded and it's a shame you can't see all of his pants, which I think are a trademark already.
You can put the logo on his sleeve, but maybe a better place is on the artefact?
Aaand I had this crazy idea of giving Ezekiel a wizard's hat :scream: :D

[FistOfGod]

Looking awesome Michael! I like H and F the best.

Waylon

[Brashen]

Brilliant research mate!! Especially love the crustaetion evolvement anyways GD!!

[inneractive]

I like C and H. I like Marley's idea of having Ezekiel holding something. Could be a flag/tabard, or maybe some tools and weapons, like some kind of assistant or guardian.

[yongs]

i like C,E and H. E and H as he looked more like he is prepared for some war. but then again, i like the "non-war" ness of C. really makes him look like a wizard sorta guy.

btw great stuff! i enjoyed ur sketches!:thumbsup:

[eMysfit]

I would vote F's loincloth/belt with the tucked in sleeved shirt of D. Would probably make it look close to a robe look but not really so it'd still be cool, and the loincloth looks pretty good to me.

I really loved the facial expressions page, he does have lots of character.

Sorry I missed the last few updates, been totally exhausted at work, 3rd shift sucks and I'm just now getting some time to browse the entries again, excellent work though. I like how it's all slowly taking shape.

[walrus]

Wow, so many responses - thank, folks! I especially find it helpful when people explain why they like various choices. It helps make it more clear why kind of impression the choices give and lets me steer away from impressions I don't want to give, and towards ones that I do. I liked the comments that help me steer him more towards looking like an invoiker instead of a warlord. People seem to like the jacket that resmbles a cloak a bit, and some of the loincloths. I'll try to pull things together and see what looks good in an action pose as opposed to just standing here.

[Dalton-Muniz]

Hi Michael!

Great job man, I really like your style! I preffer option H t-shirt, but not with the loin cloth , because its covering his legs, and for me it is an important/coolest part of your charachter.
Even in shortest versions , E and F, I dont like it because it gives a more warrior than wizard feeling. But anyway, great job so far!

Best regards!
Dalton

[hakanpersson]

Haha, damn that was a lovely concept. I have missed this thread completely. You should open a voting thread for this:)

I like G most, it makes the dude look like a street thug. Otherwise id go for the more common clothing, it suits the style more. Other alternatives are A and D. It would be nice at least if it didnt cover his "fat" waistline too much!

Don't like the ones with the cgs clothing (e, f, h). Not sure why thought. Perhaps its because you really dont see the pants anymore, and they are especially nice.

Good luck!

[walrus]

Hey, all. Thanks for the comments! I tried out the styles that folks liked on an action pose. I ended up with the cloak that many people favored - it does make him appear more magiacally-oriented. The loincloth didn't look so hot, and you're right, it did cover up his cool pants.

However, I'm STILL stuck with the issue of where to put our logo. I tried it on his croth and it looked funny... that's funny-"huh?' as opposed to funny-"ha ha." I also tried putting one half each on each of the sides of the cloak, but it got a little lost. I don't like the idea of Ezekiel holding a tabard or flag because that feels too much like an afterthought... not that what I'm doing now isn't an afterthought! :) I just think not including it on the outful itself is either against the rules, or at least against the spirit of them. Of course, I could still just color him all in team colors... I may have no choice! Anyone have any other great ideas?

Yes, I stole the souls from the earlier concept art of the Psychecept - that's Sesslyth's artifact. It's Latin for Soul Stealer... Though of course it's mainly used as a soul summoner. But in a pinch it also makes a passable swinging weapon. The ill-fleshed out figures on the bottom corners will be shown being attacked by said souls. Anyhow, this is where I'm heading for my final character painting. Any thoughts?

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/sesslyth_layout06.jpg

Cheers!

-mike

[LightSovereign]

yea lookin good, fully fleshed even with out the proper final rendering. perhaps you could put the logo on the material surrounding his feet?


feet and knees are the only place i could spot with this rendering.. remembering the logos colours can be adjusted, so long as it is recognizable..(im pretty sure i read that)



(or as a terribly terrible afterthought you could have ezekiel do the CG Reprazentz with his tentacles showing on the left (I.e a hand sign)..without holding anything of course :) )

[MartinNielsen]

Maybe you could put the logo on the belt somehow? I don't think it is that important, how visible it is. Just make sure it is somewhere on the character.

[naitgrey]

it does say on the rules and regs page:

"Your character must possess your team's colors and/or your team's insignia (if your team has one)."

So you could just use the colours? Although, seeing as you have a free hand or tentacle, you could make him a banner to hold with the logo on it - flapping around in the wind, might add that little bit of extra movement into the pic?

Just some ideas, great concept - awesome expressions on both!

[ScudzAlmighty]

what if you gave him a ring with the logo on it?
(not terribly helpfull, but still a thought)

other than that, freakin awesome so far:thumbsup:

although, sitting here for a couple of minute's trying to think of something clever to type, the lantern (squint at it) has a very similar silloutte to the logo, so i wonder if you couldn't work it in there somehow?

[inneractive]

Great action pose, I love how Sesslyth looks ready for war and Ezekiel looks scared for his life ;p

As for the insignia I can only think of the belt buckle or the censer as spots it could go. I don't think it needs to be too big, especially if you utilize the team colors as well.

[eMysfit]

feet and knees are the only place i could spot with this rendering.. remembering the logos colours can be adjusted, so long as it is recognizable..(im pretty sure i read that)


I would agree here and say put them on the feet. the little open area of the cloth or armor thingy looks perfect for a spot to engrave/imprint the logo and it's a spot not many people would really think of putting it.

Another idea maybe....this would be cool in game I think, an animation where the fish on his armor randomly burps bubbbles into the logo shape haha.

Looking good as always though.

[yongs]

nice action pose! i really like this character, love the contrasting expressions of the octopus and Sesslyth.
i thought about putting the logo at the belt, but i think i prefered your fish buckle.
maybe have the logo on the lantern? like a carving or some sort? but maybe its not really visible..just a thought:)

[kinonato]

Looks familiar with what i had in mind, but not at all same, i like yours idea, some what creepy, birdy, I think I'll go with air as his artifact.
mayb u can terll me something about mine too.
make friend??

[walrus]

Wow, so many replies and ideas.. I just wish there was the one that struck me as the perfect place to put the logo, but I haven't heard it yet. Not to sound ungrateful, I really appreciate the ideas, and there are a lot that hadn't occurred to me... especially eMysfit's idea of the fish blowing CGTalk-shaped bubbles! :) It's just that nothing has clicked perfectly yet. The idea of putting the logo on the ring or the footflap feels like it just wouldn't be seen at all. And while the belt buckle would be plenty-visible, I just really like the fish-buckle he has now... I specifically chose the costume pieces that let me show it instead of the thick rope holding his pants up as in one of the much earlier sketches. Putting it on the Psychecept feels like it's not part of his costume at all, though. I think what I'll probably do at this point is just try to color his outfit in the grey and red and see how it looks. If it's nice, then problem solved. If not, then I'll stress... But in the meantime, if others have interesting placement ideas, I'm all for them. Thanks!

[BloodTaster]

Hey Michael, its looking great so far! I'm loving your character, nice see some original and refreshing ideas around here. About the logo issue, well...its a complicated thing, that for sure. The design looks done for me...so, if you try squeeze a logo in there, maybe will not work. I think...if you go for the logo, you will have do some modifications...or just forget about the logo :twisted: hehe.
Keep it up the great work man! and good luck!

[rawwad]

Wow, fantastic new idea, love design so much. funny elemets are damn great, octopus and fishes on wrist shelters :scream: Love it :thumbsup:

[Loukor]

I like your concepts, very original and plenty of humor to it also. As for the logo part, it's very hard trying to put such a *serious* logo on your character... so it has to be minimal. I was thinking.. maybe a keychain, pocket watch, or something hanging off around his waist area with the CGtalk logo on it. Just an idea though, cheers

[Maxter]

Hi Michael! Your final concept is looking great.. Nice funny touch and original idea for this war:thumbsup:

[LightSovereign]

perhaps mike you could create a custom brush of the logo and randomly spray it on a separate layer until you find a place that may work..(if you work in Photoshop?) That way, size would be easy to adjust..according to size of your brush?.

On the lantern theme already suggested, howbout team colours on that or its smoke?.

[Spaded1]

Ok everything is awesome , it might just be me thinking this but the soul summon censer doesnt seem like it fits with your character... maybe A or C from your concepts for the more rounded look. The fin/blades could still work with them. :)

so other than that I really love both the first concept idea and your eel guy! keep up the great work :thumbsup:

[divi]

why don't you put the logo as a kind of war paint on his face/neck? i think it would fit the overall mood of the character and make him look more brute and intimidating.
that aside i really love your character and i'm always checking when theres new posts in here :)

[kinonato]

Thanks for the reply, glad i'm making friends here:P I'll be hopping to see more progress here. I think your character may look grate with scale allover. Specially if they the reflection shine on the neck part :P

[walrus]

Thanks for the ideas, folks! There are some good ones there, some of which could work. There's going to be lots of stuff hanging from the belt, so something there could work. I'd never considered a tattoo but that's a possibility. I'm also coming around to Marley and eMysfit's idea of using the foot-flaps. So you'll notice I changed the straps on that area in this rev to allow for a little more room, just in case. What I think I'll do first is just see if the team colors work. If the wole composition looks good with read and greys, the whole logo thing is moot.

Spaded1 - Thanks for the post. I liked some of the more "demonic" looking censers for the big spikey guy, but to me, this one just works for Sesslyth. I never liked the ones you liked as much because they looked like they could stand ojn their own, and I wanted to convey more that this was an artifact you had to carry around, and couldn't just set it on the ground and sit back snacking on a fish while it did all the work. I like the conical shape on the bottom, and I like the blades as a back-up weapon. I dunno, I just feel that it fits. Sorry!

Kinonato - Thanks for the suggestion. However, as Sesslyth is more based on an eel than a reptile, I'll be trying something more slimy/flesh and not scaly. (The fish on the wrist will be scaly, though!)

Anyhow, got the line art one and have broken down different areas that will be different colors. These aren't final values, just areas seperated out for ease-of-selection later in the coloring process. Yeah, I know, tight line art like this isn't very painterly like a lot of concept art is, it's just how I work. Half those lines will probably be gone by the time I'm done, eventually. But for now, well, here you go:

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/Sesslyth_color01.jpg

No, I didn't decide to remove everything from his belt, I'll just add that in on a seperate layer later in the process. I'll probably end up completely redesigning the rock too. And there'll be some people in the lower corners being attacked by Sesslyth's magical summoned souls.

[eMysfit]

Hopefully the color scheme works out. Trying to force things that don't feel right is never a very good idea.

I just figured out that you did the farewell kiss thing for the journey competition. That is one of my all time favorite pictures! It has been my desktop background forever. Just thought I'd mention that.

[walrus]

eMysfit - Thanks! Glad you like it!

I had pretty much drawn the layout to look like 'A' below. But before moving onwards, I decided to try out a few other ideas for how the background could look. The idea is that Sesslyth's summoned souls (as in the second to last post) are streaming out of the censer and attacking both machine and organic foe alike. I wanted to show some of this power on the background to present the idea that he could be a legit contender in the war. So in the final illo, those won't be white beams, they'll be a big collection of anguished tortured souls, mane of them from marine creatures, who have been summoned by the Psychecept. I know the victim figures are rough, but you get the idea, maybe? Anyhow, see what you all think...

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/layout_ideas01.jpg

[yongs]

love the souls flying around!

btw i liked A as it gives me a better focus on the char (coz u got a really cool character design!) but i too like the variations of souls in D. maybe a mixture of both would be nice:) .

[eMysfit]

I like D. I like the depth factor. Could have more of an 'epic' quality about it if there are more enemies dying to the souls. But it also still feels like he is the main focus. Kind of like he's saying look at me I'm badass but is meaning for you to look at what he is doing...which is taking out tons of enemies without really lifting a finger(if that makes sense?)

A is nice too though, if you don't feel like you'll have the time to paint in the epicness of D, definately go with A, imo.

[nikudy]

i like b and c :), but i think that ray of light/energy is not helping compositionwise. it is leading the eye out of the picture. sorry for the paintover but my english is too bad to try to explain in words :( .

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/6739/paintoverxz9.jpg

-claudiu

[walrus]

Claudiu - Thanks for the paint-over! We're all visual artists, sometimes graphics are the easiest way to communicate. I see your point clearly: A lot of the lines are leading the eye right off the page... I should know better! :) I see where you're going with your solution but then that would lead the stream of souls right up to Sesslyth's crotch, ad I 'd rather not obscure any of the character. Perhaps a better solution might be to go with layout A or a modified version of D where the streams curve up around the corners. The other folks who posted (Thanks, eMysfit and yongs!) liked A & D, and they don't have the same issues that you pointed out in B, or at least not as badly.

Anyhow, thanks all of you for the opinions.

[ColdKodiak]

regardless of what you do for your final bg, this http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/Sesslyth_color01.jpg is hawt.

Really nice work man. I love that poor octopus.

[The Flork]

character pose is really cool, im glad to see it coming together. but whats he looking at? id have him blowing up a flying monster or something cuz right now he seems withdrawn from the comp. so right now only A is working for me. but B is cooler with the enemy positions, maybe just moving his pupils would be enough.

[walrus]

Sesslyth is looking at the stream of souls that he's summoned. It should make more sense when his artifact is clearly summoning soulds instead of just streams of white pixels... And if it doesn't look good, it's pretty easy to change his eye position.

At this point, I've decided on layout A. The others each had problems with foreground and background priority and lines leading the eye off-screen. 'A' solved them in the simplest manner, and kept the focus on the main characters more, which is important for this sort of thing. So here's how it's coming along. The characters at the bottom are still rough, as is the stream of souls, of course. More details will be adjusted when I move from values to colors.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/layout09b-final.jpg

[Gyorkland]

Wooow awesome lightning, I have to ask you something, answer if you want,
how do you set the brush to acomplish such a smooth shadow, do you use the smudge tool or nobody use it ?, Iam learning here I always get crazy setting brushes and loose priceless time.
I don't know if I've told you this before but I love this character good luck

[darrenwhite]

Great image. I absolutely love the expression on the octopusses face. priceless!

[walrus]

Thanks guys!

Gyorkland, most of the soft lighting is simply done with repeated applications of a normal round brush with some softness to the edge. No fancy brushes, just a plain round one that's pressure-sensitive and not too hard. In Photoshop, you can change brush hardness on the fly with Shift-[ and Shift-]. To render a more gradual value change, I merely set my normal round brush to a bit softer (25-50%) and a low opacity (20-30%) and build up a smooth rendered area by going over it repeatedly. At least that's on the characters. I spent 10 seconds with the airbrush tool on the rocks at the bottom; I still need to paint them in after I find some good references.) I only use the smudge tool very rarely in limited instances, but didn't use it at all for this.

Hope this helps!

[Gyorkland]

Thanks for the tips Walrus Iam always trying to learn from you guys all the time,.
Please man check my updates I really want to know what you think about them

[The Flork]

Yeah! much better! :-D

[elhaz]

the mr. tako guy in the back is hilarious. the quality of your work is amazing. cant wait to see the color part. good luck on winning this thing :thumbsup: oh and by the way, thanks for the tip on my post :D

[BloodTaster]

Michael, just passing by to check you progress. The final shot its coming along great! :thumbsup:

[Firerbert]

This is just one of the coolest entries out there! Your style and everything is just completely on point! I'm totally cheering you on!:scream:

[kenzoabeki]

Freakin awesome!

My Dominance War III

[Hideyoshi]

great update, Mike! You're progressing nicely! :)
That's some really interesting character you got here, very original and very Walrus-ish at the same time :)
I also really like the sense of movement here. Composition is spot on also!

[walrus]

Thanks, folks! Hideyoshi, I think you hit the nail on the head, as the saying goes: That's why I switched from the Mr. spiky design I had on page 1 to Sesslyth: He feels tough but the whole thing fits with my personal style a bit more. thanks for noticing and appreciating that; :)

I redrew and rendered out the robot and enemy combatant at the bottom there last ngiht - not really worth posting - so now I just have to work on the rock and the summoned souls. Lots of references of fish-skeletons! :) I was also working on the orthagonals this morning and realize that that strap right under his chin doesn't really go there: With a cloak on, there's nowhere for the other end to attach to. Oops!

Anyhow, thanks for the notes (and for the stars - how cool is that?) and for posting notes. More soon...

[foreverendering]

I just wanted to pop in and say I really love the piece you are creating. Great work

[LightSovereign]

Holy moly, mike!. Yea your humour is your strenght. this could easily have come across as real gimmicky, but the humour comes across as so natural, its not funny :thumbsup:..haha, wait a minute..let me rephrase that.

He is not cliche and that is to be commended..

not entirely sure i conveyed all i wanted to say, but mate a real pleasure watching you progress.

no crits. accept to say that you could prolly have the team logo glowing brightly :)..maybe as an earing or a tattoo on the side of his neck!.

Marley

[ReK0]

fantastic work walrus. great scene your putting together coming along nicely. I am trying to decide if i want a nice pose or great action scene. i think a great action one would be more impressive. keep it up!

[naitgrey]

dude, if we get to vote - im voting for you! how are you going to get colour into it? multiply layers? teach us! ;)

awesome work, really awesome!

[FistOfGod]

Very cool so far man.

Waylon

[NyneDown]

haha..this is sick man. One of my favorite 2d entries I've come across so far. I definitely have a huge amount of respect for all of you concept artists...keep it up man! :)

[Soggyclog]

Man I've loved your stuff since the Diablo 2 days... this one is equally awesome... so much character.

[walrus]

Thanks, everyone. The encouragement is really appreciated!

Marley - Thanks, as always, for the support! My plan for the logo right now is to try the team colors first: If they work, I won't need a logo at all. If I do need one, I've left some space on the foot-guards, and might also include a belt-trinket too.

naitgrey - I don't think you get to vote, but thanks for the thought. As for coloring, no, multiplied colors over these would just make all the shadows black, whereas in real life, shadows are colored, not just darker versions of an object's actual color. So what I'll do is use the greyscale image to separate out layers for just the shadows and just the hilights and set them to more interesting colors than just black and white (like, say, cool shadows and warm hilights, or vice versa) and then combine that with a bunch of layers for the colors of Sesslyth, et. al. If you want to see how the process works, check out this tutorial here (http://features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=3713).

Soggyclog - Thanks! I thought my first character I was working on for this contest felt very Diablo-y, like he could have been Diablo's 2nd cousin or something. But in the end I decided to go for something with a bit more persoanilty, so I'm glad it's coming through.

Meanwhile...
I've been up all night painting fish-bones (and some dolphins, humans, and other various creatures... but mostly fish.) It's the souls of all the creatures who have died in the sea, which is what the Psychecept is summoning. The white light you see in the last post is now all fishbones, or at least it will be when I'm done. It's a lot of work! Even with custom fishbone brushes I created for this, it all needs a lot of attention. Hopefully I can finish up tomorrow and then move into the coloring process. 'Til then, well, catch you all later!

[walrus]

Okay! After hours and hours of painting detailed little bones, I finally got the summoned skeletons into place. Whew! But now that that was done, I could move on to the fun part: color! So here are a bunch of color tests for cinal character and painting tests. This is a progression, so there are some things that didn't quite make it into the earlier versions, but if I chose them I could go back and add. Case in point: Somewhere along the way, I decided that the grey and red palette wasn't strong enough so I edited in theCGSociety team logo onto the foot-guards. Yeah, I know they're hard to read here, but I'll post a larger image later.

Anyhow, the grey and reds work better in some palettes than others. It's generally my policy to sleep on this a bit before making a decision (especially as it's now past 2am!) And I'd certainly love to hear what some of you all think. But as for what I'm thinking right now: #2 and #6 most closely match what I had in my head for this piece. (So you might wonder, if I had reds and greys on the brain, how did I end up with greens and oranges in #5, or purples in #4? It's just part of the process - I like testing out a wide range of colors before settling. You never know, sometimes I find something a lot better than my initial inclination. And I may find that here too!) I do like #6 right now, though, because the team colors show really well. Maybe Sesslyth's skin could be a bit more saturated?

#5 is interesting but the values aren't as strong. #4 seems too happy for a war scene. #1 didn't look good with the CGTalk red.... anyhow, it's late. See what you think and we'll all talk about it later.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/Color_tests01.jpg

[Jassar]

I would say #1 ( more marine ) and #6.
Great great progress man! may I ask how you apply color on the greyscale image?
Cheers

[dmightyone]

i'd go with number 1 as well but i'd add more contrast to it, maybe by putting a red robe instead of grey. amazing design you got man, it has a lot of personality and it's really eyecatching! i really like it! congrats! :)

[walrus]

Thanks, Jassar and dmightyone!

To answer your question Jassar, I have a process where I take the greyscale version and use is as a selection in order to separate it out into 2 layers, one for shadows and one for hilights. I can overlay these on top of my color areas and then start fooling around with a bunch of variations like you see here. With everything, including shadows and hilights, all on different layers, I can change everything as I go. For example, #1 has cool shadows, while #5 (and others) have quite warm shadows. I used to just start by painting shadows in a color on one layer and hilights on another, but I find it's easier to paint it all in greyscale and then use that as a selection to achieve the same effect. I make 2 copies of the greyscale. Adjusting the levels of one to make the midtones all black, that turns into a selection channel for all of the hilights in the image, and then it's the opposite process for sleecting the shadows (turn all the midtones white and then invert the iamge so everything that was black is now white, and selected.) But anyhow, when I'm doing the initial painting, It's just easier to work in one grayscale layer rather than 2 different layers.

Anyhow, hope that's vaguely clear. If it's not there may be a better explanation in the tutorial I posted a link to 2 posts previous. Cheers!

[vshen]

Number 5 would be my choice and secondary would be number 6, they both give more of a dramatic feel to the whole scene specially number 5.

[MartinNielsen]

I'll say no.1 as well. Good contrast in colors :thumbsup:

[Jassar]

Ah! thanks Michael , now I noticed the prev post :)

[tonykidd237]

Wow… beautiful piece! I like number one the best – clearer representation of warm and cool colors that gives it a more dramatic feel. Well done thus far.

[balasa]

wow I cant believe what im missing here. i just love your design and the color palettes it truly inspired me to go through with my own entry.

I think i really like #5 and #6 they just immediately grabbed my attention and it has that immediate impact.

[Zenlines]

No. #1 and #6 went straight to my heart. But in the end it doesn't matter that much, the final will look great regardless! Keep it up, I like your characters and the composition very much.
Cheers, :beer:

Laurentiu

[walrus]

Thanks for the opinions, folks! Looks like #1 and #6 are "winning." Not that it's a contest. I appreciate the fact that folks like #1 with the warm-on-cool contrast, but the reds didn't really look good in that scheme, and it really feels like it's missing the red to meet the basic contest requirement of representing team colors. I may give it one more shot, but I did try.
#5 I can tell you right off I won't use: My last 2 paintings were prediminantly green in composition, and I want to move away from that side of the color wheel! :)

As for #6, even today after sleeping on it, it still appeals (although it looks different on differnt monitors. On my brightest monitor, the red is overly glaring.) But hopefully, LaurentiuBontea is right and it won't matter which one I chose. Thanks for the support!

[mosena]

Your skills are realy amazzing!!! the number 6 for me is the best!!! keep the good work
cheers!

Dominace War III 3d Entry
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=234&t=611527

[LightSovereign]

While i adore 1, 3 took my fancy, its the colouring of the costume..even though there are similarites with 4 to 6..the colours of the background in 3 really worked with your character.

Actually i think its the slight warmish tint on Ezekiel that helps alot here, goes very nice againts the red shirt..

The magic needs to be soft, as opposed to harsh, Harsh appears to compete with your character in subtle ways, which is why the magic in 1 appeals the most...(agreed it appears more aquatic..knowing you still like to experiment, you might want to try green?.)

In 3, he's CGTalk all the way :)

Marley

[samarcbz]

damn.. thats wicked stuff there.. awesome.
i love the 6th .
ur kickin asses dude.. keep it up.. m lucky that ur not in 3d catagory :P

[monsitj]

oh , awesome man , your design is alway unique and "walrus"style ,
I don't follow the thread from start , but my vote is no, 4 and then no 1
, i love your design

[dandan]

you have a really unique style, i like your work very much. i would say number 5, for me the colors in that one have a kinda nuclear apocalypse feeling which i find interesting. keep it up! :thumbsup:

[walrus]

Thanks for the repliues and opinions, everyone! As you can see, I went with color choice #6. It just spoke to the CGSociety colors the most for me, and the more desaturated background lets the character stick out more. Hope too many of you aren't overly disappointed that I didn't choose the one you liked best and still think I managed something half-decent. Anyhow, here's how it's looking, with all of the textures and effects and all that. I think it's pretty much done, but I haven't officially submitted it, so if you see anything, feel free to give a shout.

http://www.michaeldashow.com/forum_art/sesslyth_color16.jpg

samarcbz - Thanks for the flattering note. It's I who should consider myself lucky that you aren't in the 2D category! Your entry is really incredible so far.

Anyhow, back to work - one image down, but there are still the other two to deal with. I've got pretty solid sketches of the orthagonal model sheet views, but they all need to be refined a bit. And I can't decide whether they should be line art, rendered, or what.

Cheers!

[ReK0]

man ur so far ahead than me makes me feel bad. i think my composition is too wide so im gonna cut it in closer like yours. should make it more dramatic. i think you have quite a bit of time left you could really make it more powerful somehow. maybe in the big space behind him build some sort of backdrop that tells us where he is and what hes doing.

[kmanning]

im a big fan of this piece man. So much character and it stands out from the rest. Really great work. If it were me I would prolly consider it done as well, but I have a tendency of overworking things untill they get muddy :) anyways, great work and good luck

[hakanpersson]

You deserve some fluff... AMAZING!:scream: I would want to play a game that had this kind of artwork for sure.

[DavidSmit]

Hi,
First of all: Great concept! Love the character and the squit, quite brilliant if you ask me! :) I can't really find anything wrong with it.
But the illustration, I think, is a bit to saturated all over. You lose focus and it's busy on the eyes. Although you have a focuspoint on the face of the character, you get distracted very quickly by strongly saturated colors at other places.
I did a very very VERY lame and quick edit (sorry, hope you dont mind :)).
desaturated and slightly removed some brightness except on the face and a few key points in the illustration.
I can understand if you don't like it, it's just something I would do :)
What ever you choose to do, it's going to be a great submission! Great job.

David

the lame adjust:
http://www.davidsmit.com/dmw3/sesslyth_paintover.jpg

[madshooter]

Superb, Awesome and Beautifull:thumbsup: . I'm not the right guy to give and Crits or comments cause I'm not good in drawing:D. I like his expression, like he is some War General.
Great job and all the best for results:).

[Firerbert]

YES! The color progression is stunning! You made a strong choice in the color scheme. I think in the end, with the way the challenge is set up, you made the right one. We have to represent our forum as best as possible, and this totally works in our favor!
I also agree with your note on the rock. I wouldn't go so far as to call it "lame" as I would rather call it a great start. Maybe if you made it more clear that the rock expands to the ground level where the robot on the left (i mean right) (no your other left!) (yes the one on the right... sorry) is being destroyed. Right now it looks like it's just "there" for him to stand on. It should flow jsut a little bit better into the rest of the scene in a swooping fashion if that makes any sense.
I also am sure you'll be working on these areas, but I'd like to make note of them just in case.:shrug: The tail needs more of a gradual contrast from the base to the tip to give it the depth it needs. The under side of Ezekiel could use some more detail under Sesslyth's arm. These areas look great now, but could use some attention to improve the contrast. I absolutely love all the detail you've put into this already! The smoke and effects are stunning and the artifact is cool as hell! I'm totally rooting for you buddy!:applause:

[Gyorkland]

that is just awesome I knew that this was going to look great but this looks better than I expected the texture is just great
But I think the souls light is not affecting (don't know if this is the correct word) sesslyth as it should for me it dosen't look like he has something glowing infront of him, well you are the master here so if I am wrong please let me know I m just trying to help.

[balasa]

amazing work. I love the lighting and the composition

[walrus]

Hi, all, thanks for the comments! I spent all the spare time I could muster on this this past weekend, and it's nice to have something big to show! :)

ReK0 - Sorry, didn't mean to make you feel bad! I just feel like I'm in a bit of a rush. CGsociety had the nerve to start the latest CGChalelnge while we're all doing this, and I'd like to do both, so I want to get this done a.s.a.p. But in reality, I have 2 more sheets and will be workign up to the deadline. As for adding more in the background, the more busy it gets back there, the more focus it'll take away from the characters, and I'd liek to avoid that is possible.

David - Thanks for the paint-over, I appreciate it! I see your point, and it's completely valid, but I also really like the colors where they are now, too. The less saturated palette in a way screams "look at my cloak!" because it's the only saturated thing on the page. And I'd liek to think that the values and composition guide the eyes to the center even if the saturation levels don't. I see your point, and appreciate the suggestion even if I'm not going to use it. :)

madshooter - Thank you!

Firerbert - Thanks! I agree, it would be nice to have the rock Sesslyth is perched on flow more underneath the victims of his magic. I'm still not exactly sure what to do there - they can't really flow together when he's so much further in the foreground than they are. I'm open to suggestions...? As for the lack of contrast in areas further back, like some of Ezekiel's etentacles, that's entirely intentional. I painted in all the detail and faded it out withn a fog layer to add a bit of stylized depth. I like it. :shrug:

Gyorkland - Thank you! I tried to make the souls the only light source in the scene, actually. I'm sorry it's not quite reading like that yet... Maybe I just nbeeds even brighter hilights on this right side... Yeah, that might work. If I have time, I'll see how it looks.

balasa - Thanks, glad you like it!


Thanks, all! Back to my modeling sheets... :)

[walrus]

(double post)

[Firerbert]

I hear ya on the detail. Totally a style choice.:thumbsup:
On the rock, I think you can still make it work without adjusting your canvas. Just build up some more contrast pieces of stone that tier their way down towards the right under the robot's feet alternating your lights and darks between the pieces to give them the depth they need so they look like they're fading into the distance. I dunno. I think it would solidify it for sure but there is surely no reason to spend too much time on it as you already have an amazingly strong piece here!

[El-Ruco]

walrus, it is an excellent winning pose image. Conveys victory immediately. One thing I could say is that you could probably make the background just a tad more colorful to add more vibrancy to the image; right now the character has a lot more life to it than his surroundings, and I think that if you play up the balance between each other the image can work better.
Great work!

[FistOfGod]

Very cool Michael! :) Loved your work on Diablo btw.

Waylon

[yongs]

been kinda busy and didnt check on cgtalk for some time, didnt have a chance to place a "vote" in the color thumbnails but i really like the final! love the colors! excellent stuff!:thumbsup:

[blindsyte]

very freakin awesome stuff!
excellent skeleton artifact stuff... they actually LOOK like artifacts...
again, i agree with others, he has a great expression.
i love the fish in his bracer. and other fishy accents...
speaking of which, do you still have your dominance war jeans on, cuz they're probably starting to stink. you really need to wash them.

[MartinNielsen]

Great stuff, but you already know that by now :) I hope I can make it in time myself...

[JediHindu]

This is fantastic!
I'm so behind on my entry that seeing this final (or near final) was inspiring! It has really great animated feel to it. It really reminds me of how fun some of Akira Toriyama's illustrations are.

Looking forward to seeing the model sheet!

-Vin

[LightSovereign]

holy horses on a bbq batman

Mike that is just incredible work, i can't get over the control you have on every aspect of the image, you make it look oh so easy..

when you apoligised to us for not going in our direction, that really made me feel a little uncomfortable, at best i'd like to say i was able to offer suggestions, I think it is admirable that you allow us such interaction with your process in the first place, but ultimately its your baby..if i've made one lightbulb moment for you, i'd be happy :P.

I like the image as it is..perfect balance given to every aspect..where the main focus goes to where it should!

So much warmth and life to your character mike, it really is the best of the 2d images i have seen!

ACE WORK

Marley

[walrus]

Marley - As flattered as I am, exactly how many finished 2D concept beauty shots have you seen so far? Because I've been keeping my eyes open and haven't seen that many yet. I think everyone' still all working on theirs, and imagine we'll see a lot more on the week to come. (Strangely, I saw one fantastic one that was even front-paged here, and yet I've never seen their thread in this forum. I can't even recall who it is any more. I wonder if they are on another forum's team and just posted their final into CGTalk's finished art thread. Cheesy!) But anyhow, I'm just trying to speed through so that I'll have time for both this and the new CGSociety Challenge. I LOVE drawing human/alien interaction, and even my wife won't let me consider NOT entering that Challenge! :)

As far as apologizing for not following people's advice, I try and I want to respect peoples' opinions and encourage more of them, it's where I get my best feedback from. I just don't want anyone to think I don't respect or appreciate their suggestions. I do, I just don't always agree, and I can't follow everyone's advice, especially when it's conflicting.

Case-in-point, DavidSmit suggested making the image less saturated. El-Ruco suggested more saturation. I appreciate the suggestions, both of you. But as you're the only ones to comment on saturation, I'm going be fair and split the difference between your suggestions... and keep the saturation levels exactly where they are! :)

Blindsyte - Well, I don't have them on 24 hours without changing them at all. In fact, half of the time I was working on the final render, I wasn't wearing pants at all! (they were in the wash.) Or is that Too Much Information?

Anyhow, the problem with posting this color piece so early is that now my future entries are going to be boring by comparison. I spent all last night on the orthagonals - front, side and back, both nude and clothed, and started work on his skeletal structure. It's coming along well, and I'll post more soon, but seriously, who wants to look at that stuff compared to this on any entry?! But thank you everyone for the notes and comments, glad you like how it's coming along! Cheers!

-mike

[Hideyoshi]

whoa, Mike!
That is just impecceble! What a great rendition of your character! I even think this is becoming one of your strongest pieces! So much love put into it, superb detail!
:)

[walrus]

Thanks, Hideyoshi I dunno about my strongest piece yet: To me, the scant background makes it feel less fleshed out than some of my other efforts like my CGChallenge entries. But I think it does work for this particular assignemtn. Glad you like it!

Here's a general question for anyone out there. I'm sort of at a quandary on how to approach the modeling sheet page. I've been working on front, back and side views of Sesslyth. But what I'm not sure about is whether I unclude Ezekiel hanging around his shoulders for the model sheets. On one hand, they're a team, like Banjo and Kazooie or Ratchet and Clank. And I'd want to show them as a team. On the other hand, the contest is to make one character (even though pets are allowed) and it might be important to show what Sesslyth's back looks like without an octopus on it (even though there's not all that much there, just the robe.) Fact is, I've been working on the character, not designing an entire game: I don't know whether there are levels where they split up. Do you get to play a Secret Agent Ezekiel level? I don't know! So any thoughts or suggestions on the model sheets? I could show two versions of the back, one with Ezekiel and one without (in addition to the front and side.) What do you all think?

Thanks!

[ScudzAlmighty]

i'd suggest doing the model sheet with Sesslyth all detailed and sort of an outline of Ezekiel hanging on his back

[ReK0]

I would say include it. I dont think it was in the rules that you couldnt. If you consider them never seperating then it only makes sense that it would need to be modeled along with the main character. If you wanted to be safe you could do a front left and back of the main guy and include the pet in the concept sheets.

[Gatlingg]

I'd like for you to include him as well, just because I love him as well. This is a really amazing thread all in all and I am excited for you.

[LightSovereign]

Sorry Mike, allow me rephrase my slightly over zealous praise to 'potentially one of the best', its been over a week since i explored others entries, but i too kept my eye going 4 a time..then i entered 'UpliftChallenge' haha...
I spotted 2 front page artworks i think..or maybe one was unrelated. And yes you are right, they were very powerful pieces...i suppose i was baised because i have seen every step here, and went wow every single time! and even got one of the best laughs ever.. But i still feel you have that xtra something special in your character/s..I'm not just talkin about the humour, as someone mentioned about a victory pose..this eel means business. I said earlier on, that he felt fully fleshed out even at that stage and that was just the linework

Look forward to your cgchallenge entry, i'm sure it will be 'Uplifting' *cough*..

Marley

[walrus]

Thanks for the thoughts and notes, folks. In the meantime, before I continue work on the model sheets, I put together this pic of Sesslyth and Ezekiel having a disagreement about which way to go. I doodled it in my sketchbook the other day and liked it so much that I scanned it into Photoshop, made a few tweaks, printed it out, and then tonight, traced it onto vellum, scanned it, and painted it in. I plan on using it on page 3 of my entry, the one where you include developement images.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/SesslythEzekiel_walking01.jpg

cheers!

-mike

[MartinNielsen]

Excellent :applause:

[FistOfGod]

lol, I love the comedy. The expression on the octopus is great.

[eMysfit]

They really turned out great. Your progress from begining to end was the funnest to watch in this competition. The character that the...characters...have is crazy cool.

For the model sheets I think I'd do them both, but seperately. Like front, back, side view of Sesslyth without Ezekiel, then do a top and front view of Ezekiel with tenticles spread out(maybe even a side view too). If they were to seperate at all in the game I'd think this way would be most beneficial to the modeler, so he could model them seperately, then rig them, then put Ezekiel around Sesslyth...but then again I'm no pro by any means so I could just be talking out my butt.

Ezekiel is a big part of Sesslyth as a character, so even though technically it's a character with his pet or two characters, they both actually feel like one!

Good Luck! Sorry I havn't been responding to your updates as much lately....been pretty busy with crappy life. Really do love how it turned out though.

[walrus]

Thanks, guys. I don't think I'll include 2 seperate model sheets, one for Sesslyth and another for Ezekiel. The rules say to make one character, who is allowed to have a pet. Treating them as equal and giving them their own model sheet might be stretching things a bit? But also, it means less room on the model sheet, and I'd like that to have the biggest impact possibl.e So I think I'll take the other advice and incorporate Ezekiel onto Sesslyth's back in the orthagonals like you see him in the last 2 renders.

I think I also need to make Sesslyth's left hand bigger in the above shot: In retrospect, it feels a bit small.

Thanks for all the input!

[Boykinov]

hi Walrus
I really like to see how your characters are changing day by day. Keep posting and looking to see colors on them

Much success!

[cakeypigdog]

top banana. i like this one plenty!

[walrus]

Boykinov - Thanks, glad you like it! But I've already posted the color! Scroll up or go back a page or two, it's all there. :)

Cakeypigdog - Thank you! I'm glad my character has a peel!

Meanwhile...
Here's my rough version of the modeling sheet. What do you all think about the layout? Is it too much? Do I even need the bottom row, or do they make it too messy? Should I save the skeleton for the "Misc. Development" page? I like having the Psychecept (censer artifact) orthagonals on this sheet but there's not a lot of room for it if I don't have a bottom row... or should I just squeeze everything more? And do I keep Ezekiel (the octopus) an outline like this, or do I fill him in, obscuring parts of Sesslyth? I drew another version of him on Sesslyth's back which was in a more natural drapey pose, but I figured that if this is a model sheet, everyone, character and pet, should both be in a bind pose.

Anyhow, would love to hear your thoughts....

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l260/mdashow/modelingsheet01.jpg

[MDR]

Stunning work you have really done a fantastic job at creating a believable and truely interesting character! The bond you have manged to show between the main character and the octopus on his back is genius. Good luck on your entry!

[walrus]

Thanks for the comment, MDR!

Anyone have any feedback on the model sheet layout? I haven't seen anyone really working on theirs yet so I have no idea whether this is the right direction to go in and would love to hear any thoughts. (So I'm shamelessly bumping my thread. :blush: )

[Gyorkland]

Check the examples on your Dominance entry page they are below the upload bar of the modelling sheet, I haven't seen yet your modelling sheet Im gonna check it out now.

[samarcbz]

thats AWESOME.. love the model sheet.even i havent seen ne1 workin on that so i cant relly say much abt that. but one thing is for sure.. ur entry is gonna rock..
dude.. that octopus makes me laugh.. like the expressions alot.

[Jassar]

Well it looks similar to my sheet ( I just don't have the skeleton :) ).

...not sure if my comment actually helps so sorry :shrug:
Cheers

[FistOfGod]

I think it is cool how you have the skeleton structure in the model sheet and it looks fine. When I saw it last night I did feel that it looked a little busy but I don't think that now when looking at it. It must have been because I looked at it first when I was really tired. In short, I think it looks cool.

Waylon

[Blaschke]

Wow! Excellent!
Your concept is great man, so much inventive. I love the buckle fish-shaped :).
The model sheet is great too, may be you should clean the line a little bit more.
Keep it up.

[wilzoon]

Wow! I love it! I can't believe I missed this one! The concept of the octopus wrapping around the fish-like creature is really something! Great job, mate. The rendered piece looks really awesome too! Wish you good luck on your entry.

[BloodTaster]

Man, outstanding job on the final piece, congratulations! and the modelling sheet is turning out great too. :thumbsup:

[walrus]

Thanks, folks! Appreciate the comments!

Waylon wrote:
I think it is cool how you have the skeleton structure in the model sheet and it looks fine. When I saw it last night I did feel that it looked a little busy...

Yes, I was wondering the same thing myself, whether having the skeleton on the modeling sheet makes it too busy. Strictly speaking, it's not needed for the modeling process, right? Maybe it should go onto the concept page. If I put it on the modeling sheet, there's more room for other stuff on the concept page... I just don't know whetehr it's misplaced having it there. Hmmm.

Blaschke - Well, yes, of course the lines need to be cleaned up! I did say (in bold and italics even!) that it was just the rough version of the art. I'm scanning in new updated versions of all of that art now... More to follow!

[Maddog-CP]

Thanks for the comment, MDR!

Anyone have any feedback on the model sheet layout? I haven't seen anyone really working on theirs yet so I have no idea whether this is the right direction to go in and would love to hear any thoughts. (So I'm shamelessly bumping my thread. :blush: )


Walrus, Check out this link to one of our competitors concepts.
I cant read the text's but the images I think show great examples of model sheet, at least for 2D submission.
http://cgland.com/dominance/index.html?dwmode=wip&dwmodes=view&part=2d&no=34&page1=1

this one also
http://cgland.com/dominance/index.html?dwmode=wip&dwmodes=view&part=2d&no=1157&page1=1

this one has some nice breakdowns i like alot. not sure if its a good finished example though.
http://cgland.com/dominance/index.html?dwmode=wip&dwmodes=view&part=2d&no=116&hno=&sort=&search=&page=1&page1=3

Walrus, I found this one also from last D.Wars winners. Mostly 3D but good examples.
http://www.gameartisans.org/contests/events/2/team2/view_entries.html

[walrus]

That was great, Chuck! For a little whilel, every time I refreshed this page, you'd posted another link to follow. Thanks for those images to check out! It's really helpful to see what others are working on... and intimidating too, especially those first two! Those are some great entries and some well-organized character sheets. I've been working on my Concept Sheet all night. It's starting to look cool... Maybe not as cool as those, but it's also probably too early in the morning and I've been up too long to be an accurate judge. I'll render in some more of the characters tomorrow and post it and see what folks think. Thanks!

[The Flork]

haha walrus it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to see that you did that skeletal structure haha

and i was wondering about the layouts as well!

Thanks MadDog!

[walrus]

Well, after a lot of work tweaking the layout, rendering heads, skeletons, and other small details, fooling around with typography and textures, colors and levels and layers, here's my concept sheet:

http://www.michaeldashow.com/forum_art/conceptsheet07_final.jpg

Now I have to make the matching Modeling Sheet. It's changed a bit from the last rough I posted, mostly in that I decided that the skeletons fit in this sheet better, so now the modeling sheet is a bit simpler. It will have different text around the outside, too, more descriptions of the items on Sesslyth's belt. I can still make changes to this, too. I'm looking forward to hearing what people think about this. I was really impressed with the sheets that Maddog posted yesterday, so I hope this measures up. It's not the same, but at least it's faithful to the personaily of the characters. And I'm 10 over the number of sketches required for this page: Maybe I'll get bonus points for quantity? :) Anyhow, hope you all like it!

[Firerbert]

You are absolutely amazing. The most top notch respectful and well though out execution I have ever seen. We are not worthy.:bowdown:

[Firerbert]

Oh, and if you do not win, I will not only be pissed, but also run over all mankind in an icecream truck.:thumbsup:

[walrus]

Ooooh, you have an ice cream truck?! Save me a rocket pop!

Oh, and thanks for the rest of the comments, too. :)

[LightSovereign]

A gassy octopus on your back, i just cannot picture this. Yea i told you my praise wasn't over zealous *snirks*

Truly, that model sheet encapsulates everything i have seen in the build up to this point,just so you know..Its one thing to draw and design a character, its another to be able to reproduce this character at different angles, I love the argument those 2 seem to be having (lemme guess, they should have turned left at Albuquerque? )..

Its right up there with wallace and grommit imho.

Good on ya mike, give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done :)

Marley

[wilzoon]

Wow, the concept sheet looks crazily good! I really like the duo and the expression of the octopus. well done once again.

[Alex Novo]

Yea, work you have done is amazing! I just havent any other words

[jttruong85]

Good for you, bad for us. Amazing work!!! :thumbsup:

[MartinNielsen]

Wonderful... no more - no less :)

[Maddog-CP]

That was great, Chuck! For a little whilel, every time I refreshed this page, you'd posted another link to follow. Thanks for those images to check out! ...I'll render in some more of the characters tomorrow and post it and see what folks think. Thanks!

No problem, I am glad the references helped out! Ya, sorry about the several editions to my list there, I kept finding more really really good ones and adding them :)

I enjoy how your model sheet came out. I do find it abit too busy though, and my eye keeps jumping around the page kinda ramdomly. Perhaps a few less images would be better?

[Maddog-CP]

Hey Walrus, where is this tutorial link ?

Anyhow, hope that's vaguely clear. If it's not there may be a better explanation in the tutorial I posted a link to 2 posts previous. Cheers!

I am trying to do this greyscale-selection channel method. I have done it in the past but cannot recall how to select my black+white image, make the selection into a channel etc etc. so i can "paint under it" without losing my black and white line art /greyscale/shadows etc.
Assistance would be great!

Referencing this past post of yours:
Thanks, Jassar and dmightyone!
To answer your question Jassar, I have a process where I take the greyscale version and use is as a selection in order to separate it out into 2 layers, one for shadows and one for hilights. I can overlay these on top of my color areas and then start fooling around with a bunch of variations like you see here. With everything, including shadows and hilights, all on different layers, I can change everything as I go. For example, #1 has cool shadows, while #5 (and others) have quite warm shadows. I used to just start by painting shadows in a color on one layer and hilights on another, but I find it's easier to paint it all in greyscale and then use that as a selection to achieve the same effect. I make 2 copies of the greyscale. Adjusting the levels of one to make the midtones all black, that turns into a selection channel for all of the hilights in the image, and then it's the opposite process for sleecting the shadows (turn all the midtones white and then invert the iamge so everything that was black is now white, and selected.) But anyhow, when I'm doing the initial painting, It's just easier to work in one grayscale layer rather than 2 different layers.

Anyhow, hope that's vaguely clear. If it's not there may be a better explanation in the tutorial I posted a link to 2 posts previous. Cheers!

[walrus]

Hi, all! Thanks for the notes. Glad you like how this has come out! Hopefully I'll have more time today to work on the Modeling Sheet. I got some work on it last night, but not enough to post.


Maddog - I certainly didn't mind the edits and additions to your post of other peoples' work. The tutorial that I was talking about is the Farewell Kiss tutorial (http://features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=3713), but it doesn't go into comprehensive detail about how to set up layers and channels. The article in ImagineFX #024 was pretty thorough, though I guess that doesn't help you too much if you don't have access to it. So to append the earlier advice that I gave Jassar:

Paint your whole scene in greyscale. I then make 2 copies of the greyscale channel. Name one of the copies 'hilights' and adjust the levels to make the midtones all black (by dragging the left triangle - the black one - over to the right, about to the midway point. Doing all this turns it into a selection channel for all of the hilights in the image. Name the other duplicated channel 'shadows.' Then you do the opposite process : Go into Levels and turn all the midtones white by dragging the right white triangle over to the midway point. Then you invert the channel so everything that was black is now white, and that's what will be selected. After than, go back into your layers and create a new layer called Shadows. Load Selection and load your channel called selection. Fill it with a pale purple and set the layer to Multiply. Create another new Layer called Hilights, and load the selection named "Hilights." Fill that selection with a pale yellow and set it to Overlay. Now paint in solid blocks of color on layers underneath the Hilights and Shadows layers. And that's everything. Your mileage may vary of course: For example, the purple and yellow are good colors or a pleasant outdoor scene with warm light and cool shadows. Feel free to experiment with those!
Hope that helps...!

[BloodTaster]

Nice concept sheet man, I love it!:thumbsup:

[jasonjuta]

I love how expressive the characters are. Good work all round Michael! :thumbsup:

[balasa]

Nice concept sheet. I'm very impressed you took time to make it so detailed and entertaining at the same time. the text description around the frame is just so funny. cant wait to see what you come up with next

[walrus]

Thanks, everyone! Here's the Modeling Sheet:

http://www.michaeldashow.com/forum_art/modelingsheet06_final.jpg

And here's an updated version of the color pose, with a few changes suggested by folks here: A better pass at the foreground in the lower corcers, and a strgner lgiht on his face and body from the souls - basically a bit of rim-light. I also did a little draw-over of the souls to make the faces flying by stand out more strongly.

http://www.michaeldashow.com/forum_art/sesslyth_color16.jpg

That means I'm pretty much done! So if anyone has any crits or last fixes, let me know. I'll give a couple of days for last input, and then I'm just going to send them in and get started on my Uplift Challenge entry.

[DavidSmit]

Hey man!
Great modelsheet board! Love the details in it.
I would lose the text in the border though. It's completely unreadable and makes the whole way to busy. Add a text colum or something with a small but good readable font, that would be perfect.
Orther than that: great job! Your a serious contender in this competition

[FistOfGod]

yea man, looking really cool. I agree with DavidSmit regarding the border.

Waylon

[zweiDee]

Hi Michael

Well done! Great Character Design, nice Detail Level. Short, another Walrus Masterpiece.

All the best for the vote.

[Boykinov]

Thi is really a great job Michael!

[MartinNielsen]

Mission complete :thumbsup:

[blackneko]

Your Work Is Very Good! Simpatics And Interesting

Go Go Dominance War !!

[walrus]

Thanks for the responses, all! I'm glad some of you like the text around the outside, even though others found it "completely unreadable." Don't worry about it, David, you aren't missing much, just some unnecessary flavor text that some might consider humorous. It certainly isn't important enough to shrink or delete the important stuff - the art - to make room for it. I originally had a solid black border because it needed some unifying graphic design element, but a plain line looked too boring, so I added some text. Just consider them a graphic element. I made the necessary readible element s nice and clear on the Concept sheet.

[FistOfGod]

I probably should have been a little more specific in my response earlier. I actually didn't have a hard time reading the text so it wasn't unreadable. I just though it looked kind of busy. After reading your response I think it is probably a good idea to place it around the border instead of having to shrink any of the art down to make room for it. Great work though man. I'm really expecting this to rank pretty high up during voting.

Waylon

[eMysfit]

First actual complete entry I've seen. So awesome and on time! Hope the judges don't hold that he's not 'big bad and full of armor' against you in the judgements. I like it alot. I still love big armor/weapons and such but Sesslyth is badass too and should win!

[Gatlingg]

Hope the judges don't hold that he's not 'big bad and full of armor' against you in the judgements.

I'm sure they won't but if they do, I will shove my fingers of their noses and drag them out back for interrogation. And by interrogation I mean changing their minds.

But seriously, this is truely inspiring. The mood, their personalities, the technique and execution is superb. You've done an excellent job as you've heard so many times already but one more can't hurt. I particularly like your approaches on the concept sheets.

[Gough]

gratz on completing!
i love your character, he's such a bad ass and especially the squid! great concept sheets, i love going in look at all those little model packeting and details. very interesting and fun concept overall!

i cant really say much since you've already finished, you're stuff kicks ass, and that's what matters!

[walrus]

Thanks for the positive comments, folks!

eMysfit, unlike many contests, the rules for DW3 are refreshingly clear on judging criteria: There's presentation, technique, coloring, and does it just plain wow the judges. It doesn't look like they're just going to hand over the prize to the person who did the largest and/or most heavily-armored contestant. My mileage may vary based on judges' personal taste, but judging from folks' reactions here, I should do okay even without too much armor.. and if they for whatever reason don't like my entry, it soulds like I have Gatlingg on my side to help convince them! :)

Oh, and keep in mind, this guy is an Invoker! Armor may be de rigeur for the Warlord class, but when was the last time you saw a Wizard or a Thief - or, rather, Invoker or Stalker - charge into battle with full plate-mail? Certain classes lend themselves to armor, but for all his girth, Sesslyth is a powerful mage, not a tank.

Gatlingg and Gough - thanks for your commetns and support as well! Good luck getting the rest of your peices together too, they're both coming along really well!

[redmonkey]

personally this is my favorite entry thus far in the competition.
I love your color palette, design, and execution.


I really hope you do well man. make us proud!

[Maxter]

Great final composition, it looks amazing with the colors. I like a lot all the details you have put on your character. Fantastic work Michael!:thumbsup:

[Art2]

We have a winner! :bounce:

I agree with the comment about the text in the border of the model sheet.
I like the idea thou. You could make it blend more with the background, making it less prominent.

[LightSovereign]

so are you pleased with your efforts mike?. I 've layered this piece with all the gushy praise already.. but to say somtimes you can pick up on the energy of the final piece with the first concept sketch, you could sure pick it up here.

Grats on the concept sheet..i love how ezekial has stretched his arms to look staunch!..It makes Sess look mean,so the octopus does not look out of place at all.

Gratz mike Look forward to seeingyou in 'Uplift'

Marley

[walrus]

Thanks for the notes, everyone!

Marlon, sorry you don't like exactly how the text came out. Myself, I'm actually really happy with it. No one will probably notice, but last night I went in and painted over it a bit to make it more legible. Some of that font's letters - the 'r, and 'f' and especially the 'm' and 'p' - were too distressed and hard to read so I adjusted them all 'til it's a bit clearer what everything says. Those who don't like the squeezed upside-down text aren't going to be swayed, but I like it. An I've now officially submitted my entry so there's no turning back anyhow. :)

Marley - Yes, I am happy with how this came out. Sesslyth is a lot more interesting than if I'd continued down the road with Mr. Spikey. And I think he epitomizes what I strive for in character design: Believable forms, somewhat exaggerated, strong silhouettes, convincing details, and above all, well-defined clear, readable personality. I think my other 2 sheets help convey these aspects well also. And I'm just very pleased that the reaction has been so good. I'm never sure exactly how people will respond to my work because I tend off the beaten path a little - i.e my entry doesn't look like a character from Unreal Tournament or Gears of War, which I feel is the style these days, quite evident in many entries. So I find it immensely rewarding that I go off and do my own thing and people follow me for the ride. The 5 stars mean a whole heck of a lot to me and even if I don't win anything, for those I'm incredibly grateful and appreciative. (edit: Or at least, at the time I wrote that my thread had 5 stars. Now it's down to 4. Oh well!)

Anyhow, I just have to recuperate a little bit from the late nights and you'll see me in the Uplift Challenge soon. :)

[calyx]

It has been a delightful journey reading through the pages in your thread, much extras to learn from too. Your entry has a light-hearted touch to it (unlike the dark, evil kinds) and the octopus idea is cute :) I think putting the logo at the feet-warmer thing is genius! It looks very good too.

Thanks for sharing, and all the best!

[Soggyclog]

Your entry rocks sir. The style, coloring, everything feels great... I'm glad you took the road less travelled...

[Ragnar3D]

Very good work! I like idea!
:thumbsup:

[rawwad]

Awesome final images mate! Nothing to critise, I love your character so much. Just fantastic design and artworks. Also like very much expression details and background story around images, damn a good idea:thumbsup:
so I think one of wining place is already taken:)

[Nennad]

Hey!

Thanks for posting your final entry to 2d showcase. From there i learned for competition and entered it in last moment (not that i have any real chance :) but it is fun!)

I liked main character, but in combination with octopod, they are just great!

And .. story around (literally) images :) The ring whic focuses him on a rage, a ring from his first marriage buahhhahaha, fantastic!!!

Thanks!

[MoreGrim]

Ha! fantastic amount of work. nicely done.

[TedTerranova]

Wow. This is just some awesome work. Great style and design.

[RedFish]

looks good, interesting style, nice job

[walrus]

Thanks, everyone! Glad you all like it.

calyx - Several helpful people in this thread debated for a long while where to put the logo. I really just had no room anywhere else! :)

Anyhow, hope everyone else's entries are coming along well also!

[medunecer]

Amazing! One of my favourites!