Uplift Universe - Image Entry: Nicholas McElmury

[nmcelmury]

According to what I have found (being one who hasn't read the books), "Gubru's" are a species hostile towards humans.

I'm going to be creating a Diorama piece depicting the end of a battle between the Gubru's and the humans with the Gubrus ending up victorious.

According to what I have found (being one who hasn't read the books), "Gubru's" are a species hostile towards humans.

I will post a sketch and concept of the entire scene when I get some more time, I just wanted to get the ball rolling! :-)

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1206048647_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1206048647_large.jpg)

Got a little ancy today and decided to do a quick sketch of my interpretation of the "Gubru" species so far.

[ScottC]

Neat character design!

One thing I've learned with contests like this is to be really wary of epic "battle" scenes. That requires attention to a lot of different elements, and May 9th is just not very far away. Perhaps I misunderstood, and you have something more "focused" in mind".

[nmcelmury]

Hey Scott thanks for the reply!
Yeah I get what you're saying, and I have definitely bit off more than I can chew in the past, hopefully this won't be the case this time around. The scene isn't necessarily a battle scene, more of post battle. I'm only planning on having 2-3 characters and a landscape. No hordes of people or battalions of creatures or anything like that. I want to focus more on the actual closeup interaction of the two races and keep the focal point directly on them.

I'm going to try to work up a sketch tomorrow or this weekend for the way I'm planning on approaching this, hopefully that should clear things up!

Take a look back in a few days, let me know what you think if you get a chance! :thumbsup:

[SweD]

battle scene are truely complicated, right, but it's workable in 2 month.
i only hope that you'vn't something else to do :D

The design of gubru remind me some retro-design, wich is timeless, a mix of old-time design on a future background like some kind on SF style. really noticeable.

Moreover, your sketch is really well executed, can't wait to see the whole scene you've in mind.

:thumbsup:

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1206414039_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1206414039_large.jpg)

Started on modeling a character. I'm using a head I built a while back, it needs some work, the ears are a little thin and missing some detail, that and I'm not too crazy about his lips. I'm going to try to post some more concept art of what I'm aiming for at the finish, I'm just terrible at concepting large scenes :-P

[sasquatch70]

I think you should definately go with the aftermath of a battle. It leaves more to the imagination. Your model looks great so far. Good job and good luck.

Brad

[mdavid]

This is excellent stuff. I especially like the design of your Gubru character. Definitely no crits from me. Keep up the cool work!

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1206585192_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1206585192_large.jpg)

Some more progress on modeling, haven't ever modeled a "space marine" looking guy so I'm definitely having some fun with this. Inspiration definitely coming from countless hours of playing Halo, and though I've never actually played it, I love the Starcraft 2 cinematic Blizzard did, so that's definitely having some influence. Though in the end I would like my scene to be a bit grittier.

[nmcelmury]

And some overdue comments.. :scream:

mdavid - Thank you! Nice portfolio btw.

sasquatch70 - Thanks, that's the idea I had in mind. I wanted to spend some more time with concept art for my final image, but I have a hell of a lot of modeling to do so I figured I had better hop to it. Basic scene in mind is...

On a rocky knoll or ledge. A Gubru has a human general on his knees bound by the hands and is about to execute him with his gun in hand. In the background is another human warrior watching in terror as his general is assasinated in front of his eyes. He will also be bound at the hands and be held back by another Gubru warrior.

[OZ]

WOAH! a super start for you!!! near two month to go and you are right on modeling this detailed way!?? Cool stuff man!:thumbsup:

[morganvillette]

Nice work! I like details!
I wait to see more =)
Good luck!

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1207104077_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1207104077_large.jpg)

About done modeling the marine guy, going to start unwrapping UVs soon, this should be fun....

[nmcelmury]

morganvillette - Thanks for the encouragement!

OZ - Thank you, yeah I figured I had better model as much as I can and really get cracking, I still have another base character to do so I'm going to need a big chunk of time for him too :eek:

[HFix]

great details in the modeling! and i love the gubru concept! keep it up!

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1207277130_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1207277130_large.jpg)

Almost finished modeling him, just have to do his boots. I thought I would take a breather from the polys and do a little texturing.

[nmcelmury]

Thanks HFix!

[OZ]

strong mapping too!!!:) Cant wait to see your guy full textured!

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1207436347_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1207436347_large.jpg)

Still texturing, think I'm gonna do something else with the legs, maybe his oxygen mask as well

[nmcelmury]

Thanks OZ! :thumbsup:

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1207710331_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1207710331_large.jpg)

Got my marine posed, just have to finish texturing his hands and a couple pieces on his body. I'm going to throw some hair on him with Max's hair and fur and probably re-texture his oxy tanks on his back since I don't like the way they came out.

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1207882576_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1207882576_large.jpg)

Almost done with my marine, just have to do a little more work with his hair, he's got kind of an elvis look right now lol. Next up is the Gubru, which is probably going to take me the majority of the next couple weeks to do.

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1207882773_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1207882773_large.jpg)

Another view of the guy

[sasquatch70]

I'm glad your moving so quick, that gives you time to help me model my scene! LOL . Everything looks awesome. Keep up the good work.

[OZ]

I have to say it again! great texturing! I like a lot the rusty look u gave to the guy!
The pose is good as well.Im very curious to see your character placed into a scene.:buttrock: go go go go!

[nmcelmury]

sasquatch70 - Thanks man! Yeah I think you would do your wall ornament concept way better justice than I would lol, seriously cool stuff, I'll keep an eye on your thread, everything is looking great for you too!

OZ - Thanks again! Yeah I kinda kicked my ass in gear over the past week, I realized the image deadline is only a month away so that was kind of a rude awakening.

Just started buidling my Gubru character last night, pushing and pulling verts as we speak. Hopefully I can finish! Thank you all for the comments :D

[nwiz25]

really cool texture work mate! :eek: the SSS shows nicely! me lookin forward to your next update! :bounce: cheers dude! :beer:

[nmcelmury]

Yikes sorry for the long delay, I was building my computer last week (which is working fabulously I must say), and the parents came to visit for the weekend, so my times for getting any work done were few and far between. Hopefully I can finish in time! I'm getting pretty excited to do this guys feathers and fur, should be fun :cool:

nwiz25 - Thanks! Keep up the good work on your thread, your painting looks friggin amazing!

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1209090592_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1209090592_large.jpg)

Finally had a chance to get some work done, got the Gubru modeled and posed for the most part, onto some texturing and Zbrushing!

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1209434358_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1209434358_large.jpg)

Starting to piece together my final scene, still have to texture the Gubru's gun and cloth, add a gun for the marine to be reaching for, finish the ground and environment and fix some lighting issues with the hair (not to mention the Marine's elvis hairdo lol) More to come!

[headtrip]

Excellent modelling and great texture! Impressive :). Looking forward to seeing the final image. I'm sure David Brin would be impressed with your visualisation of his ideas.

What kind of background are you going to have to compliment this image?

Keep going!

[sasquatch70]

Hey Nicholas,
This looks great.It's a good thing you have new computer, thats an awfull lot of feathers on the guy in the background. That must of been brutal rendering. Looks awesome. One crit though. The guys hair makes him look like he's under water, kind of suspended. Maybe parting his hair or clumping would make it a little more natural. Fantastic work my friend!
Brad

[nmcelmury]

headtrip - Thanks man! The background I have in mind will be a reddish sky with stars showing through in parts, smoke rising and a cliff like environment. Haven't really thought it out much further than that so we'll see what happens :)

sasquatch70 - Yeah the new comp definitely helped, though it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I found a pretty quick solution using Max's hair and fur modifier with a few custom settings that seemed to do the trick, I think the "hair" count was at about a half million to get the coverage I needed. Only took a couple minutes to render.
And yeah the marine's hair I agree 100% with you on. He looks pretty goofy right now lol, I'll see what I can come up with! Thanks for the comment and critique!:thumbsup:

[angel]

Looking good! I like the concept. Just a couple of comments on what you have so far.
I didn't noticed shards of the broken helmet on the suit. Either add more thickness to them so they are more visible or repose the character so they are more visible; I think this should be more visible since it is an important part of the story that the image is telling.

The hair line on the guy is too uniform looking, if you soften it a little it won't look like a wig anymore. Also the gun on the bird creature kinda aligns with the feather ornament on its arm; I think it is a little confusing, almost looks like the gun is shooting knives. I also think that the dude's finguers are too thin but that might be a nitpick.

[OZ]

HEY!!! great scene! im surprised by your beautifull work!!:buttrock:

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1210382812_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1210382812_large.jpg)

Got my final Composite started, still have to add the sky and do a bit of color correction to bring out the characters a bit more, a couple touch ups on the Gubru's feathers and a seam I still have to paint ou (had to do a tile render and it gave me a couple gaps)

[nmcelmury]

Snows - Thanks for the critique! I agree 100% with the hair, honestly I like him a little better without it, I think it does his character more justice :) And yeah now that you mention it his fingers may be a bit too thin, hopefully it's nothing too noiceable since the submission date is creeping it's way around the corner!

OZ - Thanks again man, I wouldn't go as far as calling it beautiful, but thank you :)

Good luck to all with the deadline fast approaching!!

[ahmetekn]

Hey Nicholas, beautiful work! Clothes textures are excellent. Environment is too much realistic! How did you make rocks? Zbrush, dispmap?

Good luck for final step :thumbsup:

[nmcelmury]

ahmetekn - Thanks for the reply and kind words! Rocks are just a combination of a bunch of things. I made the ground with just a displacement map and a few scattered modeled rocks laying around. The background rocks I made with ZBrush.

Well, back to work! :wip:

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1210461144_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1210461144_large.jpg)

Starting to add in the Background and piece the very last of it together, just a little more cleanup and maybe a little more attention on the planet in the background and that'll be it!

[ymonkato]

Thanks! I hope I can finish on time. Very nice 3d piece by the way! Wish I could do that. It does suck up here freelancing. I'm trying to make the best of it. Thanks for the encouraging words. I hope to see ya at the finish line!

[nmcelmury]

http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1210528698_medium.jpg (http://assets.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/20/14490/14490_1210528698_large.jpg)

A last battle on a distant moon ends in the evil Gubru's favor. After hunting down the general of the human resistance who tried to retreat to safety, Sith, a hired headhunter for the Gubru army, watches as the human pitifully makes a last attempt to save his own life. Intent on not letting the human revel in any last minute glory, Sith raises his gun and begins to squeeze the trigger.

[nmcelmury]

And now credit deserved where it is due.

Inspiration - Stargate (anything with birds and space, how could you not think about those badass guys from Stargate?), Starcraft, Star Wars (namely the outfits of the Xwing Pilots and the kind of grungy look they all had) and a splash of Riddick.

Sources - Textures from CGTextures.com and a background image from Nasa. Rest of it handpainted.

Software - Max, ZBrush, Photoshop, Mental Ray


Good luck to everyone else, I had a good time and learned a lot!

[ahmetekn]

Hey Nicholas, really beatiful modeling and texturing. Very realistic render. Impressive scene and atmosphere. Ligting and environment is awesome. Congratulations!Good luck mate for final step :thumbsup:

Cheers :beer:

[sasquatch70]

Hey Nicholas,

Thats a really big finish man. It was exciting seeing all of this come together. Congrats on your completion, and an awesome piece of art.
Brad

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