HMC #17 : Star Wars Steampunk - Boba Fett

[TurdFerguson]

Good luck man. That concept art is wicked. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

[Maxidius]

Alright, time for some updates. I've been off to a slow start since I've been finishing up another project which, ironically, is also steampunk themed. Anyway, here's what I've got to post so far.

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Body1.jpg

I've started work on getting his mass down so I can pull from it to make his clothing. I know the legs are way off but in the original art, his legs seem crazily thin and I'm not sure if I'll go with his design on that part or a more realistic style. Also looking at it now I think I need to narrow his shoulder more. This is one scrawny Boba Fett! I don't have the best eye for proportion so please feel free to point out all the areas I'm way off.

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Shinguard1.jpg

I finished a flattened version of his shin guard plate. I've also started a flattened version of the leather strap (not shown) that holds this to his shin. Once I get the form down and I model more of his clothes, I'll use a bend deformer to wrap it around his shin.

I've also just begun work on his helmet and his pistol. I'm saving the jet pack for last since it'll be the most fun. More to come soon!

[ColinC]

Great work so far man, I'd like to see Boba be on the skinny side, seems like it'd give him more character/personality instead of a generic human form. If you do decide to go in the thinner direction, definitely thin up the shoulder, arms and legs.

Other than that, keep it up man, can't wait to see more.

[Maxidius]

I think I will make him thinner. I'll post the new body soon, I'm almost done with the gun though and gawd do I love it! Will post updates very soon!

[Maxidius]

Small update, finally got some shots of the gun.

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Gun1.jpg

Looking at the image now, I just realized I completely forgot to add the little hook part at the back of the gun. I'll get right on that. I had to stray from the concept on this in a few areas since I found a few images I really wanted to incorporate. There's actually a mix of old western revolver parts, rifle parts and even parts from a nerf gun. I had to put in a few less exhaust holes on the back of the gun. A round hole on a round object = hell for me. Anyone have a good system for it? You can see the poly flow for it in the image, the holes just warp a lot when smoothed. On his shin guard they warped also but I found that if I smooth it before using the bend deformer on it, it works just fine but this... bleh.

I will probably add a few minor details to it, maybe some screws or something as well as the detail on the back of the gun but for now I'll jump on to the next thing and keep moving it forward. I'll post my progression on the body and clothes next I think.

More to come soon! :)

[Nothingness]

First i would suggest even more flamboyant detail, but you just do what you feel you can handle. I also noted the eye-sight cap at the beginning is rotated 90° wrong according to the concept. I think in the way the concept works it's better suited to protect it from the light.

About the wholes in the back part, i got just the solution for you! But in about an hour i gotta get to work and have little time to do it and show it. But i hope i can do it tomorrow! If not i can sure do it by friday.
I think you use maya so there are 2 options. The only thing i gotta warn you about, i'm not really a fan of modeling hard surface things and smoothing them. Sometimes this works very well, but if you look at my zeppelin walker you'll see not 1 thing is smoothed. For more organic stuff i could agree with ya to do it this way, but for the gun i would not advice it.
The advantage is you can work with n-gons and forget a lot about pure quads due to smoothing issues.
I know that modeling in high detail can get you lot's of polygon, but in the end they could be less than a smoothed version. I know the approximation editor for mental ray can make this a sweet thing cause it happens at render time, but smoothing can fu"k up your uv layout seriously so that's why i don't use that.

One more thing, i just saw your base mesh for buba again, and you need to do some research on human anatomy. Check the position of the knees and elbows and you'll see they are way out of place. Measure your own arm from shoulder to elbow and elbow to wrist. You'll see directly what i mean.

cheers and PM me if you think i forgot you before the weekend starts. (ps. i live in european time :beer: )

[Maxidius]

Thanks Nothingness

I hadn't noticed how off I was on the body mesh, it was just a quick laying out of the shape but I've got a better reference image to go off of now so I should have it laid out a lot better. As for the decorations on the gun, I'm worried my poly count may get too high. I'm sort of working in detail passes so for now I want to get everything on par with each other and up to a certain level of detail, then I'll go over it again with more detail. I fixed the sight on the gun's scope. I had rotated it on purpose originally thinking it was more of an eye piece rather than a hood to block light. I'm not sure which it functions better as but I'll stick to the concept on this one so it's back upright. Thanks for the comments and I look forward to your solution on the holes in the exhaust!

-D

[Nothingness]

Ok,

i made the example and the screenshots, uploaded them and later tonight i'll make a detailed post with the links and little explanation.
cheers

[Maxidius]

Thanks for the help again Nothingness.

Small update, fixed part of the body proportions. Please give feedback on this one, I can't decide how far I want to push the proportions. His legs are very thin so I mathed that with his arms to a point, shortened his pelvis and relocated his knee.

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Body2.jpg
Let me know what you all think, the more feedback, the better!

[Nothingness]

good corrections,

i see you are still not sure about what to do about the legs, but you just have to decide wether you make is more comic style or realistic. I would suggest comic. So this gives you much more freedom to be expresive in shape.

Comic would fit the sketch really good.

cheers and i'll post the little tutorial soon i got some more time.

[Nothingness]

Okay,

here i am with a bit of time to start writing my step by step tutorial.

Do note, think of it as just a way to do this. There are different ways and it's your own creativity that can get you places you wanna be. About detail, the amount of detail i used is in my opinion not high. It's medium and you can use as much as you feel is necessary. In a second part i'll show a little piece with the same thing only just a bit more detail.

part 1 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_1.jpg)
you can start with a flat piece and make sure the squars are proportional

part 2 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_2.jpg)
i made a selection of the ones i want to use as a hole
in this stage you can already delete them accept the middle one. You'll see in a moment.

part 3 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_3.jpg)
i made a cylinder with a roundness of 8 faces. When you use more subdiv you just change this. It'll come clear in a sec.
Do make sure the lower part is perfectly aligned to the flat surface. You'll be snapping points to the cylinder to get it as good as possible.

part 4 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_4.jpg)
select them

part 5 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_5.jpg)
extrude them, then use scale to move them inwards.

part 6 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_6.jpg)
scale these 4 points.

part 7 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_7.jpg)
extrude again and snap these points to the cylinder if the roundness doesn't match. I already deleted it here.

part 8 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_8.jpg)
you could move the cylinder to another place for a hole and do the above steps again, but i got a better idea.

part 9 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_9.jpg)
if you already deleted the other faces, good! if not, you can do this now.

part 10 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_10.jpg)
i duplicated the whole mesh and deleted all other faces accept these ones.

part 11 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_11.jpg)
duplicate the sole hole and align to the rest.

part 12 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_12.jpg)
select all and make it 1 piece by unifieing. And delete the ones sticking out at the side. These get combined later on.

part 13 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_13.jpg)
take the mesh and apply a non-linear bend deformer.

part 14 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_14.jpg)
just give the bend deformer a little curvature so you see where it curves.

part 15 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_15.jpg)
like this

part 16 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_16.jpg)
now rotate the bend deformer so it bends the right direction

part 17 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_17.jpg)
give the bend curvature of the number pi. I know maya rounds it numbert to 3 digits after the point, but inserting a number with many digits does give you more perfection. So type in 3.141529 or whatever comes after this. Then you make the surface a perfect cylinder.

part 18 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_18.jpg)
this you'll see but don't type in this number. It's not accurate enough.

part 19 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_19.jpg)
Delete history on the surface and do a merge vertices. Check the distance setting.

part 20 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_20.jpg)
select all the inner edges of the holes with the edge loop tool for ease.

part 21 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_21.jpg)
extrude the edges inward to get the rounded look when it's shaded. One thing you'll see with the bonus tools is that it's actually better to do this when the object is still flat. After this it's always possible to round it.

part 22 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole_22.jpg)
this is what it looks like now in smoothed condition.



bonus 1 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole2_1.jpg)
to get a little better result than the top example, scale these 4 points outward so the deviding looks more equally divided. gives a better shaded and smoothed result.

bonus 2 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole2_3.jpg)
if you convert 9 faces to a whole you get just a better result. Either you use this for bigger wholes, or you have more division to start with. Your choice.

bonus 3 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole2_4.jpg)
Delete the 9 inner faces and snap the points to the edges of the cylinder to get the same roundness. Also scale the outward points to have a better distribution of points.

bonus 4 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole2_5.jpg)
use the inser edge loop tool to add an edge and then extrude the inner edge to below.

bonus 5 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole2_6.jpg)
this is how it looks smoothed

bonus 6 (http://users.edpnet.be/nothingness/3idee/Roundholed/roundhole2_7.jpg)
this is not smoothed


hope you learn something from it. Just don't forget you have to change it according to what result you need.
cheers

[Maxidius]

Thanks Nothingness, that's actually the method I'm using for the shingaurd. I hadn't thought to make a cylinder in the same way. I'll post my progress later tonight but I went about it like you did it actually causes warping around the holes when you bend it. I did get it to work just like the shin gaurd simply by smoothing it before I use the bend deformer on it. Maybe I did something different to cause it to warp, but I'll post the images later so you can see it.

-D

[Maxidius]

Update on the gun, fixed the tube in the back with the exhaust holes, added another level of detail and tweaked a few parts I didn't like. The wireframe render shows the smoothed parts in red and the unsmoothed parts in yellow.

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Gun2.jpg

More to come soon!

[MysticDread]

Beautiful!

And, may I add, a fine way to visually keep your poly counts in check on a large project with the colored wires. :)

Looking forward to more!

[Maxidius]

Small update, did a little work on his jacket with the wrinkles along the sleeves up to his armpit. Still needs a lot of work but it's coming along. I'm worried the end of the sleeve on the top of his arm is a little too busy so I may smooth some of that out. Feedback on this part would be most helpful!

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Jacket1.jpg

[etd382]

The gun is awesome and the topology for the wrinkles are very well done. Keep it up.

[Maxidius]

It never feels like I've gotten very far even though I put a lot of work into it. I'm my own worst critic I guess. Anyway, here are some new updates.

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Body3.jpg

His clothes are coming together. There's a bit of weirdness I just noticed on his thigh that I need to fix and I will later latice the leg back to it's scarily thin size like the reference, I just kind of modeled my way off of the reference as I went along.

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Jacket2.jpg

Closeup of the jacket, I need to add a couple more wrinkles once I mirror it across but for now I'm happy with it though if anyone finds areas I need to fix, I would love to know!

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Glove1.jpg

Detailing on the glove model. Came out alright I think, I am still deciding whether or not I am going to do some zbrush work on this project or not. I know the hand isn't perfect, I started spending too much time on them and had to pull myself away to keep moving.

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Face%20Mask1.jpg

Finished up the start to his face mask/helmet. I'll be using a couple bend deformers on this to get the curves on it. Once that's done, I'll add the eye lenses and the rest of the gear.
That's it for now, more to come soon!

[ColinC]

It's lookin' really nice man, I can't wait to see more.

[TCPortfolio]

It really is! Love the style of the concept, and I think you are on the right track with the modeling style-wise. This is going to be awesome, can't wait to see how it turns out.

[Nothingness]

great work on the clothes. It really start to have the style of the concept.
About the hand, i know organic modeling is a drag but try to examine your
own hand and you'll see in a quicky where thickness is and so on. Would help
you a little further.

About the helmet, don't forget to add loops inbetween before smoothing. The best
solution is that there where the curvature is, the polygons should be squares. Only then
you'll get a good smoothing.

cheers

[Maxidius]

Just an overall update, moved forward with a lot of the model. Finished up the gloves a little more (though I still want to tweak the hands a bit,) completed the jacket and pants, finished the boot (though I need to figure out how the shin guard will attach to the boot,) and did a quick model of the plating over his foot. I'll post detail shots soon.

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Body4.jpg
Note: The seam down the middle of his jacket is where I'll be putting in the zipper. For now, it's just a modeled crease.

[Maxidius]

Another small update, just need to tackle the jetpack with all of it's straps and finish up the rest of his helmet. Any feedback or criticism at this point would be wonderful!

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Body5.jpg

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Face%20Mask2.jpg

[hugopdionisi]

Hey Derek!

I loved the way u modeled the clothes!
Time is runnig!
good luck!

[Maxidius]

More updates, everything else is done at this point except for the jetpack and I've got a lot of free time over the next couple of days so it should come out good. Or I may want to beat my head against a wall. Either way it should be interesting!

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Body6.jpg

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Face%20Mask3.jpg

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Boots1.jpg

[ColinC]

It's looking nice Derek, the bend for the helmet looks great, there looks to be a bit of pinching near one of the circles in the ear cover, but it's a circle cut in a curved surface, no biggie.
My only Crit would be that the eye scope things look like they stick out a bit too far, there doesn't look to be too much room on the inside to push it back, but it's nothing a little scaling can't handle.

I can't wait to see you tackle the jetpack. Keep at it man. :D

[RobertoOrtiz]

This is great work! Keep it up.

And remember this is a modeling challenge, not a SHADING challenge.

You can post a unshaded models as a finished entry.

-R

[Halcyon-88]

Looking great man. You're really doing the concept art justice. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[Maxidius]

Took a flying leap forward, I didn't really have time to keep going with the updates since I sort of just sat for two days straight working out the rest of the model and getting some sort of texture on there. I think it came out ok but any criticism on the model, texture, pose or render are very VERY welcome!

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Final%201.jpg

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Final%202.jpg

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Final%203.jpg

Closeup of the jetpack that I didn't really get to post before.
http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Final%204.jpg

[DogBreath]

Great model Derek missed your thread until I just saw your final post. I really like the pose and the blue flame, the proportions of the legs keeps the concept characteristic really nce. I would like to see what you could do with ZBrush instaead of modelling the wrinkles in the clothes.

[MysticDread]

Awesome, Derek!

Congratulations on the entry. Great looking final model!

[Halcyon-88]

Great job man! :beer:

[Maxidius]

Thanks for all the replies! If anyone has any more suggestions on ways I can still improve the final product please let me know!

DogBreath: Thanks and yeah, I had hoped to get it into Zbrush but unfortunately my free time is short and it didn't happen. I may do it yet though, we'll see what I can do going forward.

[HooBleedyHooBlah]

Nice work here man...nice control on your hard surfaces. i have a question for you though. how did you do or acquire the hot flames effect from his booster?

[Maxidius]

HooBleedyHooBlah:
The flames are just several polygon cones coming out from the engine. They are textured with plain color, made transparent and given a glow effect. The center white flame is somewhat opaque with ambient white color. I've also got rays of it shooting off in certain directions though those didn't pick up as well. I'll have to do more work on my own time to get it the way I want it.

[Nothingness]

you really produced a very nice final model.

only thing i still think needs some attention is the heels. And if you want to make a new pose, i would suggest looking and studying some manga fighting poses. This pose is just a little too boring for the style it has. It needs more character. More exaggeration would help.

cheers and great work

[Maxidius]

Nothingness:
Thanks for the feedback, I tweaked a lot in the pose since I posted this but I don't know how much more I am willing to tweak. I know what you're saying, if I had my way, I'd bend his back entirely to show the force of the jetpack pulling him by the straps and bend his arms a lot more. I think after tweaking it though, I can get it to a good point for showing the model but when I rigged him for the pose, it was kind of a pain in the arse. We'll see what I can do though.

[WyattHarris]

The concept is so odd (not bad, odd) but I think you did a great job capturing it. Makes him look more animal than human but it is very cool. The spot I think needs more attention is the hands. From the angles I see they look very flat and could use a lot more volume. More knuckles, more transition from the wrist to the hand. I can't really make out the right hand but I assume its similar to the left. He does have skinny hands from the concept but this would help balance out long spindly fingers vs. meaty palms. Just my opinion but I think that would make a nice contrast.

[Toann1980]

Great work throughout Derek. I really liked the concept that you worked from and I think you captured that.

[DDS]

very clean model! Shapes look really simple yet defined. Cool stuff man!!

[Maxidius]

WyattHarris:
Thanks, I've gotten a few comments about those hands. I've sized and reposed them a couple of times now and I'll post an update to it soon but I'm still not really happy with them. I'll keep working on them. Thanks for the critique!

DDS:
Thanks man, I loved your model as well. I really tried to stay true to the concept but now that it's done I think I'm gonna take it to the extreme.

[Maxidius]

A couple final renders done for this, I'll continue working on it and may start a regular work in progress thread for my continued work, but this is where it's at for now. Thanks again to all the constructive criticism!

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Second%20Pose%201%20Small.jpg

http://www.chaoshawaii.com/cgtalk/Second%20Pose%202%20Small.jpg

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