HARDCORE MODELING!: 80's Cartoon: Ninja Turtles Character Series Redesign

[robo3687]

this looks awesome......i like:buttrock:

[sburto20]

I'm digging the concept, wish there was a close up
of the sculpt.

[razeverius]

Cool!..rock on:buttrock:

[samartin]

Looking fantastic, looks like it could be a new TMNT gritty version, loving the paint-over, I'm always envious of those skills!

Looking forward to see this progress :)

[PasKal]

I like it !!
I'll follow your progression!

[WyattHarris]

Well it looks fantastic. What I really like is that approach, very good idea for the future.

[vshen]

Hi guys thank you for the replies. Had some time on the weekend to actually work on this thing. My main goal was to get a basemesh done which is pretty much done for Leonardo. Rocksteady is almost finished as well and should complete that tonight.

As you can see I did a head concept on how I want Rocksteady to look like and with the final sculpt I will make some minor changes. It usually does anyways.

I have a few more characters to do and hopefully I can do them on time.

I will post some larger pics tonight just a little tired now and really wanna go to sleep.:)


http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/rocksteady-concept.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/rocksteady-progress.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/leonardo-progression.jpg

[Geta-Ve]

Wow! Looks fantastic. Not a fan of the turtle face design myself, but Rocksteady looks top notch.

[cbeese]

rocksteady looks really nice

[SteveTsang]

Hey vshen, your concepts are really cool, I like the take on the Leo, very original :) Rocksteady is looking good too but I really feel the originality with the turtle! The zbrush stuff is looking impressive :)

Good luck!

[maje3d]

Now, ya see, this is what I think what we all wanted back in the second grade when the Ninja Turtles LA movies came out. Rocksteady looks absolutely amazing from that concept work, and I must ask if there are any plans to do Bebop as well?

[vshen]

Hey guys thanks for the replies. I will be posting some more WIP images when I get home (currently at work now), mainly it's the basemeshes for rocksteady and leonardo. I am also in progress in designing other charcters like Baxter but we will see how we go.

Again appreciate all the replies.

[Matasorapit]

Awesome, your concept ideas are awesome bro.

[axiomatic]

I really envy the ease at which you can get so much character out of zbrush.

Are you sculpting directly from zb or using a base mesh from somewhere else?

I think the Rocksteady is looking great although i think a different colour for his horn (and more striation textures) would help sell him :)

[vshen]

Here are the progress of Leonardo and Rocksteady so far. Basically it is blocking and shaping of the two models. I am not 100% sure of the overall bodytype of rocksteady but I will be exploring a few ideas. Also I am not 100% of the costume of leonardo so I will probably do some paintovers.

Will post some more as soon as I get some solid work on it hopefully after work.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/leonardo-progression_2.jpg



http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/rocksteady-progress_7-1.jpg

[SteveTsang]

The models are looking great though I kinda hoped Leo would've had more amphibian looking hands and feet. The head is faithful to the original concept which is great to see :)

Great stuff :)

[vshen]

Here is another update. Basically just been playing around witht he pose for Rocksteady. Design hasn't been finalised yet but will be working this weekend to get that to a solid state including leonardo. Didn't really get much solid time this past few days because of work but this weekend should be good. Also started on Baxter Stockman. I really wanna redesign this character because I feel he could look more menacing.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/rocksteady-pose-paintover.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/pose-2-gray.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/pose-1-gray.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/baxter-the-fly-concept-sculpt.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/baxter-eye-test.jpg

[vshen]

Another update just adding the extra limbs on baxter and legs. Still a concept sculpt so far and when I get a better idea i'll retopo again.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/baxter-concept-sculpt-progress.jpg

[Crix Dorius]

Would be interesting to see Splinter, Bebop and Shredder. Maybe Krang too.

Nice one so far. :thumbsup:

[Geta-Ve]

Hmm.. I am definitely not digging the pose you got going on with Rocksteady. Baxter on the other hand is looking pretty good, though the face needs some work I think.

You have a good pace going, keep it up!

[vshen]

Geta-Ve: I agree with you with the pose having a look at it now. I will probably go for some type of standing pose. At this stage though.... and this goes with the rest of the characters that I have done so far, I haven't really nailed down the bodytype of all of them yet so I really wanna solve that in the next few days and have a proper topology for them. Still concepting their gear and costumes also.

Crix Dorius: Would love to add those characters too because I have ideas on how they might look.... it just depends how fastI get to these current characters.

SteveTsang: I will still concised the webbed fingers coz the look of leo has not be finalized yet and it still has basic topology which I will retopo when I have the look locked down.

[vshen]

Here is the update on Baxter's wings. Just experimenting at this point but I am happy at this stage on how it might look but it might change whenI do some paintovers.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/baxter-wings-wip_1.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/baxter-wings-wip_2.jpg

[Itsgallus]

Hello Vshen

Whoa man.....it bring me back good memories from my childhood,

especially Baxter, I almost forgot that character...... Simply a CLASSIC..!

here's some reference i found about the classic outfit of baxter
[/url][url="http://members.fortunecity.com/zobovor/baxter_stockman_kitbash.html"]References (http://members.fortunecity.com/zobovor/baxter_stockman_kitbash.html)

can't wait to see the whole scene, Keep it up man.. :thumbsup:

//cheers

[vshen]

Itsgallus:

Yeah doing this does bring back memories and I have been watching the old episodes in youtube to familiarise my self with again. I was surprised thatI still know some of the lines from the first episodes!.... weird!?!

By the way thanks for the link on the reference. At thiis stage I am not suree if I am going to use his old costume but who knows.

[Geta-Ve]

Hmm, those wings look like they are going to be a real pain in the butt to model. That being said however I would add few more pairs up on his back ... give him more of a mutated look?

Good luck on the wings! :D :bounce:

[axiomatic]

Looking good so far. Just one crit on Baxter is about the wings.

Right now they feel to me more like bird wings around the base. I think this is because of the sharp change in angle up the top. I think insects have straighter wings because most of them use the indirect flight mechanism ... basically their thorax moves which causes the wings to more.

It's not a big thing but I thought I should mention it as I think that the insect-ness of the character could be quickly lost if the wings don't sit right with his body.

Check out the images below and maybe also this tutorial (http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?act=article&article_id=60&category_id=10&article_author=Graham&usg=__r9egSUMT_qPXPE3H4FHssyYDmlI=) on making realistic insect wings for models:

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/imgmay03/rhimages/Insect_wing1203c.jpg
http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/template-assets-custom/images/insect_wings.jpghttp://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/v/va/valike/685805_insect_wings.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Maybug.jpg/740px-Maybug.jpg

[vshen]

I finally get some hours into working on this so I used to block out some accessories for Leonardo. Still need work on the hands and feet which I am living till last.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/leonardo-progression_2-1.jpg

[vshen]

A little update on the arm accessories.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/leonardo-progression_3.jpg

[angel]

Leonardo is looking very good, the bottom side of the mask seems a bit strange, consider making it a straight line instead :thumbsup:

[WyattHarris]

Leonardo is looking very good, the bottom side of the mask seems a bit strange, consider making it a straight line instead :thumbsup:
Yeah, unless you're going to build up the geometry around the eyes and such to make the cloth look bunched up. Otherwise yeah, looks like a cut out.

[vshen]

Thanks guys Yeah right now the mask hasn't been sculpted yet... it will definitely have more shape and definition to it... also i am still going back forth with the design on it and on most things on leonardo. I will definitely start working on the mask soon.

[OskarR]

Here is another update. Basically just been playing around witht he pose for Rocksteady. Design hasn't been finalised yet but will be working this weekend to get that to a solid state including leonardo. Didn't really get much solid time this past few days because of work but this weekend should be good. Also started on Baxter Stockman. I really wanna redesign this character because I feel he could look more menacing.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/rocksteady-pose-paintover.jpg

This render is great :) Could U tell more how it's done? or maybe give a link to a tutorial about how to show characters this way? Will be greatfull for any tips :) And keep up the good work :)

[vshen]

OskarR: Thanks for viewing my thread and noticing Rocksteady. I will prepare A more visual WIP on how I worked on this particular image once I get appropriate time to actually work on it.

But to quickly summarise it.... it is comprised of several zbrush passes that I did, which included a bump, specular, a grey shaded pass and a rough polypainted color pass. These were all brought to photoshop which most of the work was done. It is photoshop heavy and required some paintovers.

It is not a fully rendered 3d image.... it is more of a previsualisatioon on how I would want the final 3d image to look like and since it is still in the design stage it is not final and mostly will go through a lot of changes in style, design and mood.

This technique helps me to really visualise the final look I am going for before I commit to painting several maps and playing around with shaders to get the final 3d look.

Currently though I am not happy with the shape of rocksteady and I am currently shaping his anatomy and wokring on his costume.... so u may see me do another one of these images again before I go for the 3d render.

Thanks again for looking at my work... very much appreciated. Once I get the time I will put a more visual explanation of my work process. In general though I don't have a strict process and generally going back and forth...lol I just can't make up my mind!!

[OskarR]

some strange delay coused that i didn't see my first reply so i wrote another one and then the first one occured so i delete the first one since it's almost the same as the second one
sorry for mistake

[OskarR]

Thx for Your reply, I'm looking forward to see that Making of Rocksteady :) Hope to see not so particular software oriented since i work in Gimp for instance and U as i understand in PS :) so it would be nice if U could explain more about what U did and not just say what tool U used. Will be greatfull for any tips :) Keep up the great work!
OskarR

[WyattHarris]

Hey Vshen I just wanted to tell you that as a big TMNT fan, and I'm being totally serious, this is best looking concept of a ninja turtle I've ever seen. Leonardo looks so bad ass right now. Like a mix of a ninja turtle and Snake Eyes. Keep it up bro, I'm really loving your progress.

[vshen]

OskarR: I'll try my best :)

WyattHarris: Thanks bro rally appreciate it... hopefully I can get some serious progress done in the next few days... just doing some of his accessories now but I really wanna get into sculpting him more zbrush!

Looking forward to your cheetara... like I said before she has a killer pose and I am digging the boots.

[vshen]

Latest update so far... still a lot of tweaking to do with all the belts and everything else! lol!

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/leonardo-progression_4.jpg

[theKid123]

cool design on Leonardo.. especially how you use bandanna over the head instead of just over the eye

[vshen]

Quick polypaint and a bit of photoshopretouch to explore color.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/leonardo-progression_5.jpg

[robo3687]

i love everything about this...except the fact he looks like he's smiling...alot.....lol....he needs to get his angry face on...

[OskarR]

as far as i love how the armas, muscles, vains came out i don't like the way the torso looks. i think that the front part af the "armor" need some work. keep it up :)

[vshen]

robo3687: lol! just noticed that... I've been looking at this for for a while that I kinda gotten used to the smily face! I was postponing to fix it till later but now looking at it I will fix it immediately! A happy turtle is a weak turtle!

OskarR: Thanks for the input dude.... I am currently experimenting with the front at the moment and I have a few versions of it that I am currently trying.... so nothing is final at the moment. It's so frustrating when I can't make up my mind. Seems like I think more than I work. lol!

[OskarR]

post them all!:) and we will help U decide :)

[LMG]

Its looking amazing.
as OskarR said the armor plate at the front needs a little bit or tweeking. The plates are in its contour one object and the subdivition doesnt add any realism as its just almost like a texture. If you could make some plates with almost irregular unions would add a lot more i think.

In the overall is a great entry!!

[vshen]

Here is another update... Still very rough on the poly paint just fixed his facial expression a bit but will still need some more refining. At this point I wanna finalize the design of the costume or at the very least have a solid direction.

Thanks robo3687 for pointing out the smily face:)

OskarR, LMG:
I will post different versions of the front armour (shell) in my next post.... just priortising the costumes at the moment.

ohttp://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/leonardo-progression_6.jpg

[vshen]

Been working on the head a bit.. still not happy with it. On to Rocksteady for a bit. I need a break from Leo!

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/leonardo-head-2.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/leonardo-head.jpg

[OskarR]

i like it but, i think that he looks a bit to "pissed off" right now. also the first ones U posted were closer to turtle head and this goes more into human. i don't know what your intensions were with this one but i think U should make the head less human and less "give me back my cookie" :) waiting for the Rocksteady :D

[vshen]

OskarR:

Yeah I might have to get it closer to my concept art. I haven't looked at for a while that I really went away from it. I still want to make him a bit angry though.

[WyattHarris]

More turtle might be a good idea but he definitely looks better MAD. :D

[ZombieGoasts]

Superb work ! I love your concept. Keep rocking.

[vshen]

WyattHarris: Yeah I definitely need to make him more turtle, gotta go back to my concept art. I prefer him mad too. :)

ZombieGoasts: Thanks for the positive comment.... Trying really hard to this point to get these two characters done by the deadline. Probably finish Baxter after the challenge.


http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/rocksteady-textured.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/rocksteady-grey.jpg

[OskarR]

the detail on Rocksteady rocks! Only thing is that U messed up with all the "madness". U made Rocksteady not mad enough for him and enough for Leo. And Leo is far to madd for him but just right there for Rocksteady :) but that's just me thinking loud :)

[vshen]

Rocksteady update.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/rocksteady-progress_1.jpg

[WyattHarris]

Dang, looks like a rhino version of Michael Clark Duncan, big ol' boy. Looks great Vshen.

[OskarR]

more closeups required :) great work! can't wait for the final render :)

[Senseicapi]

wow, this is looking incredible Vshen!

[vshen]

WyattHarris: Lol, he does give that kind of impression. If they ever make a live action tmnt again he would make a great rocksteady. Rocksteady could be cgi but he would drive the performance and the voice.

OskarR: Thanks mate, I'll have more closeups in my future updates.

Senseicapi: Thanks for the kind comment.... working hard now to actually completing it. Still a fair bit to go.

Slight update on Leonardo.... made some small changes on the mouth and a quick concept sculpt on the mask. Also did a quick paintover on the eyes and the shell. I should get to work on those. lol.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/leonardo-progression_7.jpg

[vshen]

WyattHarris: Lol, he does give that kind of impression. If they ever make a live action tmnt again he would make a great rocksteady. Rocksteady could be cgi but he would drive the performance and the voice.

OskarR: Thanks mate, I'll have more closeups in my future updates.

Senseicapi: Thanks for the kind comment.... working hard now to actually completing it. Still a fair bit to go.

Here is un update on leonardo. nothing much just working on some changes for his mouth and worked more on the textures. Also did a rough paintover on the eyes and shell.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/leonardo-progression_7.jpg

[vshen]

Not really much of an update.... just testin how i m going to render this.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/leonardo-head-3.jpg

[stage-gr]

This is progressing so sweet!
And to be honest the smirk he had before didn't bother me much, it had something menacing about it combined with that 'coming atcha' walking pose.

you think of rendering both of them facing off?

[vshen]

Thanks for the comment stage-gr.... I didn't mind the smile either but right now I'm just playing around with different stuff and finalizing the other parts of him. Still gotta finish off some other elements for Rocksteady.

I might consider rendering them facing off... that's actually a good a idea.

[OskarR]

that is looking better and better. I'm just thinking that U should add more detail to the mask/tissue an the top of his head. the skin detail and the face detail is just right but next to those the mask looks too simple :) keep it up and show some progress on ROCKSTEADY :D

[vshen]

I won't have time to finish Rocksteady so I will just have to finish him after the next challenge. I will start posting his progress in 3d WIP section of the forums so if there is anybody interested.... you watch out for it there.
For Leonardo I will just have to finish off what I need for to complete the challenge... but there is till room for refinement in the design area after the challenge so it will also be in the 3d WIP section.

Latest update is just some rpugh render test at low res mesh. I will have the final renders soon with textures.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/leonardo-progression_8.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/leonardo-progression_9.jpg

[wev]

That is very cool desing ... keep rock

Hope you had time to finish it ...

regards

wev

[samartin]

Loving that 1st grey render, the mood suits your take perfectly, fantastic work :) Good luck with finalising it

[vshen]

wev and samartin thanks for te comments and everyone else that has been commenting on my thread. Unfortunately I won't have to finish it for the deadline... there is still some work to do with him and not enough time. :(
However I will still complete him in the next few days along with Rocksteady and I will be starting a new thread in the 3d WIP section so watch out for both of them there.
Good luck to everyone! There is a lot of talent in this challenge so it will be very hard to judge.

[vshen]

First of all thanks Roberto for the really needed extension, I really appreciate otherwise I wouldn't have a final entry.

Character Redesign: Ninja Turtles - Leonardo

Artist Name: George Evangelista

Description:

My goal for this challenge is to create my version of the Ninja Turtles. I would like to have explored through the concept stage a lot more and get deeper with the character, but since this is a modeling challenge I just have to go with the first thing I can conceptualize and generalise everything else.

Softwares Used: Maya 2008, Zbrush 3.1 and Headus UV Layout

My Concept Art:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/Ninja-Turtle-Progress-Update--1.jpg

My WIP:

(http://%20http//forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=208&t=738036) http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=208&t=738036

NOTE: Addtional Renders are in WIP thread because I wasn't able to fit in all the images I needed to include.

Beauty Render:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/beautyrender1_4-1.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/beautyrender2_1-1.jpg

Orthographic Renders:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/orthographiccomp.jpg

Wires:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/wireframe_1.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/wireframe_2.jpg

Thanks to everyone who commented on my thread and good luck with all the participants. I really enjoyed the challenge and it's a pleasure to do it with really motivated fellow artists.

[energise]

Really love your concept art =P it has feeling! and i like the way you have drawn the eyes!

For the model.. i hate it! JUST KIDDING!!! ;)

It looks awesome! the thing i love the most is the swordpose! that is soo ninja :P
kinda like when they run towards each other in a duel on a field in the sunset..

To bad you didn´t have time to finish rocksteady on time :/ would have been great to see the size comparison between the two ;)

Great work! Hope to see you in a future challange!

[vshen]

Thanks for your comments energise.... I had a lot of fun waiting to see your progress of skeletor each time. I already saw your majiin buu before you entered the challenge so I knew what awesomeness to expect from you.:)

Since it was a modeling challenge and only a month to do it on there was no time for me really to play around with shaders and textures to kinda match it to the concept art but will do so after the challenge and will go over some modeling stuff that I never had time to refine.

Here is the latest beauty render and additonal one since the one I posted in the entry was a low resolution one.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/beautyrender1_4-1.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c108/vshen/Ninja%20Turtles/beautyrender2_1-1.jpg

[WyattHarris]

Wow, simply amazing man. Congratulations!

[energise]

was just curious on how you made the skin bump? =P it looks very good!

[vshen]

WyattHarris: Thanks really appreciate it. Oh also thanks for the reply on the other thread about submitting my work in the gallery. I'm in the process of finishing off all the stuff I left out for this challenge and will be re-rendering it again for the gallery.

energise: It was a combination of using the default alphas in Zbrush 3.1 and some alphas from Gnomon to get the general look (at this stage I used the spray brush and the drag erect in Zbrush) after that I used several brushes in Zbrush and photoshop to refine and accentuate certain areas. I then got a cavity map out of my model took it to photoshop and tweaked it a little bit more and before saving it as a bump map and that's about it.

I am actually still tweaking it now because I didn't have the time to paint any decent maps because of frustrating Maya technical issues that I had to find a workaround during the challenge.

I really need to upgrade my computer so I can render models that are a gazillion polys! lol!

[energise]

Congrats on beating me u bastard! hehe ;)

Just kidding! If it were up to me you would have won the "best model" as well =)

have you set up something in the wip section yet?

lookin forward to it!

All the best /Jonas

[Satellite1984]

Interesting take on a classic creation
congrats dude
i gotta eventully go back to mine and finish my turtles

grats again

D

[saber16]

... This rocks... so much.

... Makes me want to do a realistic take myself.

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