DWIV - 3D - DarkBlueArt - The Warfieldgatherer

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

I slept a night over the design and thought it would be too common. So I took my pen, shaked my brain a bit and tried another idea.

So the new version basicly consists of this bunch of mech-electronical tentacles. Everyone can send datas faster as human neurons and have thousands of terrabyte storage for information. The armor is now for protection and contain all the sensors, which are linked to the tentacles. In emergency, the armor can be blown of, and the tentacle can escape each by it self. So it is hard to caught this new version von the DaimoSense.

Maybe anyone of you have some ideas for improvements?
Would love to hear some suggestions to make it better!

so long

http://blendpolis.de/a/daimosense2full.jpg

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

The idea with the tentacles was good, i thought. Did a quick test, building a simple model to look how it could work. But i guess, that is too much for 10k tris. I just have no idea how I get this done just with this amount of polygons. So I guess i have to go on scribbling some ideas for that.

so long

http://blendpolis.de/a/daimosensert1.jpg

[ersinerturk]

i liked how you designed legs differently. but imo you should add more joints and stuff to make it look more mechanic, more machine.
regards

[namnocilis]

nice sketches.. when u do something with too many extrusion, the polycount will be an issue as the silhouette always needs those polygons. may be you can avoid those antennas and spikes on the back of it and work on the shapes instead.. the tentacles are always cool, i just love it :love: Good start! keep updating..

[inqy]

That paint-sketch up there reminded me of a swiss army knife. ;D I love how it looks both mechanical AND demonic.

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

thank you everyone for the comments you wrote. I do love the tentacles idea, too, but the polycount just kills the idea. :cry:

I gonna sketch some more, I hope for saving the main-idea, but making it realizable with the polys.

@inqy: yeah, I like this combination, too. Maybe I should push this idea a bit further? :arteest:

so long

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

okay, I guess I will go this way. The armor will cover more of the tantacles, so that just the ends of them will look out. But I want to let them look more dramatically. Also, the whole mech will be shortend and shrinked a bit, so that I can save some Polys there.
Here is a scribble. Maybe you have any suggestions.

so long

http://blendpolis.de/a/daimosense-scribble3.jpg

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

I just want to say i am still working on and began to turn the artwork into polygons. Still very WIP, I first want to do some kind of basemesh and add more and more details on it. This is one first step.

so longhttp://blendpolis.de/a/daimosensert2.jpg

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

much time past by since the last time. I wasn't lazy, but I thought I have to rethink my concept, because it seems a bit lifeless and boring.

So I changed a bit into a new direction. Combining the perfect senses Mother Nature gave to animals, this new "Phobos"-machine combines parts of mechatronical sensors and the skills of dogs and wolves to a new generation of observing and scouting units. The tentacles are still in there, now controlling the fleshy parts of this creature.

I like this concept much more. What do you think? Suggestions and critics are welcome as always!

so long

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobost1.jpg

[namnocilis]

i really love the new design, deadly! only thing thats bit bothering me is somehow it resembles a bike tank.. anyways, that shouldn't be a problem.. its much better than the previous design

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

thank you for your reply namnocilis. I hope i can reduce this similarity with a bike tank after adding the details. I am still setting the base mesh, but i wanted to hear if i maybe just tumbling a second time to the wrong direction. Good to hear that you like it.

Updates will follow.

so long

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

Still working at parts of the base-mesh, redesigned the hind legs and began to sculp the first skull.

Additionally, i tried to wrap a story around this unit, so it maybe gets a bit more character:

It was a succesful experiment. The combination of beastly senses and
high-technology creates a very usefull and effectiv scout-unit.
It is called "Phobos".
The machines gained a lot of information with these silent spys behind the enemy lines.
Although fully controlled by the machines something remained in the fleshy, animal parts.
Some kind of will, soul, nature spirit; call it what you want.
But it definitely results in a very aggressive behaviour. Sometimes they even throw
themselves into the battle without a fear. Or maybe the animal part in their functions
just wish to die and be released from the slavery of their steely and soulless masters.

I hope you like it.

so long

http://blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=67718&d=1238426377

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

still moving on.

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobosskull.jpg

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

and the stone keep rolling. Add some details to the chest armor and sculpt a bit the fleshy middle-part.

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobost4.jpg

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

sorry, kicked this peace of concept. Maybe i am just annoyed about myself. I don't know. I will work on my inchoate project and go the whole road, instead of searching a shortcut.

Progress will follow

[DeadInTheAttic]

- perhaps next to the one on the back - and you'll get some kind of Cerberus in an electronical manner. Will it change the final pose, running or attacking or something like that?

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

thank you very much for your comment. But, i really wanted to avoid this "cliché cerberus" - look and try something else.
But your comment gave me the right idea for a weapon this unit can use. Still have to do the design for that.
I redesigned the heads to get away this comic-look and worked with the help of anatomy references on a naturalistic look.
By the way, they will have skinless heads, just muscles amd bones. The muscles will be better definied by a bump map.
I have no mudbox or zbrush, so i have to get along with the tools lord have given to me :thumbsup:

The armor is still in work, but after trying different ideas i get the direction i want to go.

so long

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobost5.jpg

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

well, I guess i am mostly done with the armor. Now additional sculpting will follow. After that i build the lowpoly-version (that's gonna be pain in my ass :argh:). I hope i get it this week done, or it become very hard for me to end this piece until the deadline.

so long

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobost6.jpg

[hugemalaka]

hi there! cool concept, i like certain mechanical parts you have, but i have a crit for you.

Your legs make no technical sense, What i mean by this is they are not maneuverable!

Now my crits may be completely useless if your parts are not to be mechanical, but otherwise, if you plan on keeping them mechanical, this is something you'll definitely have to keep in mind:

Firstly the front legs have no elbow joints, making rotations impossible. Now it this point, this is still your concept, so maybe you want it that way. Either way, it makes movements limited, and seems your character may struggle.

Secondly, your back legs wouldnt ever be able to rotate!, and this is only because the pouli part of your leg is the same object which enters the top part of the leg. In my opinion, i think you should delete the cylinder that seperates the top part of the leg from the lower part. It would look muuuch better.

good luck buddy! Coming along pretty good

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

thank you very much for your comment. But, as you guessed, the legs will not be fully mechanical. In fact, the reddisch parts are going to be flesh, while the grey, purple and black parts are mechanical. I am going to sculp muscles and so later on, but had to solve the issue with the armor first.
With the back legs, i am not that happy with them, maybe i add some parts to erase that to smooth look. I will have an eye on them.

Btw, the weapon at his side (which is actually looking like a supersoaker blowing up a bubblegum) is going to be a flamethrower. I thought it might be a cool idea, was inspired by the flamespiting hellhound cerberus. But i am actually not very happy with the design so far.
Maybe i could copycat some mechanical parts from your warmachine? :D

so long

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

did a quick test for the fire (didn't know if i could manage it, but it think it comes out very well) and did some sculpting at the legs.

So long

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobost7.jpg

[Faithbleed]

Looking good dude.

I like the idea of the integrating mechanical and biological. My only comment is that if you want to bring this creature to life, it's going to come down to the eyes, you're going to have to make them "alive" for this thing to be believable.

You may want to check out the link below it's the dog scene from the Resident Evil movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juwVi0XLAQc

Also heres a Cerberus toy from FF8:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41wK4NBxwzL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

Hope these help in some way. ;)

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

thank you very much for your comment and help. I have to admit, i didn't put any thought on the eyes until now. I am still unsure if they should remain biological or be mechanical. But i guess i would prefer biological, would give them a more evil and morbid look, like the dogs in the movie.
I forget that there were dogs in the movie and in the game, but after i saw the clip, i "googled" some more references. I really hope it comes out well with textures and proper material.

so long

[Abrvpt]

Hey ! ^^

For the eyes you could try a dead, nearly opaque rotten eyes, but i'm not sure.

The muscle parts might need some extra work but i think you already planned it.

Keep up !

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

thank you for commenting. The eyes will be solved with textures. But i am still in modeling&sculpting-phase, so there is still some time.
With the muscles, is there something to correct or are these parts just not that detailed?
As i have no zBrush or something like that, just poor Blender, which can't handle such a big amount of polys to add more details, i will have to add them with bump-maps. Sorry for that :hmm:

Here is a new picture with my progress so far. Armor is getting better (especially the feet), weapon redesigned, some sculpt-corrections at the legs, a tail added (which wont be that stiff, it's just for better use).

so long

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobost8_1.jpg

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

it's me again. Maybe anyone remember. Well, the highpoly is still under construction, added a ton of details to it. I hope you like it.

so long

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobost8_2.jpg

[Alekzsander]

good model and program :)

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

it has been a while since i posted the last time, but i did the "ugly" part of this progress, low-poly-modeling, setting the seams and placing an uv-layout. But now i am almost ready and so i show you some quick shot.
It's the low-poly model with normal-map. The model has 9870 tris. The normal-map has still some fractals which will be corrected by hand in Gimp.

so long

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobost9.jpg

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

So, there are still many issues to fix with the normal-map and the pose, but i think this is the right direction. I didn't even began texturing (the part i like very much, but it takes soo much time :eek:), but this will come next.

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobost10.jpg

[Surrealix]

As i have no zBrush or something like that, just poor Blender, which can't handle such a big amount of polys to add more details, i will have to add them with bump-maps. Sorry for that :hmm:

I'm using blender for my DW entry as well, and I've just hit this problem. Did you end up sculpting in the end, or did you use bump-maps like you mentioned here?

Either way, your entry is looking really good. I don't envy you the unwrapping process for such a complicated looking model. Keep up the good work, and I'll be interested to see it textured :thumbsup:

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

thank you for commenting. Well, a mixture of both. The last stage is a normal map which resulted of sculpt and model work. Till now there is no bump-map on it. But i am on it now, and first results looks very promising. Problem will be hard surface painting, what is not my srongest part in texturing, but we will see. Mostly i am here to learn.

so long

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

i want to share with you my first steps on the texture. So here is the the low-poly model with normal-, bump- and colourmap. On the left there is an image rendered with LuxRender, for me a new physical renderer, on the right side is the same model rendered with the internal renderer; just for comparison.

so long

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobost10_tex.jpg

[sachinCG]

thank Martin...
very much for your comment and help, I like your idea, nice concept. my comment is... use some metalic textur in mechanical parts. keep it up...


DWIV - 3D - sachinCG - Demon Lord

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=282&t=750095

[Surrealix]

Cheers for the comment!

It's hard to comment on the textures, because they're still at such an early stage. One thing that I did notice, however, is that it's a very dirty looking texture (not necessarily a bad thing), but it breaks up the model quite a bit, and you loose a lot of the shape definition that you had with the untextured 3D.

With the very flat looking lighting in the previous render, it becomes more difficult to decipher what's happening in the picture. Perhaps just something to keep in mind as you tweak the texture and lighting.

[hugemalaka]

Ahh looks like were all at the texturing stage haha. Cant wait to see it with bump / spec hehe

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

thank you really very much for your comments and suggestions.

@sachinCG: Hard surface texturing is not my strongest part, but i will have to make it anyway. We will see how it comes out.

@surrealix: The problem is the normal map of the model. I used Blender for baking the high-poly-model on the low-poly one. But for some reason, Blender produces lots of fractals and texturing errors. But only on the hard-surface parts, not on the sculpted fleshy parts with Multires. I can't figure out where the problem is. Maybe you have some idea?

hugemalaka: Yeah, it seems so, but, while your texturing looks really good, mine doesn't. I just hope to get it finished in time. I will post some critiques in your thread today, hoping for beeing a help.

so long

[Surrealix]

I can't figure out where the problem is. Maybe you have some idea?

I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with blender's normal mapping. I'm about to venture down that path in a few days with my model, and I'll let you know how I get on.

A few thoughts, although I'm guessing you've already looked at these :
- Did you UV unwrap the hard surface parts?
- Have you tried moving the low res and high res faces ever-so-slightly away from each other. I recall reading (ages ago) about z-fighting problems when you generate normal maps from the difference of two meshes. I have a feeling it's been fixed, though.
- Have you tried posting a question either in the blender forum here, or even better, on blenderartists.org?

Keep up the good work!

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

thank you for your suggestions. I found the mistake i did. It was baking on a mirrored mesh, so that the normal information were baked twice. Now i cleared the main-armor, the legs still have some fractals. I did some painting, too.

so long

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobosx2.jpg

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

so, here is another update. There will come some corrections on the flame and then i will have to compose the sheets...

so long

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobosx4.jpg

[DarkBlueArt]

Hello

some time passed by. I used it to finish this project, next monday is the deadline. There is not much to change about the model or texturing, but maybe you have some suggestions about perspective, colours or contrast.
Here are four of the six needed sheets: Beauty, Presentation, Contruction, Texture.

so long

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobosbeauty2.jpg

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobospresentation2.jpg

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobosconstruction.jpg

http://blendpolis.de/a/phobosmaps.jpg

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