CGTalk - character: Futuristic Warrior

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lafayetteJosh

08-17-2009, 07:24 AM

Hello,

My graduation from Ai is finally coming up in September, and I wanted to create a game model for my demo reel. previously, my models have all been high poly and built to smooth, so modeling for a game will be a good learning experience. My goal with this project is to model, texture, rig, and animate a character and get it working in the unreal 3 engine.

Poly Limit: 8,000 tris

Proposed modeling pipeline:
1. I will use Maya to model the low poly version, then unwrap it in Headus UVlayout.

2. After unwrapping, I'll add edgeloops and clean up the topology so that it will smooth nicely, being careful not to move or delete my border edges, so that it will keep the same UVs as the original lowpoly version.

3. I will then import this higher-poly version into zBrush, and use it (in combination with Photoshop) to generate my normal, color, and specular maps.

4. Back in maya, bake an AO map to composite on to the color, then put it all together on the lowPoly version.

As I'm new to this whole game-modeling process, I would appreciate your critiques and suggestions. Thanks!

Concept art is by Andrew Fisher.
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/fullTurnaround.jpg?t=1249209790

I ended up drawing some revised sketches based off of these, to reposition the character in a position that will be easier to rig from. I also wanted to correct the forward lean in the side view.
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/newReference.jpg?t=1250492286

and here is my current progress - poly count is at 7,988 tris
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/front2.jpg?t=1250492540
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/frontAngle2.jpg?t=1250492557
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/side2.jpg?t=1250492571
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/backAngle2.jpg?t=1250492589
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/back2.jpg?t=1250492601

Please let me know if you notice any modeling/proportion problems. Also, I would appreciate feedback on my poly usage. Do I have enough edge loops around the joints (esp. knees, elbows, fingers)? or too many polygons in some areas?

Also, I was curious about how it is best to divide up the mesh. This is how I'm splitting it apart at the moment:
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/2_exploded.jpg?t=1250493514

lafayetteJosh

08-18-2009, 10:48 AM

I did some more tweaking to the proportions, lengthening the legs and shortening the torso very slightly. I also reworked the elbow so that it will deform better.
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/poseAdjust.jpg?t=1250591634
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/elbowFlow.jpg?t=1250591738

I'm at 7,996 tris now, and I'm feeling pretty good about the lowPoly version, so I went ahead and unwrapped it. Here's how the UV's look:http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/UVlayout.jpg?t=1250591863

Cyborgguineapig

08-18-2009, 06:48 PM

Uv's are looking good, I loove headus. Its interesting how you capped the geometry between the chest and arms in the split mesh image. I'm not entirely sure if that is a good idea or not but it is interesting. Might want to try a small arm rig test to make sure that will work.

Oberyn

08-22-2009, 02:33 AM

This is gonna look great after normals! I think he has some petite feetses. Part of the concept?

ozaffer

08-22-2009, 07:23 PM

Looking great I love the concept art and I can't wait for the high poly normals/textures.

lafayetteJosh

09-01-2009, 07:12 AM

Thanks for the comments guys, I appreciate it. I'm not sure if how I capped off the arms was the best approach, but it held together ok when I did a test skinning. Oberyn: Yeah, the feet were tiny on the concept, I actually made them a bit longer than they were originally.

Progress has been a bit slow recently. I've rebuilt the low-Poly mesh, adding in edge-loops on the hard corners and getting rid of most of the tris and poles. Now it's ready to take into zBrush for the detailing.
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/meshToSmooth_front.jpg
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/meshToSmooth_back.jpg
Here's some shots showing how the new mesh subdivides:
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/smoothedMesh_front.jpg
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/smoothedMesh_back.jpg
I also did some quick normal map tests, and ran into some problems.
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/normalTest1_front.jpg
http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc330/joshLafayette/normalTest1_back.jpg
You'll notice I'm getting some ugly shading, and I don't know what's causing the problem. Any pointers or advice would be great.

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