The Sideshow - Character - JamesMK

[JamesMK]

OK, this is pretty horrible, but luckily also impossible, so I will not be able to offend anyone::..

Slightly inspired by a very litteral interpretation of a good old Nine Inch Nails song, I'll give you
Head Like A Hole, based on a real malformity known as anencephalism, where you are basically born entirely without any cerebral tissue. In reality, you would only survive for a few hours, but this one has made it into adulthood somehow...

Would give me a pretty tragical background story too, which might help while designing this thing. Now, to the drawing board....

[erilaz]

Cool idea... can't wait for sketches!

[ZrO-1]

Very cool idea. I can't wait to see how a full-grown person would look without a brain. :D

[JamesMK]

Originally posted by ZrO-1
Very cool idea. I can't wait to see how a full-grown person would look without a brain. :D
Heh heh... Did anyone find any photo of Dale Williams yet?

[Supervlieg]

hah, great idea!

[JamesMK]

A quick sketch attached...

:: The Hideous Anencephalic Man ::

No cerebrum or cerebellum. Big hole where one would normally have some cranial bone. Autonomous breathing for some reason, a medical miracle. Without any sort of brain functions, he is in truth a real vegetable. Bodily posture and functionality should equal those of a newborn baby, but he has the body of a grown man.

He can obviously not move around by himself at all, so the Sideshow manager would have to keep him in some sort of contraption. I'm thinking a wheelchair here. He would have to be strapped to it in order not to fall down.

Since it will be very hard to feed him, we will have to assume that he is very thin, skin and bones only - no visible musculature at all. Since he has been stuck in the wheelchair for his entire life, there must be some seriously damaged skin all over his body, most notable around the straps and on his rear end.

His head has been hanging straight down for two decades, so we could expect some secondary malformation of the neck and shoulders. Mouth open, drooling. Hands and feet cramping.

He would not have a lot of hair, since most of those parts of the skull is missing. Some long thin strands of hair could be hanging down from the sides, just in front of the ears.

As a finishing touch, you would see one of his eyes looking at you, with a weird, impossible sparkle of life...

Things to look for: reference images of antique wheelchairs and seriously famished human bodies.

[marchermann]

This is so creepy. Makes me cringe - I wish I didn't have to go for lunch right now...

Marc

[BgDM]

Excellent idea JamesMK. Very creepy and twisted.

How's the C4D learning coming along? You should pop by elysiun some time a check in.

Good luck to ya on this one. I'll be checking in on you.

BgDM

[JamesMK]

@ BgDM:: Hey! Thanks. C4D is coming along just fine. There's a learning curve, no doubt, but so far it's been a walk in the park.

Yeah, I guess it's time to stop by Elysiun again soon... I do lurk about approx. once a week, just to see what's up :D

Keep your fingers crossed so I'll be able to make it through this challenge, please! BTW, did you notice that Basse is in on it too?

[BgDM]

BTW, did you notice that Basse is in on it too?

hehe. Yeah, I did. I thought about entering myself too. I may still. Just need a good idea to go with I think.

Good luck.

BgDM

[basse]

oh man.. I didn't even know these kind of things existed.. babies without brain. makes me shiver.

the idea is too perfect. grown up that cannot see, hear of feel anything.. description fits many people out there.

i hope this turns out good.



.b

[JamesMK]

Attached a quick facial close-up (warning: still can't really draw very well =)

Now, I know Marilyn Manson wasn't allowed, and I just want to point out that any similarity here is purely coincidental. I just noticed this problem after having scanned the darn thing :D

Severely starved look. No subdermal fat. Lips dried up and retracted. Baaaad hairday.

(BTW, found some good images of antique wheelchairs while googling. Looks like that part won't be a problem after all)

[ndat]

:surprised

[ZrO-1]

Oh gross!
That facial close-up is FREAKY!!! It gives me the heeby-jeebies already. :surprised :eek:

[Hookflash]

Very cool concept! I've always considered this to be one of the most disturbing birth defects. The idea of a human body growing and existing without a mind/consciousness just gives me the willies.

[Pufferfish]

Yikes! Nice idea.
... hmm can you use "nice" when talking about person without a brain/mind? hehe

Looking forward to see your work!
:thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

Thanks guys!

I've just decided what to use for prop-in-hand (that rule gave me a bit of a headache at first, since this character obviously is not capable of actually holding anything at all) - a rosary with a crucifix on, sort of hanging from his wrist. It's a really important sort of sarcastic philosophical comment on the hideousness of the whole thing....

@ Hookflash - I guess you in particular will appreciate that symbolism in this context ;) - And everyone else sharing this view on religion, like myself.

I've done some more sketching now, and I'm starting to feel comfortable with the details of this character. Lately I've been sketching lots and lots of doodles before actually starting to model anything, and it really helps to sort out the particular features of a character before any polygons come to life.

So, without any further delay I shall start some careful modeling. I'm going to "do a Stahlberg" here and model him in-pose from the start to avoid any stupid rigging problems later on. The problem with The Anencephalic Man is that he could turn out to be a very convincing and disturbing subject if I can manage to make him (and the environment) highly realistic. Unfortunately, to this date, I have never actually pulled off any true realism... Not even close, to be honest.
I'd love to succeed this time....
Who knows, eh?

[PotatoHead]

*shiver* - thats disgusting, but a very interesting idea nonetheless! keep us posted!

btw: its me, blendermax...

[grstovell]

Very interesting... I especially like (or dislike... I'm not sure yet) the rosary.

I imagine someone else put it there when he was very young... and for some strange reason he clenched it until his knuckles were white. The hand hasn't moved or relaxed since. (?)

... Love your story...especially with the new contrast of abuse and mercy (or superstition- depends who gave it to him I guess).

I'll keep an eye out on this one.

-g

[JamesMK]

Originally posted by the Rev.
I imagine someone else put it there [the rosary] when he was very young... and for some strange reason he clenched it until his knuckles were white. The hand hasn't moved or relaxed since. (?)
That's quite an interesting twist, actually! I like it. I will leave all interpretations of this particular bit to the beholder.

@ PotatoHead a.k.a. Blendermax -> Hi'ya! Good to see you around. You entering or watching? :)

[PotatoHead]

Originally posted by JamesMK
@ PotatoHead a.k.a. Blendermax -> Hi'ya! Good to see you around. You entering or watching? :) [/B]

watching - i dont trust myself enough to enter a contest. :D

[Hookflash]

Originally posted by JamesMK
@ Hookflash - I guess you in particular will appreciate that symbolism in this context ;) - And everyone else sharing this view on religion, like myself.


That's actually a very good idea (not too subtle, but some things call for lack of subtlety;)). I like it:thumbsup:

[ilasolomon]

:) Hi there
Yeah, that would be freaky enough! more concept plz...

[JamesMK]

@ ila -> OK. Here's the final concept (I have to start modeling soon too =)

Final concept:::

http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/finalconcept.jpg

[PotatoHead]

thats pretty disgusting, but it seems the finished image is going to be very effective...:beer:

[hanspb]

Hey, james,
I saw your final drawing over at Elysiun and came here to comment it. First of all, I can't wait to see the finished rendering. I really like your concept!:)
A couple of things about the chair worry me though. It looks like it has no front wheels, so it will fall forward. Also since the guy has no muscles and can't move his legs, the chair should have some boards to support the feet.

Or maybe it is just me who is missing a point?

Bra jobbat!

Hans Petter

[Pufferfish]

I think the pose is great. It looks like they have dumped him there and will move him after the show is over.

Hmm... the leg support would be logical but I think I would still keep the legs without any boards to support.
Now his legs are just following freely where ever they take him...and the one is still stuck because of the apathetic "nurse"....hehe or something like that.

I agree with the wheel issue. It will fall.

I can imagine now how Marilyn Manson will look when he retaires.


:thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

@ puffer & hans -> Thanks for your comments! Particularly for pointing out the issues with the details of the wheelchair - you're right, it wouldn't work out very well if it looked like this.

I did however only focus on drawing the guy here - the wheelchair itself will be of a better construction. I have found a great reference for it, and once built correctly, it will support my beloved character really well.

The chair will look like this:

http://www.usedwheelchairs.com/antique.jpg
Image courtesy of (and hotlinked from) http://www.usedwheelchairs.com

[Dreamwave]

wow, that MUST be the picture OWI used as reference for Munch's wheelchair ;)

concept looks cool, good luck modeling it!

[scene215]

I cant help but laugh at some of these entries. This is one of the best ideas I've seen. I can't wait to see this one modeled. Good Luck

[JamesMK]

@ scene215: Thanks, that means a lot! I really hope that I'll manage to get my idea translated to 3D properly.... :hmm:

[dodo3d]

3d 3d 3d 3d 3d 3d 3d 3d
3d 3d 3d 3d 3d 3d 3d
3d 3d 3d 3d 3d 3d
3d 3d 3d 3d 3d
3d 3d 3d 3d
:beer:

[erilaz]

This will be exceptionally cool. I'm sitting tight.:D

[JamesMK]

erilaz -> Good! I'll start modeling this weekend. I just got my 3D-workstation back to life after the master HD failed hard two days ago. All my previous work, 3 gigs of raw textures etcetera is lost forever :annoyed: . So, I'm starting fresh! The Anencephalic Man will be my first CG-scene ever! Sort of... :D

dodo3D -> Thanks for the translation!

[markw7]

Looking forward to the sickness to come...

[JamesMK]

OK... So far - it looks hilarious! Like Wallace from 'Wallace & Grommit"... Absolute pants :D But that will hopefully change soon.

I've modeling for about six hours, which incidently is EXACTLY the amount of time it would take Sasquatch to remake the entire LOTR trilogy as a CG-only production!

Anyway, here's the start of the head. I've not used the symmetry tool at all to ensure maximum malformation, that however means that I have to do everything twice. One eye down, one to go. Nose isn't touched yet, and there's like a bunch of teeth missing, no gums, no ears... The list goes on. OMG, what am I doing? - well, I'm having fun.

http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/cgc/head1.jpg

And a wire/same view:

http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/cgc/head1wire.jpg

[markw7]

Well the poor kid at least has healthy teeth. Nice model.

[JamesMK]

Sloooowly getting some character - a few loopcuts later:::

http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/cgc/head2.jpg

[BgDM]

Excellent start James!! I see you have picked up C4D pretty quickly. :thumbsup:

Keep on going!

BgDM

[JamesMK]

BgDM: Thanks, yeah, it's coming along sort of...

Some more stuff, and a frontview here - starting to look quite freaky :)

http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/cgc/head3front.jpg

[Pufferfish]

yikes.. it really does look freaky.


Coming along nicely! :thumbsup:

[grstovell]

man! I can't believe you are so comfortable with C4D that fast!!!!!!!!
I'm impressed.

Great start! Love those teeth!!!!

-g

[lukx]

:applause:
Teeth rules=)

[Deestrakt]

Cool head, James :thumbsup:. i like the eyes and teeth especially, nicely done. keep it up m8 !

[Goon]

freaky. I'm lovin the teeth.:thumbsup:

How far down is his concaved skull going to go? It would be pretty cool if it extended down into one of his ears and really distorted it.

[CrazyDamo]

Excellent! Those teeth are cool. Nice touch with the fused left nostril.

[JamesMK]

puffer, rev, lukx, deestrakt, crazy damo - thanks!

goon - the concavity goes pretty far down, and it will probably distort one of the ears. I found some reference images earlier showing that something like that would happen. I'll do us all a favor by not posting those references here, because it is very hideous stuff... I'm doing the ears right now, so as soon as they look good I'll deform one of them and stick them to his head.

I have to do something about the lips and chin too, but I'm not really sure what's wrong with them. Suggestions welcome!

[markw7]

You know, your idea in particular lends itself to the types of insensitive comments that some very sensitive people were complaining about in the guidelines. By the way, I think there should be some snot coming out of the nostril that isn't fused.

[JamesMK]

markw7 - Yeah. I'm at least trying to be careful myself... :)

more tweaking tweaking, and teeth --->


http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/cgc/head4.jpg

[Pufferfish]

Ah great, now that all the teeth and gums are there the "Wallace" look has gone :D It looks great!

Please, can you show any other angles? Would be great to see :)

[BgDM]

This is really starting to look freaky man. Good stuff.

BgDM

[JamesMK]

Pufferfish: Some other angles for you. I have only made minor changes to the mesh here, some more lines around the nose and things like that. Have been struggling with the ears for a couple of evenings, I think I have made and scrapped three or possibly four ears since my last update... I will get it right soon enough, must get on with the rest of the model, but I can't let go of the ear issue... :D

BgDM: Aye!

More views as promised
http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/cgc/head4_2.jpg

[sasquatch]

Yikes...that's....creepy. Great stuff. Now I have to try and sleep after seeing that. :)

[JamesMK]

sasquatch - That's the spirit! Just wait until he gets the rest of his body in place... :argh:

And finally - a decent ear! Not too happy with it, but it will have to do for now. Please disregard the texture, I just slapped my reference image on top of it to get some color...

http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/cgc/ear2.jpg

[Pufferfish]

Thanks for the angle pics.. he is going to be really freaky.. already is. Now let us see him with those nice ears :thumbsup:

[pigwater]

this is how i look when i run out of tea:surprised ... really diggin this one .. definitely lookin like this noodle is living(?) in major pain ... way thumbs up :thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

Pufferfish, pigwater - Thanks guys. I'm halfway through the process of stitching those ears to his head. I feel like a really cheap back-alley hack surgeon... :D Updates to come soon.

And a sidenote - Since he is supposed to be very skinny (totally starved) I actually used images of a cranium instead of ordinary head pics for reference. Hence the very pronounced cheekbones, among other oddities... Not really happy with the soft tissue beneath them yet, but I make small changes everytime I open the file, so it will hopefully improve a little bit as time goes by.

[Shaykai]

I really like the lines you added to the face, makes it look like its just skin stretched over the skull. :) I can't wait till this is finished!

:thumbsup:

Shaykai

[Bytehawk]

nice grin you got going there,

cant help but notice some similarity to one of the Simpsons' characters - Mr Burns

also, why does he have to have ears ?

[JamesMK]

Originally posted by Bytehawk
also, why does he have to have ears ?
Easy - I hate making ears. It's the single most difficult piece of geometry, IMO. So I simply have to force myself to do them over and over again...

Interesting point about Mr Burns, btw, I think you're right!

[pigwater]

ears loookin at ya ...:beer: ...(bad joke)

i hate em too , .. i'm procrastinating on em till next week

[JamesMK]

Originally posted by pigwater
ears loookin at ya ... ...(bad joke)
Ack! Eary... :rolleyes:

OK guys. I finally managed to unsubscribe a few threads and actually did some real work... Darn all this talking...

Anyway, the ears are attached. Since I opted to build the head without the aid of symmetry tools, I was actually forced to have two separate stitching sessions, one for each ear. Not a lot of fun, but it provided me with some extra opportunity to get practice using the low level polytools of C4D, which is part of my intention with this challenge. Practice!

Not using symmetry also ensures maximum freakyness, since the left and right side respectively will not only have their verts in unique places, but they will also have a slightly different topology.

The fact that my topology is pretty lousy is an entirely different matter...

Below is a left and a right side view with ears in place. Notice the exceptionally warped left ear (thank you goon for that idea!).

And now I really have to get busy building the body. The clock is ticking...

EDIT: Changed these inline images to clicker link thingies --->

http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/cgc/head5left.jpg

http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/cgc/head5right.jpg

[Jonas8200]

Hey i like your character a lot... i've been watchin him a little :)

I just posted mine in fact... but i like yours more!!

the one thing that i would recommend is that you fix the ear in this way...

move the "tragus".. see my reference... http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/1126.htm
more into the ear structure... its part of it, not just before it...

ok well that was a strange comment, but i think that's the only thing i see that needs tweaking...

cheers buddy, and good luck! :beer:

~``jonas``~

[JamesMK]

Originally posted by Jonas8200
move the "tragus" - - - more into the ear structure... its part of it, not just before it...
Ah, good reference there. Thanks a lot for pointing it out! Will fix eventually. Cheers and welcome to the challenge :beer:

[Shaykai]

Looks good man! No critiques that i can think of. I would like to say that i always like the renders of the left side of his face (his left, not your left). Is it any different than the right half? maybe its the lighting, but it looks like the wrinkles and stuff is more visible. Maybe its just me.
Anyway, good model so far, i give you 1 drooly and a wavey on the shaykai scale of coolness! :drool: :wavey:

Shaykai

[JamesMK]

A, great! I've never gotten a drooley before... :D

Anyway, yes the lighting is different (you see the keylight mostly on one side, the fill mostly on the other), and then the entire mesh is completely unsymmetric, so there is quite a difference between left and right.

[JamesMK]

So, maybe I said I would start working on the body...

But then there was this little voice inside my head going "creases, wrinkles, warts, defects!" over and over until I had to give in and add more detail to the head instead... Dang.

I adjusted the lips a bit too. Wasn't entirely happy with them before.

Here's two new views, and it's been a while since I displayed a wire - so I'll throw in one of those as well. Enjoy. And please give me some crits if you find something worth mentioning!

http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/cgc/head6_1.jpg

http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/cgc/head6_2.jpg

http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/cgc/head6_wire.jpg

[JamesMK]

Umm... Just want to add this one too. This is approximately how we will see this guys head in the finished image::...

http://home.bip.net/millfield/cgc/head6_pose.jpg

[gmask]

Originally posted by JamesMK
Slightly inspired by a very litteral interpretation of a good old Nine Inch Nails song, I'll give you
Head Like A Hole,

Hehe.. I used to work the guys who did the video for "head like a hole" H-Gun labs in Chicago..

He's looking good. I didn't read the whole thread though.. any plans for the setting? Does he have body?

[JamesMK]

Originally posted by gmask
Hehe.. I used to work the guys who did the video for "head like a hole" H-Gun labs in Chicago..
Hey, that's pretty funny! Haven't seen that video actually, but anyway... Trent Reznor is one of my housegods here, when I'm in the musical state of mind.

He's looking good. I didn't read the whole thread though.. any plans for the setting? Does he have body?
There's a "final" concept at page two in this thread. That shows the body. The setting isn't sketched, I've just got this image in my head of an old-time crappy stage lit by those little cans sitting on along the edge, towards the audience, of the wooden stagefloor. There's not much else around, because they have simply left him there over night like a sack of potatoes. And it's raining. I'll make a couple of final renders: one from his left side, long-shot, with camera close to the floor, one facial close-up with camera looking up at his face from below, and one mid-shot sort of perspective view...

[Shaykai]

Sounds pretty sad :(

Shaykai

[xeno]

its looking pretty darn good and scary at the moment, and the concept is really really awesome! One thing, when it rains in the final setting, maybe his head could fill with water so it would tilt even more, or something like that ? (and if u want something a little more humurous, birds could drink and bathe in it:))

[JamesMK]

Xeno: Thanks! Interesting suggestion about the water there... Funny enough, my wife looked at the last render the other night, and suggested that the stage manager could keep fruit and stuff in his skull... But birds having a swim in it is even better. :D

Unfortunately, I want to keep this entirely sad and slightly disturbing, so the humour is out of the question, I'm afraid.

[gmask]

Originally posted by JamesMK
Unfortunately, I want to keep this entirely sad and slightly disturbing, so the humour is out of the question, I'm afraid.

I was looking around for freak references yesterday and I came across some really gruesome autopsy photos of a guy that had half his skull lopped off in a car accident.. I thought of you. I don't think you need them but if you want I think I saved the bookmark.

[xeno]

im defintely glad u are keeping this one sad and distrbing, i cant wait to see it finished, in all its disturbing glory.
Btw, if there would be a render i would want in poster size, this would be it!

[JamesMK]

gmask - This comment "photos of a guy that had half his skull lopped off in a car accident.. I thought of you" would be hilarious if it was seen outside the context of the current challenge. :D

That aside, I think I may have seen that. I have run into the most hideously awful and bizarre images while researching anencephaly for this character.

But if you don't mind, toss a PM in my general direction if you still have that bookmark somewhere. Maybe it can give me some more ideas... eek.

[gmask]

Originally posted by JamesMK
gmask - This comment "photos of a guy that had half his skull lopped off in a car accident.. I thought of you" would be hilarious if it was seen outside the context of the current challenge. :D

That aside, I think I may have seen that. I have run into the most hideously awful and bizarre images while researching anencephaly for this character.

But if you don't mind, toss a PM in my general direction if you still have that bookmark somewhere. Maybe it can give me some more ideas... eek.

Hehe.. aww.. I didn't save it.. I swear I was literally looking through my hand after encountering some of the images on that website.. the horror oh the horror.. the car accident victim was the least disturbing of the lot.

[JamesMK]

Almost sounds like you encountered the dreaded rotten.com...

I peeked in there once, about a year ago, and it really felt like browsing a pornography site for necrophiles... Icky. Very icky.

[gmask]

Originally posted by JamesMK
Almost sounds like you encountered the dreaded rotten.com...

I peeked in there once, about a year ago, and it really felt like browsing a pornography site for necrophiles... Icky. Very icky.

Oh yeah.. I'm familair with Rotten.com.. it was a different site though but with very similair gross outs.

[grstovell]

ewwwwwww!


I can't believe you posted a link to that 'rotten' side....

... AND FURTHERMORE. ... I can't believe I clicked on it and checked it out. If I ever thought this challenge was disturbing (but fun).. that site just cured me.

ewwwwwwww!!!!!

btw - I love the wrinkles and warts... adds character!

-g

[JamesMK]

Xeno: Postersize? Are you sure about that? :D

gmask: Mmm... Sounds like it. Quite incredible that there are actually more sites like it. Thanks anyway, I guess it's a bookmark one might gladly live without.

Rev: Thanks for your comments! And about the link in question, I tried to make every effort not to make it clickable... ;)

And now - I'm going to bed early today. Kaiskai suggested I should sleep more after I posted about an incredibly silly mistake I made in C4D the other day - so, goodnight folks... I'll be back with some updates in a day or too. EDIT: make that "two" even... ^o^

[gmask]

>>>gmask: Mmm... Sounds like it. Quite incredible that there are actually more sites like it. Thanks anyway, I guess it's a bookmark one might gladly live without.

I couldn't stop myself from touring rotten again.. argh!!! Glad I'm not a police photgrapher.. ouch!

G'nite...

[xeno]

postersize definitely!! If it turns out even just a little bit of how i imagine it will...and probably it will be even better, this would be the next best thing to stuff on my wall since wallpaper! Im seriously in love with ur concept and model!!

[JamesMK]

gmask - meheh... Like being a fly close to a pile of dung... It's gross, but you just can't stay away...
Awake again, g'mornin!

xeno - Awww... You're much too kind.

[JamesMK]

Okie - started on his tormented body. Here's a behind/side view::..

Edit: Linked image -> http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/torso1.jpg

I simply started with an 8-sided cylinder here and extruded my way up. Then followed the usual loopcutting inferno... Since I used a cranium as headreference, I used the rest of the skeleton as a body reference. This guy does not have a lot of muscles, so I figured that would be best. Lacks a lot of ribs and stuff like that so far.

Edit: I have to learn to spell some day soon...

[Shaykai]

looks great so far, maybe you could add some more rib definition if he is suppose to be starved. Anyway, just a thought :) Keep it up :wavey:

Shaykai

[xeno]

hey i was just looking up some info about Anencephaly, man..that is some weird stuff! it is gonna be so cool to see this one finished! I have one little question tho, ive seen some pics of babies with this condition and most of them had very poor developed faces. Ur face (the model that is), as awesome as it definitely is, maybe could be a little less developed? For instance, less developed teeth and a more rudimentary developed jawbone?

awesome stuff and concept once again :)

[JamesMK]

Shaykai: Yah, the ribs are coming. This was just the 60-minute-rough :D

xeno: It IS a spooky condition, no doubt. And I was having some problems deciding on how the head was to be 'matured'. After all, there never was an adult with anencephaly, so I've simply used some artistic freedom here :) That, and the fact that I needed to practice my non-existant head modeling skills...

But it's a valid point you've got there, no doubt about it.

I'm pretty sure that I will warp the teeth a bit more before finishing up, and I would like to make the eyes more saggy. Hopefully I can rough out and detail the body pretty quickly. The wheelchair is all in a day's work, but then there's going to be several days set aside for texturing of the character and the set too... I've seen far too many previous challengers end up with half-finished renders when the time is up, and I don't want that to happen. So for now, I'm trying to move along while carefully noting all feedback, like yours. I really really appreciate that kind of stuff! :thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

Some more ribs, clavicles, creases, folds and generally pointy stuff before bedtime...

Front-ish:
http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/torso2_front.jpg

Back-ish:
http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/torso2_back.jpg

Wires:
http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/torso2_front_wire.jpg
http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/torso2_back_wire.jpg

[pigwater]

this looks great ... i can see this on that rotten site for sure ... looks like your having some fun putting your character through so much torment ( in a purely artistic creative sort of way):)

lookin good ..or ... lookin baaaddd, ..whichever applies:thumbsup:

[eYadNesS]

Looks good, but I'm thinking of the lot poly that you made :surprised
I hope to see your final work :thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

pigwater: Thanks, ... I think :D

eYadNesS: Thank you... I need all those polys :)

Made a leg now. It turns out to be quite hard to make it look male and very thin at the same time... Not happy yet, but here's the start anyway::

EDITed to clickable: http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/torso3_legs.jpg

[gmask]

>>>Made a leg now. It turns out to be quite hard to make it look male and very thin at the same time... Not happy yet, but here's the start anyway::

When a body is that emaciated it's hard to tell the difference.. the important thing is that it looks emaciated.. Anyway my man crit would be the rib cage.. you'd definately see the ribs... totally exagerrated.

Maybe not this extreme but...


http://www.exoticindiaart.com/artimages/zc89.jpg

[JamesMK]

Thanks gmask, I do need to work those ribs. My current topology only partially supports it, so I think I was sort of procrastinating on the necessary tweaking :blush: But I have to get working on it, for sure.

Being that this is my first serious attempt to make a human body, maybe ultra-skinny wasn't the best choice... :D

[JamesMK]

Improved ribs and playing a bit with lights. Ribs look a bit funny close to where the arms should go, but I can't really clean that up until the arms are put in place. Quite happy about the result aside from that little glitch....

edit: Image linked---> http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/torso3_ribs.jpg

[JamesMK]

Hmm... Wasn't really happy anyway... Here's some better ribs and increased wrinklyness::

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/torso3_ribs2.jpg

[JamesMK]

Put some effort into assembling the parts so far... I have to say I'm really satisfied with the look of this fellow once I got the head in place... I'm smiling while modeling right now :)

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/body_head.jpg

[gmask]

>>>Put some effort into assembling the parts so far... I have to say I'm really satisfied with the look of this fellow once I got the head in place... I'm smiling while modeling right now :)

Yup he's looking pretty creepy.. It'll be real nice once he's in the wheel chair.

[JamesMK]

Yup, gmask - I'll make the chair once I'm fed up with the organics for a while... that'll be in about two days I guess...

Umm... Have to share this slightly-from-the-top view as well:

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/body_head2.jpg

[kotter]

its turning out pretty good :thumbsup:

he looks creepy in that last render :surprised

[BgDM]

This is getting very disturbing JamesMK!! I like it. Modelling is great. I can't really see anything wrong with it at all.

Just keep up the good work.

BgDM

[OZ]

YEAH!BgDM is right! ALIEN!!!

:drool:

[JamesMK]

kotter: thanks... creepy is good.

BgDM: Nice to hear, dude, disturbing is even better!

EDIT -> OZ: Thanks man! (you replied while I was typing this =)

So far, I can say this has been a very useful learning experience. I've picked up soooo many things just by being forced to stick with one model and trying to "keep up with the competition" - not that I have been successful, but as far as competing with myself, I think I've done very well :) All in all, the CGChallenge is a wonderful thing!

The only thing that bothers me is the fact that I haven't received any philosophical and meditative Obi-Wan style comments from Virtuoso... :D j/k...

[Clanger]

You definately get the creepy award.

[OZ]

CREEPNESS RULEZ!:buttrock:

[JamesMK]

Clanger: Thanx, dude... Maybe that will be the only award I'm going to get here ;)

OZ: Thanks again! You're in a party mood, aren't ya? :D

So, I've forced myself to build a foot... My favourite dude has now got no less than 2 (two!) legs and 2 (two!) feet. Ain't that sumpin...

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/body_feet.jpg

And a closeup on one of the feet in question:

EDIT: Click this: http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/foot_close.jpg

[JamesMK]

Oh, it's been a while since I posted a wire, so - umm, here it is::

EDIT: Click this:: http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/body_feet_wire.jpg

[eYadNesS]

Nice work JamesMK, I like the feet very much, but you should look for the knee...
Keep on working :thumbsup:

[Pufferfish]

Been off from the forums for awhile now.. but GREAT to see your work developing! He really looks creepy and kinda disturbing..

:thumbsup:

[sasquatch]

This guy's really starting to freak me out. :D I'd have to agree with eYaDNesS though: have another look at the knee area especially the transition from kneecap to shin. It's not quite smooth enough.

Looking forward to seeing some updates.

[JamesMK]

Pufferfish: Thanks, and welcome back! Thought we had lost you there for a while... :)

eYadNesS, sasquatch: Thank you guys. Particularly for pointing out the knee issue. :thumbsup: I have softened them up a bit now, and it looks like good advice. Lets see if you think they're better now::

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/knee_tweak.jpg

EDIT: Made some minor tweaks in the area where shin meets foot too - it was poorly defined before. I hope it's a little bit better like this.

[Bytehawk]

are you going to put clothes on it/him?

[JamesMK]

Bytehawk: Yep. As I understood the rules, it's a requirement to use some sort of garment from back in those days - I figured a swimsuit would be handy. That way they can simply give him the hose from time to time when he starts to smell :D

Found something like this while googling: http://www.antiquemystique.com/images/5760_jpg.jpg

Anyways, the work this evening -> An arm! Oh my...

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/arm1.jpg

Adding the hand tomorrow probably...

[BgDM]

Great progress JamesMK!! The arm looks to be well on it's way.

I really like the swimsuit idea and the image you posted would be perfect. But, why not put him in a tuxedo with the bow-tie undone and hanging around his neck, or something along that line? I guess you are trying to maintain and show the skinniness of him, so maybe I'll just shut up now. :p

Keep up tthe good work!

BgDM

P.S.: How is Exo.Entity coming along? Any progress?

[JamesMK]

BgDM -> He he... tux and bow-tie sounds tempting. It would work well as an illustration of how you feel the day after some really hard partying :D No brain, desperatly wanting a wheelchair, bad breath and everything...

But, as you've figured out, I really want to show how skinny he is, so a really tight-fit swimsuit is the best way. BTW, those darn things were KNITTED. Argh, the horror! Swimming in knitwear... *shiver*

Aaannd - Exo.Entity is sort of hibernating while I'm doing the challenge. In retrospect (not that I'm done with it yet, but anyway) it has been a good call. I've learned an incredible lot of stuff just for the past few weeks - this knowledge is going to make the movie so much better.... um... or less bad...
Once the challenge is over, I'll make a comeback in the movie department with a revamped website and so on...

[JamesMK]

Started the hand. Not really done yet. Lacks a thumb among other things...

Palm::
http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/palm1.jpg

And the other side::
http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/hand1.jpg

Edit: Changed inline images to linked... *sigh*

[eYadNesS]

JamesMK the hand is very simple, just add more details for it :)

[JamesMK]

eYadNesS:: Yup, coming up below here::

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/hand2_side.jpg

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/palm2.jpg

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/hand2.jpg

[CosmicBear]

you're starting to scare me, james! i am actually not sure if i wanna see the final results of this challenge... :surprised


i know, i'm a little late with this comment, but i would suggest to pose his legs not so symmetrical. if this guy is 'hanging' in his wreel-chair, i guess, his legs would easily slide out of their positions... (hope i could explain what i mean..)

[JamesMK]

@ CosmicBear: Hey, thanks for being a bit scared! :)

And, no, never to late for comments. I'll make sure to pose the legs differently - it was already planned (the pics above are just quick assemblies to get a general feel for the proportions) - but I didn't think of the "sliding out of position" bit... So, thank you for using those words. He sure isn't able to control his own pose, so there should quite a lot of sliding going on. Body and arms will be fixed with straps, but the legs are just dangling about. The wheelchair has leg support thingies, but I wasn't going to use any straps there... Thanks again - all comments are highly appreciated :thumbsup:

[eYadNesS]

Cool JamesMK, now the hand is better :thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

Finally assembled the rest of this fellow... Played a little with some deformers in order to increase freakyness - don't know if I'll keep it, tweak it or skip it... Some preliminary shading tests to get a mild "wet look", nothing serious yet. I think I'll go for an elaborate light rig rather than heavy texturing, depends on the speed at which time will fly the next week or so...

Anyway, some renders for ya::

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/fullbody1.jpg

Notice the extra defect on his right hand below :D
http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/fullbody2.jpg

[gmask]

>>Notice the extra defect on his right hand below :D


Is he a metal head?.. y'know sign of the devil:twisted:

Is his skin a little too reflective currently?

Otherwise he is looking freakalicious!

[JamesMK]

Originally posted by gmask
Is he a metal head?.. y'know sign of the devil:twisted:
Oh no, I'm busted! Remember he's going to have a rosary with a crucifix in one hand? So what could be better than the sign of the devil for the other hand - to increase the dialectic nature of the whole... um... thing. :)

Is his skin a little too reflective currently?
Probably! It needs to break up a bit to start with. He's supposed to look like he is wet eventually, because he's been left out in the rain. We'll see if I can pull that off...

[gmask]

>>> So what could be better than the sign of the devil for the other hand - to increase the dialectic nature of the whole... um... thing. :)

Instead of dialectic how about something diarectic.. I imagine this guy might have a collostomy(sp?) bag .. maybe he could be holding the tube.. he squirts people with it when he's angry. ugh.. just kidding that is disgusting I can't even beleive I am thinking about it. If only I hadn't seen one under this guy's shirt on the bus years ago. It still gives me the willy's

[OZ]

hey gmask!...u suffer of nightmares!!! HE HE HE HE.....cool and skarrry!....i hope never to dream a guy like this!BBRRRRR!!!


:buttrock:

[phoenix]

very impressive dude

[JamesMK]

gmask - hmm... eww... I think I'll just make a hole in the seat of the wheelchair and put some jar or something beneath :)

OZ - Aye!

phoenix - Thanks! You're the first guy ever to be impressed by something I made, I think. I'm delighted!

Here's a bit of wheelchair I started building. I thought some mechanical modeling would be a nice break from the organics, but it turned out to be a really boring experience. I am very glad I'm not in the arch.viz/CAD business... Anyway, the chair is still missing a load of fittings/mountings and stuff like that. Will continue tomorrow. Dang, it's only 10 days left....

Took the opportunity to test this new cool ambient occlusion plugin for C4D while testrendering the wheelchair... Kind of interesting considering the total setup effort for this was about 2 seconds. Renders slooooowly, but not as slow as flat out GI... Good stuff.

Wheelchair, take 1 here -> http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/wheelchair1.jpg

[gmask]

>>>Dang, it's only 10 days left....

Tell me about it.. argh I still have a head to make . ...let alone the other stuff I need to do..arghh!!!

[OZ]

WWWWOOOH!DISTURBING!!!!!..the weelchair is very well modeled and,looks very pretty,is not skarry as the guy!Very Nive contrast!:love:

[JamesMK]

Edit:: Gmask - Just make him headless as part of the malformities... Solves that bit, eh?

OZ - A yea, thanks: I'm all about contrasts, you see :D

The wheelchair is almost done now... Just a few more fittings to go... Blimey, I'm bored stiff! - why didn't I opt to strap the guy to a plank instead? Well, I'm at least rather happy with the result :) ::: I ma teh 1337ness.... ;)

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/wheelchair2.jpg

[gmask]

>>>Edit:: Gmask - Just make him headless as part of the malformities... Solves that bit, eh?

LOL.. yeah right.. the headless legman.. he's got four left feet or is it 20 thumbs.. I dunno which.

Nah.. I'm going for the full monty head an maybe now he'll be nude but with genitalia :blush:

I'm sure I can get a head on him before the 20th. it'll only take a half day to do it ..I just have all this other stuff to deal with as well... a series VFX shots by Monday and about 25 3D shots for a childrens video by Oct1st. Still I couldn't refuse to take the challenge.. it's been pretty fun so far.

[swag]

damn this is a poor guy - the wheelchair look great:thumbsup:

[Bischofftep]

Hey, JamesMK:

Happened to see this thread in your .sig back over in elYsiun. Outstanding work!

My 2 cents: the model before you "tweaked" it looked better IMO. The upper torso should not be as thin as the waist and abdomen. The whole body looks too tubular.

Amazing job on the hands & feet...

And that head is most DEFINITELY a good focal point. (Good thing it IS, eh?)

Keep it up!!!

[JamesMK]

Bischofftep - long time no see! And congrats (again) for your successful challenge last month!

And about this - thanks, I'm pretty happy with it so far. And I definitely agree with your points about the last tweak - it wasn't really good at all. I noticed that about 24 hours later and changed it back again. Well, really not entirely back, but it's much better now. You'll see him in the chair any day now.

Updates'a'comin... I got this new idea about the setting... :p

[McFly]

Great great job JamesMK! One of the best entries to me! :beer:

I like the toe of the right foot, the one "pointing" down a bit.

Don't you get nightmares after modelling this guy!?
The look he's got... Really freaky. Congrats again! :beer:

Now some updates! :wip:

[JamesMK]

McFly: Thanks a lot! The question is whether I can give it a good finish....

Been playing with some lights here. Textures are mainly just temporary. Wanted to see how far I could go with lighting only.
Five lamps so far.

I'm not happy.

I hope some decent textures and a backdrop will make this kick some...

Here goes:

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/lights.jpg

[alexyork]

1st of all i'd like to say that it's looking really impressive.

Few areas of crit:

1: the legs seem to be very "sharp" - maybe soften them up along their seems a little down the center.

2: the arms seem to go the same way. a little too pointy along their lengths.

3: the ancles seem to jut out a little too far. maybe tone them down a bit.

4: seing as the feet do not meet the ground, maybe make them dangle down with gravity.

5: both arms are in the same position (visually at least) so maybe make them different. maybe one arm forward, one back clenching to a wheel.

Other than those things I think it's very nice indeed.

Oh, and I'd love to see a brain in that head cavity! A Hannibal type effect!

Hope I made sense.

Keep it up.

[JamesMK]

Thanks a lot, mothermachine! I'll get busy tweaking. I've been looking at this for too long now, all I see is an undefinable blurry mess of poo. ...

I really appreciate that kind of crits! :thumbsup:

[WSzP]

Greate idea, I like it. I'm really new to CGTalk, but if I can add some opinions, those are the followings:

The metalis textures aren't looking as good as the other textures. I think a little improvement would help.
I think using some bump mapping would improve the overall look of your scene. It looks greate without them, but if you try, you will see what I mean.
I like the whole character, except the hands. They need some tweaking.

Owearall: Greate job! Keep up the good work.

[JamesMK]

Thanks for your input, WSzP (oh, Transylvanian, eh?)

Metals - yes, very temporary crap right now

Bumps - Maybe some, we'll see what I make of the final textures

Hands - Yeah, agreed: they feel a bit stiff now. If I find the time, I'll rig them so I can try out a few different poses. But I fear that might not happen... We'll see.

[WSzP]

I think it would be greate to pose the right hand to create a connection between the back of the chair. In the render you can see a V shaped "gap". If you pose the arm to connect the body and the back of the chair the picture would be more impressive. But that's only my opinion.
And there is one little thing. In the reality there is a little chance for two weels to be rotated at the same degree, when they stop. I you would rotate one of the big weels a little you could increase the realism.

[JamesMK]

Very good points, WSzP... I'm tweaking like crazy right now, so we'll see how things turn out. Time to sleep soon for me though...
Thanks again!

[WSzP]

You wellcome... I think you got a very big chance to win. Good luck. (And have fun.) :beer:
I'm w8ing for the results of the tweaking.

[JamesMK]

OK, last changes before beddy-bye-bye:

Softened up the shins and upper arms a bit. They are pretty roundish already, but there's a lot of strong rimlighting going on here, making them look pretty edgy. But that's the way I like it. Not saying that they didn't get a bit better with the extra rounding...

Metal textures have been roughened up a bit. Looks much better now as specularity and reflection breaks up more than before.

The tires have got a gritty specmap as well now.

The prop-in-hand (rosary and crucifix) has been placed and posed! Darn those splines.... *grumble* :scream:

Left arm moved somewhat downwards-inwards. I need to bone it before I can do anything more, so I'll save that for another day.

Feet are now dangling from gravity. Much better...

Two views below, aaaaaaand good night y'all!

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/lights2.jpg

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/lights3.jpg

[WSzP]

Good improvements. There is a little problem with the rosary. Every rosary has the following shape:
Q-*-*-*-*-*-O-*-*-*-*-*-O-*-*-*-*-*-O-*-*-*-*-*-O-*-*-*-*-*-Q
The * means a small spere, the O means a bigger spere, or an icon. The Q is where the two parts join, and from there starts the small lower part. That lower part ends with the crucifix. And has a different shape: Q--*--*-*-*--*--T
Here the T means the crucifix.
I made some photos about a rosary, and some "rosary phisics".
http://hosting.vitae.hu/script5/cinema4d/Rosary_WSzP.jpg

[WSzP]

In a second tought the rosary is a very small detail. Maybe it's a waste of time to make a perfect rosary.
And maybe you should add some "ageing" or rust to the pants. (And some alpha map with gradient noise at the end, to look used and old.) They look like new ones.
Your scene is getting better and better. It was a good idea, and you realised your idea very well.

[JamesMK]

WSzP - I really appreciate that info (and pics) about the rosary issue. I must have grabbed a bad reference while searching for it. Since I'm not a catholic (or even religious at all) I had no idea about the exact details, and I've never seen a real rosary.

BUT, though it may seem like a small detail, as you pointed out, I still think it might be a good idea to fix it. It won't be too hard to do, since the spline is already in place - I can simply add the larger things/icons and fix the sequence on the chain. Piece of cake almost.

And since I intend to make a bigger close up on the face, with hands held against the sides of the head, the rosary will actually be more visible. So it might pay off to get the details correct.

Thanks for the 'rosary physics' too... Maybe we'll see a custom dynamics plugin for this some day in the future :D

I used a chain from my dog's collar to figure out how it would hang down, and more importantly how it would have to be arranged in order not to fall off a "dead" hand.

More updates to follow soon... And thanks again for your efforts, I'm really happy about it!

[WSzP]

I'm glad it helped. :beer:
Waiting for the next update. It's a greate idea, as I said before.

[JamesMK]

Next update is... here.

No modeling today, been busy with some boring household matters. I however let my PC perform some CPU aerobics running this radiosity render. I did unfortunately not make any optimisations, all materials have 100% radio transmit/receive, so my poor old box needed 6 hours to calculate this... :D

Anyway, I liked the result a lot, so here it is - enjoy:

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/radiosity.jpg

[WSzP]

Looking very good. I think the background and the floor are not made right now, but I hope you plan to do some greate background.

[JamesMK]

Yeah, the background is just two solid colored planes now... I'll build a little crappy wooden stage platform thingy.

[WSzP]

And what if you would model a cementery in the background. If you don't have time, you can make it very dark, with negative lights and some "symbolic" tomstones. That would make the atmospere full of sorrow, and I think that is one of your goals.

[gmask]

Originally posted by WSzP
And what if you would model a cementery in the background. If you don't have time, you can make it very dark, with negative lights and some "symbolic" tomstones. That would make the atmospere full of sorrow, and I think that is one of your goals.

Kind of a departure for the whole carni theme.. but I don't think it's really part of the criteria.

[WSzP]

And JamesMK know whatás in his mind... I can only make suggestions.

[gmask]

Originally posted by WSzP
And JamesMK know whatás in his mind... I can only make suggestions.

It is a competition with a theme of Carnival Side show freaks.. however It would make sense if in the true carnival spirit if he had a cheesy fake cemetary behind him.. even if it was a bad painting on canvas or obvious prop tombstones in the background.. Usually in sideshows they present the freaks in their own little evironments.

[WSzP]

I red the competition details. :) But I think the graveyard addition would make it more "real". (Real things don't tend to be in Null-room.) :cool:

[JamesMK]

Just to clarify - I'm currently in the process of building a little wooden booth with a really bad paintjob to put Mr NoBrain inside soon... Will post a little preview very soon.

[JamesMK]

Like this: (beware: very early testrender :D )

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/booth1.jpg

[WSzP]

Looking greate...
(Except the texturemapping of the floor... I think that needs some tweaking.)

[gmask]

Originally posted by WSzP
I red the competition details. :) But I think the graveyard addition would make it more "real". (Real things don't tend to be in Null-room.) :cool:

You've never been to a freak show have you at a carnival? There was defanately an air of fakeness to them and I've never been to a carnival held in a cemetary. Is a stage prop in a virtual theatre a null room? :rolleyes:

[gmask]

Originally posted by JamesMK
Like this: (beware: very early testrender :D )

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/booth1.jpg

The textures look good like covered with is own crap or brains.. like he's been in the box for a while being driven all over the country side.

I have seen a few "exhibits" were the display is bascially on wheeles and they hitch it to the back of a truck. There was one that I used to see as a kid at this flea market. It was not avery good ..all the displays were small. It seemed to be popular to make these fake miniature mermaids.. they were often called mummified mermaids. I'm not really sure how they were made but they were very odd looking.

[ilasolomon]

well, so you gonna win the first prize?! :D hey you did it very well till now, James. :thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

Originally posted by ila_solomon
well, so you gonna win the first prize?! :D hey you did it very well till now, James. :thumbsup:
Hah! That'll be the day... But thanks a lot, glad you like it! There's still a couple of heavy things to do, but it looks like I'm going to manage making almost everything I planned

[WSzP]

gmask, I got the point. Thx! :thumbsup:
JamesMK: Almost? Why not ALL?

[JamesMK]

Well, when I start thinking about a project like this really intensively, I just get too many ideas. And each testrender reveals more and more stuff that should be improved. And each improvement reveals new areas that need improvement. And so on... I could keep working on it for years if nobody stops me :D

So, I'm really happy that there's only five (soon four) days to go...

[WSzP]

Well... I think you are close to finish, so don't worry. I think it's a good idea to finish your work at last 1 day before deadline. I almost got disqualified from a challenge for missing the deadline. (I got a server crash.)

[gmask]

Originally posted by WSzP
Well... I think you are close to finish, so don't worry. I think it's a good idea to finish your work at last 1 day before deadline. I almost got disqualified from a challenge for missing the deadline. (I got a server crash.)

Yeah I'm trying to get some time free to work today but crap is pilling up over here..a rgh!!!

[JamesMK]

gmask -> Dang! Crap piling up is a bad thing. Reminds me that I spent all day yesterday cleaning the floors here... Mindblowing experience. Though I refer to it as "cranking up the floor-specularity" :D

[WSzP]

JamesMK: I share your pain. :cry:

[JamesMK]

New render with character placed in booth::

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/anencephalic_semifinal.jpg

A matching wire here -> http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/anencephalic_semifinal_wire.jpg

[kotter]

yes... yeess... I mean no... noo!
getting creepy :thumbsup:

[Roman]

surprisingly good!:thumbsup:

[WSzP]

Greate job! I like the floor. :) :thumbsup: :applause: :thumbsup:

[KotsVlok]

Ohhhh how creepy! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Now, what does that flyer says?
"The ....... brainless man" ..i dunno what that word in between is :D

[markw7]

Wow, that's coming out great. Beautiful color choices, James. Nice lighting, too. It really supports the model on all levels. Congratulations.

[JamesMK]

Kotter, Roman, WSzP, KotsVlok and markw7 -> Thanks a lot!

WSzP: I'm glad you like the floor now ;)

KotsVlok: The word you can't read is "hideous"- - - Of course! With such low skills in wood booth/mobile stage maintenance, you can't really expect these guys to keep their flyers readable, you know :D

[grstovell]

James!

I stopped watching this thread a few days ago... and now I'm sorry I did! It looks fantastic!

Did you take a speedy crash course on C4D?;) I've had it longer and I'm nowhere near creating something like this! Amazing!

How did you do your texturing? Is it Bodypaint? Or straight out of the materials manager???

-g

[KotsVlok]

Originally posted by JamesMK
KotsVlok: The word you can't read is "hideous"- - - Of course! With such low skills in wood booth/mobile stage maintenance, you can't really expect these guys to keep their flyers readable, you know :D
yes yes!..fantastic! :applause:

[JamesMK]

The Rev -> Nah, no C4D crash course. Just plain old hard work... And even if I haven't used Cinema for more than three months approximately, I still have +3 years 3D-experience from Blender.

I don't have the BP-module, so the texturing is straight out of the material manager. And photoshop of course. Lots of layers... The walls in particular have three different base materials with various alpha textures to mess up the coverage.

The skin shader is mostly procedural with fresnel falloff for reflectivity, a slightly blueish specular color, plus a VERY blurred 2K skin bitmap in the colorchannel, just to provide a slight hue variation. Stochastic radiosity takes care of the finishing touch. And the most important part is multipass rendering to enable some funky compositing... This last image uses separate passes for diffuse, shadow, radiosity, specularity and reflections.

Anyway, I'm really glad you like it so far!

KotsVlok -> Aye!

[Virtuoso]

Just wanted to come in and say you have put in some very good effort in this challenge.You sure do have a "True Freak" by any standards with this creation.Nice job and excellent effort JamesMK.:applause: :beer:

[JamesMK]

Thanks a lot, Virtuoso! I feel much better now! :beer:

[WSzP]

Cinema4D is easy to learn. But you can't simply learn to makes scanes like JamesMK... It's talent and innovation. This cannot be tought. You can learn how to use a pencil, but you can't learn how to be a graphic artist. That's the difference.

[BgDM]

Excellent work JamesMK!! The creepiness factor is definitley up there.

Keep up the good work.

BgDM

[richd]

i see that you are finished in time, great stuff.

[JamesMK]

WSzP -> Thanks, dude! But you're giving me far too much credit... ;)

BgDM, richd -> Thanks again!

And now - RANT:BEGIN ---

Goddamn ¤&¤%!#%!!!!

OK, guys, it looks like that last image will have to be the final image... It was not my plan, but my P.O.S ¤#&!#! hardware has finally crapped out totally.

I was up laaaaate last night modeling some really nice straps around his arms and legs, and a very neat rope running from the back of the wheelchair and around his chest. And I finished posing another view, facial closeup, with Mr Headlikeahole holding his hands on his head. And it really looked good.

Before going to bed, I set up the final render parameters - stochastic radiosity and so on, expected rendertime around 6 hours... Hit the renderbutton, switched off the monitor and fell asleep instantly.

When I wake up this morning and switch on the monitor again I am greeted with this excellent WinNT coredump/bluescreen....
OK, maybe just an overheated RAM-chip or something, so I switch my P.O.S ¤#&!# PC off for a while to cool off. Rebooting later only to find that it doesn't make it more than maybe 30% into the bootprocedure until I get a new coredump...

OK... Throw my NT installation CD into the player and reboot again to repair the installation.... And it frigging coredumps even before getting to the first menu! :scream: Telling me about a stop-error named UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP... What in the name of P.O.S ¤#&!# is that about?

Right now I have no idea if my CPU is toast, or the RAMs have crashburned or the BIOS has gone boinking mad - - - I'm going to plug an alternate master HD into it later today and see if that will help, simply because that's the only spare part I've got... I've already yanked out all the cards I don't need, so the only things left is the NIC and the GPU.

Stay tuned...

EDIT/UPDATE: So, I've tried a new install on a fresh HD. The problem remains. I have no idea where the problem is, except that I know for sure it's hardware related. That means end of story for some time now. My other box, the one I'm typing on right now, is far too crappy to do any 3D work on... I guess I'll have to go back to oilpainting. :thumbsdow

RANT:END

Anyway, I'll repost the last image here where it's easy to find. Now I'm off to whack my PC with a huge stick - wish me luck...

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/anencephalic_semifinal.jpg

A matching wire here -> http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/anencephalic_semifinal_wire.jpg

[konceptsketcher]

I've just got time now to make comments on your character, and let me say, it's turning one of the best entries, but i think that in your last render it seems that have a scale problem considering the room, try to fix it ...

[JamesMK]

Thanks, konceptsketcher, glad you like it!

Unfortunately I won't be able to fix anything at all.... Read my last post above...

[swag]

i wish u good luck with ur computer (my first thought is the harddisk (bad sectors have u a ibm?):beer:

[JamesMK]

swag: Thanks for your support.... Not bad sectors though - I dealt with that already, about a week before the challenge started my 30 GB (IBM, yes) suddenly died permanently... It had been acting weird for several months previous to its final departure.

This is something else, on another drive (Western Digital) - since this weird crash this morning I've tried to make a fresh Win install on yet another drive (Samsung), but that only resulted in the exact same problem... So it's something else - could be RAM-related, I don't know yet.

EDIT/UPDATE: It was bad RAM! Must have been toasted during the render-by-night ordeal. I found some references over at the MS Knowledge base about this particular STOP-error related to a particular brand of PC's. It didn't match my system specs, but I started swapping RAM-chips between sockets, and removed them one at a time with reboots inbetween... Found a bad one apparently... The good thing is that I can actually boot and render, the bad thing is that even though my previous 256 MB was a joke, 192 MB is even more rediculous. I'm expecting a lot of swapfile activity...

[JamesMK]

Seems like I have to surrender here anyway. Although I got my box up and running again, it appears that those missing 64 megs were more important than I knew. Sure, I can render, but even the most simple setup slows down to a craaaaaawl after the first 50 or so scanlines...

So, if nothing more happens here with my entry, I'd just like to thank everybody for a really fun and educational challenge!

Wish you all good luck finishing up your models!

[WSzP]

Hey dude, don't EVER give up!
I have an idea. What if you send the C4D scene file to me (I give you ftp access to upload), and then I render it, and I will send the finished image back. If you can model, but can't render that could solve the problem.
Interested?

[WSzP]

My pc: P4 - 2.5GHz; 1GB RAM.
Os: Win XP Pro Service Pack 1
Cinema4D version: 8.2
Do you need some kind of special plugin or something?
I got Advanced Render btw.

[JamesMK]

A very kind offer WSzP!

I've done the math on the final render here - with 37 hours left before the deadline, and my box chugging about 60 scanlines per hour at PAL resolution as it looks now, I think it will make it (unless it burns another RAM in the process, of course) :D

After that, I only need an hour or so composing the passes and making level adjustments in PS. So it should be a piece of cake if nothing else breaks down. The modeling is done as far as I'm concerned. Some texturing is lacking, but I can live with that. I'll probably continue on this a bit after the challenge, and post in finished projects after I've added all the other things.

BUT anyway - if the render isn't done by tomorrow, maybe I can get back to you about it? I think we are almost in the same timezone, right? On a box like yours, the scene would render in about an hour I guess. And the only plugin/module needed is AR, and you've got that, so it should be cool.

Thanks again!

[WSzP]

You wellcome JamesMK,
Tell me, if you need me for the rendering. PAL resolution is a little low - I think... - for such good artwork.

[JamesMK]

WSzP: Sounds good. I'll see what happens - it would be neat to render it out at 2 x PAL-res or something like that...

And now:::::

Oh, at last! The final render with straps and ropes completed (14 hours multipass render, I MUST try to steal a better PC somewhere...) and the final composite done.

Now, a huge thanks to everyone participating in this Challenge. Aside from the hardware breakdowns in the last few days, I've had a really really great time!

http://w1.480.telia.com/~u48033445/cgc/final_anencephalic_hi_q.jpg

[kotter]

great work James, I'ts been really fun to watch :thumbsup:

Hoping I will see you in other challenges in the future :beer:

[WSzP]

Good progress... If I'm needed tell me. I think you are very talented.

[Dreamwave]

OMG 14 hours :eek:
well, it was worth it, very nice background and compositing too

[WSzP]

I think you like your work too. (Added as avatar.)
P.S.: Don't forget to see my first CGTalk WIP. (See the link in my signeature.)

[KotsVlok]

Very nice, congratulations on finishing this fantastic piece of art, mister James. :applause:

[JamesMK]

Originally posted by WSzP
I think you like your work too. (Added as avatar.)

But of course... Didn't you know that the primary reason for people to participate in the challenges is to make themselves new avatars? ;)

[Virtuoso]

Well done,a true Freak in a sideshow,a bit surreal and a bit scary,a real nice piece of work,plus great effort.:buttrock: :beer:

[JamesMK]

Just a final big thanks to Virtuoso, KotsVlok, WSzP, Dreamwave and kotter for your last comments.

And to everyone else providing valuable input along the way: gmask, eyadness, sasquatch, BgDM and more (if I forgot someone, my apologies - you've all been great to have around).

I fiddled a bit with the files today and cut the rendertime down to about 2.5 hours without any apparent loss of quality (pretty good for such a lousy PC), so I guess I can continue working on this a bit more soon and provide the really final, ultimate render with detailed textures for the character etcetera.

[eYadNesS]

Hi JamesMK,
What's happen? Why you don't upload your picture into http://www.cgchallenge.com/ !!!
See Ya

[gmask]

Originally posted by eYadNesS
Hi JamesMK,
What's happen? Why you don't upload your picture into http://www.cgchallenge.com/ !!!
See Ya

It's there towards the bottom

[eYadNesS]

Originally posted by gmask
It's there towards the bottom

I think he should update the picture! :shrug:

[JamesMK]

Well, I uploaded my final submission on the 21st according to the original deadline. And my image is now in the 16th slot counting from the top of the page.... and the page says the challenge ends on the 28th of september?

[gmask]

Originally posted by JamesMK
Well, I uploaded my final submission on the 21st according to the original deadline. And my image is now in the 16th slot counting from the top of the page.... and the page says the challenge ends on the 28th of september?

It's gone crazy!!??!?!? :eek:

[WSzP]

JamesMK: I think you need to buy some more luck. :wavey:

[OZ]

F R E A K E S T E V E R ! ! ! !

[JamesMK]

Originally posted by WSzP
JamesMK: I think you need to buy some more luck. :wavey:
Huh? Could you elaborate on that - sort of lost me there, bud :)

OZ - Thanks dude! Love that sobbing guy you painted... Spot on freakshowish! :D

[Pufferfish]

JamesMK, you really did a good job! Your entry is definitely one of the best.

Freaky freaky freaky!:applause:

[MaskTX]

I can watch how your work become nicer and nicer from the start!:thumbsup:

[DenialK]

:buttrock:

The power of heavy metal.

/ Audio-Bruder

[JamesMK]

@ Denial

Ah, you figured it out eventually! :rolleyes:

[freka01]

That dude does not look healthy :P

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