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javierdl
09-28-2003, 07:00 PM
http://www.jdlprod.com/temp/lildemon/lildemon_thumb.gif (http://lightning.prohosting.com/~jdlprod/temp/lildemon/)

Softw: 3DSmax5

This is my first formal attempt at an animation character, cartoon style. I think it's done. But before going any further with the bones system, the skin envelopes, and the animation, I thought it would be a good idea to submit it to some honest opinions.
This being said, the opinions that matter to me the most are those about the mesh-for-animation (it'll talk too).
However, I would like to hear about the art concept of the character itself too, especially if you have a suggestion for something to add, remove, or modify.

I was thinking about adding some props to it, like a beisball cap, and/or a pair of sun-glasses just resting on his head, and/or sneakers.
Btw, you cannot see it, but it has a tongue and a throat.

Click on the image above to see Lil' Demon.
Please let me know if the "wireframes" are not large enough, and/or you would like to see another angle.

Thanks in advance,

DPC
http://www.jdlprod.com/drpeppercan_small.gif
javierdl
10-03-2003, 04:17 AM
Geeez guys! Is it really that bad?! :(

Today was the 5th day, and still not one brief comment, mmmm

DPC
Doubt
10-03-2003, 05:24 AM
His teeth seem a bit white for a demon, also maybe a bit too... "human" maybe?

Other than that, I would have to agree with you... it's done!!

--Doubt
AlanVR
10-03-2003, 06:00 AM
Could we get a bigger render? its a little hard to judge him on such a small image.
looks good from what I can tell though.
javierdl
10-04-2003, 05:31 AM
Alright, visitors! :)

Thanks Doubt. Yes, you are right about that. I left them that way over 3 reasons:
1. I thought putting devil teeth would've been the "expected thing to do", and since ...
2. I wanted to keep a "cartoonish style" to it, I thought keeping the human-like teeth would be acceptable.
3. I will be using this character for a little animation in which he should look as clean-cut as possible, hence his clean teeth.

But I have to admit that I've been very tempted to give him at least a couple of discreet fangs ;)

AlanVR, I will have to wait until the 11th or so to provide the larger images, for tomorrow I'm selling my computer, and I anticipate with the school and all it'll take me around a week before I'm back on my feet with 3dsmax.
Thanks for asking though :)

DPC
fattyLees
10-04-2003, 06:32 AM
Hey there-
I like the character design...BUT, one thing that jumped out at me right away was the fact that he has ape arms ( for lack of a better term). I mean his nuckles are gonna be dragging on the floor when he's walking. You might wanna think about shortening his limbs and tail to achieve more vissually pleasing body proportions.

My 2 cents
AlanVR
10-04-2003, 09:04 AM
oh nevermind!, I didnt realize that if you clicked on the tiny thumb-nail that there are bigger ones! DUH! lol
I thought you guys were judging it by that tiny little thumbnail.
anyways, looks great! I think I agree his arms a little long, but other than that great work.
mattmos
10-05-2003, 08:35 PM
Hi,
you've obviously got a certain image in mind so I won't comment too much on the character design, other than to say that there is a slight discontinuity between the more realistic wings and then the cylindrical body. He's certainly got character though. I totally agree with the comments on the length of the limbs.

The wirefames are a little hard to make out, but i think you might have problems with the hands and the face. The hands are too flat at the mo, try to get some depth to the thumb where it meets the hand and bend the fingers slightly. The wide mouth can be a problem with certain blendshapes like 'o', one way to tackle it is to do a kind of ---o--- shape (if that makes any sense).

Looking forward to the animation!
javierdl
10-06-2003, 07:13 PM
Mattmos, you are so right about the discontinuity 'tween the wings and the rest of the body. I've been aware of it from the beginning, and I was never comfortable with this. Honestly, it is one thing I left to be fixed eventually, but just never came around to do it :(
However, the ''ape arms'' is something I will for sure change ;)
Thank you so much for your advice on improving the hands, the thumbs, and about its big mouth.
As a confirmation of what you said about the hands I'll say that I had the chance to experience that already. They don't deform very smoothly. Is it just a matter of adding more vertices? Via localized Meshsmooth maybe?

DPC
mattmos
10-06-2003, 08:55 PM
Not sure if it's so much a matter of adding more vertices as just making sure they are in the right place and weighted properly. I found a great resource (and subsequently lost it, doh!) which explained edge-loop modelling very well and talked about the five span drop technique (if anyone knows what I'm talking about please list the link, ta). It's worth trying to find examples of realistic human wireframes and looking at their hands.

I've had a bit of success by placing 3 loops around each bend point in the finger, weighting the outside loops 100% to the nearest bone and the middle loop 50/50. This is a starting point at least... It means you get some intersection but the fingers don't flatten out horribly when you bend them. Sorry if that's slightly confusing but can't upload anything at the mo to explain it visually.
javierdl
10-06-2003, 10:28 PM
That sounds very interesting mattmos, I do get the general idea.
Sorry for the "basic" question, but what exactly is a "loop"?

DPC
mattmos
10-08-2003, 02:13 AM
OK, um.. you got me there, it's really hard to explain verbally!

It's basically a line which connects with itself, most of the time intersecting with other lines. So like on a cylinder object you get loops which run around it describing the curvature. On a wireframe face you get loops running around the eyes and mouth which help to define the contours of the features.

The reason they matter so much is because of the way 3d programs calculate subdivisions. You should always model with loops or lines following the contours of the model, otherwise you get horrible deformations.

Hope this is helping and not hindering - if you need more explaination check out a few people's models on this site, they are generally very well built. If I find that other site I'll be sure to post it.
javierdl
10-08-2003, 04:18 AM
mattmos, thank you kindly for the clear explanation :)
It is actually what I had suspected.
It's good to know that they are that important. I'll for sure look into that on this model as soon as I put my new pc together ;)

DPC
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