Winter is coming

This project have been in the freezer for a while (like over almost 2 years LOL), but I have revive it & worked hard on it for the last 2 weeks.

Its been so long that my original thread was locked. haha
here's the original thread.
Climate change

I give the project a new name, but lets get started.

The concept picture which will become the base for the final composition.


references


Head model


base Mesh


All the above were almost 2 years old, now for new updates over last 2 weeks
lastest pictures.

Attempt at scupting hair in Zbrush. I think its decent for a first effort.


Posed model in Zbrush. The jacket is not done, yet, rest is about done, but need fine tune.


Sledge. Opt for classic wooden sledge now, but now I have a problem to rest the bear. I thought some metal rails at the back & sides would do the trick. What you guys think.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/Starseeker/Climate%20Change%20Project/sledge.jpg
[/IMG]

Final image


Critics welcome. Shoot!

lest hope I can get this done finally before Winter 2012!

Cool surprise, the globetrotter is back! Hi PKD, nice to see your posts!

Well, Germany is not quite your beloved England, but you’re getting closer. It’s nice to see you writing in German and i feel honored to have your very first post in my thread - it means a lot to me (even if i was hoping people would let Gretchen rest in peace ). Have to think about an update now...

Yeah, it’s soon time again to think about season’s greetings to faraway families... Your winter-piece is coming nicely. Sledges with a wooden backrest aren’t that uncommon - search for “schlitten rückenlehne”, but in the meantime here a romantic example:
http://www.torquato.ch/mall/3/pic/it10491101711.jpg

The girl is looking good. Try perhaps to get her face somewhat cuter: her lips look a bit thin (they could also be slightly opened when smiling to give her a happier look), and the bridge of her nose is kind of rustic.

Cool to have you back!!
z

Thanks. Your comments on the face are good. I also think the lips area can be improve, you are right about the bridge, why didn't I notice before?

I will look into them for sure.

But I have to say, the quick render in Zbrush (basically a screencap) make everything a little 'dirty' which may affacet the overall looks a little.

Oh, & I am done with globetrottering. I should be here (in Hessen., germany) for good. Settle down, have some kids, & of course find more time to produce more CG art. But German is really tough, the grammatic & articles, & compound words...I swear a cow dies everytime I speak to someone in German, the way I butcher the Language. Hahe

But having said that, I do have a little more time, & Holiday since moving here, so I hope this workpiece can be finally done soon.

So are you still working on Gretchen on moving into something new. I have download your razor picture, but unforunately, its doesn't make a good wallpaper (due to boobies), The picture in your avator looks nice, any chance to see the high res version?

I’m sure you’ll perfectly speak German in a year. And don’t worry too much about articles - even Germans don’t always know them and some of them vary by region (especially South-Germany, Switzerland and Austria prefer them the other way sometimes).

Not sure about the Gretchen-update - that thread is such a mess in the meantime - i’ll probably start a new one with her when trying to get input. But my next update will be most probably on that piece shown in my avatar, something i’d like to finish very soon - it got stuck with some colour problems a few months ago, waiting for a genious moment since then. Here the URL:
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1032857
Please don’t comment there yet... except if having a really cool idea for the colour mood

Looking forward seeing you busy with your winter piece!

cheers
z

Wow, amazing work, have a renaissance era painting feel.

I agree with Stuh comments though. The girl seems distracted by something, but there is no hint of what she is looking at. Maybe position the cat to where she is looking at, maybe showing a jar falling as the cat jumps or something.

Looking forwards for more updates.

Hey thanks for replying here! How i still hate Stuh for that mean comment Joke aside: i see his point... even more now after a few months, and even if i probably won’t go in that direction - simply because it wasn’t the idea to get a slapstick comedy piece. Paintings aren’t always about entertaining with action, and this one is simply about ‘zokana having some fun’. (but i’ll check the way she’s looking)

To keep the focus on your work: made a PO for you to show
- the laughing eye (note the lower eye lines and the shape below the eye)
- the laughing chin (note also the slightly altered jaw line)
- plus some suggestions concerning facial proportions and shapes.

but certainly not the ultimate cute face, just a quick attempt to show some ideas:
http://homepage.hispeed.ch/435a4487.../pkd_120803.jpg

And thanks again for having taken a close look at my WIP!

cheers
z

^
Its your artwork, its your call, we can only make suggestions, but its good to have a clear idea what you wanted in your mind. If not, it will never get done.

Cheers.

back to my work.

Thanks for the paint over. I can see your points. I will return to her face for sure.

Anyway, I think I will not use the hair. Its good for sculpt practice or if I intent the character for a statue like composition, which I am not. I will return to my much hatred Maya hair solution (I hate working with hair for 3D models!). The hair block is good though, for getting the feel of how she will look with full hair.

Anyway, last update before the weekend. Not sure how much I will do over the weekend, though. I wasn't getting a lot of sleep for sure for the last 2 weeks.





Cheers.

C&C welcome.

I really like how it looks. The lips look a bit thin for a child, and the nose a bit wide where the bone is. Though it's my personal view, it can be like this I think On the concept, maybe you can experiment with placing of the character, as it's too close to the frame edge, I'd leave more space in front of him, giving him "breathe". But you can experiment with it later. Or, you can turn his head to the left (only head), creating interesting dynamics. The lighting will definitely define the shot, as modeling will be good and the concept is good also (you draw very well).

You are right about the nose & lips, I will work on these area soon. I think you are right about the composition. I will look into that also.

Thanks.

A small update

I update the pants & jacket, especially the backside.




Spend a great deal of time on the face, but its hard. Making a realistic kid is much harder than I thought. The proportion & shape of the face, as well as body changes as they grow up. I have to learn as I work. Didn't help that I did not have enough photos to work with the reference.

Here is the reference picture as inspiration. Some random picture of a cute little girl I plug using google.


Not quite nailing the look. Will update again soon....

The face looks much better! Check now the eye lines when laughing - the lower line is always straight (from lifting the cheeks - which could be somewhat stronger on your model). An other point perhaps the corners of the mouth - the shape is rather smooth (but the smile is looking already quite good actually).

Thanks for the tip, I have decided to take a break from the character but I will keep these tips in mind when I return. Now I am working a little on the sledge & Teddy bear. There is a mini Handball ( a rather new sport for me) Tournament at my town for the week (every evening), & I spend 3 out of the last 4 days attending, & like great German traditional, beers after the games. SO did not really do much. But I think its pretty decent consider the amount of time I spend on the project.

Teddy bear problem solved!

Handball is cool but sport is more a beery get-together in German regions - nonetheless important as social event, and essential for integration!

You’ve got an exceptional backrest, PKD! Now that you’re taking a rest from working on the character you could give the teddy somewhat less regular shapes, showing here a gorgeous update with a Steiff bear (a famous German plushie label).

No idea what bear was that. Was base on some random teddy bear pictures from google, but I guess its a good coincidence.

The language is a barrier, at the moment, but I will make it work. I lived in small town region, & most people do not speak much English. Totally opposite of big cities, when people speak to me in English even when I try to commute in German.

Anyway, a small update to round off this weekend. Mainly work on re-import the data back to Maya, & set up the scenes, camera & other mundane stuff.

Screen cap from maya. Hair is placeholder. She seems taller after re-imported from Zbrush, maybe its the camera.

Heh, I was expecting a Game of Thrones type picture with that title! Looking good so far!