DWIV - Mini Challenge #1 - War General Portraits 3D

#1 

       [b][b]3D Challenge[/b][/b]
     [left] It's time to gather up your creativity, pull together your talents, and get ready for a new kind of warm up competition in the Dominance War series - Mini Challenges! Although the theme is separate from the main epic event, world champion standings are assured for the best mini comp entries! 
       
       To commemorate a new class of competition, we will be using a modified theme from [i][b]Dominance War I. [/b][/i] So this year's first ever 3D mini topic is:
       
     
       [/left]
     [b]War General Portraits – SDK![/b][left] The rules are simple - artists are to take one of the 3 pre-made unwrapped models and finalize it with details, colors, background and/or an expression. Your war general portrait can be from any time period and any race. As long as he/she/it looks like a war general, has the appropriate [b]team war logo somewhere on the body/clothes[/b][b],[/b] and has the appropriate [b]team colors [/b][[found here]](http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=282&t=728088), everything is good!
       
       Backgrounds are optional. Presentation is optional. Posing is optional. Basically... everything is optional. This challenge is here for those desiring to practice their art before the main event. So keep it easy, keep it quick, and keep it real.
       
   [b]Rules:[/b]
       You have 9 days (2 weekends plus 5 days) to finish with the following specs:
       - Use only [b]"1"[/b] of the base unwrapped meshes supplied to get you started. Altering its form before texturing is NOT ALLOWED. Once you are finished with colors and details, you can then pose the head and alter its expression for your final presentation. 
       - 1024x1024 of ANY and ALL texture sheet types. Example, one Normal sheet, one Spec sheet, one Gloss sheet, one Glow sheet, etc.

  • You are allowed to alter the uvs of the base mesh.

  • Zbrushers/Mudboxers: you can push verts but the overall silhouette must stay intact and no extra geo should be added to the base mesh.
    - Optional 500 tris for extra gear like a hat, hair, helmet, etc.
    - All lighting solutions from any software package is permitted.
    - All shaders are permitted.

        [b]Additional Notes: [/b]
    - [b]Artists can only join 1 team for any event during dominance war IV. If you start with polycount, you cannot enter another mini challenge or the main event with gameartisans or cgsociety.[/b]
    - You are not required to enter all challenges. Pick the ones you like, and join.
    - Posting your work in progress in this single thread is ABSOLUTLY MANDATORY. 
    - You can only submit one "up to" 1000x1000 350k max final image. 200w x 1000h is fine. 999w x 500h is fine. This image must include your team logo, your War General's name, and your personal name and/or contact details.
    - Only 1 entry per person. Do not create or try to create multiple entries with different user names.
    - [b]Final submissions are final.[/b] If you upload your final image 4 days before the deadline, do not ask us to change it. Make sure you are happy with your image before you submit it into the system.
    - Public voting starts Thursday March 5th to March 8th to find each team's best 5. Each team’s best 5 entries then gather together into a single pool and a grand mini champion chosen and announced with all other Dominance War IV event champions in June. 
   
   [b]Deadline[/b]:
   [b]March 2nd Monday Night 11:59 Eastern time.[/b] Voting Starts March 5th. 
    
[b]Final Submission link for CGSociety team Members:[/b]    
   [http://www.gameartisans.org/contests/minis/join_cgsociety_3d.html](http://www.gameartisans.org/contests/minis/join_cgsociety_3d.html)
    
  [b]  Final View Entries page for CGSociety:[/b]
   [http://www.gameartisans.org/contests/minis/view_entries_cgsociety_3d_1.html](http://www.gameartisans.org/contests/minis/view_entries_cgsociety_3d_1.html)

    2D Challenge found here…
    http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=282&t=732416

        Good Luck to all those who enter!


*amended/new/change log
2008/02/21 - modify UVW & sculpting in ZBrush/Mudbox
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#2

here are the base models that must be used…

[left]…click on them to download the mesh.
[/left]

#3

DO use this thread to post you work in progress and final submission.

DO NOT make a new thread with you work in it.

good luck.

#4

Are there 3 more models? And I was also wondering about how we’re required to use the colors, for example could the character be whatever colors we want, but the atmosphere of the final image be that palette or is it more strict than that?

#5

ok, i get the rules clear , let’s start~

#6

i am a bit curious about that myself. it says that these meshes are to get us started… but then goes on to say that you can not alter them. so my question is: our final product is supposed to just be the finished bust? or are we supposed to complete the body for posing our final shot??

-L

#7

Stupid question incoming but we were not allowed to alter it, but we can take the basemesh into a sculpting software to do detailing right? (for the normal map)

#8

As far as I see it, its very similar to other mini challenges over on gameartisans. Example kindly posted by styx in there Dominance War thread.

http://www.gameartisans.org/contests/minis/view_entries_mini3d_15.html

The base mesh has to remain the same, no changes. However you may take it into Zbrush or similar to generate a normal map. Whatever maps you create, diffuse, normal, spec, must adhere to the pre layed out uv’s.

You may add extra objects into the scene, with your 500 poly budget, but you can not add geometry to the existing mesh.

#9

Hi,
I am new to game modeling and so so please forgive me if this few questions are misplaced.
Do we have to make game model with limited polygon budget?
Could you explain that rule about lighting solution and shaders ?
Thanks.

#10

Great! Thanks alot.

#11

A thought though, if we arnt allowed to alter the uv layout, incorporating our extra 500 polys within the texture sheet might be very difficult.

Whether we are allowed to change the uv’s would be a helpful question to have answered.

#12

Quick question, has the main Dominance War started? Meaning, the non-mini challenge one? I was under the impression that the mini challenges and the DWIV would be going on at the same time. If I’m wrong does that mean we can enter both the mini challenges and the main war?

#13

everyone, please read Seven’s post again and check the link out.

and no, the main challenge hasn’t started yet. the mini challenges are a way to warm you up for the main challenge. you don’t have to enter all the challenges. you can enter all the minis, or just the main, or all of them… whatever you feel like doing.

correction - switched 6 models to 3. sorry everyone, we have 3 models to use.

#14

Dont know where its heading yet, some sort of start :slight_smile:

#15

Ok great, now I follow. Thanks. :thumbsup:

#16

Another question. If we aren’t allowed to change the form at all, how can we create a human general with a different face/head type than the one provided? Plus the mouth is open, must it remain open? I’m sorry if these are simple questions, but if it’s like the SDK challenge provided in the link by Seven then it means that we can’t change the form at all only the textures.

Thanks

#17

I have the same sort of questions. Is this just a texturing challenge then? Or can we sculpt our own details?

Thanks.

#18

Xtitan, I think we were allowed to pose it. Maybe you can rig and control the mouth as well? And then close it. :slight_smile:
But I’m not sure

Here’s my wip, I hope to finish but I got lots to do in school so we’ll have to see. He’s supposed to be some primitive race with an exoskeleton. No idea how to make him look like a war general at the moment. :arteest:

#19

To confirm, it says, when you are done painting the texture/details, your then allowed to pose the head and alter its expression.

So pretty much after we finish all the texture work FIRST, its ok if we move the eye verticies a tiny bit up or down and rotate its head in a different direction? As long as we don’t drastically change the model?

Or are we NOT allowed changing anything to the geometry (even after texturing), if so, that sentance in the rules is very misleading.

Thanks,

#20

Here’s my first WIP post for this guy, I’ve never used Zbrush or displacement maps so this will be my learning experience for the actual Dominance War. I wanted to see how far the maps can actually push the simple geometry so I won’t be surprised if this doesn’t work out.