I’ve actually tried finishing models that at 2 or 3 years old. Only to realize that i see so many things I need to fix/change that I basically end up starting all over 
I’m on LCD now and no matter where I look at my work, it always look slightly different. I really hate it with light/dark areas, not so much color. Some monitors crank the brightness others don’t… so you can’t really ever judge what is black and what isn’t.
Good news I have continued with the texturing, although very slowly for now. 
Anyway for those who are interested here is the unwrapped model, I already have done some texturing work but that’s for a later update. Left is the main body which will be the 1024 one, and right is the flamethrower the 512 one.
Man this is a sweet looking entry, great work, great model, cant wait to see it textured. Hopefully im not hijacking this thread by asking how do you get such a clean unwrapped uvw map, modelling is going fine but as soon as it gets to unwrapping, things get messy. But looking great, waiting for more updates, good luck !
ooooh i LOVE the concept. it seems pretty cool. can’t wait to see it finished. it’s coming out real nicely. PLEASE don’t loose interest. this is an extremely good model!
Hi guys, still working on it every now and then. Still mostly wip of course…
Anyway…
[left]Any suggestions or comments are welcome! :)[/left]
WOW good work m8.
Excellent low poly modeling. The textures are coming along nicely as well. Can’t wait to see the end result.
Thanks guys! 
Again a small update, worked a bit on the fur and some other details. The texture on the coat was very quickly done and was more intended as a quick fix to get rid of that flat color. Anyway…
[left]Anybady have any good advice on how to paint brass or other metals??? I have some ideas but I’d like to see what other people think.[/left]
Ok here’s my take on brass: You have a highly specular, maleable material with a fairly high oxidation capacity. With that in mind (in Photoshop) for your base colour, select a brass colour (duh) and throw in a darkened black monochrome noise (muck around with some filters overthat) on a separate layer.
On a new layer, start painting scratches (using an darken layer filter), and underneath that create a ‘shadow crease’ for these scratches. Do similar for dents - you’ll notice that with it’s rather high maleability, brass dents easily so go mental with different brushes. try to emulate where it’s hit flat or cornered surfaces, and they tend to be the more pronounced. I tend to do the scratches first as the dents will distort these scratches, but scatches will occur after denting (more or less) so add a few more.
Once that’s done, on a new layer (lighten filter) create some highlights off these dents and scratches. These will vary in width from the depth of your dent/scratch. This goes above the dents layer, using a lighten layer filter. You don’t neccesarily need to use white, I tend to find that using a hue brighter than the brass hue is more effective.
Because (I’m assuming) you’re dealing with a man-made object, it would be machined to some extent, so maybe some lathe lines or something of the ilk. These should be really subtle and use a darken layer filter with a dropped opacity. Oh yeah, put it underneath the dents layer.
Make another noise map (dark green), and use a layer filter over the top to emulate oxidation (I’d suggest which filter, but I don’t have PS on this comp [at work], Overlay filter should work I think). Apply a layer mask to make it look like its embedded into some of the scratches etc.
Finally, on a new layer, start painting in rub marks. These are bits where the metal has been brushed against something - whether once or continually depends in the local environment of the object. Once you’ve pinted these in, do a layer select and go through your alteration layers and start erasing pits appropriately, using a low opacity brush.
Hide your working rub painting and save out. Voila!
Dang, gotta get back to work, HTH Mælefic out
Thought it was about time for an update again…
The Panda’s texture is pretty much done with the exception of the coat and a few sections that I need to tweak a bit more… And then of course there’s still some work to be done on the flamethrower.
UPDATE!!!
Finished the panda itself, working on the flamethrower now…
Any comments on the textures, before I finalize everything?
[left]Is rigging/posing the character a requirement? I can rig, just don’t know if I have the time though…[/left]
thats really kickass man. the red trim on the coat really helps it stand out. i love the crazy eyes, and the shoulder stripe thingies (i’m sure they have a name cant remember it) are a very nice touch. I think maybe the toenails and coat wrinkles could stand out a little more, but thats the only things i see. i really like it!
Great stuff
I don’t think you have to rig it, I think that’s just to get a better beauty render but it would be worth rigging anyway. Even if you do it after it’s been submitted.
You don’t have to rig, since you character is designed at a relaxed stance. Some entries look better when they’re not stiff in a “jesus christ pose”, the Russian Raccoon entry for instance. I prefer creating with the arms down somewhat.
I agree with Adam about the toenails and coat wrinkles. Maybe add a little touch up and call it finished.
Thanks guys for all the support and feedback!
I enjoyed this comp a lot, thanks ElysiumGX for setting it all up.
Some things still. Some parts on the texture (wrinkles mostly) could have been done a bit better, but I’m gonna have to practice and read up about that a bit more. didn’t have the time for it this time.
Anyway good luck to all that participated and on to the next challenge!!!