HMC #20 - Expressions - Michael C. Hall

#1


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Hello. I was really impressed with the last two HMC and this time I don’t want to miss out. I’m gonna try to model Michael C. Hall the star of my favorite TV series “Dexter” and the other great show “Six Feet Under”.

I’ve never tried tried to model a full likeness of someone. I’ve only used references for specific parts or quickly built low poly faces to import to zbrush, so this should be intresting and test my abilities. I hope you enjoy my WIP thread, thanks.
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#2

huzzah…i’m really happy with the entries so far…all my favourite shows are getting a look in…love dexter…

good luck

#3

hehe I was thinking about him - definitely my fav show these days! Looking forward to this one:thumbsup:

#4

Thanks for the replies. lol, i’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like Dexter.

Wanted to post something before the day ends. i just want to get the general shapes of his face then i’ll be importing the face into zbrush for higher detail.

the most difficult part was just getting used to pushing and pulling verts again rather than sculpting. I haven’t used maya for actual modeling in awhile. Also I’ve done a little bit of the eyes but they’re just too rough to show atm. thanks.

#5

Lookin good so far. Great choice. He’s so stone cold too, you could just do 1 expression and call it all 15. I like the Hannibal Lecter look of your WIP too.

Lookin forward to see how you progress.

#6

Hello again. I’ve finished the base mesh and just wanted to post what it looks like in zbrush at level 3 before i start sculpting.

 [img]http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1732/side.png[/img]
[img]http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3179/sidde.png[/img]
[img]http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/3824/10043188.png[/img]

and compare

to tell you the truth i’m a little disappointed with the basemesh. It was kinda difficult getting his likeness inside maya. I’ve been relying a lot on sculpting inside of zbrush.

Also here's an image i took while building the ear. I couldn't find a whole lot of good imaged of Michael's ears so i just moldeled one for a filler. Hopefully i'll be able to find some better pics in the future.
[img]http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/7660/earss.png[/img]
#7

Eww I hate modling ears. Nice work getting it done at this early stage, and as long as you have the general flow, the rest can usually be easier accomplished in zbrush.

-Rage

#8

Yea ears are annoying. i usually just make some simple form for the ear and just sculpt it out in zbrush and if i’m not being lazy i’ll retopo it in Maya. But i just wanted to see if i could do it in maya from scratch. Even though i was happy with the ear it was the only part of the mesh with a few messed up faces >.<

well i couldn’t resist sculpting a little.

it’s probably my cleanest model and sculpting is a lot easier than usual. I just eyeballed a few pics of Michael, but i gotta figure out how to set up references inside zbrush. Next hopefully i’ll post my expression references.

#9

Here’s some expressions I’ve gathered. I was lucky enough to find this site http://www.michaelchall.org/gallery/ that had screenshots from Dexter. I’ll probably end up not using a lot of them for reference considering they’re kinda vague, and because i have a ton of other references.

Also i did a little sculpting! the hair is just a filler atm.

Let me know what you think, thanks.

#10

oh,wonderfull !! It’s him!!! This is the coolest thread. It has caught my eye like Shin.

#11

thanks a lot, wasn’t really sure if i was capturing the likeness at all. I’ve been eyeballing a lot of the detail. I’m going to keep working on the features then i’ll have to plan out the hair, and decide on other things i might add. Thinking of adding a dress shirt.

#12

looks fairly close…although i would bring out the outer edge of his brow just a bit…it seems to flat to the head just at the moment but does actually stick out a bit

#13

Hello again. I actually haven’t given a model multiple expression so i really want to see if i could retain the likeness while emoting the expression. i just wanted to see how i’d do, but i think i’ll go back to my static pose and finish the other parts. Please imagine the teeth there, i know it looks really odd, lol.

Here’s a little animation using blendshapes. I think i’ll use this method to see if the expresions blend naturally.

#14

Hey there looking cool. Definitely see a semblance.
Not sure the hair is working, otherwise pretty smart.
I think teeth will make a very big difference.

Hard to judge exactly where the lips and lower jaw should be when they’re just missing imho

#15

nice job on the neutral face - really looks close to the original… I’d work it a bit more before doing the shapes - I think the area around the eyes could do with more love… and yeah I agree about the teeth, the lip moves on top of the teeth so it’s definitely hard to make a smile without them :slight_smile: Remember also that the lower eyelid will move a lot when smiling.
Keep it up :beer:

#16

Interesting choice for the challenge, on one hand his character is all about creating the appearance of emotion through expressions, but on the other, you can always tell he’s got the subtle “emptiness” in his eyes while doing it (great actor!).

The model so far looks really good, I’ll definitely be following this one to see how it turns out!

#17

Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I’m still trying to get to the point where it definitily looks like him without having the reference nearby. So here’s a little update.

 [img]http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/788/daz.png[/img]
 
 Yea the hair is pretty bad. It's gonna be a challenge for me to figure out how to get decent hair that isn't too conceptualized in zbrush, but i'll do my best. Also here's a shot with the teeth i made in maya. I haven't done any sculpting on them and they're pretty horrible i know. 
 
 [img]http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/1990/29664990.png[/img]

Thanks.

#18

Hey Pedro. The likeness is getting there, my collegue just looked at my screen and recognised it. I think the mouth in the neutral sculpt was pretty much there in your previous post, but to me it seems to be a bit further away from him now, sort of too downturned if that makes sense. I’m basing that off the picture of the front view you posted, so maybe your other ref says otherwise.

The stand you have him on is a bit sinister, like he’s a severed head. I don’t know if you’re going for that, but it’s quite apt really, I like it :slight_smile:

Edit - Something I meant to say, but forgot, was that maybe you could afford to give him a wider chin, that seems consistent across your reference

#19

Thanks a lot for the tips Lord McGoat, i totally agree. I tweaked the model a bit and i hope it looks a little better. Also thanks for noticing the stand i have the head on. I thought it would be suiting considering the dark humor of ‘Dexter’ and would make fans laugh, while making the model seem a little more real. anyways an update.

[img]http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/2394/fug.png[/img]

I hope it looks a little better to you all. Sorry for the horrible looking hair, i've been trying a ton of different ways and haven't gotten it yet. Also it's odd that the neutral sculpts expression looks as if it's getting angrier with each iteration.

I think the chin may still be a little small. :frowning:

#20

It’s definitely getting there!