Mech Character / Steam Pirate / Pose

I have gotten a lot done and have some characters to show and some updates as well. So this is a big one.

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My hardsurface/Metal Gear Character is done. I wanted to do something with hardsurface and I really haven't done any before. I looked at the Metal Gear Series for an idea. Its not purely hardsurface, more that it has hardsurface componets and a tech style body.

Ref sheet

I found everything thing I could (toys, art, screenshots) and some more concepts and art from the previous games at http://www.creativeuncut.com/


Concept

I roughed out an idea of the character nothing amazing just need to have a blueprint
I started in Zbrush with this model and then I used Softimage for retopologizing. I find that Softimage has the most effective tools for modeling and polygon sculpting. I save so much time on retopologizing in Softimage compared to working in Maya.

WIP

I used Fibermesh to make the hair and I was able to then double it for textures on the face and the low polygon hair.

Final Zbrush model
 

Low Texture version

Low wireframe

I used the tech blades made by z-design and turned them into 3D models. I did have them as a texture and used alphas and so on but my little computer had a heart attack trying to do all that so I just made things easier and rendered them out in layers.

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This other character was done for multiple reasons.
1. I wanted to work on my lower edge flow and perfect some of my lower modeling
2. I wanted to try some clothing
3 and finally I wanted to do an older character with wounds.

So I started find some reference and did some sketches. I wanted to do a Steam punk kind of Pirate woman but it turned into more of a Victorian bad ass/angry woman.


Concept

Ref

I started modeling her in Maya, got the jacket and frills on the shirt done in Softimage and jumped to Zbrush. At this Point I was jumping from the low Zbrush and the low model. I had the UV's set before going into Zbrush to save me some possible pain.

WIP 1

WIP 2

I wanted her wounds to be on her face and look like an Octopus attack and have some cuts and so on. I had a hell of a time trying to find fresh squid/octopus attacks. I found some but than I looked at the marks Leeches leave, similar circle mouth marks I had in mind, and found some great references.

 

Zbrush Polypaint

The Pocket and belts are 50% from the Zbursh tool and 50 what I had modeled before hand. I have her posed, lit and rendered.

Low Model Textured

Low Wireframe

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I am really close to having my newest reel done Just a few more things to render and pose the pirate woman and I will be golden.

 

I finished the PolySculpt class at CG Society and was glad I did. I had only used Maya to animate and do particle effects in and only a little bit of modeling. So that was a great help. I am now taking a Hardsurface modeling class and getting some more modeling tips in Maya and Zbrush.

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 Looking at my Reel I have about 7 characters and everything is looking good but I had to change the pose of Rosa or Hester

They basically have the same pose, So I wanted to change one of them. I have Rosa re-posed and I have an idea for Hester. I will pose Hester and see how the two look.

This is Rosa's new pose I used a stock image from http://faestock.deviantart.com/  as a base pose. I like it but I am not going to say 'yeah' yet till I see how Hester's re-pose comes out; might keep both will see.

http://faestock.deviantart.com/art/Valentine19-367363261

 

Hester still got it; granted it died along the road ages ago. I might keep this pose; I seem to have this sexy pose thing going on today. Rosa looks like a gypsy and Hester is out man hunting(scaring) 

Work Work and Reading

I am working on the scene of the post apocalypse character for the CG Hub Challenge. I am toying with using the creature I sculpted. I need to perfect the sand and play with the lighting. I am planning on using this character in my reel when I have the whole scene finished.

Yet another reel piece, I am toying with the environment for Rosa, and I am perfecting my animation as best as I can. And I have revisited the Zbrush model cleaned up the anatomy errors. I have a new pose in mind for her Zbrush model, if I can get it to look right I will used that instead of the one she has now.

I fixed her hands and cleaned the feet up on the this model (this is the old image and pose) I am thinking about putting her in a whole semi-scene like I had her riding the crab from the first concept I had.  

I am putting the Djinn to the side, not because he isn't good or unfinished, I think it would be better to perfect what I have. I am still modeling more characters but I am spending time fine tuning the ones I have. I am rigging the Djinn still and given my animation skills I may ask someone to animate him, if the rig is good enough. I want to show that I can do a little bit of everything, lighting, rigging, animation and some compositing.

Most people would say "don't put it on your really if it isn't great", then when I say "I can animate on a pre-viz/pre production level" they'll ask "why don't you have animation on your reel?" The catch 20-20. Though I am may be over thinking somethings I am still of the opinion it is better to prepare for the worst and pray for the best.  Anyway,

I have a pose of the Deity, I am really proud of how the hands turned out on this. The leg arms and the back ones I really like. I want to get all of those intense feelings into the whole body. A feeling of loss, anger and defeat. I need to do the fibers/fur still and the background but its coming along. I might have this on my reel but I don't know if having him would be a good idea. I am trying to show a variety of characters; I might have him as the creature but I'm not sure yet. 

Also along the same sad, emotional line. I read Batman and Robin #18, and it was inspiring. It is a silent comic, no one said anything and I didn't even notice that till I read it again. I loved this panel because it hurt so much; I never read the issues when Jason died but I saw Under the Red Hood and it was really really sad, and they ended it with Jason saying "This is the greatest day of my life" when he was a young Robin, tore my heart out. This comic just ripped my heart out and turned into the tiny pieces of lint you find in your pockets. I also love the panel when Batman is in the shower and his suit is covered in blood and he looks so broken. All I can think about when I read this comic now is "Pity the Grieving man, Fear the Grieving Father"

The Clean Sheet

2012 has passed. I look at ALL of my best works and doings and see what I did and where I need to improve and set my sights for next year.



Make a list of what I need to accomplish for 2013 (for my art):

• Human body: Perfect Female Sculpt and do More male sculpts
• SOMETHING with hardsurfaces i.e. Robotics, Metal
• More HDR work and rendering
• Work on lower ver models
• More drawing.
• Monsters, creatures, 
• Mouths from a Dynamesh Model, so I don't always have a closed mouth on the model.

I did some work over the Christmas break/season and finished Zatanna. I also added 4r5 to my system, the auto save feature is really nice, but I hate how the model disappears for a second when I reengage the software.

 It was fun doing the frill/fabric on the corset.  Her hair was the hardest part, it just didn't look right. But then I looked at the Tpose of Rosa and realized, that it's because the face has nothing to it. No Expression

 So I started posing and was shift through Tumblr, and found a image of Zatanna with a cool pose. The over all pose turned out fine but I realized the most important part and something I need to work on. Is the mouth. I need to find a way to sculpt the inside of the mouth for my models in Zbrush. Usually I do the inside of the mouth when I make a low poly version and texture it that way.

I did some drawing as well. Something I haven't done in a while; it was nice to do something outside of tech land.