Forum: Carrara

Subject: Comic character WIP start to finish

ZIKEO opened this issue on Jan 20, 2007 · 52 posts

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 5:18 AM

Hi all,
Thought it might be nice to have a start to finish project going.
So i'm going to go through all the stages of how I produce my images.
Starting with the modelling in Amapi and Carrara.
Through to every thing else being done in Carrara.
With this character I'm going to also do a little bit of experimenting with the rigging. (wheather its the wrong or right way to do it. I don't now yet)
I'm only a hobbier. So anyone who spots something going wrong, please say.
Thanks for any interest and feed back.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 5:26 AM

To start with I've modelled a very basic man shape to hopefully get some good proportions. ( Very similar to a model I've seen by Teyon)

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 5:33 AM

Then onto the modelling proper. Here I'm trying to go for a more hero figure but still keeping poly count low, so that I can adjust the proportions more easily. The head isn't that important to me yet untill I have a good body shape.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 5:36 AM

Here I'm now moving onto the arms. Oh yeah, I'm showing the base model and the first stage smooth.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 5:39 AM

Now moveing down to work around the crotch and bum area. This shows the basic mesh around this area and is not yet attached to the torso. More work needed.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 5:41 AM

O'kay, started to get a bit bored of the body, so did a hand. probably the best hand I've done so far. Here I'm trying to keep the fingers and knuckles flat. Then skinning in Carrara is easier and a curve to the hand can be done.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 5:50 AM

Now back to the crotch, bum and legs. Still quite low on the poly count. (well I think it is, by comparison to my earlier modelling)

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 5:56 AM

O'kay. Now the base man model is done. But which character should he be? At this point I was just modelling a superhero-esque physique with no direction of intent. More a modelling practice than anything else.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 6:02 AM

The first hero to benefit from this mesh was, The Batman.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 6:06 AM

And here he is smoothed a little. But we're not going to consern our selves with him, as he is already a completed figure. I did Batman as a test for rigging, wheather it was possible to have one mesh for the figure and cape, and still rig o'kay. It wasn't to bad.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 6:09 AM

Right. Batman's out the way. Which character am I aiming for? Well 2000AD has always been my fav and I've already done a few characters, but not the loner. Guess who it is yet? This means taking the bulk down a little.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 6:15 AM

The character I'm now going for is more equipment based, and only wears trousers and boots. So I've modelled the clothing straight onto him. Some of the edges might look a bit curvy, but this will be sorted in Carrara.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 6:19 AM

Around the trouser top I've also modelled the main part of his belt and belt loops. Again not realy recognizable untill Carrara is in play.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 6:23 AM

Well yeah, It's the Trooper. Rogue Trooper. Here he is ready for Carrara. But not Yet. Still need to do the inside of his mouth, gums and teeth. And all his lovely equipment.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 6:25 AM

A close up of Rogue's head.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 6:27 AM

Well. The posts will slow down now. This is where I'm at, at the moment. Inside the mouth. The realy boring stuff next. Teeth and gums.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 6:55 AM

O'kay,  Couldn't wait to see some of him in colour. Quickly saved as obj and imported into Carrara, set a couple of shader domains and taaadaaa.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 8:20 AM

Thank goodness, boring bit over. Although, it wasn't that boring. Decided to go for a smoother look to his teeth, he is genetically engineered after all.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 20 January 2007 at 9:46 AM

Souther Buckle. Here it is with Carrara mods as well.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Mon, 22 January 2007 at 1:26 PM

Hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was very productive. Managed to do the Bio-Chips for Helm, Gunner and Bagman. Note Gunner's damage to his chip.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Mon, 22 January 2007 at 1:28 PM

As well as Helm's lid.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Mon, 22 January 2007 at 1:29 PM

And a good start to Gunner too. More works needed on this, which I hope to complete tonight.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Mon, 22 January 2007 at 4:13 PM

Done it. Gone as far with gunner in Amapi as I can, I think. Plenty more equipment to go. Think I'll tackle the peripherals before commencement of Bagman.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Wed, 24 January 2007 at 2:07 PM

Only Bagman to go now. All incidental equipment done, Pouch, Drinky bottle, Dagger and Ice axe.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Fri, 26 January 2007 at 12:27 PM

Yeah, Bagman's Done.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Fri, 26 January 2007 at 12:36 PM

Everything is now grouped together and ready for Carrara, saved as obj. Where I will re-group them and separate Rogue from the equipment, to work on them in different files. I'm probably only going to map Rogue, and use domain shading for the equipment. It's unlikely I'll animate him, so domains may suffice.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

midnight_stories posted Sat, 27 January 2007 at 7:45 AM

must admit you some excellent modeling bro. I only model sets and props it's a hard job doing full figures my hats off to you

ZIKEO posted Sat, 27 January 2007 at 2:10 PM

Thanks Midnight. Thought for a while there I was chatting to myself. (not that, that's uncommon) Rogues into Carrara now and has lost his equipment, shader domains are done on him and now its down to the nitty gritty of UV mapping. Here he is displayed with a couple of  shaders, to get the feel of the direction I'm going.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 27 January 2007 at 2:11 PM

And here's a mug shot.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

midnight_stories posted Sat, 27 January 2007 at 6:36 PM

I think once you've textured him. He'll look fantastic. keep it up I'll be watching

ZIKEO posted Fri, 02 February 2007 at 2:46 PM

Took a while, but eventually the UV map is done.
Started the mapping in Carrara, after setting the shader domains.
Layed out everthing where I wanted it and the thought, lets see what happens in Hex2.
Lo and behold there's a smooth type thingy, which tidied it up a treat.
This is a low res version. The one I planing on using is 4000 x 4000.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Sat, 03 February 2007 at 6:44 AM

Sorry about that. Here it is. Had trouble with SQL. What ever that is?

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

midnight_stories posted Sun, 04 February 2007 at 3:43 PM

that is a great job on the UVs. It should easy to texture, keep going

ZIKEO posted Mon, 05 February 2007 at 2:35 PM

Thanks MIDNIGHT. Trying to play with this thing called 2D (photoshop?) Give me the tactile feel of an airbrush anyday. Still I'm persevering with it. First test render of the skin texture and tones.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

midnight_stories posted Mon, 05 February 2007 at 3:07 PM

The bump mapping on the shoulders looks good, you should turn this into a poser model. I use philc cr2 editor it works really well at converting objects into figures. Keep it up

ZIKEO posted Thu, 08 February 2007 at 4:29 PM

Thanks again Dude, I am thinking of having a look at poser, some time soon. Playing with the equipment at the moment, have set the domains and mostly used flat mapping for the shaders. I'm gonna add goo later for the combat scenes.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Thu, 08 February 2007 at 4:30 PM

And here's a closer inspection.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

midnight_stories posted Thu, 08 February 2007 at 6:52 PM

this looks very professional. It gets better and better. camo looks great. I'm really enjoying this seeing it from start to end

danamo posted Thu, 08 February 2007 at 8:00 PM

Very impressive work! I also have enjoyed watching your project and modeling as the character evolves. You've also done an excellent job with the mapping and textures.

dbigers posted Thu, 08 February 2007 at 8:36 PM

Very nice work. Many users will appreciate the walkthrough. It is nice to watch a project like this from start to end. Good job!!

ZIKEO posted Sat, 10 February 2007 at 6:11 PM

Thanks guys.
Still a lot more to go, biulding rigs for the equipment and Rogue himself.
Gonna attempt a more complex rig on Rogue though, with face joints for expressions.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Mon, 12 February 2007 at 1:16 PM

Hi all, Fashioned some rig's for the equipment and have now moved on to Rogue. This is the rig I'm going to attempt to skin with. I've also decided to give a stage one smooth before skinning.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Mon, 12 February 2007 at 1:17 PM

And a head shot.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

midnight_stories posted Mon, 12 February 2007 at 3:12 PM

  Man that’s heavy duty. I never have the patience to do that. I’m dieing to see the facial stuff keep it up buddy.

ZIKEO posted Tue, 13 February 2007 at 3:18 AM

Thanks guys' O'kay,  Gave up smoothing before skinning. (not enough hours in the week) The face joints seem to work o'kay though. There are joints for jaw, upper eye lids l&r, lower eye lids l&r, brows l,r¢re. As he is only one mesh and does not have any eye balls as such, there was no reason for me to have joints for his eyes. I was thinking of doing joints round the lips, but I think I settle for morphs later. Here's a Quick expression test (moody SOB)

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Tue, 13 February 2007 at 4:35 PM

Well, I've done a quick assemble of all the parts to see how he's looking. This is a reduced version. I'm gonna put the full sized one up on the Carrara gallery. This is close to one of the original images of him in the comic, that captured me as a kid. Although in the comic it was black and white line work, with some heavy shadows.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

midnight_stories posted Tue, 13 February 2007 at 9:47 PM

excellent work my friend let my know when you put the full version up. I've got to look more closely at my copy of carrara. I only use it for the toon shaders, it certainly can do much more. Thanks for sharing

laocoon posted Thu, 15 February 2007 at 7:57 AM

Nice work , good to see this .

ZIKEO posted Thu, 15 February 2007 at 4:39 PM

Thanks guys,
I've put a portrait type one on the Carrara gallery.
The gooing will start on the weekend though.
And then a big think on a more dynamic pose.
Possibly with gun fire?
I do have a question though.
If there is gun fire (muzzle flash etc) but NO blood or wounds shown.
Does it fall into violence?

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Wed, 21 February 2007 at 1:43 PM

Well, back again. Goo is now added to all equipment and I've done several mouth/nose morphs. Although they all seem a little bit on the aggressive side. Hopefully these coupled with jaw movement should give a small range of expressions.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Wed, 21 February 2007 at 1:45 PM

And a shot of Helm goo'ed with a quick face tryout.

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.

ZIKEO posted Mon, 05 March 2007 at 2:06 PM

Hi, O'kay, this is going to be the last one. (I think) Two more projects need attention. I've done two renders 1440x900. One with GI and one with out. (the usual way I would render is without) I decided to use GI to brighten up the scene, cause some people have said "too dark" Not that that realy bothers me, Cause I like dark. But I thought, 'to appease'. Though it does show the problems up. Here's a section of the picture, with and without. With GI it took 30hours to render and without only 6. Good luck with your latest projects.  

ANGER. IS THE BEAST WITHIN.