January 2012 Stylized Challenge #01 - Dragons

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk208/classicgamer-3dt/Stylized-Challenge-Brief-Art-01.jpg

Welcome to the Stylised Monthly Challenge – Sponsored by 3DTotal.com and 3DCreative Magazine . Please post all images & questions in this thread.

So what is this challenge all about?

Each month we will select a title for the Stylised Challenge, and we'll post some images for you to use as reference. The title is there to be interpreted as and how you wish. All you have to do then is to think up your concept, model it, and create a final 3D image of this in your own way!

This regular monthly challenge is designed to bring in some great content for threedy forums in the form of final images.

What are we looking for?

Funny and humorous entries which interpret the title of the Stylized Challange however you see fit. We’re pretty much leaving everything open for your interpretation and stylisation!! All we ask is that the title of the Stylized Challange is instantly recognisable in your final image! All you have to do then is to render your stylized/abstract/cartoon masterpiece and you’re away!

What are the requirements?

The rules are pretty laid back: please submit 1 x 3D Final Image. If you want to have a background or include some graphical elements or text on your image, it's entirely up to you. Image posts should be around 1280x1024 pixels, but please work at a much higher res as the top 10 will be featured on the threedy forums.

Everyone has to post their FINAL image in the WIP thread before the end of the month deadline, as well as their WIPs during the month. You then have to post it (exactly the same final image) again in the VOTING thread. This means there is a very clear deadline: no-one can work after the end of the month and the VOTING thread still exists as before, as this is a nice clean thread with final images only which is used for the judging only.

Posting Works in Progress

Each challenge will have one thread that starts with this info and the brief at the top. This is where all entrants post all WIPs, give feedback, and generally laugh at the crazy ideas that are emerging each month!

Please don't start any new threads – just reply to this one already set up!

Judging

Everyone who entered can cast a vote of their top 3 in order, and the 3DTotal/3DCreative team will also cast their votes. We will award 3pts for a 1st place vote, 2 for 2nd and 1 for 3rd. Then we will add them up & announce the winner(s).

Timeframe & Deadline

There will be 1 challenge per month, with the deadline being the end of the month GMT. A 'VOTING' thread will be created at the end of the month.

January 22nd, 11:59 pm GMT - SUNDAY

For a valid entry, just make sure your final image is posted in the 'VOTING' thread before the 22nd of January 2012. Voting will take place from the 23rd January to the 27th January 2012, when the winners will be announced.

This month we have chosen DRAGONS!

Brief Description: A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern mythologies, and the Chinese dragon, with counterparts in Japan, Korea and other East Asian countries.

The two traditions may have evolved separately, but have influenced each to a certain extent, particularly with the cross-cultural contact of recent centuries. The English word "dragon" derives from Greek δράκων (drákōn), "dragon, serpent of huge size, water-snake", which probably comes from the verb δρακεῖν (drakeîn) "to see clearly".

Some Reference Pictures

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk208/classicgamer-3dt/dragon01.jpg
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk208/classicgamer-3dt/dragon02.jpg
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk208/classicgamer-3dt/dragon03.gif
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk208/classicgamer-3dt/dragon04.png
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk208/classicgamer-3dt/dragon05.png
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk208/classicgamer-3dt/dragon06.jpg

[xxxcubanxxx]

sounds cool, never done a dragon before, gonna see if I can come up with something.

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

Good luck :) Looking forward to seeing someone make a dragon with heartburn tablets lol.

[xxxcubanxxx]

Think I'm gonna go with a "Fire Fighter Dragon" :)

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

Oh very nice idea :)

[eydi]

Woooow Drawing dragon challange? Sounds interesting :)

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

Woooow Drawing dragon challange? Sounds interesting :)

Nah it's modelling eydi......no drawing.....except for concepts if you like

[poopipe]

this is tempting..


how many boobs do you reckon I can fit on a dragon ?

[Tarik2d]

This sounds fun, wish I could be part if this. Might have do this as practise for myself later on in the year.

[thefmilyofblood]

I was wearing my fez when I read this, and came up with an idea. Here's my concept.

[paulius-st]

this will be fun to participate in :) . count me in :)

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

I was wearing my fez when I read this, and came up with an idea. Here's my concept.

Lovely concept :dance:

[silverflame]

Ooo glad these are back, they were originally what brought me to 3DTotal but they finished just as I got into modelling. My concept is going to be based around using a mini dragon as a blow torch to caramelize the top of crème brulee. Really want to try a abstracty cartoony appearance to the piece. I'll try and draw a concept up when i get time.

[Adroit.jrk]

with great gab from modeling, now i again starting along with this chalg.

[Fynn]

no tri limit?

[paulius-st]

no tri limit?

as i understand - no :dance: . so we can go wild here :)

[Fynn]

oh yeah :evil:

[Fynn]

is zbrush allowed?

[paulius-st]

well i asume there are no restrictions on software. i my self am going touse only max cause it more interesting this way and it is easyer to match the style i'm going for :)

[Kaiune3D]

Does bring up a good question though since ZBrush's BPR is so freakin awesome now. Does the final mesh need to be UV'd and animate-able?

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

I'm gonna allow as much time as you like, and any sculpting if you want to use it, but not too much obviously.... if you want to use too much sculpting then I suggest you enter the sculpting challenge but i'm gonna allow sculpting applications for your entry :)

[xxxcubanxxx]

hmmm, I'm confused now, what's too much sculpting?

[paulius-st]

too much details is too much sculpting. as i understand we ar allowed just a concept sculpting without any smaller details or more worked out sculpt. just a concept is important here. ofcourse i could be wrong but thats how i understand it. as and expample of my understanding i atatched two of my sculpts as a comparisson.

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

paulius-st - Absolutely spot on, sorry I couldn't explain myself properly :)

[thefmilyofblood]

Oh, damn.

I decided to start off strong, and ended up working all last night to make this. I wanted to go for very detailed stylized look, so I sculpted scales onto a modeled basemesh. I was going to push the curves and make it more cartoony, but this is what I've got right now.

Is this okay, or should I do something else? I was intending to bake the scales into a normal map, so I could make them more subtle when it's rendered. Alternatively, I could smooth over the smaller scales and just leave the larger ones.

Oh, and everything else is going to be made outside Zbrush, including the pipe.

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

Creating normal or displacement/bump maps is perfectly fine :)

[xxxcubanxxx]

Thanks for clarifying ;)

[paulius-st]

you are all wellcome :) . if someone has problems searching for inspiration here is a link to creature box (http://creaturebox.com/gallery/)
and this guy (http://davidsdoodles.deviantart.com/gallery/11100005)

[Fynn]

thank you paulius for the references :)

[xxxcubanxxx]

Blocking it out

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/5319/48841262.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/716/48841262.jpg/)

[paulius-st]

start is looking promissing. its head reminds me of those dinosaur birds from avatar :) ceep it comming :)

and here is my first session :) . just a ruogh block out of the shapes.

[thefmilyofblood]

Started painting colors.

The pipe in this picture is outdated, as are the eyes, but you get the picture. I've also modeled a fez.

[astroAJ]

looking good. I think u could push the pipe a bit further into his mouse because at the moment it looks like its going to fall out

[xxxcubanxxx]

thanks paulius-st

last update for the night

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/5353/15011461.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/515/15011461.jpg/)

[eydi]

Oh, damn.

I decided to start off strong, and ended up working all last night to make this. I wanted to go for very detailed stylized look, so I sculpted scales onto a modeled basemesh. I was going to push the curves and make it more cartoony, but this is what I've got right now.

Is this okay, or should I do something else? I was intending to bake the scales into a normal map, so I could make them more subtle when it's rendered. Alternatively, I could smooth over the smaller scales and just leave the larger ones.

Oh, and everything else is going to be made outside Zbrush, including the pipe.

This one looks cool :) want to see new updates :) Your dragon character looks cartoony..

[paulius-st]

thefmilyofblood - looks like heff hefner became a dragon :) . looking good waiting for more :)
xxxcubanxxx - starts to look better . dont get carried too much on details :) .

opened max and started to hate my model cause it loks more like a camel than a dragon :D lol . so i made a concept that fots my style more :)
tonight i'll start modeling.

[xxxcubanxxx]

thanks, yeah I'm trying not to go too crazy, Ace concept btw.

[paulius-st]

started to model my concept :) . her eis a first progress. hope to finish it by monday so i could start sculpting chalange :)

[Fynn]

i think i will do Amor... a love dragon or something like that :D

[xxxcubanxxx]

gave it big forearm/hands + skinny legs to give it a cartoonish feel.

Blocking out some fire pants :dance:

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/2922/40034032.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/406/40034032.jpg/)

[washka]

Some nices stuff coming out so far, original.

I know you've already seen this zbrush ones, but if you need some motivation/inspiration here's a memento:
dragonsculpts (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?114935-55-Dragons-design-quot-Marathon-quot&pp=15)

[Edit] Seems I'm wrong with the style, you'll have to translate into cartoon from it. ;)

[Edit] Paulius, I'm waiting good stuff from you I know you're good on cartoon style, keep it up man!
And I think it won't be a beaver dragon, if dwarves come here, it'll be an open war from 2D section, but dwarfs become scarce at the moment.
I just remember something...

[paulius-st]

thanks for kind words washka :) . i'll try to give it as much character as i can :) . i think i'll make the rest of its bodie exept for limbs today if i wont get drunk too much :D . and if i wont change my mind i'll upload this little dragon to my sketchbook so people could use it if someone would want :) . i'll make it animation friendly :) .

as for dwarfs and other characters from stories - if war is what they want - war they shall get :D . muhahahhahahaha

[washka]

We dwarves've got beer...
That's a precious advantage...determinant.

[tongeert]

Never done a stylized challenge or a dragon so far. Trying to draw a concept right now.

[Jussslic]

Hi all, so glad to see the 3dtotal challenges are back and that they've added the stylized challenge! I've never really participated, but I used to watch all the time.

Anyway, I've been wanting to try a dragon for awhile, so this is a perfect way to jump in.

I saw a pretty cool serpent type dragon at ConceptArt.org awhile back, and really like the idea of doing something with a long snakelike body. Not sure about wings yet... I think they'd have to be absolutely enormous for this guy to get off the ground given his awkward length. I'll probably flesh out the body a bit more before making a decision.

Here's what I've got from a zspheres base and a tiny bit of move tooling:

http://thetoprow.com/images/WIP_1.jpg

[eydi]

gave it big forearm/hands + skinny legs to give it a cartoonish feel.

Blocking out some fire pants :dance:

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/2922/40034032.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/406/40034032.jpg/)

A dragon with pants :D Your character looks interesting....but it doesn't look like a dragon. I wonder about are you making his mouth? He looks like only a human transformed dragon or someting like this :) it must have a mouth...or it doesn't look like a dragon...

[tongeert]

I think I'm gonna make a roasted dragon. Here's my concept.:dance:

[xxxcubanxxx]

A dragon with pants Your character looks interesting....but it doesn't look like a dragon. I wonder about are you making his mouth? He looks like only a human transformed dragon or someting like this it must have a mouth...or it doesn't look like a dragon...

It has a mouth, it's just closed ;)

[eydi]

It has a mouth, it's just closed ;)

Ok :) Sorry for misunderstood...

[Jussslic]

First pass on the head.

http://thetoprow.com/images/WIP_2.jpg

[paulius-st]

tongeert - me likes roasted dragon - tastes like chicken :) mmmmmmmm
Jussslic - is it me or it looks like ness monster :) . ceep sculpting. i want to see where it will end up :) .
waska - dont know about you dwarf men, but us beaver men have beer too :P . for example there is a box of tuborg in my fridge and dont want to brag but my firend is coming in about an hour and we shall test how much beer we can consume in one modeling session :D . wish that my dragon wouldnt throw up inthis epic test :D .

[Fynn]

good luck on this experiment paulius :D
here is my sketch so far

[astroAJ]

It looks so cute Jussslic :drool:
Keep it up I wan't to see more.

I think I might join in this comp to :evil:

[kogen]

<- is currently finalizing the concept. Count me in.

@eydi: Great start and very clean form so far. :cool:

[eydi]

<- is currently finalizing the concept. Count me in.

@eydi: Great start and very clean form so far. :cool:


Hey, I am not in this challange...maybe I can start with a 2dconcept dragon and 3d modeling process..I am just thinking...I don't know if I begin to modelling a new dragon...I haven't decide yet. The character with pants is xxxcubanxxx's model. it is not mine :)I think, I'll just only look and comment on others 3d model and concept these days becuse I am very busy with a client job. By the way, I love 3d modeling characters :) I want to start a new dragon concept and model with a good inspiration. So I'll follow this Stylized Challenge. I see some interesting stuff coming out so far, and they are original one too. Maybe I can find some inspirations :D

[wil_himura]

I'm in!

I just blocked some shapes. It's intended to be a Dragon, and it's intended to be cartoonish and younger than it looks with my last additions... today I'll give it another twist.

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dragon001.jpg

Thanks guys, I've already seen great concepts in the thread!

(sorry for the bad quality!!)

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

I'm in!

I just blocked some shapes. It's intended to be a Dragon, and it's intended to be cartoonish and younger than it looks with my last additions... today I'll give it another twist.

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dragon001.jpg

Thanks guys, I've already seen great concepts in the thread!

(sorry for the bad quality!!)

Great start, looks like you've actually taken a photo of the screen there lol.

I'm loving the response to the challenges already, it's really great to see :dance:

[wil_himura]

Great start, looks like you've actually taken a photo of the screen there lol.

I'm loving the response to the challenges already, it's really great to see :dance:

Rofl.... I did take it last night to show it to my g/f :D

I was also excited about the response to the challenge and I had to post!!

I'd like to thank 3Dtotal team for holding these events, I've been about to join many past challenges but having the top entries in your monthly magazines is a great point and pushes me a lot. I'd love to see something made by myself there. Since I'm a real noob in 3D, participating will be rewarding enough for now hehehehe

[Creator]

Hi there everyone,
wanted to share my vision (it's not finished yet), although it might not be the most original. Hope you like the design anyway. The classic dangerous look with some evolutional thought behind it. working time so far about 4 hours.

cheers.

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/7333/dragoncreator.jpg

[tongeert]

Here's what I've got so far.:dance:

[wil_himura]

Letme post a decent image with last update, the first one was a bit crappy hehe


http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dino002.jpg

[paulius-st]

looks nice :) . little reminds me of this (http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080317191533/ghostbusters/images/6/67/Terror_Dog_02.jpg) character from ghots busters movie. and please give him some wings or scales at the back so it would look more like a dragon than like a bulldog :) . ceep it up

[wil_himura]

Only shapes by now :P I want to plan the scales carefully to make them look ok without much detail. I want to work on the lower lip aswell and make it more ... fat. About wings... would you go for credible huge wings to stand that much weight or a smaller cartoony ones?

Thanks paulius, you always find my sources of inspiration hehehe

[paulius-st]

:) . you're wellcome. i think some mediun cartoon style wings would fit it the best.
and a little overpaint to give some suggestions from my point of view :) . dont know if its helpfull but it made me laugh for a minute while doing this overpaint :) .

[wil_himura]

Hahaha I was missing a piece of this entry puzzle in my mind.. I could add some leopard leather to the mix and achieve a flinstones look nearly invencible :D

[kogen]

Great one I like the sad doggy. :)

@ creator: Impressive very clean and pretty interesting.

So here is my WIP hope it is still within the rules.

-k.

[eydi]

Great one I like the sad doggy. :)

@ creator: Impressive very clean and pretty interesting.

So here is my WIP hope it is still within the rules.

-k.

Your sketch looks cute and very nice :) it is too cute for a dragon...

[Fynn]

update on my little Amor Dragon

[creativebreed]

I may try a Japanese type dragon eating some noodles. Hope I can flesh out the concept in time.

[paulius-st]

kogen - ver cute sketch . go for it :) .
Fynn - nice one. wouldnt love to get one burning arrow from him :D .
creativebreed - good luck in fleshing your concept.

so here is a little more progress of my little dragon :) . i did a little overpaint on my pic to show witch direction i'm heading.
i just realised i'm the only one that isnt using zbrsuh for now :D . i feel a little loneley.

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

I love the fact you are modelling it traditionally, it makes it even more impressive when I see your dragon progress :) Looking good to me so far, looking forward to seeing his scales and wings etc :)

[kogen]

paulius: Yeah Looking great so far I like how you've already defined the masses of the little guy. Looking at it now I think he looks even cooler without the mustache but maybe you've got something specific in mind.

eydi: Haha thanks I will have to make her look more grim but with a little piece of hapiness... I guess the expression will be the hardest thing. You should really join ;)

Fynn: Cool, are you going to retopologize the form?

[tongeert]

@paulius-st - I'm not using Zbrush either!:shy:

I think I'm going to do details like horns with carrots and other vegetables. If you're going to roast a dragon you first remove the horns and scales of course. :haha::dance:

[bigstone1986]

haha q

[washka]

kogen - ver cute sketch . go for it :) .
Fynn - nice one. wouldnt love to get one burning arrow from him :D .
creativebreed - good luck in fleshing your concept.

so here is a little more progress of my little dragon :) . i did a little overpaint on my pic to show witch direction i'm heading.
i just realised i'm the only one that isnt using zbrsuh for now :D . i feel a little loneley.


Seems the fridge didn't helped a lot... :haha:
Hard to catch a mouse with a beer in da hand?

[paulius-st]

Seems the fridge didn't helped a lot... :haha:
Hard to catch a mouse with a beer in da hand?

:D . well its kind a hard task to model with a beer bottle and a mouse in one hand but i kind of managed to do some modeling :D . its harder to see the screen after 6 bottles and gets harder after each one :D .
but its harder to type with my keyboard witch has 2 pounds of cookies and chips in it and some keys are not responding :D lol .

[Avatar-3DT]

At least you have some food reserves in case famine strikes. :D Ever thought to use straws with that beer? It would keep your hands less busy. :D

[paulius-st]

:) . you are right about reserves. about them straws - i i was drinking beer with a straw than i would get drunk 5 times faster :)

[Avatar-3DT]

Yes, but you would save up to 5 times the beer :D

[paulius-st]

yes, it sounds realy great that i could save some beer, but the main concept of our task was to consume as much beer as we can drink. :)

[Avatar-3DT]

Well then, its all about the biggest mug, the largest belly and the driest throat.

[paulius-st]

Avatar-3DT - exactly :) .

so here is a little more progress :) . this time without any beer - just a bottle of kvas :) .
i have this idea to give this fella some rocket to help him fly cause hes kind of chubey and will have little wings . and maybe some pilot glasses and a pilots hat from ww1 :D . and he is ready for rigging :dance:

[Fynn]

nice job paulius
are you going to detail him in zbrush?

[glassdevil]

Well this is my first attempt at doing anything like this so not sure how it will work out. Anywho, here is my concept. I thought I'd go for a (sort of) Chinese dragon.

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

Things are really progressing well here, paulius-st your entry is really coming along well, looks great at the moment, looking forward to what you add next :)

[wil_himura]

paulius-st -> Wow, huge progress over there :D I've got to give mine some care today hehehe I like those bunny feet with just one finger, quite original looking at what ppl uses to understand by "dragon".

[wil_himura]

Well, this is pretty much it. The wings need some tweaking but the rest is fine for me. Now I gotta decide what to do next hehe.

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dino003.jpg

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dino004.jpg

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dino005.jpg


Would you guys model the inside of the mouth? I find it funny like it is ^^ (Got two french bulldogs here at home and I love that face)

Thanks!!!

[kogen]

Woho... Mr. paulius is moving forward. That Bunny-Dragon is so cool. It's like he's a bunny mimic to get his prey easier...

wil_himura not sure about modelling the inner of the mouth cause it depends what you want to achieve if you want him looking like he's now I'd keep everything (maybe just accentuating the forms of the mouth a bit more). The likeness to those dogs that look a bit clumsy is awesome. :)

Glassdevil: It's original but I don't see the connection of all those elements yet.

Here is my progress so far. I'm not sure if I should give her "dragon"-shoes or normal sneakers. Both could be funny. :D

-k.

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

Fantastic update there kogen, so much charm already with that character's design :)

[wil_himura]

Kogen - Great start! Youre doing great with your concepto. Im not sure I like/dislike the eyes hehehe reminds me some toys where the eyes are a half sphere with a black dot inside moving free ^^

[tongeert]

I'm just creating some food to decorate the dish...I've also given him arms.:dance: Still playing with the materials. The things on his back are supposed to be carrots.:hmm:

[xxxcubanxxx]

Great work guys, keep it up.

Kogen love it :)

Getting back into this, quick axe and Boots ;)

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/8575/axeyd.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/844/axeyd.jpg/)

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/2566/bootsf.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/651/bootsf.jpg/)

[paulius-st]

thanks guys. as for zbrush - i'm leaving it chained and locked for this chalange :) . i want to see how much can i compete with zbrushers using only modeling tools :) .
kogen - a realy impresive model you have here :) . i like it. finish it and you got my vote :) .
tongeert - looks tasty :) . hmmmm, one thought does not leave my head - how does it match with beer????
xxxcubanxxx - nice axe. all my life i heard stories about dragon slayers. think this will be oposite one - dragon the knight slayer :).

keep it up guys. :)

so fiddled with my dragon for another hour. modeld his wings, fixed some topology issues and added flying equipment . still neads helmet and maybe a belt or some sort of short pants - will have to reaserch what looks best :) .
i have one idea to make my dragons beauty shot a short comic story board :D . (if i wont be lazy)

[astroAJ]

Looking good there paulius, I think u could change the position of the goggles because they look a bit random :)

I started concerting up the design for my dragon, I think I might go with a female dragon protecting its eggs??

[tongeert]

Has anyone got any tips on creating realistic materials for food?

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

A combination of noise shaders and well placed textures is a quick dirty way to acheive fairly good results..... otherwise it's full textures and painted texturing via unwrapping etc.

[eydi]

I'm just creating some food to decorate the dish...I've also given him arms.:dance: Still playing with the materials. The things on his back are supposed to be carrots.:hmm:

Hey this one is looking interesing :D I am wondeing about the render process too :) By the way who want to eat a dragon? another dragon? :D :D :D :D just wondering...

[paulius-st]

Hey this one is looking interesing :D I am wondeing about the render process too :) By the way who want to eat a dragon? another dragon? :D :D :D :D just wondering...

my dragon would love to eat this dragon :)

[eydi]

Looking good there paulius, I think u could change the position of the goggles because they look a bit random :)

I started concerting up the design for my dragon, I think I might go with a female dragon protecting its eggs??

A female dragon :) Nice sketch...

[kogen]

Thanks everyone. :)

paulius: It's getting much more crazy. Great one. I really love his look and the rocket on his back. You might exaggerate it by adding more crackers... just an idea.

astroAJ: Nice start, looking forward to seeing more of the only female dragon in this comp.

tongeert: Haha great idea I'd really love to taste crispy dragon, yummy. I think working with as much references from food as you can and observe the way they reflect light is a first starting point. And I'd really use photo references like you did with the cucumber. Don't neglect your modeling neither cause it will add a lot of detail to your final rendering. For example bevel the edges of your cucumber slices slightly to make them more realistic.

xxxcubanxxx: Nice axe. He needs some arms. :)

I finished the modeling stage today and now need to give her some more details in ZBrush otherwise I could start to rig and pose her... ahhh so many possibilities.

[eydi]

Thanks everyone. :)

paulius: It's getting much more crazy. Great one. I really love his look and the rocket on his back. You might exaggerate it by adding more crackers... just an idea.

astroAJ: Nice start, looking forward to seeing more of the only female dragon in this comp.

tongeert: Haha great idea I'd really love to taste crispy dragon, yummy. I think working with as much references from food as you can and observe the way they reflect light is a first starting point. And I'd really use photo references like you did with the cucumber. Don't neglect your modeling neither cause it will add a lot of detail to your final rendering. For example bevel the edges of your cucumber slices slightly to make them more realistic.

xxxcubanxxx: Nice axe. He needs some arms. :)

I finished the modeling stage today and now need to give her some more details in ZBrush otherwise I could start to rig and pose her... ahhh so many possibilities.

she looks cute and also dangerous :)

[wil_himura]

Paulius, your entry looks really funny. I'd go for a traditional chineese texturing, have you got a plan for that already?

Kogen, it looks just as the ones you spect to see in movies, well done. Detailing and texturing should do a winner one.


As for mine, I defined the pose and I'll start detailing aswell. I don't have much time so I'll give BPR a try ;)

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dino006.jpg

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dino007.jpg

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dino008.jpg

And finally, sorry but I had to do this ^^

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dino009color.jpg

[tongeert]

Anyone know how I can make sauce? Creating the sauce in the texture or is there another way?

[Avatar-3DT]

It would be more realistic to model the sauce but since you're going cartoony you can go either way.

[thefmilyofblood]

Sorry I haven't posted anything recently, but here's where I'm at now. Thanks, everybody!

[glassdevil]

it's still in the early stages but here's something 3d :)

[Jussslic]

Hi all! So, I switched gears today and decided to abandon my lochness looking dragon in favor of something a little bit more poseable. I did the basemesh in Maya this time instead of using Zspheres. Takes a bit longer I suppose, but I feel like I have a lot more control that way.

There are things that definitely need attention (the feet especially) and I still need to figure out the wings, but I'll probably move into detailing soon. Looking at it now, I'm a bit disappointed that I lost the angularity the legs had in the basemesh, so I might go back and rework that a bit.

Oh also, I was definitely inspired by the How to Train Your Dragon art book, which is really, really excellent! Unfortunately mine didn't end up quite as exaggerated as most of their designs : (

http://thetoprow.com/images/WIP_4.jpg

[astroAJ]

glassdevil: I'm looking forward 2 seeing this progress :)
Jussslic: Looking good mate, hope everything works out for ya.

I managed to work on the head 2day, I still need to emphasise the female features and smooth out some verts etc. I may take this into zbrush but only to add some minor details, I want to keep this mostly a maya project.

[kogen]

Woha, so many entries...

eydi: Cute and dangerous? Cool that's the look I wanted to achieve. :)

wil_himura: Yeah the pose is cool. I like what you did with the Dragon Dog so far. He just needs some additional details e.g. on the back. And ahhh... not sure about the color.

themilyofblood: Good one. I like the clean texturing. Watch out for the head that's sticking in the head.

glassdevil: Hehe... I'm still not sure what's the function of those elements but I'm sure you will reveal it sooner or later to us... tension... :)

Jussslic: Yeah I can see the likeness tho some of those dragons in the movie. It's definitely coming along but I hope you tweak the forelimbs a bit more cause they look so thin.

astroAJ: Cool, good job so far.

[eydi]

Hi all! So, I switched gears today and decided to abandon my lochness looking dragon in favor of something a little bit more poseable. I did the basemesh in Maya this time instead of using Zspheres. Takes a bit longer I suppose, but I feel like I have a lot more control that way.

There are things that definitely need attention (the feet especially) and I still need to figure out the wings, but I'll probably move into detailing soon. Looking at it now, I'm a bit disappointed that I lost the angularity the legs had in the basemesh, so I might go back and rework that a bit.

Oh also, I was definitely inspired by the How to Train Your Dragon art book, which is really, really excellent! Unfortunately mine didn't end up quite as exaggerated as most of their designs : (

http://thetoprow.com/images/WIP_4.jpg

Good and very simple mesh topology for the start. I'll surely follow your character steps :)

[genggi]

Great work guys,here's my rough sketch.:wave:

[eydi]

Woha, so many entries...
eydi: Cute and dangerous? Cool that's the look I wanted to achieve. :)



Yes surely she is cute and dangerous :)

[Adroit.jrk]

O.k here is my dragon. Alot of impressive entry.
188317

[tongeert]

I decorated it, still some work to do like sauce on the dragon and other little details and also the materials need some tweaking. :dance: I also moved the head a little bit lower and replaced the hands so it looks more like he's laying on the plate.

[eydi]

I decorated it, still some work to do like sauce on the dragon and other little details and also the materials need some tweaking. :dance: I also moved the head a little bit lower and replaced the hands so it looks more like he's laying on the plate.

Ahahah :) who want to eat a dragon like this? :) even with some sauce and decoration not eatable :D by the way where is the other dragon who want to eat this dragon? :D I think this one need to work on the lights. it seem this one has some light and also on render problems...Which render ? Mental ray? maybe with some SSS material it would look good? Here please see this tutorial link http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/tutorials/maya/fruittarts/index.html

[tongeert]

Yeah, I haven't done anything on the lights:shy:

[eydi]

Yeah, I haven't done anything on the lights:shy:

Ok :) Maybe you can take a look at this tutorial too? this one looks awesome...don't you think so too? http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/tutorials/maya/cheeseplatter/index.html
Render is looking so nice and realistic..This one is different and this tutorial final render is more nice than the other one.

[tongeert]

Created some lights, now I'm gonna focus on the dragonmeat, look at a lot of roasted pigs.:drool: Thank you for the tutorials. I use 3ds Max Mental Ray.

[Kaiune3D]

Wow Tongeert, looking good dude. The one thing that sticks out too me is the lack of a different color for the claws.

[Jussslic]

Tongeert: Really starting to come together now that you've added some lights and materials. Couple things... the cucumber is still pretty low res--maybe you just haven't smoothed it yet for render speed, but make sure you do for the final image. The one other thing I was thinking... Right now, it looks like your dragon is sitting in the middle of a pristine arch-viz style kitchen. I know when I think of dragons I usually think of the middle ages which is full of dirt and grittiness. Not sure if you've seen this image (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=121&t=666263) before, but it might be some really good environment reference for a dragon feast.

Astro: Looking good so far! If you don't want to take it into ZBrush, you could probably solve most of your smoothing issues pretty quickly with Maya's relax brush.

Paulius: Haha, such a great concept, and so far the modeling is looking awesome. My one crit is that the straps around the chest look a little loose, but maybe you were still workin on that area... Keep goin!

Kogen: Looking so awesome! The only thing that sticks out to me is the eyelashes... too even/regular maybe? Otherwise, I really love what you're doing!

[Jussslic]

And here's a quick update from mine... I gave the arms and feet some much needed attention and started throwing down some textures on a separate layer. I'm sorta in the mood for some late night modeling, so I think I might jump back into Maya and make a rider for him :dance:.

http://thetoprow.com/images/WIP_5.jpg

[xxxcubanxxx]

Looking great guys!!!

Blocking out some Straps and Belt

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/7913/beltf.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/577/beltf.jpg/)

[tongeert]

I used this reference http://pogoblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c68bf53ef0147e06c958a970b-800wi maybe some more glossiness? I'll change the environment later.

[wil_himura]

Well done Jusslic, you did quickly go up to speed there! I like specially the mouth. Only con is that it reminds me a Trex hehe btw, how are you gong to do the wings?

XxxCubanxxx good concept, are you adding more complements to it? The axe rocks.

Glassdevil, I hope you are done in time cause your entry looks quite funny and original.

Tongeert, final render is going to be awesome ^^ I miss some bumps there tho. If you go for a realistic look for the vegetables, you must bring them to life.

Great progress guys!

[astroAJ]

Jussslic: Cheers mate, I forgot about maya's sculpting tools lol, will give it a shot.

I've decided to scrap my original design because I was getting bored with it. Because I've done practically not organic character modelling what so ever. I redesigned my dragon so that I could also learn a bit about character rigging and maybe animation down the track. I've also decided to make the dragon a guard. I will still keep her a female :)

[Jussslic]

One more quick update for the night. I started modeling a dragon rider (or maybe hunter?) character... Started in Maya, then Zbrush to get the shape, then back to Maya to clean things up.

I haven't really done a stylized female character before so I was kinda guessing on the proportions... I made her five heads tall, which is pretty close to the characters in How to Train Your Dragon, but I may tweak things a bit so she's closer to six heads. Dunno.

http://thetoprow.com/images/WIP_6.jpg

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

Really great progress by all, it's great to see :)

[washka]

WAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR
Let's get those cold-blooded lizards fellows!!! CHAAAARGE!
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/504/dwarfboww2012.jpg
(messing around...2D cartoon stuff//joke)

[Adroit.jrk]

this challenge is getting more hardwork, and me sculpting as well :dance:

[paulius-st]

washka - to me it looks more like this :D

[tongeert]

Just trying.

[paulius-st]

looks tasty.
my advice on your roasted dragon would be to use better texture, than raise its reflections and add some celular+noise maps as bump map to give its skin some detail.
as for shader it self - sss. if you need some advice on settings let me know :) . i have got some nice sss settings in my library :) . and change pear texture cause now they are blending with your dragon .
ceep it up :) .

damn i have to find some time for my own dragon ....

[xxxcubanxxx]

lazy *******...

[paulius-st]

lazy *******...

with all my courage i must admit I AM. o promise i'll do my dragons hat and sketch some pjedestal for it tody.

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

tongeert - Looking better and better with each post and as for the shader, try looking into SSS as paulis-st suggested.

I personally think by adding grunge/dirt//noise/texture maps into the specular and reflection channels, it will give the dragons skin lots of variation in reflections so it's not all reflection or nothing at all, the same could be used for the serving dinner plate.

in my opinion the dinner plate's reflection is nearly 100% and too much so try using dispersion (blurry reflections) or a fresnel in the reflection channel to soften the effect a little.

Your lighting could benefit from area lights rather than soft or hard lights, try changing the shadow intensity from 100% to something between 75-85% and you could also try adding a tiny amount of colour into the shadows as nothing is 100% black or white, in fact with the roaring fire behind you might like to add a dark orange/reddish colour into the mix to really set the whole thing off, or add in a warmish HDRI into a skydome or something.

Your vegetables are looking nice with the textures placed like that but again they lack any bump, specular, reflections to just lift them a little bit more and bring them out in the 3D space.... you're slowly getting there though, you're on the right track so keep going :)

[needse]

@tongeert that's funny cool image man

[tongeert]

I'm trying SSS but I my results are always different and difficult to see. For example this link: http://www.lamrug.org/resources/doc/sss-skin-tutorial.pdf on page 11 I can't see any difference if I increase the scale conversion. Only the shadows get some more noise but I don't get the red color.:hurt:

[paulius-st]

tongeert - here is a material settings in MR for your sss. just place your textures where neaded and your good to go :)

[washka]

washka - to me it looks more like this :D

You made my day Paulius, xD. (He won't have enough arrows agnst those Zergs...)
Furtive mode activated, but where's my "rock" hobbit robe?
==========

Keep it up with da sculpt, good working mood here.

[astroAJ]

tongeert: Looking good there mate, I'm getting hungry for a roasted dragon :D

I'm finally closer to fishing modelling my dragon, still have a few small details to add and fix.

[kogen]

astroAJ: Haha... great one. The funniest part is, that it seems we both had the same idea, cause I designed the spots of the back of the dragon the same way. :D Anyways, I like the idea of a dragon warrior, it's like fusing both rivals together.

[astroAJ]

Dam it kogen ur always one step ahead of me hahaha :)
Looking forward to seeing more from you to.

[kogen]

astroAJ Dam it kogen ur always one step ahead of me hahaha

No, don't think so. Maybe we both need to think more out of the box buuut... spots are so cool. :)

[xxxcubanxxx]

Looking good astroAJ, keep it up

[tongeert]

What kind of lights should I use for the sss? I don't get the same results...

[paulius-st]

simple 3 point lighting with 3 target lights. than the head it self is about 2 meters in size.
so post what you have got and we shall see what to fix :)

[Jussslic]

What kind of lights should I use for the sss? I don't get the same results...

Does Max have area lights? I know in Maya a lot of folks use area lights or portal lights for SSS workflows. Also, scene scale is very important for scattering to work correctly.

[tongeert]

I get this result.

[paulius-st]

a normal result.
i think the main issue is in your maps
. show us your maps

[tongeert]

On this last one I haven't got maps. Just the settings you showed.

[paulius-st]

so try to play with scale conversion factor and scater radius cause scale of models is different :) .

[Jussslic]

xxxcubanxxx: Starting to look really awesome... how the heck did you make that axe so CLEAN?

Alright, I really should get back to finishing my dragon, but here are a couple more updates on the rider. Chances are you'll barely even see the pendant in the final image, but making things with radial symmetry in ZBrush is too darn fun to pass up.

http://thetoprow.com/images/WIP_7.jpg

[tongeert]

Can I ask what those scater radii and the scale conversion factor does?

[paulius-st]

scale conversion factor tells material what size is your model compared with its default understanding of world and so on :).
and scater radius tells how deep light will go through your mesh.
and dont forget that these numbers shown in my picture are in max default units and not meters or feet or other units. just max units.

[tongeert]

But there are 3 different scatter radii. Does those tell for each layer how thick that layer is? And the bigger the scale conversion factor is the bigger the material thinks your model is?

[paulius-st]

yes. but from these scater radius numbers main are back scater ones. first try to play with scale conversion factor - its faster to nail what you want and easyer.

[glassdevil]

looking good everyone, I need to catch up. Well this is what I have so far. Still needs more tweaks (like the back spikes) but the dragon is getting there.

I response to kogen's comments (admittedly a very long time ago sorry :P): I'm not sure the elements really have a function, it's just a dragon on a unicycle... In my original sketch he was standing on a cloud but my friend suggested the unicycle and I liked it. And if you mean the coat hanger, I don't know why that's there either :)

[xxxcubanxxx]

Jussslic thanks dude, axe I whipped it really quick in max, nothing special ;P nice progress BTW.

glassdevil looking good, lol like that random hanger on his horn


Tried to do some color testing, not sure what color to go with...will add some scales and mess around with the colors and placement a bit more.

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/2651/colorconcept.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/829/colorconcept.jpg/)

[astroAJ]

xxxcubanxxx: the textures are looking sweet :lurve:
Do u paint in HD to get the really fine details??

[xxxcubanxxx]

Thanks astroAJ glad you like it :wave:, that's just regular poly-paint, to tell you the truth I've never messed with HD sculpting nor painting, should prolly look into it.

[wil_himura]

Hi guys!
xxxcubanxxx, I like the way you blend colors there.

Jusslic, how do you get time to do not only a dragon but a Dragon rider aswell?? Good luck and nice progress!

Glassdevil, got some work to do but your entry is so funny ^^


I've spent 2 days learning about ZBrush materials and lightcaps...

Although this is not my final colour scheme and the scales are placed quickly to do some test renders, I'm getting there... slowly...

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dinocolor2.jpg

I'm gonna go for BPR and some passes composition and postprocessing. The textures are to say a lot on this piece and I ain't got time for retopology and all. Even if I decimate my scultp and generate displacement maps... my experience rendering in other 3D packages is not enough to get the results I can achieve in ZBrush (and it has some new features that rock).

Thanks!

[genggi]

Amazing work guys,I'm done a base mesh.

[tongeert]

I can't get the lights right but I have some scattering now.:dance:

[paulius-st]

try a simple 3point lighting. i worked for me. :)

[tongeert]

OK I fixed the lights and just playing with some settings. Also added a bump map. But I don't understand all the specular settings (turned them off on this image) and I don't get the right color.:cry:

[tongeert]

Added specularity and some color.:) But how can I get more glossiness?

[eydi]

I really don't know how you can get more glossiness....But I do think this one is not good...

[paulius-st]

as for specularitie its not bad but if you want more glosiness than add glosiness. there is a number in your specular settings and change it to about "3"-"4" . and as for colour - dont you want to use some textures?? and a specular map? just draw your specular map or use AO or displacement and it will be easyer to control it.

[wil_himura]

Just finished sculpting (except for minor tweaks!)

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dino009.jpg

[xxxcubanxxx]

looking good, looking good :)

[Jussslic]

Jusslic, how do you get time to do not only a dragon but a Dragon rider aswell?? Good luck and nice progress!

Hah, I've been staying up way too late. Unfortunately I'm gonna be out of town for the next few days visiting family, so I may not have time to finish the rider before the deadline.

Here's an update on the dragon though... finally got the wings in place and took the body to a relatively finished level. I'm hoping I'll be able to at least get some detail down on the head tonight so it's just the wings, polypainting, and rendering when I get back.

http://thetoprow.com/images/WIP_9.jpg

xxxcubanxxx: That paint test is looking pretty killer so far. Like wil_himura said, the blending is awesome.

wil_humura: Love the twisted hornes in your last update. Textures are lookin cool!

tongeert: I like that you've got some rim lighting in there now, but like paulius said, you should definitely get some textures on it to bring the dragon up to the same level of detail as the vegetables.

Also, anyone know of a decent polypainting tutorial? I know there's not that much too it, but I don't really have much experience painting in ZBrush.

[magicpanda]

Awesome work everyone. I have been checking out this challenge since it has started, and have finally got a chance to whip up a concept. I hope that I get a chance to finish it. Here is what I came up with.

[glassdevil]

wil_himura: I love the droopy face :)
Jussslic: I would like to see that thing fly. He's so fat :P
magicpanda: Teenage mutant ninja dragon?

The model is almost done. Although Zbrush seems to be the way to go, I have no idea how to use it so I'll probably save that adventure for a later project. I'm slightly dreading having to texture this thing... Oh well gotta learn somehow.

[Jussslic]

Jussslic: I would like to see that thing fly. He's so fat :P

Haha my zbrush file is actually titled FattyDragon.ztl :haha:

Anyone think I should tone down the fatness?

[genggi]

update work,base mesh rough sculpt.

[glassdevil]

Jussslic: nah I like his fatness

[glassdevil]

I just found out 2012 is the year of the dragon (apparently this year is specifically a black water dragon) I might texture mine based on that (seeing as he's a Chinese dragon anyway). Black may or may not work, we'll see...

[tongeert]

I've painted a texture myself once and I've never drawn a specular map but I'll give it try.

[wil_himura]

Jusslic, I hope you don't mind I made a paintover on ur entry. I'm sure you already saw this since the level of detail on shapes and textures is great, but I'd fill what I find to be a gap in the dragon's leg:

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/paintover.jpg

Like the best t-rex I've seen:
http://images.wikia.com/jurassicpark/de/images/e/e4/TREX_WP_800.jpg

I would find that more natural, given the shape it has on the other side. What do you think?

[wil_himura]

Some tests, I think this is pretty lizard alike... I'll change for some more simple patterns I fear.

(It's a WIP, head and whole low body is TBD)

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/test-dino-verde-amarillo-2.jpg

What do you think?

[tongeert]

In wich slot do I have to put the texture in? Because if I put it in de 'unscattered diffuse color' or de 'epidermal layer scatter color' the darker colors aren't visible.

[BiG ToE-3DT]

tongeert: I think what they are saying about adding a texture is, you should unwrap your model and texture it in photoshop or a program like it. Then you will have total control over what color goes where. Then you can use that "diffuse" texture as a starting point for a gloss map, spec map and whatever else you want to try out. Right now it looks like you just took a flat color and applied it to your model. That's why it doesn't look right.

[tongeert]

I've unwrapped the model but when I use black for example, it isn't visible. It just gives the same color as it has without the texture.

[BiG ToE-3DT]

can you post your diffuse texture map. Lets figure this thing out.

[tongeert]

I haven't really painted a texture map yet, I've just put the rendered uvw map with the black background and white lines in the 'unscattered diffuse color' and in the 'epidermal layer scatter color' slot and tried it out, but I just got the white lines on my model. So I tried to paint some black lines on the texture map but they weren't visible in de render. Other color are visible.

[BiG ToE-3DT]

depending on which map slot you use, the colors of the map react differently.

[washka]

will_himura: prefered with blue.

[glassdevil]

will_himura: prefered with blue.
will_himura: yeah I preferred the blue as well.

[wil_himura]

Oh my .... my g/f said: Nahh don't make it blue! make it green! hehehe

Quick paintover in photoshop:

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/test-dino-rojo.jpg

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/test-dino-azul.jpg

[tongeert]

I figured it out. 'Overall diffuse coloration' shows black and 'Unscattered diffuse color' shows white.

[wil_himura]

Great Tongeert, after this we could arrange a knowledge transfer :D I'm sure you're learning a lot!!!

[paulius-st]

I figured it out. 'Overall diffuse coloration' shows black and 'Unscattered diffuse color' shows white.

maybe i'll add a little more to this . :)
overall difuse coloration is basicly the main difuse slot cause it shows your charcters overall colour and it should be a little lighter than your unscatered difuse color.
than back surface scater colour should be your color that is seen when light is passing through. basicly red layer.

[xxxcubanxxx]

wil_himura I'm can't decide between the green or blue, dunno maybe you can integrate the two colors some how, keep it up.

today was scales day, a pain if you ask me :ugh:

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/7261/scales.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/521/scales.jpg/)

[paulius-st]

xxxcubanxxx - looking realy good, but why without clolour? i saw it has a nidce texture :).

as for my dragon/ think its finished. movint to texture painting

[xxxcubanxxx]

Thanks dude, textures are coming, that was just a test I was doing :)

Like how your dragon is coming along, waiting for the textures.




Here is a Normal Test on Marmoset

<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DQpSW4Y0-ss?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[wil_himura]

xxxcubanxxx -> Your test is a success :D Nice model.

[Adroit.jrk]

xxxcubanxxx : It is coming out greatly :dance:

paulius-st : I know your dragon will crush :ugh: . But I like the way he flies.

wil_himura : as i think Green look better. but it is not bad to see it in red rather than blue. hmmm your model is nice.

[tongeert]

I haven't got a specular map yet.

[Adroit.jrk]

here is my new update, need to work for more detail. I have just test render and textured.
tongeert : I love you character, you just need to figure out your render and everything will to good.
188619

[Adroit.jrk]

Here is turnable

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gbHSP-7rfIE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[eydi]

here is my new update, need to work for more detail. I have just test render and textured.
tongeert : I love you character, you just need to figure out your render and everything will to good.
188619

Why this dragon is so funny ? :) it has no eyes? only white eyes? Well, really this one is a different dragon character..

[Adroit.jrk]

Why this dragon is so funny ? :) it has no eyes? only white eyes? Well, really this one is a different dragon character..

Yes it is funny but i'll change it's eye color. It was just test render and texture. I love to give it more detail. :dance:

[glassdevil]

Adroit.jrk: I like it, very cool.

Today I got around to doing textures (albeit rather crudely). It ended up looking like plasticine but for this concept I quite like that; it reminds me of an Aardman character. I like the way the texture on the horns worked out. I textured the dragon in 2012 year of the black dragon colours and then did a quick variant using the colours from the original sketch. Hopefully I'll get time to do some sort of background or something...

[wil_himura]

Hi Guys!

Glassdevil, I'd go for the first one, great blue tone. I went for green, couldn't find a blue scheme for my dragon... again, nice tone.

Adroit.jrk, your entry is special somehow. could you give us some background of your concept? I'm curious hehe

Tongeert, You'll find your perfect render, still 6 days left!!

This is my final decision, started painting seriously and I'm pretty happy with the results!
Still need to refine SSS but it's hard to do it within ZBrush, I'll do that on post:

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dinofinal001.jpg

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dinofinal003.jpg

Front only has base color:

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dinofinal002.jpg

[xxxcubanxxx]

wil_himura that green is looking good.

Base colors test, final will have more color/contrast

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/3784/texturetest.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/4/texturetest.jpg/)

[paulius-st]

cool updates guys :)
cuban - i smell victory in your entry :) . going to be hard to compete with this dragon slayer slayer :)

[pavolsvk]

Hello guys,There are some beatiful works already here in this challenge.
Im posting here the model i have done. Im not planning to sculpt it so im interested how that will look at the end:)

http://www.upnito.sk/0/8s338rzh6ruk37nbr3u6nmf3ydbtfhry.png

[rocneasta]

just came up with an nice idea, will see how can i squeeze it in the timeframe given, don't want to show it just because, but will try to give me almost best (schedule already at max capacity)

i guess i kinda fancy paulius model best, being i only have kids toys around me these days, can't but thing towards that direction

great work everyone

[paulius-st]

pavolsvk - a realy cool model :) . i have a ilttle sugegstion.

[Adroit.jrk]

pavolsvk : your base mesh is really nice and it looks good. paulius-st has nice suggestion.

xxxcubanxxx: Nice paint, it looks like game model. Lovely charater.

[Adroit.jrk]

Here is new render test.

188654

[tongeert]

Rendered it again. I'm gonna try to tweak the rest of the materials now. I've put a fresnel in the reflection of the plate btw.:dance:

[xxxcubanxxx]

Thanks for the kind words guys :)

Update to the texture

http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/4333/texturetest2.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/846/texturetest2.jpg/)

[Jussslic]

Hey guys, progress is looking great all around!

wil_himura: thanks so much for the paintover, and sorry for the delayed response. Been out of town and away from the forum for a few days. The leg definitely needs more mass on the front as you pointed out--I'll work on correcting that tonight.

Ugh, I'm in the middle of a move so things got really hectic for me this week. I'm definitely not gonna have time to finish my dragon rider, but I plan on working as late as I need to tonight to make sure I have a finished version of the dragon. I'm leaving town again on the 18th, so tonight is probably my last day to work : (

[paulius-st]

tongeert - can i have a rib of this dragon?
cuban - looks great :) . is it marmoset that is adding this glow efect or is it your post production thing?

as for my dragon - next step is textures, materials and finaly pose and final renders :) .
for now just showing off how great i am at uvw unwraping lol :P .

[xxxcubanxxx]

paulius thanks, guess Bloom settings in Marmoset are a bit strong :lame:

btw nice UVs

[wil_himura]

xxxcubanxxx, you're on full throttle!

Paulius, show us some crazy textures there. Your entry is one of the best imo, it's hard to beat zbrush regarding presentation. You went old school and did a great job.

Almost done, please ignore the eyes :D

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dinofinal004.jpg

[astroAJ]

Kinda running out of energy to work on my dragon. I rushed the sculpted a bit but will only be using it to make a bump map. I’m also trying to figure out zbrush at the moment because I've only been using it for a month.

[Adroit.jrk]

wil_himura : your material is looking nice, is it possible you could post your material setting and upload over here. I wish to apply same setting for my dragon.

[wil_himura]

Adroit.jrk, follow this tutorial http://eat3d.com/free/zbrush_sss and download the project files. You will find there a material with SSS. Tweak the inneraditive, outeraditive, innerblend and outerblend colors and sliders. The colors are set to human skin, and mines to green skin. So you must change them if ur dragon is not pink or green hehe If you still need help later today, I'll be on my comp after work. Whatch the video!!

Edit: you will find the SSS material settings on the material modifiers in shader2.

[Adroit.jrk]

wil_himura: thanks and i'll explore the tutorial.

[wil_himura]

Adroit.jrk, no prob, if you don't find the right settings I'll post mine when I'm back from work. If you follow the tutorial, don't forget to set up in the render palette the SSS things. Increase the numebr of rays for smooth results and such.

Once you have the material is quite straight forward.

[wil_himura]

Hey guys, I need help making the eyes, is the very first time I try to texture eyes so... Could you please gimme some tips? The ones there are jpg's projected just to see the overall thing, nothing serious.

[paulius-st]

well as for eyes in zbrush i my self allways sculpt a inset in there and paint it . the main thing is in materials. i use white plastic material cause it has nice reflections for that.

[wil_himura]

I did some test on the eyes... will pose and paint them on the last stage ^^

Thanks Paulius!

http://lapsusmental.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dinofinal005.jpg

[Adroit.jrk]

wil_himura: nice update and for eyes paulius-st suggestion is better because i so same setting for eyes material.

astroAJ : you have nice dragon as i think my dragon has same attitude lol.

paulius-st : you unwrap looks great, keep on great work.

[genggi]

My update,detailing and pose.:wave:

[glassdevil]

genggi: Damn, that's certainly one muscular dragon :P

[wil_himura]

Woww Genggi, that's actually a Dragon :D Great work there, the pose is also good.

I'm missing the "stylized" part a bit tho.

Adroit.jrk How are you doing with the materials? Post a new render man!

[eydi]

My update,detailing and pose.:wave:

Woww Genggi, that's actually a Dragon :D Great work there, the pose is also good.

I'm missing the "stylized" part a bit tho.

Adroit.jrk How are you doing with the materials? Post a new render man!

genggi: Damn, that's certainly one muscular dragon :P




indeed a muscular dragon :) This one really looks unique...
I look forward to see the final stage :)

[ClassicGamer-3DT]

Damn you guys are good :)

[genggi]

guys,really glad you like my work!appreciate a lot.:wave:
eydi - Thanks man!! I agree with you,I'll choose this view for final image.

cant wait to see all work,good luck.

[Adroit.jrk]

wil_himura : little busy, soon i'll render everything.

genggi : nice but sytize may be better, best of luck buddy.

[Jussslic]

Hey guys, coming along nicely for everyone!

I ended up really crunched for time and this is the last time I'll have access to my computer before the deadline, so this is probably my final. Lot of stuff I wanted to do and didn't have time for, but I learned a heck of a lot working on this thing! :wave:

http://thetoprow.com/images/Dragon-final.jpg

[eydi]

Rendered it again. I'm gonna try to tweak the rest of the materials now. I've put a fresnel in the reflection of the plate btw.:dance:

tongeert: Nice render, I didn't think it would come out like this one...indeed very good render, Now, other dragon really want to eat this one :haha:

Jussslic: Very cool render, looks fine...

Hey guys, coming along nicely for everyone!

I ended up really crunched for time and this is the last time I'll have access to my computer before the deadline, so this is probably my final. Lot of stuff I wanted to do and didn't have time for, but I learned a heck of a lot working on this thing! :wave:

http://thetoprow.com/images/Dragon-final.jpg

[wil_himura]

Jussslic, good render. Would be great if you could finish it with the rider off the record ;)

[genggi]

Woww Genggi, that's actually a Dragon :D Great work there, the pose is also good.

I'm missing the "stylized" part a bit tho. ;)
your good style.

Jussslic - great your result!!

[xxxcubanxxx]

wil_himura nice render, liking the little guy more and more.

genggi That's looking ace, don't forget to give some love to the neck, back and tail ;)

Jussslic Really nice so far, too bad you can't put more time into it :hmm:

[tongeert]

Rendered on a higher resolution, should I scale the bump on the dragon down? I changed the material of the cucumber and the orange a bit, but I´ve got a question about the oranges. Because I´ve got a bump on it but on the orange on the left it´s just flat. How could I fix that?

[BiG ToE-3DT]

you need a normal map.

[glassdevil]

Hello I was wondering if anyone could give me some rendering advice? (I really have no idea what I'm doing) I'm not going to have time to do any sort of background or scene so I would like just like to make a studio style render similar to what Jussslic has done. I set up the curved room thing and am trying to use mental ray rendering in 3ds max. Does anyone have any advice on how to set up the lights and renderer?

[Jussslic]

Glassdevil: In Maya + MR I typically use two area lights with the use light shape setting turned on. Then I increase the number of shadow rays until everything is nice and soft. Not sure if those things apply in Max.

The other thing I sometimes do for a really diffuse looking render like the one I posted is just skip the curved backdrop and just have a plane under the model to pick up the shadows... then composite it onto a nice flat or slightly gradiated background in PS. You have to make sure you render an alpha channel to do it this way.

[eydi]

Maybe your dragon would look more good with a different background color...

[paulius-st]

glassdevil - http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/autodesk-3d-studio-max/studio-rendering-with-3ds-max-and-vray/

[Avatar-3DT]

glassdevil, you just need a matte/shadow material on a plane and if you have a light, shadow will be projected on it while background will show through, just like it looks on Jussslic's piece.

[xxxcubanxxx]

quick update on the pants, gotta hurry not much time left ;)

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/9540/pantsv.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/641/pantsv.jpg/)

[tongeert]

How could I create a normal map?

[wil_himura]

xxxcubanxxx, nice update, I like the new boots ;)

tongert, I think it is possible to generate them from cavity or bump maps. Look for xNormals, it's a software to generate AO and normal maps. I use to do it by having a high polygon model with all the detail projected into a light poly model. But some kind of faking can be done from bump maps aswell. I don't know how accurate the result is but give it a try.

[Adroit.jrk]

Here is my shot.

188809

[xxxcubanxxx]

Adroit looking good, some suggestions if I may, since the dragon itself is red/orange, I think it would be best to change the color of the background and rock so the dragon can stand out, cause right now it's all blending together.