#28b Threedy Grand Prix - Driver

[BiG ToE-3DT]

Low Poly Mini Contest #28b
Subject – Threedy Grand Prix - Driver
ALL WIPS AND CONCEPTS ARE TO BE KEPT IN THIS THREAD.


Every so often the universes finest drivers assemble for the Coveted Threedy Grand Prix. This year will be just a bit different. With several new planets joining in, this race is slated to go down in the record books as the largest multi-species event of all time. Being the fastest won’t guarantee you victory here. You need to be cunning, quick with the reflexes, and above all, not afraid to trade paint with the next guy. Experience is your friend, as the course is known to change or should I say “adapt” to the drivers unique driving styles. I should also caution you new comers, some drivers play dirty. Using smoke screens, oil, even rockets to push, pull or blow themselves into first place. Needless to say, scars are the only trophies some go home with. But for the true Winner, reputation, money and even a shoe deal awaits you.

Ready, Set, Go!

Judging: You will pick what you believe is the top 3 entries. First place gets 3 points, 2nd place 2 points, 3rd place 1 point. The person with the most points when the voting is over wins. Remember, if an entry does not fill the requirements, do not vote for them.


DUE DATE: February 15th, 5 weeks and a few days from today! 11:59 pm GMT - SUNDAY

Idea:
Create the best of the best driver, from a universe far, far away. This driver needs to look like they been threw some though times and made it to the finish line.

Poly limit:
8,000 Tris Total. You can do whatever you want with these, just don’t get carried away and don’t exceed the 8,000 Tri Limit. Remember, the limit tells you where to stop, there is no minimum, so use as much of the limit as you see fit.

Textures:
(1) 2048 x 2048 texture. This means (1) 2048 for color, (1) 2048 for bump, (1) 2048 for normal, (1) 2048 opacity, so on and so forth. You can chop it up into whatever you want, but you still need to go all out in your texture.

Textures can be hand-painted or you can use photographic sources. Do what you do.


Pedestals/Stands:
You do not have to create one, but if you do, understand that there is no texture or tri limit. You can go as crazy as you want, or keep it as basic as possible.

Prizes: (only available with 6 or more final entries)

1st Place gets the following:
- 12-month subscription to the 2DCreative magazine
- 12-month subscription to the 3DCreative magazine

2nd Place gets the following:
- 12-month subscription to the 3DCreative magazine

3rd Place gets the following:
- 6-month subscription to the 3DCreative magazine

Final Pictures:

Required In The Final Post (1 post per entry):

- 1 x Winning shot. This image should consist of your character depicted in its most awesome angle.

- 1 x Beauty shot of your character. Feel free to put multiple angles of your character or just one big version or your character on this page. Even better, try to composite a nice art piece similar to the ones in the Winners' Gallery. Be careful how you do this though, simple is often better. It’s up to you.

- 1 x wire frame shot of your character. Feel free to put multiple wire frame shots or just one big wire frame shot on this page. It is up to you. Must have polycount included.

- 1 x texture sheet that includes all your used sheets squeezed into "one" sheet.

- Concept Sheet

A Final Entry Thread will be up and waiting around the end of the third week/beginning of fourth week. Don’t forget to submit your work by posting it in the final thread.

Good luck everyone!
BiG ToE.

[Chung Wong]

2x2048 maps? Is that right?

[BiG ToE-3DT]

no

[Buzzy]

2 for the vehicle i believe....right? So that'd actually be 3 total if you do a vehicle and driver
]
Oh, and you can definately count me in

[BiG ToE-3DT]

yep, 2 for the vehicle.

[Joseph Pomeisl]

This should be quite neat. A couple things, is the driver required to be from another 'world'?; and are the Driver/Vehicle comp. to be kept seperate? Like, can the driver final entry feature the vehicle?

[CaseyD2K]

I have been researching an idea since the comp started to lean this way and I can't wait to piece it together!

[lampshadehead]

Awesome twist there having the drivers be from different planets. Very cool.

[Martin_x]

Yeah twist is definetly awesome! Got the same question about final entry. Can I combine vehicle and driver together?(Planning on doing both :smug: )

[BiG ToE-3DT]

doing both and showing both in one image is fine.

as for which planet your driver comes from, that's up to you.

[Mr. Bluesummers-3DT]

Super excitement! Thanks for breaking this out into two separate competitions, Toe!

[BiG ToE-3DT]

just trying to make as many people happy as possible and at the same time, get everyones juices flowing so when the true WAR starts, everyone is o the same page. Thinking outside the box is key and what better way to think outside the box than to head to the stars.

[omnicypher]

for this comp, instead of modelling a character in the standard "T" pose, i think i will model it in a driving position, which might look wierd at first, but if planned correctly, it will save me some rigging time, and make my sculpt more accurate with less texture streatching.

[Noodles]

Ugh, I fail at concept art...spent like 4 hours so far on a driver and vehicle, both will be scrapped :shout::shout:

[Mr. Bluesummers-3DT]

Brutal Noodles. I hear you though, concept art can be pretty rough. I usually rely on others (i.e. finding images online or in one of my books) to get the creativity rolling.

[Joseph Pomeisl]

Noodles: probably know of it already, but 'the-blueprints.com' is great for a starting point on ideas.
Big Toe: Sweet burn on Poopipe...
I'd like to get a character+vehicle done...we'll see; kinda like trying seven characters instead of one (what kinda moron would do that?) I've got a full idea for both and have started on the driver - below is a paint over of the head. Really reminds of Mel Gibson, competely unintentional by the way.

[lampshadehead]

Awesome start Joseph!

[omnicypher]

joseph pomeisl: nice start, allot of character in that face, but the hairline seems like its a half inch too low.

[Warlock 279]

omnicypher - Thats not a bad way to approach, I did that for my Ghost Rider awhile back and it worked out alright for me. You do need to be extra careful with your proportions tho because most of the visual cues we use for measuring them will be thrown off. Might not be a bad idea to create a simple mock-up with the proper proportions, pose that, and then start modeling the real mesh in the seated position.

Joseph Pomeisl - Awesome start. Omni's right, that face is chuck full of character. So you're saying we shouldn't expect the car/driver and a full pit crew from you this time around? ;P

[BiG ToE-3DT]

omnicypher: the only real problem with modeling your character in a "riding" pose would be, posing her later, for the final renders, you would want at least one render(winning pose) of her, by herself, so everyone can what she is all about.

[lampshadehead]

Good point. In the winning pose she might look like she's trying to "pinch a loaf"... lol

[Warlock 279]

Ah, yeah, BigToe makes a good point, I suppose modeling in the seated position is only a good if your character will only appear that position. I hadn't even thought about the issues it would bring up doing a separate render.

[vlad_flyzzz]

Joseph Pomeisl: the sketch looks great. You're right, he sort of looks like a rugged, Mad-Max-ish Mel Gibson, with just a pinch of Wolverine for extra manliness. :haha:

Anyway, here's what I have so far in terms of character. I'm opting for a pirate-ish theme for vehicle, driver and the competition itself. This is the rough 3D concept, I'll have to add more details to the torso and then I'll take it into zbrush and sculpt away.
So here's Godfrey "Teach" McCoy:

[CaseyD2K]

In the vehicle comp thread I posted some pics of the Monster Jeep I had planned on making al a Twisted Metal style. A vehicle like that needed some character behind the wheel so I did some heavy duty research and came up with this guy! I call him "Outback Jack" right now, i wanted him to look like he probably gets into a lot of trouble.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/CaseyD2k/UltimateDriver.jpg

Man I love those games and I hope I can pull this off haha! Maybe i'll post the orthos when i'm done with them, they usually look like total junk, since i'm the only one who has to use them, so i might touch them up a bit for this comp.

I can't wait to start modeling!

[W.D.L.]

CaseyD2K: Solid concept, definitely compliments a jeep type vehicle very well.

Joseph Pomeisl: Great start on the head, very tough looking guy and I like how the subtle scar on his cheek shows that hes been roughed up a bit.

[lampshadehead]

vlad_flyzzz: Great start.. and nice stache!

CaseyD2K: Nice job on the driver. He doesn't like like anyone I'd want to scrap with. "You call that a knife? Now this is a knife!"

[omnicypher]

ill try both, standard pose, and doggy style, and ill see wich one riggs better.

[Sylverstorm]

I have an idea that I would like to try, but it involves multiple drivers. Are we allowed to have multiple characters pilot one vehicle?

[BenniKImmel]

I would say so as long as you stay in the poly limit and texture limit

[Warlock 279]

vlad_flyzzz - Looks good, I like the nod to BlackBeard. Waist looks like it might be a touch low, hard to say given the coat tho.

CaseyD2K - Sketch looks great. Definitely managed to capture a good bit of character there. Certainly looks like he'll be at home in a Jeep.

Sylverstorm - It's never been frowned upon before. Like Benni said, so long as you stay within the set limit for both/all characters you should be alright.

[Buzzy]

my vehicle will be a motorcycle. My rider will be a cross between a biker, a cowboy, and a WW2 pilot. I'm thinking jeans, leather chaps, cowboy boots, and a leather bomber jacket. Probably goggles as well....not sure about headwear yet. Leaning toward cowboy hat but I'm undecided so far.

[lampshadehead]

Buzzy: Looks like you answered my wishes from the vehicle thread here :) A bike definately neets a driver and what you've planned seems to fit the theme really well.

[Buzzy]

First pass at roughing out my rider. I'm mainly working with proportions right now, so not alot in the way of modelling. Still very very early, but I least wanted to show some progress.

[BiG ToE-3DT]

hes a big dude, so I'm now hoping to see a fat back tire to hold him up. Although, going skinny all around could be just as cool.

[lampshadehead]

That's cool Buzzy. You definately make quick progress on your characters.

[Joseph Pomeisl]

I've just about finished with the driver and the vehicle, little things here and there still needed - probably post and comment tomorrow. Lot's of great stuff going on!

[drGrim]

whoa u guys have awesome ideas here. i'm planning to join this challenge now that i have some time to spare. still deciding on what kind of character i wanna make tho

keep up the good work guys. im super excited to take part in a challenge for the first time ^_^

[vlad_flyzzz]

Here's the progress update: I've put Teach aside (only added the gun) and concentrated on his co-pilot targeting partner, nicknamed Ahab. The textures are still rough, but here's what I have so far:

[Warlock 279]

Buzzy - Cowboy hat, and goggles, would rock. I like the mix of sources. Your WIP is looking pretty solid so far. Arms look maybe a tad long, could just be the pose tho.

vlad_flyzzz - Looks good. I like the classic pistol. The co-pilot looks pretty good as well. I'd maybe consider an accent color that compliments the gold a little bitter, I'm afraid the yellow may get lost when you doesn't see him up close. Nice work so far, keep at it.

[Stereo-Kid]

First pass at roughing out my rider. I'm mainly working with proportions right now, so not alot in the way of modelling. Still very very early, but I least wanted to show some progress.

Do you use an already modelled base mesh for these challenges? Or is it just a coincidence that the default pose looks like the same one from your last entry?

Might enter this challenge, but on the vehicle side; there will be no time to do both well (realistically speaking...)

[Buzzy]

Yeah, my process is something like this:
1.Stretch and pull a generic prefab mesh into rough proportions. This helps me to 'sketch' out the character's shape in 3D quickly, rather than start modelling blindly.
2.Build a new cage around the pre-fab one, using it as a guide. Similar to working with image planes and ortho drawings, but I'm not that strong of a draftsman, so I do my "drawing" in 3D.

I've found its actually easier to build the mesh again from scratch in this manner rather than try to shoe-horn an old mesh to fit the new shape. Things always work better when they are purpose-built rather than just retro-fitted.

[BiG ToE-3DT]

retro-fitted, that's a perfect word for this comp. Now I gotsta get started.

[omnicypher]

i started modelling straight into the driving pose, and im curious how the unwrapping will look, and how well it will sculpt. she doesnt perfectly fit the bike yet, but its still very early in the process. shes 1720 tris, and the bike is currently 2078, so in total, 3798 tris used so far.

[FrZnChAoS]

Omnicypher: Looks like a potentially awkward to model somebody. But you seem to be pulling it. Do you intend to have your rider actually get off the bike or are you really just modeling for the one pose? Regardless, looks good so far.

[Martin_x]

Nice concepts and models so far.
Here's my driver's base mesh.

[Joseph Pomeisl]

Seems everyone's quite psyched about the vehicle section; rather quiet in this neck of the woods...
Buzzy: Neat concept, should look killer on that bike. Can't wait to see this one further down the road.
Omnicypher: Cool idea but worried that the pose being premodelled will hurt it later on - could be totally wrong about that though. Would'nt be the first time, or the last.
Vlad_flyzz: I like the idea of the companions and the robot's pretty cool. In agreement with Warlock about the yellow stripe needing a different color.
Martin_x: cool character. I hope you finish this one:)
So, here's the driver: the beat-up vet, who likes shooting up the competition and being a general annoyance more than winning the race.

[CaseyD2K]

Joseph Pomeisl - Thats lookin really good so far. Your edge loops are lookin really nice and clean. and the planes for his hair look like they are going to work out quite nicely. Rockin job!

[FrZnChAoS]

Joseph Pomeisl : Really solid modeling, has lots of character.

[Martin_x]

Sculpt WIP

[Joseph Pomeisl]

**cricket...cricket**

[Buzzy]

haha I'm still plugging along on my character....just no significant updates yet.

[Warlock 279]

Yeah, I've just started fooling with my character...as I've come to a bit of an impasse on the interior of my car and don't want to stare idly at screen. But I've got nothing worth showing yet. I'm sure the vehicle thread will slow...and the action shift over here later on.

Joseph Pomeisl - Your model looks pretty good. I think his does have a bit of a pest/weasley look to it. Flow and form look pretty good. Not seeing any real issues.

omnicypher - For modeling in that rather awkward pose...you seem to be doing pretty well with. As long as you remember to cram a fair number of loops/edges in the "folded" places, it looks like you'll be alright.

Martin_x - Not a bad start. I know you're probably going to be sculpting a lot, so I won't comment on your base mesh now, I'll wait till you get sculpted and retopo'd. Other than, I thought at a quick glance he was HellBoy at first because of the goggles on his forehead, and the broad heavy chin. The facial sculpt is looking pretty good so far, I think his chin is probably a bit too broad tho. Looks also like the corners of his mouth might be too far out. Rule of thumb on that, is that the corners of the mouth should fall roughly straight down from the pupil of the eye. Lots of nice detail in theface so far.

[Martin_x]

Thanks Warlock. Here's what I got now. I wanted to make kind of thin leather jacket but it doesn't really look like one( Probably because of sleeves.

[Darchand]

I would like to do a character as well. I am hoping to have a base mesh up for you guys tomorrow. Only thing I can give away about him for now is he is not human but is humanoid.

[BiG ToE-3DT]

Martin_x: Your off to a good start, but I think you might want to play with your characters shoulders some. Square them off. Right now they seem to flow right into the arms, there is no definition between where the shoulders srtart/end and the bicep starts. Also, you will want to thicken up the wrist and hands. They look small because of the way the gloves go up the arm, but thicking the wrist and hand will fix that. As for making the coat look like leather, you can take care of that with the texture.

[Madara13]

everyone so cool.
this is sketch of my concept

[theaquarianspac]

Well here we go. Thought that I would start on a driver.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/6148/grandprixcompdrivervv3.jpg
By theaquarianspace (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/theaquarianspace) at 2009-01-23

Still kind of rough though. Thats what I get for not concepting. Please forgive the goofy image. I will have to go home and fix it.

[Noodles]

Wrong thread there Casey :drool:

[CaseyD2K]

Orthographic Model Sheets for my driver!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/CaseyD2k/Orthos_Small.jpg

Although, these may be the cleanest model sheets I have made to date, they are still sloppy as a mofo'! Fortunately, any significant changes that need to be made can be made in 3ds Max on the fly!

I can't wait to start modeling this guy!

[CaseyD2K]

Wrong thread there Casey :drool:

Thanks! It's 2 am, and I should be in bed. I work in the morning.

[Darchand]

Well I know he doesn't look like much right now but hey once I get him textured he should be looking pretty cool :)

Let me know what you think.

[CaseyD2K]

It looks like a star wars character:

http://www.mwctoys.com/images/review_hem_3.jpg

There is a ton of geometry in the face you could probably tone down and still achieve the desired affect. It looks a little busy. Also, you might want to lengthen that tentacle arm to make it look like he has a wider range of motion. Beef up his robot arm too, the contrast between a beefy robot arm and a long tentacle arm would be pretty rockin! make him really look half-alien/half-alien technology!

If you get a chance post a shot with the smooth modifier on so we can see if the geometry translates well.

[theaquarianspac]

Joseph Pomeisl: Nice modeling. Great edge flow.

CaseyD2K: I'm lovin' that concept. Very Crocodile Dundee ish.

Darchland: He does kind of look like that bounty hunter Bosk. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

[CaseyD2K]

CaseyD2K: I'm lovin' that concept. Very Crocodile Dundee ish.

Thanks! I totally referenced Paul Hogan and Hugh Jackman mostly for the character idea!

[Martin_x]

Thanks BiG ToE-3DT. Here's an update.

[Joseph Pomeisl]

Darchand: Maybe the robot hand alone could use a resizing? For some reason I think the legs could be a bit longer.
theaquarianspac: not bad, a little small to really see what's going on though. Always nice to see a female character.
Madara13: neat concept. Going by your dealer, I'm sure you've already finished modeling and texturing:)
CaseyD2K: Nice drawing - should go with the jeep well. You are quite prolific in the exclamatory statements! Keep up the good work.
Got the unwrapping and skinning done, onto the car and textures.

[silverflame]

Been sculpting this for a few hours today, moving onto colours tonight. This is probably the fastest iv done a character

[theaquarianspac]

Joseph Pomeisl: thanks, yeah sorry about the small image. love how your piece is coming together. is that an AO pass or just a shader?

silverflame: very cool. those head tentacle/hair things are cool.

heres an update

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/1658/driverbb7.jpg

no idea what that cube on her head is going to be yet.

[Joseph Pomeisl]

theaquarianspac: just AO, but the top picture has the balance in PS set slightly red. Your character and vehicle are looking fine. I'm not sure what that cube on her head's gonna be either:)

[Buzzy]

Finally got everything unwrapped and started sculpting.

[lampshadehead]

Great sculpting so far. I like the texture of the leather.

[CaseyD2K]

IT'S ALIVE!!!!

People must be mostly finished with their vehicles by now cuz this forum has ressurected itself from the dead. I started my guy last night.

Tick-Tock!! Tick-Tock!! 3 weeks from the deadline...I really hope I can pull both of these off in time.

[Darchand]

I would like to thank you guys for your comments and advice. I have updated the topology of the head. I will be working on the other things later on but until then I would like your opinions on how this looks. Thanks again.

[lampshadehead]

That new topology looks way better Darchand. Great job :) Hang in there, you can get it done :)

[Noodles]

Base is complete, just need to add some details.

[CaseyD2K]

I would like to thank you guys for your comments and advice. I have updated the topology of the head. I will be working on the other things later on but until then I would like your opinions on how this looks. Thanks again.

Sooooooo much better! Glad you took the advice!

Here's some first shots of my character! Started him Sunday night.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/CaseyD2k/Figure_Update.jpg

This is just the base so far. No hat, no fingers (i struggle with modeling hands), no accessories, and I still need to do some serious clean up. He's got some ugly topology right now. Haha!

C&C FTW!!!

[Darchand]

lampshadehead: thank you for your comment I do apperciate it :)

CaseyD2K: I am just glad to get advise. When I get time I will be working on cleaning up the rest of the mesh. I also plan on making the mechanical arm a little more interesting and bulkier. As far as your model goes I think it is a bit early to judge but if it turns out anything like your concept it should be awesome.

[Martin_x]

Normal mapped lowpoly. 5064 tris

[CaseyD2K]

Martin_X - That looks mighty nice!!!

[lampshadehead]

Noodles: Cool job so far. Love the face. He almost looks like he has road rage already! It's hard to tell in the image. The hands may need to be scaled a little differently. They look a little thin front-to-back, if that makes sense.

CaseyD2K: Good start! He's definately rockin the mullet, eh? :D I like it so far. A few wuick crits. His butt looks a little flat and narrow. His pockets on the vest look a little close together (if the vest was zipped the pockets would be touching in the middle.) And the only other question was why do the back of the boots look round? There's probably a good reason they look that way, I just wasn't sure.

Martin_x: Wow that looks really awesome with the normal mapping done! Great job. Can't wait to see the colour.

[Chung Wong]

Looking very nice martin x. Anyway, need to shoe horn a female character into my folio. Very wippy at the moment, but here goes..

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh61/oivanwong/girlracerwip1.jpg

I'll try and finish one of these comps lol...

[ianchaos]

Now that the majority of the modeling is done on my Steam Bike I figured I'd have a go at the driver. I'm at 7414 tris right now so there's still a little room for additions/changes, but I'm pretty happy with how he's formed.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/ianchaos/driverWires1.gif
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/ianchaos/driverRender2.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/ianchaos/driverRender1.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/ianchaos/driverRender3.jpg

and here was my inspiration

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/ianchaos/gasmask1.jpg

[Darchand]

Well I updated some more stuff hopefully making it a little more clean and smooth. I also did a complete revamp on the arm which is now much more bulky and I like this new one a lot more.

Everyone's stuff is looking great I am sure the next two weeks should be interesting.

Oh and does anyone know how I can get high resolution screen grabs?

[Martin_x]

Oh and does anyone know how I can get high resolution screen grabs?

You can buy better monitor and video card:haha:
I think it's ok the way it is but you can render it

[CaseyD2K]

Chung Wong - Her hair looks like it's going to be in corn rows! That's pretty awesome! Whats with the open arm pose? Is there a benefit to posing your model before rigging it?

IanChaos - That is one crazy lookin driver you got there! It's like steam-punk meets cyber-angel! Very cool!

Darchand - It looks like your edge flow is much cleaner than it was before. There's a lot of geometry you could get rid of in the abdominal area there. Also, he looks like he's got a little hunch in his back there, might be leaning his spine forward too much! You should definitely straighten him out!

Lampshadehead - I rounded out his backside a bit more and widened his pockets a bit. As for his boots being round in the back, I have a very good reason for that...

...I didn't even notice that until you mentioned it! Hahaha!! I will fix that next pass! Thanks!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/CaseyD2k/Profile.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/CaseyD2k/Profile_Sheetcopy.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/CaseyD2k/Wire_profilecopy.jpg

A few more modifications and some accessories and this bad boy is almost ready for an unwrap!

Great job so far guys!

[lampshadehead]

ianchaos: Wow, that's a really, really cool driver!

Chung Wong: Hey, lookin good so far. I like the boots alot.

CaseyD2K: Nice job, looking great. The hat is looking really good too!

[Chung Wong]

CaseyD2k: Cheers dude, yeah they are going to be corn rows, hopefully it will come off. Regarding the pose, I saw Johnny do it in his awesome thread and thought, yeah, it looks like it will make sculpting the elbow forearm better, I can never get it quite right when they are fully outstretched. Like your character a lot, looks very fitting to your vehicle.
Lampshadehead: Cheers mate. I'm not sure about the boots at the mo, I'll try tightening them up and see how it goes.

[Darchand]

CaseyD2K: lol I am just playing here. He is clearly still not rigged. I did clean up the abs a little bit and some other areas. Your guy is looking good. The nose is just about perfect on your guy. Can't wait to see more.

[CaseyD2K]

CaseyD2K: lol I am just playing here. He is clearly still not rigged. I did clean up the abs a little bit and some other areas. Your guy is looking good. The nose is just about perfect on your guy. Can't wait to see more.

Haha! I love the pose! Lookin much better than before! Good work!

EDIT: Here's an update of my driver, Which i would say is about 99% complete as far as modeling goes for now. I'm pretty over as far as geometry goes so i need to go in and do some serious optimization at this point. I'm going to start unwrapping him and the jeep Monday.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/CaseyD2k/Turnaround_big.jpg

[Warlock 279]

Joseph Pomeisl - I really like how you've put that together, has a bit of a comic book/story board style to it. Model looks rock solid, no crits from me.

silverflame - Sculpt looks good. Perhaps some more wrinkles in around the inner/upper part of the thigh, as that tends to be a "stressed" area for clothing. I like the "tentacle-hawk" he's sportin'. Proportions and shape look good. Nice work.

theaquarianspac - Not bad. I think her arms are a touch skinny, in the 3/4 view her arms look almost anorexic, and I think the hips/pelvis are a bit low making the legs a little too short. Other wise, looking good.

Buzzy - Looks like a bomber jacket to me. Needs more pockets and zippers to go with 'em!

Darchand - The new head topology is much improved over your older one. The over mesh looks pretty good as well. You might be able to work some of the vertical geometry out of his chest, not sure you'll need that much in there, probably could clean out a few from the lower legs as well. Sorry, but I've got to second the hunchback notion. :p I'm sure you'll get it squared away just fine when you get a rig in there tho.

Noodles - Looks pretty good. I think you may find the hair will look a little better if you have a more random placement like Joseph's done. Its been my experience that when you're real methodical with it, its ends up looking just that. What I'd suggest, is going with what you've got now, texture it as is, see how it looks, and then play with moving planes around, see what works best for you.

CaseyD2K - Your model's looking pretty solid so far. I don't see anything to crit really, a little awkward looking that stiff, but that'll change once you get it rigged. I think the heel on his boot might be just a bit tall for a men's boot, I could be wrong, I'm not really that familiar with cowboy style boots.

Martin_x - Sculpt looks good. Lots of character in the face, and I think you've done a pretty nice job with wrinkles. I'm diggin' the boots, big and mean, perfect for your character. I think his legs are a bit short right now, might want to check on that.

Chung Wong - Nice start, nice shape. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

ianchaos - He will look absolutely crazy on your bike, that's gonna be awesome. The gear on his chest is a really nice touch.

[Buzzy]

Casey - Pretty good looking...very Dundee

Martin - Your details are very nice. I think your proportions could be cleaned up though.

ianchaos - awesome concept!

Here's the latest progress on mine. Most of the upperbody is nearly done.

[lampshadehead]

Buzzy: Holy monkey nuts Buzzy! That's really awesome. The Textures and Normals look awesome on there. Can't wait to see more. I just hope this guy doesn't lose his hat at high speeds :)

[Martin_x]

Great work Buzzy. When I first saw this picture I thought he got no face. Maybe you should open it more.
Here's my update

[Buzzy]

Made some pants. Everyone needs pants.

[Joseph Pomeisl]

I agree.

[Chung Wong]

Looking nice everyone.

Remodelled the shoes as they where looking too messy for my liking. Started on a helmet too. Hope to get all the sculpting and the modelling done by the end of the week.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh61/oivanwong/wip2.jpg

[Warlock 279]

Buzzy - Looks good. Leather looks excellent so far. Nice wrinkles...not too many, not too few, and a nice variety of shapes and sizes.

Martin_x - Textures look pretty good. I think he could use some pockets in the back, he's looking a little plain from behind.

Chung Wong - Helmet looks a bit too insectoid for my tastes, but I do like those boot. Keep it up.

[Joseph Pomeisl]

Chung Wong:In the immortal words of Lloyd Christmas: "...killer boots, man...". The insect look probably arises from the seem in the visor. Nice body shape. Hope you can finish this one up - stay away from that infernal PS....

[Chung Wong]

Warlock: lol, I can see how you could mistake it for being a bit insectoid, I was being lazy and couldn't be arsed to kill the polys that made the seem in the middle. You gave me an idea for fannying around. Hope you like.
Jospeh: Cheers dude. Lol, I should be getting a new tv next week... so I'd better finish it before then. Stupid ps.
Buzzy: Looks sweet dude. Not too sure about the cloth coving the face though, it looks nicely done, but not sure if it works. But that's more of a matter of personal opinion. Cool looking model.
Martin X: Looking very solid. I'd have a look at the eyes though, look a bit off. Nice work though.

Anyways, I was half way making a jacket, but not too sure about it, I think the jacket on Model (A) doesn't really work where as the other, I could put some racing strips and sponsors on which would seem to fit the topic more, I'd probably make it a one piece racing suit instead of a jacket as well. Any thoughts?

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh61/oivanwong/wip3.jpg

[Joseph Pomeisl]

Chung Wong: the one-piece sounds like the way to go. Maybe if was unzipped a little like in (A)?
Finished up with the textures...off to unwrapping the car. The second shot has quite a bit of perspective effect from the camera - is that allowed in the final pieces?

[Chung Wong]

Joseph: That looks awesome. Really like the vehicle you made too. I can still see the plains where you did the hair but guessing you are on that already. I hate doing hair. It sucks. Took your advise on the one piece race suit. Wanted to open up the top, but would be too tempted to sex it up (like bra underneath etc), which I want avoid, for this model. Anyway's, awesome progress.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh61/oivanwong/girlracerwip4.jpg

[Warlock 279]

Chung Wong - Haha, nicely done. Those extra appendages help her get a leg up on the competition aye? The actual suit is looking quite nice now. I think she could use some shoulder pads yet, nothing too "heavy" just some padding like you've got elsewhere in the suit. Otherwise, looking good, should be pretty sweet once you get the textures on there.

Joseph Pomeisl - Those textures turned out really nice. I think the glass in the goggles could stand to toned back some, its really standing out now as a bit overly bright. Could even have a crack or two in one side if you wanted. I really like the pants, those are really well done.

[CaseyD2K]

Hey guys!! Haven't been posting but I have been checking stuff out from time to time! Still working on my characters texture job. I should have a pretty decent screen shot up this weekend of the finished model. As for the jeep, i still have to unwrap that beast!

Joseph Pomiesl - I can't believe you are done with your character already! That tattoo looks mighty high contrast in those screen shots. Most ink, usually depending on how fresh, often-times has a hint of blue not solid black. Other than that great job!

ChungWong - Her outfit is coming along real nice. I really dig the open jacket look but it makes more sense overall to keep it closed. I've seen that pose now a few times over at Polycount haha! I'm so used to building in the T pose, I might have to try those other poses some time.

Martin_X - Those wrinkles look real nice! He definitely needs some color contrast to help balance out the overall design. Blue jeans and dark brown boots, maybe even an all black jacket instead of the green. Try some color variation when you go in for the final textures. Great job overall.

Buzzy - Thanks! Your biker is looking mighty awesome! The wrinkles in those chaps are great!

Stay tuned!!! Screen shots coming soon!!

[Joseph Pomeisl]

Chung Wong: Shoulderpads sound right. Really looking good - the cornrows will end up great, I'm sure; but I keep seeing longer hair when looking at your pics.

Thanks for the thoughts, fellas. Went and added the cracks in the goggles and toned down the brightness on the glass; tried to give the tattoos a blueish hint, but had already flattened the layers so not to much effect(the psd was around 120MB and the computer was not liking it - 12MB after flattening). Also, the hair problem was caused by the specular map - fixed it.
Funny thing - somehow set the counter to verts, didn't notice until yesterday, was about 4k over. So, the gun/bullets are gone and had to rework quite a bit of the character to get under. Now there's gaping emptiness in the UV layout. Point of the story: I'm an idiot.

[CaseyD2K]

Hey everybody, got some turnarounds here for ya! probably the most elaborate texture I have ever had the pleasure of coloring. Many a long night was spent on this bad boy. I'm unwrapping the Jeep now and I'm hoping that it doesn't take too long considering the deadline is right around the corner! As ususal comments and critiques are welcome:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/CaseyD2k/Tunraround_Color.jpg


About 98% complete (i'm still contemplating certain design choices)
1 - 2048x2048 diffuse (Everything else will show up in final screenshots).
Just under 8000 Tri's.

[Joseph Pomeisl]

CaseyD2K: looking good! On the shirt, the abdominal area seems to hug the muscles too much, like it was a skintight shirt. The other thing is that the color defining the muscles on the exposed areas (mainly the neck) seems a bit dark - maybe tone it down to look more like it does on the back of the forearms in the rear view.

[Darchand]

I have a question and it probably really doesn't matter anyways. Do the bones/rig count into the triangle count? Right now I am at 6,700 triangles so if so I will just not add a prop and I should be fine.

[CaseyD2K]

CaseyD2K: looking good! On the shirt, the abdominal area seems to hug the muscles too much, like it was a skintight shirt. The other thing is that the color defining the muscles on the exposed areas (mainly the neck) seems a bit dark - maybe tone it down to look more like it does on the back of the forearms in the rear view.

Those are 2 areas I was considering modifying once I compiled the finished turnarounds. I added extra shadows to the forearm and I see now it might have been too much. I was trying to give off the impression that the shirt might have been a little snug, but maybe it's a little too snug.

Thanks!

[Buzzy]

Bones don't count. You can ignore them.

[poopipe]

Buzzy : if you've got some spare tris can I suggest you shove them in the brim of his hat, the cuffs on his jacket and his arse?

The faceting is is almost obvious in those areas - otherwise you're looking pretty special :D

[CaseyD2K]

Buzzy : if you've got some spare tris can I suggest you shove them in the brim of his hat, the cuffs on his jacket and his arse?

The faceting is is almost obvious in those areas - otherwise you're looking pretty special :D

Thanks Poopipe i'm pretty low on tri's but i'll see what I can do!

[Joseph Pomeisl]

...I think he was talking to Buzzy...?

[CaseyD2K]

...I think he was talking to Buzzy...?

Sure was! Shows how much attention I am paying. I have officially been working too hard on this project. Haha!

[Darchand]

Casey: Glad you liked that pose. It was a test to see if he would look a little straighter when rigged and it is good to go, it was also mostly for fun though J .

lol yeah I know what you mean about that comment that you thought was directed toward you. You see a comment/critism and you automatically go back to your model to check what all is going on.

I like the style of your textures. It the shirt might be a little too cozy but by far it doesn’t look bad.

Buzzy: First off thanks for the DirectX shaders. This is the first time I really have bothered messing with them and I am getting decent results thanks to the ones you added. Your character looks very nice I love the jacket and the bandana around the face. I agree with poopipe that he could use some extra triangles to smooth some of the harder lines especially around the hat, and those butt cheeks. Over all though extremely solid both in modeling and texturing.

Joseph: Your character has personality coming out of the wazzu. I was wondering what the poly count was before because some of the other renders looked fairly high. The textures look nice especially that good old chest hair and the tattoos. It does seem like the chest hair goes too far over to the arm pit but that is a little thing.

Chung: The modeling looks very tight. Are you starting with high poly? In any case looking good and I can’t wait to see the finished product.

MartinX: Looks good. I love the green leather. The modeling and the bump maps also came off extremely nice. The only odd thing is the color scheme for certain area’s. I am just saying that the white on the pants and the light green shirt seem like a strange choice and between them probably could be the same color and possibly a more masculine color (think pink). Other than that little crit I think it looks excellent.

ianchaos: By far your character is the strangest. I like the concept and the model so far. Only little crit is those shoes look kinda like a cartoon characters because of the size and shape. Can’t wait to see the textures.


Alright now time for my update. This will be my last update the rest you get to see in the final entry. I will be working with the textures a little more and I will also add a prop or two because I have plenty of triangles to play with. Thank you all for your comments and advise and I would of course appreciate any advice or suggestions on the textures.

[Chung Wong]

Darchard: Cheers dude. I usually make a nice base mess that will sculpt nicely, then I make all the pieces seperately, it's a pain and takes a while, but I think you get tighter results rather than trying to sculpt everything.
I like the skin on this, but next time, maybe try modelling in parts for baking, like the knee pads and other details, as it's a pain to get nice solid shape if you are just sculpting it out, especially if you don't have a really powerful computer that can shift 10 million polys around. A nice spec map would make this stand out more too. Good job dude.

Sorry dudes, I've been busy trying for a job, so haven't had much time to do this, I'll try and finish on time, but doubt I'll be able to do it as I have to spend Sunday with GF as I work on saturday (Valentine's day).

[lampshadehead]

Darchard: Looking good. Keep practicing at these and you will be a pro.
CaseyD2K: Really nice texturing. Almost has a comicbook or cartoon feel. Only crit is that the wrapping going around his knees should probably be wound around. Right now it kinda looks like it's pasted on in a few impossible directions. More like this:

http://anjphysio.com/images/bandage.jpg

[CaseyD2K]

Darchard: Looking good. Keep practicing at these and you will be a pro.
CaseyD2K: Really nice texturing. Almost has a comicbook or cartoon feel. Only crit is that the wrapping going around his knees should probably be wound around. Right now it kinda looks like it's pasted on in a few impossible directions. More like this:

http://anjphysio.com/images/bandage.jpg

Nice ref thanks! I'm going to jump all over that!

[Joseph Pomeisl]

Darchand: the jacket came out well. maybe the yellow areas (light source?) could affect the surrounding edges a bit.
Basically, I had to get rid of a 1,000 or so tri's - it wasn't too bad because alot of it was just welding chamfered edges and deleting faces that'll likely never be seen. Te main culprit was the gun. So it's gone.

[Martin_x]

Great job everyone. Hope you all will finish your entries in time.
Hadn't much time last weak. Realized that I won't be able to finish my vehicle so back to my driver. Here's a little texture update and probably the last one.
Anybody knows how to save image in maya without losing quality. I tried to save as *.tif and*.psd but the quality in render view is better.

[Joseph Pomeisl]

If what you posted is just a screengrab, then stick to that because it looks great. Maybe render at a larger size or save to Targa?
Posted the finals - there was/is a problem with the frontpage link, got worried that something would come up so figured better safe than sorry. Happy with the end result overall - the gaping hole in the UV layout (where the gun was) is a bummer though.
Hope everyone gets to finish up. Enjoy your Valentine's day:)

[CaseyD2K]

Even though I didn't get to finish i did want to post up what i had done. Here is what was going to be my final model. I just finished rigging him so maybe i'll build him a base slap him into a pose and post him in the Low-Poly thread:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/CaseyD2k/Outbackjack_Spec.jpg

[katana]

Nice job.

[CaseyD2K]

Nice job.

Thanks!