Gender Bender - Link

[SnappedStrings]

Okay, so I've been a long time visitor to 3d Total and the Threedy Forums, always trolling, never contributing. So I think it's high time I changed that, and I've decided to enter into the Gender Bending contest.

First, a little about me: I'm a sophomore art student who specializes in 3d art and modeling. I've been doing 3d for about 5 years now, but only recently have I been considering it professionally.


for the Gender Bender, I decided to do Link because he seemed to be the easiest to transform cross-gender, but I feel like his character/background still allow a great deal of flexibility

So, without further ado, here's the first WIP concept:


I'm thinking of leaving her without the chainmail under armor, but I want to attach the gauntlets and of course the sword and shield

Also, I'm thinking of changing the proportions around a little bit to make her fit in more with the traditional concepts of Link

I encourage any and all criticism, so please, feel free to hit me with all your ideas!

[Edragon]

Welcome :) I too am a visitor turned participant and about to graduate from college. Nice concept u got there.

[dark_maggot]

I'm doing the same thing for this competition so I am really looking forward to seeing your version.

Cheers.

[BLTsndwch5]

haha it seems like the gender bender idea was just fun enough to get all of us wallflowers to finally join in the fun

[SnappedStrings]

So, here's some further concept of Linkette

I used a piece of reference material and did some painting-over to constrain the proportions to being more Link-like. So some of you may recognize this stance.

Here's some basic color comps, let me know what you think.

If anyone has some ideas as to what might help to push the character towards female or that might add to the character in anyway, feel free to share!

I'll be back with costume comps next

[H2olt]

Nice color comps, I'd go with the red. I think some other areas could use some extra colors. No shots of the feet yet. You got anything in mind yet? Some thigh high boots could go well with the short skirt look.

[SR_6274]

I like the red as well. Gives it a nice color combination with the famous "Link" green. Nice concepts so far.

[SnappedStrings]

Thanks guys

For the feet, I was thinking of doing knee high boots, similar to the Link style, but thigh-highs could work well too

I'm leaning towards giving her long slender legs, but I want to do a bit of experimenting to see which works best

Also, I'm going to work on getting in some more gold trim here and there

[SnappedStrings]

Okay, here's costume comps for the torso.
I'll be back some other time with faces, arms, and legs


Let me know what you think of these costume types. Think of them as seperate pieces, rather than ensembles. Feel free to mix and match and tell me what you like from one thing, what might go better here or there, etc.

Have fun!


P.S. that last one is mainly for Toe :-P

[SnappedStrings]

So, here's some further reference. to give you an idea where the overall concept is going and most likely going to end up.

[SnappedStrings]

Here's more hair concept, since the last ones kind of sucked.

Everything is pretty much decided except for the hair, so if anyone has input/suggestions, speak now or forever hold your peace, haha

[BLTsndwch5]

this looks like its going to be really good

[SnappedStrings]

Okay, so here's the first WIPs of the modelling.
Had a helluva time with the face. I've never done modeling for anime-style characters before, so the proportions were a bit difficult to get a handle on.
I'm trying to make the lips a bit more pouty to give Linkette an overall feminine feel


I'll probably do the hair last because for one, the verdict is still out on the style, and for two, I have a hard time modeling it. Anyway, enjoy, I look forward to getting some feedback

[SnappedStrings]

Well, it's been a marathon modeling session, and I ended up with barely a triangle to spare. This heavy mesh weighs in somewhere around 8500 tris

Now, it's time to crash lol

Enjoy, let me know what you think, what could be improved, etc. Or remain as blissfully silent as you already have :-P

[Buzzy]

This is looking really nice so far. I'd like to see some wireframes.
Not much to say really, because I think its turning out very good.

Maybe her boobs could be a little rounder and perkier...they look a little odd right now... at least not how I'd expect them to look on a sexy anime elf girl.

Her feet seem rather rough and clunky. Perhaps you could make them sleeker and more refined.

In general, Link is an interesting choice. He is already so androgynous that he can very easily switch genders without changing anything in the design. Hell, he even wears a skirt. I'd like to see you really do something that makes this scream "feminine." Something a bit more dramatic than just adding boobs....like make the outfit pink...or give her a different sword (or different weapon altogether...something more feminine like a dagger or whip). Maybe a veil instead of a pointy hat. Anyway, you get the idea.

Good luck! I'm looking forward to seeing this textured.

[poopipe]

for example

fishnets and suspenders ;)

[Buzzy]

what he said.

[SnappedStrings]

Haha, okay, thanks for the great input guys :-)

I'll play around with some of your ideas

Right now I'm thinking of keeping the hat and adding to it, maybe working in some gems, a bit of jewelry, etc. And definately jazzing up the boots!

[SnappedStrings]

Okay, so I took off the boots and decided to replace them with these roman-style sandals, which I think will play quite nicely with Linkette

Also, I gave her a bit of a boob job and skinnied her up just a smidge

Someone requested a wireframe, so there you go. Like I said, it's a really heavy mesh haha, I think I pushed it to about 8900 tris

[SnappedStrings]

Anyone know of a good character texturing tutorial? Character texturing is just about the only thing I have trouble with when it comes to 3d

Any help would be mucho appreciated

[gegrazion]

hey man im the same ive never realy textured things b4 but i hope this helpes :)

heres a site for free wit loads a textures on http://www.cgtextures.com/

this is a hair texturing tut http://www.bobotheseal.com/vids/BoBo_Hair_Demo.swf

heres a guy on youtube, he has alot of vids so watch um he has alot on creting game characters hope this hleps :) http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Screenwriter805&view=videos

[gegrazion]

this just goes over a rough way of doing textures :) if i find more ill send them your way.

http://www.bobotheseal.com/Skinning_mini-tutorial_01.htm

[SnappedStrings]

Hey, thanks Gegrazion, much appreciated! :-)

Here's a guy I usually visit, he's got great tutorials for a variety of 3d related things. Most of them have a lot of practical application too

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/tutorial/tutorial.htm

[SnappedStrings]

Okay, so here's the latest update of Linkette

I'm not used to texturing characters via UVW Unwrap, so the work is going slower than I'd like

Anyway, I'm mainly posting this to get critiques on how it looks so far. (Don't pay much attention to the seems, I'm aware of them, and I will get around to them ;P)

People suggested before that I should change up the boots from the traditional link style, and I decided to try gladiator-style sandals. But I don't think they're working very well. And I'm not sure if I can make them work. But anyway, let me know if I should stick with the sandals or if I should switch back towards the traditional Link boots. That's the direction I'm leaning at this moment.

Enjoy!

[Itsgallus]

Good choice, and great work so far.....

lookin' foward to more updates.....


//cheers

[JarHeadRed]

love the textures! especially the sword and shield

[SnappedStrings]

Okay so here's the latest WIP on my character Linkette.

As you can see I've made some major changes and finished all the texturing on her. I got rid of the gladiator-esque boots and replaced them with the classic Link boots.

Hoping to get a good degree of critiques. I'm aware that I still have a lot to work on, your job is to tell me what that stuff is! Let me know - what works, what doesn't.

[BLTsndwch5]

this looks great!

[SnappedStrings]

Thanks for the compliment BLT!


I was just wondering, how are the rest of you guys posing your characters for the final shot? Because the only way I know is to rig it up, and I'm not really in the mood, but I will if I have to. If you guys are doing it another way, let me know, other wise I'll start biped rigging :-P

[Warlock 279]

Ya, looking good for sure. I'd say get some of the coloring like you have on the knees into the cheeks on the face etc. The clothing needs some wrinkles.

Here's a couple other suggestions, hope you don't mind my mucking about with your image. I'd suggest smaller for feet for sure, those are some Shaq-esque feet you've got goin' on now, not the dainty little elf feet she should have.

The face is up to you, I know you're going for a bit of a stylized look, but I feel the eyes are a bit too extreme at the moment, giving here a bit of a cross eyed look. The shadow under the bottom lip could probably stand to be a little lighter. [I didn't realize that was a shadow until after I did the paint-over, I thought it was just a really thick bottom lip.]

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w303/Warlock279/Mini%20Tutorials/SnappedStrings-LinkPaint_01.gif


The little issues I mentioned aside, its looking really good. Keep it up, this is gonna be a solid piece.



Most people will be rigging their characters to pose them.

[Buzzy]

This is the only time you will hear me endorse the use of Biped. If you are in a competition like this with a tight deadline and you need a quick pose, Biped is your friend. But, CAT is now available with newer versions of Max, rendering Biped as useful as your appendix.


In other news, I agree with Warlock. The eyes are pretty wild looking. The face in general makes her look like she got a facelift like Joan Rivers. And the feet are pretty clunky.

This is a really stupid comment and is not so much a critique of your work as much as an observation about fantasy art in general. Why does everyone put bracers on the outside of the forearm? (I do it too) That completely defeats their purpose - which is to protect your arm from your own bow string, NOT from enemy attacks. I'm not suggesting you should change it, I'm merely thinking out loud...or in type...or whatever.

[SnappedStrings]

The cross-eyedness was the result of her face being in "standard pose". The beauty render is supposed to have a facial morph showing the eyes with a different expression (pictured).

Also, I took your advice about changing the boots. They were a bit big, I made em like that to try and keep them in line with the Link proportions, but I think I let them get away from me. I sized them down like you said

And I cut down on the heavy shadow beneath the lower lip


I tried to add wrinkles like you suggested, however, I did something rather foolish when unwrapping and I only unwrapped half the body, using symmetry to duplicate the texture on the opposite side. Therefore, all the wrinkles I painted were perfectly mirrored on the other side, something which was painfully obvious. Unfortunately, I think this character will have to remain without wrinkles. Ahhh, well, live and learn I suppose


Thanks for the great crits, Warlock!

[SnappedStrings]

Haha, Buzzy, the bracer is an exact replica of the Link character design, blame Nintendo I guess :-P


And, what is CAT? I'm not aware of this

[Buzzy]

CAT is a rigging system like Biped. But infinately better in everyway.

[SnappedStrings]

Okay, so this will probably be my last update before the final render, unless anyone has some input

Here's Linkette, posed in all her glory

Let me know what you think! Comments and Criticisms are always more than welcome.

[Agent-X]

Looking pretty good there. Now time to work the crap out of the textures and make this piece shine.

[mies]

i really like ur model. thats the first thing second would be that u could defently improve ur pose. her head could be alittle down or al the way back, and her eyes seem to stare into nothing, they could be at the sword or even better would be close if shes pulling on the sword. u could also try putting 1 foot on the block and make her pull at it with al she got and u got urself a really really model there :) i specialy like ur textures. i hope mine will be half as good and id be super happy :)

[SnappedStrings]

Agent X, I don't think I can jazz up the textures anymore. I was going for a kind of symplified almost-cell-shaded-but-not-quite kind of look. And also, I think this is the extent of my current skill level. Maybe for the next challenge, I'll take the textures to a more realistic stage. Thanks for the critique!

Thanks for the compliments, Mies. I did what I could to make this next pose more dynamic. Personally, I still kind of like the first pose better, (Though I completely agree about the eyes)

Let me know what you guys think.

note: I'm aware of the small adjustments (smoothing groups, textures, etc.) that need to be made. This is just a test render for exploring the pose

[Quintonius]

Nice pose homie, but her left ankle looks kinda broken you might wanna align her knee a little more like the foot.

[Harbinger]

I agree with Quintonius. Though I think the problem is that you made the pedestal too big. Look back at the pedestal in OoT and TP. As far the pose go, I think you should take a picture of yourself (or a friend) in the pose you want her to be in and try to replicate that pose just so it can look believable. Other then that nice work.

[VinsanityV20]

Well, I was going to say something, but then I read more:) I was going to suggest you add some detail to the texture as well, but I won't now. HOWEVER, I will say this - I WAS going to point you towards this:

http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=296927

which are the Twilight Princess models, ripped from the game, in 3ds format. So y'know, you could look at the textures up close - it would be GREAT REFERENCE. Maybe it'll be helpful for next time though - I know I keep a bunch of Final Fantasy 10 rips on my hard drive viewable in XViewer for reference. Or is it FFX-2? Oh well, good reference is good reference - I was just pointing it out.

That being said. I like this. You worked fast - real fast, but it looks pretty good. It's just that the eyes are very Twilight Princess-y, but the texture overall isn't. I mean, it's cool that you did what you did - simple can be good, after all. The eyes just throw me off personally, it's not consistent with the simpler design.

Still, pretty good man!