Dominace War V-3D-Götterdämmerung -Puckducker

[Puckducker]

Alright, DW5 is finally underway! I had to miss out on the first 5 days, but I'm finally ready to start a move on my character.

I've really enjoyed seeing the "living mountain" type characters that have been in the past DW's (L3XICON fantastic DW3 entry being my favorite). It's an idea I've wanted to try out my own designs with for a while now, and this God theme gives me the perfect excuse.

I'd like to do something different than "giant dude with castle on head", I'm thinking of going less human design wise and more creature, maybe a-kin to the Colossi from Shadows of the Colossus.

My "living mountain" would be the site of an ancient battle, where two armies waged war upon the mountainside. The entire "body" of the colossus would show the history of the battle. The thing I'd like to show off the most with this character would be "ridiculous scale", I'd like the character to be by far the largest character in this year's DW, and to really show off that scale with as many details as I can.

I'm currently just collecting ref, and should hopefully begin thumb nailing tomorrow. And, yes, I will be listening to Wagner probably for this entire competition.

[miclepickle]

hehe... I like that picture.. :D...


and I like the idea but I am not sure how you would present the model without there being a landscape to put it in...

[chris_solo]

hmmm....another great project of you in perspective! looking forward the next...
good luck Puckducker!

[DaddyDoom]

Love the idea!

[Crispy4004]

Nice Puckducker! Can't wait to see what you come up with this year.

[RHedendahl]

Nice to see you again puck, will follow your thread, good luck.

[washka]

Nice to see you here for this one, I was wondering if you would enter da war.
Gl man, promising concept, seems it'll be a quantitatively big lill' details work.

[Puckducker]

Holy smokes, you know those weeks where you're just busy virtually every single day? That was my week this week, and it felt like every time I got a chance to sit down and work, I wasn't quite getting into the groove yet.

I feel pretty groovy now though, getting a rough concept down that I'm fairly happy with. I started out with some sil's, but wasn't very happy with them, especially given they were very difficult to try and show off any sense of scale I want to create.

So I ended up doing a concept that was a little more developed, and now the design is starting to catch for me. Still have a lot I'd like to do with it before I feel comfortable modeling, but the elements are in place now. I'd like for the top of this dude to be the full mountain/volcano range, with an entire city/village, and then below that he'll be made out of the core of the earth, potentially with a molten lava core at his center.

[washka]

7 or last one. This scale thing will be really important during your work.
The equilibrium onto the image too, you're playing with elements.

[Warlock 279]

I think you should be able to get a decent sense of scale with the town and all that. My only suggestion would be that I'd like him to be a little more creature and a little less "man with a volcano on his back". In that regard, I really like the concepts 5 and 6 in your silhouette sheets. If you're more comfortable with the human form tho go with that.

[koyima]

Will you be making him in pose?

[Puckducker]

washka: Agreed...actually, I'm hoping the lava flow from the volcano will let me do some fun things with making the scale feel huge.

Warlock 279: Yeah that was my original intention, but the concepts for the more "creature" looking ones were really lacking in that ethereal "god like" quality. Not that you need a human look to get the god look, but I feel like the bipedal upright character has a basic level of intelligence and sophistication everyone can easily relate to. I do agree that my guy is too humanoid at the moment, and I would like to push it more away from that.

koyima: Yeah, I think so, I'll probably pose him after I do a few initial modeling/sculpting passes.

I tried a run at a few head passes, specifically trying to get away from the human look. I think I really like the direction 5/6 is heading, the main distinction between the two being one is meant to be a definite "skull head" where the other is only meant to suggest a face as lava flows out of various cracks and holes in the mountainside. I think maybe trying to bring in some of the structure of head 2 as well could provide good results.

[capitan_popo]

definitely go with number 5 in my opionion!

[washka]

5,6 too

[DeadlyFreeze]

I think 6 is getting there, it's got a face but it fits more organically into the whole structure. It not just a head slapped on like some of the others.

He's also going need something to reference his scale. Take the background out when you look at him, he could be small as a pebble with out the reference of the mountains behind him.

[Pockets]

I really am digging number 5, the skull on that looks real badass. As for scale it looks like you have tiny buildings populated his mountainous torso, which is a wonderful idea in terms of scale and making it looks like he just ripped himself out of the terrain. Looks great so far, keep going!

[Whitewidow]

Liking the concept a lot, particularly the last one.

[GoodAtom]

possible be useful
watch this topic
http://cgsculpt.org/sculpt/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=455&start=30

[mix_mash]

5 and 6 are pretty good. I don't mind 2 either. In most cases, I think that human faces are more god-like. But, for this design based on his sheer power and size, I think a less human face is more suitable.

Paul
(mix_mash)

[washka]

I also remember there was some nice tutorial on 3dtotal with some big inferno/lava golem.

[koyima]

To be honest: I would suggest a few more head designs. Rest looks promising.

I'd say a combo of 1 and 5 would be the root to go

[Puckducker]

Thanks for the comments, I think the lava dripping skull head is the winner.

Kept working up the concept today and got it to something I'm pretty happy with. I feel like the component of the village/city, is going to be something I'll solve more in 3D, but I'm happy with the current layout.

The only thing I can't quite figure out is how to get the 3Dtotal logo in there without it feeling too contrived.

DeadlyFreeze: I was hoping the city and the volcano was going to give a lot of opportunities for scale reference. I've been trying to come up with a few more idea's to help establish this, probably even toss in a few small birds flying around the mountain.

GoodAtom: Thanks a lot for posting that Atom, that's some great reference. Hopefully I can make my own design stand out from this guy.

washka: That'd be great to see. Any idea where that tutorial might be? I tried browsing around the tutorial section this morning, but couldn't find anything like that.

[hulahuga]

Great potential with this project man!

Will be a ton of texture work though... ;P

[Warlock 279]

Looks much better now. This is gonna look awesome in 3D.

For the logo, I'd use cracks from the volcano to form it, have lava running thru it, etc if you wanna be clever with it, or smack it right on his forehead if you wanna be obvious with it. You could always lay the town out in the form of the logo as well.

[washka]

The lava work is great on this one (3d creative), I don't know if the tuto is good, I've just seen the image:
http://shop.3dtotal.com/magazines/3dcreative-magazine/3dcreative-issue065-jan-2011-download-only.html

[Puckducker]

Thanks for the comments guys

hulahuga: Yeah, I'm trying to work out the best route to go for on texturing. The character itself shouldn't be too bad, but the amount of detail I'll be able to do for the village/city is going to be tricky to nail down.

Warlock 279: I was thinking something along those lines, but I thought that might end up looking silly. Might have to experiment with the city, I might be able to get away with doing something there for a logo.

washka: Wow, cheers that's actually a perfect walkthrough, I had completely forgot about that one. Glad I have an active subscription for 3DCreative.

[washka]

Just make it godly epic and I'll support you all da way. :D

[hulahuga]

You could try some sort of greeble but then it would be more futuristic looking...

A realistic stylee would be awesome but perhaps have a bit more cartoonish feel to it with say a giant windmill or something on top would be easier to do :D Would loose the entire feel though ;P

[LemonW]

oh it is a evil god. looks nice. keep going.

[BiG ToE-3DT]

I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to watch you work.

[Puckducker]

hulahuga: Hmm, greeble might be an interesting thing to try out. Even if just for the initial visualization of how the buildings should be placed. I do like the idea of a windmill too, I'm going to try to do as many visually interesting buildings as I can, rather than just stick to generic cubes (though, they'll make up a good portion of the filler)

LemonW: Thanks man. I feel like he's more like a Titan/Colossus, but I feel that's pretty squarely in "god-like" territory.

BiG ToE-3DT: Cheers, absolutely, the more the better. I'm pretty happy that this character has a bit more of an interesting foundation to it than the characters I've made in the past, who were typically just in the "bad ass armor" school of design.

[koyima]

The Titan King Kronos was actually Zeus's father (which Zeus killed), so father to God is pretty high in the food chain.

[washka]

Found the Nemesis brother of your god:
http://www.gameartisans.org/forums/showthread.php?t=19523

[Crispy4004]

Nah, Puckducker's looks like hell raising from earth, whereas that other one looks like a stoney Tree Ent. ;)

[capitan_popo]

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh yeaaah!

[koyima]

So I would suggest the focus is on the volcanic nature of the concept so there is contrast between the two gods.

[washka]

It's 2D, so it doesn't really matter.
I know Puckducker'll kick his *ss, he already got da war in da sack. :D

[Puckducker]

I will break HIIIMM.....well, I suppose it's 2D, so I can probably use it as awesome ref. Thanks a lot for posting up that thread Washka.

Worked up a pretty basic basemesh to bring into zBrush later. Not too concerned with the overall shape right now. I'm thinking I'm going to do the majority of the sculpting with the character posed, given he's going to be fairly asymmetrical. Makes it tough to work out a good basemesh since I'd like to work mirrored for as long as I can.

[washka]

There is another reference (sorry I found it while doing other research, it was pure luck) you could go see:

=> CGsculpt => challenge => Boss Battle => The Yellowstone beast.
The themes are more zombie and demon like, but the sculpting's worth da visit, and he's got a volcano onto his back.

[Puckducker]

Again, coming up with some killer ref Washka. Actually I believe that's the same sculpt GoodAtom pointed me to before, but it is a pretty perfect piece of ref.

Did some sketching in Zbrush tonight trying to see if I can sculpt some mountany/rocky forms that have a feeling of scale to them. Not sure quite how successful I feel like I was, but it was a good exercise. I'm going to really need to pay attention to the simple slopes and forms of the mountain when I go forward.

[washka]

Now with such good ref. , you can't do anything else than a killer entry, no excuses. :evil:

[Puckducker]

First update on the sculpt. I started off sculpting mirrored but quickly abandoned that since the shape and form I want for this guy isn't exactly symmetrical.

So I quickly threw him into a rough pose and started sculpting away. Very early stuff but I'm pretty happy with the overall shape at this point.

It should be noted that the legs and particularly the feet will be less recognizable as I plan to sorta have them be more melted molten lava rather than full formed and defined legs.

[washka]

You've got the same problem than me with legs conformation.
You'll understand soon enough. :D

[Puckducker]

Update. Got most of the forms at least blocked in....not entirely satisfied with everything, but for the moment it's nice to just to have some stuff there to build on.

The skull head I'd like to integrate more into the design as the shape of the mountain continues to evolve.

The city/birds are just there for a temp to give me a good scale reference to sculpt with. The actual scale of the city might be different in the end.

[paulius-st]

this is starting to take shape :) . looks great so far .ceep it coming :)

[drained spirit]

wow, what a pose. You have a brought a sense of domination in your entry. good luck :)

[hulahuga]

I think there is a mudbox tutorial out there that describes a very good way to do rocks....
Google it...

But in general it is all basically a principle of using a scrape/polish brush with a layered alpha, in a sort of rock face like way, and use it with a randomization modifier whilst going at it with a slight stamp space :)

[wil_himura]

Great work, I'd love following your WIP from now on :)

[washka]

Maybe arm that gonna punch bigger and more mountain shaped (like the back).

[Bge]

pretty pose! He will destroy everything!!!

[Joseph Pomeisl]

neat idea and execution thus far; keep it up:D as far as the competition side of things go: it kinda is more a scene, rather than a game character (being built in that pose and such) that being said, it's certainly no reason to stop or change now - best wishes.

[GoodAtom]

I think your character needs default 'pose,
and then pose in dynamics
good luck man;)

[LemonW]

ha. funny model. it will really to be an evil god

[Puckducker]

Thanks for the comments guys. Here's the latest update. Still have lots to do, especially regarding the legs and how it transitions from rocky surface to a more liquidy one. Also, now that I have the city in place I'll need to play around with the scale some, as well as sculpt the mountain around the buildings a bit better.

I added in a quick paintover of the lava as well. I've been doing these paint-overs from time to time because it's been really tough to tell what the head's going to look like without being able to see how the bright lava will change the look. Still more to do but happy with the overall progress.

hulahuga: Yeah I've been experimenting with a few different techniques. I've got several different styles of rock across this dude, so it's nice to have a few different ways to make different looking rocks.

washka: I agree, I did adjust the size of the arm slightly, but with the buildings added on top it ended up giving it a lot more mass regardless.

Joseph Pomeisl: Hey Joseph, good to hear from you! Yeah, I've been kinda treating the character more as a scene, and it'll only go more in that direction now that the city is in place. I'm going to try and make sure the actual low poly model is setup as well as it can be for an animatable/riggable character, but for the sculpt this is the only way I felt comfortable getting the look I was going for.

GoodAtom: I did initially start with a default pose, but it became very difficult to get the shapes I wanted, given how I know I wanted the guy posed. I needed to get him into a basic position I was happy with before I really started getting into the sculpt. I'm going to try and setup the low poly model well enough that it could potentially be rigged/animated though, but I don't think I'll ever have this guy in a full T-Pose.

[wil_himura]

I'd love to see a train falling from that bridge :)
Great work mate, this entry is gonna be impressive

[MemoNick]

Amazing work, most original design I've ever seen! Keep this up and you will do really well!

[Pockets]

I saw this leaned in and said "hooooo crap"

looking really great man, i love it!

[washka]

Nice work man, getting nice. About central volcano, some large crack maybe? Up arm even bigger and higher, big-big weight mood.

[Edit] If you flip legs position (just mirror left/right), it could work better. (dynamics) I'm not sure, test if you can/want.

[Warlock 279]

Very cool stuff so far. I'd say something useful, but you seem to have things in hand, so that is all, carry on.

[Puckducker]

Cheers, thanks for the comments guys.

washka:Yeah, big cracks are a must on that volcano, still needs a lot more work there. I actually tried out the pose you suggested initially but wasn't feeling it. In the end I got down on my floor and took the pose myself to see what felt the most natural and dynamic.

[aUGIS]

Very good looking god.

[Warlock 279]

I support your choice on the leg positioning. If you switch them, then its more like he's "taking a knee," as you have it now it definitely reads more as "rising up."

[newhere]

looking good.....keep it up.

[washka]

In the end I got down on my floor and took the pose myself to see what felt the most natural and dynamic.

That's really funny because I exactly just did the same on my room just before to post this comment. xD xD xD

[wil_himura]

I'm loving it :P

now seriously, are you gonna put some vegetation on that volcano too? I'd like to check how would you do that ^^

[pappete1]

great pose! love it!

[GregStrangis]

This is great! Reminds me of the guardians from Darksiders. Maybe you can add some rune markings and such around him and have them with a glow map in the end.

[Puckducker]

Cheers guys. I like the idea of the runes Greg, I might end up adding something along those lines by the end.

Update on the sculpt, just about done with it, though I still want to refine a few things. I ended up sculpting the lava in, though it's hard to differentiate without the glow, but I wanted to include it in the sculpt. Might end up changing it slightly during texturing, but the form is sitting nicely for me.

[washka]

Getting hot here, I see houses so I was thinking about the fact you could also add a few trees/trunks, or some vegetal thingies.

[Warlock 279]

Coming out aces sir!

Careful with the rippling on the legs, right now they're all about the same size and equidistant apart.

Very very cool.

[hulahuga]

Looking really good now.

Jut wondering, have you done anything with the matcap for those bluish tones or is it a filter or smething on top?

[Cordero]

looking really good so far!

keep it up!

[koyima]

Everything is great, except the fact that I can't really make out the face.

[Puckducker]

Ah, after a brief hiatus, finally able to continue progress. Have the low poly of the sculpt finally put together. Ended up at 8822 tri's, which works well enough for me for now. That will leave me just under 4000 for the buildings and additional elements that will be on alpha cards (tree's, fire, debris)

The bake will come tomorrow

washka: Yep, that's the plan. Don't think I'll be able to pull off much more than sparse vegetation, but there probably shouldn't be a large forest growing on the side of a volcano anyways.

Warlock 279: Good eye sir, I'll definitely fix that in the final sculpt before I bake

hulahuga: It's just using a normal bronze matCap and then I just tinted it blue in photoshop afterwords

koyima: Thanks, I agree about the face, but I feel the glowing lava elements are what's going to bring it together visually....I hope.

[washka]

With all those lill' details you're going to have a lot of fun with textures, orfevrery. :D

A few "cold" burned trunk => without branches. Some more details on the legs (kill a lill' bit repetition of lava waves there, and care scale compared to shoulder, like the details on the shoulder with the lill' lava waves, some lava could go above the houses)

Just tracks man, I know you're on baking part, kiu!

[Martin_x]

Great entry. Will he be able to move?/ Are you going to rig him at all?

[Puckducker]

Finally found the time to post an update

Here's the model with baked normals and the start of my diffuse texture. Next up, have to paint in some lava!

Martin_x: Unfortunately I'll be keeping him in this pose for the competition. His upper half is entirely possible to rig, but because of his melty lava legs, his lower half wouldn't deform too convincingly.

[hulahuga]

Looks like a good start on the diffuse!

Make sure to add some vines and stuff as you go :)

[mix_mash]

Where's the logo?

Paul
(mix_mash)

[newhere]

:) glad to see it colored but your missing the logo.

[wil_himura]

It's nice to see you are still up with this great piece! Im having troubles with team colors and logo, any plan for yours?
You've got a nice challenge there with the lava, gluck!!

[TMNI VISION]

Great job . Waiting for some glowing lava effect. Color looks great :).

[GoodAtom]

good job, be sure to make trees and grass near the building.
this will make the character more interesting in color, and add the presence of life

good luck;)

[mix_mash]

good job, be sure to make trees and grass near the building.
this will make the character more interesting in color, and add the presence of life

good luck;)

Actually, considering that this thing spews lava and that lava is probably the things that pulses throughout this thing's body, I doubt that there would be many 'living' things on him, especially if he gives off heat.

Now that you mention it, most of the building on him should be burnt or smouldering because of the lava.

Paul
(mix_mash)

[YoungStatic]

looking horrifically awesome

[Puckducker]

Thanks for the comments guys. The logo I've been struggling with trying to integrate through the entire design....still not quite sure how I'll fit it in, in a way that makes sense. I'll have to figure something out.

Here's the update with some lava....more to work on balancing the elements out, but I'm happy with the direction so far.

mix_mash: Yep, I'm still planning on burning down most of the buildings in my next pass.

[Vitrux]

Puckducker, Haven´t seen your Good Before!! what a shame, :(

This is brilliant! ! Nice work ! :dance:

[newhere]

Maybe have the lava form the logo on his left shoulder.

[hulahuga]

I have an idea!

Why not making the logo melt on his back or something like that? A sort of lava pattern, that would be a nice way to do it...

[Pockets]

really, very nice! i love this.
the only bad thing i have to say about this is the pedestal: it looks a lot lower res than the god itself and it takes away from the overall image.

[TMNI VISION]

looks great man !!! wats the tricount . Any chance of wireframe.

[Puckducker]

Cheers guys thanks for the comments. Finished up the model/texturing here and did a preliminary lighting pass. I think I'll probably end up toning it down a bit for the final image it's coming off a little loud right now.

The final poly count is 12500 dead on. I was about 1000 over after building the low poly, but waited until I finished texturing and and all the elements in the scene before I optimized it down to the required level.

Wish I could do something better with the logo than just placing it on one of the towers, but I really can't find any suitable place to put it on my character. Having the lava form the logo doesn't sit right design wise for me. My only other thought was to have it carved into the mountain, but any attempt at that still made it feel out of place. I'll be sure to have a few good close ups of the city so that the logo is clearly viable in the final images.

[capitan_popo]

WOW MAN looking great!!! am seeing everybody is at the finishing stages wish I would ahve been able to finish...this is looking really really good man..gonna have a hard time voting!!

[Vitrux]

Don't know if you like it but maybe you could do something like this in the diffuse map and include it in the normal. Of course with the proper perpective... Just a simple idea.

[mix_mash]

Gratuitous placement of the logo but this turned out awesome, man.

Well done and I hope you do well in the comp.

Cheers,
Paul
(mix_mash)

PS: It looks more visible on the tower. If you place it on his back, it won't be visible enough to warrant what team you are on. Well, that's what I think anyway.

[Vladimir Yarmolik]

Very very cool !

[TMNI VISION]

awesome job .

[Martin_x]

Looks beautiful. Great job!

[Puckducker]

Here are the finals. I'll be submitting them later tonight, but I wanted to post them up first just to make sure I'm not missing anything

[Bge]

great job! good luck Man!:dance::dance::dance:

[washka]

Great one.
I'm not a big fan of da big towers, and some more focus onto da head (sorry I was away, late useless comments), but I will repeat myself: overall OrFeVeRy work!!!

Details on those houses man...(when I see the tex size that's not fair)...and lightning, amazing work, impressive texturing.
Good luck with the judging step!
That's another good war for you.

[hulahuga]

Great final there man, really dig how it all came out all way through!

Only thing that might bother me is the color of the lava running from his mouth, seems a bit to clean pink/red...

[Puckducker]

Cheers for the comments guys. Really happy to have this all wrapped up. Definitely lots more that I wish I could have addressed with this guy but overall I'm very pleased with the end result.

Thanks again for the critiques over the last few months and hopefully I'll see you all around again for the next competition (maybe not Dwar, but something always comes around)

[wil_himura]

Impressive Main image, the focus on the town and lava details say a lot to me. Great detail, better concept and design! hehe one of the most original entries I've seen till now. And the design/idea-result ratio is almost perfect.

[Martin_x]

Congrats. Very beutiful work! And good luck!

[TMNI VISION]

Impressive Main image, the focus on the town and lava details say a lot to me. Great detail, better concept and design! hehe one of the most original entries I've seen till now. And the design/idea-result ratio is almost perfect.
Agree.

Man Good luck with the voting :) .

[wil_himura]

Hey mate!! Congratulations!

http://www.dominancewar.com/2010/main/dwvchampions.php

It was a great model, matched greatly the subject.

Great work! 3dTotal had a few rewards after all ;)

[Puckducker]

Holy smokes, can't believe I got placed so high up! Some unreal characters in the competition this year.

Thanks for the comments, this is definitely a great way to finish off the year!

[RHedendahl]

Yeah, gz mate.

[Neil_F01]

congrats on the third... :D

[washka]

Congrats Puckducker, now you're a DWV AWC! (remember it!)


I don't understand first 2D position, while followers seems quite better.
Maybe there is something I'm missing.

First 3D place bimbo is "imba" and it's an amazing work but it's quite the same theme than last year... It's killing a bit the aura.
Liked the russian one but he's far away on followers. :'(

Nice entries, congrats to all participants!

[Martin_x]

Congrats man! Well deserved. Your entry came out realy beautifully.

[TMNI VISION]

Congrats man :) .

[poopipe]

Richly deserved, and nice to see something a bit different in the top places. very well done indeed mate

[Vitrux]

CONGRATULATIONS GUYS ! ! ! ! ! :dance::dance::dance::dance:

[Crispy4004]

Congratulations Puckducker! Glad to see your hard work getting recognized. At 3rd too! Well deserved.

[prosn]

Congratulations bro......well deserved :)

[hulahuga]

Gratz man!!! =)

[Tom-3DT]

congrats!!!!! and please claim the very rare 'platinum eye' award for your achievement!

[Puckducker]

Cheers all, thanks for the comments and the encouragement throughout pretty much all 3 of the last Dominance Wars. I'm glad I could do 3dtotal proud!

[MonteCristo]

Go you, Mr smartypants! Big congratulations on bagging 3rd. Great character, and hell, you get extra marks from me for making something that actually looked godlike. :)

Nice one. Merry Xmas!