The Main Character - Texturing the Outfit

After sculpting all the different models for the outfit in zBrush, I used xNormal to generate  Normal, AO, and Object Space Normal maps. I needed these maps for dDO, the program I planned to do my textures in.

I needed one more map, however, which was a color id map.

This map was to act as a mask for the different materials I wanted on my model. I used photoshop to make one.

I made this by using the UVW map as a guide, then blocking in with flat colours, the different materials I wanted on the different part of the model. Each colour would act as its own material mask.

Once that was done, I linked all the maps I generated into dDO and generated a base for my model.

Then all I had to do was pick a material, then link it to the colour that I wanted.

I simply repeated this until I had all the materials placed in their appropriate places.

I was very pleased with the speed of the results from dDo. I still plan to work on the textures more, but for now, I believe its best to keep moving on with the model and not get hung on small details until its done.

The Main Character - Head pt2

For this task I was focused on improving the head sculpt, and attempting to the sculpt hair as an actual model, as opposed to relying on the fibermesh and planes.

I began afresh with the latest low poly head that I had.

My main goal of the sculpt was to make him look younger, and less stern than he currently did in the previous sculpt.

I began by just making some light and minor adjustments to his features, such as bringing out his cheek bones and adam's apple more.

The difficulty was putting in enough detail on the sculpt, but not over doing it so it looked to worn and wrinkled, making him look too old.

I also made a start on actually sculpting a mesh of hair onto his head, using the claybuild up brush.

However, I realized this would look too plastic-like/fake for the type of hair we wanted to go for, on our character, so I scrapped this particular sculpt and started afresh.

I decided to instead just sculpt a thin layer of hair onto his scalp, to act as a falloff/back up texture for when I would be alpha planes on his head later.

I added some small details to the mesh at the end such as the eyebrows.

I still personally think the sculpt could use more work, but I feel it is better than the previous one. The character looks younger, and somewhat more full of life.

I think the areas of improvement are definitely the eyes and ears, but I plan return to this later, for the time being, I wanted to focus on setting up the pipeline for the textures.

The Main Character - Sculpting the Bare Arm, Boots and Hands

For the next stage of sculpting I was finishing off the rest of the clothing.

Once again I used zBrush, I started with the arm this time.

I wanted to increase the arm's musculature:

I used the claybuild up brush, to increase the mass and add definition.

I also added extra details such as veins with the standard brush.

Once again I didn't add texture to the sculpt, as I wanted to use dDo for those details.

I went in and further exaggerated the shape and size of the arm as well, until I was satisfied with its size.

For the boots I once again used the wrinkle brushes, I used on the other clothes:

I also used a seam alpha and the standard brush, to create a seam/change of material around the center of the boot. I tried to align the wrinkles with where the boot strap's are going to sit.

For the hands, I seperated the fingers from the gloves. This was so I can avoid sculpting on the wrong part of the model, and to avoid bleeding when baking the normals.

I started with the palm/glove part of the hand first:

I used the wrinkle brush for the gloved part of the hand, creating wrinkles where the leather stretches. For the brass bolts, I used a greebo alpha on a high intensity to help sharply raise the surface. And finally I used a seam brush to, well, create the seams.

For the fingers, I only really concentrated on bringing out the nails, as detail wise they would rarely been seen. I masked the area of where I wanted the fingernail. Then simply raised the surface.

Finally I bounced the details back to a lower subdivision, and sent it back to 3ds max:

I'm enjoying working in zBrush.

Although obviously I'm still learning, I'm discovering new tools and new ways to increase my general work flow. For improvement, I think I could of spent a bit more time in the arm. Perhaps more time on refining its silhouette and giving it a bit more of an edge in areas that protrude.

The Main Character - Hair pt1

I wanted to approach the character's hair by making it more realistic, and less stylized than before.

I felt that in our test model, and previous characters I've made, the hair has looked too blocky and almost like plastic.

I started off by experimenting with the fibermesh options inside zBrush.

I began by masking off and grouping certain parts of the character's scalp. I then clicked on the fibermesh tool and generated some hair.

I used the groom hair ball tool to ball, the hairs up into their different groups, so that they would be easier to style.

I then followed this by using the various grooming tools to help style the hair how I wanted.

I then exported the hair and sent it into 3dsmax.

In its current state, however, the hair was way too high poly to be used in a game engine. I instead used a tool to convert it to splines, which I could then use in conjunction with 3ds Max's built in hair plugin to create some low poly hair planes.

I still tweaked and moved the planes until I was happy with their overall layout. 

Using xNormal I attempted to bake the high poly fibermesh into the low poly plane's textures.

However, the result was messy and I couldn't really get the result I desired:

I think this method, although interesting to learn, is not really a worthwhile one to pursue. I find it too messy and confusing and overall I was not happy with the results.

I think in future, it would be worth investigating creating a low poly mesh first from the head, then add planes as an extra detail afterwards.

The Main Character - Sculpting the Clothes

In order to get the sufficient detail I wanted in our character's outfit, I decided to use zbrush to sculpt the clothes and to alter the geometry overall.

When I was happy with my base meshes, I sent them off to zbrush.

I started sculpting the trousers first as I felt that they needed the most attention in terms of wrinkle and detail.

I started with the stand brush and dam standard brushes trying to cut into the geometry.

However I really wasn't too happy with the results I was getting.

I ended up downloading some alphas for cloth wrinkles and gave it another shot.

The alphas were really helpful as they created realistic folds off the bat, I just had to think realistically of where to place them. I also used the Move tool, to pullout some of the bagginess of the leg mesh.

I did not bother adding any texture to the material, as I intended to use dDO to create my textures, which would add texture to the normal maps. I did not wish to interfere with that, by adding my own texture to the sculpt.

I followed the same method with the sleeve:

Thankfully I already had some creases in the actual the mesh, so this proved helpful when it came to the positioning and the placement of the wrinkles.

I repeated this method with the tunic:

In this case I wanted there to be a clear difference in the material, between the cloth wrap and tunic. I used a hard edged buildup brush to create the edges along the cloth wrap. I also used the move tool to bring out the wrinkles and indent on the shoulder, where his belt strap will rest.

I had to consider the same things for the tunic's coat tails. I placed more emphasis on the top wrinkles as that will be where the belt and cloth wraps.

I didn't go too much into detail, as we will be using Unity 5's cloth physics to animate the coat tails. This will create dynamic wrinkles in the mesh.

Once I was happy with the detail I put into the outfit, I used the same method as I did on the face, to bounce the detail back into a lower subdivision of the mesh, before sending it back to 3ds Max.

I enjoyed spending more time in zBrush, I feel now that I have a better grasp of the tools I can really work on detailing my models. 

I think in future, I would like to experiment more with the subtools and having everything as one mesh, rather than working on everything one piece at a tool.

The Wurm - Concept Art

Taking a break from the character modelling I decided to do some concept work and designs for the Worm/Wurm creature in our game.

Initially the Wurm was a concept for a boss in one of the earlier pitches for our game:

The player was to navigate a dark tunnel, whilst slowly being pursued by him. The player would have to use their lantern to illuminate the area, and to shine the light to stun the boss as well.

However as we began game development this was one of the first ideas we had to scrap, due to time constraints.

Instead we decided to include the Wurm as almost a environment piece - he would appear now and then throughout the game, to either destroy something in his path like a bridge, or act as an obstacle for the player - rather than a fully coded boss or enemy.

I began by doing producing a small moodboard with sketches and images of worm-like creatures:

I ended up taking an interest in the different forms of the worms' mouths. I wanted to make this the focal point of the monster to represent treachery and danger to the player.

I began with a rough gesture sketch to get a general shape and idea for the monster:

I used a piece of artwork of a giant worm I found as a reference to the general shape and stance of the model.

As I continued gesture sketching I decided to start bringing out the shapes further. I wanted the Wurm to have a rocky shell/carapace on its head and back to mimic the desert and mountainous environment he was in.

As I continued to refine the creature I wanted to more focus on his mouth, opting for spiky and jagged edges - almost like a crocodile, I felt this design was a strong way to reflect danger to the player.

When I was finished gesture sketching, I went over the sketch again on a seperate layer, this time focusing only on the linework.

I did this so I could prepare it for painting and adding value.

Once the line work was finished, I painted inside it and used it as a guide to create my silhouette of the creature.

The silhouette was to act as my darkest shadow, as well as to provide the form for the creature and give me a base to work from.

I then decided to establish a background, using cloudy brushes and choosing colours to represent a desert environment.

I picked my values from 90% black to about 20% black and placed them as a value chart on a separate layer.

I used the 90% black value to begin adding my value, concentrating on the parts that would be illuminated by the light source.

I then moved onto 80% black:

Here I started using it a bit more sparingly, only on the areas that I thought would be hit by the light.

I used the 70% black even more sparingly:

Once again only using it to begin establishing my highlights.

Once I was content with the values I decided to add colour.

I worked on only blocking in the base colours, on the different parts of the Wurm.

I used a selection of different brushes to add colour variation to the Wurm, so that the colours did not appear too flat.

After I was happy with the colour variation, I used a white brush on a overlay layer to add some additional highlights:

I carried on using a white brush to add finishing details and touches to the concept art:

I was quite pleased with this small project of designing the Wurm. I do enjoy drawing despite it not being my strongest skill. And I feel I have found a workflow I am more comfortable with. I think with more practice and carrying on with this workflow, I could really improve my overall drawing and presentation skills for concepting characters and monsters.

I think my area of improvements should definitely be on focusing on blending my values more, and being braver when it comes to adding highlights. I should practice drawing silhouettes more to convey more interesting designs.

The Main Character - Head pt1

I started focusing on trying to make the character's face look more youthful. I started with the base mesh I already had, and attempted to tweak it in 3ds max.

I found this to be somewhat tedious and frustrating so instead I sent the model into zbrush and started sculpting it in there.

After subdividing the base mesh several times, I mainly used the clay build up brush to add more detail to the face, and to alter its general structure.

After experimenting for a while, I decided to send it back to 3dsmax. To ensure optimization I lowered the subdivision levels back down, and found that it kept the changes I made, just at a lower resolution.

Although I'm still far from happy with how the head looks at the moment, I am quite excited to continue this process in zbrush. I'm still learning the program, but its definitely interesting to see how quickly I can get a result through sculpting then lowering the subdivisions back down.

I feel as I practice more with the program, I can definitely speed up my workflow and produce higher quality results.

The Main Character - Gloves

For the gloves I decided to use some references I found on pinterest and etsy.

This is because in the character concept art - there's not a lot of detail on the gloves themselves, so I decided it would be best to find some more detailed references.

For the carapace glove I based it off the design below:

Constructing it was fairly simple. I extruded and detached parts of the lower arm, then used the extrude tool to help build up the different carapace layers.

For the metal bolts sticking out of the mesh, I decided it would be best to sculpt these later on in zbrush and have them in the normal map.

For the other glove I decided to go with the following rawhide glove design:

I approached this in the same manner as the carapace gloves, by extruding and cloning a part of the arm.

I decided to mirror the actual hand as well, so that the glove part was on both hands.

I continued to use the extrude tool to bring out the different straps, and bulkier parts of the glove.

Much like the bolts on the carapace glove, I plan to sculpt them in zbrush as part of the normal map.

So far I'm fairly happy with the progress of the gloves, though I feel alot of the detail will come from the sculpting and textures. I will need to focus on these in particular to push the detail of the model.