Action Hero - Damage

[maxinkuk]

Action Hero challenge - WIP thread by Massimiliano Calo'

The background of Damage:

Damage lives in a post-apocalyptic world and stands for the small man.
After the final war the WMU (World Military Union) rules the world and lives of the plunging of the defenseless human communities that live on the inhabited islands.
But a couple of scientists working for the WMU and horrified by the results of their work run away carrying with them the weapon they were working on: the prototype of a genetically engineered fighter that they love as if he was their child, which in a way actually is.
They live on a submarine and from there they coordinate the action of Damage by hacking into the WME system and passing on the information gathered over to Damage.
His final goal is that of killing the members of the world's military Junta and take control of the army, but to do so he must first demoralize the troops, so he's on a constant action of sabotage and terror. Many in the army admire him and occasionally mutinies happen.
Damage has a mix of high and low tech gear that looks a bit home made because of the scarcity of resources in the post-apocalyptic world.
He travels fast thanks to two jet propellers attached over his shoulders, he uses them either in the water to accelerate his swimming or over the surface where he rides a tiny surf board, the board locks tidily on his back when he doesn't use it. He can fly, but only for very short distances as this uses a lot of fuel.
He's completely fearless and just better than anybody else at everything physical like resistance, responsiveness, sense of balance and so on, he also has an exceptional resistance to shocks, this allows him to propel himself at high speed against his enemies and be the only one to survive the impact.
He also has the advantage of constant information updates on his opponents' moves.
His main weapon is the multi-purpose tech-glove that he uses like a hammer when at close range but that can also shoot an harpoon that comes also handy when he needs to climb up ships or buildings.

Damage-page.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118171%27,%27Damage-page.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[Teyon]

Interesting. A bit on the bulky side - kind of like the early Iron Man was - but there's potential. Good luck!

[SolidSnakexxx]

The initial sketch reminds me of the Rocketeer but with very interesting mix of various arsenal. I think the character's going to be cool with great weapons. Look forward to seeing it :)

[C-Mad]

...He's completely fearless and just better than anybody else at everything physical like resistance, responsiveness, sense of balance and so on, he also has an exceptional resistance to shocks, this allows him to propel himself at high speed against his enemies and be the only one to survive the impact.
He also has the advantage of constant information updates on his opponents' moves.
His main weapon is the multi-purpose tech-glove that he uses like a hammer when at close range but that can also shoot an harpoon that comes also handy when he needs to climb up ships or buildings.GREAT description of the character and his power! The one phrase that particularly jumped out to my eye, was the "sense of balance." That REALLY opens up the action pose for you, since a hyper-sensitive sense of balance would allow you to pose him with some extreme body contortions, if needed, to better emphasize his cool tech-glove. It will be interesting to see the different poses you will be able to set for this character.

Great start!
~OM

[maxinkuk]

Thanks guys and girls,

Teyon, he's a big boy indeed, maybe because I imagined him as I was swimming at the pool, so Micheal Phelps was probably the original "base-mesh". Like him he has solid breakfasts, food is energy and he needs lots of it to do more damage. That's also why he pretty much looks like he's wearing some kind of light swimsuit, an element that I think will stay, only evolving in terms of design, it's also consistent with the saboteur commando type of action.

SolidSnakexxx, yes, Rocketeer is pretty much there among the models, I like that kind of old look technology with lots of copper strips and rivets, they're funny, that's the style his gear will be.

C-Mad, indeed. I did think his powers and gear according to what would allow me more flexibility with the posing. I intend to exploit the full potential;) .

[JEQ]

What can I say? He surfs!

[maxinkuk]

Here's the basemesh, very quick ZSpheres frame, odd but functional, no need to spend more time there. Now straight into sculpting that's where the real fun is.
The idea is to now sculpt a correct anatomy and facial features and then retopologize all to reach a mesh that can be posed with ease.
Damage-basemesh.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118190%27,%27Damage-basemesh.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[Teyon]

Makes sense to me and your building with ZSpheres! Sweet. :)

[C-Mad]

There is NO way I could even attempt this contest, if we couldn't use Z-Spheres!

Good basic body, Maxinkuk! You'll be busy for awhile with the accessories...
~OM

[Slosh]

You know what I like best about your concept? That Damage, in the post-apocolyptic world, has limited resources to build and power his suit. It lends itself to all sorts of interesting ideas for what he chose to use to build his weaponry. Your concept gives me an idea (for later, after the contest) for a forum challenge. But I won't jack your thread with it. Good ideas, and good luck....:tu: :)

[maxinkuk]

Teyon thanks, there's enough for the sculpt, if you know that you'll retopologize you don't need to worry much about what comes out of ZSpheres. A lump with enough geometry whee you need it.

Thanks C-Mad, yes, thee's a lot of stuff to model there so I better get on with it now becasue when work calls I normally just jump so there won't be always spare time to do this.

Slosh, I'm very glad you appreciate the concept, but to hear that in turn it inspires you further is pure delight.

[maxinkuk]

The Damage is taking shape.
Progress-2-basic-sculpt.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118211%27,%27Progress-2-basic-sculpt.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[scottleroc]

WOW you know what they say about guys with big hands :D

[maxinkuk]

:lol: , well, he's genetically engineered, so why not!

[scottleroc]

Great answer, made me laugh :D

Will keep an eye on the progress and wish I had been genetically engineered :lol:

[MGebhart]

Very nice start. Hope to get a better understanding of ZBrush as I move forward. Looks like you may have a large number of sub-tools on this one.

Keep on grinding.

Marc

[maxinkuk]

Yes, there'll be plenty of subtools here. A scary amount of work ahead really.

[ravioli_rancher]

maxinkuk,

Post-apocolyptic genius! :D The knife and surfboard are a nice touch. :tu: When he's shooting his harpoon, he definately needs to be smiling. The sadism should make him more loveable.

Cool work on your site, too. The first Top Row talent to enter. Hurrah! :)

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Ravioli_Rancher, that harpoon will live glorious times, and he'll be smiling by then, you have my word.

[maxinkuk]

Here's the sculpt as it stands at the end of this day's work, I switched to clay tubes and I started defining muscles. Tomorrow there will be a lot more of the same and some of the larger adjustments to his proportions, but I'd rather do that with fresh eyes.
Progress-3-basic-sculpt.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118237%27,%27Progress-3-basic-sculpt.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[JUPITER]

Nice work man.!coming along nicely you are good at the human body A!!
keep it up.. :D

[SolidSnakexxx]

Looking like a good start of that Base mesh. Can't wait to see when he's full of arm/armor :) I see you make indent on the nails, will the nails be separate subtools?

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Jupiter.

SolidSnakexxx, at this stage to quickly mark where the nails should be I just make a hole. I'm not sure if at the end I'll have a separate subtool for the nails or just sculpt them over. If the number of subtool goes too far then I might decide for nails just sculpted on the hands. I think that separate subtools make them generally tidier though.

[eklavya]

hey max nice n kool concept and great start
i always love the way you sculpt :D

best of luck!!!

[maxinkuk]

Hey mate, thanks, are you joining in?

[eklavya]

ya hopefully
i m struggle with concept let see. :cry:

[gang]

great start man

[Lucky_1]

Nice sketch and start,
cant wait to see more!

[maxinkuk]

Cheers, update coming in a minute.

[maxinkuk]

Here's the big boy after some more work on the muscles.
To do anything more on it I need to retopologize first, but before that I need to open his mouth so that I can add some geometry there.
Progress-4-muscle-front-back.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118332%27,%27Progress-4-muscle-front-back.jpg%27,1,0%29)
Progress-4-muscle-side-and-perspective.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118333%27,%27Progress-4-muscle-side-and-perspective.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[Bingo_Jackson]

Looking great...the hands in particular are nicely articulated.

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Bingo, I've always been quite fascinated by hands and I've always been quite good at drawing them too actually, even as a child, and if I work on one that doesn't look good I just can't stop fiddling until I'm satisfied. Not a full blown fetish but very close to it.

[joe55]

sculpt is lookn nice. fast work

[MGebhart]

Very cool muscle work. Keep on swinging.

Marc

[maxinkuk]

Joe, Marc, thanks. I'm really enjoying myself. I just remembered how much fun it was to draw superheroes when I was a child. It's the same old feeling all over again.

[zeke3d]

how you gonna do all the rockets and nic nacs?

[maxinkuk]

There are many ways to build those parts. Deformed ZPrimitives for the bulks is a safe bet. Then the detail of mechanical parts can be done using a combination of custom alphas and deformations, or one can use the topology tool to build new geometry over a mesh and then give it some thickness. Other times it's convenient to append ZSpheres. Or mesh extraction. You can also grab an alpha, make a 3d object out of it just at the click of a button and then retopolgize. Depends by what you're building.
This is one of the things that I most enjoy about Zbrush. With all other applications you more or less know ahead of doing anything how you'll proceed from start to finish. Zbrush instead is like a shed full of tools, you may nail two pieces of wood, or you may decide to use bricks, there's never only one way to do things.

[JUPITER]

This looks awesome!! keep it up man..... :tu: :tu:

[SolidSnakexxx]

You are whizzing through this stage so fast and looking great too. Yes, the mechanic parts would be great visual treats and would love to see how you would use the Alphas to create them. Will you be retopologize most of the models(Subtools)?

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Jupiter.

SolidSnakexxx, I usually retopolgize those subtools that were not created with the topology tool or some deformed ZPrimitives like deformed cubes that are also usually ok out of the box, I find that all else need some fixing.

I am whizzing through because I had two free days all for me, and that's exceptional. Normally I am overwhelmed by work/life (I have a 3 year old daughter) so anytime I have some time I have to make the most of it.
I may still be free tomorrow though, not sure but I'm hoping.

[canndis]

looks like you are very much ahead of the contest , Good luck

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Canndis, it's been a good start, now the issue is going the distance.

[maxinkuk]

A small update, I opened his mouth and slightly modified his proportions to go more towards the hero type of physique. I also worked his features further.
I can now retopologize and I decided that for the first time ever I'll first mark the quads before starting and that's what I'm doing right now.
Progress-5-mouth-&-proportions.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118513%27,%27Progress-5-mouth-&-proportions.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[Harmonic]

Hey maxinkuk, great work, he is developing nicely. I can definitely picture him with some hand made chunky armor.
I do have a few crits
To me his thighs look to small at the top, i think they need to connect father down into his crotch.
Also he looks a bit bow legged. I am not sure if that was your intention. I think a little tweak to his knees would do the trick.
Look forward to seeing more :tu:

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Harmonic, critiques highly appreciated, in fact you're completely right, needs more muscle in the thigh for sure.
He is indeed slightly bow-legged but should he straighten up? Muscle men often walk with legs apart, could be a subtle feature of the character.

[pgarcia]

Maxinkuk,

Great job. I know the basics but I am still learning. When you say you are going to retopologize, I know what that is but why do you need to do that?

thanks

[maxinkuk]

Hi Pgarcia, I just finished retopogizing actually, and it took me all night, it's a long job, but in my opinion it's worth it. Tomorrow I'll post a couple of screenshots so you see the difference,it's mostly about mesh efficiency. The mesh produced by the ZSpheres is unbalanced, some parts are unnecessarily dense whilst others cannot be smoothed enough without a very high polycount or as in the case of this character an impossible polycount. I here had 5.5 million polygons and there were areas like the mouth and ears that were severely faceted and from there I couldn't subdivide again.
I now have a 2.1 million polygon mesh that's perfectly smooth and can eventually still be subdivided if needed.
On top of that I have a geometry that follows the muscle flow and that will make a difference when posing as it won't deform in horrible ways.

[maxinkuk]

Here's the character pre and post retopologizing.
On the large figure you can see how the distribution is more even and how the face benefits from this. The polygons in the old one are very dense over the hands but very very sparce over the head.
In the face detail it's evident that in the old mesh the lips and ears are heavily faceted and this was making it very awkward to sculpt, also as it already had 5.5 millions polygons it could be not subdived again.
The new mesh has 2.1 millions and is very smooth.
I reprojected at subdiv level 4 so getting all of the muscle and the detail that I needed from the old model but also smoothing all over as if he had actually a skin. Those details that are lost but I want back can be resculpted and they would be much sharper as the mesh follows the muscle flow now.

Progress-6-retopo-2.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118619%27,%27Progress-6-retopo-2.jpg%27,1,0%29)
Progress-6-retopo-1.jpg (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118618%27,%27Progress-6-retopo-1.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[SolidSnakexxx]

I can clearly see on the face...with Retopology, the mesh's far better suite for overall details and you won't get the stretchy effects.. :tu: Looking good so far.

[KrakenCMT]

Your retopo work is nice. The polys flow well with the form, especially in the forearm and thighs.

The clay tubes are so fun to work with, aren't they? :D I use that brush because it makes the process of digital sculpting feel more organic.

[maxinkuk]

Thanks SolidSnakexxx.

KrakenCMT thanks, last night I looked at various meshes to understand best practice for this retopology, yours was one of them :) . It was the first time that I first planned ahead by polypainting the topology before placing the points. It paid off.
The clay tubes rules, most definitely my favorite.

[maxinkuk]

Here's the outcome of some sculpting done over the new topology.
Progress-8-front.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118692%27,%27Progress-8-front.jpg%27,1,0%29)
Progress-8-back.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118694%27,%27Progress-8-back.jpg%27,1,0%29)
Progress-8-side.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118693%27,%27Progress-8-side.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[maxinkuk]

Two hours of sculpting later I feel very thankful towards all those artist that posted amazing anatomic studies on Zbrush Central. What a resource!
Progress-9.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118698%27,%27Progress-9.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[maxinkuk]

And 2 more hours later again here's what I think I'll consider the last one for this stage. I'll still be touching it here and there no doubt, but I am quite happy with it and anyway when posing there's another round of modeling attached.
I now move on to give him teeth, a costume and most of all his gear that comes with some serious mechanical design.
Progress-10.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118709%27,%27Progress-10.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[dismantled]

the base really finishes it. for this stage... the anatomy is stylized. quite different than the typical generic anatomy that we always see.
its more your style? ...

its interesting to see the effects of retopologize... i would of tired to bypass that step.. i know it takes time..

Does symmetry work for retopologizing?

[Gordon Robb]

Maxinuk: This looks absolutely fantastic. When you retop, do you loose any detail you had put in up to that point, or do you somehow trasfer the higher details back on to your retop'ed mesh?

[maxinkuk]

Hi dismantled, I surely try to stylize a bit at this stage, one can always mess things up at a later stage. I mean messing up artfully.

The topology tool works in symmetry as well. I did this with x axis symmetry on.

By the way, I also "fixed" the topology further after I finished using this neat trick here:
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showpost.php?p=484734&postcount=73

Just edit the topology on the low res subdiv level, then delete the mesh in the Tool>Rigging palette. After you've done that in the same palette "select mesh" the higher sub div level and project details. Awesome.
I added a few polys into the ear and did the equivalent of spin quads in a few places after I retopoed. Basically with this trick you can almost add geometry as with any traditional 3d application.

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Gordon Robb. It's difficult to hold on to all details, there are controls to fine tune the way you project, but if you try to project a very high level of subdiv you're likely to run into issues with the projection misinterpreting the mesh you want to pick up. It is surely possible to project very fine details and not have issues but it is surely better to retopologize at an earlier stage before you put in those details.
In this case I came out with a 130k polys mesh and 4 levels of subdivision, level 5 was giving me some troubles that I just didn't want to bother fixing.

[Teyon]

The progress is good, remember though, he's meant to be in an action oriented pose, so his facial expression will need to show that too. Not sure if you were planning on doing most of that via transpose but you may want to also sculpt in some of that once you've decided on a final pose. Keep going!

[sendhilv]

Good man.....

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Sendhilv.

Teyon, don't worry it'll come, there'll be the day I fix his face in the menacing grin that his pose will require, in fact I'm just now giving him teeth, a pretty essential feature of most facial expressions.
Then there is all his gear that I must model and sculpt before doing any posing, it's quite a bulk and it's therefore quite important for the pose so not much sense in posing him without it.

[maxinkuk]

Here's a start on the gear. I actually made two versions of all three main items, the rockets, the glove and the fuel tanks, only that I didn't like any of them so I put in quite some work to come up with a design that I liked.
The fuel ended up as two canisters, I think I'll add a third one under the rockets to make it into a bi-component type of fuel.
It's only the start, lots of it is still missing and I think that it will take me about a week to finish all of the mechanical parts.

I gave him teeth though, and that's quite a job in itself.
I started with ZSpheres, one for each gum, that gave me the teeth already divided by polygroups. I then sculpted quite a bit but found the single block hard to manage, so I cloned it and then on the clone split the polygroups. Then retopologized just to close the gaps. Brought back everything into the main sculpt and using insert mesh ended up with one single subtool where each gum and tooth is a closed mesh which has its own polygroup. That made it easy to mask to isolate each teeth or gum and sculpt in comfort.
They also need some more work, but 20 minutes should be enough really.

Progress-11-body.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118955%27,%27Progress-11-body.jpg%27,1,0%29)
progress-11-topo-shoulderstrap.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118954%27,%27progress-11-topo-shoulderstrap.jpg%27,1,0%29)
progress-11-teeth.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118951%27,%27progress-11-teeth.jpg%27,1,0%29)
progress-11-got-teeth.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118953%27,%27progress-11-got-teeth.jpg%27,1,0%29)
progress-11-got-teeth-2.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27118952%27,%27progress-11-got-teeth-2.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[SolidSnakexxx]

maxinkuk, you are lighting fast on these gears. Imagine he'd be quite impressive with all his gear and armored up. BTW, do you still have the ZSphere construct so we can also learn from? Just love to see the pre/post ZSphere models....

[maxinkuk]

Hi SolidSnakexxx, I can assure you that I'm not lightning fast, I just worked quite a lot of hours.
I can post the Spheres of the teeth, I actually even did a little movie of the sculpting though done before splitting teeth and gums. I'll post a full teeth and gum process later.
All his gear wasn't made using ZSpheres, they're modified ZPrimitive3s and meshes produced with the topology tool using thickness.
I'll post a breakdpown of that process too, I didn't post it whilst doing it because I was exploring shapes really so I wasn't sure about what I would have ended up with. I have all the bits as I save incrementals so I can go back and grab some screenshots for the wip thread.

[joe55]

lookn sweet man! lots of cool tech shaping up here

[Teyon]

Cool. Watch that chest cavity. It's looking a little concave towards the center. Also, I know you're still in the formation stage but if you're going to have the teeth in there, you may want to close up some of the (not all) gaps between them.

[maxinkuk]

Teyon, you sound like my dentist ;) .
Don't worry, he'll have the right kind of teeth on the day.

[maxinkuk]

Here's some more parts of the teeth modeling process.
I started with these ZSpheres:


ZSphere-teeth.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119056%27,%27ZSphere-teeth.jpg%27,1,0%29)
And this is the mesh that it gave me.

ZSphere-teeth-preview-polygroups.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119057%27,%27ZSphere-teeth-preview-polygroups.jpg%27,1,0%29)

As the ZSphere conveniently give you the right polygroups it was easy to divide the gums from the teeth, that's done by duplicating the subtool with Subtool Master and then hiding and deleting the unwanted part. Then with the topology tool I closed the holes and ended up with independent gums and teeth. At the end I finished with one single subtool holding all the bits that are easily selectable and maskable thanks to the different polygroups as this video linked here shows. Click here to see video. (http://vimeo.com/2649308)

[maxinkuk]

Now that's what I call progress! The pose is a bit lame, he looks like it's his first day of learning to surf but it was just for practice with the Transpose Master, and it worked! And he's got lots more clothes than yesterday!
I made a movie of the making of the glove and of the posing, I post them tomorrow.

progress-12-pose.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119059%27,%27progress-12-pose.jpg%27,1,0%29)

progress-12-costume.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119060%27,%27progress-12-costume.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[SolidSnakexxx]

Wow, great update. and thank you for the ZSphere construct of the teeth. The pose you are having him is almost like he's surfing the ocean. :tu:

[ravioli_rancher]

maxintheuk,

Smashing progress. Your dedication to your work is inspiring (me being a lazy slug :rolleyes: .)

Though, and this isn't intended to diminish your amazing work, but won't you need to retopologize the teeth again, so they are connected to the rest of the figure? I need to reread the rules again, but I thought they had an amendment to a clause to a secret disclaimer in 1pt font written with invisible ink that everything needed to be air tight in the final model. If not, then I'm a monkey's least favorite uncle.

No matter what my heritage, though, Awesome character and sculpting. :tu:

[vincenzi]

incredible progress there, and great sculpt as well. One thing I'm noticing is the big dent in his chest, which shouldn't be there. Looks like he got headbutted by zidane or something. The sternum which is in between the pec muscles should be in line, if not higher, than the abs.

[maxinkuk]

Thanks guys.
SolidSnakexxx, ocean sounds right, on a quiet day though.
Ravioli-rancher, Vincenzi, you're right about his chest, thanks for pointing at it. He wasn't headbutted by Zidane, it needs to be fixed.
Ravioli-rancher, you can have different meshes interconnecting and that makes it watertight, as long as each mesh is a closed continuous surface it's ok, it does't need to be one single mesh. I'm pretty sure about this as a couple of months ago I submitted a sculpt of mine to a printing service just to know if my file was printable and discussed the requirements with the machine operator.
It didn't take long to retopo teeth and gums though, about ten minutes or so, I only placed those points needed to close the gaps as most of the topology was revived in one stroke with this method here:
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/sh...34&postcount=73 (showpost.php?p=484734&postcount=73)

[adroit.jr]

It needs anatomy work, but the way you are progressing i really love it:tu:

[dustbin1_uk]

Looking brilliant! Love the style of this!

Keep going!

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Dustbin1_uk and Adroit.Jr.
Adroit.Jr, this competition is a massive opportunity to practice on anatomy and if you go a bit back on the thread you'll see that I actually built the character up from his muscles and I constantly touch it here and there and work with lots of anatomic reference under the nose pretty much all the time. At this stage though, when you start moving things round it may get a bit soft round the edges. I don't worry about that now, it'll all be put back where it needs to.

[Lucky_1]

He's coming along nicely...
I think his upper legs might need some more love...

Keep it up.

[mariofurtado]

:tu:
Very good work and very fast too
I agree with Lucky on the upper legs.
Keep it up :)

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Lucky_1 and MarioFurtado, I then hope you'll be pleased by the next udate that's coming soon.

[maxinkuk]

Here's what happened to it today.
After hearing comments about him being flabby and how his muscles needed shaping up I proceeded to do just that. After the muscles I worked him up a bit on the face as I thought that his features were not those of a man called "Damage" and these features may also not be his definitive, although I quite like it.
After the face work I added goggles and a bit of hair coming out of his head wear.
Then the posing, that was done quite quickly. For some reason a few polygons of the surfboard came out completely exploded. On the plus side the exploded polygons look to me like splashing water under the surfboard so I guess it's one of those lucky strikes.
There were other distorted parts out of the posing but not as much as I thought, I just fixed the most important and saved, to fix the pose to death it could take forever because as ever, when is one artwork finished?
Anyway, I recorded the transpose master session, click here to see it (http://www.vimeo.com/2657258).

Splash-pose-2.jpg (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119168%27,%27Splash-pose-2.jpg%27,1,0%29)

Splash-pose-1.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119167%27,%27Splash-pose-1.jpg%27,1,0%29)

Splash-pose-3.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119169%27,%27Splash-pose-3.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[Harmonic]

Hey maxinkuk, nice update I like how this is starting to come together.

There seems to be some thing amiss with his pecs though. They look very dented in? I don't know if this was intentional,but it looks very strange to me. Also the way the pecs are connecting into his collar bone looks off to me.
Looking forward to more updates. :tu:

[maxinkuk]

Hi Armonic, you're right, they dented in with the posing I think. He had proud pecs before, then his torax twisted sideways and down so to put him right one should start to move some poly in low res to the point where they look right. That's the thing with posing, out of the box it looks pretty wierd in places. I fixed those really monstruous deformation but left there quite a lot actually, but I don't care, it's one of those things that would take quite a few hours to fix to a satisfactory level and I'd do it if this was his final pose, but it's not, it's just transpose master practice so he'll have to live like that.

[maxinkuk]

Sorry, about the way the pecs connect with the collarbone. I can't see what you mean actually.

[Fess]

I really like his pose, the very top-right shot especially. Cool style too!

The few things that look a bit off are his left forearm, which has a slightly odd anatomy, and his neck, which looks a tad too long (but I could be wrong there).

But yeah, looking through the thread your model is improving very quickly, so keep them updates coming!

[dustbin1_uk]

Yeah I like the improvements! Looking awesome!!

I agree that the left arm looks a little odd. I think it looks like it's twisted about to snap the tendons.

But that's about the only thing I can pick on! This is an amazing effort man! Up there in my top 3 so far.

:D:tu:

[smeagol]

this is going really nice so far !

i think the elements that you added to your character need a little bit more work .

good luck !

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Fess, Dustbin1_uk and Smeagol.
You are all right, it's got a long neck, one arm need fixing, the other one too and so on, you can find a lot that needs fixing there, that's what comes out of the transpose master, but I don't care, it's an update in the full spirit of WIP, sometimes things must get worse before getting better.
But it's a nice enough pose, I prefer it a million times to a perfectly correct symmetrical character.
Smeagol, you're also completely right about the gear, there's a week worth of modelling work still missing. It's supposed to be a pretty complex mechanical thing at the end of the process.

[electricCAT]

Definately a cool character. I like the pose. Hope you do a lot more detail on the gadgets. I haven't tried Transpose Master yet so thanks for the tip on possible distortions.

[Flack]

Great job so far, maybe you should have him doing a kickflip with the board or something to make his pose a little more dynamic. Perhaps carving like a surfer? Keep up the good work!

[ravioli_rancher]

maxintheuk,

Thanks for the clarification on intersecting meshes. You should be running this contest. :)

Your thread is becoming a one stop source for tips and tricks. Thanks for the extra effort. :cool:

And are you modeling all the gear in zbrush as well? If so, I humbly beg for more free videos of the process. I've been trying to model swim goggles for my stupid hero, but all I end up with is a two blobs held up by playdough snakes (and that's after retopo work). :confused: :mad:

Anyway, while you continue to kick everyone's ass. we eagerly await more tutorials.

[maxinkuk]

Thanks electicCAT, I should start on the gear's details tonight.
Flack, you're on the right track, a rather extreme carving pose is what I have in mind for the final pose.
Ravioli_rancher, I'll make sure I record the interesting parts of the process. As for the goggles, They're done with the topology tool too. One advise that I have to give you is to make as fewer polygons as possible to describe the shape but to make an extra row of very narrow polygons around the shape, to "brace" the geometry, in that way it will hold its shape much better. Then remember to give it some thickness in the topology palette before making the adaptive skin. In that way it'll give you the mesh divided into three polygroups, one for each face and one for the rim of the thickness. You can then use these polygroups to keep the shape in place whilst sculpting. You do this by hiding the polygroup that you want to sculpt, then tap on the viewport to mask and then unhide. Now you can't mess up the shape anymore even if you try your hardest.

[SolidSnakexxx]

Nice nice update! Just love the gear and stuff...not to mention the pose.:tu:

[Captain Sensible]

He looks great already! You're really racing ahead with this. It has a really cool style.

[threetails]

really nice, i like the 50'sish feel that i'm getting from the model. looking great.

[maxinkuk]

Thanks SolidSnakexxx.
Captain Sensible, yes I've been working quite consistently on it in the past few days, mostly it's because I love it ;) .
I'm quite relieved I'm over the first mountain and I can now be reasonably sure that I'll see the end of the journey.
Thanks Threetails, it's supposed to end up having some retro elements but 50's is not wht I had in mind. But yes, surfing is also a 50's thing after all, hawaiian shirts and all that. Maybe I could give him an hawaiian shirt! Maybe not.

[maxinkuk]

Here's an update from yesterday, I couldn't post it as my modem/router died of sudden death and today I had to fork out a small fortune to get a new one and then spend an extraordinary amount of time waiting for technical help to pick up the phone and tell me what numbers do I have to write where to make it work.
Anyway, done! I'm back online!
Last night I did a massive posing session, first with Transpose Master and then sculpting away the issues that the posing created.
I did it because I intend from now on to work on this posed model rather than the symmetrical one, this because although this is not the final pose it is going in the right direction and it's just easier to pose it from this as a starting point than from the symmetrical pose. Another good reason is that the pose is on a layer so it doesn't really matter as I have the symmetrical pose at a click of a button.
I recorded the process and I'll be putting it online when I have a moment. I also want to write down the issues that I encountered and the solutions that I've found so that it can be useful to whoever want to go through it.
Anyway, enough talk, here's the pose.
posed-progress-1.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119657%27,%27posed-progress-1.jpg%27,1,0%29)
posed-progress-2.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119658%27,%27posed-progress-2.jpg%27,1,0%29)
posed-progress-3.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119659%27,%27posed-progress-3.jpg%27,1,0%29)
posed-progress-4.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119660%27,%27posed-progress-4.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[Moni-Poroni]

WOW amazing....
That´s all I can say:tu: :tu:

[aiman]

Wow this has become so different from your original concept sketches but i like it, its got a very kool style. The only crit I have is that he really needs to be flat on the flying skate board. Right now he is just touching it, but his feet need to be flat on it for it to make sense as well as if he is printed digitally, more surface area for the base.

[dustbin1_uk]

yeah man! on my top 5 for this contest!

[SolidSnakexxx]

Oh... This is even more dynamic pose...I like the second image ...the asymmetrical pose makes it even more interesting! :tu:

[maxinkuk]

Moni-Poroni, Aiman, Dustbin1_uk and SolidSnakexxx, thanks a lot for your comments and...happy new year.:D
Aiman, you're right, they'll be down flat on the board next, it's in the plan.
SolidSnakexxx, yes, I'm quite happy with that view, the character looking at the camera and a well spread and geometrically placed pose around it. Hopefully the final pose will be as strong as that.

[maxinkuk]

I will eventually learn how to embed a video:confused: . For now you can click there to see a turntable of the pose.
http://vimeo.com/2676797

Happy New Year everyone! :D :D

[maxinkuk]

More posing and adjusting, I placed one foot more flat on the board whilst the other acts as a controller on the back. I did some more work on the legs' muscles to shape them in a way that's consistent with the pose. More work all around.

I also uploaded the previous posing session's movie, it's about 10 minutes but that stands for at least an hour of real time.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TRANSPOSE MOVIE. (http://vimeo.com/2683637)


progress-20.11.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119783%27,%27progress-20.11.jpg%27,1,0%29)
progress-20.18.jpg (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119781%27,%27progress-20.18.jpg%27,1,0%29)
progress-20.20.jpg (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119782%27,%27progress-20.20.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[Teyon]

I like where this is going. I would suggest taking a look at the feet and making them appear more planted on the board. It would probably also help if his right (our left) leg was stretched out a little more than the other. This would help streamline the pose somewhat and distribute the weight of the character a bit better I think. I'd do a draw over but I'm not sure if that's allowed or considered "collaboration". :/

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Teyon, no need to sketch it, I got the message. I'm a bit limited by the size of the board though, I want it to be a small board to show that he's capable of balancing even on a tiny board, so there's only as much apart that those feet can go. I may end up making it slightly bigger but I want it to stay decidedly small.

[joe55]

looks nice, really good job with the pose.
teyon: i dont think theyd care about a paintover honestly, this contest seems to support forum unity over all else.

[Teyon]

Hey there. So, this is what I meant.Instead of a paint over - the image angles made it hard to work with - I just did a thumbnail.

repose.jpg

I think you could keep the board the same size and just redistribute his weight some. I mean, I don't know what the scene looked like in your head so I could be way off here. I just think it would make the pose more dynamic.

Basically, shifting his weight lower on the board, sticking his buttocks out a bit more and slanting his stance back towards the supporting leg while leaning his chest over his knees. I think it may still work with a short board - I could be wrong though.

Anyway, this is one of the entries I've been following with increasing interest so I know you'll end up with an excellent model!

[MindFX]

Another great design concept... I think I have to agree with Teyon from his thumbnail, the post looks more interesting and more balance.

[maxinkuk]

Yeah, thanks a lot Teyon, this is a great suggestion really.
I hadn't thought it that way. I had a general idea but not a completely developed one yet, I was keeping an open mind and basically play with Transpose Master to see which way to go. One of the options was to go towards the sketch that's bottom right of the concept sheet I made at start.
I now had in mind to start rotating the torso against the pelvis and your idea pretty much add to that so I really think I'll take it up. It could even combine with him holding the board with one had as he shoots his harpoon with the other.

[Teyon]

Holding the board! Hmmm... that'd be neat actually! I hadn't seen that in my head but now it makes perfect sense to do that. Yeah! Go for it!

[maxinkuk]

Thanks again Teyon, I just worked on changing the pose towards what you said, quite some hard work but it really looks like it was worth it.
I still placed one foot as a controller at the back but much more grounded than what it was. Still a lot to fix after the posing and of course this pose might well change again and again and possibly he'll even end up holding the board with one hand. Next up I need to model his gear and also change his expression to make him really mean.

progress-21.4.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119824%27,%27progress-21.4.jpg%27,1,0%29)
progress-21.3.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119826%27,%27progress-21.3.jpg%27,1,0%29)
progress-21.2.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119827%27,%27progress-21.2.jpg%27,1,0%29)
progress-21.1.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119828%27,%27progress-21.1.jpg%27,1,0%29)
progress-21.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27119829%27,%27progress-21.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[SolidSnakexxx]

I like how you've modify the pose and what Teyon suggested would take the pose to a step further. I like his squatting pose and with him holding the board's going to be awesome. :cool:

[maxinkuk]

Hi SolidSnakexxx, glad you like where he's going.
He'll move again, I find that to get to a completely different pose you have to take it in steps or the deformation would destroy the form to an uncomfortable level. So, here's the first move towards his ideal pose with weight on one side, torso twisted, hand holding the board and all that. Maybe that's only one posing session away but I can't be sure of it.

[dustbin1_uk]

Loving it!! Still in my top 5! Maybe my top 3!! :D

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Dustbin1_uk, hope I stay on the up! Cheers, you always make my day.

[chindian]

Haha - love this one... kool concept!

The overall form needs to be cleaned up a bit though... still looks kinda clumpy... but keep it up! I'm looking forward to updates! :tu:

[maxinkuk]

Thanks:).

[maxinkuk]

I'm having problems with subtool master and I posted the issue in the Questions and Troubleshooting area of the forum here. (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?p=518386#post518386)

After transposing I find some subtools have lost their subdivision, they have only subdiv level one, now called one but that used to be the highest (5 in my case) and if I try to reconstruct subdiv nothing happens.

I had also other issues with it. It very easily explodes polygons on five edge stars and it cannot load the saved TPoses. It started asking for obj files instead of the saved ZTL and even if loaded with the obj files it asks (converted TPoses originally saved as ZTL) it crashes.

Could it be that's my machine playing tricks? Should I reinstall Zbrush? Or just Transpose Master? Any clue?

[maxinkuk]

After a frustrating day fighting with Transpose Master (see post above for details) I decided to work on his expression. He didn't look mean enough. Maybe with the right face transpose master will allow him to be posed accordingly. I hope.

progress-22.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27120035%27,%27progress-22.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[fishadder]

Cool Style

The legs look a little lumpy to me but this ones a cool Character and pose!

[pgarcia]

pose looks awesome

[threetails]

looking good, i like the pose very dynamic, have you thought about what kind of base it will be on yet.

[maxinkuk]

Fishadder, Pgarcia and Threetails, thanks, I appreciate.

Fishadder, the legs came out of posing a bit mauled so they're still being shaped back, into another shape of course as changing pose affects how muscle behave.
Threetails, there will surely be the wave he's riding and then I was pondering to introduce maybe another element, it could be either the turret and periscope of a submarine that he's about to strike or a capsized lifeboat.

[maxinkuk]

More work on his facial expression.

progress-23.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27120068%27,%27progress-23.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[Pooop]

woha looks cool! m8!

now that you have posed your character, you are using posable symmetry right?
but i don't understand why, everytime i use posable, i get something wierd, like when i make one side, the other one looks really ugly, or sometimes when i move the legs and use posable, when i draw the knee on one leg, on the other one it's not in the right place...
do you have any tips?

[maxinkuk]

Hi Poop, no I'm out of symmetry now, I don't feel a need for it.
You can keep the posed version on a layer and then turn that off and work in symmetry on the original symmetrical pose but in that case I think it would be best to have the posed layer on level 1.
I have used posable symmetry in the past but can't remember particular issues.

[MINTY]

I really like the way your model conveys a sense of speed and movement in the pose. Top stuff, looking forward to seeing more soon.:tu:

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Minty, that means that there's some action, as in action hero.

[maxinkuk]

Is this the face of Damage?

progress-24.1.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27120111%27,%27progress-24.1.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[Moni-Poroni]

What a great facial expression :tu: :tu: :tu:

[maxinkuk]

He's happy!;)

[dustbin1_uk]

Actually that's a vast improvement, and oddly I didn't notice that the face needed work until you did it.

This has just made a great model excellent! :tu:

[Teyon]

I'd have to agree. The only thing I'd do is make the goggles fit the eye socket better like they do in the image above the image you just posted. kind of like Invincible's:
http://the-3dartist.deviantart.com/art/The-Prodigal-Son-Has-Returned-58560991

[MINTY]

superb expression. He looks a tad annoyed! top stuff. :tu:

[maxinkuk]

Minty, Teyon, Dustbin1_uk, thanks.
Teyon, nice gallery, and nice goggles too, on the day Damage's goggles will be supersharp too.
I've been working on that face a bit longer now actually, he's still himself, only that one can't stop fiddling. I also moved him about again with Transpose Master.
But the biggest news is that I also added a base! :eek:
Yes, I thought that he was looking rather silly surfing without a wave so I modeled one, to do it I used ZSpheres and then retopoed because I struggled to get the curve without the mesh exploding when subdivided with only ZSpheres.
It's very early stage but the idea is that if it would get printed this base would work as a counterbalance and keep him standing. I imagine that this can be done either by increasing the size until the weight is enough (hollow model?), or by leaving a hollow in the base so to slot in a weight of some heavy material and end up with a relatively small base and a sculpt apparently defying gravity.

progress-25.3.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27120216%27,%27progress-25.3.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[JUPITER]

super hero-Lightwavehttp://209.132.96.165/zbc/showthread.php?t=66139

Looking good so far.keep up the zzzzzz's :D

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Jupiter :D . (I wish I could sleep sometimes, I still remember how it used to be before my daughter's birth.)

[SolidSnakexxx]

The facial expression's coming along really nicely. Yours is almost done, mate! :tu:

[threetails]

he's coming along well. i like the expression it now go's with pose. very well done, will you be developing the muscle form further or have you moved on?

[maxinkuk]

Thanks SolidSnakexxx, it only looks like it's advanced, in effect there's all the hard surface modeling left to do. With work (I'm working right now, deadline tomorrow morning) and life commitments there's still about a week of modeling and sculpting before it looks like finished.

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Threetails, I'll surely do a lot of sculpting of the muscles, this is an intermediate state only, it's only just come out of transpose master, now that I'm basically happy with the pose I need to sculpt back what has been damaged by transposing and make sure that muscles are consistent with the pose and it bulges only where it should. I'm really looking forward to it, I think I'll learn a lot by the process.

[maxinkuk]

As everyone here must use Transpose Master I thought it would be useful to write about the issues I've encountered, and they were quite a few:

- the stars of points at the centre of 5 or more edges often explode and if you have retopologized your model chances are that you slipped a few in;

- then there is catastrophic failure, with the model just failing to come back;

- then there are cases when you do manage to complete the posing but you end up without subdivision levels in your subtools and all you have is a level one with the highest resolution mesh. In those cases you may think that using reconstruct subdivision would bring the subdivision levels back, well, it doesn't, and that because some normals have flipped. Your posing caused the mesh to fold on itself and transpose master gets it wrong.

If you have stars that explode then there are two routes you can follow:

- you just smooth them down, you'll have to do it at every level and more than once but it's quicker than the other method. I'd say that this route only works if you are not going to transpose again and there aren't too many of them;

- you edit the topology. That's the most radical method and it's what solves the cause of the troubles. It's also quite some work.

If after further editing of the topology you find that you can transpose but your subtools lose their subdivision levels there's the workaround that I devised to get them back. Again it relies on the topology tool.

You first have to save the TPose, then once the posing is done and you have the model at the highest level without lower subdivs you load the TPose as a tool, then you do a group split and you'll end up with the model divided into the original subtools. This because Transpose Master assigns one polygroup to each subtool. Then you load a ZSphere and rigging>select mesh the low subdivision version of the subtool from the split TPose. Click Edit Topology, and then you make the tool very small on your screen, and with a very large brush and holding down the shift key you sweep across it thus reviving the geometry.
At this point you deselect Edit Topology, click "delete mesh" in the rigging palette and load instead the high res that came out of the transpose Master, select Edit Topology again, click on Projection and there's your posed model with all the details at the highest level and the subdivisions down to level 1.
You may still have to fiddle with the projection parameters but you'll get 99.9% of the details back.
Then make an adaptive skin, append it as a subtool to the transposed mesh and delete the old one that doesn't have subdiv levels.

This workaround also describes the way to edit existing topology that here above I propose as the radical method to eliminate the stars problem. It works in the same way only that you first load level one and then the highest subdiv level of the same subtool, not the TPose mesh tool.

If the model failes to come up at all then possibly you really folded the mesh in a way that confuses Transpose Master in a critical way. And there may also be stars issue too. A solution could be to check your mesh for issues and then repeat the posing more carefully. That's what solved my issues. I edited my mesh to minimize stars, I still had to use the workaround to get the subdiv levels back but at the end I did get all I needed there.

I hope this will be of help to anybody here encountering similar problems.

[dustbin1_uk]

Wow! thanks for the info!!

[raguyarts]

Good pose and facial expression …great progress

[maxinkuk]

Hi Dustbin1_uk, you're welcome, I'm glad you found that interesting.
I thought that out of all those tribulations at least I had a self-contained coherent subject to put across.

[wethand]

wow. looks really dynamic... nice expression! like it very much!

[MindFX]

His pose is looking great now. Luv it! Keep it up!

CHEERS!

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Raguyart, Wethand (great name) and MindFX, I'm very happy with the pose too. Now there's all the rest left to do!

I started on the technoglove, here's a screenshot and a youtube video of some of the process. It starts with the modeling of the components of the harpoon starting with modified ZPrimitives. They are then appended as subtools and assembled together with the rest of the glove.

qJpTjAPVBoA

harpoon-prog-1.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27120509%27,%27harpoon-prog-1.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[SolidSnakexxx]

That's one cool accessory! and thank you for sharing the technique with us.. :tu:

[maxinkuk]

Cheers SolidSnakexxx, there's a lot of undoing and redoing and exploring but I thought that in the middle of all of that there was also something interesting going on.

[maxinkuk]

Some further work done on that techno glove-weapon. I want to get to a high-tech/low tech mix for it as for all other gear. Today I've done the low tech.
It's a bit too bulky I think, even because it will be further burdened by mechanisms and what not, so tomorrow first thing it will be slimmed down, but it's probably around the volume that it will occupy at the end after having slimmed down in the central body and then bulked up again with all the other bits that I want to attach to it.


progress-26.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27120560%27,%27progress-26.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[maxinkuk]

Here's the harpoon-glove as it looks now. When finished it will also host the commands to control the rockets. Can't wait to fit all the bits and pieces. Time! I need more spare time!!

Harpoon-prog-2.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27120600%27,%27Harpoon-prog-2.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[maxinkuk]

Here's a turntable of the model at this stage.

1kfmbDrS9zM

[dustbin1_uk]

Love it!!

Ungh!! i just wish life would slow down so I can enter this!!!

But yeah! he's looking awesome!!

[maxinkuk]

Hi Dustbin1_uk, thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you still like it.
I'm in doubt as to what angle should I place the character and surf against the wave. Is this too extreme?

[KrakenCMT]

I don't think it's too extreme. But surfing is an extreme sport anyway, right? :)

No, I think you have a great pose and the angle is just right. You'll just have to work the base design to balance the overall piece. I think your entry has the best overall feel of action at this point in the competition.

[maxinkuk]

Thanks KrakenCMT, very good point on the base needing to balance. I was tempted by the small base thought but too small makes it awkward.
Cheers

[maxinkuk]

As I add bits the design of this harpoon thingy changes. I haven't got a clue what it will look at the end. The next step for example will be to connect the caps over each finger to the main body through a complex mechanism so that they work as triggers. I don't know how that will precisely happen so that glove will probably mutate all over again.

Harpoon-prog-3.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27120695%27,%27Harpoon-prog-3.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[petekasim]

Hey! Quality work all round, I'm looking forward to seeing you go to town with those little gadgets and things. And no, the angle's not too extreme in my opinion, I think it's the outlandish angle that gives the pose character. Maybe if the model was hyperreal it wouldn't work but it suits the style.

Well done for reaching top row with that last piece BTW! Also, love your drawings on your blog - the style is incredibly appealing.

Looking forwards to seeing more :)

[leandroloaiza]

great job!! this is a realy finalist level :D :D :D :D

[maxinkuk]

Thank you so much Peter and leandroloaiza for all your kind words, and I really appreciate the feedback on the pose. That decision is almost definitive, it's very probably staying in extreme pose.

[Webhead]

Nice, heroic action pose to this character. :tu:

[threetails]

love the turn around, got great weight and action. nice work, this is going to be a good one.

[yfchild]

I love so much this concept. Chapeau + bravo!

[N8]

Great pose!!

[maxinkuk]

Webhead, threetails, yfchild, N8, thanks, thanks, thanks and thanks.:D:D:D:D
Well, this response speaks volumes, the pose is decided, it stays!

[wethand]

the pose is really nice! combined with his expression this is a real hero!

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Wethand :D. Just woke up and found your comment. Good start of the day.
I feel I'm over the first mountain. Which is pretty good as today is a very busy day and tomorrow too so I'm not sure that I'll get the chance to get anything else done here before the weekend. But the mind is there so I'll be thinking about his gear and how it evolves and combines.

[SolidSnakexxx]

How did I miss your latest pose :) That's one dynamic pose...and makes him look very heroic. You are going fast and good progress :tu:

[maxinkuk]

Thanks SolidSnakexxx. My mind is made up, I am settling on this pose, now it's detailing work. And I can't wait to have some spare time to work on it consistently.

[maxinkuk]

I finally managed to do some work. I didn't touch the character but worked on the shape of the wave and on the harpoon glove.
I lifted the upper part of the glove so that underneath there will be space for the mechanism and it will all be visible. Above there, just underneath the harpoon itself there will be the roll of rope that attaches to the harpoon.

The base wave changed shapes quite a few times and I now realized that it will be quite some work to model it properly, a challenge in its own right.

progress-27.14.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27121321%27,%27progress-27.14.jpg%27,1,0%29)

progress-27.8.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27121320%27,%27progress-27.8.jpg%27,1,0%29)

Harpoon-prog-4.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27121319%27,%27Harpoon-prog-4.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[MDGeist]

great model & a real good pose :)

[dismantled]

I like this very much.. the harpoon and the expression are great... the large render is really cool.. Dynamic would be one word to describe it..

the only thing that bothers me is the right knee... something strange about it...

[GregStrangis]

Like the pose alot man but I agree that his right knee needs to be fixed, and wouldn't you have to repose him if you were to win and get it printed??

[maxinkuk]

MDGeist, dismantled and GregStrangis, thanks for your c&c, much appreciated, and I'm glad you like the model.

Yes the knee, it jars me too, that's next in line to be fixed. That'll be done before the next update.
It got mauled by the posing, there are other issues all around but I'll fix only the most evident for now, because I want to crack on on the gear first.

[Hamilcar]

wow! you done alot of work on this :tu: Looking good :)

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Hamilcar. Lots still left to do I'm afraid.;)

[maxinkuk]

Here's the work done in last couple of hours. A first round of shaping up of those troubled knees plus quite a lot of work on the wave, including at one point a necessary but fortunately very quick retopologization.

progress-28.2.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27121375%27,%27progress-28.2.jpg%27,1,0%29)
progress-28.7.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27121376%27,%27progress-28.7.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[jar3d]

I thought I was the only one with a surfer / surfing pose ... nice work and I like your wave shape thus far. Cool :cool:

[maxinkuk]

Let's race then! Hold on, we're already in a competition.

Thanks man, best of luck.

[GregStrangis]

Knee is already looking better man :tu: that wave is going to look awesome!

[Hex0254]

that is really cool... looks like something from the Incredibles! Greet work I wouldn't change anything.

[maxinkuk]

Thanks GregStrangis, I'm glad I did that bit of work there. It's only the beginning, I see it as a very advanced lump of clay but a lump of clay nevertheless. Since it's been posed everything must be sculpted back into a new meaning.


Thanks Hex0254, that's a very nice thing to say. I won't change much, don't worry, only try to improve on this. I'm settled on this pose now.

[cfree68]

Awesome Pose!!!. Keep it up.

[pitchepuck]

the pose is realy nice. and the face is cool.
you have got a very special style... some kind of comic. very funny. mh... it´s not typical.... so unperfect but straight... normaly I would say do complet overwork but in some way it´s cool like it is!

[maxinkuk]

Hi Pitchepuck, I'm very pleased by this comment, thanks a lot.
I'm not aiming for any style really, but neither copying a particular one.
I will still fix those things I find in need of fixing, of course there'll be imperfections that I can't see and then those that I see but really like, those stay too.;)

[Y/Haüss]

Very Well Posed... Extremely balanced!
I think that Damage is that kind of hero that every teenager dream to be these days... Serious, very, very good sculpt and pose!

[maxinkuk]

Y/Haüss, thank you so very much. I think that what a teenage would like to be was very much at the core of what I had in mind when I thought about Damage. Good to know that I'm still in touch with my inner teenager (and I have a spot on the neck today).

I'm working on refining the pose right now. I'm broadly happy with the general thrust but when you go into the detail of each joint and muscle then the troubles come out, I hope that by making it all consistent it'll be much stronger.

[Drakelot]

He's looking very cool ... xcellent work ... good luck

[SOLcreator]

maxinkuk, great action and energy on Damage! Will be following your work with excitement and energy.

Flowin' In Light
- SOL

[maxinkuk]

Drakelot, thanks a lot for the encouraging words.
SOLcreator, thanks, I'm actually in a state of constant excitement for this competition. It must come out in the model.

[Moni-Poroni]

Hi maxinkuk...
I really like the wave and the way Damage is posed...:tu:
Would be fun to be there instead of Damage :D
And his mimic rocks:cool:

[maxinkuk]

Hi Moni-Poroni, you just made me think that I'm in a situation that's almost exactly the opposite as his. Static!
But Damage doesn't do it for fun, he's a slave to the adrenaline rush that's hard-wired into his pleasure receptors.

Here's another update, the wave mutated, and his arm came down a bit too, plus a number of small adjustments here and there.

progress-30.1.gif (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27121542%27,%27progress-30.1.gif%27,1,0%29)

[maxinkuk]

H_n9q8EVpqA

How do you transpose multiple subtools without using transpose master?
Here's how:
1 - Subtool Master > High Res all;
2 - Subtool Master > Merge (keep "Preserve existing Polygroups" unchecked, this will give you one polygroup for each subtool);
3 - pose;
4 - in the Subtool Palette hit Group Split;
5 - in the Geometry palette hit reconstruct subdiv on each subtool until you have all your subdivisions back (if reconstruct subdiv doesn't work then it means that you must first enable UVs in the Texture palette).

That's it!

[JUPITER]

Nice work! Keep it up!.........

Action hero:Lightwave :D

[MINTY]

So much movement in your model, it's superb. It's really shaping up now. :tu:

[TheProCreator]

Amazing progress and great tip for sub tools! Love the pose!

[maxinkuk]

Jupiter, Minty, theProCreator, thanks a lot for your comments.

I made some further major adjustments throughout. The legs especially received quite a lot of attention, but also the abdomen and the arms.
Here's two renders, the first one is a rather extreme crop that I think works ok.

progress-31.3.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27121590%27,%27progress-31.3.jpg%27,1,0%29)

progress-31.6.jpg (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27121589%27,%27progress-31.6.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[SolidSnakexxx]

The pose's so adrenalin rushing...very cool and dynamic...Always pleasant to watch your thread :tu:

[skullbeast]

nice job! that sure is some action pose! Lots of motion! :tu: :tu:

[threetails]

this is getting better and better, love the cross bow.

[dustbin1_uk]

Rocking!!!!! :tu::tu:

[maxinkuk]

SolidSnakexxx, Skyullbeast and Threetails, Dustbin1_uk, thanks, you make my day:D, yes action, that's what I've been trying to show.
The crossbow is just starting taking shape, there are tons of work ahead left just on that weapon, at the end it must look scary on its own.

Here's a little turnaround of the sculpt and another render, I'm trying to look at it from different angles to understand in which direction to tweak the pose from where it is now.

progress-32.5.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27121634%27,%27progress-32.5.jpg%27,1,0%29)

Turntable-11-Jan-limited-anim.gif (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27121633%27,%27Turntable-11-Jan-limited-anim.gif%27,1,0%29)

[wethand]

i just saw this cropped render. i think it looks really cool!
really, that stand for its own! keep up the nice work

[Y/Haüss]

GOD Dam"age!!! That's very very well done!!!

[gordon-v]

I just can say, NICE ONE!

I love th pose!

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Wethand, when I saw that that profile view was pretty strong I thought well, why not crop it and focus on it. It's not too early to think graphically about ways to use the sculpt within an illustration.

Y/Haüss, Gordon-v, thanks a lot for your good vibes. Makes my day really:D.

[fluxist8070]

The Character and pose look great! Good luck with the colors!

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Fluxist8070, it'll be coloured eventually but there's still a lot of modeling still left to do before that. Lots of hard surface for his gear and lots of anatomy to work those muscles up to the standard that this competition requires. I may be tempted to start experimenting with colours and textures before it's all finished but I'd love to actually focus on finishing the sculpting and modeling stage first.

[sirquadalot]

Very cool! I have a lot of reading to do to catch up on this thread! Keep up the wonderful work.:cool:

[Teyon]

Very, very cool! That worked out way better than even I thought it would. Love the progress! Are you going to give the wave more form or do you think it would distract too much from the hero?

[KrakenCMT]

I know for the contest it's important to work on the anatomy and all. But as a matter of personal taste, the anatomical roughness of this model does not bother me one bit! And in fact I think it adds a bit more interest to the piece. It's almost like the fluid-like nature of the sculpting adds more to the whole. Seriously, this is one of my favorite entries because of that.

[dustbin1_uk]

Seconded!! :tu::tu:

The style of this peace rocks! And is still up in my top 10, maybe top 5!

[maxinkuk]

Sirquadalot, thanks for you kind words, there is indeed a lot to read around this contest every day.

Teyon, I'm very happy with the pose, it'll keep on moving a bit here and there but the pose is mostly there. Moving the weight on the side brought in a radical improvement.
Regarding the base, as it's a fluid thing I'm looking at it from different angles to understand how it should be sculpted to complement the figure from each view, so I guess that it'll mostly retain its shape but will receive some careful shaping all around.

Kraken CMT, I hear you and most definitely I will take account of your opinion, which I truly value. I'll try to make sure that any shaping up doesn't change the nature of what's come out of my process. After all I had placed most muscles at the beginning and I had also retopoed over them so I shouldn't worry too much about that and maybe focus on tackling the other sides of the work left to do with my available time that's much reduced since Christmas break is over.

Dustbin1_uk, thanks a lot. Many entries to this competition are of an amazing quality, so it's with real gladness that I hear that you still rank this entry so high.

[SOLcreator]

progress shot 31.6.jpg is a great vantage point for your action shot. Keep it in mind for later when you are looking at the final composition :D

[maxinkuk]

Hi SOLcreator, thanks for your comment. I looked at it a bit more now and yes, it's a good shot indeed. Mmhm,...thinking, thinking...how do I make the most of that and what can I change to make it better?
Cheers

[Marsyas]

Great progress you're making. :tu: Love the dynamic, pose.

Might look like he's ready to shoot if his hand were fisted up, but I dunno exactly what you're heading for.

[maxinkuk]

Hi Marsyas, I don't now either, I'm thinking about and I must choose between two scenarios.

1) He just shot, with the arrow actually flying. It will be attached to a rope anyway so if it just left then it would be only a small extension probably capable of holding its own weight in a sculpt, that would also give me the chance to show the elastic doing its flexing and boinging in the air;

2) he's about to shoot. The moment before the release of the arrow his arm would be at the peak of tension, the moment after he has released, some of the energy would have gone.

This is the choice. All views welcome.

[bryzol]

The pose is very good! I like the face expresion mostly! :tu:

[maxinkuk]

Thanks, I did have a lot of fun sculpting the face really.
By the way, at the end I realized that it's the face of an old friend of mine that actually gets sometimes all as excited as that.

[maxinkuk]

Here's more progress on the crossbow part of the techno-glove. All elements of the shooter part are there and they all need some sculpting now.
One thing that I will surely change is the rope, it's too thin here, also the bundle is too tight. But mostly I need to add the lower part of the glove which means model all the mechanism attached to his fingers and that's no small job.

Harpoon-prog-9.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27122170%27,%27Harpoon-prog-9.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[GregStrangis]

The glove is looking great man! It has that techno organic feel to it :tu: :tu: :tu:

[SolidSnakexxx]

The glove's looking so detailed. How did you do the mid ball of loom look alike thing..Very impressive :)

[maxinkuk]

Thanks GregStrengis and SolidSnakexxx.

The ball is made out of a ZPrimitive Ring that's twisted at initialization and then masked on alternate rows, the mask saved as an alpha and then applied to the Polymesh once appended. From there there's deformations and then sculpting.
As I said, although it's a nice shape I'm not too happy with the result for its purpose so I'll try to change it. I think that starting with a Spiral could give me a better result.

[maxinkuk]

Another small update on the techno-glove-crossbow hybrid thingy.
I added the main body part underneath the curve upper bodywork and changed the rope that I did yesterday.
This was done by layering three differently initialized Zprimitive Spirals. Each one of a different diameter but of the same rope thickness.

Harpoon-prog-10.jpg (javascript:zb_insimg('122321','Harpoon-prog-10.jpg',1,0))

[goldo_O]

The mechanical modeling that you did in Z is impressive man, I'd give you a prize for that! :) I also think you have one of the most dynamic pose so far, we can really feel that your character is an ACTION hero :tu:
keep it up!

[skullbeast]

The crossbow is "killer". Thats some pretty tight modeling! :tu: :tu:

[SolidSnakexxx]

The adjusted crossbow look even better..... and more realistic as well :)

[Hamilcar]

nice style :tu: I love his facial expression :tu:

[SOLcreator]

I like the idea of the moment just before the shot, and I would imagine that he would have a look of focused concentration on his face....

Also, sorry about not getting back to you sooner with the "where do I take it now?" question. I suggest visiting at your musculature and rhythms. I am feeling that since he is riding a wave, he could have more "S" quality body line rhythms to his body. Right now he has very sharp angles and is very tense, which isn't bad, but in regards to the whole setting of the scene I imagine that one would have to be very centered with a focused still mind in order to shoot while surfing.

A scene that comes to mind is that hilarious part in Meet The Robinsons when brother and sister are fighting slow motion kung-fu with spicy sausages :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S396-fnLldk (not shown here, you'd have to rent the movie, but really a study of any 3D animated film will get you feeling the flow)

And muscles, should check up with anatomy, problem spots with the thighs.

- SOL

[maxinkuk]

goldo_O, thanks a lot, I'm really enjoying the mechanical design actually. I'm glad you like the pose.

skullbeast, cheers, a killer tool is what Damage needs.

SolidSnakexxx, thanks, I'm glad you agree with the changes I made. I was only half happy with what I had done.

Hamilcar, thanks, he's quite expressive and it works under most angles. I'm afraid of making any change to try and improve on that, I think I'll keep it as is.

SOLcreator, thanks, good points. I'll keep that in mind when I do some more sculpting on his body. I never saw Meet the Robinson actually, it must be the only 3d aniation I haven't seen! I'll get it at once.

[Gohanf22]

ok max, it took me awhile to get through all your thread to catch up cause i knew i shouldve posted a reply but i didn't. sorry man. anyway, i went through your thread finally and i gotta say this man is looking very nice. i happen to be an Ironman fan and dude this damage guy you've made could possibly put up a decent fight against the Ironman himself. im loving the crossbow gauntlet and the pose your doing. very dynamic and authentic. i really really love it. keep it up man. your making one heck of a substitute for Ironman. :D

[maxinkuk]

Thanks Gohanf22, that's a great compliment, thank you very much. Who knows, it may even be that Iron Man and Damage get to meet and have a good fight one day! Why not. I'm really pleased that you like the character, I do too, I should start thinking up a full story really.

[Gohanf22]

hey if you do, let me be the first one to get it. im a comic book freak, so I adore comics. let me know if you do. id love to read it. :D :tu:

ps. - im on a project of my own actually. not a comic but a movie trilogy. trying to make it good but i think now i may get off to better start. keep up the good work bud. damage is going to "damage" evil. :D

[SOLcreator]

Also another good movie is Naussicaa Valley of the Wind or Castle In The Sky... lots of (wind) wave riding. I think there may be more value in this film than Meet The Robinsons for your objective :D

- SOL

[maxinkuk]

Hi Sol, those are great films indeed, I saw them both more than once. I just saw this box set of Studio Ghibli on Ebay (link (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Studio-Ghibli-Complete-Movie-Collection-Box-Set-MTV_W0QQitemZ290289446074QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CDsDVDs_DVDs_DVDs_GL?hash=item290289446074&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A2%7C240%3A1318)). The problem for me is the time to watch them actually, but it's so tempting. Thanks for the suggestion.

[SOLcreator]

I know what you mean about finding the time! Thanks for the link, I would love to own all the films... such amazing works of art, yes?

I am back on board the Action Hero contest, see below link :)

- SOL

http://www.solcreator.com/knoweapon/assets/knoweaponbanner01.jpg (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=66749&page=27&pp=1)

[maxinkuk]

Hi Sol, I've been tempted beyond my capacity to resist temptation this time. I bought the box set! Now I must find the time.;)

[sazar26]

I like how you got the mechanics all worked out for his weapon there

[wethand]

the mechanical glove just looks awesome!

[Drakelot]

Xcellent update on the weapon !!! :tu:

[maxinkuk]

Sazar 26, Wethand and Drakelot, thanks guys, here's the finished piece. Well almost, I still need to add high frequency details and of course textures. Not to mention that it connects to the rockets via wiring. I have marked two sockets for the wiring on the back of the glove though.


Harpoon-prog-12.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27122781%27,%27Harpoon-prog-12.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[D Adami]

good work, the glove is really cool.

[maxinkuk]

Thanks D Adami, I do like it now. Here's how it looks on the character.

progress-32.jpg (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:zb_insimg%28%27122794%27,%27progress-32.jpg%27,1,0%29)

[SolidSnakexxx]

maxinkuk, The finished piece on his weapon's totally awesome...and really detailed too.. I can't imagine doing that..must have a lot of planning. :tu: :tu: and it looks super fine on the character.!

[adroit.jr]

really amazing.

[Gohanf22]

nice job buddy. coming along realy nicely. good work my friend. :D :tu:

[KrakenCMT]

With this guy, you just gotta wonder......... he's gotta be havin' fun riding those waves while he's kickin' ass! You can just feel his legs moving with the waves..... :tu: :tu:

[petekasim]

hey maxunuk! what can I say? Mind boggling work on detailing his gadgetry :eek:

I'll be bold enough to say that gadget is easily amongst the finest hard surface models I have ever seen produced in Z- it changes the way I perceive the software :tu:

The pose looks suitably dramatic, especially from that last angle, however that angle has also introduced an issue I didn't notice before, his right leg/foot looks bent in a way that wouldn't be physically possible. I've done a couple of photoshop jobbies that illustrate what I mean:

this one is the original
progress-32a.jpg

here his leg has been turned inward (well, sort of)
progress-32b.jpg

here I have turned his foot outward
progress-32c.jpg

Both of these are a bit quick and naff but hopefully you get my drift. I think the best way would be somewhere between the two. It's odd, because most other angles things looked correct, smooth even. However, another one that seems to show the problem is this one:

progress-21_4.jpg

Anyway, food for thought. You mull it over and go with your gut

[goldo_O]

That screams ACTION! I love it :D
I'm with Petekasim for the foot position. :tu: