Action Hero - Overwatch

[jp_smith]

Created By: Jason P Smith

Hero Name - Overwatch
Real Name - Adam Gordon
Occupation - Special Forces Soldier
Location - Various
Known Abilities - Overwatch's body has been artificially enhanced with synthetic muscle tissue throughout the majority of his body as well as a re-inforced skeletal system. These enhancements afford him much greater strength, speed, agility, and faster reflexes than a normal human. Overwatch is completely blind and his hearing is very poor, he has been provided a helmet which allows him to see with extreme acuity in both normal and infrared spectrums to magnifications of x20. The monocular reticle in his helmet also allows Overwatch to emit a highly focused and intense microwave beam that is capable of striking targets over 2 miles away with near perfect accuracy. This same reticle can be used to "paint" targets for arial bombardment. Overwatch's suit is capable of reactive camouflage, effectively blending into his surroundings, if he so chooses, enhancing his scouting and stealth capabilities. Due to his intense training as a former US Navy SEAL, Overwatch is an expert in military tactics, hand to hand combat, explosives, stealth, and the use of a variety of military vehicles and weapons.

History- A career soldier, Adam Gordon started his career as an Army Ranger and fought with distinction in Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. In 1996 he left the Army to join the elite Navy SEALs where he specialized as a sniper and explosives expert. Gordon served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and his unit was one of the first behind enemy lines, disrupting Iraqi command and control capabilities and eliminating high value targets.

In 2005 he was sent to Afganistan to fight against the resurging Taliban resistance. During September of that same year his squad found itself trapped in a mountain gorge surrounded on all sides by a vastly superior force. As casualties began to mount, and unable to call for help due to the radio interference from the mountains, Gordon told the rest of his squad to retreat to higher ground while he provided sniper cover fire. Purposely exposing himself to enemy fire to draw their attention, Gordon tallied at least 25 enemy kills before he was hit with a mortar round. Eventually rescued, Gordon's injuries were catastrophic, he'd lost most of his face and both eyes, his left arm and leg were gone and his other limbs were mangled to the point of being nearly useless, only his ceramic plate body armor saved his life.

In the hospital, Gordon was introduced to a Colonel Flagg who gave him the option of joining a special anti-terror unit known as Black Eagle. Flagg told Gordon he could provide him with experimental biotech enhancements to restore his mutilated body, and furnish him with bleeding edge next gen military equipment if he agreed to join Black Eagle. The only catch is he had to be legally dead, as were all other members of the unit. Unwilling to live the rest life as a blind, crippled veteran, and afraid of how his wife and family would be burdened with his care, Gordon agreed. Posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism in Afganistan, Master Sergeant Adam Gordon was mock buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full honors.

At the Black Eagle training center, Gordon had his muscle tissue restored and enhanced and his skeleton replaced and reinforced with titanium alloys, his sight was restored with cybernetic implants that feed images from his visor directly into his brain as well as hearing augmentation. Thus was born the super soldier known as Overwatch.

overwatch_small.jpg

[willbrown1]

Great Concept! Cool backstory! :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

[bomoh]

great concept and sketch ! :tu: :tu:

[SolidSnakexxx]

Another promising entry just looking at your concept sketch and background story :) :tu:

[Teyon]

Back story and concept are great. Now let's see that sculpt!

[mantegra]

This hero has potential. I look forward to seeing the wip's.

[KrakenCMT]

Sketch looks great! And a solid character design.

[gang]

great concept and nice sketch :tu:

[sendhilv]

Very nice concept dude.... I love the character... :tu:

[Harmonic]

Yes that sketch is really fantastic, great concept to. I like the variety of textures you have in the outfit.

[aiman]

Koool, reminds me of snake eyes and that's always a good thing. I guess you don't need the sniper rifle anymore cuz he is superhuman but I did like the idea of him sniping, maybe some augment to his visor to make it look more like binoculars and definitely more accessories...cant wait to see more.

[Captain Cartesian]

Excellent work on the backstory and design. You've created a credible situation, developing a character that has great strength, but yet a man who still maintains inner weakness. This makes him relatable and, I am sure, a pleasure to bring to life! Good luck with this one. I am excited to see your progress.

[jp_smith]

Thanks guys, glad you like him. I was kind of going for a Captain America meets the Six Million Dollar Man theme with him, with an inner conflict. Good idea about the monocular, I might pop it off his face a bit to make it look more telescopic. Yeah he doesn't need conventional weapons anymore, but he does use a variety of devices when needed, flashbang grenades, smoke, c4, wirecutters, etc. which is why he has all the pouches. On his back he'll have a small backpack which powers his helmet and feeds him water and air if needed. :D

[Lucky_1]

Very cool sketch,
keep it up Jason !

[jp_smith]

overwatch_base_geo.jpg I got all the base geo blocked out, ready to start sculpting. I added some switchblade-like punching knives to his arms, not sure if I'm going to keep them or not yet.

[Fess]

Cool concept and character, looking forward to see what you do with him!

P.s. Thanks for the suggestion on my character, it helped a lot.

[SolidSnakexxx]

Wow, the base geometry looks awesome even prior to the actual sculpt. Can you show us some more especially on the ZSphere construct on how you created the base? Is retopology a big part of its pipeline because it looks so crisp and clean. Can't wait for the next step you'd post :tu:

[RealFantasy]

That looks like Gray Fox from Metal Gear Solid? lol

Anyway nice work.

[jp_smith]

Snake - I started with this zsphere base, subdivided it a couple of times and roughly sculpted out the base muscle groups and nailed the proportions. Then I spent a LOT of time retopologizing to get the edge flow I wanted. Normally if this was just a sculpt I wouldn't care, but I might want to use him for more than just a zbrush sculpt someday so I put in the extra topology effort, not to mention I think it'll help me pose him more easilly if the edge flow is good at the base level. The pouches are derived from base zbrush cubes that are retoped, the circular elements are retoped cylinders, and the belt and straps are retoped mesh extracts from the base body. Pain in the ass, but I think it'll pay off in the long run. :D

RealFantasy - Yeah his helmet was definitely inspired by Grey Fox from Metal Gear, I've always thought that helmet looked bad ass and something similar made sense for this character since his eyes are gone anyway. It will be different enough though when it's sculpted so that it's it's own unique look.

zsphere_base.jpg

[SolidSnakexxx]

Really amazing.. I'll need to take this tip to my own creation as well. I'm going to have a long session with retop tool (^_^). Great stuff :tu:

[Gohanf22]

im liking the look of it so far. the detail is what is going to make this one stand out. i like the concept of this model. well done. keep up the good work.:D

[Lucky_1]

Looks very good jp !
Keep it up.

[ravioli_rancher]

jp_smith,

Awesome concept and sketch. Even at low poly, your entry looks outstanding. :cool:

[JUPITER]

Looking forward to more!!

[RealFantasy]

RealFantasy - Yeah his helmet was definitely inspired by Grey Fox from Metal Gear, I've always thought that helmet looked bad ass and something similar made sense for this character since his eyes are gone anyway. It will be different enough though when it's sculpted so that it's it's own unique look.

zsphere_base.jpgGreat, I love the idea. I look forward to see what you can do here. :) Looking VERY good so far.

[jar3d]

Hey Jason, I'm a big fan of your concept and your progress. You're right on top of things and I, like others can't wait to see more from you. Keep up the great work!

Quick question ... will you pose and then sculpt or vice-versa?

Jared.

[Flack]

Great start so far JP, keep up the good work. I can't wait to see some details.

[electricCAT]

VERY cool looking hero. I like the mask idea.

[jp_smith]

Hey guys, I got the base pose roughed out tonight, I want to make sure he's in the right position before I get into sculpting. I'm trying not to get hung up on details yet, just going for gesture and feel at this point. I threw in a temp base too just to get an understanding of weight distribution and make sure it felt right. Hope you guys dig it. :)

overwatch_base_pose.jpg

[joe55]

super bad ass pose.

[Fess]

Yep, the pose slays. Looking forward to all the juicy (and crunchy) details.

[sazar26]

looking awesome

[ravioli_rancher]

Low poly mastery.

Incredible pose and base. Definately should be an action figure featured in stores everywhere, with projectile knives, an LED in the middle of his head, and robotic voice that screams, "Die, scumbag!" when he's poked.

This hero will be epic. :cool:

[jp_smith]

Haha. just for you rancher, I'll sculpt "Die Scumbag" into the bottom of the base. ;)

[SolidSnakexxx]

That's one cool pose! Really expressive. Very dynamic! :cool:

[mantegra]

This guy definitely looks like he means business. I look forward to seeing you detail this guy up.

[wolfsoull]

Great start so far, keep going

[dustbin1_uk]

NICE! GREAT WORK!:D:tu:

This is WAY too close to the concept image I was about to create!

Guess I'll go back to the drawing board now! LOL

This one is on my top 5 list so far!

[maxinkuk]

Excellent pose and very solid model throughout. It comes out very strong.

[Red Republik]

very nice pose. um, you know you still have a month and a half for this right...give the rest of us time to catch up please

[Captain Sensible]

That's really nice man! And you've not even done any details yet. It's gonna look seriously good when it's finished. Lookin forward to it. Keep us updated! :)

[ISK-86]

Story: :tu: :tu: :tu: A hero, turning into a super hero!
Concept Art: :tu: :tu: :tu:
Sculpting so far: :tu: :tu: :tu:

Your'e a great aritst!!!

[threetails]

Looking good, i like your workflow with the placing of the low poly subtools for his gear early on it makes posing and moving an easier task for sure cool pose, will you be breaking the upper body symetry a little more at this stage or will you be doing that as the higher resolution work begins?

[jp_smith]

Hey gang, I didn't get a chance to sculpt today so I thought I'd post a turnaround of my pose from yesterday. Mostly just to see if I can embed a video, which I've never done before.

9Eb_tOqlung

[dustbin1_uk]

looking really nice!!!

[ISK-86]

Looks very good, a really good base mesh, i'm impatient on seeing your progress.....

could anyone tell me hoy to upload the youtube video?? 0o

totally lost there....


:rolleyes:


just found out how...

[jp_smith]

Got a good amount of sculpting done on the body today, still haven't touched the accessories or base and I have some tweaking and detailing of the body to do still but I'm rolling. Just thought I'd post an update. :)


overwatch_sculpt_wip1.jpg

[mantegra]

Very nice progress jp. I like your clean precise modeling style. I know this may sound a bit nit-picky and I know he is a superhero and supposed to have bulging muscles, but when a person stretches their arms back that much to stick out their chest there is little muscles density around the sternum due to the muscles being stretched. At the moment it looks very thick and dense and doesn't read that well with me. Maybe it would be better if the muscle strucutre in the middle of the chest looked a bit flatter?

[neozerahan]

wow,thats one good superhero u made my friend....
one of my best uptil now.....
but i agree with mategra,about the chest and its strching mechanism....
but if u would look at the pose frm the left profile view,i couldnt fell the rythm in the front feet, iguess u could push that feet more on the rock and try to bend it...it wil make the pose look more dynmic than it is...
but u r very clear in ur concept and nice work...
waiting for updates bro!!!!!

[jp_smith]

Mantegra - good feedback. I am definitely going for a very powerful muscular look, but you're right the pecs are a tad thick considering his arm position. I flattened them out and added more striations to give a more stretched look. :)

overwatch_rev.jpg

[gang]

nice job man

[cmoffitt]

Man, this is looking amazing, Jason. I love the pose! Looks like you had no trouble working with posed symmetry. I need to figure out how that works. Nice job!

[SolidSnakexxx]

Wow, this is really superb. You have done such a marvelous job sculpting his muscles. :tu: :tu: :tu:

[canndis]

Like this guys pose a lot , Good update so far

[jeffmeckley]

Awesome. Nice military tough look. SOC.

[Teyon]

Awesome. I was just thinking of doing a rock base for mine - since I had to redo the pose and all - but seeing how well yours turned out, I can't see how I'd do it better. Great job! The strap around his chest looks in need of one more subdivision. :) Keep inspiring!

[MindFX]

WOW!!! Love your design and concept.

[jp_smith]

Thanks for the comments guys. :)

Teyon: yeah i haven't subdivided anything but the body at this point :) And don't feel like you can't do a rock base just because I did, mine might change anyway, I was thinking of changing it to sandbags or something more military.

CMoF: Thanks buddy. Yeah poseable symmetry kinda worked and it kinda didn't so I just gave up on it, I'd say he's 80% unique sculpt on both sides so I wouldn't say I got it working. ;) In hindsight I could have just symmetrically sculpted it in his t-pose and then just imported the posed subd-1 version but I like sculpting anatomy so I really didn't mind too much.

[Gohanf22]

im liking the detail of the torso and the pose he is in. this guy looks awesome. good work man.

[Fess]

That's looking sweet, good job!

[robbiestyle]

looking great man! really cool pose. i can totally see that as a statue already! how did you do the kneepads of you don't mind me asking?

robo

[MonteCristo]

A real shame you model so slowly... Do you think you'll be able to get this one done before the deadline? Come on! Hurry up already!
:p

Looking sweet man. No crits from me, although it'd be nice to see some bigger renders.

[jp_smith]

Robbie, the knee and elbow pads are just inflated masks. First I masked the knee, inverted, smoothed it out then used the magnify brush to shape the pad and used the inflate deformer set to 20 to pop it off the leg, then just sculpted the details with the standard brush and lazy mouse.

[Lucky_1]

The model's coming along real nicely !

Keep it up.

[Predator42]

DUDE!!! This Guy is sweet. I really like his pose, along with the entire concept. It might be cool to have some "kills" laying under him, or some discarded helmets or something. I like the sand bag idea too. I would personally love it if he stayed stealth and mostly black, wouldn't want to meet him on the battle field.

[robbiestyle]

hey jp! thanks for the tip on the knee pads. that really worked out pretty painlessly. Way easier that what i was going to try! still need work but they're there and it was really fast! thanks!

checkem' out!
kneepads (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=66411)

[chindian]

Hey dude - this model is looking really promising... liking it a lot already... kinda reminds me of GI-Joe days... haha

Looking forward to see where you take this!
Keep it up! :tu:

[Moni-Poroni]

Really amazing model... looks like he´s going to stab somebody to death in a few seconds
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

[skullbeast]

Very solid form! He's looking great! :tu: :tu:

[Hamilcar]

cool concept! and the sculpt is great, I can't wait to see you finish this off. :tu:

[jp_smith]

Hey all, here's an update. The gear and body sculpting are mostly done, but I'm still tweaking and refining here and there. The next step will be nailing down the base and deciding exactly what I want to do with it. Right now I'm leaning towards sandbags and razorwire, i'll probably do some concept sketches in order to refine it more before I get into it. I'm also including a closeup detail render since that's been requested and he does have some cool textural stuff going on now. Thanks guys. :)

overwatch_sculpt_wip2_small.jpg

[jp_smith]

Here's the detail shot....


overwatch_sculpt_wip2_detail.jpg

[mkk316]

Reminds me of SnakeEyes. I like it.

[BARON_3D]

Very Nice Model !!!!! :tu: :tu: :tu:

[mantegra]

Awesome details mate, looks very highly polished.

[MindFX]

This is amazing... love all details you put on him... The post himself is perfet for him... Great update.

[SolidSnakexxx]

Wow, there are insane amount of details going on. Amazing model and wonderful pose! Can't say "Wow" enough. :tu: :tu:

[Hamilcar]

Awesome! Nice work on the different materials :tu:

[rasmusW]

very nice work. really like his pose. think there's a real sense of weight to it.

-r

[goldo_O]

Wow, that's a really nice character you have here. And it's almost already finished for the modeling! You're fast :)

[Gohanf22]

good work on what you've done jp. this is the last time ill be seeing your model. keep up the good work. im leaving cause i guess im not wanted around here. take care and good luck.

[pitchepuck]

nice nice ! I like it a lot! go on man! :D

[jp_smith]

Thanks all, glad you're digging it! :D Goldo, the reason I've been able to get it this far this quickly is because I've been off work for 2 weeks. Things are going to slow down a lot for me now, so I wanted to get as much done as I could while I had the free time. ;)

Jason

[Captain Sensible]

Damn that's lookin good! Keep it up :cool:

[P'etur]

Excellent work, I´m digging it :D :tu:

[dustbin1_uk]

Amazing work!!

Don't forget the transpose video is required!

But yeah! this goes on my top 5! (that's at least 7 there now! ;) So many great entries!)

[Firebert]

YES! This guy frickin' rawksawrs! That is a good background story and the pose sets him off pretty swell! The ONLY thing that bugs me is the switchblades. They're just too long. I would also consider maybe putting something in his hand? A pistol? Maybe show him in the same position but more mid action than mid pose, like he just unloaded and is mid action of changing his clip? I dunno, just thinking of more ways to make him beyond over the top. I love this guy! :eek:

[KrakenCMT]

This is looking pretty tight, Jason! You've got a great shape for your base as well. The overall design is very balanced. Just an all around excellent job so far.

[canndis]

Awesome work , Looks like you are almost done

[jp_smith]

Firerbert - I'm staying away from guns simply because he doesn't need them with his sniper eye beam, but I did want some close quarters stealth "wet work" weapons, hence the punching daggers. I realize the daggers themselves are too long for the sheath but I wanted them to look formidable and if I made the sheath longer it would overlap his wrist, which means I couldn't pose his fists the way I wanted to. So I was forced to break logic a little bit there. :)

[Firebert]

Touché!:D

[gordon-v]

Amazing work!
i love the detail! cant you create a turntable for us?

considering the knifes, why dont you make them to teleskop knifes?
Just like THESE (http://www.budoten.com/_cgi-bin/shop/shop.pl?t=ddetailpic&f=NR&c=601608&G_PIC=2) tai chi teleskop swords.

greetings, gordon

[jp_smith]

As requested, here's a turnaround of the sculpt so far.


z2QgC3JjE8g

Jason

[gordon-v]

Dude that was a fast reply! that pose totaly rocks from every angle! gonna be hard to top your character!
keep it up!

[jp_smith]

Thanks Gordon, good suggestion on the knives, I might try something like that. Thanks. :D


Jason

[wethand]

oh yeah! that details are awesome!! just impressed... :eek:

[MindFX]

As Gordon mentioned about those knifes, my suggestion would be to make them retractable. Very impressed with your design.
CHEERS!

[Drakelot]

Impressive model and detail so far ... xcellent

[maxinkuk]

Phenomenal sculpt. I admire the way you built it up, doing each subdiv level to death before moving up. It's really a scary piece, I look at it and I fear he may jump up at me and stab me. That's the success of it, it really has impact on the viewer.

[SolidSnakexxx]

Such a terrific sculpt! The 360 turn around is so wonderful to look at and I've played it like 20 times! So amazing! :tu: :tu:

[allRone]

Great sculpt! Knowing the back story just makes that much better. Awesome.

[KiVanDi]

The model is greate and greate deteil.

[dustbin1_uk]

Wow!

[tortilla1]

Yes...this looks pretty sweet and totally works with the pose...I don't know if you were planning to put more detail on the base, cause I really like it as it is!

:tu:

[jp_smith]

Tortilla - The base is just a block in, but glad you like it. As stated in my earlier post, I'd like to try something military specific with the base, like sandbags and barbed wire or something along those lines as opposed to just rock. :)


Jason

[Gohanf22]

jp your awesome. that turntable movie is very good indeed. all you need to make it better is to add the underlying colors for each part of the clothing and this will be a standout model. i cant wait for the coloring and the final entry. :D :tu:

[jp_smith]

Haven't had a chance to get very much done this week with being back at work at all but I did get some sandbags kinda blocked in on the base. I'm thinking I might make the base a bit bigger to accommodate a few more props, ammo boxes, maybe a discarded ak47 or an rpg launcher tube, things like that. Hope to get some more done this weekend. :)


overwatch_base_wip.jpg

[- FoOD -]

looking good man ....sheez Iam just starting and youre nearly done :D

[marvel_modeler]

good job from what I can see... but I want to see more... lets see some more views and wire frames. I would also like to see the model with a diffrenet material on it. so i can make out all the details. from what I can see your details look good and your character is very interesting. good job keep it up.

[SolidSnakexxx]

With the sand bags, the scene looks more complete. Love the mat you assigned as well ...and your work's always.. :tu: :tu:

[jp_smith]

marvel_modeler, I guess you haven't been following my thread, there are plenty of additional shots with different materials...and you really want to see a hi res wirefreame?

[Super Glitcher]

awesome work! :tu:

[DAnconia]

Wow that looks great! I mean really really great! Very inspiring.

[The Namek]

wonderful model and amazing detail , only critique i could have is perhaps break up the symmetry in the posing of the arms. It works this way too, but i'm not sure how they are judging, they seemed to stress the importance of posing a lot and perhaps having as little symmetry as possible might increase your chances even more.

[Webhead]

Good concept, great model! I really have my work cut out for me.

[jp_smith]

Here's another update guys. Things to note: I played around with the arm pose a little bit, looking for a more aggressive feel. I added some more sandbags, some shell casings to the base, a pda on his left forearm, refined the look of the punching daggers, added some flares to his left boot, I think that was it, I might be forgetting something. Anyway, here's a character sheet and another detail shot. I see a lot of new entries today, this is getting fun. :D

overwatch_sculpt_wip3.jpg

overwatch_sculpt_wip3_detail.jpg

[Moni-Poroni]

This is looking so amazing...great details and cool subtools...:tu:
but may I ask you some question ?
How did you get those nice and high detailed images??
The quality of my images is really awful :rolleyes:

[jp_smith]

Moni-Poroni - I use Zapplink, the character sheet function gives you some really nice hi res images. :)

Jason

[Moni-Poroni]

Thank you so much...:) I´ll try that..
I´ve never used Zapplink before and I didn´t know that...^^
I always wondered how you and others get those really cool high res images ^^
Thanks again :)

[jar3d]

As suspected this is coming along beautifully! Excellent work!

[GregStrangis]

Fantastic job man! Love the detail and how consistent it is throughout the model! Keep going man :tu: :tu:

[languidcorpse]

I likey.

[Alliecat 08]

You are my hero. :D and an inspiration.

[jp_smith]

Thanks for the comments all, much appreciated! :) I worked a little on the base today, going for a sandy look to it. I've really been enjoying seeing everyone's progress, but it's hard to keep up with all of them, man 150 entries!

overwatch_sculpt_wip4_detail.jpg

Jason

[SolidSnakexxx]

Whoa...the back view looks equally impressive as the front. This guy really packs some massive action. Always :tu: :tu: for you.

[jp_smith]

Thanks Snake, your Mantis Man is really coming together, it's exciting to see how it's developed...and your forum posting skills are amazing, I think you have that honorable mention award locked up just for that. ;)

[therasoft]

I love the textures and the depth with which you went into the armor.
I love the punching blades. Very tight sculpt.
What is the character sheet???

Thanks for sharing your work.

[jp_smith]

Therasoft - Thanks for the comments. The character sheet is a cool feature of Zapplink that let's you pick a bunch of camera angles and then spits out an image of all those camera shots composed together...very cool feature. :tu:

J

[markrulz]

Looking way hot. Excellent attention to detail and incredible sculpting.

[jarlaxle00]

Wow, I'm brand new to Zbrush/Zbrush Central and just clicked on this image. This sculpt is totally amazing, you have an awesome command of both zbrush and anatomy! This is very inspirational to me, and this contest is fantastic, such amazing talent here. Keep it up! :D

[jp_smith]

Markrulz - Thanks buddy, your Golgotha sculpt is looking pretty cool as well...thanks for the comments and I'm looking forward to some cool poses form you. :)

[Gohanf22]

man jp your overwatch is looking sweet even from the rear. and the sand idea is a terrific idea. i think it will go well with what your trying to push for. good thinking. :D .

ps. - i envy you.

[wethand]

awesome! perfect detail... nothing more to say :eek:

[dustbin1_uk]

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :tu:

[animastur]

very good heroe design and pose!! :lol:

[Lucky_1]

Just perfect awesome JP.
Keep it up

[Captain Sensible]

Looks damn good! I like the detail on top of his head. Sort of looks like a brain. And good job on all his accesories too.

[dirkrulz]

Hi , this is one of the coolest models in the competition, ur planning and execution is evident right thru the concept art stage.
nice inspiration.

[chindian]

Man - this is looking wikkid!! Love all the details in the back and the pouches and accessories! It's coming out really nicely... Looking forward to seeing him textured! Keep it up! :cool:

[Webhead]

Fantastic modeling! Very tight. Love the pose. My only crit would be the front foot doesn't seem to be putting enough weight down on the sandbag.

[Fess]

Looks very cool! The detail that I like the least on him is the honeycomb pattern on his head - I think it's a bit too big, and it also looks like it might be warping a little bit as it comes down.

[jp_smith]

Gohanf22, wethand, dustbin1_uk, animastur, Lucky_1, Captain Sensible, dirkrulz, chindian - Thanks very much guys, I'm loving your work so far! :D

Webhead - Yeah I see what you mean, I'll play around a little more with it, thank you. Love your Fishman so far. :tu:

Fess - It might be too big, but I wanted it to read well at a distance and I think the size fits that goal. That said I think the pattern stretched a little on that very back panel I'll see what I can do about that. Appreciate the feedback, and Rys is starting to come along nicely! :tu:

J

[- FoOD -]

model is very clean and some great detail man ....gj

[Hamilcar]

Looking damn good! I love the foot print, nice touch :tu: imho a fluid outline for the base would be more suggestive of sand.

[jp_smith]

Hamilcar - yeah you're right. My initial idea was that it would be very rocky terrain similar to Afganistan, but I really liked the idea of sand flowing up into the sandbags...I dunno I'm still not sold on the sand or the shape of the base to be honest. Thanks for your input. :)

[sagiarts]

Simply one word"AMAZING"

[SOLcreator]

Your attention to detail is astounding! I will be taking tips from your work for sure!

I've got a new posting for my character, Knoweapon... check it out!

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

[spimmy]

Love the character design, great model and detailing and really like the base for the model! :) .

Awesome work!:tu:

[Drakelot]

One of my favorites ... awesome details , GRRRT8 pose and way cool outfit ... Xcellent !!! :tu: :tu: :tu:

[D Adami]

nice details, I liked the base too.
continue with the good work. :tu:

[animastur]

Impressive detail!!! :tu: :tu: :tu:

[jempix]

Very polished work indeed! Your attention to detail is impressive

[Gohanf22]

im leaving buddy. someone has shown the wrongness in my work. im a failure. i have a one track mind and it isnt right. my work is offensive and you probably think it is too. good luck my friend. im sorry for showing you my offensive work. :cry:

[Etcher]

Absolutely awesome work!:tu: !

[Finners]

pose:great, design:badass, stand: really nice, more pictures please!

[jp_smith]

sagiarts, solcreator, spimmy, dreakelot, dadami, animastur, etcher, and finners thank you very much. It's been a long time since I've posted any progress but I have been working on my entry here and there. I just finished this prop ak47 that i'll have resting on the sandbags or on the base somewhere. It's not 100% accutare, I left out some detals but it should be ok just for extra atmosphere. I'll try to get out more updates as soon as I can. Thanks guys, I'm loving everyone's work thus far. :)


overwatch_ak47.jpg

[Moni-Poroni]

:eek: Wow coool...
what a clean and great work :tu: :tu: :tu:
I like the scratches... excellent idea.. so it´s looking used.
and the wooden parts are amazing :)

[SolidSnakexxx]

Hi jp_smith, I like the new AK-47..It would make the atmosphere looks more "war zone". Very cool. And although it's not super detailed I think it's more than sufficient and very beautiful. Always :tu: :tu: for you, man.

[skullbeast]

rat-tat-tat Sweet AK, J! :tu: :tu: :cool:

[jp_smith]

Another quick update, I added some throwing knives to his right thigh and boot, as well as a infared rescue strobe light that Navy SEALs and other units use to communicate their position to helicopters and boats as they're waiting for extraction, it's a bright blinking light only visible through night vision goggles. At this point I think I'm scrapping the sand idea, As Hamilcar pointed out , the sand look doesn't really fit the craggy look of the base's shape. I really like the base shape, so I think I'll go with a rocky Afghanistan look instead. :)

overwatch_update.jpg

[SolidSnakexxx]

Just love the things you add to this character little by little...just make him more and more...realistic. And great placement for both accessories added! :tu: :tu:

[mkk316]

Great detailing and pose. :tu:

[JHK3D]

Awesome work!
Your hero is getting many detail goods.
It looks very realistic.

[jp_smith]

Thanks guys! I just tried to bring the ak47 in and pose it but it crashed when I tried to save it...AAArrgghh I hate that, feels like Charlie Brown getting the football pulled away from him! :mad: :mad:

[SolidSnakexxx]

Oh man..when it crashes...it must have felt...so lost. I feel your pain, jp_smith. But with your set of talents, I'm certain the pose can be remade in no time.

[jp_smith]

dlzVDDSfeeA

[ravioli_rancher]

jp_smith,

Still amazed by this character. And The AK47 is impressive, despite any claims of inaccuracy. :cool:

One spot which I think seems out of context with the rest of his design, though, is the top of his helmet. The honeycomb shapes just scream ALPHA! I think they work well on his leg well, but at the increased scale, the shape just doesn't feel high-tech enough at the moment.

Maybe it doesn't need clear patterns. Just more grit and scorch marks over the ventilator ribs, or whatever the back section of his helmet is called.

You have mad skills. I just enjoy your updates and want to see more. :)

[pitchepuck]

I allways save twice. and than rotationaly.
cool details by the way :tu: :tu:

[Firebert]

Something to double check on your AK47 crashing situation. Look and see if the normals were reversed at some point. Tool > Display Properties > Double. Turning off this feature will give you the backface culling back like it was in ZB2. If it doesn't do anything your normals are fine, but I noticed a crashing problem when posing and using the deformation tools because I had reversed normals. I had to retopo the entire model and hope for the best. It sucked. Be aware that if they are flipped, and your hit the Flip button, it will delete all the lower subD levels and leave the topmost level for working. Just a thought of something to check.

[Gohanf22]

id say go with the what is it called again. the weapon of choice for the special forces today use. ill research it up. ill get back to you on it. :D

[Gohanf22]

I GOT IT! what weapon that would be great for overwatch is this:

The Micro Tavor Assault Rifle

MTAR.jpg (javascript:zb_insimg('123376','MTAR.jpg',1,0))

This baby is used by special forces and SWAT in today's society. i think this is a much better choice than the AK-47. the accuracy rating on this bad boy is 10 times greater than the AK but i dont think you really care about that. im here to help buddy. you helped me out with my pain. im returning the favor. kudos jp. your doing great. :D :tu:

[Gohanf22]

oh and btw you are doing a good job on the AK and im sorry to hear of the crash. itll be your choice to choose if you want the AK or the micro. if your overwatch is special forces. i think you should stay up to date with the modern world. thats my opinion. take it with a grain of salt my friend. :D

[- FoOD -]

dudes Looking sick man
Looking really cool JP

[Bas Mazur]

Thanks guys! I just tried to bring the ak47 in and pose it but it crashed when I tried to save it...AAArrgghh I hate that, feels like Charlie Brown getting the football pulled away from him! :mad: :mad:

I had also problems with the same gun, fun. Some unsolved TransposeMaster-problems, but I could save it :-)


gun.jpg

[Lexicon128]

That last pic Bas posted reminds me of the movie Blood Diamond.

[jp_smith]

Thanks fellas for the info. Shane the AK47 isn't for Overwatch himself, it's an insurgent weapon discarded on the base just for atmosphere. Overwatch doesn't need a gun, he has an eye beam that scorches what ever he can get his visual crosshair on...much better than an assault rifle (though the one you picked is bad ass). :) The knives are just for close quarters stealth.


J

[Gohanf22]

oh lol. my bad. lol. i mustve forgot. it is a bad ass rifle. they used that weapon over in Iraq. glad you liked it. your doing a good job. :D :tu:

[dirkrulz]

will you be making the rifle in zbrush? what are ur techniques for making hard edged surfaces in zbrush? coz i really find that difficult

[jp_smith]

dirkrulz - I made the base of the rifle in Max, I just don't know any good techniques in zbrush for the mechanical stuff yet, the detailing was done in zbrush though.

[Lucky_1]

JP I wish I had something to say that I did'nt like about your work :cool:

.

[gregoconn]

jp your skills are amazing I'm so humbled by your piece.

I would really love to see more and cannot wait to see the final product. It's people like you who keep me striving to be better.

Have you picked out a colour scheme yet?

[jp_smith]

Lucky_1 - Thanks buddy, Blabjab is really cool...that sock still makes me chuckle. ;)

gregoconn - I haven't decided on a color scheme for sure, initially I was thinking desert colors, but that probably won't pop him out of the base enough. Black won't show the detail very well, so I think that's out. A camouflage design does what it's supposed to do and breaks up form and detail (not good for a sculpt). So lately I've been considering kind of a dark blue theme, similar to snake in metal gear solid, or possibly a military green look. Any ideas?

[Hamilcar]

Hey JP, it's looking great! Since your original idea was for rocky terrain you could go with a few different shades of slate blue.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/hamilcar_photos/slate-1.jpg

[jp_smith]

Hamilcar - good idea I'll do some tests with it. Thanks. :tu:

[chindian]

Hey man - the model is looking really great! I like Gohanf22's suggestion on guns... definitely feels like he shud have a more futuristic weapon than an AK47.

When are u gonna start texturing!! I can't wait to see this guy textured and rendered!!! :lol:

[jp_smith]

Chindian, the AK is for the base, it's just a prop, an insurgent weapon...Overwatch doesn't use guns. :)

[chindian]

AHH!!! Gotcha!
Makes sense then! :tu: :tu: :tu:

Oh - one thing i think you cud maybe refine is the cloth on the suit... maybe add some fine wrinkle/folds in... and some stitching work, etc...? Looks good now - but I think adding in some of those kinds of high freqency details would help bring it up to the next level!
Especially in the top...

Looking stellar tho man! Looking forward to ur updates as usual! And thanks for the feedback!

[jp_smith]

chindian - that's the plan, when I get the base done and everything in there i'll do a fine detail pass on him, appreciate the feedback. :)

[jarlaxle00]

Hey nice progress...love this guy, very Metal Gear Solid/ GI Joe. :tu: :D :D

[jp_smith]

I blocked in some rocks and rubble for the base, no sculpting on those yet, just to get a feel for distribution and such, also blocked in some new earpieces but no detail on those either yet.

overwatch_update2.jpg

[SolidSnakexxx]

I like the look of the base you are going for. Are those bullets laying on the ground? (The cylindrical objects) Looking good as usual, mate :tu:

[jarlaxle00]

Those look like ak47 shells

[jp_smith]

Heh my brother in law, was logged into my machine looking at stuff and I accidentally posted with his login, woops. Yeah Yong, those are AK shells, it'll make more sense when the rifle is in there, that is if I can ever get it in there without crashing. :confused:

[Teyon]

Great job on him thus far.

[Etcher]

:tu: !

[Gohanf22]

:tu: :tu: Two thumbs up! JP your doing a smashing job. i love the idea for the base. i think this is a better choice than the one before. great work indeed. :D

[wethand]

just can agree! this is awesome! the amount of details is stunning! :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

[Moni-Poroni]

Jason..what could I say.. everything has been uttered before :)
Ok...the 3rd time is the charm...well in your case... the 300rd time :D
Amazing piece!
I´m speechless with amazement....:)

[electricCAT]

Love the suit. You've got all the cool weapns and gear a soilder would want.

[Gohanf22]

hey good modeling as always jp. thats all but what i can say. :( sorry for the trouble.

[fluxist8070]

This is looking really great! good work!

[Hamilcar]

Looking awesome! and I think the colors your playing with are working nice :tu:

[Drakelot]

Looking awesome ... xcellent updates ... :tu: :tu:

[markrulz]

He's incredible. Really.

I'm not happy with the hand knives tho... how about this?

knives.JPG (javascript:zb_insimg('123905','knives.JPG',1,0))

2 are better than one :P

[jp_smith]

markrulz - Thanks for the feedback. To me, that crescent look of the blades smacks of the middle eastern star and crescent symbol, not something I want to visually associate with a US super soldier. Not to mention it doesn't look long enough to be able to stab very deeply. If he can, Overwatch likes to go for quick stabbing stealth kills, preferably at the base of the neck where the skull meets the spinal column. There's not as much blood spilled as the slicing wound that your blades would probably produce, besides he doesn't want a lot of blood in case he needs to hide the body. Ok that was way too much detail about stabbing people. ;) Appreciate you taking time for the sketch though. :)

[Gohanf22]

i found my inspiration jp. i found the way to keep me going and not stop what im doing. go read my thread and you will see what i mean. you can thank ISK later.

[Marsyas]

Looking awesome. :tu: Love the little details and weaponry.

[MindFX]

Excellent work! Keep it up!

[jp_smith]

Hey all, here's my latest update. I spent a good portion of the day sculpting the base and rocks associated with it. I also refined the helmet, and played with the size of his head a little, which i felt was reading a little bit small. I also added earpieces and added more detail to his costume. The idea behind the circular designs I added to his suit is that those are sensor pads that record information on the status of heart and respiratory systems and any damage to his limbs and transmits that back to Black Eagle headquarters. This system can also be used to deliver meds and stimulants as needed throughout Overwatch's missions. :)


overwatch_wip_4.jpg

[jp_smith]

Also I started playing around with the basic materials (the ones that can accept light) and toying with some possible lighting scenarios, not sure at all how I want to light him yet, just experimenting...


lighting_test.jpg

[Etcher]

Beautiful updates! The first lighting test looks great: the thumbnail on the bottom row really pops out! :tu: !

_______________________________________________

My sketchbook: Etcher_Sketcher (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=67208)

[Webhead]

Every time I think this sculpt just can't get any better, it does. Just a beautiful piece of work. :tu:

[jarlaxle00]

Wow, awesome update! The base looks great and that lighting test is really cool, very dramatic! I don't know if you even need to add that AK47 at this point...might look too cluttered? Sweet stuff JP! :tu: :tu: :tu: :D :D

[jp_smith]

Etcher, Webhead, and Jarlaxle thanks very much. :) As far as the AK goes, I'm still having a helluva time even getting it in the scene, I'm not sure what the deal is. I do have like a gazillion subtools now, that might be part of the problem. But like you said maybe I don't need it afterall, but it's a bummer that I took the time to make and and not use it...oh well (shrug). :)

[Nattawat_OBBI]

really cool, very dramatic! :tu:

[jp_smith]

ravioli_rancher, this bottom of the base sculpt is for you buddy! Thought I forgot didn't ya? ;)

J

secret message.jpg

[Moni-Poroni]

great update as always...
and the bottom of the base sculpt..LOL...very cool indeed :)
but I can´t read the third row..Love and..? :)

[jp_smith]

Moni - haha yeah i didn't have quite enough res there did i? The last part says "Love and Kisses, Overwatch" ;)

[rasmusW]

hey mr. smith!

good start on your lighting. maybe a orange/yellow rim light would look good if you continue with the blue.

-r

[SolidSnakexxx]

He looks super awesome in Bronze type of material...and just love your hidden humor for this piece.. :tu: :tu:

[pitchepuck]

I´m waiting eagerly for the colored version :D

[Moni-Poroni]

Lol okay... thank you :)
really funny ^^

[zeke3d]

looks like a neat entry :tu:

[petekasim]

Man, this entry is just IMPOSSIBLE to crit. You've absolutely nailed everything about it, pose, detail, and great iconic-looking character.

And that lighting test adds all the necessary drama, beautiful job :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

Best of luck with this, although I doubt you'll need much!

[Firebert]

You are so gonna be at the very top of this contest when it is all said and done! I haven't read back too far, but are you going to texture him at all or just keep it a clay render?

[jp_smith]

abyss103 - thanks man, I'm thinking right now of a night scene moonlit from the back and the under light would be from maybe an enemy camp down below him on fire or exploding or whatever so I think if I did this kind of a setup it'd be warm under light with a bright cool rim light. Appreciate the feedback

solidsnakexxx - thanks buddy, I think it'd be pretty cool to get a 3d print of him with a faux bronze look to it.

pitchepuck - yeah I think i'll do a bunch of color comps because I'm really up in the air about his color and material scheme right now...gonna take some fiddling to figure out what works best.

moni-poroni - hey it's not funny to the terrorists! ;)

zeke3d - thanks man, appreciate it. :)

petekasim - well thanks! Your Dark Mother is looking bad ass, especially the wild posing you have going, very dynamic. :tu:

firerbert - Hey thanks, I hope so. I do plan to texture him, like I said earlier I'm undecided on the color scheme at this point, but that's the next step for me. Nice job so far on your character. :)

Thanks for the feedback and encouragement guys and gals, Overwatch and I appreciate it. :)

Jason

[Gohanf22]

jp nice work bud. your doing a good job and i like the saying. very unique and funny. :lol:

[jp_smith]

Thanks Shane, good to see you back. :)

[Y/Haüss]

Nice pose JP_Smith.
I see a very responsable sculpt here. Very balanced.
Congratulations.

[KrakenCMT]

Looking good! Love the message under the base.

[Drakelot]

Xcellent so far ... cool logo and work !! :tu:

[jp_smith]

v/hauss and kraken - thanks very much guys, I really like the way your sculpts are progressing too. :) I thought I'd upload a turntable of my lighting test from last night...just black and white no colored lights or anything.

_lhpFXVHlQU

[jp_smith]

Well perseverance paid off in the end, I finally got the friggin' AK47 posed on the base! I tried transpose master like 4 times (with 4 crashes), and I tried posing from maya and importing, which exploded my subdivision levels. Then finally I just broke down and just posed each piece of the gun individually, which let me tell you is a pain in the butt but it worked! Small victory.


overwatch_wip_5_ak47.jpg

[jackdaniels666]

Nice, this scene is great. The AK47 looks sweet but I would not wanna be standing with that barrel in between my legs. :lol:

[SolidSnakexxx]

Wow, JP-smith, this is so wonderful. The AK fits right in. :tu:

[pitchepuck]

your model is realy top ! :tu: I like it a lot. especially the details. the only crit I´ve is that always when I look at him I have to think at BOBA FETT from star wars :confused:
I don´t get this super hero feeling. it´s more an aktion hero for me...
never the less, it´s one of the best models here :tu:

[Captain Sensible]

Again, looking great! I like the base very much. One question, are you gonna texture him? I know he has similar overall look, but it would be good to see some subtle differences here and there.

[Gohanf22]

sweet jesus thats awesome! wow jp thats looking amazing. i cant wait til you put color into it. nice work :D :tu:

[spimmy]

Loving the base of the model more and more, great stuff dude!! :cool: :tu:

[Alliecat 08]

I might as well drop out now. Your hero is the bomb! Good work. :D

[fluxist8070]

Nice stuff! You should color him!

[jp_smith]

jackdaniels666 - Heh you might have a point there, but I'm not gonna move it again...too painful to move all those pieces individually.

Yong - thanks buddy, yeah it adds a little war zone quality to it as you've said before, glad I stuck it out. :)

Pitchepuck - Yeah you do have a point, he's not exactly the spandex and cape type of hero. I really patterned him more after guys like Deathstroke from DC, and Deadpool from Marvel....with a little Snake Eyes from GI Joe mixed in there. Not the Superman type to be sure, but there are superheroes and supervillains in this vein in comics. Appreciate the feedback. :)

Captain Sensible - Yes as you'll see in this update I do plan to paint him. I think he stands up pretty well as just a sculpture but I have the time to paint and light him so I'll go ahead and go for it. :)

Shane and spimmy - Thanks fellas! Appreciate the comments. :)

Alliecat 08 - Wow thanks, but I certainly hope you don't drop out! There's still a decent amount of time left.

fluxist8070 - Thanks, yep workin' on it as we speak.


Ok now to the update: I've been playing around with a color scheme and I think this dark blue/green leathery look works pretty well for a night scene without resorting to boring black. He's got so much detail I want to make sure it shows. As far as the lighting goes, I'm not really going for realistic lighting as I am something that just looks dramatic and cool with some nice highlights and crushed blacks. This is by no means final anything and I've only really painted the body and not even all of that...just wanted to show the direction I'm thinking of heading with this. Thanks for checking it out. :)



color_lighting_test2.jpg

[SolidSnakexxx]

Wow, the long awaited color version's worth it.. Really beautiful ...This is turning out so wonderfully. Seemes liek you are placing him ina night scene huh? :tu: :tu:

[brettSinclair]

Holy crap :eek:. Thats amazing.

[Seavannah]

:D JP wonderful model.:D All the details and subtools and all that looks so very clean and very awesome. So many details everytime I look at this I see something new I didn't before:eek: . Love it can't wait to see it finished. Good luck and happy zbrushing.:D

[pitchepuck]

yes man, it´s better with color! cool blue :tu: :cool:

[Captain Sensible]

Colours are looking great! Good luck with this man. It'll get in the final top ten easily :tu:

[3dzeiro]

wow! very amazing! :tu::tu::tu::tu::tu: nice colors!

[Gohanf22]

nice work JP. you did your homework. he looks so cool with the texturing job done to him. very nice work.

[Etcher]

Great update! I really hope you retain the light set-up from the first test, I really liked the balance of the darks and lights in that one. :tu: !
__________________________________________________ _________

My sketchbook: Etcher_Sketcher (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=67208)