WIP - Minotaur

[justuscook]

Hi everyone,

I've always been amazed by some of the work that get shown here, and thought I would post to get some crits/help.

I looked at reference as I was working, but I confess I probably ignore it sometimes. My weakness is in the small details like area around eye, creases and wrinkles. Also I've tried to model, or at least give the impression of fur on the leg and hands. Any suggestions or links to some tutorials would be great.

I want to add some armor and learn some of the tools for hard surface modeling in Zbrush, which I haven't tried yet.

I'll post my progress.





Thanks in advance,
Justus

[justuscook]

Just figured out how to put the images in the thread, Doh! Here's a small update/bump, worked on the abs a bit more, and added a lil detail around the eye.



Justus

[renthehungry]

Hey Justus, would love to comment on your work so could you put up some larger images, Happy Zbrushing !!!

[slocik]

Man you meesssed something up, teh images are 200x100 pixels ;D

[justuscook]

LOL I guess I got half way there. Thought the thumbnail images were a link to the full size images. Fixing it now.

[justuscook]

This is my first attempt to add some fur. I just made an alpha and used the standard brush with dragrect stroke. I'd like to know if people think the fur looks to course. Since its on another layer it should be easy to manipulate, or to start over.





Justus

[renthehungry]

@ justuscook, alright brother there are a quite a few inconsistencies with your sculpt, first off the proportions are way off, parts of him are buff (abs) and some are very lardy (Thigh area, head). I think you need to take this back to the drawing board and just mess around some more with his form and get a feel of what this character is. There are many minotaur images some buff and some meaty. Just keep working I'm sure the end result will blow our mind. I took the liberty of posting this image to show you where you kinda messed up, the legs were a big issue for me, it didn't seem possible that this character could walk, study human anatomy and bovine anatomy and bridge the gap with your imagination, find that right balance that would make it believable that this character could be mobile. ( Watch the making of Avatar - Creature Creation ...very helpful!!! )



Also until you have the form right don't jump start detailing, (ex.) scars, fur, armor, etc.

God Luck my friend, hope you work on this more !!!

[justuscook]

@renthehungry

I agree with most of your suggestion and have started to make them. I'll wait a while for a few more people to make chime in and as update.

Edit: Also I have a friend help me design some type of armor and some type loin cloth or kilt for him to wear.

Also I got the newer Narnia movies, gonna see how they did their minotaurs, or at least get some screen grabs. And I don't know how why I didn't do this earlier, but one of my professors is Tim McLaughlin a former Creature TD or supervisor on Jarassic park and Van hellsing, and sadly the Star wars with Jar Jar Binks lol. If he has time to talk to me I'll ask him if I can post his notes, if he gives me any. I should have thought a little more before I dove into this, but I guess you gotta start somewhere.

Thanks,
Justus

[justuscook]

OK, after Ren's and some other feed back I decided to go for a little beefier look. I looked at a lot of photos of Brock Lesner for reference. He's a big built guy but not super cut. I thought this look might be more appropriate because of the amount of fat and loose skin most bulls have. The loin cloth is a stand in for now, but it will at least cover the amount the front and back parts are covering. I'm still waiting on some sketches for the armor which will most likely cover his arms and shoulder and neck area, might have a helmet.


(Tried to make a link to the full size image and I think its working, the image is pretty wide. If its broken let me know lol)

Heres a turntable also: http://youtu.be/r7svZFU_5D4

[renthehungry]

Hey Justus, I definitely see an improvement, kudos but there's still a long way to go,
if I may ... you mention something about armor and stuff ....I may be way off base here but I think your ignoring parts of the minotaur that may be covered up by armor. I would strongly advise against this, its essential to optimise your character in and out of any armor or clothing etc. I can not emphasize the importance of this in words but trust me and I'm pretty sure the ZBC would agree with me on this.
Your work is improving and its a long road ahead, but its gonna be one helluva trip !!!

[justuscook]

I added a little bit of detail, mainly trying to find a balance of fat and muscle for the torso still.

I guess the main reason I mention the armor is because I don't want to model everything in his nether region.

[justuscook]

Used reference of an older male and changed his midsection up quite a bit. Kept the arms pretty lean, also started on the hands.

Justus

[pming]

Hiya.

Just got on this thread. I can definitly see the improvement as you go! For the hands...I'd use the 'comic-book trick'...make them bigger. If you want to convey a sense of power/strength, bigger hands and feet REALLY make a difference. Realistically...not so much...but for visual impact, definitly make them bigger and more 'meaty'. Poke around this forum and pay particular attention to any HULK models; compare HULK's hands and feet to his head to see what I'm getting at.

Keep it up!

^_^

Paul L. Ming

[justuscook]

I had to take a break to work on some other things. I concentrated on the hands, then tried to add a little to the face. I've been trying to find reference for the ankle/hooves, might just need to look harder but not find much. I may end up taking my own but if any one has an example sculpt or reference it would be very helpful.

Any other comments or suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks,
Justus

[justuscook]

I guess since i didn't add the images to the post, so this is mostly a bump.