Step by Step, (more or less) Max and ZBrush

[bongob]

Hey!

I like this threat - i am a demo user and most zsripts are
exclusively for zbrush 2...

I like the design with the exception of the head. Its not that its bad designed...i think a more human (smooth)
head would fit even better to this dude...

well its more about personal preference probably but the armor looks very straight - the big (concerning proportions) head is very "eye-catching".

concerning the proportion i think its almost perfect!

http://www.fineart.sk/show.php?w=898

mfg felix

[ReplicA]

I'm glad you liked it.

I understand what you mean, I'm not sure why, but this model seemed to fight me every step of the way. I'm happy with it, and I feel it could hold it's own against a lot of other models, but of course it's also got issues to address.

I made him primarily for this thread, I needed a subject that was interesting enough to hold peoples attention, but not so much that it distracted from the point of the thread. Which was to give people a few pointers on max to zbrush modeling.

[wierdPal]

This guy is Awesome.

I don't completely understand his facial features though. It appears he has a nasal cavity, or place where a nose once was (like a skull), but has he evolved into that? His lower face (jaw area) also resembles a skull. I'm curious about this because by his chosen ware (clothing) he seems evolved on the same scale, or level of man, but his skin has not adapted, or evolved with him.
I like the upper head area a lot, and It does remind me of that bounty hunter a little as well.

I'm not trying to be overly critical with criticism, or anything. I always try and look at CG characters like "what if?" If this is how they are, why do they look the way they do to help understand their native environment, evolutionary ladder - maybe to resolve problems I have with their appearance. Would they evolve in this way, and if they would, or wouldn't - what would be different.

Food for thought...

Although as a fictional fantasy based game character, or something of that nature he is awesome IMO, and a great job you have done on him.

[ReplicA]

I appreciate that, wierdPal, and I understand what you're saying. I guess just calling him an alien and slapping some crazy head on him just doesn't cut it sometimes. I'm still working on him, and I'm looking into things I can do with his arms, to make him look a little more alien.

A lot of people have had the same reaction you did when looking at this model, so it can't be that it's someone elses problem. It's a design problem, pure and simple, and I'll get working on fixing it, and bring an update as soon as I can.

Since this is a "step by step" thread, I'm also going to re-read what I wrote, and make some updates to that as well. I really wanna be able to show that using Max as well as zbrush can make some awesome results without having to cram 10 million poly's onto a model. It also has other perks as well, like being able to animate your model, and that if you do your uv's in Max before you export to zbrush the first time, you don't really have to worry about them as much later. In fact, collapsing the stack after doing your uv's in Max, then export to zbrush, gave me uv's thatI was able to use after the model was done, and a few 100,000 poly's.

Anyway, I'm working on this model right now, so I can give an update soon. If I get back to work, that is...

[souleat]

thats good! work and thanks for sharing it !
its all learning,learning..and with such threads its easier..

[ReplicA]

Ok, I changed his arms to make him look more alien, and to get the design to flow a little better. Let me know what you think.

[dzip]

great modeling!
I think now the armor seems to be borrowed from another character though: it contrasts with the nice horns you made for the shoulders, or the facial design. One one side, you have a slick armor, almost robotic, and on the other, you have a character which is becoming more and more organic every day. The question is : how to make the armor a bit more adaptive...
otherwise, bravo!

[Junk]

good character

sharp elements lke the teeth should be separate elements, lke the armor.

The renderng are ZB made or insifde MAx with displacement (if so, what is your workflow?)

You could rounded the belly it's a bit flat, while the belt below is rounded.

Not sure for the wrinkles in the pants, maybe t would be better if oyu spent time to modelisez it with MAx, it 's a bit blooby right now

Good work

[ReplicA]

Well it seems like you found at least most of the issues with this guy, Junk. You're right about the pants, that must have happened when I used the inflate tool to get them to a better proportion. I'll fix that soon.

The renders are in Max, but I don't use displacement. Honestly, I think it's a pain, and not worth it. I like to know that what I made in zbrush, is exactly what I get in Max without tweaking settings and wasting time with test renders.

And, dzip, thanks for the crit. I'm actually pretty happy with the armor the way it is. I'll look into other styles, but I doubt I'll change it, though.

[ReplicA]

I added some detail to his shoulders, and the back of his neck. I also changed the spikes, I made them smaller and slightly more detailed. I worked on changing the detail on his pants, and I'll post that when I get a chance. I'll also try to fix the armor at his stomach, and round it out a bit more.

On the Step by Step subject, does anyone have questions about that? I'd like to know if I wrote decent one or not, cause I'm getting requests to write another one. I need suggestions on what to clarify and/or leave out. Thanks.

[Jason Belec]

Love his outfit, reminds me of the space suits in Space:1999!

[vlad74]

ouuuuuuu. I love it.

[ReplicA]

Ok, here's another update. I changed the armor on his stomach, rounded it off to better match his pants. I also added some subtle detail to his shoulders, and head.



And this is what I've done to try to fix his pants "bloobiness"...

I'm starting to kind of like this model. It's starting to take shape better than I thought it would. Lemme know what you think.

[ZippZopp]

looking really cool, the only thing i was thinking is to maybe make his body a bit bigger, his head looks just a tad bit big on the body. also, what are you rendering in?

[ReplicA]

Ya know, I've had a lot of people say the same thing about his head, but when I scaled it down just the tiniest bit, it looked awful. Like a shrunken head. Maybe his head needs thinned out a bit instead? That could make him look a little better. I'll give it a try and get back to you.

Oh, and I'm rendering Max.