kokoro

i am doing a new homepage design for prizm entertainment. they are making a game adventures of blackthorn

which is a spin off project of the ultima series. their project leader, wind walker, saw here on zbc my dragon image and asked me to help them with their design. i worked recently on that homepage design (and hope it is finished very soon) and now started to do an entrance image.

here is the concept of what i am planning to do :




the guardian (thats the huge red beast in the concept) needs to be modeled to fit the already existing design, for lord blackthorn, i have a reference image, but am free to change the design as i like. so here is the first start on blackthorn (with the reference image in the background), made from zspheres :




and a very early modeling stage of the guardian, made from a shpere, with the only reference image in the background i have :




in case some of you know the ultima series (which i do not ) and can give helpful advise, i would be very grateful.

also - if in the process you see something i do, which you would like to have explained, please ask. i will be very happy to help.

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my riolama, where you can find a gallery of my latest works, tutorials, my wood, and stone carvings

Wind Walker

Looking v. nice. I didn't see the other pictures of the Guardian and Blackthorn you are making but they seem to be coming out real nice!

gummie

The Ultima series is the one series I don't particularly follow with rpg titles, but I know Blackthorne. Looks like a lot has changed from the original title though.

I think that it's looking good so far. Texturing will probably be the hardest part since no getting away with a non recognizable character. Anyway, cool project!

Wind Walker

Thank you, it is a cool project If you are interested, this is a great opportunity to get familiar with the backbone of Computer Role Playing Game. Currently there are over 10 remakes in the works for the Ultima series and frankly no other computer game (except maybe doom) commands the kind of loyal following that this product does.
So you get the opportunity to play one of the coolest games with modern 3d engines. Wish I 'd been that lucky

kokoro

here is the first update. i started modeling blackthorns body and his right arm. i first wanted to do the whole body in one mesh, but the pose is difficult to texture then. so i do it in pieces...

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my riolama, where you can find a gallery of my latest works, tutorials, my wood, and stone carvings

BigMike

very cool!
i cant wait for to see the finish picture

great modelling!!

Wind Walker

Aye, me too! It seems to be coming along real nicely. In the right hands zbrush is indeed a v. powerful tool!

kokoro

thank you for your friendly words.

yippie ! today i got a wacom tablet ! what a different feeling in zbrush !

here is the guardian, may be finished with modeling. what do you think ? more details need to be added later with the texture, the guy is as highpoly as my poor computer can just handle....




i startet refining blackthorn and texturing already. the hair will be done later in the image with the fibrebrush. what do you think of him until now ?



also i do have 2 questions, hope someone can answer :

what kind of teeth has the guardian ?

are the guardians ears correct ? or need they be acute at the top ?

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my riolama, where you can find a gallery of my latest works, tutorials, my wood, and stone carvings

Mentat7

Oooo...I really like that model of Blackthorn!! As far as the Guardian goes...the top and bottom of a human ear are on the same level as the top and bottom of the human eye socket. But then again is the Guardian human? Would it matter?? hmm.. As for teeth...I don't know what type he "has" but it would look cool if you gave him some metal mechanical chompers with rivits and rust and all.

Jaycephus

Here's a pic of the guardian from the game Ultima VII (7)



A shot from Ultima IX:



Teeth-wise, I think you are somewhat free. The original obviously had 'bad' teeth. The last official version of the Guardian is shown in the second picture above, and his teeth look white, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to make perfect bright-white teeth.

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Jay

"Talent and all that for the most part is nothing but hogwash. Any schoolboy with a little aptitude might very well draw better than I perhaps; but what he most often lacks is the tough yearning for realization, the teeth-grinding obstinacy and saying: even though I know I'm not capable of it, I'm still going to do it." -- M.C. Escher, in a letter to his son Arthur, 12 February 1955

http://www.ejectejecteject.com/

Wind Walker

Wow, even though I have vested interest in your work Kokoro I have to say, the Guardian mesh is looking v. nice as is Blackthorn!

The problem with the Guardian (as Jay points out via his pictures) is that there really are two versions of the Guardian, the Ultima 7 one and the Ultima 9 one. While the U9 one looks more human (there are reasons for that) the U7 one looks more meaner.

Given your talents Kokoro, my suggestion is that use the two for reference but do not allow them to create the final version. You are welcome to use your imagination and modify the character as long as it doesn't deviate (greatly) from any of the original pictures. For example I was thinking of giving him claw like hands and feet? And maybe giving him 4 fingers and 3 toes? Again this is a suggestion, you are doing a great job and I would hate it if anything restricted you from being creative.
Keep up the great work!


P.S: We are looking for modelers/artists/texturers. If any of you are interested, please email me at windwalker@omacc.com. Thank you

kokoro

mentat - thank you, i am very proud to get such a compliment of you, since i always admire your work

yes, the position of the ear i know, in principle, but i tried to capture what i could see on my reference. thanks anyway for that hint, i sometimes forget. and maybe i shift it a little into the correct direction, could possibly delete irritation. the guardian is not human, he is an "entity" whatever this means. as said, i do not know these games - mechanical things are not in the original concept, so i fear thats not allowed.

jaecephus, thank you for those images. yes your second one is the one i have. the first is new to me. he loooks so different. but his gives me some freedom, as the character is not that fixed... yeah, bad teeth is a good idea. i will try this. thanks for helping.

wind walker - thank you. i will use my imagination . yes i like the claw idea. and four fingers, this saves time . but i will do no feet, as seen in the concept i only need his head and one of his arms and hand. nothing else...

be back to work....

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my riolama, where you can find a gallery of my latest works, tutorials, my wood, and stone carvings

kokoro

so here is how far i am. i changed a little to the concept. made blackthorn bigger, so his face will be better to see. this will also be final size of the image.



the teeth and hand were modeled from zsperes.

__________________
my riolama, where you can find a gallery of my latest works, tutorials, my wood, and stone carvings

Wind Walker

Wow, I love the Guardian's hands and the claws look awesome! Is Blackthorn going to have more hair or is this it?

Its coming along really nice, please keep the textures for the Guardian handy, since you already have them maybe you can texture the ingame Guardian model.

The Guardian's eyes look sooo evil! Dare I say that this is turning out better than the original Guardian in the Ultima games! Nevertheless, great job Kokoro!