Cool concepts! Any chance of sneaking a Drag-al in as a cameo?
Love the design of the character and thanks very much for the UV tutorial!
I love the hand painted texture. Nice design, makes me interested in seeing more from the world this is in.
dbseraph, trickmonkey, InkySpot, thank you for the kind words 
I am pleased to say that we have announced our game, March on Oz! Here is some information about our upcoming release:
March On Oz TM is a RTS-style Road DefenseTM game. Currently with over 50 levels (with 2 difficulty settings), mini-games, full musical score and sound effects, and with over 50 3D models and effects, it is a “AAA” game in all but the price tag. Initially released for the iPad 2 & 3, the game will move to PC, Android and other platforms later in the year, based on demand. Updates, add-ons and other DLC will also be made available through our distribution platforms.
Here is one of my favorite characters, our studio’s take on Oz’s Flying Monkeys. This bad dude was designed by one of our amazing and talented concept artists, Sandra Pavulaan. I will be releasing more characters as we get closer to launch (which is VERY soon), and for more info, please visit our site http://citystateentertainment.com/marchonoz/!!
Best,
mike
flying monkey rules 
great work!
Really fun work you have here 
A question about your UVMaster tutorial though. It works just as you explained, but how are you able to tell where everything is located? I find it hard to paint cracks/AO/shadows/highlights etc. unless there are clean planar UVs. With UVMaster, it seems they work out nicely, except they might be rotated/warped a little, which makes it difficult for me.
thanks Phosforced!
polaroid29, thank you we are excited for our upcoming release
For the UV Master tutorial, the UV layout is the best initial unwrap for organic characters I have used. The final layout (to optimize UV space) is done in your 3D application, and I use 3ds Max. Although there may be a little warping which is expected in organic models, you can move around UVs or relax the shells to fit your needs in Max.
For texturing, I use BodyPaint 3D, which paints on the model so any stretching in the UVs is not as prevalent as if you were painting on a flat texture in Photoshop. Typically, anytime I paint a character it is in BodyPaint or ZBrush.
For ambient occlusion, after the model is painted, I create 2 additional layers above the texture, one layer set on Overlay and one layer on Multiply. I paint additional highlights on the Overlay layer, and shadows and the Multiply layer, and together they give a nice ambient ‘pop’ to the final texture. Hope this helps!
Best, mike
Man… you do some great work Mr Milano.
thanks Recorgasm, and again loved your tiled textures!
Here is another render of one of our beloved characters, The Royal Gardner, drawn by the talented Sanda Pavulaan. Although we have different characters I will be uploading, I wanted to introduce some game props. I will also have some wireframes and concepts (I have been spoiled by theoncepts from Michelle Davies and Sandra.) To learn more about our studio and upcoming launch, please visit http://CityStateEntertainment.com!
Best, mike
Question about your tutorial…
The model you used was made in Max, so you only use Zbrush to create the UV’s, and then paint? Or do you sculpt, then half it and create UV’s? The rest after makes sense.
Thanks!
Edit: NM I figured it out.
Hello Everyone,
It has been a while since my last post, however I am proud to announce that City State Entertainment has released March on Oz. Available for the iPad at the App Store, it is available at a special release price of $0.99 through tomorrow. You can learn more and purchase the game at http://itunes.apple.com/app/march-on-oz/id553943936.
It has been a pleasure working with Mark Jacobs, Andrew Meggs, and the team. We are ecstatic to get our first game out, and we hope you enjoy it!
Best, mike
