ZBrushCentral

ODST wip

Today I am focusing on the Helmet.
Going to be Cleaning up some form.
Then Draw in some newer Designs for detailing.
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thnx Der_Crow for the info. Waiting for your updates :smiley:

Despite not being a big Halo fan, I admire your work and stand by for more updates and mini tutorials. Big Thanks for the effort:+1:

:slight_smile: Thanks guys.

It seems silly posting removal of detail and clean up.
But I am liking it more. I am planning to have a few recessed sections for say idk “Ventilation”

I did tweak the visor, gave it a slight curve in the silhouette.
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Here is a close up on the Helmet. I think I’ll keep it clean and simple. Likely Detail it with a cool Decal.
Comparison.jpg

EDIT: looks like I can no longer open the file since it reach 706 mb. Going back to a previous iteration. Will have to redo the helmet. But I am going to be reducing SubD on meshes that don’t need them. Optimization Yay!
It does suck that I lost a day or two. I suppose I will also export all the assets to their own Tools for backup.

Edit 2: I have almost caught up my progress. I’ve run through all my Ztools and have reduced SubD Levels. Currently my PolyCount is at 27 Million. Which is Half of what it was when I last posted. Sacrifices were taken in areas that will not be perceivably different in the final piece.

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CharacterStrip.jpg

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Sorry for the absence. Seasonal Vacation came to an end so I was distracted with spending time with family and getting back to work.

Anyway, I am working on the Upper Leg Armor. Doing a redesign that will have stronger form. This is one of the largest elements in the design, so I want to make sure its really awesome.

Here is a pic of my current plan. More or less.
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I started out sculpting this Thigh Armor in Zbrush, But decided to just bring it back to Maya and quickly block out the surfaces. Felt like this particular part had too much curvature to the surface. Would have wrestled with the brushes for far too long in this case.

I will get back to the sculpting of this in a few hours. Spend the majority of Saturday focusing on this part.
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Ok I got the Thigh Armor back in Zbrush. Used a nice Crease level of 2, which has been working out very well. Don’t really have to do much clean up on the surfaces.

Now I am going to go in and start placing in some nice secondary details to give the new form more of a purpose.

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Comments, Questions, Critiques, or Encouraging Words are always welcome. :slight_smile:

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Definitely looks good. I’d have thought you modeled it in polygons from the edges.

@KillahPriest : :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile: I was going to sculpt out these details, but for this section I chose to use Maya and bring it in with cleaner topology than I would have had from the previous Subtool.

I’ve done a pass on placing the Indentations with the Mallet. Now I am going to cut in some hard lines to break up some of the simpler sections.
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Ok so, I’ve been trying to develop some ideas for a look. I did about 30 different material passes in Zbrush, and I’ve been compositing them in After Effects.

This isn’t final, just an idea of the sort of different surfaces I might include. Pretty much everything is still untextured, although I did make a pass for some Metal Scratches.

Going to continue to develop and refine this. I still need to do the SMG :slight_smile:

ZBC-Thumb1.jpg
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I would greatly appreciate some critiques. Anything as far as Color scheme, or the look of the different passes.

Passes:
Metal (orange)
Metal Scratched (monochrome with higher Spec)
Secondary Armor (Lacks reflections or Spec, is slightly blue)
Cloth. (monochrome)

And thank you all for your support. The forum is proving to be a great resource for motivation and development. :slight_smile:

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[ODST_Z3 copy.jpg]
Cleaned up the Masks some. And mixed the layers to add variety to the elements.

I think this is a good look to shoot for. I’m going to go back to sculpting tonight. Hopefully start posing the character soon.

This is really shaping up nicely. The lower leg needs a bit more curve to it. Its too boxy right now and could be a little more similar to the thigh. Also, the color scheme is a bit muted, try adding some more colors or some different variations in photoshop. I like where this is going. Keep up the good work.

@Aberrant :small_orange_diamond: Thank you! I still need to do some experimenting with color (which I will do after this post), but which part of the lower leg would you suggest more curve?

I’ve done a pass on the Pants and undershirt. Detailing some area that was rather blank. As well as reworking the vest.

Spent a part of today testing the Normality plugin for After Effects, trying to see if it is plausible to attempt to light the ODST in post using less shader passes.

Its sort of difficult to control. I may use it for some slight tweaking.

Framer 3.jpg

Anyway, I think Its time to pose the character. That part will be fun, getting to do folds and more asymmetrical details.

Still need to figure out a platform or plaque to stand on.

I need to add a weapon on his back and some gear, but that will be some finishing details.

edit: someone recently gave me a 1 star rating :frowning: I would hope that is not based on the subject matter (a Halo character). but if its about the quality of my work, I would love the feedback.

The shin is the specific area I was talking about. It seems too boxy in comparison to the rest of the armor is all. Great hard surface work by the way. I really like how its shaping up. Very nice work, definitely not one star haha.

@ Aberrant :small_orange_diamond: Thank you so very much. I see the part that you mean. I am going to curve it towards the bottom (as well as polishing the form overall), that should help with the Silhouette. And I should also fix the armor by back of the ankle. Sort of leaves a gap there.

:slight_smile:

Also, here is a Turntable Video

Love the game, love the soundtrack of the game, and love this model :slight_smile: Very nice! Are the new polish and trim brushes in R3 helping?

@jamespthornton :small_orange_diamond: Thank you so much! And I have to say that the Polish brush is the stuff dreams are made of. lol :slight_smile:

Alright, I did a first pass on the pose. Been struggling a bit, trying to match ther other pose. I simply appended the proxy as a subtool in the Transpose Master mesh. But their proportions are fairly different, mostly mass and length of legs.
Hands remain unposed for now.

Then there is the aspect of clipping, which I might just have to live with. I think its a good first draft of getting the character posed. Going to make a few tweaks. As well, going to doodle some accessories and extra gear to add to the character to give it more purpose.
Pose1.jpg

Comments and Critiques welcome :slight_smile:

Great job on the posing. My only crits are in the feet. The foot in the air should have the toes pointing slightly toward the ground. It looks like the foot in the air is stepping on an invisible rock because of the bend in the foot. try the opposite way and it should help. Also the foot on the floor should be like he is on his toes, leaping off of it. those might help your pose a bit.

I knew some clipping would occur due to the bulk of the armor. I actually thought the shoulder pads would clip first but I was wrong :laughing:

More accessories might be a bit much, but thats all depending on what they are and how big. a few nades would be cool but too much might be just that, too much. Anyway, great stuff. keep it up. :+1: