'ello mate,
First the good. I think this is a great design anf I would run like a girl if that guy came after me. Also I really like your skin map. The colour and the detail in it is lovely. There’s a lot of potential for this model and I’d hate to see it wasted.
I agree with the lighting issue in your scene but I assume that’s just a test to see how he looks against a background.
Now the critique:
I think the major problem is that there are a lot of smooth areas on your model still. The colours are great and your skin is wonderfully detailed with little veins and such. But now it’s time to bring those details out on your mesh, try making some of the major veins in his arms stand out, up, and away from his smooth skin. He looks like a muscley kind of guy and normally there’s very visible vein bulge. Check out some body builder reference pics if you don’t know what I mean. The areas on his torso where his abs bulge should feel stretched more I think. Right now they look like little wads modelled out of his skin rather than bulges from under the skin.
The hands need a lot of work. Are those claws like finger nails or talons of bone that extent his finger¿ It’s hard to tell, though you may not be finished with that part. Protions of stretched skin, wrinkles at the base of the thumb, veins, and perhaps some skin fold where the talons extend (like the skin near your fingernail, the eponychium) will all give more realism and credibility to your model.
The bones are way too smooth and generic. Try adding stiations and small scratches and chips randomly in order to break apart the symmetry and bland look. You’ve a good start with his mandible area near his lower teeth. Refine that detail and then bring that sort of attention over his entire body.
The edge of his mask looks unfinished. It just sort of ends in an almost srtaight line. I’d mess with that a bit, pushing in the indented areas slightly and giving it more flow around the face. Just my opinon but that straight line doesn’t work very well. Also is his mask bone, stone, or metal¿ At the moment it just has a sort of generic grey look to it. If it’s metal make it shinier to define it a bit better and try to give it more weight. At the moment it looks like it’s floating just over the characters head, you could try pulling the back area in and around his head more. It would look like it’s fitted more onto his head rather than ready to slide off the second he leaps at his victem.
Please don’t take my critique personally, there just the ramblings of a Zbrush Lurker.
Your design is fantastic and I would love to see it move to the next level. Good luck mate, can’t wait to see what you come up with in the future.
Tore’alos,
~Wyrm