Model Work

Posted by riuthamus, 12 October 2012 · 741 views

RuinValor C# Minecraft Voxel Indie Game Model 3d

After a weeks worth of a break we have finally had some progress on the normal map for the gorgane model. This is still not complete but I figured it has been a while since I have posted so I might share what we have been up to. Our goal is to have the gorgane model completed and added to the game by the 19th. Once this is done that will mark a very serious milestone in our development process. With a complete model we can start to focus on the in game interactions that really make up "gameplay" content.

In other news, we have been working on placable models as well ( that would decorate the landscape and such ). Once of those is the torch, we have some basic ones but I wanted to show off the idea that there will be many different types of each model.

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This is a torch that you would find in a more fancy location. Perhaps an old ruin or some forest. Our hope is to provide the players/server hosters with as much content as possible to make some of the most amazing designs seen. Something I loved about minecraft was how much people took the base stuff and made epic things from it. The problem with minecraft was the color pallet was very limited ( so to speak ). It is my hope to remove that limit and create a tool ( our game ) that can make thousands of different iterations of designs. The designs can both be functional and visually pleasing.

I will be updating you more over the course of the week on our new networking progression. Soon, we should have a playable version with a server/client base. This will mark the first milestone that will lead to our closed alpha testing. If you are interesting in testing this please send me a message.

As a final note, we are looking for 3d artists. If you are new and desire a way to bolster your portfolio send me a PM or email me and we can work something out. I am willing to work with all skill levels ( so long as you are willing to take constructive critiques ) in the hopes that we can learn and progress together.

Ashaman73

Oct 12 2012 01:39 AM

Hey, great work, I really like the torch and chest.

When I look at your gorgane model my eyes are attracted to feet and hands which is the wrong direction

Toning arms, legs and feets somewhat down and giving the model broader shoulders (V form) could help here.

Do you know the Dota2 art guide ? You can find it here and it is really helpful.

riuthamus

Oct 12 2012 01:44 AM

I have read it before, and i think the low poly mesh matches that style (posted in another previous thread). This is the normal map for it to give it definition but most certainly needs work.Ill see what can be done about that. Thanks for the comments!

Ashaman73

Oct 12 2012 02:23 AM

The human eye/brain is trained to analyse the silhouette of an object first, therefore the silhouette is most important. In this case the silhouette is dragging my eyes down, the feets/legs are really big compared to the chest. Here's a pic from a rock-golem which have a good relation between the limbs and the V shoulders. As you can see, it have big legs and feets too.

riuthamus

Oct 12 2012 02:35 AM

The human eye/brain is trained to analyse the silhouette of an object first, therefore the silhouette is most important. In this case the silhouette is dragging my eyes down, the feets/legs are really big compared to the chest. Here's a pic from a rock-golem which have a good relation between the limbs and the V shoulders. As you can see, it have big legs and feets too.

That was one of the pieces i saw that gave me the idea for such a big toon. I am not sure you saw the concept work for the character but here it is just in case.

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Is that more of what you are talking about?

Lee A. Stripp

Oct 12 2012 03:16 AM

You may need to do some more work on the top model to match the concept art better, other models look great, nice assets.

Ashaman73

Oct 12 2012 04:10 AM

Disclaimer: I'm by far not an expert, especially not an artist, so , this is just one of 1000 opinions ;)

I already think that the concept looks weird. I took your concept and the posted image and compared the overall shapes of the body with the head.

male human: ~8 head tall, ~3 head wide shoulders, ~2.5 head wide chest, ~1 head wide leg, <1 head wide arm
rock-golem: ~6 head tall, ~3.5 head wide shoulders(left out extensions),~3 head wide chest.,~1.5 head wide leg, <1.5 head wide arm
gorg: ~6 head tall, ~6 head wide shoulders, ~4 head wide chest, ~2 head wide leg, ~2 head wide arm

If I would leave the head away, the proportion would look like a dwarf (short and broad shouldered). If you look at the head, it looks too tiny. Starting with humans, you normally made dwarves by making the head larger, reducing the size to 5-6 head only. To counter the childish look (childs are only 4-6 head tall), you increase the mass, shoulders etc.. Therefore it looks somewhat like a dwarf with a tiny head. Especially the arms and legs are really big and attracting my eyes,the chest is ok, but is dwarved by the arms/legs and the head is really small compared to the rest.

I'm not able to create a paint-over now, but I would try to do the following:
Leave the head size, shoulders,upper chest,upper arm and height untouched.
Decrease the size of the lower arms & hands.
Make the complete lower body part more slender, this gives the upper body part more focus, make the legs and feet thinner.

When you take a look at stylized characters, the lower body part is often much thinner and smaller then the upper part. You have somewhat inverted the concept which looks weird to me, but as already said, it is just one of a mio. opinions

riuthamus

Oct 12 2012 06:46 AM

I am aware of normal sizes but we are by no means following those as there is currently no precedence for such a creature. It is interesting you say that without the head it would be a dwarf! I say this because that is the idea behind him. These creatures were mutations from dwarves and rocks. Created by the magical use of what is known as "source". Oddly, they did not retain the stature of the dwarf since these beasts are almost 3x as tall as a human. This mutation had another side effect, that being the brain capacity of the beast was less than.... well lets say the same rock it was made from is as about as smart as these beasts get. This disposition made them natural slaves to the dwarves and thus the reason they are used primarily for stonework.

I can agree that the proportions are a bit odd, but understand the purpose them is more or less key! The beast is intended to be massive; while I understand the need to dwindle the legs and such to create a more stylish effect I am not certain that it would capture the point of the model. I dont want to make something that you would see in a cartoon, but rather something you would see and go, "Oh fuck, this is not going to be fun".

I would be interested in seeing what you have for suggested proportions but please keep in mind the history and lore so that it matches that theme! But certainly good points and good ideas. Thank you for your time.

You may need to do some more work on the top model to match the concept art better, other models look great, nice assets.

I agree, the two are lacking in comparison at this point.

achild

Oct 12 2012 06:57 AM

Sometimes I look at things and think to myself "I wish I could do that/had the huge amount of time available to learn to do that". This is one of those times I think that.

Though the character seems to lack much definition (but I see there is no normal map), before reading your latest post, I already thought "wow I would not want to meet that thing".

riuthamus

Oct 12 2012 07:01 AM

Sometimes I look at things and think to myself "I wish I could do that/had the huge amount of time available to learn to do that". This is one of those times I think that.

Though the character seems to lack much definition (but I see there is no normal map), before reading your latest post, I already thought "wow I would not want to meet that thing".

Thanks, that is good to hear! I still have much to learn when it comes to these things as my ability to model is more or less limited to stationary objects. When i deal with complex humanoids I tend to falter. I am learning though and you only learn through continued practice.

As for the definition, we are going with a hand painted theme... much of the definition will be provided in the final texture/normal map. We wanted to focus on muscle structure and key model points for the mesh.