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Awesome model Andeweget

I dont think I fully understand your question so I just broke it down:

Maveritchell wrote:Did you just sculpt the body from a pre-existing template, or did you make the template yourself as well?

I used the third pic(the red one) as a basemesh(a very basic low poly model provided by Alex Alvarez; maybe 200-300tris) to which I then continuously added geometry by subdividing it to support the growing degree of detail I sculpt into the model.:

Low subdivision - big shapes(general proportions, the basemesh had generic human adult proportions, had to edit them quite a lot)
to
High subdivision - small details(wrinkles at hands and feet)

Maveritchell wrote:...completely original humanoid model (not sculpt)...

Well, a sculpt actually is a model(with many polies but still a model). You just use different tools to modify the model. I wouldnt say it isnt original just by using the base mesh, its like using a primitive cylinder in XSI for a gun barrel Id say.

Maveritchell wrote:Sculpts (in game dev) are usually used to bake down occlusion/normal maps on more basic models, but in this case, the sculpt stands alone.

I believe you could use every sculpt as a standalone product if the engine could handle it(in game dev, for just renders/3D prints they are used). There are of course some disadvantages of such high poly models(besides the performance needed) for example the UVing and animating will get more diffcult.
I only bake because game engines cant handle the many polygons nor do they support polypaint. When baking I principally let the bake software compare the two models(hipoly design mesh and lowpoly game mesh) and bake the differences in the 3D space to a 2D map by using colors as indication for the offset in xyz(red,green,blue for normal; black and white for ambient occlusion).

Workflow is something like this:
1. Basic boxmesh as base for the body
2. Detailed body out of the basemesh(if needed for shape definition or much of the body is seen)
3. (maybe even more) basic models as base for the "accessories"(cloth, armor, whatever)
4. Detailed accessories
5. (Polypaint)
6. Retopo(laying a cage over the hipoly to define the boundaries)
7. UV
8. Bake(bake colormap, too, if you polypainted it)
9. Texture(finishing touches if you polypainted it)

Dont know if this is what you asked about...Everythings written by me from memory so there could be some mistakes. Its the knowledge I gained thourgh experience, not through aimed research.

Thing is, in Zbrush you can do roughly 60% of the work needed.

Make a Base mesh in 3DsMax/Maya/XSI
Import to Zbrush
Sculpt in details going from low to high.
Once you have the final sculpt, Retopo it, then run Decimation Master.
Export Decimated Sculpt as .obj
Import into 3DsMax/Maya/XSI, build low poly game mesh.
2 options now. Layout your UV shells in the 3D package, or import back into Zbrush and use its UV Master tool set.
Then bake down the normal map.
For the AO bake, you should bake out one from the low poly and one from the high poly, then composite them in photoshop.
Poly paint is a cool thing to use but isn't really needed in game art as much.

(Some artists also make a full game ready low poly mesh for use in sculpting, then they sculpt off of that and bake back own to it. Can save allot of time but is only worth it in few circumstances and you need tons of experience to pull it off well. Very good references for the model are also needed.)

Most important factors for a good normal bake is lighting and your UV layouts. Bad seams, bad bakes are always caused by those, and 99.5% of the time its crap UVs.

A good spec map for material definitions in a game engine is the hardest part from what I've seen and learned so far. Far to easy to make things look plasticy and fake or like stone instead of metal.

VF501 wrote:Thing is, in Zbrush you can do roughly 60% of the work needed.

Yes, I didnt really include the tools you use for all that.

And theoretically you could create the basemesh in ZB by using ZSpheres, but I wouldnt recommend it if you have a "usual" 3D package at hand, the "normal" way is a lot easier/faster.

But lets not clutter up this thread with discussion about workflow(although it is a very interesting topic IMO).

Because i didnt like the previous versions, not that they were not good, no offense, but none had that TCW feel, here is my new DC-15 Blaster Carbine, 100% modeled by me. comments welcome.
I think i did good on the model, but the btexture is not up to par...

great work very detailed
but it's nothing we have not.

there are so many versions of this. new weapons would be great

It looks good, although I don't see why the barrel needs to be that detailed.

Eggman wrote:It looks good, although I don't see why the barrel needs to be that detailed.

Because i like detail
keep the comments and questions coming please

the model looks very good but you should really cut down some polys, especially on the barrel, it looks like the whole berral will be invisible ingame. and even if it will be visible, nobody will notice these and it will drain resources

It looks good, but The rounded edges have more detail than you'll ever see in the middle of a firefight with the Seppies.


100% Scratch model.
slightly tweaked stock texture

100% scratch?

No offense, I know how good you are at modelling kinetos, but to me it looks like the trigger part is stock mesh.

I could easily be wrong though.

DarthD.U.C.K. wrote:the model looks very good but you should really cut down some polys, especially on the barrel, it looks like the whole berral will be invisible ingame. and even if it will be visible, nobody will notice these and it will drain resources

it DOES show up ingame, and the detail is visable, esp in 1st person, but thank you
nice model kinetos, is that cham's?

THEWULFMAN wrote: it DOES show up ingame, and the detail is visable, esp in 1st person, but thank you

really, iit is not invisible? that probably means polygons only need a certain size in only one dimension rather than twoto be rendered.

Darth_Spiderpig wrote:100% scratch?

No offense, I know how good you are at modelling kinetos, but to me it looks like the trigger part is stock mesh.

I could easily be wrong though.

The words "ugly" and "huge" are the only way i can think of the stock msh. I didn't use it as a reference or a base.

I did use a reference pic and a technique called rotoscope to match parts of it to a photo graph though.

DarthD.U.C.K. wrote:

THEWULFMAN wrote: it DOES show up ingame, and the detail is visable, esp in 1st person, but thank you

really, iit is not invisible? that probably means polygons only need a certain size in only one dimension rather than twoto be rendered.

plus, if you convert all quads to traingles, they dont disapear

well, that only works to a certain degree, if they are really too tiny triangulating wont help anymore, but i guess you managed to keep a small bit over the limit

DarthD.U.C.K. wrote:well, that only works to a certain degree, if they are really too tiny triangulating wont help anymore, but i guess you managed to keep a small bit over the limit

YAY ME
Anyway, you can thank spiderpig for converting it and giving it hardpoints as always

WOW that DL-44 is awesome great job

THEWULFMAN wrote:
nice model kinetos, is that cham's?

The Twilek leader in Liberty on Ryloth?
No. He has a TCW pistol that looks similar to a dl44 at first glance, but isn't one.

acryptozoo wrote:WOW that DL-44 is awesome great job

Thanks

great model