Bed Time

Well here is a tired entry.

Just two render sheets of my character.  Calling it quits now.  Lots more that I want to do and no doubt will do later on but I feel it is adequate enough for the time being.  Really enjoyed this project and I have leant so much.

Review-Revision

Well after the Half Term break my tutor looked over my character and told me a list of things that needed to be addressed.  There were not too many but enough to keep me working hard.

I need to........................
                                      look at adding a few pollies to the legs to take the hard edge off,
                                      Change the scuff marks on the orange panels to metal rather than yellow,
                                      Complete the Normal and Specular Maps,
                                      Finish the wear and tear on the Diffuse Map.

Today I have been working on the Normal and Specular.   I have decided, after talking to the other Jake that I am going to add more wear and tear using the Specular Map so that there will be a contrast between softer gray marks on the Normal Map and the reflective shiny marks on the Specular.

Sort of There

I have put some time into the head of the character today and am now getting short of happy with the texture.  I still need to create the normal, specular and emissive, but some only need to be ready when I take the model into the Unreal engine.  I have once again learnt a great deal in this section of the project and I could probably get to where I am now in a week if I had to start again.  That is the point though so I am glad.  Anyway here is a render sheet that I have done for myself to review where I am up to and what needs addressing.

I am really pleased with how the head has finalised and how well the colour scheme goes together.  I am well aware that I need to texture the soul capsule and add edge wear to the arm and shoulder pads but apart from that I think that I am nearly there.  I am however going to Devon until Sunday so we shall see what a couple of days away does for the eyes.  I may very well get back and see some glaringly obviously mistakes that days of looking at the same texture has hidden from me....................like now, where I have just noticed the right strut on the boot is gray not black.........................oh well, what shall Sunday bring.  Please let me know what you think.  Cheers

Tortoise and Hare.

I am making steady progress with my diffuse map.  I am putting in the hours where I can but I must admit I am feeling pretty tired after work today.  I am stopping now as I am starting to make mistakes.  I am living by the motto
    
         'Less Haste More Speed'

or my adaptation

         'Less Sleep More Coffee'

I have added the edge ware to all the panels on the legs now and I have started to work into the belt.  I have tried to leave the lower panels unscathed to add depth ( I think I may need to work a little edge wear in to add dimension) as well as to break up the character.  I am looking forward to working on the torso as there is quite a lot of detail there and this should really bring the model to life.

Oh and yes Stas I need to work to a time limit on each part to get more done.  This I try, I always seems to come back later and tweak. Tweaking is a devourer of many hours, but it is the road to greatness.

New Tricks

Today I was shown a nice little method in photoshop by fellow student and name stealer Jake.  It deals with the darker areas in my texture but allowing the introduction of wear and tear on the metal panels.  It is quite simple really but very effective.  Here are some renders showing the results.  I am really starting to get back into the texturing now.

I really like the richness that it brings to the textures.  I can really start to work into the panels now adding the wear at the edges and breaking up the large areas of flat colour.  

Texture HO!

I must admit I have not enjoyed this part of the project as much I usually do when it comes to texturing.  I think it is because I can not texture to the level of competence that I want yet.  Patience lad, good things come to those who wait.  Stupidly I was really letting it get to me and this has stopped me progressing as far as I would have liked.  It is ok though.  You don't have to worry because I have been a busy little bee today and have really started to work into my texture.  I am still a long way off completing the texture and I can see myself never being completely happy with the outcome but I know that the next time I create a texture it will be that little bit better and on and on until I reach a point that I am happy..................................maybe.

Anyway here are some small renders showing what I have been up to.  I can't wait to see what a Normal, Spectular and Emissive map will do to help.

Hope you like it because the whole model will be scuffed and covered in these orange glyphs...............oohh the mystery.

Texture Torment

I have managed to do almost nothing this week.  Not that I have been lazy, I have been very busy, but I have progressed to the point at which I began........................................................'Less Haste More Speed?'

I have been trying to create an awesome texture to use as the main armour colour.  That my friends is the first mistake.  I have been adding layer upon layer over each other with no planning or research.  I have just been charging at it like a bull in a china shop and it has to stop.

Tonight I have been through my research images and chosen areas from some that I want to replicate in my character.

I have chosen Gordon Freeman from Half Life because he has a very simple colour style and it works really well.  I wanted to have grey as my primary colour and I really like how he is just grey, with scuffs and scrapes using the orange to in certain areas.  I don't want that much colour but some accentuating colour, like the bottom two images.  I also like the top and right image as is has one colour for the entire character with simple scuff textures over the top.

As you can see from the Mass Effect image they have used strips of colour to accentuate parts of the the armour.  This is nice.  I also want to have the pipes on my character illuminated as seen in the bottom image, and the pies de resistance, is the Soul Reeving Gauntlet.  I would like to add in the texture his weapon that removes peoples souls to the capsule on his back.  I want it to have an emissive light too. 

Well the plan is to have an evening away from it tomorrow night and come to it a fresh on Monday.  Then create a bloody awesome, but simple texture.  Then of course I can make it more awesome.

Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes......................

Well head actually.  Just a quick update of a little addition.  Also Dean may be right with the old addition of some veins, reds and blue to the face so I will give that a go too.  I have felt that it needed something else to give it that extra omfgh.  Anyway here is a little picture of how the head is progressing.

I like the transparency of the visor as well, so this may stay the same.  I think that a lack of pupils of something un-ordinary will work also.  

Heah to Head

Well today was a good day.  I started to texture my character and I am really quite happy with it.  I am really enjoying it too which is nice.............................

I have started on the face as this is the first part I modelled and I feel it is an important part to get right as it has a lot of detail and gives a lot of information about the character.  I have gone down the putrid flesh route as my character is very very old and does not moisturise.  Moisturising is not something a soul eating bounty hunter does.

I have removed the pollies that are hidden by the breather mask and plane to add robotic computer textures to the purple cranium.  I was just having a play really with the face texture but I really like where it has gone.  I may need to play with the intensity levels a bit but I think this is roughly  towards the result I am looking for.  Of course I will have to review it when I have textured the whole model.

I am also going to work over the top of this texture to enhance the features and give him a more rough look, with unhealed cuts and bumps.  I think it is a good base though.....................................

Unwrapped

Well a day later than planned but I have completed the Unwrap.  I hope that it is good enough but I am sure I will be informed tomorrow if there are any areas that need altering.  

This is the head unwrap.  There is a lot of wasted space but you have to stick within certain areas allotted to each section of the model.

There is a lot of free space in the bottom corner but there is less detail in that section of model.  If I model a weapon for the character this is where I could put the unwrap.

Using some quick flat colour, I have started to plot out the colour scheme of my character.  There may have to be some modelling changes but nothing drastic..