Game Character Creation
Game Character Creation
My Project Idea: It was to create a character for games in the unreal 3d engine, and the character was based on a comic character i created a long time ago along with the comic i hope will be finished in the future. So this was a great oppurtunity to make this character in 3d to see what it looks like. That was my basic idea from the beginning. I willwork with maya and photoshop and skin weghting and a rig that i can attach to an animation in unreal 3d engine.
Research: The basic idea i almost done everthing from my head but i looked on the internet for some small details for the weapons and the visor headset. I have looked in some litterature on how to modelling the character the best way, and watch some video tutorials about the unreal 3d engine so i can learn how it works.
The Concept Part: Here under is the concept i have done, one is an early sketch of the character the rest is the more final part.
What To Do Next Friday: research more on how the UT3 works and check out some more video tutorials about it, modelling and do a final concept work.
- Hey Rickard,
Good start, looks like a hardcore space chick. I really like the design on the Knife :)
First off I have some comments on your concepts. Since you are making this character for real-time use, you might have a problem with making the hair work in Unreal. At least to make it look realistic. Maybe you could make something work in the normal map, or playing around with alphas. But you should think about these kind of problems allready in the design phase.
There is a big risk it would not look good in Unreal, and take allot extra time. I would try different concepts to see if I could make the character look good with shorter hair, bald, ponytail or even a helmet/hat of some sort.
If you look at the main character design on GTA IV, Gears of War and Mass Effect, they all have similar design. Bad ass characters with short or no hair. I dont know, but there might be a reason for that :)
Your first concept is good because it kinda shows the character in a action pose. In these kind of poses you can show the mood/personality of the character, generally its good to use an open pose, where the arms and legs don't cross. You should also think about the lines of the arms, back, head tilt and leg placement in regarding to each other. Use composition to create harmony. There should be some sort of perspective and foreshortening. Also make sure you show the whole character, dont crop out the legs and arms :) All these steps makes it easier to see the design details. It is not important that it looks like a beautiful painting, you should focus on the proportions and design ideas (character design).
This concept should have colors and some simple lighting. But don't spend to much time lighting it(30 min maybe). In a work environment this also makes the concept easier to sell to the Client or Art Director, simply because it looks better and less boring than a flat front concept.
Wait with the front, side and back concepts until a later stage. These are mainly for your reference when modeling The main thing here is to keep the correct proportions on all views. Colors are not necessary here, not worth spending time on.
I will post some picture examples if I figure out how to :)
Good luck,
-Øyvind-
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/01 at 10:07 AM
- oh crap, seems like spaces in the text are ignored. I will make shorter posts next time to make it easier to read :)
-Øyvind-
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/01 at 10:13 AM
- [IMG]http://www.nickelroy.com/cliff/ref_lines.jpg[/IMG]
Use ruler lines in Photoshop to mark out the main features. CTRL+R in Photoshop, then drag and drop a line from the ruler itself. CTRL+H to display/hide these lines.
Since you do low poly you dont have to mark out the details you plan to do in texturing. But make sure you get the top of the head, nose, jaw, shoulders, hips, knees, etc.
Normally its worth spending 2-3 days on these sketches atleast, since it saves you much time in modelling. The more correct they are, the better. However since you do low-poly, I would suggest you spend more time on researching about topology, maybe try to draw them ontop of your sketch to see where you can save geometry.
I use lineart since its easy to show details in the design, and easy to follow when modelling. I dont have to worry about mass and light eighter.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/01 at 10:43 AM
- crap again, link doesent work. Copy and paste it :)
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/01 at 10:44 AM
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