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[Elliott D.]

So I made these models in sculptris then built low-poly versions and created normal maps from the high-poly versions. Then I put them in Unity.

They are something I've been working on for a while now. Now that I have the technique down, it should be a lot faster to make more.




The first model is from this mythology I came up with in high-school (revisited the concept this year) and the second is a goblin I started last week. Here they are in Unity players:

http://www.stone-golem.com/ElliottDavis/Tests/Buh.html
http://www.stone-golem.com/ElliottDavis/Tests/Goblin.html

1500 and 1900 polys respectively. Normal maps are 1024x1024

Next steps are texture maps and then rigging and animating.

[sugarbeard]

Always loved your art style. Big on the top, tiny on the bottom. It's a really cool aesthetic.

Get animating! I wanna see them dance!

[Zulaan]

Wow those look great.

[Elliott D.]

Thanks guys!

I set up a skeleton for the big guy last night, but got distracted with a chance to play board games and didn't set bone weights. I'll post an update soon.

Is anyone having trouble running the unity players? should I add pictures of the goblin?

[Elliott D.]

Did a quick rigging (excluded toes, fingers and jaw) and made some ragdolls.

http://stone-golem.com/ElliottDavis/Tests/BuhRagdolls.html

[Elliott D.]

Next up is a mini Samus: Started this at noon (atlantic time).





Gotta break the symmetry to add the gun next.

[Richard Kain]

Very nice. It looks like you've got the normal-map baking down pretty well. I'm very impressed with the Unity Web Player. Your normal-mapped models look and perform really well in it. The rag-dolls were especially entertaining

[Kevin]

That is a sexy looking Samus. Nice and chunky.

Next up is a mini Samus: Started this at noon (atlantic time).

You from the Atlantic provinces? I'm a New Brunswick boy myself.

[Elliott D.]

You from the Atlantic provinces? I'm a New Brunswick boy myself.

Yea, I live in Halifax


Added the gun, made the low res mesh (2500 faces), made the normal map and then did a super quick fill colour texture:

http://stone-golem.com/ElliottDavis/Tests/SamusTest.html

There are some artifacts in the normal map that I think I will try to get rid of before I try to rig and animate her; I might also play with the proportions before that.

I've got something special planned for this Samus, I might start a dev log soon.

[sugarbeard]

Start it now!

[pen]

In case you don't know it yet: you really shouldn't sculpt inorganic armor - certainly not in sketchup of all programs. Instead make it using 3dsmax/maya/blender with subdivided objects.

It's a great process for organic things - your first monster is really cool!
It just doesn't work on your Samus model, unless you're going for a clay figure feel, which is really really niche.

I hope I don't come off as too negative 

[sergiocornaga]

I personally dig clay Samus. And I'm totally planning to rip off your technique if I ever make a full 3D game.

[Elliott D.]

pen: Yea, I thought I might be able to make it work in sculptris (I just love it so much), but it's still turned out really rubberey.
I think I could go back and fix it in the high res model; just add more detail on the edges and smooth out the surfaces, but it would have been easier to make the whole thing in 3dsm by now.
I've always found it really hard to make characters that way, even with good front and side views.

sergiocornaga: sweet, let me know if you want any details.

sugarbeard: not now, but soon...

[pen]

pen: Yea, I thought I might be able to make it work in sculptris (I just love it so much), but it's still turned out really rubberey.
I think I could go back and fix it in the high res model; just add more detail on the edges and smooth out the surfaces, but it would have been easier to make the whole thing in 3dsm by now.

I think it'd be better to take your lowres model and use it for basic positioning of 'real' meshes, would save you a lot of time but still let you go all next-gen crazy without worrying too much about front/sideview shenanigans.

But then again I've never used sculptris, only zbrush 

I've always found it really hard to make characters that way, even with good front and side views.

I feel your pain man, brofists all 'round 

[Elliott D.]

I think it'd be better to take your lowres model and use it for basic positioning of 'real' meshes, would save you a lot of time but still let you go all next-gen crazy without worrying too much about front/sideview shenanigans.

My process right now is to make a super simple model in a program like 3DSM then smooth it a lot and export it for sculptris (as only triangles; the smoothing is to prevent parts from "collapsing" when sculptris generates detail).

I make the character building on the simple model guide, import the high res back into 3DSM and build the low res mesh on the high res one using topology tools. That way, I can think about the arrangement of the mesh to fit animation or to show detail instead of just trying to get it to fit the shape.

I really think the low res model needs to come after the high res one. It just doesn't seem like modeling if you do it in a geometry heavy environment.

[pen]

I think it'd be better to take your lowres model and use it for basic positioning of 'real' meshes, would save you a lot of time but still let you go all next-gen crazy without worrying too much about front/sideview shenanigans.

My process right now is to make a super simple model in a program like 3DSM then smooth it a lot and export it for sculptris (as only triangles; the smoothing is to prevent parts from "collapsing" when sculptris generates detail).

I make the character building on the simple model guide, import the high res back into 3DSM and build the low res mesh on the high res one using topology tools. That way, I can think about the arrangement of the mesh to fit animation or to show detail instead of just trying to get it to fit the shape.

I really think the low res model needs to come after the high res one. It just doesn't seem like modeling if you do it in a geometry heavy environment.

Oh, I meant more in the way of first using a sculpting program to 'concept' the model (what you've done already with the metroid armor), then use a low-res of it to know where to put the parts on a proper high-poly.
(by high-poly I mean something built more like this:

with looooaaads of detail)

[Elliott D.]

Ah, yes. That's a good idea; I should rebuild the suit in detail with geometry tools.

Thanks for the video too, that is intense; I'll have to watch it again later and learn a thing or two.

[Elliott D.]

Couldn't bring myself to work on the high res Samus any more just yet. I proceeded with a fast rig and simple animations.

I made this prototype, use a joystick to move Samus and make her fall off the cliff.
http://stone-golem.com/ElliottDavis/SamusHyrule/Samus01.html

Also started a devlog for the project:
http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=19421.0
Samus is going into Hyrule.