The Beast
Tweaks, Opened Mouth & Teeth/Gums
As most higher poly/realistic models are often sculpted with their mouth open, it was suggested by Alan to do so for the Beast. This allowed me to understand him better. (Opened by skinning to head joints) I sculpted the gums and teeth and decided to change the protruding teeth 'order' so they make more sense.
Improving the Beast resulted in an update to his UV's. However, Alan and I realized that my Maya had copied over 2014 preferences, which was the cause of the progress being so slow. After resetting the preferences I was able to UV the Beast much more quickly resulting in completion.
I will later be adding details in Mudbox to all my characters, it is best to not flip over opposite uv's.
As the Beast is so big he needed to have a different type of skeleton. Alan showed me the way in which using an IK within the spine with cluster nodes would help create a more realistic animation.
The Bear Prince
Overall Improvements
I have improved the Bear's model a lot since I last posted, not only to add realism but also his character. A lot of male bum staring has happened!
I had experimented with his hair an awful lot, from covering patches, to almost all over; but it was mutually agreed between Alan and I that it should be used sparingly and to achieve the illusion of fur. After doing this he looks like himself again and not a parrot. :)
Base Uv's complete - refinement needed. working on the skeleton at the moment and to open up his mouth. I believe the same skeleton will be necessary for the Bear Prince.
His armor is looking very 'generic' at the moment due to the lack of details which will be sculpted in Mudbox.
Silver
Overall Improvements
As my focus has been on the other two characters, Silver has slowed down in her progression. Silver was 'OK' on submission, but like the others I have gone back and improved her sculpt and geometry flow. After an awaited 'OK' from Alan, (other minor checks) she will be good to go. So all my characters will be ready (finally) for skinning/rigging, together.
I decided that having her clothes baggy wouldn't help when it came to showing off her character. Also, being a melee fighter, I doubt she would wear baggy trousers as they could hold her back. So I decided to sculpt her figure back in while also improving her boots and jacket. Minor tweaks have also happened to her hat and her face shape.
Her huge hands have had a major change. Since they are a natural power and not mechanical, I decided to sculpt realistic hands due to their large size; cartoon hands (I doubt) would work in this situation. Just need to decide on the best way to create a transition - i.e using polygon planes of tubes.
I have laid out the UV's again with the improvement of the 2016 settings. I laid the jacket out as though it was made out of real leather. I'll clarify with Alan to make sure this is ok to do. Just the boots need to be UV'ed as I am unsure about their geometry at the moment. I have also updated her skeleton.
I know I should've posted as I have progressed sooner, but as I sometimes do, I was looking around at what others were doing and where they're at when I should concentrate on my own work.
END OF WEEK MINIMUM DEADLINE GOALS
- To have skinned the Beast, Bear Prince and Silver.
- Completed the basic's of my rigging process.
