I'm finally finishing up my current project so I've got the time to get started on Ku-Klip. All the current models sure leave a lot to live up to. Fantastic work so far. A few quick questions before I begin (Will's sketch attached below):

1. Does Ku-Klip have anything for his eyes besides a giant iris? From the sketch he appears to lack eyelids and any kind of eyeball. Seems like this would make him difficult to animate. How should I handle this?

2. Are we planning to use particle hair for all the creatures. If so should I go ahead and do this as part of the modeling or will his hair be handled later by the TD's? I'll definately include something but I just want to know how far I should take it?

3. How tall should I make him?

Thanks,

Kevin

4'-5' tall, pretty short.
The spectacles magnify the eyes. Think Wilfred Brimley as Kuklip

How about a bit of a hunch back from leaning over all that tin. That can be done in animation...

hey Ken, aren't you supposed to be modeling?!

On a break. Don't want to get a hunch back.

Well, here's my second try at this, couldnt upload an image last night for some reason. Anyway, here's what I've got so far. He still needs a beard/glasses and a fair amount of tweaking but I wanted to get some feedback before I go too far. Anyway, let me know what you think. Thanks.

Kevin

Crap, still can't post an image. Anyone know what's going on?

Alright, now that the server is fixed here is the image I tried to post earlier...

That's a hairless Ku-Klip alright.

Great job!

Very, very nice Ku Klip, Kevin!
My only criticism is where the outer edges of the eyelids meet you currently have a ridge. I'm sure you will be tweaking though.
Great start!

Excellent. He reminded me of Shrek when I first saw him.

Zippy the Pinhead...

(that was one of my nicknames at an old job).

Looks great! He is so smooooth... must use a lot of moisturizer!



Vernon "!' Zehr

Good stuff Kevin, very cool.

Frank Silas
http://www.franksilas.com

Thanks for the comments guys. I've been pretty busy lately so I haven't had a chance to work on him again till now. Here are the latest updates. The hair is just temporary so I could verify he was looking ok. Also, I'm not sure why his glasses look tinted, they are casting pretty dark shadows considering I set transparency all the way up to 99%!?! Oh well, I'm about ready to start the body but I need some feedback on the face before I go on. Any comments Will? I should have plenty of time to work on him this weekend. Thanks.

Kevin

Kevin, you ROCK!!

That's very, very nice!

Jim

Wonderfully caught, Kevin! That is Ku Klip!

How is the beard to be animated? Will it be cloth and hair?

Great job, Kevin!
When you do the particle hair, I think that it should continue around the back of his head , so that he is just bald on top.
I think you captured the likeness very well, but it seems like his head should be a lttle rounder.

I agree with Will. Fantastic work Kevin. Really fantastic.

Dimos

Very Fine Work ....I love the Glasses too!

Also on the Hair ....eyebrows specifically: make sure they are bushy, with hairs sticking out!

This is a bit over the top .....but you'll get the idea!

Here is another set of eyebrows:

Thanks for the comments guys! Wow, a "you ROCK" from Jim. THANKS! I'll go ahead and try to round out his head like you showed Will and then move onto the body this weekend. I had planned on adding hair all the way around his head, I only added the beard for now since I thought it would help me get the front of his face closer to your sketch. Paul, The hair will be 100% particle hair (I think). The geometry was just so I could get an idea of how things were looking. Don't think we'll need cloth (although with such a long beard who knows). I don't think I'll be adding the real hair until he's been rigged, otherwise I could end up with a lot of rework. Mike, I'll definately keep that in mind when doing the eyebrows, the man has got to have bushy eyebrows! I've got a picture of Einstein somewhere and that guy has got to have the bushiest eyebrows I've ever seen. Actually my Dad used to have a really bushy eyebrow (just one) until my sisters got sick of looking at it and gave him one of those mini hair removers for christmas last year. Too bad, it would've been good source material...

Kevin

Here's the latest Ku-Klip update. I've still got a fair amount of tweaking to do on his body (I especially want to rework some of his hands and sleeves), but he's coming together. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

Kevin

Looking good! You should probably model the lower part of the apron without folds, since we will use cloth simulation on it.

Wow. Those are big arms. All the better to make tin things with. Lots of personality potential in there.

Simply great model!
...and with Kevin being the hair guru that he is.... Hooo boy... Ku Klip is in the house!

As has been said... beautiful!

Rodney

Thanks for the comments guys. Will, I'll go ahead and model the folds out once he's done and ready for rigging (has anyone signed up to rig him yet?). i should have him finished up this week.

Kevin

Well, here's how he's looking. Any major issues? I'm about ready to call him good as long as the art directors agree. Any major issues I still need to address?

Not knowing how the beard will be done (ie hair or other) the beard is looking very 2D toward the bottom.

Cheers

I love the thick glasses but we may need to consider accomodating some "cheat" so that we can always see his pupils through them at most angles.

Hmm....

You know... he looks just a tad like... Patrick Stewart...

"Make it so number one. Engage."

"Make what so? I'm made of Tin! Engage? Engage what? I think you've been standing too close to the furnace."

I kid. Looks good. How tall is he? If he is really short... should I make all the stuff in the workshop custom?... You know... specially built for the height challenged?

I am basing everything sort of on... US building codes... but I am very flexible... Does OZ have building codes? Do I need to get an inspector to check the plumbing?

Sorry... I just spent the last few hours working on some interesting support girders for the roof and ceiling and... some... really big wheels... I'm a little punch drunk... and dizzy.

I am beginning to think.. considering his size and stature... Ku-Klip hired outside contractors to build his workshop... I just can't see him up there in the ceiling welding these huge steel beams into place... I wonder if the Lollipop guild does that kind of contract work?

Would the flying monkeys be getting unemployment benefits since the witch died?

AAAHHHGGGG! My brain won't stop!

I need some sleep. Keep up the great work.

Vernon "!" Zehr

Personally, I quite like the idea that Ku Klip's eyes are obscured for much of the time. (Or rather it doesn't bother me.) It accentuates his shortsightedness. There are plenty of examples of bespectacled characters who's pupils are completely obscured.

When it is essential to see Ku Klip's eyes it could be handled with a close up of his face or he could look over the top of his specs.

I am really looking forward to seeing this model rigged.

Perhaps, he could have normal glass most of the time and then a gizmo on them that flips down the magnifying glass when he's looking at things. Could be really fun with the glass flipping down by themselves at inopportune times giving him bug eyes.

David, the beard will eventually be particle hair, all the hair right now is just temporary. I'll post an updated render (along with wireframes) of the final model. The real hair won't be added till he's done being rigged in case i have to make any changes to the mesh during rigging.

As far as the glasses go I'll leave that up to the art directors. I personally like it the way they are now. The only thing I don't like is how dark they look (I can't seem to get the lens to not look like he's got those tinted lenses). No matter how transparent I make them they still look like sunglasses.

Vern, he is currently 4 feet tall, which is what Will requested (he's also around 4 heads tall, based on the sketch). Maybe he hired the flying monkey's to do the high up construction, since they were out of work. Or maybe the good witch did some magic to build the place...

Kevin,

William will give the final approval, but I think it's fantastic! A fun character, modeled perfectly.

Congrats!
Jim

Thanks Jim! Here's a spin minus the temp hair:



And another render and some wireframes (just trying to see how much server disk space I can waste tonight):

Might Ku-Klip smoke a pipe? Or is that abit too un-politically correct in this day and age?

Not after all the smoking Gandalf and the hobbits did! He might as well smoke, he'll die from all the smithy fumes anyway.

Jim

Any comments Will?

Looks great Kevin! I like the pipe idea (I smoke a pipe). Approved by me too!

Bob wants to get a copy of the models prior to their rigging, if you could post it for him or email it to him. Thanks for your hard work :)

Yes! A pipe!

He could use a hot coal from the furnace to light it.

Ha!

Vernon "!" Zehr

Ok, here's the model:

So I'm going to continue working on the Ku-Klip updates in this thread. Attached are the updated designs from Jim and Bob. Nothing new to show yet, just getting started...

Hey ! I've totally miss that thread ? where was I ?
???
Great work by the way Kevin ! very nice model !


Al

Me too ! I missed this thread also, or its just escaped my grey matter, but this is such Great ! work I refuse to believe I lost this post in memory somewhere.

Michael

I just want to commend Jim on blending the old designs with the ones in the animatics. Great job!

Hey, Thanks Al and Michael!

I agree Ken, Jim did a fantastic job. And luckily I can probably reuse parts of the existing model.

Kevin

Ok, here's the latest updates to ku-klip:

I made him a little wider, shrank his arms (still not sure it's enough). And reworked his face/glasses. I still want to redo his eyes/brows...

Wonderful job!!!can I see a side view im interested in his butt...uh oh..
looks ready to post and rig to me
BobT

Nice job. Skin around the eyelids look abit flat? And has he got finger nails? Can't wait to see him with his "real hair".