I'll be using this thread to post progress on the characters I need to model for the short(s) I'm planning. Here's Skarab, Chief Bugbot Inspector before the war started, and now leader of the rebel forces.

And here's the model so far...

He's already looking great Gerry.

I assume you'll use displacement to get the dented effects on his chest?

Thats looking good ,I like the legs

that looks good.

I think it would look gooder if you could model the legs with the separate muscles (?)... tendons (?)... like you have in your drawing. Tricky to rig but it would look cool!

I'm so glad that you have decided to bring these adventurers into the 3D world, Gerry. This is a great start!

Thanks guys! Rod, I've modeled the chest denting in the mesh, so the mesh is probably a little more dense than necessary. I tried a displacement map for the red thingy on his chest but it behaved funny so for now it's a bump map. I'll try to post a screen shot to show what I mean, but I'm still getting the hang of displacement maps so I'm a bit shy of them.

Rob, I find I've created numerous problems for myself with the peculiar anatomy of these guys; there are probably better ways to model this than what I'm doing but it's a learning process (and of course by "learning process" I mean I'm pulling my hair out in huge clumps, followed by kicking myself. Then the cursing.) However I'll be spending some time creating texture maps for the alternating leg tendons for maximum effect.

I put off the arms til last because, well, I'm yella. Working on them now and they're not terrible but they're not exactly like the illustrations.

Paul, thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing something myself!

Awhile back I did an image for the image contest with the "Croaker" character, then went on to completely rig him and created a walk cycle and a movie of him leaping and reaching for his gun. Remember them? Well it's a good thing I saved the .mov's, because wherever the final rigging and chor files are, they are NO LONGER ON MY COMPUTER. Completely vanished. Pffft! I've got a roughly rigged version, but the version where I put in the cog joints on his fingers, knees and ankles, the walk cycle action, the constraints, the chors, no longer exist. And I don't delete stuff! It's just gone.

In playing with the displacement map it appears that white areas actually raise the surface, rather than starting at the level of the mesh. So I tried one with the entire map greyed back a little and the results are better. Will I have more control if I increase the number of polys per patch? All signs point to yes. I'll post something when the arms are a little further along.

Thats the most anoying thing ever ,I know how it feels .Great looking model

thanks Steve. As far as I'm concerned, when I realized it disappeared I just took it as a reason to rig it better next time.

Good thinking

Displacement maps shouldn't depend on mesh resolution anymore. That's something Martin invented around V13.

They are smoother if you use OpenEXR instead of 8-bit maps.

Actually you've given me something to think about Rob!

EDIT: Also didn't see your last post. I just did a save as to exr format and I'll give it a whirl tomorrow. Thanks!

is this for a short?
lots of possibilities!

Hey, Spleeny, yeah, check out what I posted in the original thread and my storyboards. I've been developing this since Ye Twentiethe Centurie and *maybe* I'll finish some of it in the 21st!

Of course, if they are made in 8-bit and converted to EXR you don't get the advantage. You need the extra grey levels that EXR supports

No I have a layered PSD file that I flatten and save as 32 bit from that.

Here's a quickie render of Skarab with arms in place. Still lots of detail to do...that little speck floating in space by his left fingertips is a fingernail that's not in place yet. I've also started on an alternate version of the arms like rob suggested.

Excellent, Gerry, and very faithful to your original artwork.

Looking good, Gerry! I really dig his boots!

Thanks guys! Mark, the boots will have a lot more detail yet, and I'll be texturing them with decals. Right now it's just a quick material I threw on. I must say the new arms I'm working on are looking pretty good. And I'm also rethinking Rodney's suggestion about using a displacement map for the thorax/chest, so this is just a first draft so far.

Well... It really looks like you have a good start, your modes look great.

Thanks, K. Here's a new render of Skarab with one "new" arm (his right) done at Robcat's suggestion. Took me two days and it's still not finished, and rigging it is gonna be a bear, but I like it a lot better than the original.

keeping my eye on this topic

Here's the last "in progress" I'll be posting on the modeling. I'm going to finish the model and all the texturing before I post again. But in this one the arms are finished and I actually did my first fingernails!

Just to keep this thread going, here's the next model I'll be working on, Skarab's gal, Midge Lacewing. The Skarab model is coming along but I've been busy at work with some Flash stuff.

That's one sexy bug!

Well I know I'm looking forward to modeling her!

I know I said I would have more done but decaling the legs was a major step, so I'm posting this closeup shot. The legs are still the original modeling, not the complex redo that I did for the arms, but I think they still work well. Any comments, let me know.

excellent!

Thanks Spleen! Decaling the legs was a big deal but decaling the arms will be a monster. I think I'm going to move on to more of the modeling next, get that out of the way, then dive into the arms.

See....I think that is part of my modeling problem.
Yall seem to spend alot of time on your models. Whereas I wanna get it done and jump right into animating.
I should spend more time getting myself some really well done characters like you are yourself doing so I have a library of them.
you do great work.

I've found that we all have our strengths. I love to model but have not been a happy rigger. Unfortunately I don't have any "small" ideas, by which I mean I wish I could come up with some simple, fun projects that would allow me to get to the animation and have some practice with that under my belt. Seems like I spend all my time modeling, but have yet to do any actual character animation beyond some simple tests, walk cycles, eyeblinks, etc.

Great work Gerry!!! I've only just found this thread but I'm really glad I did. I know it's been said before, but I love how faithful your models are to your original designs. I find that really hard. I cant wait to see how you get on!

Me either!

Whoa, stop the presses! I just realized I could do the arms and legs faster and better with displacement maps. Don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. Looks like I'll have to completely redo the limbs but it'll be so much easier this way. I just did a quick test to be sure and it looks great but it's too rough to post. Maybe I'll have something tomorrow.

those are excellent models 'Gerry

Thanks! I was making some good progress with the displacement maps but it's mostly a lot of testing and reworking the decals, and then "real work" intruded. I have some tests rendered but I want to have it looking nice before I post again. But displacement maps is the way to go! I was making myself crazy trying to do it all with the modeling, and the DM's make a lot more detail possible.

Here's a very rough test with a displacement map and a color map on the front of the legs. the backs of the legs have only a sketch as a displacement map. There is definitely a lot of trial and error in this approach but all in all it's going well. I hope to have something more finished sometime this week.

excellent! love the maps! They worked well!

Looks good, Gerry. I could be wrong, but I think the deformations will be better with the displacement maps... feel more organic when they stretch.

Thanks guys. Mark, I'm not sure how the deformations will work, I'm a little concerned that the limbs will look too rock-like or rigid, but it's hard to tell at this stage. Getting the dm's to work takes a lot of testing but it's a lot more fun and rewarding than the hoops I was jumping through to get the same effect with modeling. I'll also be adding specularity maps for more realism.

Here's a revised color map.

Here's the legs pretty much finished. I may come back for some tweaking but for now I'm moving on to the arms.

cool looking, yet they appear very strong! Nice work.

That's looking real sharp!

You done a real nice job on them maps Gerry,looking good

Here's a rough sketch of Midge. I think I'll be modeling her next. The wings (not shown in the sketch) will be a special challenge with her.

Here's Skarab, mostly finished. I'm still modeling the doodads on his utility belt, and for some reason they go all the way around the back. I don't know what any of them do but he tells me they're important, so I pretty much have to do them.

Great job, Gerry!