Brawler

[makoa]

what's up game artisans!

this is my first post, but this forum has a lot of cool stuff and a ton of great artists and i'm excited to join in on the fun. i know many of you from other forums, so it's nice to see familiar faces.

anyways, i've been doing QA at EA for the past 6 months but my gig is up this week and i need to start looking for a new job. in preparation, here's a character i've been working on:

brawler rocking the power gloves!
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/kendobi/glovedude_hirez.jpg

he uses the open-palm technique to send foes flying!

i could use some crits, i'm really trying to achieve that professional-level quality in my work so please, fire away.

the high-poly is almost finished, just need to add smaller details and finish out his back. thanks!

[Japhir]

wow that looks great! welcome to the forums!
as you said the back needs work (but i'm sure you where gonna do that soon) and the thumbs seem a bit weird, if you look in the side view they stick out too much to the left (front) and because of the wrists going a lot to the back it looks even weirder. look up some antatomy on that.
i love your torso and the general weight/proportions of your model!
keep it up!

[theboldboy]

H Makoa,

I really like this looks great keep going this way and I don't think you will have too many problems in getting a job. I can see what Japhir is saying about the thumbs but if you are skinning this up minor things like that often have to be changed. The only crit I have is the feet I like the size of them big feet often help to ground a charater when its animated but in this case when you look at the rest of his proportions I think they might be a bit oversized but really nice work looking forward to seeing it textured.

[Ged]

looks really good but the image is really really bright and washed out on my screen, is it that way for you?

[butt_sahib]

Really love this character.
Do you have a concept for it on paper?
Look forward to the texture
Im really interested in seing more of your work- any portfolio/links?

[HntrLuc]

This is looking really cool!

Always been a fan of your style.
The material does make it kinda hard to see though

[Amethyst]

Hi and welcome.
Yes, the character is very light on my screen too. Otherwise looks cool. Looking forward to your textures and other artwork...

[ShadyD]

His trapezium and neck look really long to me, maybe that's part of your design, maybe it's not.
I Like him he looks really cool!
His arms may just be a slight too skinny to wield such great technology though, than again, muscle size isn't always related to strength =)

[Marcus Dublin]

Welcome aboard makoa and thanks for posting your work. The design of this guy is pretty cool and you have a solid sense of form and style. Now it looks like he's still in the middle of the WIP stage and you've pretty much focused on the obvious sections most artist like to tackle like the chest, abs, etc. However it would be in your best interest to give certain areas some more love like the arms. The anatomy is a bit off and the muscle structure doesn't seem very natural. It looks as though you just added bulges instead of interlocking the proper muscle groups, this is especially true for the triceps and deltoids. His neck could also be tweaked as well, the length isn't the issue but the way it intersects with the collar bone. It could just be your screen grab but there looks to be an additional muscle at the bottom of the sternomastoid: http://www.wetcanvas.com/ArtSchool/Drawing/Anatomy/Lesson3/page20.jpg. I'd smooth that area out and adjust it as something like that can really take away from the presentation. Last but not least is the size of the shoes, there just to big compared to everything else. I could see if the gloves where bigger to offset the shoes but there just a tad to large and could benefit from a 30% reduction. All in all it's a very nice piece and can be pretty awesome with some additional polish, just remember to take it one step at a time and make sure to cross your T's and dot your I's with it.;) Good luck makoa and keep us posted!

[makoa]

thanks for all the replies, guys!

japhir - thanks dude, i'll check his thumb proportions and go over the hand again, although i'm not too clear on where it looks funny. i've been using my hands are reference though, and i have some retarded ass hitchikers thumbs that i inherited from my grandma so maybe that's throwing things off. thanks though!

theboldboy - thanks! i'll adjust his feet a little...i'm trying to go for more stylized proportions and am having trouble finding the right balance. also, you're right...this is still the high-poly, so there'll be a lot of room for adjustment when i get to the low-poly. thanks for the input though!

ged - thanks! yeah, my laptop monitor screws up the lighting...i'll throw up some better renders in a lil bit.

butt_sahib - thanks bro! i do have concepts, nothing official, mainly just a ton of doodles and scribbles. lemme scan them in and i'll post em. also, i do have a website:

http://www.kennykong.net

although it's all old stuff and needs to be updated.

hntrluc - thanks man! i'm a fan of your style as well.

amethyst - thanks dude!

shadyd - yea the long neck is intended as part of the design although i can see what you're saying. right now, the head and body are two separate meshes so they don't blend that well right now. hopefully on the low-poly i'll get to fix that. thanks!

marcus dublin - thanks for the great crits! always been a fan of your work. for the anatomy of the arms, back, etc. i totally see what you're saying and i'm planning on doing another pass on his body to get the anatomy down. i'll definitely keep your recommendations in mind. as for the polish, i'm finding that it's really the details that separates the boys from the men (so to speak), so that's something i'll be working on. thanks again!

[makoa]

concepts:

it started with this:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/kendobi/jumpinjackz.jpg

evolved:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/kendobi/glovedoodlez.jpg

gettin there...
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/kendobi/glovedoodlez2.jpg

as you can tell i didn't really have a set concept when i started modelling, just went for it.

[ShadyD]

Man I really like your style!
It's awesome and mellow!

[Pezzz]

I'm lovin` those sketches man.... the first page conveys the movements of the characters so well. I'm jealous. When I try that it usually ends up looking to static for my liking...

[_tdc_]

I'm loving that high poly. Looks fabulous. Love the dreds. My only crits is he needs more back muscle definition because comparing to the front chest and abs, it looks unfinished. Same thing with the legs. The anatomy is stylized but believable so keep it up. I would love to see this finished and in color. Good luck and have fun.

-tchiu

[makoa]

shadyd - haha thanks man. i've never heard anyone call my work mellow before. but i like that description, cuz i'm a mellow kinda dude :cool:

pezzz - thanks bro! yeah, i've been working on loosening things up, just letting the pen/pencil wander a little bit, it really helps add movement

tchiu - thanks a lot! yea i hadn't gotten to the back yet when i posted those shots, but here's an update:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/kendobi/glovedude_bodysculpt.jpg

i also adjusted the deltoids, arms, clavicle area as previously suggested. please disregard the hands and lower body, they are being sculpted elsewhere.

thanks guys!

[ShadyD]

In that case, Job well done :) As I can see your personality through your models :).. Or your style .. You know what i mean :P..

Much better detail!
I Wanna see this one done! Keep it up man!

[East]

Looking promising so far. If you have the time, could you give me a straight sideview of his arms? You want a ripped and lean anatomy on this guy, but it strikes me as if his triceps might be a bit too sharp and pointy, like there's bone underneath defining the shape instead of muscle and tissue.

It might be early still in the process, but that's something you probably should get in as a very basic shape in an earlier subdivision level. Overall, my first impression tells me that the biceps are taking too much real estate, but that's really hard to tell for sure without a plain sideview of the arm.

I like where this is heading, though, looking forward to more :)

[makoa]

Heyyyyy, sorry for the lag in updates guys, I took a little hiatus to travel a bit... and then the holidays had me occupied like americans in iraq, haha!

alright enough lame jokes, here's the update:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/kendobi/glovedude_txtr_preview_kkong.jpg

as you can see, i finished the low poly, threw on the normal map, and the texture is about half done. i still haven't touched the gloves or shoes....pretty much only the skin so far. please tell me what you think and thanks for lookin!

[Japhir]

great stuff! good to see you working on him again!
some things i noticed: the head has become very feminine in the lowpoly/normals version, in the sculpt it seemed like a really cool guy, but now with the wide cheekbones and all he seems a lot more feminine. There's also a big seam noticable on the shoulder, but i doubt you didn't notice that one. Other than that i really like him! looks very cool! (oh and what's the chest-thingie?)

[BoBo_the_seal]

That kicks ass! Very nice!

- BoBo

[katana]

He looks like you! Must be your alt...nice job...

[East]

As Japhir points out, the shoulder seams seam.. seem.. seem to be a bit too visible. Kinda makes him look like an action figure. Other than that it looks high notch. Some subtle colour variations in the skin and things will go pop :)

[Silva Spoon]

I like it! I like it. Keep it up.

[Dbjunk]

Nice...Ive always like your concepts man...Keep going.

[Armanguy]

Is it me or do the shoulders look really weird?there popping out but not connecting with the chest or back, in your normal maps they look perfect but when applied to the low-poly they look really weird.

[Ged]

great work, quite a unique looking character :) really looks like he could be more intelligent and emotional than the standard brainless grunt. Definitely something alot of game characters lack.

[makoa]

japhir - thanks bro! i'll fiddle with his cheekbones, thanks for pointing that out. his chest piece...it's something he installed in his chest to help him harness his inner strength, chi, chakra, quan, whatever. makes him punch harder basically.

bobo! - thanks a lot, i appreciate it!

katana - haha, i wish i looked like him. i just need to get a tan, and grow my hair out, and do a few billion push-ups haha.

silva spoon - thanks!

dbjunk - hey man, thanks for dropping in. how's that internship going?

armanguy - not exactly sure what you mean, but i spent a lil more time on his shoulder this time around.

ged - hey thanks man, i tried to give him some character and i'm glad you saw it too.

UPDATES!

texture on brawler - i think one more pass and i'm callin it done.

http://www.kennykong.net/images/3d/brawler_prefinal.jpg

and been working on some new stuff:

http://www.kennykong.net/images/3d/frazbabe_prefinal.jpg

and her sword (she'll have two)
http://www.kennykong.net/images/3d/frazbabe_sword.jpg

moving turret - probably gonna go diffuse only with this one
http://www.kennykong.net/images/3d/taz_model.jpg

based on this sketch
http://www.kennykong.net/images/3d/tazrider_sketch.jpg

these last two should just about round out my portfolio. crits please!

thanks for lookin! peace and love yall!
k

[Cheshire]

Textures lookin good. I love the proportions on him!

[Beartastic]

Looks great. I'm glad you're working on this more, I really dig the character. The calves still look a little flat normal-wise, and I really dig the face (especially the high bone structure and the heavy lids) but I think it could do with a little bit of de-feminization. Something like http://blog.tilos.hu/malestripshow/brick_goodhigh.jpg seems like a close fit. Keep grinding dude!

[WereWolf]

Great Work! 8)

[iceblazer17]

Dude, your stuff is kickin ass!...very inspirational.

[GrM]

the brawler is freaking badass. I'd say the only thing really that I notice now is that some slight discoloration to the skin near the implant thing on the chest would help it feel like its not just floating there.

the chick is awesome, i like her ridiculously large boots to the rest of her small frame.

more, more! :)

[Japhir]

i love your stuff! and the walking turret is just amazing! diffuse only FTW :D

[Steel Style]

So cool that's for a game project ?

[GarrettMinley]

REALLY nice stuff man, your style is off the hook.

gm-

[Rasmus Holmgren]

Brawler looks great man, good job. Still a bit clean and evenly colored maybe, what about some wear-and-tear on the powerglove pipes, dirt on the sneakers etc? Also deltoids look very pronounced, but maybe that's the way you like it :)

Looking forward to see the rest of it!

[kongni]

WOW! Brawler looks great! -right click, save!-

I really like the street style mixed with the techy accesories. Very cool. I also really like the slightly exaggerated proportions in the legs and feet.

I would say don't change a thing. Render it out real nice and put that puppy in your portfolio! :)

[MaxH]

Awesome looking work here!!!
love it!!!

[Pezzz]

Makoa I have decided that you will meet up with me and show me your workflow :) pretty please i live in san jo!!


Just kidding, not really but really.... Haha nice styuff man I'm a fan of your style and your sketches are rocking man really nice lines!

[makoa]

thanks for the replies, everyone!

cheshire - thanks man!

mbt - thanks, yea i gotta work out his calves and give the dude some cheekbones, thanks for pointing those out tho. ahahaha, what an awesome pic too - that dude's my role model!

werewolf - thank you sir!

iceblazer - thank you much, glad you dig it.

grm - thanks bro, good catch on his chestplate thing, i'll try and incorporate it into his chest a bit more.

japhir - thanks a lot, good sir. diffuse only is fun, i almost forgot how it all works though, this normal map stuff has been warping my mind!

steel style - thanks - no, not for a game project, although i wouldn't mind seeing any one of these guys in-game.

garrettminley - thanks a lot garrett!

rasmus holmgren - yea, i'll add some scratches to his gloves and what not, thanks for the input, it's helpful!

kongni - haha thanks alot dude! i'm glad i could take up a little space in your hard drive ;)

maxh - thanks!

pezzz - haha, come on through man! naw, my workflow is nothing special and it changes all the time. i usually start in silo for modelling, then mudbox, then bring it into maya to texture. i probably spend most of the time figuring out why the hell my normal maps are upside-down, inside-out and generally look like a fat kid sat on 'em :uhh:

haha, but for real, we should organize a bay area get-together or something - sketch group, modeling session, drinking buddies, whatever...i'd be down to help organize.

annnd an update - wip:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/kendobi/taz_txtrpreview.jpg

[TadMod]

Nice textures. I really like how smooth it looks. its an amazing job you've done here!

[Kalango]

wow i'm liking these man! the brawler guy is cool! loved the creature mout as well...your texturing style is very unique man keep it up :)

[tonyclifton]

looks like the shoes have come to life! this character is fresh!!!