Dangerous Bug

[tef]

Hey all! This is my first w.i.p on GA, I have been modeling one or two low poly models in Blender before. Last one was Jiraiya in the Naruto Challenge. After that I decided to switch from Blender into 3ds max/ Zbrush.

So, this is basically my first ever model in 3ds max and I have had some trouble finding what tools to use. It's like the oposite from Blender but somehow I managed to go through with it anyway. I am a little confused with the UV layout modifiers in 3ds max but I will manage it somehow.

I have never used Zbrush before either, so this project will be breaking ice for me.

Thank you for commeting ;)


Concept:
http://82.182.188.70/stefan/uploads/insectoid_small.jpg

Colored concept, (somewhat):
http://www.gameartisans.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1495&stc=1&d=1193871297

Progress, low poly:
http://82.182.188.70/filer/screen2.jpg
http://82.182.188.70/filer/screen3.jpg

[cookepuss]

It's a pretty nifty model. The shoulders are looking a little weird. Maybe its just me. I also think that, considering the current LOD, you might want to re-route a couple of polys to the wrists. You might run the risk of losing volume during deformation - unless you choose to compensate with your vertex weighting, of course.

Overall, looks really good. Just one piece of advice for detailing. Go slowly.

There's no race. No sense in adding in every detail all at once. Just add your detail in layers, moving from big details down to the smaller ones. If you try and tackle everything at once, you'll go nuts. Even worse, your detailed model will be a mess.

[tef]

Thanks. Yes, I have some polys left until I reach the 5k mark so I will add some in those joints. I am not sure if I should keep this humanoid look on his shoulders or switch to something looking more like mosquito legs.

Btw, I don't think I will be able to go fast since I am not used to Max yet. So I have plenty of time to review my character :-) I am really busy, both at school and work for the time being, so I tend to work in short bursts.

[tef]

Ok. Got some time today to make an UV-update. I am still tweaking around with the UV-tools in Max and I have been using the pelt-thing alot. Since there is alot of geometry in this bug I had to put the wings on a seperate sheet and I have also sliced his body in half to make room for more stuff. But I am not sure if I will keep it that way or stitch them back together in the end. All the long spikes has been unwrapped seperatly.

Critque is appreciated.

http://82.182.188.70/filer/body.jpg
http://82.182.188.70/filer/wings.jpg

[cookepuss]

Interesting layout. Not quite sure if it'll work out well for you in the end. It seems a bit complex for my tastes. I can see what you're going for though. You may just end up losing some key detail in some of those smaller areas.

I might have split off the head, opting to pelt with the seam cut going along the back of the head, base of the neck, and roots of the antennae. The antennae would have been simple unwraps. I'd also have split off the arms and hand, placing the seams in less obvious areas like the inside of the arm or sides of the hands. Same thing with the side appendages. I'd then have pelted the now worm-like remainder of the body with a seam going along either the center of the belly or the spine.

All in all, I'd probably have ended up with about 16 pieces if you include the wings. Right now, you've got a whole lot of small bits floating around everywhere. It's possible to work like that. It's just hard to keep track of and pretty messy if you ever wanted to ID each bit. I'm a Cinema4D/BodyPaint user so that's just my perspective.

[Marcus Dublin]

Hey tef, thanks for posting your newest creation! I have to say this is pretty impressive for your first Max model but the UV's could be optimized a bit better. I took a few minutes to give you an idea on how it can be improved, of course this is highly subjective and it depends on how it would be viewed in a game and the type of detail. Here's a few things to keep in mind when Doing UV's for a creature like this:

1. Make sure to try and keep your UV chunks as vertically and horizontally as possible, it not only makes texturing easier but pixels behave better in Photoshop "They remain sharp"!

2. It's okay to mirror things that aren't seen at the same time and or contain secondary detail. Secondary detail meaning things like it's wings, mini legs, and antenna. There not the primary focus of attention and you can get away with it.

3. I left the parts where it's legs are attached unique because there not only seen at the same time but also don't take up much pixel space.

4. Things like the the arms and antena can be mirrored because they carry less surface real estate than some of the bigger chunks. Not to mention given their structure will only contain a nominal amount of detail.

All in all it's a cool design and hopefully you'll experiment with what works best for you. Keep keep up the solid work!:thumb:

[tef]

Cookepuss:

Thanks for your input, I will see to it. This was basically the reason why I choosed this model, to get some awesome feedback on UV and texture technuiqes. Hehe, btw.. I am just a poor little web developer/ student who started out his 3d hobby making maps for DooM2 a long time ago.


Marcus Dublin:

Thanks alot for the image, both you and Cookepuss are on the same track here so I will definetly change things around as soon as I can. After that I just need to learn the Zbrush program everyone is talking about :-)