The Escapade : Iris

[poopinmymouth]

My roommate and I are starting to work on a small game using the Torque engine. He's covering programming, I'm covering art. We're keeping it small in scope to cater to the small team size. Right now he's busy with work/school, so I'm just getting as far as I can on the main/only character. The thread title refers to the game name (The Escapade) and the main character's name (Iris).

A short blurb about the game. It takes place inside of a pop-up book. You're a teen aged girl transported inside the book, and each page is a level. You must figure out a way through the level to get to the other side of the page. Some level elements must be manipulated using wheels, tabs, and sliders just like a real pop up book. There will be a timer, and you will most likely need multiple attempts to make it through the level on time. Each attempt you'll figure out more puzzles, and be able to progress through those parts faster the next try, till you are able to get through the whole level in the allotted time. Should you wish to do away with the timer and just explore, that's a perfectly valid option.

The focus is on character control, and puzzle interaction. No enemies, nothing to collect, no dialog to progress through.

This is my working concept, I decided not to shade too much, as I can model off of this, and the time is better spent on texturing later. I was inspired heavily by the Finnish street fashion found on www.hel-looks.com. Seems those scandis were heavily inspired by J-pop. I just like the fun look of all the colors and overlapping fabric types. It's completely non-functional.

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/iris_concept_03.jpg

The art style of the game will be full bright models, with a few full screen shaders to tie everything together. While no shading per object will be in place, there will be colored shadow maps cast by objects. Final polycount will be around 4-6,000 tris.

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/iris_02.jpg

I'll post my progress in this thread as I go. I hope to get her head and costume done by the weekend, and then use the weekend to start the texture. I'm only going to be using a 512x512, diffuse only, no alpha. (to aid in the full screen effects)

http://www.mr-chompers.com/images/poop.gif (http://www.poopinmymouth.com)

[_Vincento_]

Nice low poly dude, and good luck for your game,
I know that in general the Game studio advices the new talent to make a mod on some game instead a full game at the begining.

Just an advice from me, about your animation later for your character, you will have some problems with the elbow it will maybe bend ok, but when you will animate you will not be able to do what you want.
better if you unbend it at the modeling ;)

[indian_boy]

haha.... ever since i read that 'news update' on ur site about a game, i've been waiting for either the 'sister site' or some piece of art that we could see. Cool stuff right here.

good luck with the game!

[FredH]

So how does the timer work? she must hurry before the page is flipped?

Really cool idea. I had no idea you were going to put her in a game. This would make for a very nice summer project. Hope all goes well:)

[cabertevon]

Hi Ben...cheers to your game.

Out of curiosity, do you guys welcome contributor? Currently I’m busy but who knows. :)

[PaNthR]

Great work! And i mean that since u set foot in the 3d world :) Ive seen alot of ur work around and read a few of ur tutorials back in the day :) Good to see you apart of this community. I'll be constantly watching what u throw up in here :)

PaNthR

[poopinmymouth]

FredH, if she doesn't get to the end before the timer, she has to restart the level with a new timer. The goal is to get you exploring as far as you can each time, and the next time you know better how to zoom through the level. There will be a lot of focus on making the fast movements fun to do, so you feel like a ninja sliding and jumping past the obstacles you know, so that you can get to the new areas to figure out how to get through them in a timely manner to beat the clock. Usually by the 3rd or 4th try you should be able to get it.

Cabertevon, for now we're trying to do everything ourselves. The only thing we have planned for help is the sound. But thanks for asking!

Done with the nude, time for the clothing next.

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/iris_03.jpg

http://www.mr-chompers.com/images/poop.gif (http://www.poopinmymouth.com)

[poopinmymouth]

moaaaar. Just a couple more accessories, hair, then on to UVs

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/iris_05.jpg

http://www.mr-chompers.com/images/poop.gif (http://www.poopinmymouth.com)

[ThatDon]

I love the way you modeled the iliac crest, but the top of her ass seems too flat?

[Frozan]

man thats looking great. i like how your going about this one!

[Hito]

The knees look strangely lumpy. Other than that she looks great! The mesh is awsome. Lookforward to more progress images!

[kipiripi]

uppss,I just saw that thread.
its looking really nice poop.Super clean mesh,I cant wait to see this girl as running in engine.

[poopinmymouth]

I'm gonna work on rigging her before I UV and texture. I want to make sure she deforms well so I can add any necessary cuts before committing to UVs.

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/iris_06.jpg

Face closeup.

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/iris_07.jpg

http://www.mr-chompers.com/images/poop.gif (http://www.poopinmymouth.com)

[Enma]

Very Christina Ricci :)
Seems alittle like Nights Into Dreams. Loving the accessories.
Another thread i'll be keeping an eye on :thumb:

[Antimagic]

it's great to see that you are really putting in effort into making this game a reality. She is looking great! Can't wait to see more!

[keo]

great project, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread :)

thanks also for the link to hel-looks, great reference for poses and for non-traditional clothing (!!), I saved about 90 images before I started to feel overwhelmed by the second-hand neon shirts. :)

[poopinmymouth]

per128: Hah! Thanks dude, I appreciate it. I wish my stuff worked for people more often, but I'll take what I can get.

SuperOstrich: You know you'll be the first to get a copy when it's playable. Thanks, and yup, I followed Pior's suggestion about the topology.

Dur! Crazy Canada, I appreciate the love!

Here's tonight's progress. Rigging, done!

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/iris_08.jpg

And here is a gif of the stretch anim to show the deformations. Skeleton is a Biped with helper bones for the shoulders, elbows, knees, and butt.

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/iris_rig.gif

http://www.mr-chompers.com/images/poop.gif (http://www.poopinmymouth.com)

[Chasarsis]

That is awesome =D Just looking at that helps me point out alot of places I need to improve my own mesh flow to get better deformations

[FredH]

Hey, it looks like she actually works:D Nice stuff!

[DejaVooDoo]

Looking great! Nice deformations! What exactly do you mean by 'helper' bones?? I do a lot of rigging, but on much lower poly characters, and the basics git'r'dun. I'm soon looking into rigging some higher poly characters, and would appreciate any tips you have on a character this rez. Thx!

[poopinmymouth]

Ok, here is the bip file. the green dummys are helper bones. They are set to get 50% rotation from the parent bone, and 50% rotation from the child bone. This keeps these areas from collapsing when rigged. The hip helpers are parented to the waist, and only orient based on the upper legs, but they are only weighted 50%. When I tried aiming them at both the upper leg and waist, they would wig out and flip 180 degrees, so this still gives you the rotational goodness with no flipping. There are layers set up in the file already. When rigging, leave out the upper arm, forearm (both left and right) and all nub bones. Leave out the upper arms and forearms because there are twist bones set up for those areas that you do want to rig to.

Click to download the max 8 file.
http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/biped.gif (http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/biped.max)

And here is the stretch animation only. I found I liked only one portion rotating at a time because it aided in me being able to focus on just that area without needing to move the camera.

Just load it in the biped copy paste area, and switch to track mode, and paste the track. There is nothing else in this file but the animation. 0-75 frames
http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/stretch.cpy

http://www.mr-chompers.com/images/poop.gif (http://www.poopinmymouth.com)

[Bbox85]

She's pretty hot for a smooth shaded chick... lol. I was thinking not too long ago about how useful it would be to have that stretch animation you used in your riggin tutorial. This should be really helpful. Thank you Thank you!

[d_art]

Amazing work!

[kyphur]

Looking forward to seeing more. How often are you getting to work on her?

[ThatDon]

You know i'm waiting on those textures poop!

[EVIL]

the top of the ass is perfectly fine.. not all girls have the "Ideal" female figure.. I actually like this girl better than those big breasted small butted candy chicks everyone is throwing out, this is a normal teenage girl with a funky fashion style.

Her body looks perfectly female, the anatomy flows very nicely even when posed so I think you did a great job there.

I can't wait to see more of this project man...
If you ever need another hand in this [need concept art?] i'd be willing to help out

[poopinmymouth]

Texture pretty much done. I'm sure I'll make polish passes as I see things, but for now I'm moving on to animations and her movement system in the game. I probably should have posted my texture wips, but feel free to change the jpeg name to 1-12 and you can check them if you desire.

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/iris_13.jpg

http://www.mr-chompers.com/images/poop.gif (http://www.poopinmymouth.com)

[Gavin]

Looks awesome, my favorite character of yours so far :)

[SuperOstrich]

Loving her man! Makes me want to get back into PS2-spec modeling again.

[ThatDon]

I love her colors but I think her face could use some more work, it's very unattractive right now.

[SpacemanChuck]

I have to say I absolutely love this, I love the vibrant colors, and it's just a great idea! Looking at your topology was helpful for me as well, someone said it before but the iliac crest was modeled awesomely.

If I had one crit I would say look at the eyes on the girl, there is something off about them... Other than that, it looks awesome poop in my mouth.

[poopinmymouth]

Tonight I blended the eyelashes together with her face a bit better, but this is all the texture work for a while till I work on other aspects of the game.

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/iris_14.jpg

And, my reference. I wasn't going for exact likeness, just using her as inspiration to avoid the cliche look.

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/net/escapade/iris_ref.jpg

http://www.mr-chompers.com/images/poop.gif (http://www.poopinmymouth.com)

[Yumeko]

Wow, the expression is like a living cartoon character! The character reminds me of Delirium.

[D-Eagle]

Finnish street fashion, eh? ;) Hey, it looks amazing! But.. i think she looks a bit too old for a teen?(the face) Good luck on your game! :)

[alexisys]

Superb job :thumb: Your stuff amazing as always !
Outstanding modeling and texturing work :)

One thing I agree with guys, she looks a bit older and her lashes..,
I saw your first step on her here http://www.snjohusgames.com, where you just blocked model in colors and she looks very beautiful on that picture already.

I understand that you I've been trying to achieve innocent and cute look as on your reference images, but
:think: May I suggest you add more alpha to lashes or maybe take off mesh lashes at all and paint them on the face, and brows a bit too long and hi.
That what I see
Anyway everything is up to you , ........her lips are so cute! :)

[East]

I don't have anything in particular to add, other than to congratulate you on a job very well done. It's a very interesting character, with a lot going on without necessarily creating a jumbled mess. Organised chaos, if you will :P

[Rogerknightly]

Im not entirely sure im into the design, I love the accessories and the choice of garments really works. I think its the colour that jars my brain.. but then i think it fits the character.

Im in awe of your skills man :), It'd be amazing to see all her accessories animated as secondarys, i guess thats too much overhead tho

Are you using TSE or TGE?

[toma_li]

lookin swish mate, i really love the cel shaded looking ver on the site though. why is cel shading so frowned upon anyway?

[robioto]

Nice shaded sacral dimples on the butt! Looking forward to seeing the game.

[Marcus Dublin]

I have to say this girls come a long way! Honestly my eyes should be wondering all over the place given the hot colors used but for some strange reason there not which is awesome on your part. The one suggestion I would have is to add some texture to the cloth, a nice material overlay set with a low opacity should do the trick. I feel adding that extra touch will help break up the materials better and also help distinguish the skin texture from the other elements. Nice going Poop!:thumb:

[MM]

i like the over all proportions of the character. has a nice balance. but she looks a little too skinny.

btw, those are some crazy colors and i have to say that the reference looks like she has poop in her mouth.

[onelung]

nice work poo, like a grown up stylized Punky Brewster of sorts :) Only crit i can think of is I'm having a hard time figuring what kind of material the hood is made of. Anyway, very interesting character, and fantastic work on the accessories, i loooove me some accessories!

[Kickflipkid687]

Ya man, I am loving it so far. That fashion show link you had has some really sweet/odd/funny cloths I could use for characters. I really like the colors, and the modeling is great like usualy.


btw, those are some crazy colors and i have to say that the reference looks like she has poop in her mouth. LMFAO

[Daniel_C]

I like! very nice work. she reminds me a bit of a startled bunny. solid stuff!

[dark soldier]

i love this character, how come its not up on your site?