Another character WIP

Started work on another character.
Current Progress



Almost done with the belt. Gotta rework the mapping and materials. Soon I’ll be working in some wrinkles on the shirt. The current skirt is just a placeholder for when I start working on it.

Let me know what you think so far.


Trying some materials on the skirt. Right now I’m using 2 cloth simulations for the skirt.

a couple of crits: a) the shoulders are too broad and straight for a female. b) the corners of the mouth should pucker inward a bit.
(edit) also, the top lip should hang over the lower one a bit in most cases.

Thanks for the crits Modron.
A bit has changed since I posted that image and I tried to apply those crits as well, here’s where I’m at now.



I decided against the first outfit and started work on a dress. This one’s actually the fourth dress I’ve tried to model with this character. Couldn’t really decide on a design.
Also started working on a material for the dress, right now it’s a mix of wave textures acting as material masks. Trying to get a shiny dress material made.
Once I get finished with the dress I’m thinking I’ll work on some shoes. Also my character currently does not have ears, I always seem to get around to that when I work on the hair.


Still working on the dress, also started work on a necklace. Thinking I’ll be done with the outfit soon.
Let me know what you think so far.


Closeup of the necklace I’ve started work on.


Finished modeling the mouth, the current shape keys are temporary and won’t be used when I rig the character.
Working on the hair right now, dress needs to be lengthened a bit. Also used the multires modifier to sculpt some wrinkles into it, so I’ll be doing some retopology before I add a cloth simulation for when I get to posing this character.

any advice on how to improve this character would be most helpful.


So now I have a basic texture on this character and added in some eyelashes and eyebrows.
I didn’t like the hairstyle in #7 and started to rework it a bit.
Also went back to the jewelry and reworked some of the materials.

It looks like you’re making good progress. Is there any particular kind of feedback you’re looking for? The clothes and the jewelry are looking fantastic. Overall, the character is coming along well, too. I could see her in a film or stills, depending on what you plan to do for this project. Are you happy with how she looks at this point and just want general feedback–whatever comes along–or are there specific things you’re wondering about?

This project has loads of potential, the clothing textures/shaders and jewellery are very impressive film quality.

But…

The character design and implementation is very weak in comparison, Maybe I am being over harsh because the clothing and jewellery are so impressive compared to the character?

I would take a step backwards and spend a bit more time improving the character design before you spend more time on clothing.

Try and define the jaw line a bit better, it starts bellow the ear and should flow towards the chin. Once you have a jaw bone you may find that the character needs fuller and more prominent cheeks. I would also explore the nose and mouth, humans do have a snout “protruding nose and mouth” although its not very prominent its not flat.

Looking at your mesh typology you may need to rework some of the areas around the mouth/nose, cheeks and jawline to make these changes. This is especially true for the smile lines that your character is missing completely.

Well mrkdwvr I plan on using it both in a still and a little animation practice. As for what particular feedback I’m looking for, I’m looking for feedback such as what MCHammond said in #10.
A few months back I’d probably be happy with this result but now not so much.

And thanks MCHammond for the feedback, I’ve started to rework the topology haven’t finished that up yet but here’s where I’m at with that.



I removed the texture but forgot to remove the glossy mask so it’s a little off around the lips.

Looking at the typology of your character you need to add more loops. Always think about loops, loops for everything, loops for eyes, loops for the nose, loops for the mouth and loops for the loops.

I also think you need to increase your mesh density a bit with more loops, I work with a high mesh density so I might be talking preference rather than fact. But even for the most minimalistic among us your mesh would look too low poly.

Just for refrance this is what I am working on at the moment, Its not the best typology layout by any stretch but it should give you some Ideas as how you could lay out your loops.

Link

Wow looking great


Taking that advice and working on adding in more loops. Working my way down but also gotta smooth the mesh out as I go. Also added an earring placeholder. Had an idea for that but didn’t want to forget it while i am reworking the character mesh.

I would work out your loop placement before you increase the density.

You need to add the main loop around the face, starting on the the chin and encompassing the mouth, nose and eyes. The bottom part of the loop will make up the chin and the top part of the loop will create the top of the forehead. RED

The second loop you need to add is around the eyes, this is often called the raccoon mask. It should loop around both eyes and the top of it should line up with were the eye brows should go. White

Finnally you need to add a large loop around the mouth and nose area, this is so that when the character is rigged it can smile with nice smile lines. Green

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38908748/Blender/Images/Loops.jpg

I have also set up the .Blend so you can take a look at the mesh yourself. Loops.Blend

I am not implying my mesh is the best layout, there are other layouts that you may find fit your needs better. It might be worth your time to search the net for “face mesh typology”. That way you can find one that fits your needs.

Typology is one of thous things that you can fudge for a still but once your character is rigged and animated all the weird creases and bad loop positions will create folds in undesired areas during animation.


Took a bit of a break and now I’m back to this model. Fixed up the topology, altered the dress color and hair style. Also testing some compositing and working on some facial shape keys.

Also started working on some scenery.



Though I’m having some problems with lighting. On my desktop the scene looks well lit though when I view test renders on my laptop the scene appears incredibly dim.

cool. she looks very high maintenance.


Scrapped the previous scenery, working on something a bit different. Almost ready to implement the character into the scene. First I need to do some retopology on the dress and add a cloth simulation to it. Then I will finalize the rig.


Testing an older unrigged character mesh in the scene just to see how she fits in. I was also testing using a curve guide for the hair in the back.
She’s also missing the jewelry in this test render because she’s on a separate blend file and I didn’t import the accessories, waiting till I’m ready for a final render which I have no clue when that will be.