3D Aera Species from Sketches

[ezee]

Hello .
Since we have an artist ( DarkVixen : http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=19645 ) that draw some very good sketches , i've started to model some of his 2D work .

I open this thread to separate the 2D stuff and 3D stuff .
DarkVixen propose to you 2D ideas , and i propose 3D ideas .
We can work together to produce high quality assets for Vega strike .

More to come ...

[klauss]

Since you're doing Aera characters, how would you feel doing Aera cockpits?

We do need cockpits quite badly.

[ezee]

Hi Klauss .
I am waiting for 2D ideas , as this concept of lizards pilots need a lot of imagination .
But hey , i have some idea about that now .
It's the all Aera world that i want to bring in 3d .
So questions are :How are their houses ( if they have houses ... ) , Where and how do they sleep , if they have tables , chairs etc ...

I need the help of DarkVixen for that .
( and also from JACKS that is the mentor ( should i say dad ? ) of the aeras

A closer look in my workflow :

I work with blender using modifiers , that allow me to preview the high poly version of a mesh
based on a low poly .

I can also copy some parts of a mesh , and work on them in a separate layer ( for test purpose or even production ) . What is important is to keep the same base version , to be able to merge the vertices add the end .

Ok , now the pictures of that method :

end : I received the skech and i have isolated the part of the mesh that is in relation

Step 1 : Isolate the part that is to be improoved

Step 2 : Separation from the original ( always in the object )

Step 3 : moove to another layer


From there , i am free to develop ideas in 3d , that could also give ideas to the 2D Artist .

bigger eyes ?




For the cockpits , i have to give an armature to the mesh , and play with the bones to find the
poses eligible for a cockpit scene . ( soon come )

[ezee]

As always , i made a version that fit with the original DarkVixen's iimagination :
EDIT : Here is the blend with packed datas -> http://spacetechs.free.fr/VEGASTRIKEDEV ... head.blend
Normal eyes :








Now i change of layer ...









Using that technique , i can also make some spacesuit that fit !

[ezee]

Perhaps you would like to know how Blender is cool to use ?
I've prepared a making-of for the head stuff :























yes , i now have a few more vertices than the original :


Where is my body ?





Now i adjust ...

[ezee]

...

[ezee]

More details now in the head

Addition of yeyes orbits

global view


better dorsal shape :


What if a dangerous tail ?

More details in the dorsals

[ezee]

New stage : Thorax affined , muscles too :


what you gonna dooo when they come for you ?


A look to the lowmesh and a more realistic arm :

[DarkVixen]

Thanks, I realize drawing isn't as easy as it looks. I wanted to contribute to VS because I'm really impressed with the technicality of the game and the depth of ideas behind it.

I first want to show you an image clarifying of how I believe the eyes are intended to look, they are kind of like protruding eyes, that independently move (somewhere its mentioned but I forgot where). I imagine that they look like this:

aera_eye.jpg

Note the "eyelids" are like spiralling camera shutters. There are a lot of folds of skin around the eye turrents as well, since they move and pivot so much. The eyes will be a light beige in contrast to the grey skin.


Hi Krauss! Yes I have been thinking about how the Aera cockpits should look. I spent some time over the weekend to come up with ideas given the nature of how elongated the Aera body is and how controls should be placed. I initially envisioned it like this:

aera_in_nicandar_cockpit.jpg

Obviously that would not be realistic, so here are some more refined ideas that I came up with today. They are generic but utilize all 6 limbs, these are layout designs for the Nicandar, Ariston, and Areus cockpits:

aera_cockpit_generic_topview.jpg

aera_cockpit_generic_3d.jpg

Basically there are very simple displays towards the front and no controls since the Aera limbs are off to the sides and their eyes can easily see the lateral visual field.

So for human players, it would look quite different and be a challenge to control, it also means that the existing cockpit graphics in 0.5.1r1 would have to be modified greatly to make sense of the new design. In actuality, very little of the controls would be visible unless you looked down.

I don't know if any panels will be displayed on top, but window openings will be very large spacious so you get a better view.

I will try to make up some sketches for the cockpit front, sides, and back views this week, but I want to hear opinions on the above design interpretation first.

[ezee]

Ah AH AH !
Excellent picture the n1 !!!
hilarious
( please colorize this one ! )

so..
I will change the way i've designed the eyes and try your version .
Note that the " Bzbr " are also green , but i will change my texture to grey ( and different colors too )
for preview .

I had nearly the same idea for the cockpit , i will use your sketch to make a early version .
THANK YOU !!


Off topic:
One mutation ?

eh eh

[DarkVixen]

Ah yes colored, It always reminds me of new models of cars, how they are just getting smaller:

aera_in_nicandar_cockpit_colored.jpg

The sharp boney tail end should be a barb, like a Sting Ray, someone mentioned the Aera are "not trusting of others" behind them.

For thought, I think the Aera should value honesty, as they should not be portrayed as a one-dimensional hostile alien race.

On your head and body progression model, are you just increasing the vertex count in Blender to increase the "resolution" of the model? it does looks like its coming along nicely.

The torso should have a narrower waist, skin should be grey like a Birch tree, there should also be striations. In Blender you can paint on surfaces right? to paint on the striations because they are rather specificly placed, is that too CPU costly for game models?

Make a female model too, the dorsal ridge on the head should be more curved on the female model.

Also make a model with a shorter torso, for the Equatorial subspecies, the ones in the sketches I made are mostly the polar Subtundra subspecies.

[ezee]

First test for the eyes :


Edit : Ah AH AH , very nice colored car !

On your head and body progression model, are you just increasing the vertex count in Blender to increase the "resolution" of the model? it does looks like its coming along nicely.

I don't increase the vertex count , but i use the proportional editing option with connected ,
or enabled , it depends . The result is very smooth with the subsurface modifier .
I select and moove one point , and 10 are following smoothly .
very useful .

I will paint with gimp the texture later.
Thank you for your comment ( i will try the female etc also with other modifiers )

[DarkVixen]

Looks good! Eye looks better, the white eyelid that you have should probably be beige or grey, and so should the eyelids around the eye turret also beige.

I don't know how long the eye turrets should protrude from the head though, so we'll leave that as is for now.

The iris (that is black right now) may have coloring, I don't know, it's not mentioned on the VsWiki but we'll leave that as is for now.

[ezee]

cool !

Hey , check the muzzle please :




Better ?

A test of painting in the texture ( i will have to unwrap for best result , you could then paint the texture as it's 2d . eh eh ) :

[DarkVixen]

Yikes, my bad in explaination, narrow as in lateral width needs to be narrower, not height.

Sorry I should have made that clearer, it kind of looks like a duck now.

The height of the muzzle was correct, it was the lateral width that needs to be narrowed (slightly). Is it possible to revert back to the previous muzzle height and just narrow the lateral width?

Skin color is better now, I PM'ed you some (EXPERIMENTAL) textures btw. Aera were described as rather light skinned, like Birch tree barks.

[ezee]

Sorry I should have made that clearer, it kind of looks like a duck now.

ah ah ah , you're too good .
I'm french , and even if i can understand a lot of things in english , when the things get too technical
i can do mystakes . No problem , i like to experiment new things ( and i like the previous version , will be good for
an other project/time ) .

Skin color is better now, I PM'ed you some (EXPERIMENTAL) textures btw. Aera were described as rather light skinned, like Birch tree barks.

Good ! I'm gonna have a look in a few minutes , just the time to say that we will have to use that technique for a
perfect texturing stage :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ngVoGIj1Q

see ya !


edit : A cool youtube video "Anatomy In Animation " :
[youtube]http://youtu.be/kpvjkpuu5QA[/youtube]
with
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5GvEmn_wB4

[ezee]

I have found a better solution for the eyes : Use the same lowpoly method instead of highpoly spheres .
Less expensive in vertices and more flexible for animation purpose .
The design is not achieved here ( with placement , details etc ... ) , but the format is well represented :



Ah , and i followed your opinion about the nail ( jacks and DarkVixen ) , and i'm back with the old design . What kind of tail do you expect exactly ?
I want to go in animation mode and the tail is important at this level . thx


you could draw the shape over this picture :

[loki1950]

Like the new textures,as for the tail I think that is should taper to a point instead of being flat as it currently is as it should be able to move both laterally and vertically.

Enjoy the Choice

[DarkVixen]

Since the tail should be used as balancing and a deterrent, the mean evolution would suggest that the tail would be similar shaped to a somewhat small diameter pole that is very long (length is accurate in the existing sketches).

There should be a barb at the end of the tail, and the end of the tail would be slightly smaller in diameter as the base of the tail, BUT the smallest diameter of the tail would be about 2/3rds out (so the tip of the tail is not the narrowest, except the very tip of course).

Here are sketches of the Aera adult male head from the top and front views.

aera_head_adult_male_top_front.jpg

[ezee]

oh yeah !

Beautiful artwork !
Let me try this in 3d .
This is the actual difference :

I will post the changes later .
Thank you guys for the comments , i will make the tail round first ( like loki said it's better for the animation ).

[ezee]

This new design is very pro !
I like it a lot .
So here we go :

first change :


more :


again...
more :


looks like a female version now .
gimme a kiss ...
more :

[DarkVixen]

Good The new muzzle shape looks better.

Also lovely work on that female version, noting a more curved (rounded edges) dorsal ridge(that crest at the back top of the head). In the male its more square, maybe make the male crest just a tiny bit more sharped at the corners (it would be considered a handsome trait).

I think that is really about all the difference, VsWiki did not say enough about the sexes, not even if the female layed eggs or gave live-births... or if they took care of their young, etc... (I'm hoping someone can fill that in).

The eyes should be more depressed into the head, like a radar dish (but not that deep).

While on that topic of eyes, I'm slowly getting back into Blender and I was able to make this model (took 3 hours, whew!) of what I envisioned the adult Aera eye to look like in 3D.

aera_eye4.jpg

Here is the model file for that eye: https://www.dropbox.com/s/j3qhiznn1mjmm ... _4.1.blend

Note how the eye is more like a telescope with a turret (see object Eye Turret in the model file).

This may fit into the existing Aera head, but I'm not sure how well it will look, you may need to scale it. But make sure that you create a depression (like a trough) in the existing head model before putting that in.

Texture files should be in the same directory as the model file.

[ezee]

cool !

A tip for you : JOIN THE OBJECTS .
If you want multiple objects to be part of one unique mesh , select all the object and in the
object menu , choose JOIN instead of group .
The animation of your system will be tricky , but possible .
( in the vertices level , that's why i use JOIN here . The reverse is possible too ; select your vertices and
then in Mesh menu select Vertices -> SEPARATE )

This concept of eye is very original , i will try to adapt it .

thx .


Edit : here comes the tests ...
And the blend : http://spacetechs.free.fr/VEGASTRIKEDEV ... nim2.blend
I have changed your default textures to fit with my model skin .
Some parts still are light grey 'cos i had trouble to change dem .
But for testing that is enough ...

[jackS]

Great work, both of you! It makes me smile a lot to see this happening.

FWIW - looking at the top down view in the 3D model, the front torso (mid-limbs to forelimbs) appears excessively emaciated. It's not clear that there is any room, as drawn, for organs or connections through the very narrow mid-hips region.

[ezee]

ah ah ah , you have the .blend above , feel free to play with the model , Jacks .
I like the fact you've seen that , it's my personal add to the character ( after having seen some great animations with lizards
-> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsx6NUomZz4 )

I noticed that the thorax is a major thing for the breath animation of a character in a rest or wait pose .
Well , if you have documents about the inside anatomy of this specimen , please let me know !
If you don't have blender , download it !


I mean , you could easily play with the model and help for the right design .
the blend : http://spacetechs.free.fr/VEGASTRIKEDEV ... nim2.blend
Create avatars for human players in vegastrike ? yeah ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpzyJMifMHU