Ice Age Hunter
by James · 01/04/2006 (7:12 pm) · 6 comments
Well, almost. I finally completed (really?) modelling a stand-in for my Ice Age survival simulation prototype. It came in at just under 1300 tris! I was pleased as my target was 1200.
This is my first game model and I really have no idea how well the joints will deform when I start animating it. The only way to find out is to try. I'm tempted to throw it into lightwave and give it a test drive... or should I go to the next logical step and create a UV map for it? I suppose I should carry on and create the UV map first and learn how that's done. If I have to modify it later I don't think it will cause too many problems... he says, more in hope than anger :)
Won't know until I try :)
We had a good amount of snow up here during the holiday week and I took lots of reference and texture pictures. I'll start adding some plants and such to the terrain this weekend just to keep my hand in the map creation side of things. Todd Pickens has lent some inspiration there and set the bar rather high I must say - I hope I'm up to it :)
Damn but this has been fun :)
Any advice suggestions are always welcome.
This is my first game model and I really have no idea how well the joints will deform when I start animating it. The only way to find out is to try. I'm tempted to throw it into lightwave and give it a test drive... or should I go to the next logical step and create a UV map for it? I suppose I should carry on and create the UV map first and learn how that's done. If I have to modify it later I don't think it will cause too many problems... he says, more in hope than anger :)
Won't know until I try :)
We had a good amount of snow up here during the holiday week and I took lots of reference and texture pictures. I'll start adding some plants and such to the terrain this weekend just to keep my hand in the map creation side of things. Todd Pickens has lent some inspiration there and set the bar rather high I must say - I hope I'm up to it :)
Damn but this has been fun :)
Any advice suggestions are always welcome.
#2
01/04/2006 (7:47 pm)
I think us LW users need to stick together :) Shoulders can be a REAL pain to get right. there's so much twisting they can do with leads to tearing and isn't fun. If you look on your LW content cds and install them they got a few examples of rigged characters for game use. i learned a little bit from them. Now, i'm pretty happy with my rigging abilities. 
#3
I can't really tell how the knees are set up, but they look like they might be a problem for you... if they are setup like your elbows, they should be fine though - I think I see that you have the elbows set up with one edge on the inside of the elbow that then splits into three edges as it goes aroud to the back of the elbow, kinda like a peace-sign? That's the way I do it too and it works well for most joints.
The shoulders might have a hard time moving to the hands above the head position. But who knows if you would ever want him to take that pose anyway?
A note on doing the UV's at this point: if you think you are going to modify the model, DON'T do the UVs now. They will get messed up. That said, with such a low poly model, it wouldn't be much of a hassle to fix them post modification. Most likely, a few chunks would get stretched out all crazy-like and have to be re-done, but nothing huge.
If you are going to make major changes though, wait to do the uvs.
01/05/2006 (9:46 am)
nice job! He's got alot of character, especially in the face.I can't really tell how the knees are set up, but they look like they might be a problem for you... if they are setup like your elbows, they should be fine though - I think I see that you have the elbows set up with one edge on the inside of the elbow that then splits into three edges as it goes aroud to the back of the elbow, kinda like a peace-sign? That's the way I do it too and it works well for most joints.
The shoulders might have a hard time moving to the hands above the head position. But who knows if you would ever want him to take that pose anyway?
A note on doing the UV's at this point: if you think you are going to modify the model, DON'T do the UVs now. They will get messed up. That said, with such a low poly model, it wouldn't be much of a hassle to fix them post modification. Most likely, a few chunks would get stretched out all crazy-like and have to be re-done, but nothing huge.
If you are going to make major changes though, wait to do the uvs.
#5
@ Ramen - thanks for that pointer. I'll check my drive tonight for the files
@ Thomas - Thanks. The knees are a variation on the elbow, trying out a suggestion from Ben Mathis. I'll post more images later to clarify that.
@ Alan - thanks. I think it a noble nose don't you ;)
Thank you all for your advice. I'm going to follow it and load the mesh up and test drive it before mapping. That seems to make the most sense right now. I'll let you know how I do :)
Lightwave users unit! ;)
01/05/2006 (3:01 pm)
@ Todd - yes I'm a fellow Lightwave user and your welcome - just passing on an honest opinion about your work. While we're at it, thank you for your kind words too :)@ Ramen - thanks for that pointer. I'll check my drive tonight for the files
@ Thomas - Thanks. The knees are a variation on the elbow, trying out a suggestion from Ben Mathis. I'll post more images later to clarify that.
@ Alan - thanks. I think it a noble nose don't you ;)
Thank you all for your advice. I'm going to follow it and load the mesh up and test drive it before mapping. That seems to make the most sense right now. I'll let you know how I do :)
Lightwave users unit! ;)
#6
08/28/2006 (8:34 am)
I dunno if this helps, but given how shoulders work I have taken a nod from the original Tribes design and made the arm/shoulder joint a SEPARATE object for my superheroes game (because they will need full shoulder movement for flying poses) - I will let you know how that works out
Torque 3D Owner Todd Pickens
Thanks very much for the complement!
I didn't realize you were a LightWave user, or I forgot. I am a LightWave proponent and user myself!
Nice job on the model. I recommend you go ahead and rig and do some test animations. It will be easier to fix and result in less redundant work if you do that before mapping and texturing it. But having said that, everyone has their creative methods, so do whatever floats your boat.
Can't wait to see more.