Noble Man Character

[ascottk]

Is the latest version on CVS? This is what I see right now (next to the builder priest for comparison), but it doesn't look as good as your last post up there.

It's the default for the noble. That pic is of my head (the latest isn't on cvs yet) & not the nobleman. The def file should point right to the noble's head.

[Springheel]

I know, I wanted to see how your head was coming along, so I popped it on a nobleman.

[ascottk]

I know, I wanted to see how your head was coming along, so I popped it on a nobleman.

Oh Yeah my head's still WIP. I may have to get in a few fights and dig around trash

[ascottk]

I'm looking at the nobleman for some possible fixes:

 

The mesh

• The shoulders widened
  
• shoulder "pads" shrank
  
• upper body lengthened
  
• cuffs shorter
  
• sleeve longer & less "billowy"
  
• legs wider (less like sticks)
  
• feet longer
  
• chest wider
  
• wrinkles removed or lessened
  

Textures - Springheel made some massive improvements but alteration of the mesh could change things

• Remove shadows & wrinkles
  
• better normal map
  
• look for photo sources for the clothing (?)
  
• match flesh color to noble's head
  
• reduce number of buttons (?)
  

Awesome looking belt buckle btw, Spring

 

Of course alteration of the mesh may require a uv map fix . . .

[Springheel]

Sounds good to me. When you widen the chest, be sure to have it stick out in the back as well. Also, the arms/shoulders need to be lowered just a bit so they have more of a slope to them.

 

I don't know if this is any help, but here's the original concept art the model was based on:

 

 

He was originally supposed to be a little on the stocky side, rather than the preying mantis he turned into.

[Domarius]

Seems like ascottk has it under control? Or do you really want me to do this instead of animating for a bit?

 

What do you guys think about this guy's legs and feet compared to oDDity's style?

I think it looks like squawks - this guy has normal proportions, while oDDity's boots are bigger.

[New Horizon]

Seems like ascottk has it under control? Or do you really want me to do this instead of animating for a bit?

 

You should continue with your animating tasks, we've just barely gotten the manpower in that department...it would be silly for us to start cutting it down again.

[ascottk]

Okay This might be easier than I thought. The sculpt geometry tool in Maya is a godsend. The wrinkles are being ironed out with the smooth function while I push & pull the mesh into shape. Now let's see how this'll turn out

[ascottk]

Two hours of work:

Obviously he lost a lot of those sharp angles in favor of the latest clay-like form. That smoothing function in the maya's sculpt geometry tool really straightened out the vertices. So far the shoulder thingys have shrunk, the shoulders are wider, the waist has been raised, the sleeves have been toned down, & everything is thicker. There's a lot of unnecessary polys on him so they'll be reduced. Even after this tweak the uv map needs to be fixed but that's near the last on the to-do list.

 

EDIT: Maybe I overdid the toning down of the sleeves. Good thing the concept artist is still around

[Springheel]

While you're at it, can you get rid of that ridiculous ninja-star belt buckle? I had to def-attach something on top just to hide it, but it would be handier if we could just turn it into a regular buckle.

 

The body shape is much, much better. Would it be possible to leave a little more of a cuff on the arm? Also, could you widen the collar around the neck a bit more so other heads could fit better?

[Domarius]

That before mesh looks like it was carved out by a madman. There's tiny unessecary polys all over the place...

[ascottk]

While you're at it, can you get rid of that ridiculous ninja-star belt buckle? I had to def-attach something on top just to hide it, but it would be handier if we could just turn it into a regular buckle.

Definately. Just get rid of it altogether? It's a separate mesh so it's easily removed.

 

The body shape is much, much better. Would it be possible to leave a little more of a cuff on the arm? Also, could you widen the collar around the neck a bit more so other heads could fit better?

I'm way ahead of you

[Springheel]

Definately. Just get rid of it altogether? It's a separate mesh so it's easily removed.

 

Removing it all together would be okay (the buckle can still be def-attached). Or if it's not too much trouble to add a smaller, more normal-looking buckle, that would work too.

[ascottk]

Update:

[New Horizon]

Looking good ascottk.

[Springheel]

Wow, that looks SO much better. One request though--can we either make the shoulder pads a little larger, or do away with them entirely? Right now they look a little bit like they're part of a cheesy sci-fi costume. I'd personally prefer keeping a larger version. It's supposed to look something like the ones in this pic:

 

http://www.costumes.org/HISTORY/renaissanc...ook3plate36.jpg

[ascottk]

Wow, that looks SO much better. One request though--can we either make the shoulder pads a little larger, or do away with them entirely? Right now they look a little bit like they're part of a cheesy sci-fi costume. I'd personally prefer keeping a larger version. It's supposed to look something like the ones in this pic:

 

http://www.costumes.org/HISTORY/renaissanc...ook3plate36.jpg

Generally larger or wider?

[Springheel]

Well, I just had another thought. Would it be better to just remove them from the original mesh and use def_attachments instead?

[ascottk]

Well, I just had another thought. Would it be better to just remove them from the original mesh and use def_attachments instead?

Ugh, honestly that be terrible. Those are not like pauldrons & they wouldn't move convincingly with the arms & shoulder.

[Springheel]

Ok then. This is about the size I think they should be. It's mostly a width adjustment:

[ascottk]

YAU (Yet Another Update). Fixed most of the uv mapping & tweaked the mesh even further:

[Domarius]

Heh, it's not even the same model anymore.

[ascottk]

What kind of materials do think this guy wore? Linen & silk? I'm looking for source images to improve the textures since there's a lot of shadowing & those colors are a bit gawdy.

 

http://www.kyrene.org/schools/brisas/sunda/ma/1adele.htm

TAILORING

 

In the Middle Ages, for the wealthy, most clothes were created by tailors. Some fabrics tailors used were : Burnet, perse, lincoln scarlet, kersey, russet, chalons, damask, and sandal. (Most of the population, however, made their clothing themselves).

 

CLOTHING

 

Often, kings and queens would wear crowns and brightly colored silks. Obviously, their clothing was very expensive and only they had enough money to afford such beautiful things.

Shoemakers and their spouses often wore borealis hats. The clothes they wore with that were woolen coats with fur-trimmed sleeves. Inside the coat was a woolen doublet.

 

Holy orders, such as friars, wore cloaks with hoods and habits. On their clothes was a rope belt with wooden beads for counting prayers.

 

Felt hats with stirrups and brown jackets were the daily wear of manor lords. Peasants' daily wear was simple: straw hats that they made themselves, linen shirts that they made themselves, leather flasks, hoses (pants), and pewter badges or good luck charms.

I never found the hat mesh, btw.

 

Don't mind me, I'm just looking for similar styles & this provides me with links to resources.

[Springheel]

Gawdy colours are par for the course with nobility. Silk and brocade were common, though we can go with whatever looks good. I've been using 16th C fashions as a guide for our noble AI, (but eliminating the dorkier elements). I'd be happy to do a revision of the texture as well if you want--I'm already trying to put together a nobleman skin for the proguard (the feet will be fun).

[ascottk]

How's this for color?