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A great character can always use a great pedestal.
Supporting piece for a high-fidelity model by Zoltan C.
Order 66
- 🔺 Create a medium-high fidelity supporting base for character
- 🔺 Ensure it fits theme and style, creative but not overpowering
- 🔺 Try to shoot over Darth Maul's Bloodfin.
Scope
- 🟢 One static vehicle model, textured.
- 🟢 Several animations, turntables.
- 🟠 VFX optional.
Timeline
- 📅 6-8 months, spare time.
Constraints
- 🚧 No shader tricks, exportable.
- 🚧 PBR with dense texturing.
While exploring paintjob options while texturing, I felt that it was a tad too colorful and would compete with the character for attention. I ended up toning down the palette to a more monochrome option.
I decided to pull back on the saturation overall and let the silhouette do the talking. I'd keep the red variant as an alt.
Strike a pose
I offered to do a quick and dirty rig and pose to get some shot ideas.
I used Blender's Rigify to throw a quick skeleton on and tweaked the weighting a bit, and did a rudimentary IK rig for the cloth. As I was fiddling with weight-painting the cloth I realized I was taking a technical detour from the main point- finishing my vehicle. I shook it off and sent Zoltan a fairly poseable character, good enough for some static shots.
Crimson Wyvern.
Easiest way to give a lifeless object some character is to name it. Darth Maul had his Bloodfin, our Inquisitor needed a special steed of her own, with a name of it's own. A name is a good driver for the overall creative process, it gives direction and a unifying reference for the decisions you make throughout making the thing.
Model Process
From pod-racers to x-wings to goblin gliders, I've nicked bits and pieces from everywhere to compose this thing.
I didn't want it to be so blended to the universe that it looks like a scaled down tie fighter, nor go too outside the IP.
Thought process
On a multi-month project like this I keep it all together in my spiral notebook. It's a catch-all for notes, breakdowns, analyses, ideas and lots of bullet-journal-y task lists. It acts as a short term memory buffer where I write/read anything at hand. As a bonus, it also turns into an archive for posterity. I have dedicated pages ('collections') for Texturing, Rigging, Animation, and particular programs I'm using at the time.
Related project:
Cutting room floor ✂
- My personal favorite idea was the pod-racer version with the long handles; but that idea would have overshadowed the character too much. Maybe as a different project.
- I've explored some curvy organic options as well but to keep with the Sith theme I chose to go back to choppy angles for ferocity.
- There have been some paintjob iterations but they didn't make sense in context. Less was more.
Software:
