Team Work- Character artist - design development

 Hello , I am back with new work to present myself :D . I am currently working on as a character artist in team . My job is to develop Character with movement a mainly personality. Our game will be about World War 1/ Library.  So that was start. I started gaining ideas of mad professor or scientist. First man , come to my mind was PhD. Frankenstein.  So I made some research. So I created Mood Board.

I had picture in head . Very intelligent, gentle but rude , sarcastic funny and bit coward. So I my first sketches was out of my image. I had a free time in Costa - Coffee and I saw really funny looking guy and I quick sketched him really fast ... KEEP IN MIND these are just sketches.

So he was sitting and waiting for his SO.And he was so kind to sit there for few minutes and let me finished the drawing . He was not that old but I needed PhD. professor , old looking .So I added few wrinkles and glasses I was happy with finished drawing . Even my team-mates decided to use it as main character.

wounded scientist

I was happy to make my main character on one go . But I thought that a didn't make enough work so I  draw some more.

Himmler WW2

Next part, of process was clothing and basic look of the character every part of this job is still in process just quick drawings and base ideas that come to my mind . I had and idea of suit or stereotypical teacher outfit.   

I tried to combine suit with the professor outfit. First I draw with refference just quick look . Why just quick , because I don't want to create something already exist's and get too evolved in real life.   

                         This is combined form . Next time I will upload more finished version .

So I was thinking about character design as character with personality . Firstly I have created little back story.

Today was a weird day,. I am really tired even though I had a good nap. Feeling weird “Franz skratch his head. Unknown person was looking at him from mirror. He panicked ,keeps trying to pick up his glasses laying on the table in front of him.The table was full of  documents that he does not recognize. He does not recognize the room he is in. Franz has a funny feeling , something like Deja Vu. He keeps trying to pick up his glasses but it keeps flowing through his fingers like water. He panicked , he is trying to pick up everything what is on the table pen, documents he is trying to smack the vase but with no success . Franz desperatly falls on the floor . He noticed somebody lying in the dark corner of the room. ”I know him” he said. He slowly approaches body. “Hello’’ he said with shaking voice ”are ,aare you allright, he asked and approaches even closer. With fierceful face, he want to step back. He tripped over something on the floor small but heavy.He does not care. He sat on the floor for a while thinking about what is he looking at. “It is me . it it is my dead body. Game play starts . 

When I have a backstory I have already picture of Franz in my head .I didn't have much time to draw him so i used the Matte painting technique to make him fast a accurately.So I found photos of the people in suits from 1920' and pick the best.

I was playing around the ideas of proffesors.But then I though that it will be difficult to create hair so I add him hats.

So me and my team decided on the first one on the right.Then Ben and Craig pointed out that he should look like ghost . I added some filter effects and play around with layers.

And then we decided we will not use non of them :( But that is not that bad I love making concepts.

Then I created this to help team sort out the story.

Team Work - Character Artist - Step 2 - 3D part

Hello .  I just stared doing 3d Base mesh to create base looking character for our Environmental designer.I didn't draw Character below , I was just looking for chubby character in ''T'' pose to help show how will 3D character look alike .

So I created 2 plain planes and add them a LAMBERT with texture (picture above).

Then I used the QUAD DRAW tool in maya to define outline of Character. Then I extruded the faces to add Third dimension to model .

Next step is to look it like actual character. So  I am adding more and more edge loops on arms legs atc.

Problem is that character need to be done in smooth view . This will smooth edges and make it look more organic. But it will massively increase the VERTs .  

Normal view 1170 tris

            And there is a problem I have limitation of  10 000 triangles . And I am already

8 672 tris in depth . So a really need to sort this out 

Smooth 18 672 tris 

After this model I saw that it is useless and I started working on more slim version.(more muscular)

So I went to Zbrush I selected prefab of muscle man tool and make quick snapshot in T pose .

 After that I was looking for more realistic humanoid so I found this guy to help me get that impression of human.

I started modelling but I am stupid guy and I forgot to print screen my work flow.

So I started modellign from right hand side a later I will mirror it

I mirrored it .

I created box and added bevels.I twiched it so it is maching  the refference.

I started to create face .I have created the tube. Deleted all the faces except the one that is shown upper.

I start to matching the faces to refference photo.And I forgot to print screen everything else sorry,

I started rigging the character and this shit happened.

I have created skeleton

I UV unwrapped. And paint it in the photoshop .

Then I exported as fbx and imported to the Unity and the hard part comes on.

So I attached these parts like. Riggidbody,Capsule Collider, very important Nav mesch collider, scirpt to move and follow.

Then I coppied the script from Evans lecture and pasted in on my character and Voila it worked .. my character is moving and my job is done :D .

Conclusion 

I really liked working on this project because I learned a lot . Before I never worked as a Character artist never so even though this character is not pretty and perfect I like it . Nothing first is prefect .My team was amazing we made really good game .