Modelling Contest #25 - Ascension

[stonneash]

I think the model is basically finished.
I will probably change it a bit later, but right now I can start animating.

Looking good, it remind me of assassin's creed.

 

[Systemfre1]

Looking good, it remind me of assassin's creed.

lol yeah, if an assassin died

 

[Direfury]

I like the concept, and I gotta say, I hope he uses the daggers atleast once.

Anyway, I've changed the armor color, and added a few things. Thoughts?

 

[HappyCockroach]

I like the concept, and I gotta say, I hope he uses the daggers atleast once.

Anyway, I've changed the armor color, and added a few things. Thoughts?

still doesn't look very warcraftish. and still lacks detail, depth and contrast, to define the materials more. i did a quick sketch over your wip to explain how i think it could be better


dont judge the quality of my drawing :v
(and im not sure those are the materials you went for)

 

[Direfury]

My style generally puts more detail into the mesh, rather than the texture. I've fought with the wrap a few times on a few spots, so those changes probably won't happen.

Besides that, I feel that if I add too much, quality will be lost in the top-down view ingame. If it weren't for that, I probably would add in those changes.

I'll definitely work on the contrast, though.

 

[Chucky]

still doesn't look very warcraftish. and still lacks detail, depth and contrast, to define the materials more. i did a quick sketch over your wip to explain how i think it could be better
View attachment 128625

dont judge the quality of my drawing :v
(and im not sure those are the materials you went for)

Fuck Warcraftish. Warcraft 3 graphics are a shitload clusterfuck of blurry graphics. Continue on this path, maybe add some highlights to make it stand out, and consider composition principles, contrast and unity.

 

[HappyCockroach]

Fuck Warcraftish. Warcraft 3 graphics are a shitload clusterfuck of blurry graphics. Continue on this path, maybe add some highlights to make it stand out, and consider composition principles, contrast and unity.

i don't understand your rage. the "warcrafishness" itself is based on 'composition principles, contrast and unity', etc.
AR's entry, for instance, has a texture which is very warcraft-fitting... and at the same time it has highlights, contrast, definition and whatnot.

warcraft has some geometry proportions which kinda bother me as well. some of its textures are sucky, yes. but as long as we're making models which are WC3-reasonable in polycount and such, we'd better leave the details, definition, shading and even anatomy definition sometimes to the texture. going warcraftish is making something that works with that.

(i suggest we make a thread in modelling discussion about that if this discussion is going to be long and deviate the topic too much.)

 

[Deolrin]

My style generally puts more detail into the mesh, rather than the texture. I've fought with the wrap a few times on a few spots, so those changes probably won't happen.

Besides that, I feel that if I add too much, quality will be lost in the top-down view ingame. If it weren't for that, I probably would add in those changes.

I'll definitely work on the contrast, though.

I reaaaaaally suggest you listen to HappyCockroach. His example is everything your model currently lacks. You implement his changes, and you pretty much have a contest winner on your hands, assuming you can follow up with some really cool animations.

Basically; Much brighter colors, much more details like engravings or chainmail scales, and a lot more highlights with well-defined higlight sources.

Also, red\yellow glow(or even teamglow) in his eye sockets will up the Warcraftiness by about 20% or so. It will also make him resemble his unit cousin more.

 

[Rui]

@Vermillion
Hey!
I don't know if it looks Warcraft or not, but it definitely doesn't look too Undead, or is it really supposed to be Dullahan? lol.

@stonneash
Hmm, I'm not so sure I like the team colored neckerchief though. Is it supposed to be a piece of cloth? I'd make it black and perhaps improve the quality of the rest of the vestment.

 

[Direfury]

So I've decided to add an extra layer over his head, to make it easier to add some rotten skin to the skull, but I'm not sure how well thats going to work out.

That didn't go as well as I hoped, so I've decided on a workaround. I'm considering giving his abilities a slight fire theme, and charring his bone, to explain the hair away, as being melted to the bone.

I also added some furs, like on a regular skeleton has on their kilt.
Also, I'm adding runes to the main-hand gauntlet, tryin' to show that its enchanted, to help support the weight of the axe, or something along those lines.

 

[Rui]

Remember that if you are in need of textures you've got those exotic models from Cinematic Arthas vs Illidan, which is an actual model. I actually love the cliffs the most on that model =P

 

[Deolrin]

So I've decided to add an extra layer over his head, to make it easier to add some rotten skin to the skull, but I'm not sure how well thats going to work out.

That didn't go as well as I hoped, so I've decided on a workaround. I'm considering giving his abilities a slight fire theme, and charring his bone, to explain the hair away, as being melted to the bone.

I also added some furs, like on a regular skeleton has on their kilt.
Also, I'm adding runes to the main-hand gauntlet, tryin' to show that its enchanted, to help support the weight of the axe, or something along those lines.

That's looking a lot better.
I suggest you further brighten the highlights and add just a few minor details on stuff like the pauldrons. Also make the skull a bit whiter and more defined, like the in-game skeleton; or at least make it yellowish.

 

[NhazUl]

Please delete this post.

 

[Direfury]

the stretching could use a small fix, but it looks cool so far.

 

[Chen]

I'm joining and I will post some screenshots for my work later.

 

[NhazUl]

Please delete this post.

 

[Kyrbi0]

You know the drill. Lots to catch up on. Please check to make sure; I have attempted to respond to each and every one.

(Hint: Open the "Hidden" block first)

• WhiteDeath
• Wrathion
• MiniMage
• NhazUl
• AnemicRoyalty
• blinkboy
• Vermillion Edict
• jigrael
• paladinjst
• Chucky
• Wandering Soul
• JokeMaster
• Systemfre1
• SuPa-

The Stuff

Almost complete, just a few things left to polish.

Wow. Just... Wow. This really needs a better image to show it off... You guys that look at just the image (like me) to enjoy this model are missing out on one of the key points of this model... Beautiful animations meshed with STELLAR sfx. It took Skyping with Deolrin to convince me to take an early look at it, and I'm glad I did.

Basically, the mesh, as it appears, is great. I might personally think that wolfs-head pauldron is a little too huge & Warcrafty; could use a shrink & maybe a minor tweak to make it look a little different. However, the armor, the fur, the TC, the face, the hair, the scars... Yeaaah, it's all good, except for one thing...

I had this nagging feeling, though; what was his weapon? The original unit had those wolf-claws, but threw balls of lightning (WTHeck?). So was this guy also ranged? Shooting lightning? Bashing with his fists? He could really use some kind of weapon. Something in one of his hands, as a visual counterpoint to the massive wolfs-head pauldron, to indicate what he attacked with.

Well, let's just say I found it.

TL;DR - If you haven't yet checked out the model, SPECTRAL-LIGHTNING-GHOST-WOLF-CLAWS!!! Holy COW that was so cool. You have seriously done exactly what this Modelling Contest is all about: Take a unit, and crank it up to 11. Especially emphasize some particular aspect of the unit, make it really HEROIC and AWEXOME. And man, spectral-lightning-ghost-wolf-claws just really takes the cake.

(Also, I didn't even mention the SPECTRAL-GHOST-WOLF-HEAD he uses in his Throw/Slam animations! Or the brooding "Stand Channel" with beautiful glowy blue stars)

Now, that being said, I have a few suggestions to really polish up this model. And some questions.

• While the effects are fantastic, I still believe he should have something on the mesh to indicate what his weapon is and how it works. This guy really reminded me of a Protoss Zealot meets Wolverine... So maybe some kind of channeling Crystal, or Gauntlet, stuck on the back of his weapon-hand? (technically it's both, though...) Perhaps just throwing the original Shaman claws back on there (slightly more epic, though), wouldn't hurt. Thoughts?
• I loved the animations. Did you do them yourself? I noticed some Beastmaster ones (which is perfectly fine, they fit great). However, in my opinion the existing-Beastmaster's two Spell anims, as devoid of particles as they are, really stand out (poorly) in contrast to your beautifully-animated-&-particled ones. Nothing too flashy, but I'd suggest sprucing them up a bit.
• Like I said earlier, the wolfs-head pauldron is great, but consider making it slightly smaller & maybe minor mesh editing.

1) So please tell; what exactly did you have envisioned with this character? You usually make your models in such a way that they tell a story. What's this guy? Why does he have a stuffed wolfs-head when he's ostensibly the "alpha wolf-dude"? Is he ranged or (likely) melee? What kinda spells would you see on him?

2) I love the "Stand Channel" anim; for some reason, after all that motion & ferocity, an animation where he's just standing there, menacingly, hulking down as if preparing for battle or hibernating or whatever.
See, right there I just made all that up... But what exactly did you have in mind for that animation?

I'm so fickle. I hope I atleast finish one entry. I asked what Misha's avatar was, and I got an idea..

Alright, interesting... I have to ask, though, what is it? Because if I'm not mistaken, Misha's avatar is (like mine) a Protoss Archon. And if someone is making an Archon model...
*puts on glasses*

YEEEEEAAAAHHH!!!

Continued with the experiment. Realized that wc3 models always has two sets of geosets for their models. Removed the parts I didn't need and made the firelord stuff look wooly. Because reasons.

Sorry for taking so long. Hopefully you haven't given up, because I think this iteration marks a definite improvement. I think the crown makes a lot more sense (the doubled-geoset must've been the issue), and I think 'leather-izing' the Firelord's armor is a neat little touch; definitely adds a good counterpoint to all that harsh, featureless steel armor. Couple of quick points:

• The general mesh is fine, but you might want to consider tweaking the Firelord-bits (esp. the Crown & Pauldron) so that it's not so obviously a port. The retexture helps, but a bit of vertex-mobility would really nail it.
• The axe has always been quite imposing & impressive... But the texture/wrap really doesn't do it justice. Please look around for something, anything else to wrap around the head of that axe; it's just blurry & weirdly shaded & yeah. Maybe some of that "Ancient of Wonder" stone, geoset-darkened for a nice "Obsidian Axe" touch?
• I think you're going in the right direction with the leather/fur, but it can go a bit farther. The armor still suffers from the issues of "formless, featureless steel armor". Perhaps some additions (like big furry leather bracers, or a big stomach-plate like the Ogres) can help set that off? Also consider finding a different wrap, to give the steel-armor some definition.

Keep it up. I'm seeing great things.

Hmm... If I make Achilles in his chariot, will it count as a hero version of the footman or knight? If not, I'll make Achilles on foot.

To be honest, whether you choose a Footman or a Knight... It can kinda go either way, you're right. He can be mounted/unmounted either way (as in the case of the Footman, mounting him makes him more Heroic).

However, I'm curious about it; you're making "Achilles"? Like the Greek hero? Not sure how well that'd fit in Wc3... But definitely interesting.

Here's my first WIP, Achilles' bronze chest plate

Interesting. Really fine face ya got there, man. Where in the world is that texture from?

Not much, I'm kinda playing up the Illusionist/Enchantress angle with the purple spell effects (makes her different from BM/Priest). The one I'm using for testing has a hero version of the Wand of Illusion spell but that's mostly just for kicks

Ah, not bad. I'd have to look into some interesting spells for that one.

Woohoo, finished!
Pretty stoked with how this turned out, I'll submit to the database later tomorrow.

Not bad, not bad!

I feel like this model has some serious strengths. It truly fits well in Wc3, has a lot of the precise Heroic touches that really make it unique (face esp.), heroically-emphasizes certain aspects of the base-unit; the texture is stellar, the concept is funky and loud... etc.

However, I feel like //simple particles, simple animations, not enough anims, some rarity, ...

That would be a nice theme for a future contest. Really tired of wc3 style contests. Would be nice to let anyone get off that box for a while.

Eh, I dunno. I really love Wc3-styled (it's the only thing I can use), but I can understand if modelers want/need a break from a certain style or constraint.

I was actualy working on a bloodlord for neodex samples, but as with most of my scratch made models, I normaly lose interest when i have to unwrap it and texture it.

Ooh, a "Bloodlord"? Do tell, sounds quite interesting. Do you mean like a sort of Blood Elven Magister or Warlord? Or perhaps a more demonic "blood for the blood god" Khorne-type deal? Like "Khorne Syrup"?

You know, I'm sure there's plenty of people willing to do collaborative work; we've got loads of great animators and texture-rs that could totally do your meshes justice. Eh?

I'm really rather stuck in my ways. I learned Vertex Modifier and used it this entire time, up until my last submitted model. Aside from that, the damn switch to Windows 7 makes it so Magos doesn't automatically show ingame textures.

I dunno, man; Retera's been whipping something amazing up with his MatrixEater. Say hello to effortless unit combinations (animations included!). Just sayin', might want to give it a look.

However, that may not be necessary, looking at your WIPs...:

So I've decided to add an extra layer over his head, to make it easier to add some rotten skin to the skull, but I'm not sure how well thats going to work out.

That didn't go as well as I hoped, so I've decided on a workaround. I'm considering giving his abilities a slight fire theme, and charring his bone, to explain the hair away, as being melted to the bone.

I also added some furs, like on a regular skeleton has on their kilt.
Also, I'm adding runes to the main-hand gauntlet, tryin' to show that its enchanted, to help support the weight of the axe, or something along those lines.

Wow. I'm a super-fan so far. I love the axe, the armor is great, the proportions as sweet, and the skull is very somber. Good (apparent) use of TeamColor, and the armor has plenty of details and stuff.

However, the texture is really really... well, non-Warcraft-y, unfortunately. It's getting better since the beginning; the contrast has been good. However, it needs even more. I'm no artist, so I'm not sure exactly what... But I've seen your previous models, I know that you have done it.

Actually, your Razormane Blood-drinker dude would be a perfect entry into this contest (if you hadn't already made it). Textures like that would be ideal.

That being said, I can say it's coming along quite nicely.

Im current working on it's animations, i'll give the rider more armor (shoud be clothes) later as well as effects and teamcolor (coz MDLVIS gives me a freakin laggy if i put 2 layers material in the model)

Lookin' good. I'm likin' all the motion of the rider; he's not too stiff. His weapon is really really tall, though.

My update.

Though we should number ourselves among the blessed to be honored with your concept art alone, I am glad you didn't stop there.

Lookin' snazzy as usual, not much to say here; although she is looking pretty scantily-clad.

my old WIP King Varian should fit this contest . could i join this and update that WIP to be finished ? and if i should use the WOW animations ?

Yeah, unfortunately not.

• Originality - Your submission may not be started/made before the official launch of the contest.
• Rule-Breaker - No submission may violate any of the site rules.

I'm not sure how using only WoW anims appears to the rules, but watch out. And yes, unfortunately it has to be all work made originally for this contest.

However, don't give up. We'd love for your talent to enter this contest!

Just a small update, fixed mesh topology on both models, redefined anatomy on the knight, reduced polly usage, and overall minor bug fixes. Thanks to BallisticTerrain for helping me:

Looking good. Again, strive for Warcraft proportions (i.e. don't worry about fingers or what-not, and make the silhouette-enhancing parts of the mesh stand out), but keep it up.

Forget Warcraftish. Warcraft 3 graphics are a shitload clusterfuck of blurry graphics.

Oh come now, they're not that bad. Yes, it's dated, and yes, it's blocky and such, but that was somewhat intentional; the units couldn't be too too advanced else people's computers would die.

Besides, it's got a certain silly nostalgia to it. Most importantly, it's part of the contest parameters. The point of the contest (and most of Wc3 modding, IMO) is to make things that fit into Warcraft 3. Other contests have been discussed which would test general modding skills (without the "Wc3-fitting" criteria), but this isn't one of those.

I'm out, I suck at modelling and I lost all motivation. I can draw and create awesome concepts but when it actually comes to modelling it, unless it's real high poly so I can make details I lose all interest, I don't know...Everyone has cool ideas for a model except me. That sorceress thing is awesome and so is BallisticTerrain's undead. I had an idea of what my knight was going to be like and now I'm blank...yeah, I'm out ! I'm sticking to 2D

Hey man, don't give up! You've really been progressing well so far. If you're looking for ideas, I can definitely throw some hundred your way. You've got the skills, now you just gotta pay the bills!

... sorry, that barely made sense, even in my native tongue. x )

But seriously, don't give up yet. Warcraft modeling has it's challenges, but it's gotta be easier to make things *less* detailed than *more*.

Here's a third WIP of my model entry...
Decorated the surrounding of the planned 'Orb Altar' and have the Murloc wearing golden forearm/shin bracer & crown...
Now working on the Turtle's new look before beginning animating...

NOTE : The Murloc's back fin are a little different that the typical RoC counterpart (inspired from the real-life Viper Fish)...
NOTE II : I may create an alternate version of the Murloc (a shaman looking version smoking a peace-pipe)...

Lookin' good. I really like the royal armor-stuff you got going there. I'm a little worried about all those Coral-Reef-doodads stuck on the top; will have to see that in-game to determine whether it's too cluttered or not.

Alternate Murloc, definitely. Speaking of which, did you ever take a look those "Slann" I linked you to previously? I really feel like that'd be a good direction/inspiration for this model, to really amp up the "Hero" factor.

Hmm scrapped my idea and decided to start something new. A human berserker/viking/ optionaly bandit leader, got the shield axe and the feet wips coming tommorow.
Will be based on Cpt. Thorvard from castle storm.

Yeah, I'm kinda glad you decided to reconsider; the Shaman has already been chosen twice in the contest so far; there are plenty of good units to choose from.

That being said, I Googled what you described... Pretty cool! I think it's a great un-done idea, having races other than Humans be "bandits"; Dwarves would make great Barbarians and such. I'm a little worried, though; how are you going to make him different enough from the existing Mountain King?

WIP #2

Not much further now.
Until I get to animating it.

~~~

I think the model is basically finished.
I will probably change it a bit later, but right now I can start animating.

Alright, so I'm actually kinda interested in what you got going here, but I really feel like the 3rd WIP went a bit in the wrong direction. However, what's most important to that opinion is this:

What kind of hero are you making?

What is your hero? Sure, he's a heroic Acolyte; I like how he's got good body-structure, the face is different (esp. the TC "blinded eye" bandanna meshed with the hood). However, all of a sudden it's like "pauldrons/shield/daggers/fists"???

So what is he? Is he a crazed demon/nerzhul-worshipping neophyte? A sort of 'warrior-acolyte' that's trained with weaponry? A sacrifical psychopath? A cold & calculated Cult Leader with connections to the eldritch?

The answer to this will determine where the model should go. As it stands, I think it's a great start, but seems to clash with itself.

K, here's my final submission.

I have to say, while I'm quite impressed with your artistry (mesh & textures are both detailed and descriptive), I have felt like it was still missing something. Or rather, had somewhat 'missed the point' of the contest. It's got additions & enhancements (big gaping spiky hole, spiky armor, etc), it's got some neat twists (chain-hook arm, lolling tongue)... But it's more like a "Hero-ized" Abomination, rather than a "Heroic" abomination.

It took me a while to realize what I was thinking of. I hate to tell people things to improve, without being able to give them examples. However, I found it.

Several Images

This is the Koloss, a creature from the fantasy series Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (great author, even greater book; a must-read)

All of them are good viewpoints, but the first is the most exemplifying. To me, the in-game Abomination is the blue-guy in the middle (immature Koloss); super-strong, sturdy, but dumb-looking and pudgy and burly. To me, a "Heroic Abomination" would be the one on the left (mature Koloss); taller, more muscular, powerful, rage-filled, splitting at the seams, etc.

Think about it; for mass-construction, it makes sense to just stitch a buncha corpses together; = Abomination. But for the Abomination, the Chief or Champion Abomination, there'd be no skimping. Massive muscles, tall, powerfully-built body. Why not four arms? Why not a different weapon (hook-chain arm is a good one, actually)? Why not two heads; I really love that idea from Deolrin, as it emphasizes his greater intelligence, ties into the Ogre idea (why not cut up some Ogres instead of your regular old Humans/Orcs? ).

I know you're not necessarily in the mood for a complete redesign... But you've got the talent, and you've got the time.
Either way, just my 2 cents. I think it's an excellent model either way. : )

 

[Retera]

Hey guys; I messed around with this contest making some stuff a few weeks ago, and since then I've been busy with starting college. Does anyone have any cool ideas for a model I should make for this contest? I haven't been following the contest too closely recently.

 

[Kyrbi0]

Hey guys; I messed around with this contest making some stuff a few weeks ago, and since then I've been busy with starting college. Does anyone have any cool ideas for a model I should make for this contest? I haven't been following the contest too closely recently.

No, I'm sure no one has any ideas.

*cough*

Well first off, do you have any preferences? Any race you like best, or unit you love the design of, or hero you want to create?

If not, for starters:

I wonder why no one has yet done an "Earthmother/Earthlord" or "Stormfather/Windlord". We've already got the Firelord and the Tidal Lord, and we desperately need to complete the set. Perfect opportunity.

That, or Goblins. Or Trolls! Or Pandaren. Man, Pandaren.

 

[NhazUl]

However, I'm curious about it; you're making "Achilles"? Like the Greek hero? Not sure how well that'd fit in Wc3... But definitely interesting.

I'm just using the name to note the style of his battle gear (pseudo-greco-roman or something). Otherwise I'll make sure he fits in Warcraft III. I'll try custom animations.

 

[Kyrbi0]

I'm just using the name to note the style of his battle gear (pseudo-greco-roman or something). Otherwise I'll make sure he fits in Warcraft III. I'll try custom animations.

Ah ah, very cool then. (I've seen your other models & I was worried for a bit ). Lookin' forward to it.

~~~

My mega-post, which got lost in the pages: here

 

[Chen]

My idea is a an hero orc warlock (like Gul'dan). I'll post it later

 

[stonneash]

The shield. I thought I could either make it depict a gorgon or a cyclops, so I settled for a cyclopean gorgon.

Looks good and good quality, but the wrap on the snakes is weird
Edit:
I would like to remove my entry, am currently busy with School and have to focus on getting good grades.

 

[General Frank]

My idea is a an hero orc warlock (like Gul'dan). I'll post it later

What happened to the Furbolg Ursa idea? I though it was much cooler...

 

[Kyrbi0]

I would like to remove my entry, am currently busy with School and have to focus on getting good grades.

Aw dang, sorry to hear that. Well, thanks for joining, and good luck with that; grades are definitely more important than modding.

But definitely keep some of those WIPs; you had some solid ideas. For example, I'd love to see that original Tauren-dude get fleshed out; he'd make a great Gladiator.

My idea is a an hero orc warlock (like Gul'dan). I'll post it later

What happened to the Furbolg Ursa idea? I though it was much cooler...

Yeah, Furbolg Ursa sounds waaay cool. Besides, Sin'dorei has already got this covered pretty well, so while there's no rule about repeat-entries, I'm definitely excited to see something else. : )

Good to have you.

 

[Direfury]

So I've been focusing mostly on the animations, and I haven't touched the texture so far. I intend to give my model a wide variety of animations to make it useful in any number of roles, but my main focus will be on its four ability animations, and a good number of attack animations, using each one of the blades on the axe, and more.

That aside, I'm having trouble with the contrast. Any more and it'll be far, far too bright for me to be comfortable with.

 

[BallisticTerrain]

I'm having trouble with animations to. I have no idea how I'm going to get them all done by the deadline. Next week I will have absolutely no time to spend on animation, and this may continue on for up to a whole nother week. After that when I'll have the ability to animate again is anyone's guess. In the best possible scenario I'll be able to continue in two weeks. In the worst possible scenario I won't be able to finish my entry.

 

[Kyrbi0]

So I've been focusing mostly on the animations, and I haven't touched the texture so far. I intend to give my model a wide variety of animations to make it useful in any number of roles, but my main focus will be on its four ability animations, and a good number of attack animations, using each one of the blades on the axe, and more.

That aside, I'm having trouble with the contrast. Any more and it'll be far, far too bright for me to be comfortable with.

Sounds cool. Look forward to seeing some interesting animations. You should have one where he balances it on his hand for a second. (like, pommel-on-palm, teetering in the air)

Also, with the textures... Unfortunately, you'll have to ask a real artist. But I figure if you take a look at some existing Wc3 textures, try and copy/paste some mock-ups of what could be used, *that* is the kind of style this contest is talking about.

I'm having trouble with animations to. I have no idea how I'm going to get them all done by the deadline. Next week I will have absolutely no time to spend on animation, and this may continue on for up to a whole nother week. After that when I'll have the ability to animate again is anyone's guess. In the best possible scenario I'll be able to continue in two weeks. In the worst possible scenario I won't be able to finish my entry.

Eesh, that's not good. Well, a half-finished entry is better than no entry... If worse comes to worse, maybe just cut & paste some existing animations on him? I know there's not a lot of similarly-meshed units (nothing I can think of with spider-y legs like that...), but you could certainly do a mix of the Lich (pretend he just uses his claws to float) and Dreadlord/Doom Guard (give the shoulder-hook-wings some motion).

 

[BallisticTerrain]

You know what I'm going to sit down and animate the damn thing this very night. I've procrastinated for too long.

 

[Chen]

What happened to the Furbolg Ursa idea? I though it was much cooler...

I was using the Ursa warrior in my Furbolg campaign so I can't be able to join with it. And I cant put many improvements in it. Don't worry I can post it right after the contest.

 

[Chen]

And here is my first wip in the Orc Necrolyte.

 

[Kyrbi0]

You know what I'm going to sit down and animate the damn thing this very night. I've procrastinated for too long.

More power to ya. Just don't kill yourself.

I was using the Ursa warrior in my Furbolg campaign so I can't be able to join with it. And I cant put many improvements in it. Don't worry I can post it right after the contest.

Ah, good point. Well, why you could always re-make it for the contest (easier now that you know what to do, and you can always improve upon it), I can respect wanting to try something new.

Just... Let us know if you get bored of that one, since we do already have a Warlock-in-the-works.

On that note, it's looking good; nice posture, though the hood doesn't match the shoulder-cloth.

 

[BallisticTerrain]

That of course didn't mean I can animate it all in one night. I'm still very worried I won't finish. I think I can finish walk and attack 1.

 

[Direfury]

I'm nearly finished with the core animations. Finalizing the model is gonna be fun, considering how long its been since I've done it last.

Take a look.

 

[Kyrbi0]

I'm nearly finished with the core animations. Finalizing the model is gonna be fun, considering how long its been since I've done it last.

Take a look.

Beautiful. Just beautiful. Love the Roar, and I'm surprised no one has thought of a spell anim like that "Channel" is.

On a side note, I really don't think you need to resort to "was burned in a fire -> has fire spells" as a way to explain his hair loss or something silly like that. This is Warcraft! Also, all the skulls (skelly warrior, mage, archer, etc) are lacking hair; that just happens naturally over time. Also, ice can remove hair. Or disease. Heck, make him a "Plague Knight", or a sort of "Third/First Horseman" (i.e. pestilence).

 

[Direfury]

That channel pose actually came from something I picked up a few years back, when I started meditating, as a way to curb my excessive paranoia and anger.

On another note, I don't really want to deviate from the simple 'Skeleton Warrior' concept too much, so turning him into a plague knight is off the table. However, I think I WILL release alternate versions later on.

Also, I've made his jaw move and stretch a bit, like the Lich, should I go with that when he talks, or simple jaw movements, like from regular skeletons?

 

[WhiteDeath]

Now, that being said, I have a few suggestions to really polish up this model. And some questions.

While the effects are fantastic, I still believe he should have something on the mesh to indicate what his weapon is and how it works. This guy really reminded me of a Protoss Zealot meets Wolverine... So maybe some kind of channeling Crystal, or Gauntlet, stuck on the back of his weapon-hand? (technically it's both, though...) Perhaps just throwing the original Shaman claws back on there (slightly more epic, though), wouldn't hurt. Thoughts?
I loved the animations. Did you do them yourself? I noticed some Beastmaster ones (which is perfectly fine, they fit great). However, in my opinion the existing-Beastmaster's two Spell anims, as devoid of particles as they are, really stand out (poorly) in contrast to your beautifully-animated-&-particled ones. Nothing too flashy, but I'd suggest sprucing them up a bit.
Like I said earlier, the wolfs-head pauldron is great, but consider making it slightly smaller & maybe minor mesh editing.


1) So please tell; what exactly did you have envisioned with this character? You usually make your models in such a way that they tell a story. What's this guy? Why does he have a stuffed wolfs-head when he's ostensibly the "alpha wolf-dude"? Is he ranged or (likely) melee? What kinda spells would you see on him?

2) I love the "Stand Channel" anim; for some reason, after all that motion & ferocity, an animation where he's just standing there, menacingly, hulking down as if preparing for battle or hibernating or whatever.
See, right there I just made all that up... But what exactly did you have in mind for that animation?


[/hidden]

I currently have no idea what to put on his hands to indicate weapons, I will see if I can come up with something.

The animations are the beastmaster's with some editing to make them look better and fit the model and a few animations that I added. I left those two animations without SFX so that people have the option of adding abilities that are not necessarily spirit based. However most people will probably be unwilling to waste time triggering SFX so I will add SFX to those animations as well.

The wolf head is supposed to be big and it has to be so that it can cover up his shoulder completely - his shoulder is quite big thus the thing covering it is big. I will try to reduce the wolf face a bit but there is no way to actually reduce the shoulder pad.

The character is supposed to be a grand/high shaman, a normal shaman becomes a high shaman by performing "The Task". He has to go in to the "Orky Forest" find a pack of giant timber wolves and kill their alpha. This has to be done unarmed, so that he proves his endurance, strength and shamanic skills. Naturally very few shamans pass and a lot of wolves get overfed on not so smart shamans. He can than wear the alpha timber wolf's head on his shoulder as proof, basically the wolf shoulder is his diploma.
The claws that he creates are not lightning based, they are spirit based, giving him the advantage of being able to strike through most armor. The claws however have the disadvantage to not be able to block weapons so the shaman basically has to soak up the damage, thus the heavy scaring.

The channel animation is supposed to be a trance state where he either buffs up or heals himself, when you are unarmored and have no way to block sharp stuff you have to learn to heal yourself.

 

[Direfury]

So, ah. Funny story.

Thanks to my bumbling, rusted skills, I seem to have screwed up somewhere along the line, and the export fucked up all the animations. That I worked all day on. All day. Excuse me, I need to go find something to break. With my bare hands.

I'd tell you how it goes, but I'd rather not narrate all the high-volume obscenities I intend to blurt out.

 

[General Frank]

So, ah. Funny story.

Thanks to my bumbling, rusted skills, I seem to have screwed up somewhere along the line, and the export fucked up all the animations. That I worked all day on. All day. Excuse me, I need to go find something to break. With my bare hands.

Rusty skills? Are you insane? Those look totally awesome.
A shame about the animations, but the next ones going to be more awesome.

 

[Kwaliti]

So, ah. Funny story.

Thanks to my bumbling, rusted skills, I seem to have screwed up somewhere along the line, and the export fucked up all the animations. That I worked all day on. All day. Excuse me, I need to go find something to break. With my bare hands.

I'd tell you how it goes, but I'd rather not narrate all the high-volume obscenities I intend to blurt out.

Don't tell me you forgot to run Zero Joints.

 

[Direfury]

I did, and somehow something went wrong.

It was all like...

I'm working... working... exporting file
AND THEN SUDDENLY NOPE.
Oh, you were working on that? CUTE LOLOLOLOL ,,!,

So anyway, I've decided to just buckle down and rework the animations. I'll add pictures to this post as I complete them.

 

[Kyrbi0]

I currently have no idea what to put on his hands to indicate weapons, I will see if I can come up with something.

The animations are the beastmaster's with some editing to make them look better and fit the model and a few animations that I added. I left those two animations without SFX so that people have the option of adding abilities that are not necessarily spirit based. However most people will probably be unwilling to waste time triggering SFX so I will add SFX to those animations as well.

The wolf head is supposed to be big and it has to be so that it can cover up his shoulder completely - his shoulder is quite big thus the thing covering it is big. I will try to reduce the wolf face a bit but there is no way to actually reduce the shoulder pad.

Cool cool. For the Beastmaster's SFX-less anims... I realized that's not a bad point at all, and in fact, many times the SFX is provided by the spell, not the caster (Blizzard models, even heroes, often eschew unit-based SFX for spell-based SFX). So really, leaving them sparse or empty isn't a bad idea. Good thinking.

For the arm/weapon... Yeah, kinda tough. Like I said, you can't go wrong with (slightly-more Heroic) Shaman Claws. Then again, due to the parallels between this guy and the Protoss Zealot, maybe he could have some kind of jewel on there (perhaps the crystallized Eye(s) of the Alpha Wolf?), or some kind of "Storm/Spirit Talisman".

The character is supposed to be a grand/high shaman, a normal shaman becomes a high shaman by performing "The Task". He has to go in to the "Orky Forest" find a pack of giant timber wolves and kill their alpha. This has to be done unarmed, so that he proves his endurance, strength and shamanic skills. Naturally very few shamans pass and a lot of wolves get overfed on not so smart shamans. He can than wear the alpha timber wolf's head on his shoulder as proof, basically the wolf shoulder is his diploma.
The claws that he creates are not lightning based, they are spirit based, giving him the advantage of being able to strike through most armor. The claws however have the disadvantage to not be able to block weapons so the shaman basically has to soak up the damage, thus the heavy scaring.

The channel animation is supposed to be a trance state where he either buffs up or heals himself, when you are unarmored and have no way to block sharp stuff you have to learn to heal yourself.

<3

On another note, I don't really want to deviate from the simple 'Skeleton Warrior' concept too much, so turning him into a plague knight is off the table. However, I think I WILL release alternate versions later on.

Umm... So a a "few Plague abilities -> Plague Knight" is too deviating, but a "few Fire abilities -> Fire Knight" isn't? Ok...

Anyway, it was not really meant so much a drastic change; more like a minor flavor. Either way, it's looking cool.

Also, I've made his jaw move and stretch a bit, like the Lich, should I go with that when he talks, or simple jaw movements, like from regular skeletons?

I would say go with the Lich, as it's more Heroic and exciting. Or maybe "simple jaw movements" for the basic talking, and then the "special" portrait anims have some moving/stretching.

So, ah. Funny story.

Thanks to my bumbling, rusted skills, I seem to have screwed up somewhere along the line, and the export fucked up all the animations. That I worked all day on. All day. Excuse me, I need to go find something to break. With my bare hands.

I'd tell you how it goes, but I'd rather not narrate all the high-volume obscenities I intend to blurt out.

~~~

So anyway, I've decided to just buckle down and rework the animations. I'll add pictures to this post as I complete them.

Aw crud, that really stinks. My condolences go out to his next of kin. :< (Not having used those particular programs, I'm surprised; is there no way to save a WIP or a draft, like on an e-mail or something?)

More power to ya!

 

[Deolrin]

That aside, I'm having trouble with the contrast. Any more and it'll be far, far too bright for me to be comfortable with.

Try to break that mindstate. Go BEYOND what you're comfortable with. Compare your texture to Blizzard textures, and try to imitate them. That's the best way, in my opinion, to improve. More contrast is better; more details are also great.
...That said, your latest WIP is looking nice. Try to touch up the axe and skull a bit; They're the weak parts, at the moment, I think. The lack of golden trimming and stuff on the axe, and the greenish coloration of the skull look a bit off.
Oh, and sorry about that export error. Those animations did look pretty good.
Next time, do a backup first!

 

[BallisticTerrain]

Alright, currently done animations are Stand, Walk, and Attack 1.
Attack 1 still needs a little polishing. I've never animated anything like this before so It's taking longer than expected.

 

[BlinkBoy]

Alright, currently done animations are Stand, Walk, and Attack 1.
Attack 1 still needs a little polishing. I've never animated anything like this before so It's taking longer than expected.

Are you using Ik, Fk, Biped or a CAT?

 

[Direfury]

So I'm half way done with the animations. I'll do the rest tomorrow.

I'll be revamping the "Spell Slam" animations, and doing two channel animations. The normal one you saw earlier, and a more advanced one, where the Warlord is levitating.
I'm considering adding in an extra walk animation, for a potential on-hit ability, where the Warlord drags his axe along the ground.

Also, I've tried to do multiple versions of animations, plus a Bladestorm spin animation, and a shoulderbash/knockback kick. Maybe this time around I'll add in an axe-pull and a force-pull. I'll be recreating the first death animation, aswell, where the Warlord is simply too strong to hit the ground when he dies. Instead, he'll stumble, and THEN dissipate. I'm considering doing two of these aswell, one where he ascends to the heavens, and another where a fissure opens and drags him downwards, to somewhere horrible.

 

[BallisticTerrain]

Are you using Ik, Fk, Biped or a CAT?

Complete FK rig, with a few helpers. Biped doesn't fit the model, I didn't think of trying CAT, and I was contemplating using some IK solvers but it wasn't worth it in this particular rig. Attack 2 is now finished. Attack 3 and several more are next.

EDIT: Good news everyone!
I actually will be able to definitely finish my submission due to recent developments. I won't be able to do anything next week but after that I will have enough time to finish and polish up animation. I'll also have time to improve the texture, because it most certainly needs it.

Animation Glamour Shot

Picture of the Rig

 

[Chen]

And here is my second WIP. Don't say I'm copying Sin'dorei's idea. This is a hero necrolyte(a creep from the tileset Sunken Ruins) and its more than a Necromancer than a Warlock.

 

[HappyCockroach]

I did, and somehow something went wrong.

It was all like...

I'm working... working... exporting file
AND THEN SUDDENLY NOPE.
Oh, you were working on that? CUTE LOLOLOLOL ,,!,

So anyway, I've decided to just buckle down and rework the animations. I'll add pictures to this post as I complete them.

looking awesome so far. and the texture improved a lot. but still i have some suggestions:



maybe define a middle line on the golden contours of his armor to give it a more vibrant highlight (not sure if that's wc3-like, but makes it more appealing)

the bear paw needs more depth. add highlights with layers of white lines and glows in 'overlay' mode, it works. and shadows with black 'multiply' layers (or even 'normal'). you could work the encounter between the paw and the claws better, locating them and applying some shading from where they come from, that would be nice.

the gloves might become more appealing with more drastic highlights. (that applies to many parts of the armor as well)

maybe going for some engraved details on the armor will totally raise your model's standard. i showed as example some generic runes, not that i think that's an appropriate theme.

okay, i promise this is the last time i do this unless you ask for help

 

[Kwaliti]

I might reskin that model of yours one day, Vermillion. I'm really itching to make something.