Anim8or Community

Artwork => Anim8or Challenges => Topic started by: Raxx on February 06, 2010, 10:13:36 am

Title: [ COMPLETE ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 06, 2010, 10:13:36 am
Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!

(http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3218/dragonsx.jpg)

RAWR!

That's right. Your goal is simple: model a dragon within 2 weeks! You asked for it, you've got it.

This will be a still render. Whether it's just a dragon's head, the entire body, or the dragon and an entire village getting attacked, make sure it looks like a complete render!

Deadline: 3 weeks (February 21, 2010)

This challenge will have a public poll. Vote for the best still render.

Remember the challenge rules (http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=2096.0) and post your progress, c&c, and/or final renders in this topic.

Just Have fun!


Final Entries


FIRST PLACE
Mills
(http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/Millsth.jpg) (http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/Mills.jpg)


SECOND PLACE
Indian8or
(http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/Indian8orth.jpg) (http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/Indian8or.jpg)


HONORABLE MENTIONS
ADSohr
(http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/ADSohrth.jpg) (http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/ADSohr.jpg)


AirAKose
(http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/AirAKoseth.jpg) (http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/AirAKose.jpg)


davdud101
(http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/davdud101th.jpg) (http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/davdud101.jpg)


headwax
(http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/headwaxth.jpg) (http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/headwax.png)


Johnar
(http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/Johnarth.jpg) (http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/Johnar.jpg)


Josmic8or
(http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/Josmic8orth.jpg) (http://an8.the-meadow.net/Com/Challenges/Dragon/Josmic8or.jpg)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 06, 2010, 10:16:32 am
I'm in!!!!
So far...
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/dragon_render001.jpg)
New Progress...
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/dragon_render002.jpg)
Not so bad but not so good scene...
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/dragon_in_dungeon.jpg)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: $imon on February 06, 2010, 12:29:06 pm
Nice new challenge here! I'm fairly certain I will be able to make something ;)

Good start there, davdud, your dragon looks scary!
Maybe a point you could improve; after you mirror the one side of the dragon & before you convert the dragon to subdivided, you might want to join the two solids (select both sides > join solids), then select all the points where the two halves meet and merge them (edit > merge points).
Keep it coming!

Hoping to see some more scary (or very cute) dragons!
Good luck
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 06, 2010, 12:56:53 pm
Yeah, $imon... I tried, but the 2 halves wouldn't do the join solids function! It would look way better if the lip was split...
[EDIT] Nevermind, I got it. i'm going to make and apply textures now.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: baxter on February 06, 2010, 01:40:40 pm
yes! I love modeling dragons, time to get to work
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 06, 2010, 02:03:41 pm
Hey, mine won't render textures, or any types of maps! What's the haps???
Nothing really new here... What do I do with a depth channel to make... Let's say, a stream of light passing through dust particles?
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/dragon_render003.jpg)
Depth Channel
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/dragon_render003_depth.jpg)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: hihosilver on February 06, 2010, 06:07:05 pm
I'll see what I can do...
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: rellik420 on February 06, 2010, 10:36:19 pm
i think i might join this challenge. ive already started.

edit: i shaped him a lil more and threw on a texture thats not fitted. but here is is so far.

edit2: im having a little trouble with the shape of the horns and how many im going to try and make. i think every1 loves a horny dragon... but i dont want to get to far ahead of myself. anyway here is what i got.

edit 3: well i figured i would post a wireframe. im starting to do the teeth and the eyeball. i think im going to stop posting wips untill i get alot farther along.

good luck to whomever is joining the contest.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: johnar on February 07, 2010, 02:13:09 am
 OK.  6 hours later and i'm considering starting over.  ::)

 So far i've got this.  Its a baby dragon. :)
 Still needs feet and a few other things. I think the texturing will be tricky.
   Didn't use any ref pics. Probly should've.
 Its a bit of a  mess really.. c+c welcome

rellik420: Nice head so far. Cool texture too.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 07, 2010, 09:50:17 am
Man, rellik, I'm gonna have ke 0 votes after people see yours. I actually might restart on mine now.

My edit. Changed the ear based on my brothers comments, he's rally into medevail stuff like this.
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/dragon_render004.jpg)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 07, 2010, 10:26:22 am
Good start guys! Hopefully I'll be participating in this one as well. Organic modeling was always my strongest point, hu ha ha!

davdud101, figure out the textures thing? Check view->preferences to make sure they're enabled. As for the lighting effect, you'll probably have to use trans maps to get it to look right.

rellik420: Good start on the head. Looks like you're wanting to put a bit of detail into it, so good luck! Unless you want him to be cartoony, I suggest researching the types of textures and materials for him. A more subtle diffuse texture with less contrasts, mixed with a strong bump map would help give him more realism with those scales.

Johnar, he's got an interesting look to him. When subdivision modeling, you'll want to have more details and divisions in the cage mesh to make it easier to texture in the future. It'll be hard to uvmap him without warping otherwise, unless you convert it to mesh first. Keep at it!

Hihosilver: You better see what you can do. I haven't seen anything new from you in ages (look who's talking)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 07, 2010, 11:25:47 am
Thanx, Raxx. That fixed it. But another question... How would I make a custom texture fitted for my model?
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Mreenav D on February 07, 2010, 12:05:49 pm
i might join this one...Anyways those are some great starts ;)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: hihosilver on February 07, 2010, 04:33:14 pm
Well then I've just jumped into things here, who knows, I may even finish it  ;)
Raxx:  Let's see it, that's a challenge!  Bring it on!

Here's what I've got, goin with my usual cartoony style here, just getting back into modeling.  Let me know what you think!
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 07, 2010, 06:48:14 pm
Oh? I'll bring it on, oh yes I will.

Nice purple dragon there, Barney's close cousin eh? I like the cartoony look, I never do cartoony so it's nice seeing someone else take up that style.

Here's my progress. Heavy detailing makes for a sloppy mesh though, and it's been a while :(
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Pincho on February 07, 2010, 06:53:07 pm
I think that I'll be having a go at this.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 07, 2010, 08:54:01 pm
Man Raxx, didn't know you were so good.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: hihosilver on February 07, 2010, 09:08:18 pm
Oh it's on!
Thanks, I've always been a fan myself of the stylized cartoons, though maybe that's because I wasn't always the best with realism.  Great start to your dragon, I assume it's going to be a smaller dragon?  The mesh may not be clean, but it looks clean when rendered!  I always love the sharp edged style, it looks very crisp.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Indian8or on February 07, 2010, 10:06:16 pm
Man!!! this place is full of dragons.  A lot of activity after a long gap.

I better find a protected place to watch the imminent dragon war. ;D

Good luck bravehearts.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 08, 2010, 04:24:29 am
The more dragons the merrier!

davdud101: Hah, just because all I do is play as moderator in this forum, doesn't mean I don't have skills :P I'm the modelin' master ;)

hihosilver: Yeah, I like doing it that way, though I'm actually going overboard for this guy. Darn scaley-lizard-type-creatures make me reinforce edges all over the place.

Another update. He'll be kind of bipedal, and on the small side. Was originally going to go for a cute look, but with me that's about as likely as going cartoony. If I'm not bending enough polygons to my will, I don't allow myself to do it :P

Keep it up guys!
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 08, 2010, 03:35:15 pm
@Raxx: Wow! That is amazing!!!! I'm about to remake or remaster mine, based upon a concept sketch.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: rellik420 on February 08, 2010, 09:06:39 pm
yea thats a great model raxx. honestly i think the shoulders r the best part. (probably because i cant do shoulders). once your done with it can you please post a wireframe. theres alot i have to learn,  from the looks of it you have modeling down pact. good luck to me cause thats gonna be hard to compete with.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Josmic8or on February 09, 2010, 03:23:14 am
im gonna take a go at this
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: ADSohr on February 09, 2010, 08:19:43 am
i'm in!


a much more conventional mideival dragon type.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Mreenav D on February 09, 2010, 12:26:20 pm
heres a start. am not sure if i can finish it
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 09, 2010, 01:20:33 pm
davdud101, thanks and good luck with your reworking. To answer your other question before, investigate how to uvmap and texture a model. This is the best way to make a texture fitted to a 3d mesh. For best results you'll have to use an external uvmapping program like lithunwrap or uvmapper.

rellik420, thanks :) yeah I can post wires when I'm done, if it gets done :P Thanks to you I'm now spending more time on the musculature instead of making use of my artistic license. Shoulders (and musculature in general) is relatively easy if you're not afraid to do a lot of polygonal modeling/editing and research pictures of muscle groups online. Basically just look for bodybuilder pics and you're set.

ADSohr, good start! Definitely looks like a dragon's body, my main crit right now is that the hind legs seem to be shorter than the front legs, looking like he's standing on a slope. The wings look great so far!

Mreenav D, you've still got a week to go! If there's a lot of unfinished works in the end, I'll consider extending the deadline. Heck, I wonder where the first week went, not sure if I can finish mine either! You've got a good start with the head, I hope you'll take the time to flesh out more details :)

Here's an update. I've gotta touch up the biceps and front shoulder a little to make it look more natural, but it's getting there. Definitely starting to grind and slow down with all the detailing and anatomy. Giving you a quick shot of the back since I'm taking the time to do the muscles where they can show under the skin. Obviously I haven't gotten to the scales along the spine or the wings yet, so ignore the gaps :P

It's great seeing so much participation, keep that motivation going!
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: hihosilver on February 09, 2010, 01:27:23 pm
Great progress Raxx, keep up at this pace and you may just finish!  If you finish, you could even beat me (eh, who am I kidding, you're going down!)
Great modeling so far though, I'm sure it's very dense but it's also very clean looking thus far.  I'd love to see a wireframe of what you've been doing.
My only criticism would be to make sure it looks like a dragon in the end and not a lizard-man!  Perhaps wings or something will do that job.
Keep up the fantastic work mate.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 09, 2010, 03:22:58 pm
Another question, how do get my model to stop putting these flaps in at new point extending from old ones? It's really bothering me when it does that.

About 10 minutes, and looking better already. I'm studying up on some of Raxx modelling, and you can see that mine is influenced by his.
Edit:New head
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/new_head.jpg)

Old
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/dragon_new_halfhead.jpg)


Edit:Body-
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/New_dragon_body.jpg)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: ADSohr on February 09, 2010, 04:12:06 pm
Raxx: the image is in perspective view and not entirely from the side, thats why the hind legs look shorter.  :)

keep working on it davdud, it'll get there eventualy

Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 09, 2010, 04:32:20 pm
I need help on demon-like hands though. Any tutorials or personal help for it?
[EDIT] I got the hands done. Now, although everything is connected properly, there is a gap in the wrists. Any remedy?
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/new_dragon_handproblem.jpg)

Same thing, new render, same problem.
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/Dragon_aswome0001.jpg)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 09, 2010, 06:57:40 pm
Yeah hihosilver, I've been a little worried he'd probably not look like a dragon in the end. So I'll probably just call him a dragon man if I can't pull it off :P It's certainly far from conventional.

Ah, that explains it ADSohr!

davdud101, make sure the meshes are joined, and then make use of the add edge/points tool (http://www.anim8or.com/manual/buttons/b_addpoint_u.gif) to connect the two by making a new row of quads between them. Then select those quads you outlined and go to edit->fill holes. Alternatively you could make sure both the end of the arm and the end of the hand are each capped off by a polygon with the same number of sides, and then select the two polygons and go to edit->bridge. Looks good so far!

Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 10, 2010, 07:52:28 am
I tried bridge after capping the wrist, yet it pinched the wrist tigh but didn't join them. I've decided to just make a wrist guard type thing. Also I tried to use UVMapper, with the tutorials, but nothing made any sense to me. I got all this stuff like a planar map, spherical and everything but nothing happened on my model....?
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: $imon on February 10, 2010, 08:23:06 am
I have 0 imagination myself for dragon-type-creatures.. SO I looked around the internet and found an awesome drawing by Bobby Chiu (http://www.imaginismstudios.com) :
(http://www.imaginismstudios.com/round2/wp-content/gallery/bobby/water-creature-monster-sea.jpg)
which I will be using as a reference. It's a baby water-dragon type thing haha..

I started modeling a little bit, I hope I can get this finished!

Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: johnar on February 10, 2010, 08:27:29 am
 Got a small update on mine. :)

 Can't work out the feet yet, not sure what they should look like.
 He's got no teeth at the moment either.
 But he's looking sort've dragonny?
. Remember hes just a baby dragon. ;)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: $imon on February 10, 2010, 08:45:34 am
Raxx, modesty is a virtue! I'm glad you have that down haha.. All joking besides.. Very nice model so far, I'm amazed at the modeling speed you have (once you get started on something!). My rate of organic modeling is So Slow... I really hope you can finish the model and still have time to properly texture/render it. It will look awesome if you can I'm sure! Just, as hiho noticed, a few more 'dragonlike' features would help. Fortunately dragons don't exist, neither do the creatures we're making so it's up to your imagination!

davdud101, great enthusiasm for the challenge! It's good that you're modeling such complex models already. The idea of a bracelet is the easiest to fix your hands problem, wrists can be very tricky to make. The same goes for your model, maybe some more dragonlike features (claws, fangs, wings) would seal the deal on the appearance.

ADSohr, Nice to see a more conventional dragon as well in the competition. Just another proportion notice: the tail could be quite a bit larger, it is mostly used to keep the creature in balance, so it acts as counterweight for the neck/head, you might want to make the tail a similar size.

Mreenav D, Good start on another more conventional dragon. If making the whole dragon would be too much work for the deadline, you can always consider making a portrait of the dragon. That way you can maybe focus more on the details instead of getting the whole dragon done with less details.

Hihosilver, I like the shape you have going for your dragon. Still you might want to consider some balance issues (you know what I'm talking about; the nose!), To keep him stable you might want to add big feet, so the center of gravity is not in front of the feet. Or you can make the stance of the dragon very 'laid back' haha. Looking forward to updates!

johnar, I'm glad you picked up the dragon instead of starting a new one, the shape really has a good feel to it! About the feet; you might want to go for a t-rex type of feet, in that case you would have the claws sticking out forward out of the bottom of the feet as you have them now:
http://www.lavadomefive.com/jenn/Vac2004/Kentucky/Mammoth%20Area/02%20Dinosaur%20World/104TrexFoot.jpg

rellik, I l ike your skull-like dragon so far. The horns actually look pretty cool at that angle, unconventional but they work! Can't wait to see the rest of your dragon!

The deadline might have to be extended a little bit.. but I guess the tally will be made up in a week. I will try to make that deadline for now!

Good luck everyone, have fun making your dragons!
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 10, 2010, 09:15:31 am
Okay...I decided to just skip trying to make a gauntlet because I'm still making audjustments to the arms.
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/Dragon_aswome0002.jpg)
New:
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/Dragon_aswome0003.jpg)

Quote from: $imon on February 10, 2010, 08:45:34 am
davdud101, great enthusiasm for the challenge!,  It's good that you're modeling such complex models already. The idea of a bracelet is the easiest to fix your hands problem, wrists can be very tricky to make. The same goes for your model, maybe some more dragonlike features (claws, fangs, wings) would seal the deal on the appearance.
Thanx, Raxx. Animation, right next to drawing, writing, and writing music, is, although not my speciality, my hope for a future job.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 10, 2010, 10:03:56 am
Srry for the double post, just don't wanna clog up one with pics and words.
Newest:
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/Dragon_aswome0004.jpg)

Where can I get a good, free dragon skin texture?
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: $imon on February 10, 2010, 10:31:23 am
davdud, just google for the type of skin you want.. a dragon usually has some sort of reptile skin so you can google for that maybe?
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 10, 2010, 10:54:56 am
Wait, if I use a texture but don't cite my source, am I still allowed to enter it?
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: $imon on February 10, 2010, 11:45:45 am
Don't worry about copyright as long as you don't sell your images. You can use images off google to help with your 3d.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 10, 2010, 01:56:22 pm
O, okay. Thanx.
New:
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/DragonFlight_01.jpg)

Anyway, this guy modelled his cloud, and it looks like a real pic. How do I do this?
http://www.anim8or.com/main/index.html
Also, can any post production go into this?
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 10, 2010, 03:50:27 pm
Looking good davdud101. I think you might want to give the eyes a texture to help make them stand out a bit. As for your clouds, the url you posted doesn't go anywhere but the anim8or.com main page, but usually you use a series of quads with a cloud blob trans map on each so that only the cloud blobs are visible. When you stack up a lot of these together in a jumble, you get your clouds. It's kind of similar to how this tutorial uses the stacks of quads in the first two pages to make a cloud-like render: http://www.3dtotal.com/team/Tutorials_3/jussing_clouds/creating_clouds_3dsmax01.php

As for your uvmapping problems, make sure you read through and follow the tutorials closely. It'll take a little bit to get your head around it. Basically you export the .obj from anim8or, place it in a uvmapping program, work with it, then export it from the uvmapping program as .obj again, and import that newly made .obj back into anim8or. You also export the texture with the lines on it so that you can paint over it. Unfortunately it looks like most of the tutorials in the anim8or.com site are down. Here's a basic tutorial on how to use uvmapper classic: http://www.uvmapper.com/tutorials/tutorial_classic_win.html

$imon, so you're joining the fray eh? Hihosilver looks like he's sweating enough as it is ;) Good start on your dragon, reminds me a lot of your Breath of Fire frog character you made a while back. As for my progress, I've got to go fast or else I'd just go ka-put. Good luck...you'll need it when going against me, hu hu.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 10, 2010, 05:07:11 pm
Hey Raxx, I made this one cloud that looks...real (or at least good enough)! That tutorial really helped, so thanks for reffering me to it!
Newest:
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/DragonFlight_02.jpg)
Long:
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/DragonFlight_02Long.jpg)
I'm nearing my final render, everyone! So close, I can feel it!
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Tof on February 10, 2010, 08:20:07 pm
Wow, nice success for the dragons, a lot of nice modells here and all so differents!
I have an idea too but no free time... i'll try to start the modelling this weekend and post some progress sunday...
Good luck and fun to everybody.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: sgwan on February 11, 2010, 02:24:51 pm
ok here is a quick dragon head I modeled.   (Remembering that sgwan sucks at texturing)  I was going for the whole body, but decided a head would be enough for my first challange post   ::)

enjoy
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: sgwan on February 11, 2010, 02:26:09 pm
oh thats a water dragon I modeled, dont know how fire and water mix, but it was an idea :D
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: ADSohr on February 11, 2010, 03:04:23 pm
maybe he breathes water instead?  ???  :D



here is an update on my entry
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: $imon on February 11, 2010, 03:32:56 pm
Update from me as well

This is going to be one ugly dragon haha
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 11, 2010, 05:11:44 pm
Hey simon, it looks great. Kinda cell shaded. and ADSohr, that's a great head and a bueatifully fitted bumpmap. 
All i'm wondering is how I'm basically done while you guys are just starting. lol.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: ADSohr on February 11, 2010, 05:50:30 pm
i believe it may be because we are putting so much detail? those details take time and effort. and if you can believe it, 2/3rds of the work i put into mine all went to the dragon's head(pun not intended :D)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Josmic8or on February 11, 2010, 09:32:40 pm
my progress so far-
(http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/5489/dragoonprogress1.jpg)

i'm feeeeeeeling the heat for this challenge!! ;D



Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: AirAKose on February 11, 2010, 10:36:12 pm
Hey, I just found out about this contest today, and I'm loving it so far! :D all of the entries look great atm.
My own entry so far is attached- Lemme know what you think ^^

Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 12, 2010, 12:58:25 am
davdud101, glad the tut helped, nice render there! I definitely like the widescreen version the best.

Nice start with the water dragon sgwan, I think the high spec bump mapped blue helps pull off the look. Just make sure that head's sticking out of water or something in your final render ;)

ADSohr, very detailed! I can see where the t-rex influences the shape of his head, looks good! Good luck with detailing the rest of the body :)

$imon: Ugly, but funny ugly. I can't help but feel sorry for it. Great progress there, I wish I had actually drawn out a simpler concept myself...I only drew a head ref and then winged it from there, now look where I am.

Good start Josmic8or! I'm not used to seeing dragons being made from the butt up though ;) Good luck with the rest!

AirAKose, that's some rapid progress, nice! Give him some good ol' claws and he'll be ready to rend and tear :)

Well, here's another update from me. Finally got the arms and claws done, the back, and a good bit of the wings.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: hihosilver on February 12, 2010, 01:35:17 am
Damn you Raxx, now I'm actually gonna have to bring it!
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Josmic8or on February 12, 2010, 03:48:25 am
AAAAAAAlmost done!! :)

(http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/2248/dragoonprogress2.jpg)

(Never knew I had it in me to actually model a dragon)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Indian8or on February 12, 2010, 09:14:02 am
Amazing work so far guys.

Here is my progress so far.  Just a sneak preview.

Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: RudySchneider on February 12, 2010, 10:33:13 am
Very interesting challenge, and some imaginative and creative works you've got going here, guys!  I can definitely tell that "it's ON!"
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 12, 2010, 04:14:02 pm
Nice looking, everyone! Here's my most likely final render, so if I don't get a new one out, then this is my final.
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/TakingFlight.jpg)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: hihosilver on February 12, 2010, 06:25:20 pm
davdud101: my recommendation would be that you take away the blue tint a bit.  It appears to be taking away a lot of details and color from the picture, and it's too heavy in my opinion.  If you toned it down a good deal I feel it would improve the image a lot.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: johnar on February 12, 2010, 06:36:15 pm
 wow, theres some awesome d-d-dragons here.  ;D.
 I got an update. Not spending as much time as i'd like to on this, and don't hav the modelling skills that a lot of you hav, but heres where i'm up too.


 I may redo the wings. Couldn't get decent texturing onto it, and havn't yet decided on feet. (thanks for ref, $imon. This thing is looking a bit like one of those chinese dragons, so might go for those 'chinese dragon' type feet. (5 or six short toes on little fat feet)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: hihosilver on February 12, 2010, 08:59:24 pm
I'm loving the competition!
Here's a quick update from me.  Added some detail to the belly and gave him some arms, not much but it's coming along.  I got my wisdom teeth out this morning, and I'm in for a while so I should have some time to get some modeling done.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Janro on February 12, 2010, 11:08:24 pm
Oh dang. I read this too late >< This looks very fun XD

Good luck to everyone that has joined this.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 12, 2010, 11:26:16 pm
Josmic8or: Nice! Looks almost puppy-ish with that style going on. Give him some sad puppy eyes ;)

Great job so far Indian8or! Very fierce features and classic design.

davdud101: I'm with hihosilver on this one, though I think if you work on creating some more contrasts with the details, the blue tint can be worked in your favor. Good luck!

johnar, that's a dragon fit for festivals, nice job! Good luck with the feet ;)

hihosilver, pft. One of my dragon's claws has more detail than your entire dragon! Good progress there. It might just be me but the belly partitions I think could extend upward by one towards the neck, might make it look more natural. Hurry and give him wings, otherwise he looks like some weird dinosaur ;)

Janro, it's not too late because the deadline has just been extended to February 21st!!!

Keep up the good work guys :)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Mreenav D on February 13, 2010, 02:40:22 am
sorry guys i wont be able to work on anything before 22nd march (EXAMS!).
Good luck to all
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Josmic8or on February 13, 2010, 07:31:16 am
And here's my cute lil dragon-

Up Close
(http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/3776/dragoon1.jpg)

& heroic pose
(http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/6506/dragoon2.jpg)

And I'm not done yet


Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 13, 2010, 03:36:42 pm
The texture just doesn't...Fit. It's not scaly looking. but I do see what cartoony look you're aiming for.
For educational purposes, here's what my scene looked like from the front:
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/real_scene.jpg)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: sgwan on February 15, 2010, 12:21:33 am
I decided to go a little further with my "water dragon thing"   this is my progress so far.  might do a  little more here soon

enjoy
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: $imon on February 15, 2010, 12:30:15 pm
hihosilver: Slow progress I see but its starting to look good! Can't wait to see the rest.

Josmic8or: Good work on your dragon, I like the traditional style combined with some human-like features (like the eyes). Try to match the lighting in the scene with the background for the final render! GOod luck.

sgwan: Thats a scary looking dragon! It's funny how the nose looks like a shark fin, when its swimming through the water it just looks like a shark!




I'm afraid I am finding my dragon too ugly to continue haha.. I will have to drop out of the comp this time..
Hope all of you can finish it!
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: baxter on February 15, 2010, 01:11:51 pm
Unfortunately I will have to drop out as well, my brother decided he was gonna clean up our files and just went on a deleting spree, and my dragon was caught in the devastation :/
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 15, 2010, 05:17:29 pm
Well, sgwan, guess your dragon has scarede the heck outta me enough for one day.
:)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: sgwan on February 15, 2010, 10:26:24 pm
lol yeah, not sure if I like it either, the head is cool, but the body looks.................  yeah, but the like I said, at least the head looks cool*




*Big grin 
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: ADSohr on February 16, 2010, 01:46:31 pm
here's my final entry.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 16, 2010, 03:42:43 pm
I'm done. I don't feel like editing at all.
(http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac285/davdud101/FinalRender001.jpg)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: johnar on February 16, 2010, 04:32:23 pm
 I think i'm about finished too.
 Check out the new look. :)

Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: RudySchneider on February 16, 2010, 08:21:25 pm
Excellent Chinese New Year Parade Dragon, johnar.  Now you're all ready for 2012, the next year-of-the-dragon.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: sgwan on February 16, 2010, 10:31:53 pm
This is probably as far as I will go, I'm running out of time and this weekend I'm drilling with the army,  its close to finished, but not textured.  (I got rid of the body :D ) 

enjoy!


Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Indian8or on February 17, 2010, 10:45:30 am
This is my pre-final or may be final.  May or may not do some subtle changes.  If I do not post another one, this is my final.

If you want anything more or less in this render, I may make some changes.




Re-rendered the scene as I felt the first one lacked any warmth in it.  So, changed the lighting a bit.

Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 17, 2010, 01:44:15 pm
well, indian8or, looks like ive officialy lost.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: ADSohr on February 17, 2010, 07:38:42 pm
wow...........................

back to the drawing board for me.  :o
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 17, 2010, 08:03:04 pm
what, adsohr, yours is awsome!
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: floyd86 on February 18, 2010, 03:46:21 am
Great works all of you!! Some awesome models I see here! Too bad I can't join in. I have to model some old man for Maya classes, which takes up all my time  :P
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: headwax on February 18, 2010, 09:58:00 pm
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Mw3LQ55v2zA/S338YFkw-XI/AAAAAAAACDQ/kNPDZGDfiz8/s640/renderworkedup2flattened2.png)



Posted this the other day but took it down to fix the craws.




You can see more at my blog if you are interested in the process. Link in my sig.

Great topic Raxx! I see lot's of good work here.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: headwax on February 18, 2010, 09:58:57 pm
Here is the mesh in situ.

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Mw3LQ55v2zA/S338mGsmtiI/AAAAAAAACDc/EBY256nGzQw/anim8or.gif)


and 'textured' in PSE'

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Mw3LQ55v2zA/S338mDYPZ-I/AAAAAAAACDc/39UPO4QqHVI/s640/textured.gif)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: hihosilver on February 18, 2010, 10:29:32 pm
Nice Headwax, you really have some great post-production skills.  I'm envious!
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: headwax on February 19, 2010, 12:09:04 am
Thanks Hiho, it's good to see you modelling. Hope the wisdom teeth weren't too deep!

I think the blue part of the clouds is from a pic $imon posted a long time ago on anim8or.org as a series of textures he donated. Maybe not?

If so thanks $imon, they are handy!

Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Josmic8or on February 19, 2010, 04:59:32 am
My prefinal entries!!

This one was rendered with raytraced shadow.
I also used NicKE's awesome mesh2mesh plugin.
(http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/2220/dragooon3.jpg)

Not because he's a little dragon means he can't breath fire
(http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/960/dragoon4.jpg)
(http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/3331/dragoon5.jpg)

(Hope I made the cutest dragon) :)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 19, 2010, 02:32:11 pm
Man, headwax, must've taken a while to make that one!
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: $imon on February 19, 2010, 02:42:10 pm
I'm afraid that wasnt me headwax ;) Still thanks for thinking of me haha..

Great image you have, I like the mood & the dragon is hilarious.. it reminds me a bit of the movie "the jabberwocky" by Terry Gilliam.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 19, 2010, 03:28:06 pm
Hey josc, that line down the back appears to be just an untextured line. What up with it?
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: headwax on February 19, 2010, 07:37:38 pm
Aha $imon, it's nice to receive thanks even if you weren't to blame.

hey , what do you mean hilarious? It's meant to serious.... isn't jabberwocky serious ? ;)

davidud, it only took about an hour. Box modeeling. no fancy edge loops. The " detach faces, copy, undo,    then paste the detached face in another object" routine means you can model all the legs head body separately and then use the bridge tool to join them up again.

I already  made a dragon ion the past but my old comp hard drive is dead and down, and so was that mesh :(

see it here.




all morphs
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 20, 2010, 05:57:47 am
Great job guys!

Very artistic headwax. Lots of post production but it gets the job done, eh?

Indian8or, nice final you've got, the warm version does look a bit better.

Cute, Josmic8or, I like the fire he's breathing. Make sure you get that final render done in time!

Definitely like what you've got done there, Johnar, gotta love chinese dragons ;) The background's a bit simple though. I think he'd fit nicely against some kind of vector art background or something simple, maybe chinese-spirited.

ADSohr, good entry, but also a simple background. Nice work though!

Well, I haven't died yet...I've made some major changes but I don't know if I can finish in time for the deadline. Still have the feet, wings, tail, mouth, touchups, scene modeling, texturing, rendering...but speaking of deadlines, make sure your final entries are in before midnight on Sunday (EST)!

(http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/1911/dragonr51.jpg)

[edit]the forum's image attachment keeps getting corrupted...[/edit]
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Mills on February 20, 2010, 02:23:15 pm
Really nice work everyone, great to see such an active challenge! Here's my entry (colour pic is my final).

(http://www.eastgategames.com/external/DragonFinWhite.jpg)

(http://www.eastgategames.com/external/DragonFinCol.jpg)

It probably looks a bit like I stole johnar's idea, but I've working on this since before his first post, promise! I used various Google images for reference in modelling, but the pose &c is original. Rendered with 0.95 scanline. And before Raxx notes the background's too simple ( ;) ), I was originally intending this to be a small statue, rather than a 'real' dragon (there's an oxymoron).

Would have been nice to remodel the legs and redo some of the texturing, but when you're out of time, you're out of time!
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: headwax on February 20, 2010, 03:51:28 pm
Raxx, gee.... what post production? :) On mine? heh.



Those last two Raxx and Mills are awesome! ie filling me full of awe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





Now for adam amd $imon to place the icing.... :)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: $imon on February 20, 2010, 05:02:56 pm
Wow Raxx & Mills.. awesome models you have there!! I envy both of your inspiration and modeling with organic models!

Raxx; Very smooth modeling, I love the shapes you have going on and the details are perfect. I really hope you can finish the modeling in time at least.. I'm certain it will look awesome! I personally would make the hands a bit smaller, its three times the size of its head.. but thats your design so I will leave that up to you ;)

Mills; Didn't see that one coming! Wow great modeling. Could you expand maybe on how you made the scales? It looks like a lot of work to me :| to position them all like that. I feel you can improve the textures a little bit.. mostly the eyes. Its good to keep the rest simple. Maybe you can also add a bit of a (glossy) reflection to the body to make it look more like a statue. Last but not least; some DOF would define the scale better.

Good luck to everyone still trying to finish!

Headwax; next time I'll ice it ;)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Mills on February 20, 2010, 06:19:52 pm
Thanks $imon. I did do a bit of playing with a DOF lense blur before posting the pics, but to be honest it wasn't adding enough to the result to make it worthwhile, so I dropped the effect. Fair point on the eyes, I just kinda liked how they looked plain white.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: rellik420 on February 20, 2010, 10:43:48 pm
great job every1.

i can really only comment on raxx and mills. since i think the rest is done.

raxx: i think you went "over-badass" on your body. when you started it looked like a baby dragon. now it just doesnt seem 2 fit his head vs his body.

mills: great pose. i like that alot. the only thing i see with ur model is his head doesnt have much detail on it. but on the body u went balls out on it. and just like raxx's model but in a completly different way. your head doesnt go with the body.

but all in all i think every1 did a really great job. this is the only challenge i semi-participated in. but this is defenitly the best challenge yet.

good luck to every1 who joined it looks like it will be a close race.
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 21, 2010, 07:49:11 pm
Mills: You sure came out of nowhere, great job on your dragon! Indeed, I feel the legs and texturing are where there needs to be the most improvement, but at least you managed to put in a final entry.

Headwax, thanks :)

Thanks $imon, but the big claws help emphasize strength and aggressiveness, which is what I expect in a dragon ;)

rellik420, I'm glad you feel that way, because that's what I'm going for. It's not a baby dragon, it's a super badass adult dragon. I had to reconsider the proportions of his body, and making a smaller head emphasizes a large body and aggressive behavior, as seen in predators like most dinosaurs and plenty of monsters and dragons drawn by artists over time. I kind of wanted to redo the head, but now I feel the bird-like shape helps define that raw aggression seen in raptors.

Well, unfortunately I can't even finish modeling my guy, I refuse to sacrifice the quality of it for the sake of time :P I'll probably try posing what I've got done but definitely later on I'll have an animation done with my dragon in it...
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: hihosilver on February 21, 2010, 10:17:20 pm
Great stuff guys!

Mills, great stuff mate.  Probably smart thinking skipping the whole wasting time on forums thing, and simply modeling instead.  It seems like that's what I should have focused on!  My guess with the scales of the dragon you created them with a script, with the body in a straight line then simply used the bend modifier?  I'd love to hear your method if that's not it though.

Raxx, great modeling as always mate, and as always the two of us disappoint ;)  My advice for this, to get over your stubbornness and produce a final entry is to sacrifice a little quality AT FIRST.  Finish the model quickly, give it a quick beauty render, then after rendering, delete the quick work entirely and save it.  Then you have an unfinished product again which you'd feel more obligated to finish!

As for me, as I've hinted, I've no time to finish my model in time.  I'll try not to disappoint in finishing this model after the competition ends.  As for now, I have to get back to writing my history paper.

Congrats to everyone that finished, there's a bunch of great entries here!
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: AirAKose on February 21, 2010, 10:40:28 pm
Wow! Amazing... No wonder few others participate in these events :P

Here's my entry, sorry its so last-minute... I've been busy.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t264/Airakose/DragonFin.jpg)
Title: Re: Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 21, 2010, 11:57:39 pm
Way to squeeze it in there AirAKose ;)

Hihosilver...SACRIFICE quality? Me? Heck no. The only thing I sacrifice is time, heck yeah :P If I can't make art as good as my own standards then what's the point of trying? Besides, I can't bear to roll back and fix messy work that shouldn't have been done in the first place...

Only got one side rigged before the deadline :P Oh well, the competition has now ended! Congrats to all who finished, please vote on who wins!
Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: headwax on February 22, 2010, 01:49:58 am
Hey Raxx

I vote that you put your render in 'as is'.

I'll vote for it :)
Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Indian8or on February 22, 2010, 06:04:49 am
I have one request.  Raxx should really post a render of whatever he has done so far.

I have not finished my model too and I have rendered the head and wings only ( this time it took just 7 minutes to render) and I plan to complete the whole beast at my pace.  I feel Raxx, hiho, and simon did great injustice to this forum by not submitting their entries.
 
Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 22, 2010, 07:08:28 am
The difference between yours and ours, Indian8or, is that we don't have a suitable render to call "final". Yours may be only the head and wings, but there are elements in the scene that qualify it as a complete entry.

Personally, I was going to toss this render up right before the deadline, but I was doing a lot of other tasks while I was rendering and the whole computer choked. It's basically what I could pose from his left side of the body being rigged :P As you can see, the legs aren't complete and the wings were done shoddily, so I wasn't complaining.

Not sure why we're causing a great injustice :P We failed to finish in time and that's it.
Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 22, 2010, 09:30:15 am
Raxx. A. MAZ. ING.
Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on February 22, 2010, 04:05:22 pm
Love that dragon there, Raxx! 'It's a shame you couldn't get it done in time. I'm sure you would win. =P

I've voted already, btw.

Good job, everyone! Sorry I couldn't join the last few challenges.
Can't wait for the next one. =]
3DGeek
Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Indian8or on February 22, 2010, 10:58:02 pm
Quote from: Raxx on February 22, 2010, 07:08:28 am
The difference between yours and ours, Indian8or, is that we don't have a suitable render to call "final". Yours may be only the head and wings, but there are elements in the scene that qualify it as a complete entry.

Personally, I was going to toss this render up right before the deadline, but I was doing a lot of other tasks while I was rendering and the whole computer choked. It's basically what I could pose from his left side of the body being rigged :P As you can see, the legs aren't complete and the wings were done shoddily, so I wasn't complaining.

Not sure why we're causing a great injustice :P We failed to finish in time and that's it.

No offence buddy.   By the word injustice, I just wanted to say that your entries, at whatever stages they are, would have taken these challenges to a new high as I personally liked them very much.  However, good job everyone.
Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: rellik420 on February 22, 2010, 11:28:33 pm
mills: did you rig and pose that model? or did u just model it in the pose. if you posed it... how did u get it to wrinkle underneathe on the high hump?

raxx: u gonna finish that or what? even if u dont id still like to see a wire frame. im curious of how you modeled the muscular arms.

good luck to every1 who entered. and congradulations on seeing this through. win or lose you still got something accomplished.
Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 22, 2010, 11:56:05 pm
Whoops, I did say I'd post a wireframe didn't I...yeah I'll be finishing it during my "free" free time.

Detailing makes for a messy mesh, especially when reinforcing edges everywhere :( Ignore the wings and unfinished areas, those'll be changing...
Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: rellik420 on February 23, 2010, 01:46:19 am
man i really have 2 revamp my modeling. i put way 2 many polies in my models 2 get the definitions im looking for. i think i need 2 simplify.

does the mesh really only need to be clean for rigging? like with what your actually going to move? i spend most of my time trying to get quads on everything, but with the looks of that it looks like "whatever works" works.

anyway thanks for the wireframe i think i learn the most by just looking at wireframes. great job
Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 23, 2010, 03:05:49 am
Quote
does the mesh really only need to be clean for rigging?

Yes and no. If you don't intend on animating then whatever works will work. If you intend to animate then the basics of keeping quads and a higher concentration of edge loops around joints is what you have to keep in mind when modeling. If an area of a mesh you'll be animating won't be deforming, then you can cheat against the whole edge loops/quads-only deal and do what you want to make it work. But trying to get quads on everything is the way to go regardless, and making as many of them into useful edge loops as possible.

Now, with current technology it's easier to make a clean mesh with insane detail. Simply model a basic character without a lot of detail but with a good focus on edge loops and clean modeling, then zbrush all the details onto it. Bake the detailed version onto the clean version as a displacement map or normal map, and there you go. But with traditional modeling (what we do in Anim8or) it gets hard to have clean and detailed modeling.

Since originally I was only planning on posing the guy in a final render, I was making whatever works since I could get away with it. Now that I intend on animating it, I'll have to revisit all the areas of the mesh and make sure I've got it clean enough with proper edge loops. Right now my mesh is about 92% quads (though to be fair, a lot of the triangles are on the tips of the claws and horns and such), but most of the edge loops those quads make aren't "useful" edge loops that will aid in animation. For example, because I defined the muscles on the arm, if I select a loop of edges around where the elbow is, it won't go in a closed circle around the arm. Instead it follows up and around the shoulder or elsewhere.

But I intend to slack off a little because I have a high density of polygons on a subdivision mesh and therefore it'll deform the way I want even if it's a little sloppy :P For game models it's a bit more important to have edge loops and an efficient use of polygons since it'd be a lower density mesh.
Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Mills on February 23, 2010, 08:00:02 am
That's undeniably fantastic work, Raxx; I look forward to seeing the end result, even more so if it's animated!

rellik420: My model is actually a composite. The head and body are 'built' as they appear (objects). The legs I decided to rig & pose in the scene, as it was the only sure way to get the toes on the ground. So I built one each of a left and right leg (and forgot to re-texture the toenails on the left leg before rendering! Darn local textures) and posed two of each in the scene.

Sorry if this takes up loads of space, but to answer questions, but I made the body in a very short space of time (<30 mins) in the following way:

Model a single Scale by point-editing a primitive cube (3,1,3) - Scale is 'tilted' forwards sufficiently to over/underlap with duplicates
(http://www.eastgategames.com/External/Modelling/Thumbs/DCon1.jpg)

Create a 12-sided n-gon as a guide
(http://www.eastgategames.com/External/Modelling/Thumbs/DCon2.jpg)

Duplicate and position 4 more Scales down one side of the n-gon (no care taken to be exact!) then mirror each in the x-plane
(http://www.eastgategames.com/External/Modelling/Thumbs/DCon3.jpg)

Create another Scale duplicate, then make it long by dragging the side points apart, then cut the elogated faces vertically several times, then apply a 90-deg bend modifier, with the object fitting exactly within the modifier length. Position this into the remaining gap in the Scale 'ring'. The n-gon guide can then be deleted
(http://www.eastgategames.com/External/Modelling/Thumbs/DCon4.jpg)

Group ALL the meshes, including the long (belly) Scale, copy and paste this, rotate 15-deg around the Z-axis to show inbetween the original Scale ring, then reposition along the Z-axis at an arbitrary seperation. Ungroup the new ring and DELETE the extra belly Scale as it was only included to keep the centre of the ring close to the world-centre when rotating the group. Mirror the odd number Scale in the new ring (in red)
(http://www.eastgategames.com/External/Modelling/Thumbs/DCon5.jpg)

Group EVERYTHING together, and copy, paste, paste, paste, paste, paste! until the 'tube' is a suitable length - I also added the back spines at this point, but they do not follow the scale duplication pattern, which helps avoid 'obvious' repeating in the pattern
(http://www.eastgategames.com/External/Modelling/Thumbs/DCon6.jpg)

Ungroup EVERYTHING then join it all together into a single, giant solid. Use a series of taper modifiers to almost close one end of the 'pipe' - I find several modifiers with a factor of 0.3 covering progressively more of the tube produce a much more natural result than one taper at 0.8. I also applied a subtle curvature (~0.1) and a very small twist (10-deg) to the entire body, again to increase subtle variation in the end result (not in picture)
(http://www.eastgategames.com/External/Modelling/Thumbs/DCon7.jpg)

And then it's just bend, bend, bend, bend. Modifiers get tricky as soon as an object starts 'almost' touching itself, but if you start from one end and keep a constant eye on what you're aiming for, it's usually possible.
(http://www.eastgategames.com/External/Modelling/Thumbs/DCon8.jpg)

So, apologies if I've bored everyone off to another website, but I hope that's of interest to some at least! I did consider rigging the whole body, but I'd need at least 100 bones for a decent result, and I just can't face setting the joint limits that many times. So I guess the 'wrinkle' is just an artifact of all the bending. There are a few other oddities on the body caused by the low poly Scales, but I don't think they do too much harm. Contrary to what's been said, I spent all my modelling time on the head, and had it looking exactly how I wanted, so body and feet were both a bit rushed.

Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: hihosilver on February 23, 2010, 01:24:38 pm
Great explanation Mills!  Wonderful way of doing it.  Of course, in higher end programs you could simply use arrays for the scales, and use splines to rig the body of the model, but what you've managed in Anim8or is fantastic.  It's always great to hear about methods like this.  Great stuff!
Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 25, 2010, 04:32:13 am
The winner has been decided! Congratulations to Mills for his first place entry, and Indian8or for taking second! A big congrats to all other finishers as well!
Title: Re: [ VOTE NOW!!! ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: $imon on February 25, 2010, 04:34:12 am
Yes! Congratulations to everyone and in particulary Mills! Awesome work! Can't wait to the next challenge!
Title: Re: [ COMPLETE ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 25, 2010, 03:39:36 pm
no congrats to me, huh... 0 votes.
Title: Re: [ COMPLETE ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: AirAKose on February 25, 2010, 03:54:27 pm
Congrats everyone! :D Especially indian8or and mills
Title: Re: [ COMPLETE ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: davdud101 on February 25, 2010, 05:17:26 pm
Oh, wow, AirAKose. now I just feel 'great'.
Title: Re: [ COMPLETE ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: headwax on February 25, 2010, 07:15:50 pm
Yes nice work lads! Cheers :)
Title: Re: [ COMPLETE ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Mills on February 25, 2010, 07:25:00 pm
Yes, well done everyone! Looking forward to the next one ...
Title: Re: [ COMPLETE ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Indian8or on February 25, 2010, 10:29:44 pm
Congratulations to Mills for the first place and everyone else for participation and special thanks to everyone for voting. ;D

Next one quickly please.  Can I suggest one?  It is really a different concept.
Title: Re: [ COMPLETE ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Raxx on February 25, 2010, 10:35:48 pm
If you want to make a suggestion, toss it in the challenge suggestions thread
Title: Re: [ COMPLETE ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: Kubajzz on February 25, 2010, 10:43:18 pm
Awesome job by all who participated in this competition! I really enjoyed all the entries.

Congratulations to Mills for the victory!

Quote from: Indian8or
Next one quickly please.  Can I suggest one?  It is really a different concept.

Don't worry, the next one will start soon ;)
Title: Re: [ COMPLETE ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: hihosilver on February 25, 2010, 11:34:55 pm
Just post your idea in the Challenge Suggestion thread Indian8or!  that's what it's there for ;)
Then we'll check it out and maybe set it for a future challenge
Title: Re: [ COMPLETE ]Challenge #13: D-D-D-DRAGON!
Post by: johnar on February 26, 2010, 08:48:59 pm
 Hey there. :)
 I missed all the voting.
  I expected Raxx to be out on a 'league of his own' with this one, as i've seen some other of his 'dragon/lizard type models'. Awesome.

 Got blown away with yours, Mills, and nice explanation of how you did it too.

  Some other gr8 dragons too.

WEll done all.
 Keep at it Davdud.  ;)
 As rellik420 said. "congradulations on seeing this through. win or lose you still got something accomplished."