[southern]

Ok, week Six and back to organic creature modeling. This is a cliff hanging amphibian with large sticky feet. Lots of curvy parts and cool fins and spines to create.




COMMENTS:

As he is on a cliff side he would make a great little display model for your collection. Model the creature and his cliff on a stand.

Good luck and enjoy!

[modelwright]

is the a more towards the front view so we can see the depth of the head and body?

[Noir]

i'll just add that that is an awesome concept, if i can squeeze some time in i'll give it a shot

[Teyon]

Originally Posted by modelwright

is the a more towards the front view so we can see the depth of the head and body?

This is how I see the creature - I may be wrong but I doubt by much:


The body, based on the image provided, seems thin - more lizard than frog like, while the legs and their position suggest more frog/toad despite no webbing between toes. The head also suggests frog/toad.

So, based on that, the head is overall, triangular in shape though mildly squared off at the lip area, with the front end being a bit narrower than the back end. This is emphasized by the fact the head bleeds into the shoulder area with no visible neck and since the shoulders would be wider than the head we can extrapolate the back of the head is likely wider than the front (again, using visual aid of the cheek to eye to lip tapering).

The body is slender, with the bulk of the mass being at the chest/head connection and tapering as it reaches the tail tip. This is to compensate for the extra arms which, while thinner than the main set, still require support. The hip is actually not as wide as the shoulder area but the position of the legs and the length of them compensates for that. Think running lizard more than pure amphibian in this case.

That's how I see the creature. If you decide to box model this, you should start with the body, as it will dictate the size of the head. Create a multi-cut cylinder (6 to 8 height sections in length) and scale the edge rings individually so they match up with the peaks and valleys of the body outline (adding rings as needed). This will quickly establish the size of the character. Then you just have to make the head make sense in comparison.

I hope it helps you think about it a bit more deeply.

Teyon - who had nothing to do with the character's creation.

[Teyon]

Here's an example of what I just described. As you can see, I started with a Cylinder that had:

Radius 1
Height 2
Sections 8
Height Sections 6

I rotated and moved the edge rings (ie. height sections) into position and then I used the Uniform scale (hit e and scale with the yellow box in the middle) on the rings. I had to add 3 extra rings to the tail end to get the shape closer to the image but that was it. Judging from the image, the head would only be slightly wider and the shoulders slightly wider than the head.

Hope that jump starts things.

-Teyon.

Edit - Now this method should just get you the basic shape. You can go in and add more character by streamlining the body as a lizard would be streamlined (they're not perfectly round ya know). So once you make the basic body shape, don't think you're ready for detailing. You still need to refine it and then can move on to the detailing phase.

[modelwright]

reading what you said i have made a quick start on it and heres where i got too.

[Teyon]

Sweet. Now ya just need to do your extrusions for the head. This is where box modeling has advantages over edge modeling. I prefer edge modeling but nothing beats box modeling for quickly sketching form and volume - except maybe sculpting but even then, you start with a basic shape. So have at it! I'm really interested in seeing what you guys do with it. I was hoping to have time to tackle this guy myself but it's crunch time at work (I should be working right now) so I can't.

[handlebar]

I haven't used silo in ages due to learning other stuff but this concept is too tempting to miss.
Here's my start, and a few steps as to what i've done thus far, it's just method that i'm used to for blocking in, looking forward to seeing how others aproach the model.

[Kyro]

Lo guys,
started on the cliff hanger aswell. first i did some research on frog to get a better idea of the anatomy. so i found a top view skeleton wich i modified to more like our creature. made the head a bit thinner, spine a bit longer, back legs alot longer, pelvis shorter and 4 arms. i did this cause i want to make it riggable and needed to figure out a bit how this thing's inside could look. i will use the top view as reference for body thickness but most of all for the back legs. i will use this as a guide to make the legs proportional. then rotate them from hip, knee and ankel to strecht the back legs. this will be alot easier to pose/rig if i ever want to. anyway, here's where i am so far.
Ky

[handlebar]

That looks fantastic Kyro, very organic!

[Polygon]

Originally Posted by handlebar

That looks fantastic Kyro, very organic!

Indeed!
Well - just a quick hack right now - will see where it´ll take me or I will take it - screams for whole lotta sculpting this time.
Thanx for the concept Sir.

Cheers
P.

[peterpan]

Nice work Kyro,gona have a go at this when I get the chance... Nice to see what can be done ........

[southern]

Shit..I should have kept this one as a commercial concept as he's looking fantastic in 3D.

Good advice from Teyon. I would do a turnaround but I don't have a great deal of time this weekend. To be honest, as these are just practice sessions it doesn't matter what proportions you end up with. Go with what feels right once it is in 3D. Kyro is spot of imho with that Frog head reference diagram. If it is rooted in nature your model won't go far wrong. If you start making up anatomy it tends to look false.

And that model looks killer Kyro!

[Polygon]

Small Update...
Edit: Update and quick render with procedural textures.

Cheers
P.

[Kyro]

Thx for the comments guys.

Polygon: looking realy good there m8. nice job on those legs.

Got some update myself here. Finished the front arms and hands and the back legs. i hope the thumbs are better placed this time then with my alien. i tried to get it as good as i could.
I chose not to model him in the pose as the reference drawing. this cause i wanna rig him to pose. so i made the back legs hanging down. used some frog legs i found on internet as a reference. this will be also alot easier to uv map and later for sculpting.
Did also the spikes on his chin. but not the 'skin' in between. dunno if i should give it thickness or not, and if i should keep it a seperate piece. (all thoughts welcome btw)
Ky

[modelwright]

Looking good guys, i did a bit earlier got the head and body sorted and just as i was saving it silo crashed out on me so i've done it again and here is where i was.

as i was saying you two have made a good start and been going through it quick as usual i am looking forward to the day i can keep up :P

[BrainMuffin]

Kyro,

Looking at the reference image, the back feet need to be a lot thicker and beefier than you've got now. Especially considering the way that they clamp down onto the cliff, they're really the only thing(s) holding him in place. With that in mind, you may also want to add a little more bulk to the thighs and calves. Other than that, awesome job!

[Kyro]

Originally Posted by BrainMuffin

Kyro,

Looking at the reference image, the back feet need to be a lot thicker and beefier than you've got now. Especially considering the way that they clamp down onto the cliff, they're really the only thing(s) holding him in place. With that in mind, you may also want to add a little more bulk to the thighs and calves. Other than that, awesome job!

Hey BrainMuffin, thx for the crits. you are so right about the back feet. they were way to small. after a while you just don't see the things as clear hehe.
One thing i didn't change to much are the legs. since they are in this position, i'd prefer to keep them as they are.(just did some minor tweaks). First they were more muscled, but it just didn't fit the character imo. the lenght feels more important then the bulkiness (not that they shouldnt be well muscled). In this stretched position they don't bulk out so much. alot of the bulking is caused by the pose of the legs when the back thigh and the calve press against each other and the muscles tend to push out.
I also think it's easier to pose with a bit slimmer legs and add the bulk later, then posing big bulked legs and removing intersection.
Still not sure about the flap between the spikes on his chin. anyone got an idea how to do it best?

Ky

[Polygon]

Damn fine relaxed pose Kyro.
I built the membrane poly by poly.
Quick sculpty update.

Cheers
P.

[modelwright]

looking good people i need to do a bit of a catch up sometime soon :P