Welcome to the second to last week of the semester. I have a lot of progress to show, so let's get started.
Serratosaurus is still in progress. I wanted to paint in some base values which I will touch up in photoshop. Nail beds still need some attention and the horns need striations, so I didn't include them. I will do that at the final texture pass. I also see some more skin forms that need to be evened out and made rounder. I've modeled this after a rhino/elephant with lizard and iguana skin, so I really need to sell the overlaps. This project has been the most fun to do, especially when it comes to taking breaks from hard-surface work. Speaking of which...
Parts are in various stages of completion. Muddier forms are still dynasketch, Harder forms are ready for retopology. The inner 'mandible' piece need to be revisited, as its curvaceous forms break the flow of the helmet. I think I'll make it follow the zygomatic bones more closely, to sell the skull look. The Ztl is approaching 40 million polys. I'm contemplating splitting it up into parts like they did for Ryse at Crytek, but I'm still pushing it. I need to figure out the shoulders, but I think my latest idea for next week will be the solution. This is 100% zbrush work, everything I made in maya conveys a 'plastic toy' look that I find many high poly Maya models have, so they've been deleted. I'm still working through this though, this is about 16 hours of work so far, so I should be done in a few working days. I have a creature to design for another class, so it may be chronologically displaced a few days. Anyway, as soon as I'm done modeling, I'll be Retopologizing and UVing, because...
Though with Zremesher, it will take significantly less time than usual. Pro Tip: If you're using Zremesher with Hard surface forms, DO NOT have adapt selected. use the Half or Same selection. I usually use Half because it actively looks for the best ways to procedurally knock out loops. Regardless, I'll still be looking at the edges in Maya, and with a Ztl with 184 subtools...that'll take some time. Thankfully, the next character is mostly organic forms (yay). Not that I didn't like this, it's just a lot of work prepping it for, drumroll please, Unreal Engine 4!