Taking the 3d templates I created in 3dsmax I have been developing the models in zbrush to increase resolution and add details based on the drawings I did previously. 3dsmax is quite expensive to have installed so I made sure that there was no errors in the model for each of the characters before starting work on each one. This way I only needed to work in zbrush and managed to save money.
Because I developed the models as a drawing which was transferred to a 3d template I didn't have to spend vast amounts of time trying to get proportion and features correct. I only had to practice anatomy to define muscles and draw details like the lions face.
I had a play with the fibermesh modifier to experiment with fur but couldn't get it to look right as I needed fine hairs for my muscly characters. I therefore painted fur onto the model using a texture map which I think looked better.
I decided to lose the face for the space suit and just have a helmet to keep the model simple and I thought it looked better. I drew lots of panels onto the suit using the chisel brush and decided to go for a shiny metal texture which I will need to replicate in 3dsmax.
For the human characters, the ones with faces, I decided to go for a hand painted style to simplify the texture. I don't have time to create a super high res model and these characters would suit a mobile styled game with regards to resolution.
This was my first female character and it was interesting trying to define the more slender body and face which I used photo reference to get right. I think this is one of the best designs and it turned out alright.
I now need to retopologise the characters and begin getting them ready for texture mapping. I intend to use Topogun to achieve this because I wasn't happy with the topology tools in zbrush last time and hopefully it will be easy using the industry standard software. I still need to add ambient occlusion maps to add some grime and tone to the characters. This will be my task for the next month or so.
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