Another newbie just trying to skin

[Outcast]

Just starting to skin, so please be kind.  ^_^

I wanted something simple and easy to work with.
Please forgive me for my poor choice of characters. :doh:

[spoiler]

Spider-man...Spider-man...just another Spider-man wanna be..


Spinning blades? Watch him dodge them with ease.

Really like those spider-man keyframes.  :P


Couldn't skope some antennas, so i just used the male_alpha mesh and skinned them.

If only i can skope some wings too.   :P

[/spoiler]


[spoiler]


Anyone recognize this one? Model from a pretty bad pc game.
For the cape, i just used C6's base cape. It was the right color anyways. :P

At least here, i got to try skinning some hair. :P I was hoping i could skin the metallic effects right, but..

[/spoiler]

Any suggestions on how to improve would be great.

[electro]

Dragonfly from that horrible movie SuperHero had to show up sooner or later - Can't wait to get the skin :blink:

[laughing paradox]

The only thing I would critique is your choice in characters.  :P

Dragonfly looks great. Gradient on the belt, emblem highlights, great seams..fantastic stuff.

The second character, whom I don't know, needs seams! The top of his chest emblem doesn't have any. For emblems and symbols like that, I use Unkoman's tutorial from the FRwiki. It makes it look much better. Check out my Asp skin to see what I mean..the green stripes on her chest have Unkoman-type seams. It could also use brighter highlights...make them brighter blue on the blue, and brighter red on the red parts. (Duh, right?) Which parts are metal..the cape clasps? It's odd, but sometimes those things look better in the game than they do in the Character Tool.

And here's a tip that I learned before but haven't done yet..but just found out about this recently.

The groin area could be pronounced. Gryphon's base skins have this pronounced: http://www.chynaman.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/FF/Bases.html
You can use that and place it in your own base skin (C6 or whomever), making an amalgam of the two.

Seriously, this is really good stuff. I can't wait to see more!

[Xenolith]

Is the second guy from that terrible HeroX game, or whatever it was called?  It was a $9.99 shareware game or something like that.

[Outcast]

Dragonfly from that horrible movie SuperHero had to show up sooner or later - Can't wait to get the skin :blink:

The only thing I would critique is your choice in characters.  :P

Dragonfly looks great. Gradient on the belt, emblem highlights, great seams..fantastic stuff.

The second character, whom I don't know, needs seams! The top of his chest emblem doesn't have any. For emblems and symbols like that, I use Unkoman's tutorial from the FRwiki. It makes it look much better. Check out my Asp skin to see what I mean..the green stripes on her chest have Unkoman-type seams. It could also use brighter highlights...make them brighter blue on the blue, and brighter red on the red parts. (Duh, right?) Which parts are metal..the cape clasps? It's odd, but sometimes those things look better in the game than they do in the Character Tool.

And here's a tip that I learned before but haven't done yet..but just found out about this recently.

The groin area could be pronounced. Gryphon's base skins have this pronounced: http://www.chynaman.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/FF/Bases.html
You can use that and place it in your own base skin (C6 or whomever), making an amalgam of the two.

Seriously, this is really good stuff. I can't wait to see more!

:) Glad you guys liked it.

Thanks for the tips LP. Yeah, i didn't put any seams on the second guy cause it didn't seem to pop out in my reference pic. But i'll try adding them and see. First, i got to check out your Asp skin. The metal parts are the metal clasps and the armbands hopefully. I'm still trying if i can make it look more metallic. Oh and i'll check out the Gryphon's base skins so i can work on putting something on the groin area. I think Dragonfly needs it too if he's stuck on some ceiling somewhere and wants to pee all over the floor.  :P Thanks!

Is the second guy from that terrible HeroX game, or whatever it was called?  It was a $9.99 shareware game or something like that.

That's correct. He's from that total letdown of a game.  :wacko:

[Outcast]

Ok. Got to practice some reflections, and skinning extras like the cape.

[spoiler]
hmmm, reflection maybe a bit too shiny.

hmmm, cape seems too cartoony.
[/spoiler]

Hehe, finally manage to skope something too.  :P

[spoiler]
In the end, Dragonfly learns to fly. Oh and antennas.
[/spoiler]

[lgmss]

Pretty cool looking skins. I was actually beat the hero x game and didn't hate all of it, just most of it.

[XPTO]

Really nice skins keep it up  :thumbup:. 

[UnkoMan]

The cape is alright. I kind of like the cartoony look, but then you'd have to skin the rest to match.

The reason it's cartoony is it isn't blurry enough. Your colours have too hard of edges, and don't blend enough. That's all.

[djfredski]

ya uman say it all. :thumbup:

[Outcast]

Thanks guys.

Thanks Unkoman for that skin tip/advise too. I'm considering redoing the skin again if i can match it with the cape. Don't know if i can but i'll try. :P

[Outcast]

Sorry that i wasn't able to get back on this. I got a little side tracked trying to look for parts to skope for another character.  :P

Ok..here's my attempt to make the skin more "cartoony?" to match the cape. I think it's ok but am not sure with the highlights though. :unsure:





Any suggestions for improvement?

[laughing paradox]

I dig it. The seams look great.

Try to make the highlights a darker shade of blue, maybe? Or even use a blend method on the highlights, like Darken or Multiply. Experiment that way and see what you come up with.

Also, the highlights look almost white to me on the chest... is that the case?

[Outcast]

Thanks LP.

Not sure how i can turn the darker shade of blue into highlights. Wouldn't it look like shadows? I haven't really experimented on using Darken or Multiply for the highlights. I'll give it a look see.

Yup. Guilty as charged. I usually use white highlights, like in Carravaggio's and Lunarman's highlight tutorials. :P Yes, sometimes i think the highlight i used here is too strong. I have a backup with lighter highlights that are barely noticeable. Couldn't decide which looked better. Hehe. :P

[daglob]

Sounds like you are using Photoshop. If so, try putting the highlights on a sepearate layer. That way you can change their intensity/opacity or change the blend mode to get different effects.

[laughing paradox]

Ah ha! Make the highlights on the chest red, instead of white. A lighter red. It'll make all the difference.

Also, do the same thing on the blue...use a light blue color as the highlight, instead of white. The Fantasia skin I created in the Supreme Soviets has purple highlights on her clothes, and it looks way better than white highlights. Just experiment and see what's best for you. :)

And yeah, what daglob said about making the highlights on their own layer. It also eliminates a lot of work on newer skins, because you can simply add that highlights layer on a new skin if it is appropriate. :)

[Outcast]

Sounds like you are using Photoshop. If so, try putting the highlights on a sepearate layer. That way you can change their intensity/opacity or change the blend mode to get different effects.

Yup. I have the highlights on a seperate layer. And i usually just adjust the intensity/opacity. Not sure how to go about it using a different blend mode though. Hehe.

Ah ha! Make the highlights on the chest red, instead of white. A lighter red. It'll make all the difference.

Also, do the same thing on the blue...use a light blue color as the highlight, instead of white. The Fantasia skin I created in the Supreme Soviets has purple highlights on her clothes, and it looks way better than white highlights. Just experiment and see what's best for you. :)

I see. I did try using a lighter color as highlights for his cape and hair though.. :P Yes, i really liked the highlights you did for Fantasia. :thumbup:

Oh man, back to experimenting again. :doh:  :)

[UnkoMan]

I actually really like that cartoony look. I think it worked out nicely. And nice, almost cell-shaded feel. I think the refl on the whites might be a bit strong, though.
Granted a lot of this stuff is personal preference, but I'm down with what you're doing.

[docdelorean88]

Cartoony, i like it. Though a lack of Bruce Timm styled meshes, we may have found our next timm styled skinner. That is if you want to. Does anyone else see the timm resemblance?

[Outcast]

I actually really like that cartoony look. I think it worked out nicely. And nice, almost cell-shaded feel. I think the refl on the whites might be a bit strong, though.
Granted a lot of this stuff is personal preference, but I'm down with what you're doing.

Hey thanks Unko! I'm glad i was able to make it look cartoony. You might be right about the refl on the whites being too strong. I really appreciate these kinds of tips and suggestions for improvement. Really want to improve it more, but i don't think i can with my skills. :banghead:

Cartoony, i like it. Though a lack of Bruce Timm styled meshes, we may have found our next timm styled skinner. That is if you want to. Does anyone else see the timm resemblance?

Hehe. Timm styled skinner? Thanks for the compliment doc but i doubt i can do Timm any justice. I still got a lot to learn.

Ok, about the highlights. Its a slow progress i know but here's what i've got so far. I need your opinions on it. If any of it looks any better. :doh:

[spoiler] Image 1. Barely visible highlights, but its there trust me. :P

Image 2. Slight more visible highlights. What?! Can't see it? It's there i swear. :blink:

Image 3. Ok, stronger highlights for you to see.  <_< Hope it isn't too much.  ^_^

Well, my brother liked image 3 better. What do you think? Opinions? :unsure:
[/spoiler]

[The Enigma]

It depends on your personal style. The "cartoony" label that keeps going around obviously works better with less clever highlighting (Image 1). I personally quite like the balance between "cartoony" and "realistic" found in the second image. Subtle, but still noticeable.