Comparing the old to new

[Outcast]

Wow! A lot of cool skopes/skins/characters here LP! You've got your hands full in this one. :)

I like the Manticore! I know you could those faces on your own and the metallic effects is very good!

Can't wait to see the finish product!  :thumbup:

[laughing paradox]

I come bearing more gifts. I shoooould probably have all this stuff available for download this weekend.

[spoiler]
Screaming Mimi (scope by Johnny Patches). This was wicked easy to do and I like how it came out.


Lodestone (scope by Johnny Patches). Again, wicked quick to make (Just a big honkin' layer of green). I experimented with the extra pieces by messing with the gradient tool and yeah, there it is.


Halo (hex by..me?!). I was messing around with the MLF and had a great Strobe skin and wanted to add that cool aura effect around her body. So what I did was hex the mask off of Ink's Star Sapphire and it looked perfect. (I have a feeling that this hex already exists, but lord knows if I could find it.) I began to think of what other female characters had long hair and an aura, so Halo came to mind. This was kind of a rush job, and you can tell in parts of the skin (particularly the 'streaks' in the hair and the highlights), but I like that low-budged quality to this skin. Besides, it's only Halo and she's no Gladiatrix![/spoiler]

[herodad1]

pretty cool dude.very good skinning.

[Blkcasanova247]

Good work LP. One thing you might want to look at however is on the "crotch" area for Screaming Mimi...it needs a little work. There is no defined line to separate cloth from skin and it's kinda blurry...or smudged. ;)

[djfredski]

 :o she look awesome!
can't wait. :thumbup:

[Jakew]

Halo looks perfect.  :thumbup:

[laughing paradox]

Good work LP. One thing you might want to look at however is on the "crotch" area for Screaming Mimi...it needs a little work. There is no defined line to separate cloth from skin and it's kinda blurry...or smudged. ;)

It's so funny that you pointed that out..I actually adjusted that section already, because I thought it was looking a little rated X in certain poses. I thought I was going to be the only one that noticed! Thanks for the input.

Thanks a lot, everyone. Everything should be up no later than tomorrow. (Hopefully!)

[UnkoMan]

I've gotta say, I'm not digging the refl on Loadstone there. It's making the piece seem very flat to me. I also think the extras might be a little more defined. For example, the forearm things. You don't want a straight gradient from one end to another. As with the skin of the main body, the underarms against the body should be darker, while the tops that face away should be lighter. This is in addition to the part closer to the elbows being lighter and the part closer to the hands being darker. The more defining shadows the more believable in a 3D space it feels.

I know you like compleating many skins in a short time, and I commend you for that, but I feel that for a bit you need to slow down and consider some more things before calling a skin done. I don't want to sound harsh, because you've made great progress, but these last couple batches have felt a bit rushed to me. Halo is probably the best of the lot, with my only critique being her white dots could use some light bluish shading around the bottom.

[laughing paradox]

I appreciate the input.

Regarding Lodestone, I understand what you mean about the extras and using a different mode of the gradient. What I usually do is not make the extras so dark, so that was my 'experiment' there. A different form of the gradient could definitely help. I'm actually satisfied with the reflection with this particular skin..it doesn't really translate with the picture, since movement shows it off, but it's decent.

It's curious about shading things like the underarms because I thought the base skins naturally had that effect. It's naturally darker under the arms, in comparison to the top of the shoulder, which is lighter (especially with highlights). However, it's given me something to think about.

On Halo, I've never really been a fan of the blue shading on white, personally. I can't pull it off well and I decided, to not make the white dull, is to add reflection layer on the white. (which you can't see in this pic...again!)

I think my problem is that I don't really add shadows. I just add highlights, and I end up thinking the contrast makes the darker parts look even darker.

I'm able to pump out these skins quickly because they definitely are rush jobs. I think my philosophy on it is this: get those characters out there. Before I skinned, and I saw a bunch of previewed stuff in these threads, I would be so eager to see those characters in the game and a little bummed that they wouldn't be released for a few months. I see myself more of a fan than a skinner. So, as a fan, I don't want to make people wait too long for these things. It's a balance, I realize.. and I do definitely want to get better with skinning... so yeah, there are specific characters that I will definitely take my time with and others that I will definitely be thinking, "Yeah, let's just get your butt released." Gladiatrix, for example, was something I actually took my time with.. so I'm not just only rushing them..but yeah, this last batch was admittedly rushed.

And seriously, the negative criticism is appreciated -- no eggshell walking going on in this thread. I'm from NYC, so it takes a lot to get me offended. ;) It's the only way I can get better, right? I want to thank you just for taking time out to point those things out.

[UnkoMan]

Hopefully I don't ever sound too harsh. Honestly there's some threads I don't even bother posting in, since I doubt they will get better. I understand some people do just produce things so they get done (and in fact, I'll admit I've done a few of those... but I've never been satisfied with them).

I guess really I just want to see people make works of art. Is that a little haughty? Maybe. I honestly don't even play the game anymore, so that could be part of it. For the people who do play and do want to see a lot of obscure characters what you are doing is perfect. And if that is your ambition then you certainly do a great job. I don't want to force my views on you.

And anyhow, yeah, you have gotten better. I have no doubt you will continue to improve. And you certainly have the right to choose where to apply that improvement.

[BentonGrey]

You pretentious windbag.....

Just kidding Unko. :P

I for one appreciate LP's dedication to getting characters released, as the 'preview' limbo is a bit torturous to us adoring fans who...you know...have no artistic talent. ;)

:EDIT:  This was NOT to be taken as a comment on the whole quality vs. quantity debate, just a light hearted statement.  I am staying completely out of matters that I have no perspective on.

[JLAfan2001]

Unko, don't make LP angry. He might not release anymore wonderfully obscure characters. Besides you wouldn't like him when he's angry :)

[laughing paradox]

So, Johnny Patches fulfilled a request for me and I wasn't going to preview this WIP yet, but I wanted to show some more of Johnny's impeccable skillls. This is a completely random character, but yeah..

[spoiler]
Le Renard Rouge, or the Crimson Fox.
[/spoiler]

[Jakew]

Niiiiiice  :thumbup:

[daglob]

She has been done before (I think on Female Versatile)... but NOT this well.

[djfredski]

she look great yo! :thumbup:

[sweeten2213]

Looks good.  I must say you do get me looking to comicvine to reference your characters.  Good to see some of the less popular characters getting some love.

Keep up the great work!

[laughing paradox]

I started in on some of Johnny's Masters of Evil meshes


Supercharger, Slyde, Sunstroke

I have to fix Supercharger's hair and that should be it.

These are all for :ffvstr:. I also have :ff: versions, but they need the reflection/glow added to the meshes. However, since I don't have :ff: installed, they would look a bit bland as is. I'm going to have to do something about that.

[Johnny Patches]

wow  :thumbup: awsome

[Outcast]

Not familiar with these guys, but i like their costumes. :)

Hmmm...for constructive feedback, maybe the metal parts on Supercharger could probably use more shine like shiny reflect layers. :P Still looks good enough without it though. Sunstroke's sun symbol may look a lot better without the muscles showing through. Nice job on the detail of his wings. ;)

Keep those skins coming. :thumbup:

[billdamn22]

I like what I have been seeing from you. These characters are great and it is good to see them get skinned.
My only advice is with characters in white most skinners tend to have a little blue in the shadowy areas as opposed to the flat gray that you are putting out with Slyde and Sunstroke. Try experimenting with this as it tends to make them not look so bland.

[AfghanAnt]

What basic mesh is used for Supercharger?

[laughing paradox]

What basic mesh is used for Supercharger?

vxSynapse with Tommyboy's tom_helm_nomouth for the head.

[djfredski]

great job! :thumbup:

[Jakew]

Great to see Sunstroke  :thumbup: I remember him from my West Coast Avengers reading days.

[laughing paradox]

I like what I have been seeing from you. These characters are great and it is good to see them get skinned.
My only advice is with characters in white most skinners tend to have a little blue in the shadowy areas as opposed to the flat gray that you are putting out with Slyde and Sunstroke. Try experimenting with this as it tends to make them not look so bland.

Thanks!

I've tried the blue shading and I've never been satisfied with the outcome. It may just be that I am doing it wrong. As of now, the gray shading looks better than my attempt at blue shading.

These should be released pretty soon.

[UnkoMan]

I said it before and I will say it again... just look at what other people have done. It could be you use too dark a blue or too bright. If you see a blue shaded white anywhere that you like download the skin and take a good hard look.

That being said, I've occasionally used grey shading on my whites, when it suits the costume better.

[laughing paradox]

I said it before and I will say it again... just look at what other people have done. It could be you use too dark a blue or too bright. If you see a blue shaded white anywhere that you like download the skin and take a good hard look.

That being said, I've occasionally used grey shading on my whites, when it suits the costume better.

I have, buddy. There's only so much that looking at it can do, though, y'know?

I've tried two approaches to the blue shading.

1. Desaturate the base skin. Put a light blue layer on top of that, changing the blend mode on it to Multiply or whatever..something fitting. Then I make white highlights on the muscles, so that the shade is blue, but the muscles are white. The whole costume looks more blue than white, though.

2. Desaturate the base skin. Color in the gray spots with blue, and using the smudge/blur tool, try to get it in all the gray creases. Maybe even use a slight touch of Gaussian blur.

I am having the same issue with the cool warped highlights on boot cuffs, like your Unkoman avatar. I'm not sure how to get those cool curves in the highlights, even though I've tried using the blur and smudge tools. It's just not coming out as well as yours. I'll get it, though, I'm sure...something ends up 'clicking' in my mind and it all makes sense after some tampering.

[laughing paradox]

So, in the spirit of honest feedback, I could use some critical feedback on this skin. If anyone would be so kind as to spare some, go right on ahead.

[spoiler]
Circe, foe of Wonder Woman

One thing I've noticed so far is the fore(five)head (which I believe I can fix.) I tried to make a band around her left thigh, and under the boot cuff, but it looks like the boot has been flipped over instead. I think, to fix that, I'll simply make the band around her thigh smaller and raise it higher.

I'm having problems with the breast area. I have been trying to make the breastplate looking more circular than it does here. It's perfect on the tga file, but the mesh definitely distorts it in that area.

So any feedback would be welcome. Thanks. :)
[/spoiler]

[UnkoMan]

Maybe somebody ought to do a "how to make white" tutorial or something. Generally I end up redrawing all the shadows.

As to the warped highlights, you are using the right tools. Smudge and blur tools with a touch of gradient blur from time to time to get it looking good. Another thing I tend to do is get a good faded layer, blended out nice, then I "select pixels" on that layer, make a new layer, contract my selection by 1 or 2 pixels and fill THAT with my bright highlight. It might need a tiny touch of blurring after, but is usually fine. Did that explanation make sense?

Now onto your newest skin:
Pretty good, really. There are a couple of odd things though. I will point them out and try to say how to fix them, in my opinion.

I think the light green you're using for the dark green's lines might be too light. Really you don't usually want to go much brighter than the lightest part in the piece. It looks okay on the armbands and belt, but when you get to the boots it's just glaring. The pieces themselves look fine though.

Except her one boot. The one with the extra bit of green. I don't get it. Is it suppose to be under the boot or over the boot? What's its relationship to the leg? There's no shadow where it would fall on the leg. All in all, it looks like a mistake more than anything. If it's under the boot then the boot doesn't need that big shadow on it. If it's over the boot then the line separating them should be a very dark one. (Oh, I read your words after reading this and saw you noticed. Well, my advice still stands.)

I'd also put some shadow on either side of the belt and make the seam on the top part of the shirt (in front of her chest there) lighter not darker. Then I'd put shadow where shirt meets skin. Maybe a bit of highlighting on the front of the holsters.

There's also something off about where glove meets hand. Shadows and seems again? Maybe.

And finally the breast area you mentioned? Sometimes you just have to say "forget it" and let a mesh warp, but if you really want you can overlay the wiremap and look very closely at how it bends. This helps me a lot for mesh distortion. Honestly though, I think it looks fine.