Darkjedi

What? The heroes get in but not the poeple who drew them?

Fine... I'll just go make my OWN supergroup... with beer, gambling, and women! ok, forget the beer and gambling...

[ QUOTE ]
Ah ok, well, I really don't see that as a prob. I see more looking though a VS catalog.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's just good policy to mark anything even remotely revealing NSFW ("Not Safe For Work") in the event someone is browsing the boards in the workplace. Victoria's Secret catalogs are great for home, but can get people in a lot of trouble in certain jobs.

Just FYI.

I'll bite;

Battle-Angel. Broadsword/Regen scrapper. Now new and improved with WINGS! Heh

Battle-Angel

*EDIT* - I'm adding mine here, knowing full well that someone else beat me to it. Just bored here at work and passing the time...

[ QUOTE ]
I agree with Jugg!

You should use your real name. I think most people know and love your work by your real name.

I have been in different forums, etc. where the question has come up as to the best 3D artist etc., and YOUR name (real) had come up. People had even posted a link to your site.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow... seriously? I'd love to read those forms as a fly-on-the-wall. I've been working the 3D for several years (like...10) and know Poser isn't always very well regarded by the 'true' 3Ders, so it would have been cool to see what they were saying.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'll most likely sign up this week... I just gotta fnd the time to populate my little corner of DA.

Hey... now those are really cool.

Neat idea. Two things...

1 - I think (but could be wrong) that the Hami-O prize would only apply to citizens of Victory Server.

2 - I would respectfully request that none of the logo designs use the images from the Vanguard League poster I did. Or, if you DO use them, I get the Hami-Os

I tried to make a DA account, and of course someone else took "Darkjedi". Grr!

My question is, do people use their real names on DA? I haven't spent much time there and I thought I'd ask the COH veterans for your advice.

Bums me out too... because I've been "Darkjedi" for 20 years...

Woo! I just saw this request and submitted 6 (somewhat) random pieces. Here's to hoping

[ QUOTE ]
When are you going to get a DA account DJ??

[/ QUOTE ]

Prolly not a bad idea. A DA account would help me get my digital works exposure.

Not a bad start at all. I normally don't care for the blurry atmospherics, but it works well in this one.

[ QUOTE ]
Hey DJ! This is great work! I'm working on two group pieces myself and man I know the composition can get tricky sometimes. All the work you put behind this is definitely worth it though, especially all the facial details.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks man. It's always good to see you pop into one of my threads. We gotta catch up on a few loose ends...

Wow... that is really cool! Each character is so wonderfully expressive. I'm bummed I missed out on getting Light-Speed into line for the photoshoot.

Several months ago, I accepted a commission from the "Vanguard League", a supergroup located on my own home server of Victory. This piece was a real challenge and took a lot longer than I anticipated, but I'm very happy with the final results. As usual, I'm linking two different versions of the piece... one that shows the entire thing, and one that shows close-ups of the characters to demonstrate the detail level. The entire piece is 200 dpi and measures 26 " x 22".

I would like to make a respectful request of the mods; please allow this to exist in both Fan Art and Victory since it's fan art of Victory's heroes. Thank you =)

VANGUARD LEAGUE - Full shot

VANGUARD LEAGUE - Detail shot

Dang, 73 layers?

I'm lucky (or should that be UN-lucky?) if I go over 15. And once I hit 6 - 7, I start making folders for everything.

Ok, here's the deal,

If you want to make quick 3D images of your heroes and villains, you can't beat Poser. There's a lot of 'serious' 3D people who think Poser is crap because of a hundred different reasons, but for a newcomer to the 3D field, it's the easiest to learn, hands down. Older versions like Poser 4 and 5 will only cost you $199 - $299 if you shop around and find deals... and you can be making heroes in a few days or weeks.

Poser allows you to load premade human figures, slap clothing on them, add textures, add hair, pose the figure, hit the render button and you start geting results in very little time.

To do the same in Maya would take months, if not years. I know Maya well and I still can't do the same stuff I can with Poser. In my case, I devoted my time to mastering the parts of Maya that Poser can't actually accomplish and have learned to blend the two.

Anoher of Poser's advantages is the VAST amount of free support available. By that, I mean tutorials and free models. I have somewhere in the order of 30 gigs of free stuff I've downloaded over the last 10 years and I've only touched the surface.

Lastly, Poser is a good introduction to 3D. It's friendly, it's fairly intuitive, and it gives quick results. If you find you want more (like making your own models), then you take the next step... but buying Maya or Max without any 3D expertise isn't something I'd recommend.

I think my worst for the year was Light-Speed. That's safe to say since she's my own character... which also means that I probably had the highest hopes for it being cool.

As for why it's not good, shes WAY too stiff. I wanted to capture her just about to land from a jump. If I had gotten it right, she'd be leaned back, limbs bent to cushion the landing, torso forward with the motion, etc etc. It just isn't what I wanted.

Someday, I might go back and redo it. But probably not.

Here's a reminder; LIGHT-SPEED poster

Bummer... I didn't make the cut.

It's a great piece though! Gratz on the art.

If you wanna do commissions, my recommendation is to get away from Manga/anime. SO many people do it and SO many people do it free, that you're working yourself into a corner that goes against commissions.

If you want to be an artist worth paying, you need a style worth paying for. Start working on your own look and you'll be doing yourself a huge favor down the road.

Just my $.02

You're only 16 and you're drawing that competently? You're better than I was at that age.

Yay, I made the list! Thanks Juggs.

Reviewing the year of art is a great idea. I wish Cryptic would get us an 'official' place to post art so cool stuff didn't get lost in a pile of threads.

[ QUOTE ]
"... A while back DJ< I noticed you gave a little demo on Rowr (which I have saved just for the photoshoped hair as a ref) I notice you did Rowrs skin texture in photoshop. Is that what you were talking about when you use the Ultra suit to make heroes?..."

[/ QUOTE ]

Basically, yes.

Every 3D model is comprised of little points called 'vertices' that are defined by standard X, Y,and Z coordinates. These coordinates tell the program where to place all the points in 3D space, and which points connect to which other points. Every point has a SEPERATE set of coordinates that define where a texture is mapped onto to object. These were arbitrarily named U, V, and W (the 3 letters that come before X, Y, and Z). The UVW coordinates can be moved and adjusted without moving the physical location of the XYZ points since their only function is to define where the flat texture map lays.

A good example of how his works is to think of a wrapped present. The physical box is the XYZ parameters of the present itself, while the UVW is the wrapping paper that goes around it (giving it color).

So how does this apply to Poser? When I load my character into a scene, they're naked and colorless. I need to load the "Ultra Bodysuit" on top of the character to put them in a spandex outfit. This second model has physical space and moves wherever the base figure moves... like real clothing.

Next, I load Photoshop and open the Texture Template for the Ultra Bodysuit. The template is a square JPG about 2000 x 2000 pixels in size and has a flattened out version of the ulra bodysuit painted on it. I just draw the clothing texture into the template, load the newly created bodysuit texture into Poser and place it on the Ultra Bodysuit geometry. Viola!

By now, I have a pretty good library of COH textures that I've made, so mixing and matching is getting faster each time I make a new hero.

I also need to load a skin texture for the model, eye textures for the eyes, and sometimes a custom texture for the hair... but altogether, that only takes a few minutes (I use almost entirely pre-made skins (unless I want to add a tattoo or something ("Curse you, Juggertha!" ))).

OK, lt me take a stab at this thread with an introduction to Poser...

First and foremost, Poser is a character rendering program; it's great for posing and rendering characters. It has a very straight-forward dial system that makes posing simple, as well as instant shaded feedback to let you see in real-time if your pose is headed in the right direction.

Poser completely LACKS any type of modelling capability, so every model that appears in Poser has to have been pre-constructed in another modeller. There are books dedicated to this very process, but I don't recommend anyone trying to build their own characters without several years of experience 3D modelling. This limitation means that 98% of the Poser community is slave to those gifted few who can actually craft characters. In my opinion, one of the key skills with Poser is being able to mix and match outfits with the various models... knowing which ones conform, which ones scale, which ones go on which figure, and so forth. Also, as Skittle mentioned, a lot of the older content is primitive and can lack good textures, have poor geometry, not fit well, or be made for older and less realistic figures.

So where does one start?

There are two websites I highly recommend (and dozens of smaller ones I hit weekly). First and foremost is RENDEROSITY. They're easily the largest home for Poser enthusiasts and have thousands of free models, forums, tutorials, a gallery with over a million pieces in it, links, and a vast marketplace. They have their own magazine, run spotlights on artists, and hold contests. My problem with Renderosity is that they don't seem to have a 'quality control' system on their products and the offerings can vary widely in quality. They're almost the 'Flea Market' of Poser, allowing anyone who wants to post and sell stuff. That's not necessarily bad, but be aware that some of their items aren't that great, but some are quite spectacular.

The other site I like is DAZ3D. They're a little more 'official' through various partnerships with Creative Labs and Metacreations throughout the years, and they have a rigorous quality assurance team that ensures every model they sell is tested for compatibility before they offer it. They only give out one free model a week.

So, what version? What do I get?

Poser is currently up to version 6, with version 7 on the horizon. 7 is close enough that it might make Christmas, but I'm not familiar enough with what it offers to be excited yet. Right now, anything 5 or greater will serve you well. 6 took me a while to get used to, but I'm glad I forced myself to upgrade (I used 5 for many years). 6 doesn't actually offer that much more than 5 did, but the interface is a little more powerful and there are models that seem to prefer 6... so that's my current favorite.

Poser comes with a couple of free human characters, some animals, some cartoon characters, and a smattering of basic objects (cone, cube, sphere, etc.). The current norm for characters is MICHAEL 3 and VICTORIA 3. Those are the most widely accepted models at the moment, and they're both free downloads on DAZ3D... so there's no reason to *not* download them. Muscle packs, skin textures, face morphs, and other add-ons will cost extra, but give you a TON more power with the base figures.

Once you click on a figure and load it into the scene, you'll notice is nakkie. Clothes cost extra, and the really great outfits can sometimes run $10 - $20 or more. I rarely spend more than $10 on a model and look for sales all the time since a couple outfits can add up. Be smart about it and look for items that mght get you the most milage. I bought the "Ultra Bodysuit" for Victoria and Michael a while back, and I've used those suits in almost every superhero piece I've done; they have muscles, wrinkles, and texture templaes that allow me to construct a complete hero in just a couple of hours. So while I can't possibly afford to buy a lot of stuff (and have learned to model my own), a few well-planned purchases can get you miles of usage.

Whew... anything else?

To quote my favorite movie; "You've just taken your first step into a larger world."


P.S. - If any other questions come up, feel free to ask. I prefer questions be placed on the open forum to PMs. That way, everyone can benefit from the answer, and my PM box doesn't get filled up.

This piece was a lot more challenging than I originally anticipated. I had started off posing Comrade Hero with his arms up, but then realized he was mirroring the statue behind him (which is a stylized version of the 'Mamayev Kurgan', a patriotic Russian monument). Once I moved his arms, I ran into an issue with the flow of the flag blocking the background... and the challenges continued from there. I have sketches of the statue from 20 different angles, and at one point even tried a completely different cityscape.

Apologies for the delay on this one, but I'm really happy with the results. Patriotic heroes seem to be a strong force, recently.

COMRADE HERO - Poster

COMRADE HERO - Detail

[ QUOTE ]
"...As far as being in 3D, I think I am somewhere in your queue.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, I think you are as well. I'm booked through December, but if you contact me in January we can make it happen.

Regarding the fishnets; no worries at all. Fishnets are a TON of work and they look great in the drawing as is.