Old Birdlike Creature

[always_a_kid]

Since I am extremely bored, I have decided to create my own character. I don't know if I will be able to finish it, but I decided it is worth a try. Here's a quick sketch of what I am going to make. I will post a render soon.

 

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[steve392]

That looks like it would be a good model ,a chance to play with hair ,feathers .Good luck and look forward to seing your progress

[always_a_kid]

Here is the first render of half of the face.

 

[attachmentid=18156] [attachmentid=18157]

[dude]

that looks awsome! i cant wait to see the rest of the model!!

[always_a_kid]

Here's the rest of the head. I changed the shape a little so that it wouldn't be so round. Its head looked almost like a circle after I did the copy flip attach, so I decided to flatten the sides a little. I know there are areas I need to make smoother, but they can wait.

 

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[Stuart Rogers]

Nice design - it should look good fully feathered. If you're new to A:M and you're planning on animating this bird, it might be in your interest to occasionally post wireframe or shaded-wireframe images. That way the experienced old-timers here can point out any splining that might give problems when animating. It's better to get it right first time than to go back and fix so much hard work.

[always_a_kid]

Thank you Stuart Rogers for the advice. I am kind of new to animating, so here are a couple of shaded wireframes. If anyone has any suggestions that could help with animating, please let me know.

 

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[always_a_kid]

I decided to start playing around with hair, and here is what I have so far around the beak. This picture will be updated as I style more of the fur, but I will keep the first image in order to show the progress.

 

[attachmentid=18200] [attachmentid=18251]

 

I think it might actually be a furry bird instead of feathery. It's supposed to be more like an ostrich, with wings that are not large enough and feathers that are not stiff enough to support the large, heavy body in flight, so it will not need feathers.

[Stuart Rogers]

I am kind of new to animating, so here are a couple of shaded wireframes.

So far so good. You've kept the patches nice and square and regular, which usually helps keeping your surface smooth. You probably have more splines than you really need - I'm thinking in particular of those along the length of the upper beak - but I certainly wouldn't suggest you re-do what you've done so far. High spline density can be awkward to keep smooth when animated, but as beaks are rigid you have no problems here. And a coating of feathers will cover up a multitude of sins!

 

Keep it up - this is a good start.

[the_black_mage]

hey man i can totaly help you with the hair and wings.

[always_a_kid]

I'm trying to figure out which fur coloration I like better. On the left, the hair is just one color. On the right, the color changes from a grayish brown at the base to a light brown at the tip. Which do you think I should go with?

 

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[Zaryin]

I really like the character so far. I would finish the modeling before I went any farther with the hair.

[dude]

love the hair!

[the_black_mage]

the one on the right, looks better.

[always_a_kid]

the one on the right, looks better.

 

LOL, I shouldn't have used right and left. For a second, I thought you meant the first one. Why can't I just remember which is right and which is left as I remember which is up and which is down!?! I'm just kidding. Today, I'm just a little slow. (That's strange, though. I've never been slow two days in a row). Anyway, thanks for your opinion.

[always_a_kid]

Here's what I have so far for the body. It will look very different with hair though.

 

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[always_a_kid]

Here's the leg. I still need to tweak it in some areas, and I'm still trying to figure out how i'm going to attach it to the body.

 

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[the_black_mage]

Can i see a better angle on the wings, so i can tell you how i made mine.

 

yo see what i did was model the frein area o the wing flat then added har to make the rest of the shape. here the pic i used you should make something like it.

also can you show us a whire frame version or every thing.

 

no, i didn't draw it. got it off a yahoo search.

[always_a_kid]

no, i didn't draw it. got it off a yahoo search.

 

LOL, you know me too well, Black. It's either that, or you're a psychic. I'll post some other views soon, but you probably already saw that coming.

[always_a_kid]

Well, here are some more views of the wings. The feathers/fur will make it look different, but does anyone have any suggestions?

 

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[always_a_kid]

Well the body is finished. Here's a picture, and it will look different once i get the fur on, but I still would like suggestions.

 

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[always_a_kid]

Now I've been working on the wings. Here's a picture of what I have so far, and I still would like suggestions on the model.

 

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[the_black_mage]

always you need to thicken the feathers, they look more like hair than feathers. second simplify the wing spline, mines wasn't rounded and was shaped more true to the image i gave you, i models only the top area of the wing and made it transperent, and let the hair do the rest. also notice how the image has wing sections there are 3 of them. top(small), middle(medium), and last(large). shape the wings to match that as well.

[dude]

I decided to start playing around with hair, and here is what I have so far around the beak. This picture will be updated as I style more of the fur, but I will keep the first image in order to show the progress.

 

[attachmentid=18200] [attachmentid=18251]

 

I think it might actually be a furry bird instead of feathery. It's supposed to be more like an ostrich, with wings that are not large enough and feathers that are not stiff enough to support the large, heavy body in flight, so it will not need feathers.

um.. I think Always already talked about that.

[Bruce Del Porte]

You can attach a photo of a feather to the AM hair feature for some interesting plumage.

[the_black_mage]

even still the feathers still need to be thicker, no matter what kind of bird you have the fethers still get bigger at the ends.

 

and this woulds be nice for a texture but you'l have to change the color

 

[always_a_kid]

Thank you for the suggestions. I was getting kind of frustrated because I knew something wasn't right, but I couldn't tell what it was. Well, actually I knew what it was, but I didn't know how to fix it. I was beginning to think about going with the kiwi bird look, with wings that are so small that the feathers cover them up. I actually thought that they didn't have wings until I saw a picture of them in a book that some relatives from New Zealand sent me. Anyway, thanks for the advice, Black. I'll try to decipher what you said and fix my problem. Do you think you could possibly post a wireframe of what you did with Aaron's wing so that I know what you mean? Thanks for the support, Whiz/Dude. You seem to understand what I was saying. I used the ostrich as an example of why my bird wouldn't be able to fly. I didn't mean I wanted it to look like an ostrich. Plus, this bird doesn't exist. It's completely made up, so it doesn't matter to me if it doesn't look completely realistic. I was just trying to use my imagination to create something a little different (a furry bird), but I appreciate you taking the time to give me advice Black, and I will use it. Thank you Bruce Del Porte for your suggestion, too. I don't know how to do that, but I like it and will try to figure it out. By the way Black, is that a feather duster? I think I'll use it. Thanks again, and I'll get to work.

[case]

other than the wings cool keep us me them posted

[dude]

Thank you Bruce Del Porte for your suggestion, too. I don't know how to do that, but I like it and will try to figure it out.

I think hes talking about using this feature:

[always_a_kid]

Really? Thanks, I'll try it when I redo the wings.

[the_black_mage]

well actualy i say this one thing on discovery channal about dinosors turns out theres some decendant of otrages or something that had hair feathers. and yeah i'l post a pic of what i was talking about hold on.

[always_a_kid]

Thanks Black. I was trying to make it transparent, but the feathers didn't show up. So I was wondering how to go about doing what you did.