Turtle

[Hutch]

Well, I just wanted to share a little character I have been working on for the past few days. I have learned alot working on him and have become pretty excited about my first forays into actually making something move! I haven't slept all night and I have to go do a 12 hour shift in a few more hours I kept coming up with ideas every time I tried to sleep. Work is gonna be rough but it is worth it.

 

I know this isn't perfect but I just wanted to share what I have. I plan to do the next few lines of the scene if anyone recognizes it

everitturtle1.mov

[nimblepix]

Cute model Hutch.

Acting is good too!

Loved the little asymetrical lip movement

and the little sneer at the end.

I think his eyes open up a bit too much in the beginning.

 

cheers,

 

DanRJ

[Hutch]

Thanks Nimblepix, glad you like him. I looked at it again and you are right. His eyes do open too much at first and it makes him look kind of psychotic. I will definitely fix that.

[Zaryin]

I don't know much about animation, so can just say that i thought it looked great. I love your character. Very simple yet very expressive.

[PF_Mark]

I really like the eye brow movement! Great work!

[Hutch]

Thanks Mark! Here is a little update. I have modeled and rigged the rest of him. No textures yet. Let me know what you think.

[starving4rtist]

I like it so far, I'm sure it'll look even better with textures! One thing that sticks out at me is the fingers/toes. They seem too pointy to me. I'm guessing in real life turtles have pointy fingers (I can't seem to picture one) but IMO more rounded ones would look better on your model. I get the 'roundy' vibe from the face and body, and it might look better carried to the hands and feet.

 

This is just my opinion though, it's your model and you can do what you want to it! Just my 2 cents.

[nimblepix]

Beautiful proportions Hutch.

I really like the thick/thin and length ratios.

 

I do think you will be able to pull off (make them work well) the pointy fingers and toes,

but the connections need some tweeking, too cylindrical.

 

You might also consider differentiating between left and right feet.

The length of toes will help to shape that.

 

Consider moving the thumb back a bit.

 

You've got an elegant form for the front shell, very pleasing.

Are you going to open up the space between the two shells where the legs and arms attach?

You might need to, for fuller articulation.

 

At least that's the way I see it.

 

Dan (you can call me Dan) RJ

[Hutch]

Zaryin, thanks for the encouraging words. Don't know how I missed it before. Simple is what I am shooting for, my past projects got abandoned due to frustration due to attempting something above my skill level.

 

starving4rtist and Dan, thanks for the suggestions. I am not quite happy with his feet and hands but I am not sure what I will do with them. I would like to simplify them more but not lose any expressiveness. His shell does open slightly for his arms and legs. I can always make it open wider to accomadate greater range of movement if it becomes necessary. Even though it would be physically impossible for him to pull his extremities inside his shell, I am going to attempt to animate him doing so later.

 

Thanks again for all your input!

[Hutch]

Here is a small walk cycle for him. I have changed his hands and feet. I need to redo the smartskin on his ankle and wrist. Comments, suggestions for improvement etc. welcomed and appreciated on the walk, modeling and the lip sync!

turtlewalk0.mov

[littleandy]

Haha, i like this character. He's already a funny guy and he hasn't even said much yet.

 

The walk cycle looks a little funky to me- not really fluid, i guess. He seems to slow down and speed up a lot... But overall, nice turtle! Looking forward to more!

 

-Andrew

[JohnArtbox]

great little character Hutch, I like the different change's of proportion.

And who cares if it's physically impossible, it's animation

[nimblepix]

Hey Hutch,

 

Very nice.

I love the deliberate pace!

Super toe snap behind, although a touch late.

Wonderful foot placement.

There is a little glitch in the knee just after he puts his left foot down in front.

I'd like to see this as a true loop, seems to be a couple frames off.

 

Now to add some hip movement, around the y axis,

a little twist on the shell (unless it's going to stay stiff)

and some head bob.

Might loosen up the wrist a bit too.

 

I really like this guy!

 

DanRJ

[lazz]

That guy is awesome! He's turning out great. I can already tell he's got a great personality and everything. Great job, keep it up!

 

Robert Lazzarini

[Zaryin]

Wow, I love the dichotomy of thick and thin. He is an excellent character. I want to see some textures now!

[Hutch]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I haven't been in much of an animating mood, so I started modeling some environments for him. Those aren't far enough along to show. I have no experience of modeling a set and I am trying to make a nice little pond. I do have a fish started. I tried Yve's sky light for this render. I don't understand why the inside of his mouth is lit so well, anyone know what is going on there?

[nimblepix]

Check your normal direction inside the mouth.

Did you add an inside, or is this just a hole?

[Hutch]

It has an inside and the normals are all facing in.

[lazz]

Does the model's properties have recieves shadows and casts shadows? Hope that helps!

 

robert lazzarini

[DarkLimit]

Good job on the fish.... what I do when comes to inside of the mouth is I make the inside BLACK (in colour) this way the inside of the mouth don't get lit like the way yours is.....

[Hutch]

Ok, I know I am tired now because I just tried to scroll my browser by pressing the m key and dragging with the mouse lol. Anyway, thanks DarkLimit. I started on some textures on the fish. If I ever actually make anything from this this fish will just be swimming in the back ground of the koi pond where my turtle lives

[hypnomike]

WOW!

 

That fish is amazing Hutch!

[Zaryin]

Seriously, where have you been! That is a great fish.

[Hutch]

Hey thanks for the compliments on my fish. I hope he doesn't look too Nemoish. But if he does, oh well, he is just a back ground character. I will probably do some variations on his coloring so there are three or four varieties in the pond.

 

Zaryin, where have I been? Well, that could be a really long story depending where I start...

 

Here I just wanted to see if I rigged my fish sufficiently to make him swim. I will probably add an action or pose to make his mouth open and close and be done with him besides the alternate textures.

swim.mov

[hypnomike]

You're getting there Hutch although he does look to be moving a little fast.

 

Maybe it's me but I see your fish as slow moving, like a Coy Carp.

[Hutch]

Hey again. Yah I agree about the fish swimming too fast Mike. I will worry about that later though. I got side tracked again and started another character. I morphed my turtle into a racoon! Textures still in progress and have yet to model his body but let me know what ya think. I may have to upgrade so I can put some fur on him.

[littleandy]

Haha, nice use of procedural textures on the fish! And I like the raccoon guy so far. Interesting morph!

 

-Andrew

[Zaryin]

I like the racon so far. How did you morph the nose? Or did you just build that part?

[Hutch]

I just built his nose as a seperate mesh. I attached an image to show the different meshes. The fish is just a bump map by the way.