Just thought I’d post some bits 'n bobs from something else I’m messing with (it has something to do with fantasy art). This will just kind of be running thread of various elements as things (slowly) progress.
Anyways, this is an initial (straw man) attempt at the Adventurer’s Orbs.
I like them, they feel epic, but not too unreal at the same time
I like the way you rendered your gemmy thingies up there. Did you use HDR lighting? Looks good 
Axe looks pompous , but not really dangerous. Don’t know why exactly though.
Thanks for the feedback. Perhaps the blade edges need more curve to create more threat. As for the Orbs, I did use HDRI (I most often do as I’ve just gotten lazy to do light setups and I usually get much better results).
Initial pass on textures (all the further I got tonight). Quite a bit more to do to them yet (color adjustments, sharpening blade, scratch some wood, a touch of gore, something ornate, etc).
The axe looks awesome! Although, the texture makes it look like it’s made of stone instead of metal (is that intentional?).
Awesome so far I love Dungeon Quest!
Great work! i agree about the axe… maybe less scratches and more intensity on the secular for the areas that are sharp?
It’s between a rock material and a very worn out metal surface, it think your close to getting it right, it just needs a bit of an specular shine on a few areas to hint at metal and not so much at rock.
Thanks for the feedback :eyebrowlift:. Think I’ve experimented myself to death… I dunno, I’ll figure out textures some day. It’s better in some ways and worse in others. In the Octane version there is a slight crease. That was caused by the export process and I know how to get around it but it’s not important enough to do at the moment.
The orbs on the first post look fantastic. I especially like the first head-on render 
The axe is also looking much better now. Now it really looks like worn metal. Maybe make the wooden parts a bit worn out as well? Just a couple of scratches and a bit lower specularity would be good I think.
Nice work 
Ha, I was hoping to get away without doing that (wearing the wood down where it’s gripped the most)… but I accept the challenge (I’m not confident I can do that but will try). I’ll tweak the spec too. Thanks for the feedback. When the model is completed it will be put to Blendswap, so I appreciate the feedback as to what will contribute to the producing of higher quality models.
(Things aren’t ready yet to show, but to show them anyways) … To see how the orbs were to be used http://dungeonquest.weebly.com/dice-rules.html (part of a project that will take forever, but that’s alright I guess). They’re intended to be an adventurer’s soul.
Hmm… perhaps an action shot to get some notion how it fits in a scene…
(Note, above renders are incomplete and low samples, I’ll post followup link when they’re done)
wow - is that woman character part of the game? She is one of the best models I have ever seen…
yeah, that skill leaves me speechless… I only wish my game models would look that awesome ! You’re working in the industry?
Hey Quandtum – I checked out your profile – firmware engineer in MN? I grew up in the cities, and now I teach electrical engineering at South Dakota State University – and here we are Blenderers too… something about electronics and blender goes together I guess… cool.
The model (axe) was exported as an .obj from Blender (svn). I then imported the .obj (axe) into Poser 7 (which I had bought thanks to cekuhen’s post a while back). In Poser 7 I fix the materials for the axe and position it to her (Victoria 4 that I had further modified by use of injections and material changes). All of that then gets exported as an .obj and imported Blender 2.49b (such that the mesh can be separated by material) and saved to a .blend. Then back to Blender (svn) where all objects from the fore mentioned .blend get appended to a new file. Next, I go through and bundle the materials (from the export, there are about 5 meshes using the same diffuse map for torso for example, I put them all to a single material to reduce the total number of materials). Some mesh is also deleted (such as eye surface). Once all that is ready, it all gets exported as a .obj again and imported into Octane. Once in Octane, every material (for this model, about 36 or more) needs to be setup or adjusted. To ease the pain, I set all the materials up as separate nodes and noodle them in (this allows me to save time if I update the mesh again). Finally, the renders are put out to GIMP where the final composition takes place.
Now, how this relates to the game art, a longer explanation is in order…
What is most likely (the leaning towards) outcome is going to be an isometric game (like Baldur’s Gate 2) with greater detail. This means the models will be rendered out to sprite sheets (I may or may not use the Poser models for the sprite sheets, most likely not). What is not crossed off the list yet though is possible using Ogre3D and doing something more along the lines of “Spiral Knights” approach to it (in which case only open models will be used). Even in not knowing, I know there will be need for some cinematic stills (like Assassins Creed), in which case for now can help me explore and ultimately set the tone and style. Understanding this early keeps me from making a “Legend of Zelda” style console for the GUI if the rest of the elements are more modern.
Now as a real world software team lead developer, I understand how massive this project is and it’s likelihood of failure. I’ve structured my progress to allow multiple “products”, so even if I fail in making the ultimate goal (which is likely, I completely understand this) I’ve made smaller goals I can be happy with.
Prior to this I’ve spent the last 4 months working code, researching and experimenting with different open libraries to evaluate the pieces that will hopefully work the best. I was at a point however I want to refine the visual GUI elements (and also desperately needed a break from code, lots of OT at work too) so it was time to make some fantasy art (and relax).
I dunno, hopefully that helps clear the air on some things.
lol, awesome! (You’ve got the better job though, I love being on the university campus) I’m not far from there (I’m originally from the Rochester area. I remember trying to get a job doing hardware after college and I couldn’t. Eventually my self taught programming skills landed me a job programming a language I didn’t even know (I almost quit after 2 weeks but didn’t). Now I’ve got an awesome job programming Linux onto ARMs, (I’m new to the ARM, not new to Linux). I’m learning so much and loving it! I’d best be careful or this will turn into a processor conversation (I still miss the old 8 bitters) 
Very cool though! So why’d you go west instead of east (I love the river valley so I like to pick)?
Yes - being on the university is why I stayed. My folks moved out to SD my last years in high school, SDSU was the closest college, tuition was low, so I stuck around. got the opportunity for a master’s degree, then they gave me a chance to teach, and I really enjoyed it. Now I’m going for my PhD, so I don’t teach as much. I do miss MN sometimes though. I may eventually decide to move out there, once I get done… Or I may decide to throw it all to the wind, move to CA and get a job at ILM as a project engineer…
@ daren : lol, I’d at least wait until our government decides to go back to work first =P Seriously though, happy work can be hard to find and a university campus is a splendid place (my wife works at the university I graduated from, it’s like a second home to me). A week of camping might give you your fix too =P
Anyways, as promised, final render http://quandtum.deviantart.com/art/One-Way-Forward-216431099
Battle Axe model has been submitted to Blendswap but is still under review. If anyone downloads it and has technical suggestions, feel free to let me know so I won’t keep repeating bad practices or mistakes (though I do reserve the right to politely disagree), ultimately I want to make nice models, not problematic ones. Anyways on to the next, maybe a shield or mage staff… any suggestions (I am open to suggestions to help suit other projects, just so it falls in the fantasy realm… anything, props, lanterns, wagons, etc…)?
