Here is an update with a new piece of concept art and the beginnings of a model for it. This post also goes through how we provide feedback on the progress the modeler is making, which is an extremely important part of how we ensure proper quality control.
### The Initial Sketch ###
Let’s step through the process once again. First we get an initial sketch. Today we will be looking at our Fox Demon concept, created by Christa Wolf and modeled by Andrew Gardner.
There are three categories of units in the Kung Fu Kingdom world: player units, neutral units, and NPC Faction units. Neutral units generally wander around the world by themselves according to their own coded behavior; that’s just how they roll. Fox Demons are mischievous and potentially troublesome. If they like the units in your faction, they may be helpful: helping units out in combat, or blessing one of your structures. If they dislike units in your faction, they may be disruptive: blowing your cover when you are trying to hide, etc.
Here is some select feedback that was given on the forums:
“These are gorgeous. The colors are great, and particularly in the anthro-form, the poses really call out the character’s mood, activity, or bearing. I can’t remember if the fox spirit is mischievous or not, but the male head with the smile is very evocative of a troublemaker. His features also taper a bit, similar to the fox snout. ”
“Good job here. The scarf adds just the right touch of color to the fox, and the modeling team will be able to use different colored skins to create different colored foxes. I like the idea of a sash flowing from its legs. If the fox gets feet, you could also add some sort of bracelet – maybe a bead bracelet reminiscent of monk rosaries (or the Buddhist versions)”
### The Followup Sketch ###
Christa elaborates on the feedback she was given with a new sketch. Apparently she had already had the beads idea, which was a neat coincidence. “Funny you mention the bead bracelet, because I added something like that around it’s neck. …Great minds?”
Select feedback from this image was:
“The beads around the neck work great. The idea of incorporating it into the human version is a great idea as well.”
“I love the bells. It adds a lot more character to the fox, and there is something very whimsical about it. This is reinforced by how haphazardly the bell is tied onto its tail. It seems like it just got caught in its tail and it decided to let it stay there.”
“Interested in seeing the more evil/mischievous face.”
After one more revision, Christa got the greenlight to move onto a turnaround for the modelers.
### The Turnaround Sheet ###
Here was the final model turnaround for the Fox. I think it turned out great! What about you? That is a rhetorical question, don’t e-mail me.
### The Model ###
Here was Andrew Gardner’s first series of model views for the fox.
You will notice that the tail is very different from the reference – this was done because staying true to the reference would have created a very blocky looking tail – a classic example of something that looks good in 2d, but would not translate well to 3d.
In order to provide feedback on the model, we did a simple overlay of the reference image to point out difference. I know, my tablet handwriting is amazing.
We also included a note to save the head changes for last, because the way the head is currently modeled looks rather good, and while it is not true to the reference we may not need to change it – thus saving time that can be spent elsewhere.
Once we get the final model in, I’ll be sure to keep you updated!