Reaching New Heights – Hani rev 4 model test

Having been worked on off and on for over a week with conceptual thinking going back much further, the now much showcased Hani revision 4 model is finally at a point where I could actually start making use of it. There’s the odd morph I’m thinking about whether I might try to add or not, but so far it seems to work rather well without any major deformity issues. While it’s too early to tell whether the change will be a significant help to overall visuals, a minor tweak or something that ends up largely reverted over time remains to be seen. Thumbs are still a bother, but in a much different way – I think I simply need time and practice with it to decide whether it works better or not.

Not counting what’s essentially bug fixing, the main goal with the rev 4 model is to give Hani Foonmall a stronger and more feral impression – the earlier size comparissons show how much more bulk she’s gained, and it’s definitely noticeable. The new hands with very pronounced nails and a new, slightly more ragged tip to her ponytail all are intended to make her look more like a natural predator, as disposed to the hunt as any Nightsaber would be. Hani comes from a very different part of night elven society from Tiny and Te’len, and with rev 4 I’ve really wanted that to show.

For all the changes, the biped really didn’t seem like it needed much change – the shoulder bones had to be widened, the arms a little adjusted and the fingers lined up, but other than that there wasn’t really all that many issues present – just line things up, attach, adjust envelopes and done. To some degree, it seems like the added bulk might even serve to prevent, rather than create, catastrophic deformities. Seeing how I was worried it might have the opposite effect, that fact was quite welcome.

With a new model revision comes new morph targets – not because the old ones were faulty but because changes in the model invalidates the morph targets it used to have, excluding the fact that the polygon breakdown of the face has actually changed too. The difference between the rev 3 and rev 4 morph targets should be relatively minor, except for one little change. Hani now has a tongue. Why? I actually don’t know! If all else fails, I can probably blame the Legacy of Kain game series – Soul Reaver 2 and Defiance both had articulated tongues for the characters and it added a great deal to the overall impression, so I thought if anything, I could atleast try. The textures for the tongue I essentially took straight from Blizzards’ own interior mouth textures, so from that it seems like night elves might have tongues coloured a discreet black.

Bare, without meshsmooth, the new base rev 4 model weighs in at a full 2197 polygons, which goes up to a full 8018(!!) when Meshsmooth is enabled, which is another step up from earlier polycount, and not including additional models like hair, weapons, backpack and soforth. The skeletal structure is largely the same as before, with obviously the arms tweaked for the wider shoulders and new hands. There’s also a few added bones to articulate the added tongue that lay seperate but are otherwise attached to the head. Like this you can also see the plates I’ve added back in rev 3 to form bones for the ears.

The final thing I said I’d mention – envelopes. Envelopes are basically the area of influence around each bone so the model knows which vertices move with what bone. When I first initialize the Physique modifier, I do so with the Deformable bone type, though there are a few I change. Notably the lower arms, lower legs, feet, fingers and head I change to Rigid. There’s a few other details to take note – with females I generally change the one spine link that aligns with the chest to rigid, and extend its influence slightly lower (parent overlap) to make sure there’s no strange deformities when the model leans back and forth. I also have helper bones (hidden here) assigned to just influence the eyes and chin and nothing else, set as rigid with a very high strength (usually 20) to prevent those parts of the head from deforming during some morphs. Another minor detail to note is the upper arms and upper legs – these I usually have both bone types – Deformable at the top, ranging from 0.1 parent overlap to -0.5 child overlap, then Rigid at the bottom between -0.2 parent overlap and 0.1 child overlap. What this does is avoid a few odd deformation issues that rigid creates at the very base of the limb, while still using rigid for most of the limb to prevent it from bending in very fluid ways.

I’m not decided yet whether to phase in the rev 4 model as soon as possible or give it some time to fully test it out first. I guess we’ll simply have to see what happens there.

On the drawing board: Hani rev 4 part two

So, seeing how I’ve spent a fair bit of time with rev 4 as of late – a good chunk of what time I’ve been able to spare has gone into the slow process of cutting, tweaking and adjusting to reach a completed model. While there’s a great deal more to complete still – the skeleton will need significant adjustment with the new dimensions as well as the new hands, nevermind assembling all the morph targets for facial expressions. Still, the base model is well into starting to take shape.

Several of the changes are fairly subtle and might not even be all that apparent to most, but there’s two in particular I wanted to highlight in this update, starting with..

..size. The gray is the rev 3 model, the dark blue is the rev 4 model – the light blue is where they overlap. As you can see, the difference is quite significant – her legs are significantly thicker, as are her upper arms in particular, though her lower arms have gone through significant change as well. There’s been a few more subtle changes to go with it – her rib is ab it thicker, her shoulders are wider, her back (though rarely seen) is a little more defined.. she’s a great deal larger than she was. Then there’s the other change..

..namely hands. While technically it was largely the thumb I’ve been wanting to fix, I decided that the easiest way to do that was just to start over from scratch with a fresh import from the game model and work my way up. While I won’t know of the hands work better or not until I actually tie them to the skeleton and give them a try, they’ve gone through a great deal of other changes already – especially with how I’ve tested adding another detail: nails. With Hani in particular, I want a certain feral emphasis – while Night elves in general tend to lean that way, young Hani Foonmall can be something of a predator, and as a result leans a bit further in that direction.

On the drawing board: Tyrande Whisperwind

If there’s one character model that really is long due a revision, it would be that of High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind. Her model is comparably very old – her hands are a much older structure, she can’t move her eyes.. if any model is in need of an upgrade, it would be hers. Though while I could defend the lack of upgrade with the infrequency of her appearances, the truth is that it’s something else that’s kept me back for this long:

Uncertainity on how to do her justice.

Having played a Night elf on a roleplaying server for over four years now, I make it little secret that Tyrande is one of my favourite – if not the favourite – heroes in the Warcraft setting – if there’s one character I’m set on trying to treat reverently, atleast in the comic, then that would be her. As a result, I’ve spent a great deal of time every so often thinking about what to do with her model and how to combine both the force and strength of her warrior prowess while maintaining her radiance and all but inner glow of being the High Priestess of Elune.

(old to the left, newest to the right)

So far, I’ve only been looking at the actual texture work – specificially, one of the things I’ve really wanted to do is remove the permanent scowl that particular face texture has; while I have no question she’s burdened by the (second) loss of Malfurion Stormrage and the weight of her position, I do believe her capable of smiling. The particular face she has in the game.. well.. isn’t. Secondly, I’ve been wanting to bridge something of a gap between the High Priestess and Warrior aspects – something she can realistically stand about in during ceremony, but still give someone a serious beating in if called upon (though still not being a full combat attire).

Further things I’m planning on a (mostly) pure texture basis is potentially adding a moon emblem to her circlet and possibly shortening her bracers to about half length. The example with sleeves was something I tried – though it looks more armoured, I think she needs bare shoulders – it adds something to her impression.

Things I haven’t gotten to yet is modelling – akin to Hani I’m considering making her limbs somewhat bulkier to emphasize her strength a little more. Appart from upgrading her face and hand models to the latest standard (which’ll be Hani’s rev 4 model, once it’s completed), the one main case of debate is the skirt. I’m torn about what to do with the skirt. I don’t want to split it open like the one Te’len has – it works great for Te’len, but on Tyrande it seems quite a bit less dignified. I’m not sure I want to raise the hem up to knee height – I tried that with Nhani Moonfall – it looks fairly good, but to quote a friend of mine, it makes her look a bit like a schoolgirl.

If all else fails, I’ll probably just have to run with it as-is and just make sure it can move with something other than the leg bones, but I’d love to somehow make it more flexible without losing the overall image and impression.

On the drawing board: Hani model revision

There’s no real logic to when I revise a model – there’s no set amount of “bugs” notticed, possible new features or time since last that stand out. It’s more a case of having enough things I want to change or fix, having had enough time to think about them that I feel I have a good idea of what I’m trying to do and.. well.. essentially feeling like it and deciding that now is the time.

It was awhile since I touched Hani’s model – I’ve felt little need to since in the past, I haven’t really considered changing her appearance much – her armour and overall look suits her rather well. Most changes I’ve had in mind have been more generic – trying to figure out better eyes apply to all night elves, perhaps Te’len most of all. Improved hands again applies to all the elves, and the main one set for revision for a time has actually been Tyrande – but I’ve yet to decide how I want to handle her dress, so she’s had to wait.

Lately though I’ve started thinking about a Hani-specific change I’ve been wanting – Te’len had a change in her last model revision that saw her become a little less thin and a bit more soft and rounded. I’ve wanted to make the difference even more apparent with Hani, so..

The simple changes that might migrate to all the other night elven models if they work out are hands, face and eyes. The hands aren’t done yet in this render, but I’m essentially re-importing new hand models and then starting essentially from scratch with those, seeing if I can address some faults in my present hand structure that way. The eyes and the face are both subtle, but significant, changes – the face have a few more polygons around the cheeks to hopefully help certain expressions, and the eyes.. well, they’re no longer simply a texture – they’re a model. I’m still not entirely content with how they’ve turned out – there’s a few issues that make them look really odd in some cases, I’m hoping to figure a way around that before I start trying to make the this model revision poseable.

There’s one pretty big, Hani-only change so far though: Size.

Not just tall, Hani is both strong and agile – I’ve been wanting to see if I could change her model to have that come across better. The above work in progress has quite a few changes to that end – her arms and legs are thicker and more massive than they used to be, her neck is a little wider than it was, and her upper torso and shoulders are a broader than they used to be.

There’s still some tweaks, changes and additions left before she’s anywhere near done, and I’ll have to change her biped skeleton around a fair bit to accomodate her change in build, so I’m a little concerned with whether I might end up introducing more deformation issues than I’ve fixed, but so far.. Hani’s definitely gaining some bulk before long.

Random Render: Wheelstalker

One of my Yelnenu cronies gave me a poke earlier and mentioned this idea for an image that’d apparently come from a channel conversation about hunters stalking around the forests on motor bikes. Considering the earlier two stints of Biker Raene, I was asked whether I wanted to give it a try. Hence:

Pretty much reusing the prior Biker Raene environment entirely, but new passengers and slightly different setting. I really liked the idea of kitting out the cat with a scarf and goggles. The added details of the bow and the quiver also appealed to me. I tried to convey an idea of speed with the image, especially with the background, but I think I should probably have applied the motion blur in sections – make the things near more blurred and the distance less so. Ah well. One learns, over time.

Last Week’s Image: Te’len

While still trying to disappate enough of the far-too-high-for-my-tastes local ambient temperature so I can think and get #115 done, I thought I’d atleast put this up. Last week’s image, Te’len Nila in all her loveliness. I like fiddling with this kind of render for Te’len – given the right light and setting and she can look absolutely gorgeous in a way that few of the cast so far can.

Update: Seems temperature got to my head more than I thought – I actually had made a wallpaper size render of this particular image; I’ve been using it for a week even – it just slipped my mind this morning. Soo, here we go, wallpaper size: regular and wide aspects.

Pinup: The Girl and the (mechanical) Squirrel

Sometimes, Yelnenu chatter spawns off phrases that spawns even stranger ideas. Due to the Corporal Naima one-off earlier, it’s pretty much guaranteed that any topic that touches on the Naima character will involve either Mr. Kipsy or Walruses. Or both. In this case, there ended up being stray comments about Squirrel Love and it went from there. Since it involves suggestive themes and rather risque imagery of a lightly dressed woman, I’ll insert a handy cut of

Last Week’s Image: Hani Shot First

If you’re already familiar with the phrase Han Shot First then I’d imagine you already got what the image was a play on – if not.. the original phrase comes from the editing of the first (that’s episode four) Star Wars movie – notably the part in the Mos Eisley tavern where in the original theatrical version, Han Solo carefully and quietly unstraps his blaster and shoots Greedo from under the table. In the later edited versions, Greedo shoots first (or at the same time), turning a first strike into one of retaliation or all-other-options-barred self defense. Though I always thought the change was rather silly and that it does take away from the character, I was never the sort to loudly proclaim how we much now lynch George Lucas.

That said, I thought it’d be a funny kind of image to assemble, so there you go.

In Focus: Rei Tiny

Described in my notes as “a complex woman with fairly simple problems”, Rei Tiny is in many ways the opposite – the Rebel without a Clue; presuming that a significant chord within Beyond the Tree is about being outcast, and that Hani is outcast largely because she’s different.. then Rei Tiny is outcast because she wants to be. If there is a yay, you can bet Tiny has a nay to compliment it.

Conceptually, Tiny is the Deadpan Snarker trope played almost completely straight – right down to the attitude being a sort of mask or shield for something else entirely. She takes the “Bark is worse than the Bite” saying to its extreme by being nearly all bark and no bite, and happily sharing said bark with anyone who’ll listen – and several who won’t. If she can insult someone, she generally will. If she’s given an excuse to hold a grudge, she’ll often take it. All while comfortably safe from reprisal due to her diminutive size and her perch on the shoulder of one of the more capable warriors around.

Rei Tiny was by large built on the character Reiki Moonfall – a rebellious young night elven woman that came to be the adopted daughter of an ancient night elven priestess. The overall attitude, the veiled insecurities and several portions of their past are all from a common source, though they deviate down the line – especially with where one fell to false lures and corruption, the other randomly shrank and tries to face adversity more with a shrug than a snarl.

Though Tiny’s first most obvious trait is her apparent size, I tend to stubbornly maintain that her size (and her refusal to consider it a bad thing) is part metaphorical, and in spite of some people wanting to know what happened, I think Tiny’s size is one of those mysteries that are better off not explained. Though I have a few hints in mind, I don’t really want a direct answer for it – part because I think it takes away from how she approaches it. Though they interweave, I think why she doesn’t want to be restored to normal size is a more interesting (and more to heart) mystery than what happened to make her like that.

A key and consistent element with Tiny is layers – what you see on the tin is not necessarily what you get, just because she spends so much time and energy trying to convince the world she is a certain way doesn’t mean she actually is like that. To me, Tiny is very well aware of the impression she has and how people respond to her – one of the key aspects of her character is that all of that is a choice she made. She wants people to think she is a certain way, regardless of how often we might see there’s more to her than that.

Tiny tends to be fun to write because it’s easy to just go crazy with remarks on her end. Asking why imps have no pants? No problem. Questioning what’s up with the look of Satyrs? All done in a handwave. Making unresonable demands because she feels like it? Easy. Of course, add to that that much of it is an act – a disguise she wears to hide what lies beneath.

Of course, Tiny also serves to point out that just because someone says something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s unbiased, or true; and though we by large follow the vantagepoint of the duo, the duo themselves aren’t necessarily always right.

Last Week’s Image: Group in Stormwind

So in time with sunday, last week’s voter image is now here for people who missed it or caught a liking to it. It’s not really all that much special – the idea started with a picture of Te’len reading a book, and then the rest went from there. It ended up quite different from my original impression to be honest, where I’d expect largely a picture dominated by “Te’len looks cute”, but it’s still workable, albeit perhaps a tad bland.