KNight's Custom Commander Adventure

I can reliably say that actually, it's kinda part of all the 3D stuff I do, figuring out rigging and movement and joints and all that.

Once I'm back from work I'll show you guys an example of what would happen if I just did my own proportions/joints with no thought given to the rig.

Mike

So lets see here;


The Commander's Right Leg has Tweaked proportions closer to what I'd like to see, but look what happens when the Joint is so massively offset, the lower leg clipping through both the front and back of the upper leg.

Now, one could design around this in a few ways, btu visually none of the ones I can think of match the style of my commander as a whole and would require drastic redesigns to accommodate what is ultimately a small issue.

Mike

Okay, Back again with some Progress;




I think I've gotten the shoulders to a place I like, not too big but still linked design-wise with the Arm Shields.

I've also completely revamped the Lower Legs and Feet once again along with overall tweaks to entire leg proportions and upper leg design. 4th time's the charm or something right? xD To be honest I'm still not entirely sold on the "toe" part of the foot quite yet but I think I'm on the right Track at least. The Legs I'm pretty happy with overall, managed to minimize clipping for the most part and the proportions are about as good as it'll get a figure without needing a radically different design. In particular I think the new lower legs really matches up well with the torso in terms of overall "complexity" and aesthetics, with the upper legs providing a nice contrast/negative space being as they are fairly plain overall.

Also did Minor tweaks all over the place, made the arm shields a bit thinner, tweaked the horn on the Head, optimizing the Torso a bit more finished building out the "inner frame on shoulders and tweaks to the upper arm.

Also just for the first time realize that the pelvis is still the original block concept bits, so that's something I need to look at! xD

Mike

The legs feel a lot less solid in this iteration, like they shouldn't be able to hold that torso up. While the leg design is cool, it just feels unbalanced when compared to the rest of the model. I feel that the resizing of the feet was a major contributing factor here, and if it had a wider ankle joint and toe spread it would feel much more solid and intimidating. I have to say, I love where this model is going, and it's really cool to see the design process behind at least one of the custom commanders.

That's basically par for the course thought, I mean, have you looked at the other Imperial Rig Commanders? They're pretty much all rather top heavy with pretty small legs(comparatively) so there isn't much that can be done, I've already pushed the rig to it's limit in regards the legs. The Feet overall are still about the same size, or at least cover the same area, like I said the front toes are an area I want to work on still.

Mike

I wish I could design my own custom commander...
I might even do it, just for the fun of dreaming about annihilating planets with my own commander

Anyway, your commander is looking really cool. The spine part is awesome, though the head itself is a bit narrow, but everytime I look, it looks a bit better, like an acquired taste. Lower arm parts are really nice, though maybe need a bit more details on the outside, since your overall style has loads of details too.
Don't get me wrong, it's by far the coolest looking commander I've seen yet, those were just minor remarks.

As for a tip, try adding some sort of heavy hinge like things to the ankles, similar to the knees. It will make the legs look sturdier, without making them look as fat as they did.

Mike I've been watching your posts for some time now and to say the least, Its inspiring. I love everything you've done and Its like I can feel your personality radiating through your artwork.

You recently said you were thinking about ways to change how your rigs feet and legs work. I've been an avid MechWarrior pilot since I was about eight years old and one think I would suggest is giving your rig an easier way to cope with difficult terrain. Feet/Toes which can adjust, much like the Timber Wolf for my picture.

I like this as well. Makes the rig look much sturdier.

Widening the stance ever so slightly might also accomplish the goal of making the rig look stronger and less "Top Heavy" like many of the commanders we see in PA.

All in all, I love how this story of creator and creation is turning out! Can't wait for a mod with this commander

When I say "Rig", I am specifically talking about the Animation Rig used by the engine. I posted a stand in over here;



And an overlay I just made;



It's something I have to work within and can't change.

Mike

Thanks for the clarification Means half my suggestions are meaningless but that's okay. Live and learn, and come back with bigger and better toys

the feet look too small imo .... should make them a bit more broader like 1/3rd or 1/4rd
the heels look pretty good
legs themselfes are ok

Also elbows.

No, the Elbows are nicely detailed, Mesh is Manifold and everything, especially compared to some of the earlier pics! ;p

Mike

So did you name it? If so what name did you give it?

Not yet.

Mike

Looking great mike!.

The Bravo Commander

Cause it makes me want to say Bravo on its design thus far

Other than the feet feeling a bit too dainty, as others have said, it's looking great.

Keep up the good work, and keep posting it here for us to admire!

I made some progress on things while waiting around for the potential VCC today, hopefully I'll get a chance to finish up a couple of little things and post some pics today.

Mike

Alright here we go!




Mostly just tweaks to the Feet and I finally finished off the Pelvis, don't know how it lasted so long on the original block concept stuff. I did end up removing the Horn on the head, I ended seeing that it tended to draw attention away from the "core" of the model and with the Spine going into the Head I feel this Head provides a bit better flow in that regard.

I think barring any further tweaks I want to do to the Legs, I think this might be where this variant stops for now, I'm quite happy with it as-is and should probably work on my "Spire" variant a bit, I did end up getting a little carried away with this one! xD

Mike

I like it, except I think the feet stretch a bit too far back...