Hi, my name is Gaurav Mohan and in this tutorial I will go over the techniques I used in creating my entry 'Veggie Pirates' for the CGArena Toon challenge. Toonish scenes and characters have always been a favorite of mine so this was a fun theme for me. I used the Softimage XSI 6.02, Zbrush 3.0, Photoshop CS3, Roadkill Pelt Mapper in the creation of this image.
Concept
I always try to start all my work with some kind of concept sketch. I find that putting my idea on paper always helps me to clarify it better then I can in my head alone. It also gives me something to refer back to if I get stuck.
I kept the sketch for this work very loose and light because I wasn't exactly sure where I wanted to take the idea in the beginning. But I did decide early on to make the 3 critters mean and weird looking rather then cute and cuddly. I also made a short list of the character traits of each of the pirates so I could then model them with confidence:
Eggplant McGee
The brash hot tempered one of the trio. He is a skilled marksman and uses dual flintlocks. He is the 'kid' of the group and looks up to the others. Based on an eggplant.
Tomato Johnson
The strong silent and 'cool' type. His background is shrouded in mystery and no one knows where he's from or how old he is. Very good at brawling. Doubles as the crew's chef. Based on a tomato
Miriam 'The Finger' Okra
The leader of the group. He is older and very experienced so the others defer to his commands. Can be crabby and short tempered. Rumour has it that he will kill anyone who mentions his first name. Expert swordsman. Based on an Okra (ladyfinger)
Base Modeling: Characters
I use XSI for all my base modelling and the method I follow is a mixture of poly by poly and cutting edges. I will often start with a cube, cut my edge loops into it and then move the vertices into place. Some parts that require more precise detail like ears or noses or eyes are built poly by poly or by extruding edges.
Also I always try to maintain a good edge flow that is suitable for animation. Even though in this case the final result is a still, I may want to use the characters in an animation in the future. And if they already have good topology, then it will make my work easier.
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