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For Hit, I dealt with setting up the files to import Faceshift motion capture data. I refined skin weights, created skeletal mesh FBX files with the facial rig skeleton and FMAP mapping files. However, we ran into a problem with the Maya plugin that prevented me from importing the FBS files into Maya.

All of the work I did towards Capstone this week can be seen in the Facial Rigger video. The only task I did not show there was the skinning of another one of NNR's characters. Here is a brief demonstration.

After a lengthy and very helpful feedback session, the designs of the ships changed and I needed to remodel them. While the fighter required only minor tweaks (making the top shorter so that the whole did not resemble a pterodactyl and flaring the claw-like structures on the back), the tugship was completely remodeled to better match the shape language of the fighter ship and the alien race. I also UV mapped both ships so that Pete Fellner could texture and put them in engine. 

This week I created three different alien spaceships for Focal Length: a fighter, a carrier and a dropship. I will wait for feedback before I make UV maps or cleanup/optimize topology.

This week most of my time was spent of Focal Length's Civilian Creator, but I did dedicate a couple of hours to finishing the rig on the Big Game Hunter's Elephant Gun. Last week the clasps behaved oddly, making it very tricky to pose the weapon at the back of the character. The solution I implemented this time around is much more stable and makes it easier to pose the character. Here are some screenshots from the current rig.

This week, for Hit, I refined the weights on the Doctor's model and added some controls to correct the deformation of her tight-fitting coat and skirt when she lifts her legs. I also modeled, UV mapped and rigged the Syringe that she will use as her active ability to revive other players. Finally, I made the first pass at the rig for the Elephant Gun and its strap on the Big Game Hunter. Even though it is only an accessory, it is probably the most complicated rig I have built for Hit, at least the most different.

This week I created the skeleton and the control rig for the Doctor character I finished modeling last sprint cycle. I also blocked the skin weights so that the animator(s) can begin creating cycles while I work on refining the deformations. After receiving feedback from both the art lead and faculty, I tweaked the model a bit and laid out the UVs in the 0-1 space.

My task this week for Hit was to retopologize the Doctor character starting with the model provided by Meagan Glennon and trying to make it match the concept art more closely. She is currently at 16 thousand triangles, so I need to reduce the count at least to 15 thousand. Next week she will be UV mapped and rigged, ready to go into the game.

As part of my tasks for this week on Hit, I built the rig for the Spy character that I retopologized over the break. Twisting in the arms and forearms is automated when animating using FK controls and manually controlled by the animator in IK mode. Since facial animation is not a priority at this point in time, my intention is to use this rig, as well as the others I have made so far for Hit characters as the proof of concept / testing dummies for my second portfolio piece.

Here are some screenshots of the rig:

In this section of the blog I will post all progress regarding character models for all three of the Cohort's Capstone Games: Focal Length, Hit and Neon Night Riders. In my position as General Character Lead, I make sure that the character models produced by artists in each of the team match the concept art as closely as possible and that their topology is clean, efficient and game ready.