A step forward in one way, a step backward in another. Phase 5 is going pretty well, the extra outfit layers are working as intended, the new loincloth flaps and hair armatures are definitely going to be an asset to posing. However, a snag has occurred.
Phase 4 no longer works as it did, and has reverted to changing the entire body’s graphics again, yet to my knowledge, nothing has changed since last time…? I did have to re-parent the armature since the addition of the loincloth and hair bones weren’t registering when they were newly added, if that makes a difference…? Regardless, Materials themselves are also being off and sometimes won’t display properly when assigning them. This has only started happening when sing UVs for making various faces.
So, it might be that I have to start completely over and do things from scratch, including re-making the textures in the Blender files just to make sure everything is king without mistakes mucking it up. However, that will not be difficult to replicate, as I know what I’m doing, now. Except for the UV faces. Apparently I still don’t know how to do that right, if old issues are re-occurring despite previous fixes.
The good news is, I can progress to Phase 6 for bendy-limbs. After that, I’ll have to re-visit Phase 4 and hope I actually get it right, this time.
While I still don’t have the faces redone yet, Phase 5 and 6 have been deemed successful! He had to be redone, so Phase 5 was more or less a learning curve. But Phase 6 is currently a success and now I just need to revisit Phase 4. Now, I think I have an idea as to what went wrong, so I’ll try to see if my guess is correct. Here’s hoping things will be fixed and we’ll have a Ryo animation soon!
Phase 4 has been fixed! Ryo is now completely able to be animated! His facial expressions change, his limbs bend, he’s got the extra, blocky bone armor bits, the loincloth flaps, he’s got it all!
Is this the end of the journey for him? By no means! In fact, my next task is to make another design of him, outfit-wise. You see, one thing I’m having a problem with right now is the clipping of his legs through his loincloth flaps. And part of that is just because of how Minecraft bodies work and that conflicts with the outfit design a little. It’s just the design of the model. I can manage a little, but some poses just seem to be impossible to do without major clipping. To combat this, I’m going to make him have another outfit, but worthy of an adventurer like himself. I’ve included the concept outfit for you guys to see. This will just eliminate the loincloth altogether and I won’t have to worry about clipping anymore for videos. However, this wild outfit will always have a special place for Ryo, so the model isn’t getting overridden. I think especially this early on, less complications are better. So the newer outfit will aid in simplifying things.
Simplifying what, pray tell? The poses, sure, but that’s just because of the future of Ryo’s journey - to be in an actual video! Be prepared for dungeon-crawling adventures with a large slice of Minecraft-based visuals! Playing the game, I made a mock-up dungeon room that’s heavily based on Zelda I for the NES to start with. The best part about doing this in Blender is that I don’t have to adhere to Minecraft’s color choices. It looks grey in the mock-up, but depending on the vibe of the dungeon I want, I can make it tinged with green or blue or red or whatever color fits the mood! I can also use the cloud images and instead of the sky? It can be fog along the ground! The possibilities are truly endless! Minecraft is but a base to start from, but the end product will be beyond its original scope!
Big promises I know, but I pray that this will be the start of something big. And it’s certainly going well, so far. Wish me luck! I’ve got a lot of pixeling, reworking and designing to do…
Also, PSA: If you’re going to use UV Maps to change a character’s expression and whatnot? Make sure to do that stuff last. Otherwise, you can goof up your UV Maps and unwrap faces on the wrong one and then you can get into some serious issues.
Now that I understand how to make him, it is time to perfect the visuals. Namely, making sure the texture/skin is as perfect as I can hope to make them. This means I will be revamping the entire thing, which there was already a bit of revamping on the torso in this process as it is. However, his limbs need that change a lot - especially his legs. It’s really difficult to make out the muscle lines on something that gives you only a 4x12 pixel space. Part of it is because of the style I used, trying to draw outlines to everything in the attempt to make them visible, but sadly I think it only made things more muddled up. I’ll be trying a more shaded approach rather than drawn. Hopefully this will work.
Ryo’s outfit will be different as well, so that will also take some time. There will be some extra layers to the outfit here, just as I did for his wild outfit. Along with the outfit changes, there will be some slight color changes as well, trying to give some more natural shades, or at least shades also used by game characters with some tanned skin.
All this pixel work is being done in Aseprite, something I hope to use on another style of model I was meaning to have Ryo be in a long time ago but never actually made happen. Hopefully with new plans, new discoveries and new opportunities, there’ll be plenty more of Ryo to see in the 3D realm of things! I hope to present you with something good soon. Wish me luck, as every pixel counts!
The dream doesn’t end with Minecraft. Ryo will become something more. However, I don’t feel ready to take on a big, highly detailed version just yet. There’s a lot I still don’t know. But this doesn’t mean that a block man is all Ryo will be until then! I have been studying old game models from the N64 and analyzing their polygons. I do believe I can replicate some of these kinds of models! I just need to make some textures to go with it. I’ve been looking at some as well, and I’m finding that the textures are often 32x32 pixels, just blurred. This is something I think I can manage… I just need to be careful about my placements and all, but I don’t think it’s something far from my grasp.
Let’s hope this is something I can pull off, as this would be a dream come true!
Well, I said I was going to try it, and here it is! Phase 1 of my newer plans for Ryo! Building him was very fun, but he’s not finished yet! I’ve gotten the symmetrical parts of the model, but he’ll need some asymmetrical ones, too. But I’m tackling the things that can be mirrored, first. So, here’s my list of phases:
Phase 1: Model with Mirror Modifier to get all the basics and applicable details
Phase 2: Texture the applicable details with Mirror Modifier active, just to make sure things like shoes, fingers and whatnot will be perfectly aligned in the textures
Phase 3: Apply Mirror Modifier and then model the asymmetrical parts
Phase 4: Texture the new, asymmetrical bits, now that there isn’t a double to worry about
Once all that is done, then I’ll rig and such. Since Phase 1 is complete, then my attention will turn to textures. That’ll be its own journey as well, so here’s hoping all goes well! Let’s hope Ryo can get to a completed new form in due time!
An excellent question! While you are right that Quads are the norm for Blender and are the best deforming meshes organically, not to mention make things like extruding far easier, game engines work in Tris! This kind of model is based on the old Nintendo 64 character models, which are composed solely in Tris.
Now, Blender does “technically” work in Tris as well, dividing Quads in half and then assuming where the diagonal bit is to give the best presentation to the camera, but doing the cut to make a hard decision on where to render the Tris gives you a lot of control on the shape, especially with something so low-poly.
So, short answer is, that’s how they did it back in the day and I’m doing the same to look authentic. Otherwise, yes, it would be smarter to work in Quads.
Thank you! I hope to make the textures all situated soon, but that may take a time. It’s proving to be a bit of a challenge. Not too much of a challenge, but it’s not going to be easy. Every pixel counts, here! All the same, I’m quite excited, as it’s a childhood dream come true!
Textures are underway. It’s a slow process, but one that is making headway. Given the of said textures is about 32x32 pixels, one must be very precise with the placement. It’s gotten to having his hair, face, chest and fingers all done, but the fingers are in a peculiar spot for where the mesh is structured. Therefore, I’ve had to begin the hand. In a way, this is a good thing, as it begins to open the way for more things with a point of reference.
Here’s what I have so far. Do know that the whole thing is still a WIP, so more things will be added over time and currently added things will improve piece by piece as it gets done. I like to fiddle with things if I get new ideas.
Also, if you’re curious, I use Aseprite to make the textures. I’m using various textures from an N64 game as well as artworks of my character as a reference, but the pieces put onto the model is my own work. Once Ryo is finished, I’ll also post up the finished textures he uses, just because I’m quite proud of the sprite work to get him like this.
Update on how the project’s going. It’s going slowly, but I am doing all textures from scratch, so it’s to be expected. However, it has progressed nicely, to the point where the Phase 2 aspect of the plan is nearing completion! Phase 3 is when things will really get customized and personalized!
Ryo’s development has continued! Every part of his model now has textures to it! From head to toe, he’s got his symmetrical parts! This means he’s ready for Phase 3! He’ll be getting his asymmetrical parts modeled to finish his overall look! Here’s his progress thusfar:
