Davion_ofLiberty

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nice, very nice indeed.

is it just me or does the right fist seem a bit big and the left thigh? either way...nice piece you got there Static. definately like the facial work ~

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I think it's just the angle of the pose used. Looks like the base figure is the Daz Freak, which is rather hamhanded, footed, etc, in the first place, so the proportions are going to be large.

Very nice render, btw.

Well, if 3D (Poser) counts (since I can barely draw water from a bucket), though not ultimately very good, I'd have to count one of these two among the favorites I've put together.

Battlelines

Farewell To Arms

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You two take it outside (of my thread) or I'm gonna draw you both nekid! And not in a good way... in the meantime, here:

Mar Dun & Mistress Vine

LJ

(edit for MV's shoulders, whoops almost forgot!)

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Whao. Kept trying to figure out why that image was making me think of Peanuts. Then it hit me. In this image, Mistress Vine looks a bit like a very evil Sally.

Good snapshots. I didn't allow Davion to participate on Liberty server (wouldn't have won anyway, not with those who were in the line). I chose to watch from War Witch's balcony, instead. I _thought_ I had a /demorecord going of the event, but when I exited out, it was nowhere to be found, only the one I took an hour before the event was left. (Terrible time for a /demorecord typo).

Oh well. Congrats to all winners.

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The pose and the background seem to say Batman and Gotham to me. In fact, my mind’s cross reference synapses are linking up some old batman covers. What was the artist inspiration in creating this scene? Client requested or artist interpretation? Also what does the sign say, since it’s cut off at the last letters? Just a detail that’s nagging at me, I gotta know.

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The sign is the tail end of the words Guild and Helper.

As for how this came about, I can confirm that when they first asked me what I wished for in the scene, I asked for a cityscape background and stated that I've always liked scenes with the hero watching over the city as it sleeps, perhaps from a rooftop or a ledge. Beyond that statement, I left it up to Guildhelper to use their imaginations.

What they came up with from that simple statement just blows me away.

Amazing. Incredible.

Wait, nobody move. I know I dropped my jaw around here somewhere.

Thank you so much.

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that's really cool.

My favorites are the bottom left pose in the first group (foot on something, shooting arrow towards viewer), and the top pose in the last group where he's drawing the arrow.

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Exactly what I thought, as well.

On the custom clothing subject, there are a couple of tools out there that make the job a bit easier. I'm going to throw some commercial links out here as a resource based on the question asked.

First is PhilC's Clothing Creator (at www.philc.net). With this you can create simple clothing for any Poser figure. More complex stuff will still need to be modeled in another 3D app. You can also use his Wardrobe Wizard to convert a clothing item from one figure to another (with varying degrees of success - not everything converts well) or Markdc's Clothes Convertor from daz3d.com works a bit more smoothly, IMO, but doesn't support as many figures. Or, rather, Clothes Convertor does 'support' all the figures for manual adjustment, it just doesn't allow for auto-conversion against any figures except the DAZ Unimesh figures, where Wardrobe Wizard will auto convert for most figures. In short, Cothes Convertor's autoconversion is smoother, but more limited in support.

A 2nd option is Reye's Virtual Fashion Basic for Poser (www.e-frontier.com). [Side note, the Virtual Fashion Basic that can be purchased directly on the Reyes website is not Virtual Fashion Basic for Poser, the Poser version apparently must be purchased through e-frontier.] This is fairly new, and currently only supports the Poser6 James and Jessi figures. Supposedly an upgrade version is in the works that will support other figures, but Jessi and James are it for now.

Both Clothing Creator and Virtual Fashion, out of the box, require the use of the cloth room in Poser 5 & 6 (Virtual Fashion only supports Poser 6), though I have found ways around that using Markdc's AutoGroup Editor and Quick Conform apps to turn the articles into conforming cloth items. Works quite well. Here's an example of a mask I put together in Virtual Fashion Mask . I am using this mask along with other converted items to make the costume for my CoH character, Davion Davion 3D - WIP. Still need to finalize the fitting and then do the textures, but the yellow mask in this image has been converted from James to DAZ's Mike 2 and converted to a conforming cloth item. [I didn't reapply the mask texture from the first image before taking the 2nd, as it was easier to check the fit with the mask in yellow.]

Of the two applications, Clothing Creator is more versatile for the sheer number of supported figures. But Virtual Fashion is extremely easy to use (as long as you have some patience with the cloth room in Poser 6 or are willing to use other tools to make conforming cloth).

Oh, that is just incredible.

There are some resin statue kits that can be found on ebay using the keyword search "kit 1/4 scale" or "kit 1/6 scale". Whether you can find one that is a close enough match to your character is another question. In my case, I'm waiting on delivery of a Rocketeer kit that provides a close enough base match to my Davion character that I should be able to modify it for my needs.

Wow. This is the best yet, IMO.

Interesting. This is the first I've heard of magic sculp. I'll look into this to see if it will work for what I want to do. Right now it looks like I'll probably stick with sanding and cutting on a resin cast, but I'll continue experimenting with other options.

I've seen a few threads in this forum about modeling and customization of hero figure sculptures. And while I've found some very useful tips from these threads, I have a fairly specific question on customizing from an existing model kit that I haven't seen answered.

As it turns out, my main character, Davion (view here) , after his post-I7 jacket change has a costume that is very similar in many ways to the Rocketeer character. And though that was not what I was originally shooting for when I made that change, it does appear to present me with a rather interesting opportunity. Recently I stumbled across some 1/4 scale Rocketeer model kits on ebay ( sample image) , which come in 6 unassembled parts: left arm, right arm, torso, legs, helmet and jet pack. Since the helmet and jetpack are completely separate pieces, they can be left out entirely since Davion wouldn't need them.

The legs and head are almost perfect for my needs. First, I don't plan to alter the original model kit when I recieve it in any way. I'm planning to make rubber molds of the existing pieces and then cast new parts for the needed alterations. I am already familiar with casting from molds for chess kits, mostly pewter but I do have the resources for alumilite castings though I've never done them. I know that alumilite won't melt or deform at temps below 425 degrees or so, where sculpey bakes at 225. as such I know I could cast the torso with alumilite and add the mask and hat with sculpey and then later baking the sculpey additions over the alumilite cast to make them permanent. I should be able to do something similar with the straps on the boots.

The challenges I see and the tips I'm looking for, since I am not a sculptor in any way, shape or form, are some issues with too many buttons on the jacket, and the gun in one hand (which Davion would not carry). If I recast the parts in alumilite or any resin, carving off the gun and buttons will be a pain in the neck. It would be simplest for my goal if I could cast the torso and the arm holding the gun with sculpey, reshape, cut or smooth off what I don't need or want and then bake it. But the problem I see with the experiments I've done from some of my existing chess molds is that sculpey doesn't really seem to like to come out of the mold all that great. The best result I've had was to put the sculpey and mold in the freezer for about half an hour. The sculpey did more or less keep it's shape without deformation this way (while it deformed badly without the time in the freezer), but it didn't want to come out of the mold all that well, and broke off in pieces.

Any tips from those with experience in such matters on a better way to get rid of those buttons and that gun on a casting? Or am I already on the right track with the frozen sculpey idea and just need to find a better way to release from the mold?

Well, the link provided by Draugadan worked a couple hours ago, but now gives a message that the account has been suspended.

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I got the templates from : http://www.dcuanimated.com/gallery/main.php

I just draw the accessories on top of the template and keep referring back to the screenshot as I draw. It's a matter of making what's in the screenshot simplistic. For the colors, use the main color and a darker shade for the shadowing.

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Sigh. I just had to read this thread before bed time didn't I? I had to give it a try. Now nearing 5am (sleep, what's that?) and I finished my Davion with his new I7 costume. Davion

This was rather fun and completely different from anything I've played with before.