Virtual Snowconesolid Avatar Version 2!

Not too long ago I introduce one of my newest character models Virtual Samer Khatib as well as a complete "Making Of" blog post which covered the full process of how I created the character from start to finish. In my more recent blog posts such as this one and this one I have been talking about a new game project as well as sharing a ton of early screenshots from the games development. In the blog posts I talk about focusing on quality texturing and modeling this time around. I also mentioned that I want to use my new Samer Khatib character model for the new project.

After focusing a lot of time on the new game environment, I looked at my character model and began to notice how out of place and inconsistent he was with the rest of the scene. After all, I did originally just do a very basic texture job on the original character model which only included solid colors. So I decided to go back to the character model and re-work a lot of areas that could be better or improved. 

Before showing the new updated version of Virtual Samer Khatib here are some screenshots of what version 1 looked like:

Blender Render

In Unity Engine

Boxers model

Clothes model

So just simple basic clothing and regular solid colors. I liked it. It still looked good in my opinion. But for the purposes of my new project, I want to be as consistent as possible with the visual art style. I took some time and experimented around with a variety of image textures

until I was able to properly get down a good efficient texturing style that would work out for my model. 

Experimental texturing screenshots:

not final

Virtual Samer Khatib V2:

Originally I was planning on just re-working the textures, but I actually ended up re-reworking almost the entire model and then some. I fixed a lot of clunky areas in the model, added new geometry and adjusted verts to give the model's body a more defined shape, the hair has been adjusted and isn't as flat, I modeled new clothes with multiple materials for the model, the feet are better, I optimized the model to work better in game and made the entire thing more unified and easier to customize in the future.  Okay, time to stop bragging. Drum roll please....

Alright, here is V2 of Virtual Samer Khatib:

NOTE: This is without any lighting or post fx in Unity Engine

V2 Boxers outfit

V2 Striped pajamas outfit (also made color variants of this.)

V2 Badass leather jacket outfit (was originally suppose to be suit/tux. I might ditch the bow-tie. I guess it can be both a suit and a leather outfit really)

I spent waaay more time on re-working the new and improved model than I wanted to but it was very well worth it and i'm glad I did take the time to improve upon the original model. I am very happy with the results. This is a very nice update to the original character model and I might continue updating him even further in future projects as well.

More soon!

What have I been working on? March Update

     Hello everyone, as usual it has been weeks since my last blog post and a new post is long overdue so here is a quick update of what I have been up to lately. Quick short answer, all I have been doing is just creating. Constantly creating. Juggling different projects and making weird stuff. Not necessarily games. But anything from some pointless YouTube videos to 3d art to unity engine related work. I'm never really working on just one thing. Although I don't update daily here on the blog, I frequently share what I am doing on my twitter and pretty much all the stuff I am going to show here is stuff I already shared on twitter over the past couple days. 

News on the next Steam Game?

     Just a quick recap - the last "big" thing I was working on and talking about was my next game project "Samer Hills" which is still up over for voting on Steam GreenLight (That's right, as of this post Valve's GreenLight program is still up for all you indie developers out there who want to try your luck and submit your game for voting if Direct isn't really your thing) 

     Kind of getting off topic. I will talk more about GreenLight/Direct down the road and post updates sharing my thoughts once Valve shares some more information. As for my current GreenLight game, "Samer Hills" currently still has not been greenlit and it's kind of just sitting there at the moment. Anything is still possible and I do believe that there is still time for games to pass GreenLight so don't get discouraged if you are interested. Anyway, I will definitely share updates if game doesn't pass in time and the GreenLight system is replaced with Valve's new Direct program. 

Taking break.

     After creating an initial build of some of the early gameplay for "Samer Hills", creating the demo trailer, and posting the GreenLight campaign, I took a break away from that project. I'v been working on that for months now and i'm sure this is a common trait between all indie devs, but you just get tired and bored of constantly working on the same project everyday. Sometimes you just lose motivation or want to do something else. This is what happened to me. My problem is that I always tend to want to make development complicated. I have this vision for a game project but then I end up wanting to create a larger world with different characters and multiple unique environments etc. Very similar to how I developed "Potato Thriller" which surprisingly had a little over 90 unity scenes and although not everyone liked that game, I spent so much time and put in a lot of effort into creating it. I always appreciate the feedback I am given for my work but sometimes I hear the word "team" thrown around and although I have said this before, I just want to remind people that I am just one guy. I don't have a team or a studio or anything. Just one solo developer with a passion for creating games and sometimes missing the point that projects don't need to be over complicated. 

  Anyway, I am starting to just rant at this point and get off track. But I'm just taking a short break away from "Samer Hills" so that I could focus on some other smaller sized projects which I will get into more detail in future posts. I'm not saying that I am canceling "Samer Hills" so don't get the wrong idea. I will eventually go back to it, finish it and release as I already put in so much work and created most of the assets for the game. I'll keep the blog updated. 

What new projects are coming?

     At the moment, I am planning on working on a smaller scale game. Something I can release in a shorter development period than one of my larger game projects such as "Samer Hills". I will share more info in the future, but I might definitely have a new game out before I go back to working on "Samer Hills". Other projects I have been working on are just some misc 3d work and videos. I plan on bringing new content to my YouTube channel such as tutorials for 3d modeling and using the unity game engine, etc. Maybe some short animations. I also want to start doing some more development vlogs and hopefully have a new "Making Of" coming soon of a new character model I have been working on. 

That's about it for now. I will be sharing more in upcoming posts. In the meantime here is some screenshots of my most recent work. Some weird, some bad and some is just random. More to come!

Crazy Cats Toon Pack Now Available On Unity Asset Store

     My new asset package "Crazy Cats Toon Pack" is now available on the Unity Asset Store!
Package includes 9 colorful fully rigged, mecanim/animation ready low poly toon crazy cat character models to use in your Unity project!


Get it here: http://u3d.as/h8V

Screens:

Awesome Space Guy Toon Pack Now Available On Unity Asset Store

     My new asset package "Awesome Space Guy Toon Pack" is now available on the Unity Asset Store! Package includes 5 colorful rigged, mecanim/animation ready low poly toon Space guy character models to use in your Unity project!

Get it here: http://u3d.as/gDS

Screens:

Bag Face

     So, I'm working on a new game idea I had. Its kind of random but I am working on making it a real thing. I will talk more about it later on. For now check out "Bag Face", my latest original character. Bag Face is a character who works in a grocery store and wears a paper bag over his head all year round.

Bag Face:

Just recently finished creating this guy in Blender3D. Low poly (6656 tris) game ready model. Fully rigged and currently created 3 animations for him (idle, walk, run). Already have him setup in the unity game engine.

I love creating a bunch of different characters from scratch. This guy in particular was a really fun character for me to create.

Before I modeled him in Blender and created a full 3d working game character model I decided to do a quick concept sketch on paper. (Originally I called him "Bagboy")

Don't mind the weird dancing apple robot on the far left. Also I had to cut out some other things on the picture because there was several other characters I drew on there but are for different game ideas I want to work on.

Going to model that little duck-like character standing next to bag face next. That duck will also be a character in my next game project.

More updates real soon!