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| Version 1 (2017) Model |
Brief History: Before we get into it, I just want to say that this post will actually be the third time I cover this character model. If you're interested in seeing how it all began check out this post: Samer Version 1. If you wanna see where it went, check out this post: Samer Version 2. If you wanna know how it's going, then keep reading here. The Samer Khatib character model is that one character model that always receives updates. I have had big plans for this character since it's inception. This model originally started as a sloppy sketch on paper and version 1 of the 3d model was made all the way back in 2017. I have always had plans to create a video game series surrounding a Samer Khatib character for as long as I could remember. Samer Khatib has appeared in a couple of videos on my youtube channel and, as of this post, he has appeared in two of my currently released games. A cameo in Giraffe Town marks the character's very first in-game appearance. Samer later appears in "The Debug" but this time as a playable character. His appearance in The Debug is brief and doesn't really let the player explore the character's abilities however, this small appearance marks the first time that the Samer Khatib character is actually playable. If you're reading this years from now in the future. The Samer Khatib character model would have been in many different titles. Playable in dozens of games by now better known as the "Samer Hills" series. Check them out.
Anyway, this character model has seen many changes over time. I think I have revised and redesigned this model more times than all the changes Mario and Sonic's character designs have gone through. So, obviously, this model in particular is very important for me to get just right. And with the newest version I'm talking about today, I'm pretty content with the quality, design, and everything overall. For now, that is. Let's take a closer look.
Here are some better shots of the wireframe for this model. And, as a 3d nerd, I think things like wireframes of a model are super interesting. Anyway, if you compare this model to older versions of it, the first thing you will probably notice is how much cleaner it is. It's a small thing for some, but for me, I practice having good topology in all of my models. The topology of a 3d model, especially a character model is very important. Keep things clean and organized. Add loop cuts where necessary and manage each poly with care. I basically rebuilt the entire body from the ground up. The previous one was incredibly unorganized, sloppy, and horrible with the character's rig. I decided to simply start fresh and remodel Samer's body from scratch. As for the head and face of the model, I was always pretty satisfied with that. Just needed a few minor tweaks. I didn't remake his head from scratch because I didn't want to risk changing the model too much and I think the Samer head has already been established as this iconic, recognizable character that can easily be identified with Snowconesolid Productions. Since the head is a smaller part of the mesh it was much easier to go back into it and clean it up. You probably won't notice a difference when comparing the head on this model to an older version, but it has been drastically improved overall in many ways. The eyes, cheeks, nose, hair, ears, mouth, and insides have received a really nice update and bump in quality.
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| Full, 5 finger hands |
Additional changes on the body finally include hands with 5 fingers. The original Samer Khatib as well as previous variations of the model always only included 4 fingers. I don't know why I originally only gave him 4 fingered hands. Again, it's a small change that I bet most people didn't even notice on the Samer model as seen in Giraffe Town. But changes like these are important for me and giving the model a proper set of hands was a must. One more thing, the hand isn't just an updated mesh with an extra finger. Now, in the latest version of the Samer model, his hands are actually fully rigged and animated. They can open, close, grab, etc. Previous versions of the model did not have rigged hands and fingers. The hands always stayed in the same static pose. A fully rigged hand really adds an extra layer of life to the model and I am pleased with it.
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| Shiny new rig |
Samer's character rig is also completely new. With the new mesh, improved topology that is now properly designed with a layout to support good character rigging, I didn't hesitate to also toss out the original rig. The original one had many issues and was poorly mapped to the model despite having fewer bones than this new rig. It didn't deform the model properly and just looked really bad in certain angles. As a matter of fact, in Giraffe Town, whenever Samer was on screen, I always made sure to have the camera facing his "good sides", which are areas that deformed properly that is. In some cutscenes, if look at the model from different angles, it's deformation is really messed up. Anyway, this new and improved rig fixes all the deformation issues I had on the original model and basically just works perfectly. This custom rig also adds many new features specifically for the Samer Khatib model. Fully rigged hands for example. The really nice new feature that I added is actually a rig for Samer's hair.
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| Animated hair |
I've always appreciated video games that took the time to animate the character's hair if they had any. The older version of this model had this stiff hair as if it was glued to his head. With my new and improved rig, this finally changed and now the Samer Khatib character model finally has luscious, beautiful, flowing hair that dances majestically in the light wind. I don't have a gif at this moment to show an example of what I want to say next, but you will see this in the actual games eventually. Anyway, Samer's hair is actually dynamic. So, it will flow with you when you are running. If the game has stronger winds, Samer hair will flow to match the speeds or, if you're inside for example, and not moving, Samer's hair will barely flow depending on if there is any wind or not. So, just a little something I'm proud of.
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| 4K Textures |
Onto the texturing and shading work. Just like modeling, texture work is very important to me and it's something that took me years to finally get good at. Before, I used to simply just take a texture, slap it onto a model, and call it a day or just use basic colors for things such as skin. It didn't look bad, but it didn't look, I guess professional either. It didn't have that "wow" quality to it to make it stand out. My texture work was missing something and that something was consistency. I'm kind of speaking in general in regards to this topic and not just about my Samer Khatib model. But, I would say that the texture work is more important than the actual 3d models themselves. The textures could either make or break your game's/animation's graphical presentation. So, what happens when you just take textures and slap them onto 3d models? You lose consistency. There's no sense of art direction or style. It's just a mess. Each photo texture you use most likely has different lighting, is off, or just doesn't match with the model or universe of your production in general. Also, it looks like the same stock texture that you've probably seen in a bunch of other games and it probably is. In order to maintain a strong and consistent art direction, the texture work needs to be able to blend everything. All elements of the game or animation or scene, etc together. These days, I actually spend more time on the texturing than the actual model. I work hard to ensure that the texture's on all my models are unique, fit the particular model, and more importantly, are able to blend in with the rest of the production. I think texturing is more of a smaller piece to a much bigger puzzle and when doing texture work it's good to also think about how it would be presented not just on the specific model, but in the game world itself. Anyway, I was starting to just ramble there. Back to the Samer Khatib model, he now sports a high res 4K texture with improved skin, hair coloring as well as detailed elements such as wrinkles on the clothes, grooves in the hair, lines on the shirt, etc. Speaking of clothes, this brings me to my next topic. Different costumes and clothes.
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| Samer's NEW default red and black suit. |
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| Winter |
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| Halloween |
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| Boxers |
As you can see, I designed the Samer Khatib character model to be extremely customizable. Knowing that I'm going to be using this character model in numerous different games, I needed to make sure that I had reusability in mind when designing the model. I created this character in such a way that lets me easily customize, build off of, and create new things specifically for this model. The above images are just a few examples of the many different costumes that Samer can sport. Over time, as more Samer Hills games come out, you might see Samer in a different unique piece of clothing or wearing something that matches the theme of the game. For example, in Samer Hills Hollow Jack (which as of this blog post is currently in development), instead of the default suit. You will see Samer wearing his vampire Halloween costume. These different costumes for the model are built from scratch, but once again, because of how I set up this model and took the steps beforehand to properly prepare it. I can easily create a new wardrobe that just instantly works with the character. For example, check out this custom Feed Me Billy costume I created for the Samer Khatib model:
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| Feed Me Billy Costume |
You won't actually be able to get this specific costume in any of the Samer Hills games. This one was just for fun. But it's a really good example showcasing the customizability of my Samer Khatib character model as I was able to create this new set of clothes pretty quickly. Anyway, for context, if you aren't familiar. This costume is based on a game called "Feed Me Billy" by developer Puppet Combo. In Feed Me Billy you play as a serial killer who must feed a hungry hole in the closet. It's a great game and a personal favorite of mine. I recommend it. Puppet Combo is a super cool game developer that I really look up to. Their works have definitely served as inspiration for me as well as motivate me to continue to improve and grow in my own game development career. So, definitely check out this developer if you haven't. You can follow Puppet Combo on Twitter over here: @PuppetCombo and you can support them on Patreon at this link: www.patreon.com/puppetcombo
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| Feed Me Billy by Puppet Combo |
Finally, the most important thing for the Samer Khatib character model is his unique array of facial expressions.
Originally seen in Giraffe Town as "the only character with different facial expressions" - This feature has become a key staple for the character. Samer Khatib is also better known as the man with many facial expressions and when working on this new version of the model, I made sure that there would be no shortage of that. This character is supposed to be very expressive and very animated to contrast the world that he's in which is Samer Hills of course. And this is something cool because in the types of games I am making, I can use Samer's facial expressions as a tool to better communicate with the player. For example, I can have the Samer character react differently depending on where the player is in the game or, what the player is doing. If danger is near by, the Samer character can get maybe this nervous look, and if the player sees that, they will know that they are in danger. Or if the player is near a certain item he can display some other emotion and so on. His expressions really tie in with my game designs and instead of a hud or annoying sound or something, the character's physical appearance serves as a display to communicate information to the player.
Samer has a wide range of different emotions and I can't wait for you to see them in the Samer Hills games.
I may not be a 3D master and I can definitely still learn and improve further. With that said, over the years, as a 3d artist, I personally feel that I have greatly grown and learned a lot. What started as a hobby that I picked up way back in high school has become something that is routine for me and my love for 3D artwork and computer graphics continues to grow. Man, this stuff is just so cool.
