m1kclark's art Reviews on Newgrounds

[Android]

<debate>

This almost entirely a response to VidGameDude.

I don't think the "zbrush makes it too easy" argument is valid at a criticism. As stated, it sounds like your fundamental point of view is "Don't use new technology because it hamstrings your artistry." Meanwhile, 3D art in general is a manifestation of that. A "true" artist knows enough about perspective and perspective distortion that they don't need a computer to calculate light refraction off of polygons for them. This image could theoretically have been made by hand, or even in MS Paint; do we denigrate the entire 3D Art genre because it can be done using other media by "more skilled" artists?

And even within the world of 3D Art tools, I have literally spent *months* trying to make a human face in Blender, and it still looks like a partially melted ugly doll. Blender is pretty fantastic for particle effects, though, and for using simple algorithms on simple shapes to make complex patterns. So I might use Blender for a starship, zbrush for its pilot, and GIMP for post-processing: so what? Certain tools are best suited for certain tasks, like in a kitchen. So if sculpting organics is like chopping vegetables, then Blender is a like carving knife and zbrush is like a ... blender.

f(o_o)

[CARACOLES]

Textures!

Fantastic use of bump maps here. Did you make all the textures yourself, including the ground? And I like the purple highlights, although its not clear whether it is a reflection or some kind of bio-luminescence. (That is, did you put a purple light somewhere, or do the textures glow purple?) My one and only negative comment is that I expect slugs to be slimy, but for all I know you wanted these to look dry and only semi-organic.

Nahuije responds:

I did not make the texture of the ground, but yes I did it for the slims, for the light I used self luminescence and a very soft purple light ( U can see it in the gorund which have some purple) And u are absolutly right! this slims have no slimy !! :( and that is because my computer couldn't calculate that in the render time!!! so I omited it. Have a very nice day.

[microprocessor]

A few words on Blender

It's reasonable start. As an image, it's pretty low quality. But the main problem isn't creativity, it's that you aren't familiar with Blender. So here are some Blender-related comments.

First, I can see the polygons in the "indents" on the left & right sides of the processor. To fix that, use "Set Smooth" in the Editing window (F9 or the button with the square + four dots). Note that this will make the sharp corners smooth, too, which you don't want; but you can avoid that by pressing "Use AutoSmooth" in the same window. There are other workarounds, but this is the simplest.

Second, I see that the yellow dots are actually part of a texture (presumably built in gimp) and in the Shading (F5) window under "Map To", you set the texture to modify "Col" (color) and "Nor" (the normal map). That's not a *bad* way to do this. However, if you are going to do it, you *need* to make the texture a much higher resolution in Gimp. The pixelation in the texture image is showing up on your model, and it's really a drag on the object's quality.

Third (and I give this advice to everyone), learn how to bevel. It adds an extra bit of realism. You may want to hold off on that, and prioritize learning other elements of Blender, but make sure "beveling" stays on your to-do list.

Finally, I've fiddled with Blender for years. Let me tell you how I, with my experience, would model those yellow dots. I would make an Object which represents one yellow dot (call it the Dot object). I would add a Square mesh, then subdivide it several times so it becomes a grid of points, probably 32 or 64 on a side (call this the Grid object). Next, (rather advanced) you set the Grid object to be the "parent" of the Dot object. Do this by selecting the Dot, then shift-selecting the Grid (the Grid should be brighter pink than the Dot), and hitting Ctrl-P --> "Make Parent". Then, under the Object window (F7 or the button with the three black arrows), click "DupliVerts". Bang, it's like magic. Try it and play around with it, as DupliVerts is one of Blender's more powerful tools.

[STOP SOPA]

Perspective

SOPA isn't really about censorship. It does more harm than good, I agree, but SOPA is about piracy.

(From Wiki) SOPA would make it a felony to enable or facilitate sharing copyrighted material. Now, if I posted 'Dark Knight' to YouTube, I could be charged for copyright infringement (that's fair). But SOPA would declare that YouTube *also* committed a felony by distributing the illegal movie.

Another example, if I took a copyrighted image and posted here on the Art Portal, and Dept. Justice saw it, they could charge NewGrounds with felony piracy, could prohibit NG from appearing on Google searches, and could prevent internet users from getting to NG through their ISP. It means "game over man" for just about *every* website based on user-generated content: NG, YouTube, DeviantArt, Etsy, BlogSpot, ...
--
The art itself gets an 8. I like the water colors and the political cartoon style, although it is overly simplistic and focuses a little too much on the message at sacrifice of the art.

ZombieMonkey responds:

Thank you very much for the 8 :D This piece was a bit something new because I haven't really done anything like this. So I'm still working out the kinks.

I know that the bill isn't about censoring the content itslef on the internet. But what it does manage by prohibiting these websites is an awful, and terrrible way of censoring the internet without actually having to deal with the content in question.

[Brute model]

Good start

You need to make the textures work harder. Those pants should look like leather, with graininess and wrinkles and dust and not as reflective, instead of the pristine latex-look above. He's got a nice mouth and nose, but you copped out and didn't try the eyes. That would be okay, if you had more wild-looking, flying all over the place, hair with a finer texture. It is a good start, but there's room for improvement.

Also, use anti-aliasing to get rid of those horrible jagged lines (for example, between his gut and his belt).

[5 Golden Rings]

Almost perfect

I can totally see the polygons in the ribbons, just as they loop through the rings. And the candle flame is too transparent.

Otherwise, AWESOME!

Whistler3D responds:

Thanks!
Yes the ribbons could have some more resolution.
And the candle was a tough fight that I lost completly.

[Roboto]

Nice sci-fi work

This is the first 3D image I've seen on NG where the graininess reminds me explicitly of American film. It wouldn't be out of place as a screen-shot of a 21st century sci-fi flick. The design of the robot's "head" is realistically bulky, but is still flashy and cool. The background, though blurry, gives the right context. I give both of those elements 10/10.

That said, the appendage is not consistent with the rest of the robot. The structural style, the non-reflective surfaces, and the lack of mechanical details on the grasper-thing don't match with the "primary" disc structure. It frankly looks like Geordi LaForge adapted the "Batteries Not Included" robots, and then attached a rubber garden hose before sending it to the Death Star. If you had added the Terminator's arm or even didn't include an arm at all, my rating would have been 10/10 instead of 9/10.

A final thought: do the lens flare first, *then* add the graininess. And do more work in this sci-fi vein, I'm really pleased with it!

Whistler3D responds:

Thanks for the review, as always.

This is an old work I found in my pc, It is incomplete, I never finish the appendage , it has the default material...If I find the project I´ll finish it up.

[Roman Forum- Full]

What's it for?

There's nothing "wrong" with the model in this image: it is well-made and aesthetic, though I might call it unspectacular.

Is this made for video game usage? There's extremely few polygons, suggesting you wanted to reduce render-time, and if it isn't for a game you should really up the details in geometry. Meanwhile, if keeping it low-poly is a priority, you should still consider including a bump map (or a "normals map", whatever it's called in your software) on the surfaces to give it all extra depth. With low-poly models, the textures do *all* the work; make them work as hard as possible to improve realism.

I'm going to quote Kinsei01, another 3D art reviwer on NG: we can't see any of the details of the model, and you should consider a higher-resolution render. If you don't want to make a huge image, though, you could reposition your camera to show the details better on at least a portion of the model. This is especially true if this is indeed for a game, because we want to see what the player would see in the game. Maybe render a shot from next to the pedestal (that thing on the left) putting the Parthenon-like thing (the structure on the right) in view.

samulis responds:

Thanks for the review (especially for bothering to give your time, unlike many reviewers), but your advice isn't helpful since I already am following it... :(

First off:
http://www.newgrounds.com/art/view/samulis/roman-forum

This is designed to be sold as content for a real-time animation program. Every texture uses a bump map and some even use a secondary diffuse/blend map. The model isn't really that low-poly... it has over 200k faces (mostly because sketchup is stupid and duplicates faces... which I can normally remove, but I did not consider this when I started so it would mess up all the textures if I were to do this), which is considered medium to high poly for a real-time render engine.

The wide shot is to show the entire forum as a model, whereas the other shot is more artistic.

Thanks again for your time,
-Samulis

[Dhalsim]

Re-interpretation

Again, I love how you re-interpret the characters. Dhalsim originally referenced the Dhali Lama (thus the name), with a more emaciated frame, complete with soft eyes and weak chin. This guy looks like a body-building version, which is different from the game's version.

Then again, Dhalsim was really some dude who would used *yoga* styles to go around beating the crap out of random people including a Sumo wrestler, an Army colonel, a green-skinned mutant, and a Spaniard with 2-foot claws. O_o So, your portrayal is prolly more accurate...

[Mr Freeze]

Best of the Batman bunch

I have to say that of the recent stint of Batman 3D characters, this is definitely my favorite. Keep them coming, though: I love to see your interpretations!