Currently I am roughing out the armor shapes and starting some of the high poly work. The hard-surface armor pieces I am doing inside of MAX just because it is easier to control edges. I'm retopping her body in preparation to take it back into Zbrush to do all of the organic suit details. Once all of that is done, I'll bring everything back into MAX for a final retop of the model as a whole.
I've been trying to determine whether I want to retop the whole body (including the armor) as one solid mesh, just because when it comes time to skin that may cause certain armor plates to maybe bend with the rest of the body, whereas if I left the armor plates separate from the rest of the body, they could be skinning to the bones and more independently without bending or deforming. Although that way would rack up the poly count. DECISIONS!
I also must pay close attention to her silhouette as I think she may be a little too stocky at the moment. I hope to use the armor and some belts as a way to make her shape a bit more interesting. Her hair will be pretty important as well! I can't wait for that. I can't even predict the amount of planes I am going to use.
Recently I have been taking a break from the freelancing while I wait to hear about that projects status. Work has also bumped up to 50 hours a week instead of 40 which is going to limit my portfolio time all the more. Modeling work-related stuff for 10 hours straight only to come home and model more stuff is difficult. But THIS stuff is what I really want to do, so I can pull it off. :D
I just hope this all pays off.
I think it will.
