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Hey all, did these guys in about 10 min each. Nothing all really, just quick sketches with some free time on my hands. Don't take them for finished or locked on stuff at all, just, well....concepts. My process usually works by getting some hard design ideas, then working towards some finalized, colored and inked sketches that give some action and character of the character. EX: that cythoid (I know thats not hte spelling, cant recall name) main theme right now is getting the armor plating and stature right. I'm thinking it needs to be more alien, lumbering and slow, but it can suddenly get down and pounce. Its design is more of a half pet, half hunter kind of ideal. So I want to get down the idea behind the character then work on really nailing the cosmetics and such.

FEEDBACK MUCH APPRECIATED....cant get better without critism. Request where I should head too. Ill do two things next. Take ideas for these guys and work with them and two work on two more initial sketches for possibly the snakes and maybe something brand new. Dont like mutoids much....to comic booky. Dont think they should make the cut. Got some good ideas for something a little more....alien. Anyway, enjoy, much more to come.

[img]http://holly.colostate.edu/~jpcoombs/cythoid.jpg[/img][img]http://holly.colostate.edu/~jpcoombs/sectoid.jpg[/img]
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Celatid is what it is called. Whever it touched your soldiers they were changed into zombies. My favorite alien from the original. Creeped the shuckeroonies out of me the very first time I saw it. Totally unexpected.
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If that is a chryssalid, i suggest it will be straight (dont know how to say it in english), i mean the curvature of the back... it should be straight cause it is very fast...

Greetings
Red Knight
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Hey -

I actually sorta like the cutsie look of the Sectiod. A nasty suprise... :D

I also like the Cyrsalid(sp?) concept, but I agree with Red Knight; they should at least be a bit larger and imposing. Perhaps straightening them will do this, perhaps not. I have the eye of a bat :unsure: .

Gold
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You know, I was looking at your concept art again, and I gotta say...I'm damn glad to have a talented artist on the team! This is the first non-computer drafted concept I've seen on this board so far (although I'm sure I missed some of the early stuff). Please, PLEASE post some more...it gets the creative juices flowing.

In regard to clothes on the sectiod..is this what is really wanted? I personally am not sure which is better, perhaps if I saw a pic of both I could decide. But if we made alien uniforms...would they be species specific? One for all? Will they account for rank and speciality? Just some thoughts.

Gold
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Alright, first, after looking over some of the intial feedback I was getting, everyone wants the crystallis (or whatever the heck its name was) to stand upright. I have a couple more QUICK sketches here to give you an idea of why I chose to hunch him over. Take a look, and please, dont hesitate to critique.

[img]http://holly.colostate.edu/~jpcoombs/crysanim.jpg[/img]
[img]http://holly.colostate.edu/~jpcoombs/crys-pose.jpg[/img]

Here is a concept for the snake. Ignore proportion problems, blah blah blah. Just what do you think of the concept, uniform, etc. Please, dont be nice (well, I DO like compliments as much as the next person).

[img]http://holly.colostate.edu/~jpcoombs/snake1.jpg[/img]

The more I do on this, the more I realize that there are only a few characters from the original worth bringing over. They become very comical when brought into a higher resolution, 3D world, and I think that original designs ought to be fun to play with. However, I think these designs should stay behind closed doors. I will never forget the fear I got from seeing my first cyrstallid (whatever the heck they were). Want to have that same effect. So I dont plan to post anything original on the forums....unless it is ordained by the gods. Enjoy.
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Guest drewid
I Like the spikeyness of the chryssallid. we can get some nice colour contrast going between the skin and the bony extrusions.

From a concept point of view the pose needs a bit of something, I kind of see him as tense and poised to strike.

There was some great concept stuff done for genesis which might be worth looking at, but bear in mind it's one up from a first stage sketch and looks very polished.

dammit - sorry - I can't find the link. - I think Deimos has it.
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i like the cryss, but perhaps a little less bown forward. Its the quickest (isn't it?) alien in the game, so it have to be just a little arrodynamic formed. The spikes are very cool though.
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that snake sure is scary! hmm.... try making the head smaller...maybe the 2 upper teeth stiking out of the mouth

Yeah, i can see your point about cryss, but i think its too much crumbled. a little less should work?
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I actually think the hunched-over stance would promote speed, in that it could run on all four limbs. It could run on all fours, then rear up to strike. I had an idea where it had 4 legs and 2 arms, also to provide the fast movement. Your picture looks much better of course!

Very nice designs!
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Guest drewid
That chryssallid kicks donkey.

I see him as prowling around ready to spring at any time, so he would be crouched, on his toes, and tense. The arms would be in a "ready" position.
That topdown 3/4 view deserves to be done as a nice colour piece, it really catches his energy well. :rock:

The snake is pretty cool though I agree that maybe the head is a bit big.
Maybe he should be less like an earth snake? just a thought... perhaps horns or tusks maybe?
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[quote name='oddjob' date='May 13 2003, 01:40 AM']Celatid is what it is called.  Whever it touched your soldiers they were changed into zombies. [/quote]
No, No, No! Celatid were a balloon-like acid-shooting alien!!! And that was Chryssalid, the heck, Chryssalid!
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I believe the Zerg Hydralisk from Starcraft could be a good inspiration for the snakeman, sort of like the aliens from Alien movies with a serpent lower half. Will see about finding some other ideas/artwork, since my stick figures probably won't convey concepts very well! :D
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Very nice, but the snakeman could do with a more insecty, spikey look like Breunor says.

If you just could draw a front, side and (not neccesary) top view of each of these, then we could start make some models based of them!
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Very nice work. I like your style, it works really well for sense of action in the posing.

The chryssalid I reckon should bring feelings of fear like the alien did in the first film. I'd agree with Drewid that the 3/4 view should be made up in colour. Lots of chitinous blackened bone like protusions.

I think the snake looks very cool and maybe keep the proportions of the head (just to be different) as typically snakes heads are very large in proportion to their bodies. However for the arms I'd make them much more muscular to show the feeling of power. How about putting some bones coming off the shoulders like natural armour, maybe moveable so it makes a noise like a rattlesnake, which we could use in game for the sound. Like a slowed down noise of a rattler.

I definitely think they should have some kind of patterning to show the hierachy say like king cobra markings for a snakeman commander. What do you think?
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Great great feedback you guys, gettin a lot of ideas here, no kidding. Gonna take the snake in a different direction because of what im getting here, so please, keep em coming.
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I've moved this to keep all the art work in the correct place or we'll forget about where stuff has been posted and things will get very messy. Guys just as a side point can you post your stuff in the correct forums please. Thanks. That way everything is easy to find and it'll ease the moderating team shifitng stuff around. :)
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is that an air guitar?
j/k those are great concepts.

Secotid clotihg: heck no, The sectoid are based off the contemporary alien that is scene so often in the mdeia. Putting clothes on him takes away that feelings. Think "fire in the sky" or unsolved mysteries.

Chrysalid. Great ideas, nailed it w/ the spikes, feeling. I don't want to blur the line inbetween the big lumbering dudes w/ two legs (reaper?) and the chrysalid. I think that the lunge thing would be awesome, in that if a chrysalid lunged out from the dark (all in time units) this would be if-you-see-Keighing scary. Also thinking that maybe their eyes could glow red. Anyways-another thing to think about is how the chrysalids inject their foes with eggs, and one more thing(sorry) the chrysalid has to fit into a human shell (at least at the start of the incubaiton) later they could grow, but this would involve making two seperate models, A smaller chrysalid, used for humans, and the fully gornw one. Not a bad idea, but soemthing to think about.
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After reading the other posts more in-depth I think that ill give my 2cents (if anyone gives a damn :) )

Upright position, good for zombie like features, I see it as bad for speed. A walking/running animation is gonna sell the hunched look. Imagine it Leaping forward like a gorilla, using its longer arms to propel (as apes do). This would not only reinforce the alien nature of the Alien, but also give it a really akward, tension to its movememnts. The TU of these things was amazingly high in the game (just as a note).
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Here ya go, tell me what ya think.....I'm not great with color, but this should give a good idea for some models wtih all the concepts combined.

[img]http://holly.colostate.edu/~jpcoombs/attack.jpg[/img]
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I love the idea of the claws, you could get some really good gore on this one. ;)

The humanoid form is going to work well (especially with those boning/modelers) we can repeat the uses the more we use this two arm/two leg model.

Hows he inject his prey-does anyone know?
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I admire anyone who has a talent for drawing. I am more of a creative writer and I have offered my assistance but haven't contributed yet. On the subject of the Chryssalid, keep in mind it does not want to kill the victim. Rather, it wants to impregnate a living human in hopes to make a zombie quickly. You could update the old design, have both arms for cutting and add tentacles to implant or even have one arm to cut and the opposite to implant. Just a thought

:idea:
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The eggs could be relatively small when injected, and quickly grow to consume the host. So perhaps the alien bites the victim and the eggs are in its saliva... After all, you are what you eat! (sorry, couldn't resist :D )

Picture looks very nice! Since this alien wants to 'spread its seed' rather than kill, are the hand spikes/blades appropriate for it? It would likely kill its host trying to hold it down while injecting it. Maybe if the spikes were chitinous(sp?) armor that radiated from the wrists and/or forearms, it could still swing its arms as weapons, but the hands would be free to grab prey.

The story line for these guys could include how they were created by another alien race as a last ditch effort to kill off a species in some other war. The Crysallids were dropped on the planet in a more potent, uncontrollable form, and infected the whole place in a matter of weeks, wiping out the native residents. As they infected hosts, their DNA was diluted to the point where the aliens who deposited them could safely export some out to other areas where they could be used. Earth is one of those spots.
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Guest drewid
That looks really unpleasant - Thats great

Colours I would try the body as a blue/purple fading to a bone colour on the spikes and ridges, (just a thought).

You could retract the spikes, and leave a single one for doing the injecting with.

(like in x-men1 when Wolverine gives Cyclops "the bird"
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If we want to keep those claws, i do, we could just write in the info, that they:

"Inplant alien mutation virus DNA. cryssaloids can attack its vicuts with its fierce claws, and strike into the blodstream. The DNA will grow in the body, and the DNA will quickly move upwards to the brain. The wounds are not deadly, because cryssaloids have a sense, that tell it where the best place to strike, without killing, is. The DNA will close the hole under the mutation progress. The brain go into a panic state, and the body lose control, easy to take over by the DNA. After a while, once the mutation is complete, the flesh, and interior organs, are mutated into a cryssaloid, and it will discharge the skin. If this progress is desturbed, and it is shot, it will break lose of the skin, and even if it is not completely developed, it still is dangerius"

so we can keep the cool claws.
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Mikker, thats a good idea. I could come up with some sketches for a half completed celatid or whatever it is. Something smaller and quicker.....kind of feels like alien though....
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Guest drewid
The front/side views with a couple of close ups on some tricky bits perhaps, are great for modellers, the posed action drawings are great for animators and writers to get a feel for how the creature moves, and for the rest of the team to get a handle on the atmosphere of the game.

Are you going to colour up these drawings or would you prefer for someone else to give that a go so you can get on with more sketching?
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Anyone is welcome to color my images....really not my forte. Im more concepts and character. Please, color them. I usually end up posting a final concept. Check out the Labratory for the final concept for the Crysallid. That could definatley be colored and possibly used for the X-base database. So have at em. Working on a new snake now.
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The idea that the mutation would heal the wounds caused by the claws is very cool. Rather than say a smaller version comes out, you just say that the process varies in its speed. Even when you kill a zombie, the alien within is developed enough that you can't tell the difference (and thus, they're all the same size). If the mutation heals the wounds, then I'd keep the large spikes, more lethal looking. It gives the sense that the DNA is causing those spiky growths to grow out, like stalagmites and stalactites in a cave.
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Hey 3D modelers, here is my final concept for the cyrsallid. My 3D modellings skills are sub par (Im learning), however, my animation skills are pretty damn good. If somone can get this guy into a reasonable model (meaning polygon count) I can definatley get to work on animating your work in Lightwave. So if you can model this, try putting it into Lightwave format with bones, etc. See what you guys can do. See some characters come to life.

If i get some good results from this Ill really put some work into the snake and sectoids....then the fun stuff....humans and their armor and gear. Whooo hooo!
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I could probably do it off that pic, but I would have to make him in many pieces. Front and side would make it go quicker. But I got a lot of models to make as it is.
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I could too, but i am quite busy at the moment.

Having confirmation in 3 days! :birthday:

It would be nice to try making figures, and not only weapons...
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Guest drewid
Nice- nice lighting - quick too - A few questions

How many polys?

What's the face like? can't really see it in the render.

Has it got no hands apart from the claws??
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The only part I would change is move the waist belt thing up a little or angle the sides. It looks like it would constrict the leg movements a little. But that is just me. :D
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[quote name='drewid' date='May 15 2003, 05:11 PM']Nice- nice lighting - quick too - A few questions

How many polys?

What's the face like? can't really see it in the render.

Has it got no hands apart from the claws??[/quote]
How many Poly's ?!? To much... 148.229

Ohhh.... damn... I forgot'n the Hands...

Here a Update...
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:D like it!

I very much like its missing eyes. It adds to the can-feel-only-warm-blod spookeyness...it also adds how it goes for certain places to strike. It knows where the main blodstreams are, and are avoiding those, going for the smaller streams.

Maybe you could kill A FEW polys, by using a bump-like texture, instand of having all that very rough outfit.. Edited by mikker
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Guest drewid
yeah yeah yeah I like him. :rock:

Heres a few suggestions - feel free to ignore any or all of them.

I reckon fade the bone and skin textures together, so it's like the armour has grown through the skin. so a spike is slightly paler than the skin at the base and bone coloured at the tip.
maybe the armour should be slightly smaller as well ( for the same reason).

The face plate should be all bone I reckon. but maybe hav it fading where the eyes are?

Low poly wouldn't be too hard specially using this one to render maps for the low one.

Hmmm - and I'm not completely convinced by the bone y-fronts, but I'm not sure what you'd do instead.

Nice work though Crix - up to your usual high standard.

edit. how bout dis? keep the crotch as a skin colour but bring out the ridge at the top of the pelvic bone on each side as a visible bone ridge? Edited by drewid
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'k....

Now I have reduced the poly-count to 33.170 Edited by Crix Dorius
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Crix, bloody great work.

Did my stuff justice. I am really impressed. And I think you did a great job capturing what I want from the creature. No eyes, bone like armoring. I have to say this has given me a lot of faith in the project. 1) You really nailed what I'm going for with the crysallid. Good read on my art, which is often times a very difficult thing to transfer into 3d. 2) Great turn around time. You got this bad boy done quick, and I would love to see a low poly model so I can get a good idea of working with textures.

Great work crix. Im gonna put some real work into the Sectoid and snake this evening. Ill give you modelers something real to work with, some poses, side and front views. I just needed confirmation that this wasn't gonna just float in space for two weeks.

Like I said, just want to see that low poly model, and if you can, throw it into a lightwave format so I can try working with some animation. This game is really gonna go places, mark my words.
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Thx...
I try to do my best. :D
(That was my first non-Ship work. Huuuu... Im better than I thougt :blink: )

I try to make it more low-poly... ^_^

I don't know much about LW...

What format's can it read ? Edited by Crix Dorius
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Not sure, dont have the program in front of me at the moment...at work.

See if you can do a real low poly, like 400-500.....even that is a little much. But I think that should be something good to work with in game for the time being. Anyway, see what you can do.
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