Optimal Update

Optimus seems to be coming together nicely.  I've got most of the upper body sorted out and just need to add fists, weapons, his head, and a few more details.The arms will be kinda thin, but I think it'll work once it's all done.  I haven't added any materials yet, of course, but I'm still trying to decide if I'll use cel-shading or not.  I'll try out some test renders once I get the upper body complete.

Insignia

Any good Transformer fan knows that a faction starts with an insignia. You can't have an Autobot, Decepticon, Maximal, etc without a little robot face on it somewhere (or an M in the case of Minicons). So as soon as I started modeling, I created this guy - it's actually the first thing I ever made in Max.


If it looks familiar to you, congratulations. It's a stylized combination of the fve minibot repaints from 1986. The visor is from Outback, the mouthplate is from Pipes, the crest is a combination of Hubcap and Swerve and the rest of the face is rounded out by Tailgate. There is a reason for it being made this way which will be related at some point in the story. Yes, that's right, I'm writing a fanfic, deal with it.


As you can see from this picture and the title image, I'm going with a cel-shaded look most remiscent of the Energon series. I want this to look like a cartoon and cel-shading looks good with minor details. I've tried numerous techniques for getting it to look right and I think I've settles on the one I'm going to use.

Now I just need to pick a color for the thing.