DKC Atlas Forum

[Cyclone]

No good,Good?

[Qyzbud]

Cyclone, those latest renders of Squawks, DK and the DKC title text are looking awesome...

Spoiler!

Also, I second Jeffrey_Bones' request for some Expresso love!

[Phyreburnz]

It looks good to me, I just have one question... does DK have a bald patch on his thigh or is that just the way it looks?

[sonosublime]

Looking excellent. What program are you using for this?

[leo_core]

I would give you a bunch of bananas if possible! (Maybe Qyzbud could implement this ahahaha, a dozen bananas at once! How about this?).

Feathers in Squawks and fluff in DK are quite realistic. Another thing I find very good job are the facial expressions. Squawks carrying DK was epic!

It looks good to me, I just have one question... does DK have a bald patch on his thigh or is that just the way it looks?

It would be the simulation of the passage of wind speed due to the flight on Squawks? Maybe the DK fluff "dented" by the wind.

[Cyclone]

It looks good to me, I just have one question... does DK have a bald patch on his thigh or is that just the way it looks?

Didn't notice that. It is a bug in DK's rig. Had to manually adjust the vertices to fix it...

Looking excellent. What program are you using for this?

I am using 3ds Max.

Thanks for the comments. The critiques are especially helpful.
A professional 3D Artist told me DK's pose was awkward and he should by hanging like a real monkey. Also suggested the characters should be looking at the camera. Well I turned DK's head, and his left leg and I think it improved the render a bit.

[leo_core]

Hey Cyclone, Squawks is missing tongue (you will do the animation of it flapping?)
Show us more of her art!

[Qyzbud]

Hi Cyclone,
You said I could have permission to turn your models into sprites for use with my game and you asked me to update you on my progress so I decided to share some of my sprites with you and my ripping process. Notice your palm tree is flawless because it had a black background in the video. this technique is also what I used for the brawl characters.
Now I'm just going to cut and paste from my topic so you can see what I mean:

Spoiler!

DK's Brawl Walk Cycle 22 frames

Kritter's Brawl Walk Cycle 42 frames! (Will be retextured!)

Kaptain K Rool Brawl walk Cycle 32 frames

Animated Palm Tree by Cyclone 38 frames and flawless!

Gnawty by Cyclone Need your help Cyclone please!!!!!



Now with the cyclone conversions I'm trying to get Cyclones help by him uploading new videos of Gnawty, slippa and Zinger with a black background as opposed to a white one. With the Gnawty as you can see I'm having trouble removing the image because the white background is flush with his eyes the same problem occurred with the white markings on slippa and the jungle background makes the Zinger rip nearly impossible. The palm Tree was flawless because it used a black background just like my Dolphin emulator with Brawl and those characters. Cyclone your work is amazing please help!

[Super Luigi!]

Sorry I'm late, but I do really like how Squawks looks. DKCR: TF should have your models and graphics while you get paid millions of dollars!

[Qyzbud]

[...]DKCR: TR should have your models and graphics[...]

Either there's a game I don't know about (Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tiki Revenge?), or you've thoroughly bodged your abbreviation there.


Cyclone, although the leg looks much better now, I must say I don't like the way DK's face looks as seen in the latest revision; perhaps his 'looking at the camera' pose wouldn't appear so goofy if he had a different expression... but as it is, he looks like a right ol' goober. Also, Squawks' feathers looked a lot nicer in your previous render — are these ones being 'blown back' by the wind? I prefer the more defined look from when he was holding the banana instead of DK.

Also, I've updated your gallery on Facebook! → Cyclone's 3D Renders

[Cyclone]

Qyzbud,

To clarify
" but as it is, he looks like a right ol' goober"
what do you mean by that? I was told by a a professional artist that the render would look much better if the characters were looking at the camera.

Also
"quawks' feathers looked a lot nicer in your previous render"

do you mean the feathers looked sharper? There is bluring on the feathers to make them softer. Is it the bluring you don't like on the DK with Squawks render? Other then that the feathers are the same.

Thanks for updating the face book page.

[Qyzbud]

To clarify
" but as it is, he looks like a right ol' goober"
what do you mean by that? I was told by a a professional artist that the render would look much better if the characters were looking at the camera.

I thought I explained myself — sorry; I meant that his facial expression looks goofy/dopey... mainly because of that smile, I'd say. Maybe try adjusting his expression a little.

Also, no disrespect to the artist who advised you, but Rare's artists were pro's, too... and of all of their great DKC renders, you can count the ones where the characters are looking at the camera on one hand. Ergo, it's obviously not necessary for Rare-esque art.

is it the bluring you don't like on the DK with Squawks render?

Bingo. I think the blurring is a step backward for clarity, and reduces the overall aesthetic appeal of the feather effect. It still looks good, but not quite as nice.

[Cyclone]

Ok I made some changes. Adjusted the expression of DK a little,sharpened the feathers, fur refinements and and rotated the toes.

Squawks Flight Cycle.

[Phyreburnz]

I have a tiny suggestion as far as DK's expression goes. I think having his mouth open just a little would make him look a little bit more excited. when the other Kongs are hanging onto Squawks, I think they have their mouths open... or at least an excited face.

Also, for flying Squawks, would it be at all possible to make bones in his wings? He looks like his wings are just a bit bendy.

[Cyclone]

I will try DK with his mouth open a bit.

Also I was using this as reference for squawks' wing movement. Is it the down stroke(where the wings are closests to the the side of squawks) that bend too much?

They are supposed to bend. I used your gif as reference
Phyreburnz custom gif animation

[Phyreburnz]

It looks to me like the bending should occur more in the back, like just the feathers and not his "arm" (for lack of a better word).

[Qyzbud]

Cyclone, nice job with Squawks' flight cycle; I didn't notice the wing-bending issue Phyre mentioned — all looks good to me.

The feathers look good in the animation, too... but I wonder; is there any chance they could blow 'realistically' in the wind — or even just have a gentle movement caused by the up and down motion of the wings? The animation already looks great, but with some dynamic movement in the feathers, it could look amazing.

I agree with Phyre about DK's expression — open mouth for sure. Also, I do think it'd be worth trying an alternate pose with DK looking a bit more to the right (his left), rather than straight at the camera.

The change to the feet is good, and the fur is looking better, although I think a slightly darker shade of brown would be better for the fur — perhaps some colour variety would look good — kind of like in DK's latest Smash Bros. look:

Spoiler!

[CaptainEddie]

Wow, this has really come a long way in the last couple of months! Squawks looks amazing, and that Zinger is fantastic! Keep up the great work!

[Cyclone]

I'm still working on the above scene but I wanted to get the intro to the animation out of the way first.

Here is an early wip of the intro. The clouds movement repeats and the island doesn't have the trees etc. All to save render time. Still working on the brightness/contrast the outputted video to youtube. Appears to light on when I view it on youtube.



what do you think?

[Simion32]

Looks cool!!

[Cyclone]

Still waiting for comments on the above animation 19 views but no comments(how could it be improved,what is good about it...) I decided to work on the still render of DK and Squawks. Rotated his head with mouth open.

[Phyreburnz]

The open mouth definitely makes it look awesome! Love it!

[Cyclone]

yes Phyreburnz it makes it look better. I think it's the best DK render I made so far,Thanks for the suggestion.

Going to work on Cranky next.

[CaptainEddie]

The animation is looking great, it's off to wonderful start!

My only point of criticism is Squawks' flying- his whole body should move with the flap of his wings. The Dk64 intro cutscene serves as nice reference for this! Also, I think it'd look better if he didn't make a perfect circle around the logo- it'd look more natural that way!

Great job, your work is really exciting and inspiring!

[Cyclone]

Do you mean he shouldn't fly behind the text at all? And that he should move up and down with each flap of his wings?

[CaptainEddie]

It's fine for him to fly behind the text; what I mean is, if you were to watch a bird's flight path in real life, it wouldn't be able to to make a perfect circle. Or, at least, it wouldn't make the complete round at the same speed and altitude. It'd be speeding up or slowing down at parts.

Hm.. I'm not explaining this very well, I'm sorry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KIObmo4rSM

On the other note, if you see him fly here, his little tail feathers flap up and down along with his head, and he kicks his little feet. What I mean is, the action of Squawks flying takes his whole body, though different parts of it may move in different ways. Nothing stays stationary, and the end result is a very animated, "alive" looking flight cycle.

[Cyclone]

Thanks. I made him look more "alive". It's almost done but I think it definitely looks better. Any major complaints?



by the way comments like yours and others really help out the project. You would think I could do it on my own but no I lack imagination...

[Phyreburnz]

Wow! What an improvement! He definitely looks much more alive to me! Like, seriously a bagillion times better!

[VideoViking]

Squawks is much improved from the first image. Much better, Cyclone.

[Cyclone]

Thanks guys/gals.

Here is A text fade concept. The text brakes apart and fades away. Kinda what I was aiming for. Wanted it to dissolve into a cloud. Need to play around with the settings a bit more.



too gimmicky?

[Jeffrey_Bones]

Hey Cyclone, I did want to give you some feedback on your Squawks. First of all, the inside of his mouth should be red, or you should be able to see the pink tongue. Also this model of Squawks looks like the one from Donkey Kong Country Returns as opposed to your other stuff which resembles classic DKC promo art. I think it's because of the feathers and color scheme (his feet)
just my two cents. It does look nice though, it just wasn't what I was expecting from you. Maybe if you try doing a color scheme similar to Rare's promo art and something more bushy with the feathers it would look nicer

[Cyclone]

Yes I will try to colour the mouth red and give him a tongue and see how it looks. Good point.
Also I probably won't be changing the overall look of squawks. I was going for a retro style look, just with added feathers. I may change the colour of the feet if more people think it will look better that way.

Here is a revised version of the DKC text. Now the particals look more 'fluffy' and fly towards the camera like the clouds in the camera do. I also made the clouds less blue.

[Cyclone]

No comments on the above animation. That probably means it sucks. hmm

How is this,is a wip of Cranky's head.

[Qyzbud]

Sorry for the feedback drought lately, Cyclone — I've been very busy/distracted.

As usual, I love what you've done here; your latest animation of Squawks is looking terrific, and Cranky is taking shape nicely!

Squawks critique

The subtle up and down motion as Squawks flaps is a big improvement, but I think it'd look even better if you exaggerated the dip and rise a little more. Also, I tried different playback speeds, and I think somewhere between 1.5x and 2x speed would be perfect for the animation — it's nice seeing it 'slow' like this in order to scrutinise the animation, but I think speeding up his animations and movements to around 1.75x the current speed would look even better.

To me, the DKC games give the impression of a really smooth moving, fast and dynamic experience, so the more you can put that across in your animations, the better! This is my personal opinion, as always.

Cranky Critique

A good start. What game/era are you basing your design on?

Here are a few things I'd suggest:

• The hair on his head should be shorter and less shaggy — kind of like a #2 buzzcut, I suppose.
• Try introducing some curves/waves into the grey hair.
• Some bushy grey eyebrows (above the trademark Kong browline) would look good!
• The frames of his glasses ought to be a bit thinner/more subtle.

If you need any visual reference/clarification for my suggestions, let me know!

[Cyclone]

Cranky Critique

A good start. What game/era are you basing your design on?

Here are a few things I'd suggest:

• The hair on his head should be shorter and less shaggy — kind of like a #2 buzzcut, I suppose.
• Try introducing some curves/waves into the grey hair.
• Some bushy grey eyebrows (above the trademark Kong browline) would look good!
• The frames of his glasses ought to be a bit thinner/more subtle ← NEW

If you need any visual reference/clarification for my suggestions, let me know!

Thanks for comments.

I improved the hair quite a bit.The glasses is just a place holder object. I'm still recomping the scene for the intro with squawks and I will experiment with the speed of squawks.

Cranky Hair reference,

cranky_kong_04.png (195.95 KiB) Viewed 105082 times

[Cyclone]

I got a few things updated in this post. Cranky looks a tad bit more like Cranky instead of DK. I textured and gave Squawks a tongue to the inside of the mouth, re-rendered the squawks intro animation in full hd(1920x1080) and made him fly faster. Still might make him bob up and down faster but requires a re-render for that.

Once again comments appreciated. Thanks

Intro Shot1 revision 2


Updated Cranky

Squawks and DK Scene final/99%

[Qyzbud]

Cranky

Regarding Cranky7.png:
Yessiree, that's much better!

I can see why your eyebrow design was the way it was; that DKC2-era reference image lacks the strong eyebrows that he had before — and since — Diddy's Kong Quest. I like the way they look in the recent render you've posted, which seems almost like a cross between your DKC2 reference, and the old ape's original DKC look.

Keep up the excellent work!

Edit: All new feedback below

Regarding Cranky10.png:
The latest tweaks you've done (narrower head, frowning brow, 'pursed' lips) all improve the design, and make Cranky look much more... Cranky!

I think shorter hair on his scalp would be better, as it currently looks to me like short, bushy hair rather than a 'balding' look... maybe try reducing it to half of its current length? I think it's meant to be more of a 'fine fuzz' rather than actual hair. Hope that all makes sense.

Squawks/title/clouds/island

Wow, this is looking fantastic. I know the changes have been relatively subtle, but they really help — and seeing it all in Full HD is a real treat!

• Squawks looks great with his updated inner beak colour, and his movement is looking more and more believable as you adjust the speed.
• The title text dissolve looks really nice; sorry I never commented on it before — it definitely deserves a bit of praise!
• The clouds make for a very nice effect, and really help sell the feeling of flying (even if they don't relate to Squawks' movement).
• DK Island looks breathtaking, even in these relatively early stages... but some motion in the ocean and breeze in the trees would enhance it!

Also, there was a fair bit (30+ seconds) of blank video in that clip — just thought I'd point that out.

[Jeffrey_Bones]

OK!!!! Cyclone the color and tongue texture you added to the inside of squawks' beak is perfect. also I have noticed that in this video Squawks' posture in flight has been altered not just the bobbing motion. It's almost as though more of his chest is sticking out, and it's perfect!!!! this is exactly what I was talking about when I said he reminded me more of DKCR Squawks. NOW he looks like DKC2 Squawks also did you change his feathers any? I'm not sure what all you did but he looks 100% better!

[Cyclone]

Thanks for the detailed feedback Qyzbud and Jeffrey

Squawks is supposed to look like DKCR just with added feathers. The feathers might have changed a bit when I imported him to another scene file.

[sonosublime]

That cloudy intro looks absolutely breathtaking. Has a sort of DKCR feel to it. I cannot fault the animations I saw in any way.
The island itself looks really nice, but could probably be tweaked to look bigger. From the scale of the trees and cabins, it looks as though one could walk from one end of the island to the other in 5 mins
And having the jungle encroach on the ocean a bit more would give the island a more tropical look.

[Phyreburnz]

Cyclone, are you planning on making sprites of DK on Squawks? I think it would look like a billion times better than the edited ones I made.

If you give me a video of just DK as if he were hanging on Squawks, I could turn them into sprites for you. Also, if you could have a video of him turning on squawks, that would be super awesome.

[Cyclone]

The island itself looks really nice, but could probably be tweaked to look bigger. From the scale of the trees and cabins, it looks as though one could walk from one end of the island to the other in 5 mins
And having the jungle encroach on the ocean a bit more would give the island a more tropical look.

The scale/proportions are supposed to be like in the game and not realistic. Do you think the scale is not accurate to the in game version of DK island?

Cyclone, are you planning on making sprites of DK on Squawks? I think it would look like a billion times better than the edited ones I made.

If you give me a video of just DK as if he were hanging on Squawks, I could turn them into sprites for you. Also, if you could have a video of him turning on squawks, that would be super awesome.

I will keep that in mind. I have lots of things on the go so it will have to wait. What do you need the sprites for?

[Phyreburnz]

Well, I don't have anything that I that I could use it for... I don't do any kind of programming or anything like that. All I do is sprite work... more of the art related side of things. My interest, though was to make all of the Kongs compatible with all of the games so that anybody else that wanted the sprites could use them. So it's not for me... but more for the completion of compatibility. While I did make DK able to ride on Squawks, your model makes it look so much better and I would love for that to be available to anybody that wants to use it. It's totally up to you, though!

[Cyclone]

I re-worked the water on the island and added some fog. I had to composite the elements together in after effects since the water plugin won't work in 3ds max's mental ray renderer.

[Qyzbud]

Sweet baby Jesus, that's looking amazing!

[Cyclone]

I softened the edges of the waves(where they contact the island).



Here is Cranky with a wip body. What do you think? Proportions okay?
Textures classic Cranky, Hair DKC2, body DKCReturns,Head Classic/DKC2.

[Qyzbud]

Good job on Cranky so far; it's certainly a hodge-podge of sources you're working with, but it works! Proportions are looking good to me so far... is this a more-upright-than-usual pose for Cranky — maybe for rigging purposes? I remember him being a little more hunched over, but it's nice to think maybe he's taken his late wife's advice, and has joined a yoga class to improve his posture and flexibility.

As for the island's shoreline; the softened waves are a very subtle change, but I suppose they do make the effect slightly more 'natural' and less distracting to the eye. I imagine you'll eventually add something of a foaming effect, and perhaps make the sand look damp where the water laps against it? Finishing touches like that would really sell the effect.

[Cyclone]

Yea I need to make him more hunched over. Will do that when it's rigged.

Here is a turntable of a near complete Cranky. The fur was just thrown on and needs to be combed like I did with Donkey Kong. Oh and I need to make his hands look old like in the original DKC.
Any major/Minor changed before I start rigging? Another thing I'm not sure if I want to attach the head, Would just complicate things for facial morphs and complicate the geometry.

[Qyzbud]

Well, you've done it again... the old coot's looking as Cranky as ever!

Top stuff, mate!

[Phyreburnz]

I would have to look at pictures of the Cranky you're modeling him off of, but it seems like his arms are just a bit too long.