EX-DEATH:: Pictures

UPDATE: Issues with the EX-mode of EX-Death and what's next.

I thought that EX mode of Exdeath was a simple palette swap, however to my chagrin it is not that simple.  I'm not sure if it's just me, but the textures don't line up the same therefore it is not applied in the correct manner.

The pink line is to be used as a reference.  On the left hand side you can see I'm pointing to the tip of one of his shoulder horns, however, on the other side, it would appear that his shoulder horn is a little bit below the line.  Even more obvious is the position for the fingers.  This would require a little bit more work  to come up with the EX-mode.  I think i'd have to try re-extracting the files, or just shifting the textures in sketchup.

 

As you can see, the textures are all wrong, the finger texture is on his boots, and while part of some of the chest and stomach texture is correct, the rest is all off.  I thought that Exdeath would be easy...Needless to say it has been one long learning experience, starting in October or so I believe.  I may or may not work on this guy for a while.  I'll check out whether or not if I open the SMD file and apply a texture makes any difference.  However that requires a whole new pose and new layout, while I would love to see him done, at the same time there other models I want to get to pose and layout first.  So I'm putting his Ex-Mode on hold for the future.  But fear not, as my convoluted instructions are nearing their finish, the sun is out today and I should be taking pictures soon enough.  the time of release is coming soon.

I haven't decided which model to build next, I have Golbez pretty much layed out correctly, he's ready to be build, I just need to look over the PDO again to make sure I added tabs in the correct places to build him.  Also I was reconsidering how I set up his model.  I have his body separated from his cape/shoulder pads. Which basically means that the last step in the build will be to glue the shoulder pads/cape onto his shoulders.  Which is fine, I guess, but I would much rather like to connect them directly for stability and alignment purposes.  I'll have to mull it over and see how it goes, before I start building him.  

Not that I have released a single build yet, but the forthcoming models will take longer, I'll be doing papercraft whenever I get the chance, but as I have been told by Kaizo, it's all about pacing yourself.

EX-DEATH::At Last

FINALLY!!!  with minutes before January 10th I have completed my first model.  Instructions and all will be released probably later this week, but here you have it.  I know, there is a huge glare problem, and I'll re-post pictures in better light as well, but it was rainy/icy/gloomy here today, and the artificial lighting I have does not make the model look good

EX-DEATH:: 3rd Progress report

Almost there, it looks a little crappyy because its at night and I have a high lumen lamp on which exacerbates how the flaps appear (i.e. the cape).  But I've just got the head, and the accessories left and then I'll be done.

The head pieces are very small and I'm doing some edits along the way which is causing some delays...

[[Credit where Credit is due]]

  I'd like to take this moment to divert attention towards Kaizo, Ace, and Namotasa.  They've helped me with understanding how to extract, pose, and work with models in 3ds, Sketchup and Pepakura in order to soon release a model.  If you haven't checked out any of the aforementioned websites, go check them out, it provides a wealth of information on how to get into this stuff.

EDIT: I'd also like to think Mr. Adults for his help and contributions to all the model support!!!

EX-DEATH::2nd Progress Report

Day 2, its going pretty good so far.  I didn't implement as much horizontal banding as I did in Golbez, but no matter, the build is coming along pretty good so far.  I think I should have used regular printer paper for his skirt.  This is like a puzzle, I'm sure my instructions are going to suck, but pretty much looking at the PDO you can use it and experience to help determine which piece should go where.  Really all that is left is:
1. Cape
2. Right arm
3. Head

With this in mind I should be able to complete the model by the 10th. Enjoy...

EX-DEATH::1st Progress Report

Here is the result of one day of papercrafting for me, I can't figure out if I'm slow or what, but anyway here is what I accomplished.  The figure on the left is the latest one, I stayed up an extra hour just to get a little bit further than I did previously.
    As I'm building I obviously have the pepakura file open, this way I can make any changes that I deem necessary, so far I've had to add a few tabs, change a few tab's shape, and split a few of the pieces for easier building.
I'll post more pictures later of some of these examples, especially for things that I thought I'd try out.  The leg structure is working out pretty well so far.  As I mentioned in the BARTZ layout process, I don't think I like just gluing limbs to other closed limbs, I'd like to try out whether or not cutting the excess and creating a whole works out.  So far so good right?  He stands up on his own right?

I'm going to try and complete him by the 10th, but I have work for the next couple of days so I'm restricted to just working at night.  I'm on page 23 of 54 right now, and a good bit is just cape, but we'll see.  When I say finished, I would like to have completed the model, preparing instructions is a different story.  I'm confident in the Golbez layout, but I'm thinking that he turned out well because I had gone through two other models.  Exdeath isn't hard to build so far, I'd like to think I'm doing an alright job and I'm not even a great builder.  If I can manage through it, then I think you guys could to.