Freya "The Ice Queen" (CLOSED)

Hello everyone,

I finally decided to take part in this contest and I am really excited about. I think this is going to be a lot of fun and in the same time I hope will learn something new and improve my work.

For this contest, I thought of creating a character that is going to be part of my art book that I am working on.

Character BIO

Name: Freya Hearthstone

Nickname: "The Ice Queen"

Age: 27

Race: Human

Profession: Commander of special unit "EVE"

Origin/Family: comes from very rich Hearthstone family, a well-known family of researchers and scientists

Skills: has power of ice, she can produce it from her body and use it as a weapon and also she can control ice from the environment, skilled in close combat, has strong physics, technology expert 

Weaknesses: insomnia and nightmares, childhood trauma

Interests: to discover what really happened with her parents, learning new technologies

Dislikes: people from the outside and infected ones (she swore that she is going to slaughter every last one of them)

Fears: losing control, disappointing someone important

Background Story:

Freya is a young fierce and ambitious woman. She had a huge trauma when she was a child, because she lost her parents. She was only 2 years old when that happened on a rainy night. Everybody remember that event as "Great Slaughter", when a huge number of people, including her family, were killed by infected ones, they were let to die there by the outside people.

Nobody really knows what really happened and that what Freya wants to discover, but she doesn't know who were her parents and what they have been doing. Because she was only 2 years old and she was adopted by the Cael Family (One of the great families of this world). Catherine Cael adopted her, she took her in as her own child and she never told her the real truth about her family and whom she really is. Nobody knows that she has Hearthstone blood running through her veins. That is the secret only Catherine knows and she is doing that to protect her. She was telling her that her parents were nobody and that they left her to die on the streets. Catherine raised her as a real lady of Cael Family, but she wanted to join military, because she had different goals in her mind.

When she turned 18, she joined the military. She worked so hard that by the age of 20, she became the commander of infantry. As she pushed forward, she very soon joined the elite special unit called "EVE". Only most fierce and strongest warriors could join the squad. Freya pushed through the ranks very fast, and when she turned 23, she already became the commander of the most dangerous military squad. And she stays as they leader even today. She became a military legend known as "Ice Queen".

Freya looks fearless and strong from the outside, but from the inside she is still that little scared girl that got trauma from the childhood and is very unsure who she is and what really happened in the past.

Rough idea:

This is just a rough concept of my character on which I am going to base my 3d work. This is just to show you in which direction I am going.

Hope you like the starting point of my project!

Sounds awesome, and your concept art looks like she's going to be really cool. 

Welcome to the contest. Thanks for participating!

BTW: I answered your post over in the Q&A thread, in case you didn't see my reply. 

https://www.renderhub.com/forum/510/character-design-contest-questions-answers

Thank you Foxy 3D! Yeah I want to make her look special! Also I am glad to join the contest!

Yes I saw your answers thanks for the answers.

Starting up the project with ZBrush. Just made a base body of my character. Now it is time to start refining the model and adding details.

This is what I got for now.

Slowly building up and refining the body of my character. For now I am only using ZBrush.

Spending a lot of time to refine muscles, because I want to make her have strong physic. Here are some shots from ZBrush:

I refined the body to the point I am satisfied. Now I am moving on with creating that suit. 

Coming along nicely! Thanks for sharing your WIPs.    

Hello everyone,

I am back again to my project. I was very busy and did not have time to concentrate on this one. Also i saw that the competition deadline is extended which is great! It has been a while since a posted some update. 

I started to work on the weapon that my character is going to carry. It is a dual pistol weapon that can transform into bow when it is needed. 

WEAPON INFO:

Short name: Tempest

Full name: Tempest HG12-T100

Type: Hand Gun

Caliber: 12 mm

Class: T1

ID: 00

Ammunition: Plasma High-speed Energy Bullets/Arrows

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And here is some starting block out in Maya

I see you already saw the deadline extension - but to be consistent, I'll post the same notice I posted on everyone's threads.

I'm happy to hear that this will help you.    

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CONTEST ENTRY DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JANUARY 15, 2021

Some contest participants have been giving feedback that they may not have time to complete their projects, or may have to take shortcuts to make the November 30th deadline. 

To relieve some of this anxiety and give artists more time to do the quality job they want, RenderHub has decided to extend the entry period deadline to January 15, 2021. 

We thank you all for participating! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.  

Thank you for extending the deadline, it really helps a lot!

Another update on the weapon for my character. Added more details to the base shapes and trying out how the transformation of the weapon is going to be as I progress in modeling phase.

Whole modeling phase for the weapon I will do in Autodesk Maya.

Adding more details and refining the shape. There is still a long way to go, because this is just a inner part of the pistol. But I am taking my time to create it. Here are some shots of the progress I made so far.

Another block out of the gun. Adding outer parts of the gun and trying to match them to form the shape of the pistol I want. Later I will refine those new shapes and slowly build up the pistol.

Another update of my pistol. Adding bigger shapes to get the overall look of the weapon. Also showing how the transformation will function.

Refining the shapes of the gun. Getting closer and closer to the final result. I can say there is still a lot of things to do.

Really cool! Thanks for sharing the awesome WIPs. 

Glad to hear you are happy with the contest deadline extension.  

More refinement to the shapes and also planning how to setup a pistol to properly transform into bow. 

Progressing very good so far, and I wanted to share some more shot angles of the weapon, so you can have better understanding. All the shots are from Maya viewport and so far I was using only Maya for modeling the pistol.

Passing observations:

Fira _ impressed by your work, activities and posting your progress (folks are interested/watching).

             Might I suggest you give your Ice-Queen a small/slight pot-belly - below her belly button.

            Why? Because she is mid-late 20s (age). When a lady reaches maturity her lower belly becomes slightly concave - whether or not she is sexually active, had babies or is pregnant. It is just the way the body forms/develops.

             Adding the slight pot, will make the figure more realistic/true to like. (advice/observation - not criticism). Your work and attention to detail is admirable.

Ms Foxy_ You could add leeway/flexibility by splitting the Competition between Christmas-Newyear 2021 (current); then Easter 2021 (second/late application group and competition). Would reduce pressure on you and the judges, plus remove the potential to cause distress by saying: "No - you're too late!"; while at the same time reducing pressure on those who think they might not make the cut (closing date).

.... And you benefit from this week's Walmart special offer: "Two comp's for one ..." (offer ends January 2021).

Cheers,

Rick.

Hello RxLnx,

Thank you for the advice, nice observation, and also thanks for the compliments on my work. I am trying my best to get as much as possible into details.

My character is still in the early stage of creation, so there is a lot to work on and it is good I get a feedback from you, so I will keep that advice in mind.

Other people's opinions and suggestions are very important during the process of creation, so thanks again.

Dear Fira,

 Pleasure is mine. I get to look at and admire folks work - most of it is really amazing.

"Other people's opinions and suggestions are very important during the process of creation, ..."

 True, but not at the cost of your creativity or what you have in your mind's eye.

 By all means listen - but after weighing words always follow your heart/instincts. They will not let you down.

 Cheers,

 Rick.

Here is my first video for this challenge!

I think I had to post this video long time ago, but I am posting now, because I am back to the challenge. I rushed to make this video so don't mind the quality of the video and also sorry for some background noise.

In the video I am talking about my project and what I have done so far. There are more videos to come during the process of creation, so keep updated and I hope you like my work so far

Well, I can say the idea of the weapon is going along nicely so far. Here are some shots from Maya viewport.

So close to finish the weapon! Just to add some small details and refine some things and it will be done. Here are some shots from Maya.

Dear Fira,.

 Have not watched your video just yet (downloading it for later), but it looks good.

 Realistically - talking in the background discussing the project is not such a bad thing - actually clever (production technique) as it allows the viewer to be move involved.

 Observation/suggestion - about the Ice Queen's weapon.

 The pod modules look like paint-ball pods or maybe AP grenades. No great drama, but you need to think ahead for when she is in action and uses it - if her natural arsenal of ice magic does not work.

 I first thought she might have fire grenades (phosphorous/napalm) - for use against ice-like creatures immune to her normal ice magic; then was thinking it might fire a "null" grenade  - which has a small particle of anti-matter incased in a protective skin, released on contact with the target and acting like a mini singularity/mini black-hole.

 Was thinking that way because she probably does not like heat/fire too much; plus when you come to animate the effect - a reverse vortex that then blinks-out is fairly easy, while an anti-matter particle grenade does not care what size or powers a target has ... just sucks in everything and winks-out.

 Particularly nasty weapon - if/when she needs us it.

 Just thinking out loud.

 Cheers,

 Rick.

Oh now you're just going for extra credit in the contest!!! 

Nice video, and that weapon is awesome!

Hello,  RxLnx and Foxy 3D,

Thank you for the compliments both of you

Also RxLnx, thank you for the suggestions I really appreciate it. Your observations are really helpful I can say

Yeah as I mentioned on the beginning of the project I will explain my work through videos, talking about the project, explaining the techniques and software I use

to create my project. I think this way is more interesting and easier to explain what I am working on. There are more videos to come so stay tuned!!!

Also with this post I am showing how the full transformation of the weapon looks like. Some shots from Maya viewport:

Not 100% finished, I have some small stuff to add and refine a little bit more. Also I think to add different types of scopes for this weapon, but still not sure if it's needed.

Thank you all for following my progress and my work!

Dear Fira,

 Thank you for the update (activity). I watched the video (interesting/informative); however improved if the microphone is closer and speaking a little louder (some of commentary hard to hear).

 My interest in your project in not competition related - rather looking forward to when you make animation story or maybe a game/RPG. To this end I make small suggestions, and help realize (achieve) the final objective.

  Different Scope? Nope ... use your imagination - because she has advanced science and advanced weapons. "Scopes" and sights are pretty much obsolete now anyway (since 1990s).

 The rectangle area you have now - just needs translucent yellow-green shade and maybe four blue small targets and one 'red' target within the hologram ...

 Because it auto-targets - then your Ice Queen just selects "which" of the available targets to hit (target advance) - or if feeling unsure ... "selects all" - then the pistol does the rest.

(Basic science is already here/used - SLR digital cameras ... Nikon D5, D7500, D8 ... Fujipix mirrorless, etc.)

 Cheers,

 Rick.

Hello RxLnx,

You come again with a lot of suggestions, thank you very much

Yeah also for the video, I already mention that the quality is not very good, because I rushed to record it and also I am not at home, so I don't have all the equipment with me.

But the point of thevideo is just to explain everything I am working on, so don't mind the quality that much

Also I like the way you think and observe the things

Dear Fira,

 The video was actually very good (9/10), because it was real/natural and conveyed being talked to directly/part of a discussion. Try matching your effort against politicians/others/even news anchors - doing TV interviews. You come across real/genuine ... they come across as quasi-fake, posed and/or 'harassed'.

 Can be hard to find actual content on TV or Radio, where you are ... Because Serbian's are the only folks on the internet - who visit spam sites for a rest/holiday from adverts (local TV/Radio).

 Your video did exactly what you wanted it too - and more, thus achieved its objective/function.

 You were playing with the sight in the video (before the posts above and mentioning you might need do something about the scope) - which was when I noticed you seemed unsure about it and started thinking of options (well before replying with the holographic sight option).

 As mentioned - Foxy3D and the others are focused on the competition/entries.

 Other folks here (lots) - specialize with help on the graphics, programs and models, as well as applications and software.

 My help is with the story-line/narrative and long term resource deployment - that is: as a story book, video or game ... and/or finding resources to help with the same.

 RenderHub is a community of good people, all willing to lend a hand to help others - which is rare, and makes it a nice place to be.

 I will help as best I can in my areas of specialty (happen to include applied science/spatial physics) when/if asked. Others will help in their strength areas.

 Simply how a true community works.

 Cheers,

 Rick.

Dear RxLnx,

Thank you again for the compliments on my work

Soon I will post a new video so stay tuned!

Regarding the scopes, yes I was not sure if I would add different kind of scopes, but I think I will give up on that idea, and keep the weapon as it is. In the video I mentioned that the scope

I already created can be dismounted when it is not needed. 

Yeah you are right that's how the community should work. Helping each other, learning from each other those kind of things should make the real community. And that is good, because 

everybody can improve themselves that way.

Not long ago I joined the Render Hub, and I see in a very short period of time, that it is a really good community with a lot of good people and also experts in different areas.

And here it is another video regarding this project. It is a little bit longer video, I hope you will not get bored

In the video I am presenting the finished model of my weapon and talking about the weapon, it's features and also mentioned some stuff about lighting the scene and how I approach it.

After this I will post some of the test renders of the weapon and maybe some test shots of the character carrying the weapon.

As I said before I will post some test renders of the weapon and here they are:

Tempest HG12 - T100

Tempest HG12 - T100  BOW MODE

And of course as I said, some shot of the character with the weapon. Two test renders with different lighting setups. Just wanted to see how the weapon fits. Character is still in the early stage and there is a lot to work on.

Another test shots of the character with the Bow:

Dear Fira,

 Very interesting (bow), development on the pistol ...

 Do not get too distracted by the weapons - in contest context - keeping in mind the focus specification is "Character".

 Clocks tick on (finish Freya - then come back to the weapons).

Cheers,

Rick.

Hi RxLnx,

Yes the character is the main focus for this competition. Now, I will focus on finishing the character and then later when I am fully done with modeling phase I will start texturing.

Dear Fira,

 Great {smile} ... as always - good luck.

Rick.

As you already know I focused myself now on continuing my process of creating the character further. So the first thing I did is to retopologize and clean my character and the suit I already created. The next thing will be to start creating her armor and other features. Here are some images from ZBrush of the cleaned model.

Dear Fira,

 Excellent.

 Your explanations are useful in other ways.

 They show developing artists (who are watching) how things are done, and the order.

 As such - they are actually 'tutorials', which will help folks develop their skills.

 Cheers,

 Rick.

These are fantastic WIP images and great videos. The details you put into this project are amazing!  

Thanks for sharing your progress. As RxLnx pointed out, it is very helpful in many ways.  

Hello RxLnx and Foxy3D,

Thank you both for the support and compliments on my work. I am sharing whole my workflow for this project, because I think these kind of  Art Contests and Challenges are very good place to learn from other artists, to get feedback on your work and improve your work.

So, I am really happy if any of my WIPs and videos are helpful to anyone

I think here it is not all about winning the contest, but learning and improving your work.

I started to work on the exo-spine and back armor for my character. I was not able to work on the project for couple of days. But here it is another update from me

I am firstly using Maya to create base shapes of hard surface parts of the armor and then later in ZBrush I will refine them and add more details. Here is some shot from Maya's viewport:

Dear Fira,

 Remember "form and function". Make sure she can move freely/athletically - in her armour.

 That said - interesting exo-spine (looks good).

 Cheers,

 Rick.

Hello RxLnx,

Of course functionality is very important and so the form. I am thinking of making compact armor for her so she can move easily and fast.