Cerez

Ah! http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Coruscant_Guard_armor These are the guys I've encountered in Clone Wars as a sort of police on the lower levels (that's why I asked): http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Coruscant_Underworld_Police So it looks like these are sort of the same guys, just in different uniforms. Sorry for taking this slightly off-topic. I was just curious... I'll let you get back to the model now. It's quite exciting! And yes, with ImageShack you need to embed the direct link to the images now, otherwise it doesn't offer a larger view. Annoying, I know... Edit: Or, perhaps it's more accurate to say that these red guys monitored the upper areas, and the lower guys joined them later in patrolling the upper areas as well.

No, I meant where in Coruscant (as in upper levels or lower levels, whose guard, etc.)? Hmm... Interesting. They have a nicely intimidating design with those bulky shoulder pads. B)

No, looks good to me. But I hardly know these guys... Where did they appear, exactly? I've never seen them before, actually. Are they from the comic books?

Go find the author, @. We need a good Coruscant Jedi Council map. And May the Force Be With You on your journey!

The hair is challenging, but it could be made to behave much like a lekku... The first picture there kind of reminds me of HapSlash's Emperor from Flash Gordon, what's his name... Ming the Merciless. (Which is completely right, considering that Flash Gordon was a great inspiration to George Lucas with Star Wars.) I think this is an excellent request.

Thanks. It's a realistic version, but her clothes are quite clean, other than when she's in the heat of battle. The ModView shot there looks a little too colourised because she's missing the texture on her arms and hands, and because my ModView just likes to show rainbow colours. (Something to do with Windows XP's colour settings...) And the arm pads are just a placeholder at the moment. Her actual colours are much closer to the Silo shot above. That's a good idea with the specular shader. I'll see if I can include one... Thanks @@DT85!

Thank you. The model is finished and rigged, and working fine. I'm working on the textures now, trying to bring her to a polished state. Any feedback on the textures is welcome. I'm trying to get a close resemblance happening while interpreting her design into realism. So, once again: This is a close-up on her traditional Togruta sash that is now finished, and her bodice and thighs. I've decided to give the clothes are a realistic interpretation of the materials -- as opposed to the unified, all over grungy feel, stylised material she seems to wear -- and everybody more or less seems to wear -- in the cartoon. I've kept a very similar, but more detailed material on the bodice, but her thighs and sash are of different materials now, that should be more suited to their role. These details are mostly visible in up-close angles, and help add to the realism. Here is how the front of her is looking now in ModView: Obviously, I'm still working on the belt and the rest of her. I'm open to suggestions on how to improve on the buckle. I'm thinking to give it some of the worn and grungy, metallic feel from the cartoon, but I don't want to make it just plain gray. It's meant to be decorative, after all. Should I add a little wear to it, or should I leave it clean? Does it need more of a metallic shine? Next are the arm-pads and boots, I think. I plan to turn them into a real leather design that closely resembles her Clone Wars arm-pads and boots. I will also, of course, attempt to paint detailed anatomy into her open back, arms, and hands. Wish me luck on that one… (And yes, I'll get back to the face, eventually… The problems are mostly in the texture, not in the model.)

Guys, the point is not that the some of the suggestions were not useful in general, but that they are only serving to hinder this project. @@AshuraDX's detailed feedback is enlightening, even if it doesn't really help this project. Can't say the same about some of the other comments... I've liked @@DT85's comment because he's not afraid to compliment, which shows self-confidence. I am not asking for silver platter treatment, only no excessive scrutiny, and comments that actually serve to help me improve on this work. But please, for the love of God, let's put all this aside and concentrate on the continuing the development of the project again. If anyone feels the need to discuss, please open a new thread. This is a WIP thread for this project, after all. Not a discussion thread about ethics or personal conduct. I'll answer this, for reference. Constructive criticism is something that helps the development of the work of art, not hinders it. I have no problem with constructive criticism, no matter how harsh it appears. Though, it's always a good idea to include a few praises as well, especially to fresh talent, who additionally have the challenge of the struggle with their insecurities in their newly acquired abilities. You cannot ask anyone to be open-minded to being put under excessive scrutiny and harsh criticism for their hard work without balanced praise. That's like whipping a slave in order to get them to work harder. Not my idea of a pleasant working experience, nor very productive... Thanks for your thoughts, @@DarthDementous. I am making this model primarily for myself, as a challenge and work of love, as is most often the case. An artist works for their own fulfilment. However, I am also keeping an eye on everyone else's feedback in order to ensure that other people will like and enjoy the model, too. Otherwise I would not have started this thread. And yes, I plan to share it with everyone when it's complete.

I can't believe this... You guys are acting like a bunch of bullies, you know that? What makes you think you know this project better than I do, in the first place? Cadellin and I have seen this through in detail, and I've been there every step of the way in the making. Can you say the same? It is one thing to offer constructive criticism, and a completely different thing to aggressively criticise -- in numbers! -- someone's completed work for independent (selfish?) reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with the progress of this WIP project. Did I ask for a lecture on modeling? Did I ask for expert appraisal? Whatever design choices were made, they were our design choices, and they are our problem to deal with -- not that they were much of a problem. I think I deserve a big apology from the lot of you… I've never been this disappointed in JKHub's veterans before. I just can't believe your behaviour, acting as a group. This is definitely not the way to encourage new talent… in fact, quite the opposite… If you wish to discuss this further, please create a new, Off Topic thread for the discussion. Don't post any more of this ugly stuff here. And in the future, please refrain from criticising my WIP projects. I've had enough! If I want a full-on critical review, I'll ask for it. Opinions are welcome on how to improve on the work in progress, but not this kind of un-constructive criticism that only serves to upset me and delay the progress of the project. That's quite an evil thing to do... *************************************************************************************************************** Anyway, for those still interested in seeing this work further developed and released, an update: This is a close-up on her traditional Togruta sash that is now finished, and her bodice and thighs. I've decided to give the clothes are a realistic interpretation of the materials -- as opposed to the unified, all over grungy feel, stylised material she seems to wear -- and everybody more or less seems to wear -- in the cartoon. I've kept a very similar, but more detailed material on the bodice, but her thighs and sash are of different materials now, that should be more suited to their role. These details are mostly visible in up-close angles, and help add to the realism. Here is how the front of her is looking now in ModView: Obviously, I'm still working on the belt and the rest of her. I'm open to suggestions on how to improve on the buckle. I'm thinking to give it some of the worn and grungy, metallic feel from the cartoon, but I don't want to make it just plain gray. It's meant to be decorative, after all. Should I add a little wear to it, or should I leave it clean? Does it need more of a metallic shine? Next are the arm-pads and boots, I think. I plan to turn them into a real leather design that closely resembles her Clone Wars arm-pads and boots. I will also, of course, attempt to paint detailed anatomy into her open back, arms, and hands. Wish me luck on that one… (And yes, I'll get back to the face, eventually… The problems are mostly in the texture, not in the model.)

You're right, it was turned on! I thought I had disabled it already! Does it return with each OS update?

Hahaha! Modern OS X's resource management is this: Spotlight needs all system resources when it indexes the hard drive in the background, and every other applications should just dump stuff into the RAM and this stuff should be never cleared. We have a hard drive, after all, to dump stuff to when the RAM starts to overfill... Why worry about memory management? I hear you, @@Syko... Just having Google Chrome and Photoshop open cause me to have to restart the computer every two hours. God forbid I actually run three work apps! My 2011 Mac is not good enough to handle that! Glad to hear you at least managed to alleviate on the annoyance. Edit: Also, I can't stand it that I have to go round-and-round every time I download an executable that isn't approved by Apple. I sincerely hate them for it.

Script work is like that. You miss a little detail somewhere, and suddenly nothing works. Then you take a break from it, and look back at it, and suddenly things take shape.

The comic, written by the same writer based on the book trilogy, seems to have some very close associations with hoe the game turned out. I think it has been a major inspiration. Luke in game: "I have called you all here to relay some disturbing news..." Luke in comic: "I have called you here because we have work to do..." The novels are more expanded, and deal with slightly different themes -- namely the children of the main heroes and the foundation of the Jedi Academy. The comic, however, seems very close to the setup and theme (and clothing visual style) of the game. Here, too, the students are left to fend for their own, with their lives at great risk. The first issue of the comic came out four years before the game was released. I don't think it's a coincidence. There's simply too much that overlaps... If you have the chance, I recommend reading the comic book. It actually sparked some new interest in me in the single player story of JKA. It gives a slightly different perspective. And I expect the novels do, too.

Okay, but what does this all have to do with what I'm working on now? The model is finished, designed as it is. I don't need a lecture about it, now. I'm trying to finish what I've started, and you're all keeping me from it. When I asked for help on the forums for someone experienced to work with me on this project, you all kept silent. Now that I've actually done something that works and looks good, you are all criticising it. You know what? I don't want to hear it! Keep your expert criticism to yourselves. I will do it my way, and it'll work well. It already does. And I don't know where you get the idea that this is what a beginner's model should look like. If you truly believe that, then you are deceiving yourselves. As far as the game goes, this is a top quality model.

@@eezstreet, @@minilogoguy18 Okay, there's a point where I appreciate constructive criticism, and there's a point where you're just being plain discouraging. The model is "jacked" up in topology around the nose and lips area for a good reason: we needed to be able to tweak it and shape it into what would make a realistic face for Ahsoka. Have you ever tried interpreting a cartoon character design into a realistic human face? It's not easy. There is no rule that says you can't model in tris. That's bull**. Sure, quads can deform nicer, but when you're working with low poly characters, tris are often a good way to bring the poly count down. And sure, the topology is much like a Raven model. Hell, that was the objective! To create a good model of Ahsoka for the Jedi Academy game. It may not be as detailed as you like to design your models in, but that certainly doesn't make it bad in any regard. Face it guys, base JKA is low poly and an old game. If you've created a new model that matches the quality of the Raven models, you've done a great job -- you've done what is "professionally" required for the game. Anything beyond that is your own ambitions. Don't push that onto other people. Don't be selfish. And don't go telling me that the model is below expected quality. It is not. If you're wondering why I got offended, think about what you both just said. Put yourself in my shoes.

Because it'd be so nice to see a teacher "butcher" his student?

I've moved the pupils just a tad lower, but almond shaped?? I'm aiming for a realistic take on the Clone Wars Ahsoka. I'm not a fan of her Rebels look. But I guess there's a point where I will meet them both half-way with realism.

Hmm... I'm curious... how many of you know the origins of where the Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy single player story actually comes from? Did you know there was a novel series published by the same name, that set the foundations for the game's story? The Jedi Academy Trilogy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jedi_Academy_trilogy Did you know that the visual direction (vibrant student clothes, etc.) came from the very short comic book series that was published, based on the trilogy? Jedi Academy comics: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jedi_Academy:_Leviathan

In certain parts of animations (in the middle arm and hands action) it is normal for Jedi Academy to deform the shoulder and wrist joints of the characters to look very thin, if that's what you mean. That can't be avoided; it's part of the game design. As long as the majority of the time the wrists and shoulders look good, the model doesn't actually have a problem.

From a DA user in the commentary: I'll risk sounding grim, but the problem with these jokes is that they are actually giving leeway to corporate Disney to experiment with their creative ideas and change/merge existing stories by affecting the public's expectations. I don't think the creators of these jokes realise this, but they're doing everyone a disservice, really. And I can't believe a well recognised art site like DeviantArt would pull such a stunt. It's completely ignorant and distasteful. I'm actually offended by this. Besides, as the DA user pointed out, it's frighteningly close to potential reality...

Hahahaha! OCD! I don't map, but I'm just as guilty...

It dawned on me that in all this time I've never really openly shared my love for her character, growth, and story here. With me sitting here, working on the textures for her in-game model, this seems like a good time to divvy. So here's a little tribute to one of the greatest Padawans that ever lived in the world of Star Wars, and of her journey under the close tutelage of brash but true Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker. Warning: huge spoilers imminent! Tribute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpoJccvJ7n0 Highlights: Fiery and headstrong, just as her Master, and noble at heart. To me the story between Ahsoka and Anakin has been of profound value in the greater story of Star Wars. When Old Ben Kenobi speaks of Luke's father as a brave and valiant Jedi Knight, I always think of Anakin in his years with Ahsoka. And I think the mishap that caused Ahsoka's departure truly, humanly/emotionally contributed to Anakin's downfall and fall from the Jedi Order, too.

Good point. It had better be! (If it is, I don't find it in good taste...)

Oh MY GOD! The end is near... http://techgnotic.deviantart.com/journal/Disney-Buys-Star-Trek-492977809 Talk about a corporation! Disney will now exclusively dominate the world of sci-fi. Soon it'll be like in that Hitler SOPA YouTube video: "Don't cry... Disney owns the copyright to that emotion." Edit: Don't they dare take over Doctor Who, too, or I swear I'll start a terrorist organisation to free the world of corporate Disney influence once and for all!!