September 2022 Update

[Sorry for the incoming wall of text;; Your message gave me a lot to think about!] Noo, don't say that! I think it does require patience and time, but if you pick a project that is personally interesting and start with something small, going little by little, it should be alright! I've been learning a lot with 3D, but honestly I still seem to have a tutorial open pretty much every step of the way! Yeah I think that extra point might not be so needed with a different model. Unless they also have big brows with a very pronounced curve. But most models I've seen only have the 3 points. But now that I think about it... Maybe it has more to do with compensating for my sculpt and the way I made that curve so pronounced...? I think your thoughts regarding proportions are on point! With my previous Asura model attempt I definitely struggled with posing the model because of Asura proportions. They have very big heads, which makes a lot of poses and angles seem odd! They have very short legs, so kneeling can look awkward. Their torsos are very long, and the arms have strange proportions too, like the forearms seem to be quite a bit longer than the upper arm, and the forearm is also so thick. Having these in mind, as well as personal preference is some of what led me to Tekki's current proportions. But even with those odd proportions, I decided to go with an Asura model first because I thought it would be easier than a Sylvari! The proportions might require some adjustment during the rigging stage, but at least the topology is straightforward! Sylvari have more human proportions, but those plant shapes were really intimidating, I worried that while trying to keep a topology that holds those unique shapes of their leaves, I would end up messing up the topology required for good deformations. As for Charr.. I think their muscular build might be a little tricky, but I also think there is a lot of research and material that covers muscular characters so it should be ok? I think for Charr I would be more worried about posing their hands [with those big claws! It's already tricky to draw] and making them talk or kiss [with those big fangs!]. The other biggest thing that intimidates me is how to handle their fur! My computer is not powerful, I don't even have a graphics card lol, so I can't use real particle effects/real fur. I would have to rely on other tricks and painting to give that feeling like it's fur. ---- About the lips from the video! That is on me! I couldn't show the issues I was having, I still sounded disappointed because I was thinking about it and the frustration of trying to fix it. But in the video no issues were really shown except a little in the middle of the bottom lip, where a big crease showed. A pic that better shows the two issues: https://imgur.com/VQj5Xse I hope that makes more sense! I don't know if adjusting the weight painting fixed that or if I needed to pose things better. But it gave me a lot to think about, the fact I couldn't recreate the issue in the video... Thank you so much! I am learning a lot with this model and I really think the next one will go a lot faster and smoother! I won't have to overthink, experiment and re-do things as much.

<33 I am so so happy that you liked the video!! ;v; and that it wasn't difficult to understand! I hope the video made it way easier to see stuff instead of having to read descriptions and go by a few pictures that don't always get the idea across! ;v;!! I have now started looking at tutorials on how to improve the audio within DaVinci Resolve so next month should be a lot better! Thank you thank you for your very kind and supportive feedback, I am really happy the video was well received and I look forward to making more going forward!

Great video, but it also shows that I certainly lack the patience (on top of lacking the talent) to be an artist. I'm also curious if the extra point you added to the brow is only needed due to the Asura eye-to-head ratio being larger than other races, or if it adds a level of articulation that will be just as useful for Sylvari. And would adjusting arms for posing be easier for Sylvari (longer arms) or more difficult for Charr (not exactly sure if their physiology would limit range of movement). Maybe I'm overthinking it. I love your attention to detail, but I noticed myself thinking "It looks good" when you're adjusting the lips and sound unhappy with how it turns out. I'm hoping whatever you stick with is easy enough to port into a different model without having to start all over again. I hope you keep making progress you're happy with!

The video was excellent, love the detail, descriptions, and explanations on various things. Also! Your English was excellent, I didn't have any trouble understanding anything, and though (as you said) your voice was a little soft, I think you made for a pleasant narrator the entire time, so top marks there. >:] Thanks for making such a long video, taking the time to explain, and giving us another peek behind the curtain into your process and progress.

epyon_avenger