3D models for Sam and Max in episode 2

[zebulon]

Hi everyone :D

I was a bit perplex looking at our favorite dog and rabbit in episode 2, since sometimes they appeared to have foreheads as big as prehistoric men. Will it be fixed by an update, one of these days?
Please don't tell me I was the only one to notice :p

[Welshy]

I think the foreheads were intentional to help develop more personality and expressions in the characters :rolleyes: then again...maybe not

[taumel]

Oh really? I thought this was due to the wine i was drinking...

[Jake]

This thread weirds me out. The models in episode 2 are the exact same as the ones from episode 1.

Ohh! By "foreheads" do you mean "eyebrows" by any chance? Because that would make a little more sense. And the extreme eyebrow expressions have been toned down a bit since ep 2. Always refining...

[Welshy]

Ahhh good stuff :) , lol yeh I meant eyebrows

[zebulon]

Yeah, OK, my title was bad. It's about the animation / facial expressions, not the models themselves :)

Anyway, since Sam and Max don't have eyebrows, it just looks weird when they raise them (I'm not sure that sentence makes sense... but you know what I mean). It's strange that I didn't get the same feeling from episode 1.
But since you say those expressions have been toned down for future episodes... ;) Thanks guys!

That being said, when all 6 episodes will be released, will some animations be remade or not?

[Jake]

That being said, when all 6 episodes will be released, will some animations be remade or not?

That question is pretty impossible to answer, because I don't think anyone knows. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if a few little tweaks to earlier episodes made it onto the CD. I don't know what kind and if they'll involve animation, though.

[Hero1]

I thought they looked better in episode 2.. brought the characters to life more whatever they did

[Laserschwert]

I think the character animation itself got a boost in episode 2... especially the secondary characters got a bit of more life to them. I liked Sybill's eye-motion a lot.

Furthermore lighting seemed to be improved a big deal... the talk-show got some beautiful lighting on the characters, especially on Myra.

[Lysandus]

Just seemed a little odd for Max to have this huge "ridge" on his face, I feel it doesn't really go well with his big melon shaped head. Didn't notice it in episode 1, but did a few times in episode 2.

[Hero1]

Yes Max's huge ridge looked out of place but other than that I thought they looked better.. Sam in his suit just seemed to look a whole lot better than episode 1.. I think dave bogan should be commended for his work.. I think for a small studio I never expected the characters to look so good in 3d but still have that cartoon/comic type feel

[Jake]

Furthermore lighting seemed to be improved a big deal... the talk-show got some beautiful lighting on the characters, especially on Myra.

All the real time lighting (mostly the lighting on the characters themselves, as environment lighting is almost wholly pre-rendered) was re-lit for episode 2+ by art guy Peter Tsacle, who came onto the project just as episode 1 was finishing up, and it looks really nice.

[Matze]

I think, what is important is that the Character modells and the environment really look like the first sam and max game. The 3D Graphics doesn't destroy the great comic atmosphere, as it did in monkey island 4 (as well as the keyboard controls did).

[jp-30]

Yeah - I also put a lot of that down to the fantastic cinematic camera Telltale use to really keep things tight and focused on the right 'frame' for comic timing etc.

[Laserschwert]

All the real time lighting (mostly the lighting on the characters themselves, as environment lighting is almost wholly pre-rendered) was re-lit for episode 2+ by art guy Peter Tsacle, who came onto the project just as episode 1 was finishing up, and it looks really nice.

He did a really great job... looks like he added lights simulating light bouncing off of strongly colored surfaces to fake what we graphics guys call "global illumination". I noticed it especially at Sybill's desk (which caused some red light on Max's fur) as well as the quiz show, with its green backdrop. Very nice work indeed.

[Hero1]

well done to tsacle! it really made a difference :)

[Arrkhal]

I sorta liked the ep 2 eyebrows, myself. They were barely noticable, to me, in episode 1.

[Laserschwert]

By the way, which software do you guys use for modeling and animation of "Sam & Max"? And, is there a way to extract the 3D-models from the game data files (and convert them into a standard 3D-format like 3DS)? Being a professional 3D-"artist" (When does it become art? Eh, well...) myself, and working with 3dsmax for several years now, I'm mainly focussing on hard-surface modeling (and the appropriate animation like industrial visualization and stuff), but I'd be interested in warming up my (mediocre) character-animation "skills". And I think having Sam and Max for this would be fun.

Is there anybody from the animators around here to get in touch with?