Well, um, same model, different skin. All from scratch in Photoshop. Still trying to learn and do different things and experiment with stuff. It still looks like crap though...

(And no, that isn't a penis in the 2nd image. It's the guy's neck. Perverts.)

Heh, I was watching Chappelle Show (and Reno 911) while making this, maybe a bit of that dripped in (crack-guy is my favorite character). He's sort of supposed to be kind of zombie/crazy/weird; normal warrior-thing would be boring, right? So I guess I did it right! Hurrah!

Junkie: 1, Everyone Else: 0

Camp. I suggest you do some more research, and just spend some time rendering different materials, until you understand their surface properties more. Also, go for a more dramatic lighting scheme, to help define the shapes. If you have any 3d package (you can download Gmax for free), use it to explore different materials.

The highlights on the arms seem too focused, and white. Pick a light source, and think about what shapes that light would be defining. The highlights should be more diffused and broader, being brightest only where the planes directly face the lightsouce. (play in Gmax with objects, using facet-highlight mode in your viewport, to see how the highlights react in relation to the plane angle/ light direction). Also, it's a good thing to always add some sort of lower contrast bounce light, that helps define the contour of edges facing away from the lightsource.

The armor needs more highlights, for definition. Once more, establish a lightsource (for a game model, it would probably be coming from the sky), and use that information to build depth.

Analyze everything you see, and try to understand how light defines it's basic shapes. Once you have a handle on that...move on to color. Work in grayscale for a while...this should simplify your tonal studies.

Ah, thanks for shaming me, Finger.

Thanks for the tips. Downloading Gmax and all that junk right now. I'll try working in grayscale like you suggested; only thing is, I get bored too easily without color. Man, this skinning-thing is really difficult... Perhaps I should just stick to mapping for a little while.

well, you can certainly see your shading points a hella lot better eh?....nice CJ.....

Doc B....

btw, is that true grayscale?, or just negative saturation?

Here's another WIP update. Now in 3 flavors. Not sure if my darks and lights are "extreme" enough.

Any tips on facial hair, or should I just fire up Google Image search and look up some reference?

1) Grayscale. Now that I look at it, the edges of the mouth look kind of weird.

2) Grayscale with poorly painted facial hair. Woo!

3) Color test. Couldn't resist. I know there are certain red-ish parts of the face (nose, chin, eyes) but apart from that I'm not sure how exactly to color this. Help!