Mad Max

Specification/Overview

I am going to do a modern day/sci-fi twist on the movie Mad Max from 1979. I plan on creating a character sculpt of Max himself with a modern twist, yet still maintaining a post-apocalyptic style. Other ideas I had was to create a new version of the interceptor from the original mad max movies, but make it my own; so basically a rat rod style car with patchwork armour and handmade additions. I was thinking of a muscle car such as a Mustang GT500. I also had an idea about including Max’s dog from the original movie but again changing it to an Alsatian, Husky or Akita, even maybe a small robot just so it’s a little bit of a twist on the mad max universe. I was going to make a lo-poly environment too, but all of these ideas are just maybes, and my main focus is modelling and finishing the character.

Motivation/Rational

I chose to do my project on mad max because the movie was always inspirational to me when I was a child, I always wanted to have max’s car and dog, and have always loved ratty post-apocalyptic styles of art. Along with this my favorite game is the fallout series and this has pushed me to want to work for Bethesda/Zenimax eventually if I get good enough, and fallout is heavily inspired by mad max also, so basically it just seemed like the natural thing to do.

Research and Justification

Here's what I would want Max to look like, accessories, weapons, clothing etc. as well as the industry practices and techniques I will be using within the project and my reasons behind using them.

Clothing

I like the fishtail parka look, fits in to a post apocalypse nicely and the khaki green coloration helps blend you into the surroundings and acts as a camouflage, I would have it with a fur hood variant. I will probably use alpha maps to create the fur on the hood or maybe a hair and fur system within 3ds max.

With the pants I will probably go for cargo pants as they have lots of pockets for storage and they are very loose and freedom of movement is important in a post-apocalyptic situation.

   

I want my character to be wearing high boots as they are practical and can protect you from floor objects, it also opens up the possibility of stashing things e.g. boot knife.

Accessories

I was torn between the idea of a scarf and a dust mask, a scarf has multiple uses and can be used as a dust mask as well as keeping you warm, but it restricts your breathing after having it on for a while, where as a bike dust mask doesn't restrict your breathing, but you can’t keep your neck warm with it. They both can be used to hide your face and stay anonymous, I think I will most likely lean towards the bike dust mask as it has more visual appeal also and is often unseen, in a game environment.

I thought about different glove styles, I like Kevlar gloves as they are practical as he will most likely be fighting more than your average guy, so they would have to be durable and protect him from knives and such. Also considered the bulkiness of the gloves so thought about leather also as they aren't too bulky and his handling would be a lot better.

I want him to have either binoculars or a monocular, so he can scout areas for enemies and dangers before exploring them. I can’t decide what I want him to have yet and will decide that at a later date.

Weapons

My characters primary weapon is going to be a bolt-action .308 hunting rifle, with a long range scope, carry strap, ammo holder on the stock and suppressor. I want something similar to the Remington 700 rifle, but with a post-apocalyptic twist, I have always liked the hunting rifle out of fallout and will most likely take it down that road of design.

For his secondary weapon I would like him to have a 9mm Beretta, as it is light-weight and practical.

I also want him to have a melee weapon which is a machete, but I want it to be a multi-purpose machete as he will need it for survival such as clearing shrubbery and hunting purposes.

Workflow

I will be doing everything on this project, from the initial concepts to the final beauty shots and post-production.

1. Pre-production and Concept art
2. Character turnarounds
3. Base mesh
4. Check topology
5. Un-wrap
6. Rig base mesh
7. Zbrush/Mudbox
8. Bake normals
9. Build weapons
10. Un-wrap weapons
11. Texturing and shaders
12. Pose
13. Lighting
14. Rendering
15. Post-Production and Extras

Asset List/Project deliverables

1. Low poly character
2. High poly character
3. Primary weapon
4. Secondary weapon
5. Melee weapon
6. 2x texture sheet (1xhead and 1xbody)(Dif, Spec, Norm/Prlx, AO, Alph)
7. 3x texture sheet (1x primary, 1x secondary and 1x melee) (Dif, Spec, Norm/Prlx, AO)
8. 1x texture sheet (all accessories) (Dif, Spec, Norm/Prlx, AO)

Project plan/Time management

I’m not entirely sure how long everything will take me, as I am not a good judge of time, but this is roughly how long I will spend on each piece of the project.

1. Pre-production and concept art.                                2 weeks
2. Create Character turnarounds.                                   1 week
3. Create base mesh in max.                                          3 weeks
4. Make sure topology works for rigging.                        1 day/2 days
5. Un-wrap base mesh.                                                  2 days
6. Rig base mesh.                                                           1 week
7. Take into zbrush.                                                        5 weeks/6 weeks
8. Bake normals to low-poly.                                          1 day
9. Build environment and weapons.                                  3 weeks
10. Un-wrap weapons and extras.                                      2 days/3 days
11. Texturing and Shaders.                                                 2 weeks/3 weeks
12. Pose.                                                                           1 day/2 days
13. Build lighting.                                                               1 week/2 weeks
14. Rendering.                                                                   1 day/2 days
15. Post-production                                                           1 week
16. Total                                                                            23 weeks and 5 days

That leaves about 3 weeks spare for problems that I am bound to encounter at some stage through-out the project or for other items I want to add in if I have the time.