UFO:Alien Invasion

Development => Artwork => Topic started by: H-Hour on November 10, 2012, 01:11:37 pm

Title: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: H-Hour on November 10, 2012, 01:11:37 pm
Isen is working on making some more faces for our soldiers, but he needs good, properly licensed, source material. You can do this for us by proving some simple photos of your face. Please provide a photo from straight in front, one from a slight angle (like the attached image) and one from the side, and Isen can turn your face into a soldier.
It won't look exactly like you, as the pieces have to be adjusted to fit onto the mode.

When you post, please license your photos under GNU GPL 2 or later.

Another way you can help us is by finding good source photos for black, asian, latino or arab men, or any women since us gamers tend to be overwhelmingly male. These photos have to be licensed properly for use in derivative commercial works, which makes this task very hard. Deviantart.com's stock photo section (http://browse.deviantart.com/resources/stockart/model/) is one place to look, but because people often fail to declare specific licenses, we have to ask the person to license it under an appropriate license. Two that work well for this are GNU GPL 2 or Later and CC-BY-SA 3.0. If you have a DeviantArt account, try putting in an hour going through their stock photo section to see if you can find useful material and sending messages to the authors to ask if they'll license under these licenses for this purpose.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Latino210 on November 10, 2012, 02:38:32 pm
It's an honour to be the first to answer this call! I've snapped pics of me with and without glasses, use whatever you want. I am a full-blooded Latino but I could easily pass for an Arab with a little tan.

The pics in the "myuglyface.zip" archive are free; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Isen on November 12, 2012, 12:17:55 am
Thanks Latino210 for being first volunteer. I managed to make two simple textures. Here is a preview. If You could send me more detailed pictures (a better quality) it would make a great difference.
As for any other forum member that wish to join our little project, if you dont want to show images to public forum, You can send them directly to me with a PM.

Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Crystan on November 12, 2012, 01:21:11 am
Great work Isen! Really hoped someone would make new faces.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Latino210 on November 12, 2012, 08:43:21 am
Thanks Latino210 for being first volunteer. I managed to make two simple textures. Here is a preview. If You could send me more detailed pictures (a better quality) it would make a great difference.

All right, give me a couple of days to grow my beard back and I will snap some better quality pics.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: krilain on November 17, 2012, 11:58:17 am
It's an honour to be the first to answer this call! I've snapped pics of me with and without glasses, use whatever you want. I am a full-blooded Latino but I could easily pass for an Arab with a little tan.

The pics in the "myuglyface.zip" archive are free; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
Hi Latino and all other guys,

I will surely appear greatly newbie on the here treated question, but I downloaded your zip file and excuse me, discovered photo faces where I was waiting to see digital modeled ones like in-game. I've so 2 questions :
1- is this the type of artwork needed in order to multilply the faces count,
2 - and is there not a standard format more directly adapted, in 3D eventually, or planely mapped like some textures I've already seen in many games ?

Last point , I dont know where are packed the faces today used in game into my UFOAI pakage under windows.   

Thank for your attention.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: H-Hour on November 17, 2012, 05:24:07 pm
krilain: Isen is taking the source photos provided by myself, Latino and others and turning them into faces mapped onto head models used in the game. All you have to do to help out is take some photos of yourself from straight in front and from the side. Isen can use bits and pieces to fit together onto a head ingame.

There is no standard format for converting a photo into a face in the game. Often direct mapping doesn't work very well and Isen needs to move things around to layout properly on the model.

You will find soldier models in /base/models/soldiers I believe.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Anarch Cassius on November 18, 2012, 10:26:15 am
You can find automapping programs and some don't totally suck... but from a design standpoint that's not good for a game like this. It's good for a game where you can upload an avatar image but it means either including the face maker in UFO AI would be tons of work, or it means processing the files first and putting them in to UFO AI. Which is basically what Isen is doing by hand.

I've a lot of artists and most use generators, prefabs and so on but not one just takes the output and leaves it as is. It always goes through some touch-up work. I wouldn't be surprised if Isen is using algorithms to lay down the basework before finalizing but if you have the option you really can't beat a human going over the final details.

I'll post my photos soon and see how many friends I can convince. I can probably get the people in my gaming group to do it and that includes several girls.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: H-Hour on November 18, 2012, 10:36:17 am
I'll post my photos soon and see how many friends I can convince. I can probably get the people in my gaming group to do it and that includes several girls.

Would be great to have more photos, thanks.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Isen on November 19, 2012, 12:15:31 pm
I don't use any algorithms and everything is made by hand. It is because pictures I use as a base, are not unify in style and camera angle. I also modyfy mesh while texturing. That is why its easer for me to work individually with every face.
I'm looking forward to lay hands on pictures you will provide ;)

Here is a little preview how it looks like.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Latino210 on November 19, 2012, 12:50:32 pm


The pics in the "Photos.zip" archive are free; you can redistribute them and/or modify them under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

The resolution is much higher and now I really look like an Arab. Well, I am a Sicilian and probably I have a lot of Arabic ancestors. I cannot wait to see a soldier with my face killing aliens in game!
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: krilain on November 19, 2012, 01:15:30 pm
krilain: Isen is taking the source photos provided by myself, Latino and others and turning them into faces mapped onto head models used in the game. All you have to do to help out is take some photos of yourself from straight in front and from the side. Isen can use bits and pieces to fit together onto a head ingame.

There is no standard format for converting a photo into a face in the game. Often direct mapping doesn't work very well and Isen needs to move things around to layout properly on the model.

You will find soldier models in /base/models/soldiers I believe.
Thank you to be so clear,

You must have understood that i'm not fluent so much in english. That's why I miss often the core of the topics before someone leads me into it.

I quite understand now. But still quite surprised. Once transformed in electronic in-game format how could someone know where the original model came from?
I don't use any algorithms and everything is made by hand. It is because pictures I use as a base, are not unify in style and camera angle. I also modyfy mesh while texturing. That is why its easer for me to work individually with every face.
I'm looking forward to lay hands on pictures you will provide ;)

Here is a little preview how it looks like.
Excuse me again, thanks first for explanations of your work. But for instance I just was into a software page for facial modeling and got this :
(http://www.3dvf.com/DATA/PUBLISH/1325/images/texture.jpg)

I would ask you a technical question. Dont you get such a texture at the end of your converting job? (from real photo to a model)

And if so, isn't that possible to work directly on this substract to make various faces? Why doesn't it work, at least in most cases?

I've no time to test it myself those days, but eventually if this way of work was correct, I would be happy to contribute one future day. That's just painting. Looks funny :)
(...) I cannot wait to see a soldier with my face killing aliens in game!
Or aliens being killing you :)
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: H-Hour on November 19, 2012, 01:34:50 pm
I would ask you a technical question. Dont you get such a texture at the end of your converting job? (from real photo to a model)

If you look at any of the head*.png files here (https://github.com/ufoai/ufoai/tree/master/base/models/soldiers/male), you will see the "skins" for each of our head models. Each model can layout its skin in a different way. If you're interested in learning about this, search for how to "unwrap UV" in modelling programs.

Yes, you can use the same unwrapping and paint some small differences (head01* all use the same model, for instance). But there is a limit to how much real diversity you can achieve without changing the models, which is why Isen both paints and manipulates the model a bit for each head.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Crystan on November 19, 2012, 05:09:14 pm
I don't use any algorithms and everything is made by hand. It is because pictures I use as a base, are not unify in style and camera angle. I also modyfy mesh while texturing. That is why its easer for me to work individually with every face.
I'm looking forward to lay hands on pictures you will provide ;)

Here is a little preview how it looks like.
Again, great work!
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: krilain on November 20, 2012, 12:04:31 pm
If you look at any of the head*.png files here (https://github.com/ufoai/ufoai/tree/master/base/models/soldiers/male), you will see the "skins" for each of our head models. Each model can layout its skin in a different way. If you're interested in learning about this, search for how to "unwrap UV" in modelling programs.

Yes, you can use the same unwrapping and paint some small differences (head01* all use the same model, for instance). But there is a limit to how much real diversity you can achieve without changing the models, which is why Isen both paints and manipulates the model a bit for each head.
Thank you. Quite clear again.

I'm not used with game-making and what interferes too is that I use a lot of Autocad for roads or building questions at work, which is some useless for game-making (unless you intend to make an autoroute map in UFOAI!).

I understand now that Isen takes the problem from the root and I add my encouragements to the others of course. But after a while, hopefuly the amount of faces would just have to get numerous little paintable additions (like a barb addition, the hair or skin color). To summarize my understanding of the process :
 
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: H-Hour on December 08, 2012, 01:44:14 pm
These got added to the repo yesterday. A big thanks to Isen. I hear he's working on some female heads as well.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: kOba on December 14, 2012, 11:45:09 am
wonderful job, you're doing great, very good
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: krilain on December 14, 2012, 02:19:50 pm
I dont understand how does that hairs dont interfer with helmets.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Isen on December 14, 2012, 02:39:41 pm
For heads in helmet there is diferent mesh and texture.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Kildor on December 15, 2012, 12:17:38 pm
Cool work. Really, the faces were one of the most problem places in the game appearance.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Latino210 on December 15, 2012, 02:59:45 pm
Wow, you used my face for at least 6 different soldiers! Let me guess, I was the only one that answered?
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: ShipIt on December 15, 2012, 04:12:16 pm
Wow, you used my face for at least 6 different soldiers! Let me guess, I was the only one that answered?

I think, out of those that sent a pic you are the most beautiful one.  :-*
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Isen on December 16, 2012, 01:29:42 pm
Haha. Well you were not the only one but your pictures had a lot of ... possibilities ;)
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: krilain on December 16, 2012, 02:28:15 pm
For heads in helmet there is diferent mesh and texture.
Ok. Very nice job anyway.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Latino210 on December 16, 2012, 05:16:19 pm

Number 5 in second row looks exactly like my father...
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: krilain on December 19, 2012, 02:46:28 pm
Number 5 in second row looks exactly like my father...
Is it one effect of the UFOAI addiction :)
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: bayo on December 23, 2012, 03:12:52 pm
woow, very nice ! but can we put back the smoking guy ?  ;D
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: Crystan on December 23, 2012, 05:05:20 pm
woow, very nice ! but can we put back the smoking guy ?  ;D
I second that. :)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img191/6329/cigard.jpg)
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: TrashMan on December 26, 2012, 09:39:46 pm
Here...
I gladly give to the cause. Hope they are usable.
Title: Re: Help us out: faces for soldier heads
Post by: p0ss on May 26, 2013, 01:19:00 pm
In many places, mugshots are released as public domain, and they are usually the exact kind of side/front images needed here. 

Mind you, while it may be legal, there is still the ethical dilemma of using someone's likeness without their permission.