Wow Fliptop, that is exactly the kind of post i read from you in other threads and i wondered, when am i gonna derserve that kind of wall of text full of insight and constructive criticism ;o)
Well, here it is, and i really enjoyed reading it...twice
Now let us talk technique and elaborate :
Yes the abdominal portion is a pitch black eye sticker : the bump mapping properties and the reflection white dots mimic (hehe) this part of the body (as well as joints on the arms and sometimes shoulder) quite well.
I am not saying it is anatomically perfect, but it looks pretty good in-game ;o)
So yes i used black on some of the insects, also as one of the primary colors of pattern 1...why ? because it allowed me to give the insects a grittier look and give a sufficient level of contrast, as opposed to bright and flashy green & yellows used to give them the chitinous exoskeleton colors.
There has been a lot of trial and error on the colors, and i used the pants and the rubber unitard to give an extra glossy look for the leg part, and the tree sticker did help me bring a touch of extra colour and depth to it.
So i tend not to agree with you on this, the Mantis (your favourite...and mine ;o) has no black (except for the eye "lens"), the wasp needs black for stripes and for the "nose", the red ants is definitely black and reddish IRL, and the brundle fly is black and greenish...but as you say, it is a matter of taste, and i'd rather go (for insects at least) for the creepiest most photorealistic of looks, rather than abuse flashy colors...partly because it matters a lot in-game with the realistic lighting effects.
Here are a few ref pics :
Maybe the ant could benefit a little more red, i will try it when i am back...
Now onto Puppet doll, here i do agree with you 100%, not a real Talim, yet a keeper i enjoy playing with...
As for Pred, i did some minor tweaks to make him look even better, and will defintely work on the voice to see if i can use your tip for extra fun...right now, i have three versions of him with wholly different looks (mitsu, cervy and Aeon)
And hell yeah about Arnie and the mud thing, i actually thought of doing it, but slots and all, you know...with face tatoo and stickers, easily doable...
Now how is that for an answer ?
Thanks Fliptop, please post again some time ;o)
Now a last day of work and i am on to Izmir...