Rusted's Ringers, Gallery I: SoulCalibur Cast Designs

[Rusted Blade]

Alright, that's it for these SCVI 2Ps for now. As I said at the top, at some point in the next couple of weeks I am going to try to find the time to constitute additional galleries for both my non-SoulCalibur reference creations and my own original designs, each of which category will be substantially larger than this one, at about 80 characters each, from suites spanning the history of SC CaS, as opposed the SCVI heavy tilt here. I welcome feedback and hope you find something interesting and maybe even inspiring for your own designs!

 

[Rusted Blade]

Voldo:

Golden Arc:

Woops, seems I overlooked someone--must be because Voldo is just one of those personalities that blends into a crowd, amiright? Anyway, this design started out as an attempt to represent Voldo at a point in time when he was under Vercci's thrall, but before he was full-on gimpified; I dimly recalled some Soul Edge-era concept art (or was it one of those in game monochrome comic sequences?) which represents him as a kind of man-servant, so I worked from that idea as a base. As to the the final colouring and texturing of the clothing, I have to admit that he ended up looking something like a baccarat dealer at the most ostentatious casino in 70's Monaco, but it is after-all Voldo (tacky is kind of his thing) and the the gold-plated version of his "guillotines" really goes a long way towards justifying the colour scheme of the outfit--the lighting shining off of this particular shade of gold really underscores just how nice the shaders are in this game.

 

[Rusted Blade]

By the way, if anyone wants to choose a main roster character (ideally one who is not showcased in this gallery yet) and then give me a one-word or one-sentence theme or concept to blend them with, I'd enjoy the challenge!

 

[Rusted Blade]

Raphael:

Just created a quick trio of Raphael 2Ps, covering a bit of a thematic range.

Rafael of Antioch:

Initially I was going for a bit of a bit of an action-adventure hero from the Golden Age of Hollywood vibe here--Ivanhoe, that sort of thing. That somewhat morphed into the slightly adjacent area of a crusader theme. I like the end result quite a bit, even if it does seem more like the guy Erol Flynn fights at the climax rather than the hero himself. But then, I suppose that's perfectly appropriate for Raphael in any event.

White Tie Raph:

The facial hair configuration I developed for the above put me in mind of other possible designs, one of which was this modern, almost Bond villain-esque take.

Raphy Stardust:

As I was tinkering with facial textures on Raphael, it suddenly became obvious to me that the bone structure of his current facial model gives him more than a passing resemblance to David Bowie, and the rest of this just fell into place more or less automatically. A pity that I had to use two objects for the shoulder pads--I would have liked to have added a sphere to the top of the cone there to be able to use multiple pattern and a more realistic overall contours.

 

[Rusted Blade]

2B:

Siege Buster 2B:

A kind of magitek fantasy variant on 2B, she operates as a one-person foothold battalion, using her high maneuverability to gain egress into tactical locations (guard posts, gatehouses, battlements) and then unleashing her immense offensive capabilities in close quarters to clear out opposition and open a path for regulars.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Maxi:

MaxiFeid:

This one's a little different, being a hybrid between a 2P and a non-SC reference character.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Taki:

Here's a pair of very rough early versions of of Taki 2Ps. I like where both are headed, but as yet they lack subtle details and texture (in both the literal and figurative sense) to make them feel a bit less generic.

Kubutaki:

I'm sure the portmeantaue and the creation itself give away the idea here. I'm not sure about the colour scheme--thoughts? Once I get the colour palette locked down, some sort of embroidery-simulating sticker or stickers will be useful here I think: I usually try to take it easy on those elements for my traditional attire outfits, but given the the theatrical element here, thematically speaking, I think it will work well. I'm going to try to tinker this one into a roughly period appropriate piece in most respects regarding the dress and make-up. Stay tuned as it progresses.

TakAce:

Name mostly says it all: a not-too-distant future take on a fighter ace / new tech test pilot. I find the Aval Combat Garb is almost always the best option in the current editor for a base if you are trying to create a sci-fi or even present day practical gear design, particularly if it's going to have a quasi-militaristic bent. For our Ace here, it works pretty well: I'll admit it doesn't seem like this would work as either an offier's standard uniform or a full flight suit, but I think it still looks like it could be her standard duty fatigues. Again, needs fleshing out with more detail work.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Zasalamel:

Zasalamel'C:

A second hybrid design: a Zasa 2P crossed with a non-SC reference design.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Tira:

Arcane Weaver Tira:

I'm not usually one for the full-on swords and sorcery magic-user aesthetic, nor the over-the-top femme fatale vibe, but this happened all the same! I believe she draws power through the arcanum and uses either her body or her ring to guide the energy into the desired effect. This one just came together organically of its own compunction and I knocked it out quite quickly, and yet, I find it really is quite an engaging little design.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Grøh:

Grohu:

Well, it happened: my dislike for the design / moveset aesthetic of this character got outweighed by the sense of incompleteness engendered by the fact that he was the only one I hadn't done a 2P for. Another case of some polish definetly being required, by all things considered, I like where I have started out with him.

 

[Rusted Blade]

The Champion:

I've made another hybrid build of a Soulcalibur regular crossed with an non-SC reference design; I'm really getting to like these.

 

[HappyColour]

I like a lot of these, but I particularly like the Maxi. Simple yet with charm, and a cohesive theme, I may remake my P2 Maxi with your version as inspiration instead. Nice stuff!

 

[Rusted Blade]

I like a lot of these, but I particularly like the Maxi. Simple yet with charm, and a cohesive theme, I may remake my P2 Maxi with your version as inspiration instead. Nice stuff!

Thanks HappyColour; I appreciate the sentiment! :) A lot of the creations I've been working on of late have been a bit more technical in nature (that is, involving a lot of object manipulation and subtle texture/sticker editing in order to simulate elements of a design that would not otherwise be feasible). But, precisely as you point out, sometimes there is no replacement for a more simple design that has well-balanced minimalist elements.

Now of course, with regard to 'MaxiFeid' the lion's share of the credit for the subtly of the original design goes to Tanaka Kunihiko; the challenge here was to find the combination of assets which could best emulate those strengths (and actually, despite the low level of relevant pieces here, this took me a bit longer than it typically does for reference works). Still, outside of some small details (such as the contours and fitting of the upper garments, the relatively simple midsection accessories, and the limitation on the number of objects preventing more the bow laces--and as you can see from the photos, they are inconsistent in how well they work to the point of being useless for an in-game fighting option), I'm pretty happy with the results.

I did kind of fall ass-backwards into this design (though of course, that's often the start of some of one's better designs-- I presume I am not unique in this): Lately when I do find time for a CaS, sometimes I allow for the process to dictate the outcomes from free-roaming experimentation, rather than sitting down with a design already generally sketched out in my mind and trying to find the assets to make it happen. With regard to SC cast 2Ps in particular, I will often remove all preset clothing and begin from the bottom up with manipulations to the base model in the form of hair, skin tone, and texturing. Usually this results (quite often at the hair stage when I run the entire collection of options against the model, while trying to avoid those I have recently used), in triggering some sense of a broader design based on a concept that jumps out, a general historical or cultural vibe, or another aesthetic association that begins to take form in mind--from which kernel I build.

However, in the case of MaxiFeid, it was the combination of the ponytail with Maxi's features, his body profile, and his quality of movement that made me feel there was some potential here to combine him with another design using my usual reference creation process. Despite using variations of the editor since SCIII:CE, this is the first time I've ever done that (used a 2P/standard roster character model as the base for a CaS that references a non-SC character), at least as best I can recall. But I've since done it two more times, and the results have been positive enough that I may start to do it more often, where it will confer certain benefits. Not that it's just about leveraging features you can't get in the editor otherwise: it's also about finding the interesting shared spaces between different artistic designs and the base assets.

Anyway, that's my long-winded way of saying thank you for the feedback!

FYI, momentarily I'm going to put up a thread about an interesting function/work-around that I found baked into the editor which may be of some interests to you as as someone who has the degree of interest you have in the detail work.

 

[VILARCANE]

Inferno:

Infernal Constraint:


This is the end product of a long series of experiments that I did trying to create a set of armor that would almost completely contain Inferno's blazing body. I'll add some of the earlier variants eventually, but ultimately I landed on this kind of quasi-organic design that I think really does up the bestial factor on the base model a little--there is of course a little bit of Nightmare worked into the design for just that purpose.

View attachment 72790View attachment 72791View attachment 72792

Inferno and that helmet : one helluva combo...my chair rocked but i managed not to totally lose balance...nice really nice mon ami

 

[Rusted Blade]

Inferno and that helmet : one helluva combo...my chair rocked but i managed not to totally lose balance...nice really nice mon ami

Thanks, Vil! Yeah originally I used a combination of objects to give him three faces: basically I made him into an asura, because I thought it fit decently well with Inferno's vibe as supernatural agent of chaos. I'll have to see if I saved any photos of that, because it was a decent concept. But ultimately I decided the kind of organic/more raw bestial/vaguely Nightterror-like look suite him/it better. I've actually been intending for a while to go back to this one and stick some form of apparently flaming wings on him: I think it might be interesting to make this build look like a larval form of Nightterror. Now that you've reminded me, I think I may do that tomorrow.

 

[VILARCANE]

Please do i'd be glad to see that.
I tried to build upon this good foundation for a CAS to do another Inferno (done a few already).
It's a steal, sue me :)

 

[Rusted Blade]

It's a steal, sue me :)

Hahah, considere tous mes affaires comme...une utilisation gratuite? (est-ce la meme formulation, en francais?) En tout cas, comme 'Creative Commons'. ;)

 

[VILARCANE]

Hahah, considere tous mes affaires comme...une utilisation gratuite? (est-ce la meme formulation, en francais?) En tout cas, comme 'Creative Commons'. ;)

Merci, en français on dit : creations du domaine public ou libre de droit.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Merci, en français on dit : creations du domaine public ou libre de droit.

Ah, 'libre de droit'--bien sur!

 

[VILARCANE]

One word one sentence 3p challenge... Here you go :
Wizard-man
2B Raider
...
I could go on but let's see what you make of those. Try to capture the theme and not respect the name "a la lettre", venture outside the box as you love too and explore new venues to add some element of suprise...
Btw in french you'd say : Maison du Roi, i like her, needs more details, check out my French Amie or Mousquetaire Taki if you need ideas...or like and