New bear skins experiment

[Wain]

As you know, bear2 is being used as a replacement model for the original bear, and they've created skins that are meant to be a match but sometimes they're not very close.

I thought I'd have a go at modifying the new skins to see if I can get them closer to the originals.

It's just for fun, it's not like I'm going to try to get them to use these. Also I'm an amateur and don't pretend I have any real skill at this, so please be kind

Constructive criticism of where I could modify the skins further, is always appreciated.

[Wain]

First up is my first draft of the black bear, since this is one of the most divergent from the original.

This is still a work in progress!



For comparison, here's the old model black, and Blizzard's official replacement:




I used their original "black" skin, which was brown, as the base. I didn't start with the desaturated one they're using now (pictured above) as it's lacking a lot of shade definition.

I modified the skin to get it much darker and less red. After that I experimented with getting the lower jaw black instead of brown. I had trouble with that, not being an artist of any skill, so mostly it's filled in using other sections of fur that were copied and stretched/shrunk/rotated to fit. It still needs work. I think it may be a bit too dark.

I think I also need to work on darkening the top lip so it's not such a jarring north-south / brown/black divide on the face.

Close up of the face:



The new fur on the cheeks definitely needs some better lighting. It's just a mass of black at the moment.

I tried to make the eye a bit rounder, like the original, and not so squinted and leery. But I think it still needs some cleaning up.

You'll probably also notice a jarring "cut" stretching back from the mouth, like the bear's cheeks had been cut into. Unfortunately this is the model and there's not much I can do about it. In fact, it's less obvious with my darkened skin than the original. I'm not sure what's going on there but I suspect it was a side-effect of them compressing the skull a bit.

[Kalliope]

I like that while yours is a work in progress, I can still see more of Ursa in it than in the current version or any of the previous versions. (He's my base guideline, whether I'd let him actually change skins or not.) Definitely going in the correct direction!

Personally, I don't mind the super-deep black color on the lower jaw, since it also shows up on the legs. In fact, that's more of my ideal color! The higher bits just reflect more light, so they appear lighter. Your model actually looks more like a proper black bear than the original (which always had white/gray undertones). So my only suggestion in addition to the things already on your already detailed to-do list is to pull the brown/red out of the lighter patches of fur on the shoulders/butt/back legs in favor of some lighter shades of black/darker shades of gray.

Honestly, with that sort of look, I WOULD want Ursa to swap to it. Even the original black bear was never really dark enough for me; it's just what I had to go with.

After all my wailing about the impending swap... It's not that I was against Ursa changing! It's that I was against him changing into something that didn't feel like him anymore. This though....this I would be happy with. Even without the forthcoming tweaks, honestly.

All in all, an excellent recolor, Wain. This is seriously the first time I've actually been able to look at that model and say "Yes, that's Ursa."

[Vephriel]

Guh, your recolour looks so good that I'm disappointed it's not the real thing! Honestly great job Wain, with your touch-ps you've managed to preserve so much of the original's spirit. That looks like a proper black to me, and if that was the revamped bear they presented us with I don't think I'd have any trouble changing over to it.

[Ana]

I like yours way better... but to me the head is still too low to the ground.. which always bothered me with WoW bears

[zedxrgal]

Echoing what the other ladies have said you recolor is extremely good. Even his little ears look an almost exact match for the original. I like that you also cleared the eyes up & fixed those also. Personally I wouldn't mind a tiny bit darker black but you're so close to the original it's amazing. Amateur my arse.

This may be nitpicking but the lack of definition in the new model in the nostrils is a little bit bothersome for me. I'm sorry but I am weird in that I notice tiny details like that. Even though the original model's nose is black to see definite nostrils. That would be the only thing but it's not a deal breaker just I noticed with the recolor & Blizzards new model.

But over all I REALLY really love your recolor job on the body, nose and ears.

[Wain]

Aw thanks guys. . I'll see if I can get any further with it today. Sometimes I think I'm making improvements and then model it and realise it's worse :p

[SpiritBinder]

That is SUCH a better version

I don't know why, but I especially love the brown above the eyebrow and the black is actually dark
The shadows however seem a little cooler/blue compared to the original, but it adds more colour too it as a whole. Just so much better

[Wain]

Thanks

Yeah, the exact black of the original will be impossible to reproduce, I think. It's basically a set of black and grey stripes. Short of me painting a realistic light stripe down each tuft of hair I don't think I can get it that close. And that would probably look silly too

I must work more on it though I wish I could get a better range of shades. I think it gets a bit too dark in the middle.

[Kalliope]

That is SUCH a better version

I don't know why, but I especially love the brown above the eyebrow and the black is actually dark
The shadows however seem a little cooler/blue compared to the original, but it adds more colour too it as a whole. Just so much better

Yessss, exactly! The brown stripe looks better because it stands out more than it does on the original model - the difference between the black/grey stripes and true black. And it still looks like Blizzard's style because Wain's kept the existing shading scheme.

Still so happy about this. I'm actually really settling into Ursa looking like this, which is a mistake, since the in-game model is still more brown.

[zedxrgal]

With any luck our new lurker Shem will see this and consider changing the models.

Just tossing this out there. I wouldn't mind seeing the white bear also be it's original white which, to me, looks lighter on the original model compared to the dirty snow look of the new.

But Wain's recolor. The more I see it the more I love it.

[Wain]

Even if he saw it, there's probably not much that could be done. I get the feeling the art team is very powerful and if a dev wants anything from them they have to approach crawling and bowing, and offer a sacrifice of some sort. Probably pastries and schnapps. Then, if they request a spore creature and the art team capriciously makes a flower person instead, then they must be happy with that or suffer their eternal wrath

[zedxrgal]

lmao

So probably something like this:

[Wain]

Yeah!

[Wain]

OK, the black bear skin is turning into a collaboration. I've passed it on to SpiritBinder for improved colour and fine detailing. He's way, way more talented at that than I am and he'll e able to achieve those fined touches that I can't.

But for now, I had an attempt at a white / polar bear skin. This is my first draft. It needs work but I'm happy with what I got out of it in just a short time:

Official white (not mine):




My first draft:




The original white bear:




The eyes still need to be made less squinty and the area around the eyelids needs to be lightened and some of the creases removed, but I'm happy with the progress. They're darker and more like the originals, but most importantly they're lacking that strange, blurry, blue outline. Once they're rounded a bit, and those dark creases lightened I think they'll be OK.

The fur needs more lightening in some areas, but I think it's going in the right direction.

[Kalliope]

Aaahhh, I love that you're doing this! The brighter white pops much more nicely.

[Vephriel]

I don't know what it is with Blizzard but it's as though they're allergic to using bright whites and dark blacks in recent expansions. I really like the contrast of the Vanilla models in comparison where they weren't afraid to be bolder with those shades and colours in general.

Your new white bear looks so much nicer and cleaner than the proposed remodel. That one really is rather bland and dirty looking next to your edited version.

Wain, the only downside of this thread is that I'm falling in love with your edits far more than the ones we're actually getting. ;-;

[zedxrgal]

Wain, the only downside of this thread is that I'm falling in love with your edits far more than the ones we're actually getting. ;-;

This.

Although I keep thinking the white bear needs a makeup remover cloth cause that mascara run is tragic.

Man I love your recolor of the white Wain. That's exactly how they should look. The white diseased bear I can make the concession of the dirty snow color being fine for that model because it's diseased. It's not meant to have a clean /fresh snow look.

Keep it up Wain. *cracks whip*
I kid I kid.

Maybe we should all send a sweet treat & booze gift basket in the hope of bribing the art team. I learned how to make butterscotch peanut butter rice crispy treats today.
Oh my. My tongue is waggling too much.

[TygerDarkstorm]

Wain, your recolors are stunning and I would love it if our lurker at least took them into consideration.

[Snowwalker]

If you guys can do this on a whim here for fun, certainly the well experienced art team at Blizz should be able to. And with their skills/programs, even easier. I'd certainly hate to think they were shown up by a couple people on a message board... /taunt