I made some comments on the Live player models in another thread but I decided to create a thread and include my own photoshopped image to show what I am talking about.
I am a digital artist and have a lot of experience with anatomy and some knowledge of 3D character models. I have noticed the same recurring problems with Live's player models for years, and I was hopeful that they would be fixed this year, but after viewing the new screenshots it's apparent they still haven't fixed the "forearm problem" that has plagued Live's player models for years. So I have finally decided to do something about it and show the developers exactly what I'm talking about.
In Live's player models, the forearms look very awkward as they attach to biceps. see steve nash's bent arm in the original EA pic on the right - as the forearm meets the biceps, it looks too thick and doesn't blend smoothly into the biceps - there is a harsh skin fold and shadow where the forearm attaches, making the forearm look detached from the biceps, as opposed to blending smoothly into the bicep (2k's player models do not have this issue with their arms). the forearm also appears too long and attaches too far back on the biceps area - this makes the arm look too long and awkward at some viewing angles and especially when the arm is in certain positions (like when the arm is bent in the steve nash pic).
below I quickly did some things in photoshop to fix the problems and put the original pic from EA next to it for comparison.
In my photoshopped image on the left, you can see Nash's arms are now skinnier and his shoulders are narrower - his head and neck are also larger so they are in proportion with his torso and arms. i think this is closer to the real Steve Nash than the original screenshot. Nash has pretty skinny arms in real life, yet in the original screen shot his forearms and upper arms look too big and bulky. in the original pic he looks like he's been taking steroids or something.
Overall Live's arms and shoulders are just too big and their necks/heads are too small in relation to their bodies.
on some of the player models their arms and shoulders need to be narrower and thinner to match their real life counterparts - this is one thing 2k has done well - 2k has a nice variety of body types. in 2k, skinny guys like tayshaun prince and garnett really have long, skinny arms, and bulky guys like shaq and ben wallace have very thick arms. Looking at these Live pics, almost all the players seem to have similar arms and body types.
I would also say that in Live's models the wrists are too skinny and their hands are too big (see the deron williams pic below).
in summary:
1. make the necks and heads a bit bigger
2. make the forearms, biceps, and shoulders less bulky
3. fix the infamous "forearm problem" so the forearms attach to biceps properly (Live's forearms are too thick and should not look so "detached" from the bicep) - see my image above for example. seriously - it's too far into this generation of systems to still be seeing freaky deformed forearms on the models.
4. more variety in body types (skinny players like tayshaun prince should have very long, skinny arms in comparison to other players. thicker players like nate robinson or shaq should have noticeably thicker arms than other players).
5. make the hands smaller and the wrists a bit thicker.
sorry about the lengthy post, but I am a professional artist and have a passion for this kind of thing.
I am a digital artist and have a lot of experience with anatomy and some knowledge of 3D character models. I have noticed the same recurring problems with Live's player models for years, and I was hopeful that they would be fixed this year, but after viewing the new screenshots it's apparent they still haven't fixed the "forearm problem" that has plagued Live's player models for years. So I have finally decided to do something about it and show the developers exactly what I'm talking about.
In Live's player models, the forearms look very awkward as they attach to biceps. see steve nash's bent arm in the original EA pic on the right - as the forearm meets the biceps, it looks too thick and doesn't blend smoothly into the biceps - there is a harsh skin fold and shadow where the forearm attaches, making the forearm look detached from the biceps, as opposed to blending smoothly into the bicep (2k's player models do not have this issue with their arms). the forearm also appears too long and attaches too far back on the biceps area - this makes the arm look too long and awkward at some viewing angles and especially when the arm is in certain positions (like when the arm is bent in the steve nash pic).
below I quickly did some things in photoshop to fix the problems and put the original pic from EA next to it for comparison.
In my photoshopped image on the left, you can see Nash's arms are now skinnier and his shoulders are narrower - his head and neck are also larger so they are in proportion with his torso and arms. i think this is closer to the real Steve Nash than the original screenshot. Nash has pretty skinny arms in real life, yet in the original screen shot his forearms and upper arms look too big and bulky. in the original pic he looks like he's been taking steroids or something.
Overall Live's arms and shoulders are just too big and their necks/heads are too small in relation to their bodies.
on some of the player models their arms and shoulders need to be narrower and thinner to match their real life counterparts - this is one thing 2k has done well - 2k has a nice variety of body types. in 2k, skinny guys like tayshaun prince and garnett really have long, skinny arms, and bulky guys like shaq and ben wallace have very thick arms. Looking at these Live pics, almost all the players seem to have similar arms and body types.
I would also say that in Live's models the wrists are too skinny and their hands are too big (see the deron williams pic below).
in summary:
1. make the necks and heads a bit bigger
2. make the forearms, biceps, and shoulders less bulky
3. fix the infamous "forearm problem" so the forearms attach to biceps properly (Live's forearms are too thick and should not look so "detached" from the bicep) - see my image above for example. seriously - it's too far into this generation of systems to still be seeing freaky deformed forearms on the models.
4. more variety in body types (skinny players like tayshaun prince should have very long, skinny arms in comparison to other players. thicker players like nate robinson or shaq should have noticeably thicker arms than other players).
5. make the hands smaller and the wrists a bit thicker.
sorry about the lengthy post, but I am a professional artist and have a passion for this kind of thing.
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