DF-21 Forums

[NewTownAnimal]

[waxonator]

[sheepandshepherd]

Either way, quite a lot happened between his graduation from the academy and the events of Dark Forces, so the image isn't an accurate representation of the time period.
Besides, I'm not sure the imperial academy image is even canonical - it looks like he has blue eyes, which is clearly not the case in any other "official" representation of him.

[Tsophika]

I picked this model up again last weekend. I only work on Katarn in between other projects and when I feel motivated! The body armor and jacket are getting there. The face is 99% done, but I'm certainly open to critique!

[Gez]

Chin could be a bit broader and flatter, nose rounder, upper lip a bit shorter, cheekbones a bit wider.

[Barry Brien]

I think it looks great Tsophika

[klasodeth]

I agree with Gez, particularly about the nose and chin. Kyle's face seems to look a bit too narrow in your rendering because of those features.

I will say it's orders of magnitude better than the casting decision LucasArts made for the Jedi Knight version of Kyle Katarn.

[sheepandshepherd]

Awesome work! I noticed the front of his face is a bit narrow though, like Gez mentioned. The nose looks a bit too narrow and sharp as well.
Also, the skin does seem a bit too light, although that's mostly just the yellowness of DF's graphics I'm used to. Just a bit noticeable around the eyes and forehead, I think.

[Magic_Al]

[Tsophika]

Thanks for the comments! The facial gesture has changed quite a bit from when I started. He looked much grittier and older, so I never intended to recreate exactly the 2D art - in fact it would be impossible to do so while keeping the realism - just look at the angle of that nose! But as I kept going back to the model, I pushed it closer and closer to the art, and I'll continue to tweak it. I'm certainly going to paint more wrinkles and skin blemishes, and I think I'll look at the shape of his nose again.

Here are a couple different angles and a fun hair test - not quite the hair you wanted Al!

[Magic_Al]

He looks very heroic in the lower-left corner.

I think a more believable hairline needs to be extrapolated from where the artwork is cut off. The two tufts of hair on his forehead make me wonder if his hair would be parted down the center.

_________________
----- MagicAl`s DARK FORCES Niche -----
http://wayback.archive.org/web/*/http://homepage.mac.com/anewmanagn/magic_al/

Armed only with a blaster pistol and an intimate knowledge of
Imperial methods, MagicAl prepares to go to lunch....

[BD Hopkins]

This is looking marvelous, Tsophika.

I agree with Al, though, about the hairline. Kyle looks as though he is the the early throes of balding, and on the front lines of the hair loss battle stand distinct sprouts of bangs, defiantly yet futilely belaboring the inevitable. It's not a good look, generally speaking.

The original artwork that shows the top of his head doesn't do much to dispel this impression, either. The awkward segregation of bangs and hairline appears there, too. I think the juxtaposition of these elements in the conceptual artwork owes more to the style of sketching--very open-ended and lacking in detail--than to a desire to give Kyle a receding hairline that is punctuated by sprouts of bangs.