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c-compiler — Allosaurus (remake) - base model 20141210
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#3d #allosaurus #bigal #blender #dinosaur #game #jurassic #prehistoric #theropoda #allosauroidea #carnosauria #basemodel #prehistorickingdom #cyclesrender
Published: 2014-12-11 01:00:58 +0000 UTC; Views: 1513; Favourites: 10; Downloads: 0
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Here we go: it's me redone Allosaurus model for Prehistoric Kingdom, which is based on Scott Harman's skeletal of the Big Al specimen.Some parts like the torso are derived from my previous Allosaurus , while head, arms and some portions of the legs are remodelled.
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Comments: 7
To me with not much knowledge about modelmaking and such I say you did a great job on this one
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Thank you for telling me your opinion to the model. I made use of another modelling technique by means of roughly sculpting the shape of the allosaur's head in order to get the shape right on the base model. The body (torso, neck and partially the legs) are from the previous Allosaurus, just adjusted to the reference skeletal.
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This one looks very good, too. I still say the claws were permanently flexed, though. Here's a quote from my favorite paper, "Range of motion in the forelimb of the predatory dinosaur Acrocanthosaurus atokensis, and implications for predatory function" by Senter and Robins, 2005. A quick Google Scholar search can get you the full version of the paper.
"However, phalanx I-1 of the allosauroid Allosaurus fragilis exhibits a flatish distal articular surface comparable to that of phalanx I-1 of Acrocanthosaurus, as does phalanx II-2 of the allosauroid Sinraptor dongi (Currie & Zhao, 1993: fig. 20). The unguals of these digits in these allosauroids therefore exhibited permanent flexion, as with the first ungual of Acrocanthosaurus. "
((Also before I explain the terms, I just want to emphasize that I'm not trying to flame, or anything. I just think it would be really awesome for a video game, for the first time ever in history, to have these dinosaurs with accurate hands. They're already really accurate as it is, so it would be really great to take it one step further, and add this detail, y'know? And it could educate people! 
Ungual means the claw-bearing bone. Phalanx means finger, and in this case phalanx I-1 is the first finger bone (the claw bearing bone) of the innermost finger. Phalanx II-2 is the middle finger on a theropod dinosaur with three fingers. And, flexion is when you make a fist- your fingers are flexed. Hyperextension is what the Allosaurus in this model is showing- the digits extending out as straight as possible. But according to the paper, of course, the claws are permanently flexed, at least on the very first claw.
That huuuuge explanation aside, I really think the model is coming along nicely. The head is one of the most accurate Allosaurus heads I've ever seen in a model for a game. The anatomy is perfect, well...except for the arms and the neck, they look far too thin to me. Allosaurus definitely had a well muscled neck and arms for killing. 
imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img53…
That only shows the muscles on the back of the neck. The Allosaurus would need a wider throat than it has now or it might not be able to swallow large chunks of flesh. 
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Thank you for the detailed explanation and I think, when I've put a rig on this Allosaurus I can bring its first finger into a flexed posture, but in this render the model is shown in a posture, that was derived from Scott Hartman's skeletal. Moving each associated polygon by hand is a tedious work, because you've to move and rotate quite often, while selecting different patches, thus with a rig I just move one or two bones.
In the meantime I gave the arms more mass, because they appeared too thin for my taste, while the neck got also some slight changes as you can see in this image sta.sh/0qawg7fvnnb
In the left window you can see the wireframe of the model and the Big Al skeletal as well, which shall show you the differences between the reference an the model. Maybe, the Allosaur may look better when I've done a normal map, where the muscles are more obvious than on a bare model.
At least, the other modellers in the team are happy with the current outcome, only the thumb claw seems to be too strongly curved for them.
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Remember, it isn't the whole finger itself, but the claw and its base.
Well, skeletals are usually drawn without consideration of the range of motion of finger/ toe bones, as far as I know...in fact, I wonder how flexible theropod toes were and if they were able to achieve some of the postures seen in skeletals. I hope that if I ever get a career in paleontology, I'll be able to answer some of these questions.
Yes, that looks quite a bit better.
As for the claw, yeah, I think the tip of it is curved too strongly, sadly.
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In my rigs there are usually more than one bone for the finger present, unless it is the thumb plus a bone for moving the claw itself. Therefore i might only move the claw bone to accomplish the correct posture of the first digit.
I've seen some skeletals, where the toes where bending outwards in a convex way and I wondered about if this stance would probably hurt a theropod, if it held its toes in that way. Well, in this life i won't become a paleontologist, only a higher force has the notion this should be my destiny
I think i can correct the shape of the claw and a look on a photo will help me to resolve this issue by moving some edge loops.
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Oops, technically phalanx II-2 is the bone that supports the second claw, (on the middle finger), and phalanx I-1 is the finger bone supporting the first claw as well.
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