Taki from Soul Calibur (2-4) (1 Viewer)

[SilenceSolitude]

The version of Taki from Soul Calibur either 2,3 or 4. I'm shocked it's not already on here!

 

[stuntcock]

The version of Taki from Soul Calibur either 2,3 or 4.

Please take a look at the rules page for the Request board.

There's a lot of content for SDT floating around, so we ask people to double-check carefully before making requests. Rationale:

1. If an artist has already created something, then they're going to feel somewhat insulted if people ignore their work and ask for it to be created again.
2. If something already exists, then we'd prefer to see our artists working on new stuff instead of remaking old stuff.
3. If effort needs to be put into searching (to avoid duplicate work) then we'd prefer to dump this workload onto regular forum users -- instead of artists and moderators.

Specifically, there are two copies of the Taki hairstyle in Anonymous' Archive v17. If you don't like these hairstyle PNGs, or if they reflect the wrong version of the character (e.g. Soul Calibur II Taki hairstyle differs from the Soul Calibur IV hairstyle) then you're welcome to create a Revision thread which explains the changes that you'd like to see.

In general: we encourage people to add their support to existing Request threads instead of creating new ones. This helps to gather fans and artists together in one place, and it prevents the forum from being flooded with dozens of similar threads. It also serves to gather reference material together. There's already a Request thread for Soul Calibur girls, which can be found via the forum search tool.

Regardless of whether you're posting a new Request thread, bumping an old Request thread, or creating a Revision thread, it's a good idea to include reference images. You've done so here, but please note that SDT has very specific guidelines for reference images. Side-view anime images are ideal; 3d screenshots from a video game are much less useful. SDT modders are mostly amateurs; if you give them an image which can be easily traced then they're more likely to fulfill your request. If I need to creatively re-imagine your videogame screenshot into a cel-shaded profile view, then I probably won't bother (because "it's too hard" and "I'm not talented enough to do it properly").

This doesn't mean that video games characters are ineligible for SDT requests! Rather, it means that you should try to find anime-style fanart (including - if necessary - hentai images) of your character. Imageboards are often useful. For example: this image could serve as a fairly good reference for a SDT hairstyle project.

 

[CloudiaEleven]

One of those characters I've been wanting to see in SDT for a long time... Taki from Soul Calibur IV.

I looked for possible material for literally an hour, and... this is the best I got. I tried screenshotting some youtube videos as well, those turned out with a little low quality but I hope they'll give a good enough idea on how her hair is. I'd like it to be dynamic if possible, but I would be fine with static hair too.

About the outfit... if you could make it breast-slider adjustable, that would be amazing. And as I said, this is regrettably the best I could find, but I hope it's enough. If someone would be interested in making this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. :)

 

[Archknight7]

I'd like to see a mod done for this character as well, Taki is one of my favorites! I happen to have some images saved which may be helpful for anyone who takes interest in this. (On a side note, there are two existing mods for Taki in the Archive, located here: Import archive + cleaned archive + SWF archive + lists (RAR format)).

Spoiler

Sadly, I could not find any images that could be helpful in creating a costume mod.
(I hope these can be viewed via right click -> open image in a new tab, if not, what did I miss when I uploaded these?) EDIT: Nevermind, Fixed.

 

[stuntcock]

I looked for possible material for literally an hour, and... this is the best I got. I tried screenshotting some youtube videos as well, those turned out with a little low quality but I hope they'll give a good enough idea on how her hair is. I'd like it to be dynamic if possible, but I would be fine with static hair too.

As Archknight7 indicated, two static hairstyles have already been drawn for this character. One of them appears similar to your reference images, but I wouldn't be able to animate it because the strand geometry is too complex.

If you want a new dynamic hairstyle then you'll definitely need to provide anime-style side-view reference images. 3d renders and video game screenshots are less useful because they require additional skill:

• creativity: re-imagine the 3d image as an anime drawing with a suitable color palette. You might need to alter the length or thickness of the hair in order to generate the right impression on the viewer.
  
• artistic skill: lessen the details shows in the 3d image. Reduce the hair strands to a manageable number and simplify the lighting gradients into bright/mid/dark shading. Reshape or reposition any troublesome elements so that they won't cause clipping.
  
• draftsmanship: take the preceding idea and draw it in a vector graphics program using multiple layers.
• animation: import the vector image into Flash and then apply SDT physics rules to it.

There are very few people who are capable of handling all of these tasks. If you're pinning your hopes on the appearance of a talented polymath then your request will probably go unfulfilled. But if you can provide a really good reference image then the first two steps can be skipped, and there are a few people (such as SyntaxTerror and myself) who might be able to deliver a dynamic SWF hairstyle.

About the outfit... if you could make it breast-slider adjustable, that would be amazing. And as I said, this is regrettably the best I could find, but I hope it's enough.

You're definitely going to need anime-style reference images here as well. The two images posted by Archknight7 are good examples; you should search for similar images which show the costume in profile. You don't need a single perfect image. It's okay to provide a side-view image for the shoes, a separate side-view image for the breasts and torso, a detailed illustration of the shoulder pauldrons, etc.

Please don't attach or hotlink your images, though. Rehost them as suggested in the rules post.

Breast slider support is unlikely. It's difficult to make a fishnet webbing pattern span cleanly across the boundary between breasts and torso. It's more difficult to do so in a way which will allow for breast jiggle during gameplay. To do so for multiple sizes of breasts is even tougher. Repositioning the torso strap (so that it fits directly below various sizes of breasts) is do-able, but it increases the technical complexity of the garment.

 

[SyntaxTerror]

there are a few people (such as SyntaxTerror and myself) who might be able to deliver a dynamic SWF hairstyle.

Actually, I never completed a dynamic hair mod. The only dynamic things I've made were headwears (like this).
Concerning hairstyles, I experienced problems with the positioning of the dynamic symbols of the strands and the static part of the hair (the dynamic part appears a bit higher on Animate than on SDT) and never worked much on this because I am not really interested in making long hair mods for SDT, because depending on their shape they can look quite odd, notably when it comes to layers (hair appearing between the legs, right forearm clipping, etc.).
I should train myself on a character that interests me (like Himeno Kisara), but I do not have the motivation at the moment...

 

[stuntcock]

Actually, I never completed a dynamic hair mod. The only dynamic things I've made were headwears (like this).

Yeah, but it involves the same skills and techniques. You're technically capable of doing it, even if you don't actually want to :)

Concerning hairstyles, I experienced problems with the positioning of the dynamic symbols of the strands and the static part of the hair (the dynamic part appears a bit higher on Animate than on SDT)

Yeah, that's an oddity with the implementation of the SDT hair physics system. Gravity doesn't apply to the "root" of the hair strand, because @Konashion wanted the root to remain fixed in place. But he neglected to exempt the root from elasticity. So a hair strand will be pulled away from the canonical position specified by the modder.

You can often hide this problem (e.g. by placing an oversized static hair accessory above the root of a ponytail), and it's only really noticeable with long hair strands (wherein the greater cumulative weight of the strand pulls the root farther away from its anchor point).

But if you want to fix it completely then you'd need to use the Loader. I encountered this same "strand anchoring" problem when I first attempted to create hair mods, and that's why I wrote the physics mod to begin with :)

depending on their shape they can look quite odd, notably when it comes to layers (hair appearing between the legs, right forearm clipping, etc.).

Agreed. I usually avoid the complicated layering stuff. If there's a long hair strand then I'd prefer to place it in either the maximum foreground or maximum background. I apply nuanced layering only when hair is passing over/under the girl's ear.

 

[SyntaxTerror]

You're technically capable of doing it, even if you don't actually want to :)

In fact, I already tried on Midorikawa Hana from Prison School, but didn't succeed (I've been discouraged by the numerous hair strands to do also).
I know that it takes time and many tries and mistakes to become competent in almost anything, so I do not mean it is impossible for me, but I've got to seriously give myself a good kick in the ass to learn how to make dynamic hair mods!

 

[Huitznahua]

I looked for possible material for literally an hour

 

[CloudiaEleven]

I apologize for any and all mistakes I made, I'll just stick to browsing from now on. :T

 

[SyntaxTerror]

I'll just stick to browsing from now on. :T

I think you'd better read carefully the Reference Shot Guide (again), because it is useless to search if you do not know what you are actually searching for.
Read this guide from top to bottom once and for all, we took time to write it in order not to have to say again and again what references are needed, but it seems useless, because most requesters do not read, even when they are said to...

I looked for possible material for literally an hour.

It took me 5 minutes to find those refs (Google images, searching for "taki soul calibur booru"):

The first one is not really good because it is not a 90° side view.
The second is better and could be used for tracing her hair. Even if she lays on the side, the hair could behave similarly if she was standing.
Anyway, those refs are much more useful than the previous ones, because they have an anime style, i.e. three colours (main, shade, light reflection) that are separated clearly from each other with no gradients.

I'll try right now to make a crappy cutting of the second ref to see if it can be used as is for SDT.

[EDIT] it seems okay, maybe the positioning and angle could be better but the result is acceptable:

Taki Static Hair
​

[EDIT 2] by the way, I also made the hair mod of Ivy that was on the same ref:

Ivy Static Hair​

I also found this ref while looking for Ivy's eye colour on Danbooru:

Colours may be a little harder to reproduce but positioning is perfect and the ponytail tie is the canonical one.

 

[SyntaxTerror]

Once again, this character has already been made (twice) and the hair mods are even present on the forum:

-Taki (Soul Calibur)
Two hairstyles available in the Anonymous Archive v17.

[PISSED OFF SYNTAXTERROR]
I am becoming really fed up with requests, because many requesters just don't care about modders, they don't read the rules and guides, they don't even search the forum for what they are looking for and they FUCKING WASTE OUR TIME LYING TO US.
It is NOT the modders job to look for refs and check if a mod is already done or not, making a mod takes FUCKING HOURS.
I am currently ignoring all pedophiles people requesting underaged characters, I think I'll soon begin to ignore all requesters unable to take 5 minutes to read the rules and guides.
[/PISSED OFF SYNTAXTERROR]

 

[CloudiaEleven]

Once again, this character has already been made (twice) and the hair mods are even present on the forum:

[PISSED OFF SYNTAXTERROR]
I am becoming really fed up with requests, because many requesters just don't care about modders, they don't read the rules and guides, they don't even search the forum for what they are looking for and they FUCKING WASTE OUR TIME LYING TO US.
It is NOT the modders job to look for refs and check if a mod is already done or not, making a mod takes FUCKING HOURS.
I am currently ignoring all pedophiles people requesting underaged characters, I think I'll soon begin to ignore all requesters unable to take 5 minutes to read the rules and guides.
[/PISSED OFF SYNTAXTERROR]

Geez I told you already; I'm sorry.