Introducing Candy Cane

Conception: Preparation work for No.2d: Candy Cane.

Method: XPS: Load model, adjust pose, save pose. Open Material editor.
Blender: Import model, smooth meshes, remove doubles, assign textures and appropriate node set up to mesh (repeat for all), check Rendered Viewport for inconsistences. Import pose. Adjust background, camera positioning and angle, and lighting intensity. Render.

Commentary: Ah.... Rumble Roses. I knew I came across a few Rumble Roses models but not a full set of the characters. A silly fun wrestling game back in the day. But for those who remember the microtransactions or DLC, Rumble Roses XX was amongst the worst. The additional costumes and personas really added up. And no, I never bothered with them.

First issue was (this may sound familiar) bones! Specifically the bone names. Looks like it follows a Japanese convention which requires some deciphering. At least I have some basic understanding of Japanese to make it a bit easier, but it still slows down the process somewhat knowing which bone is which by its Japanese name. Slowly does it... What this also means as well is the inability to use the pose packs available. There are a couple of crucial differences this model has: the lack of mouth corner bones, and a lack of a jaw bone. This will make No.2d: Candy Cane a bit trickier as a result...

Why this pose? Hm... well, a couple of reasons. For some reason I was reminded of Avril Lavigne and a particular photoshoot of hers (though I didn't bother to search for it to refresh my mind, but the concept stuck). Being the rebel, as it were, the one finger salute seems to suit Candy Cane's character. This isn't Becky after all...

Second issue were the texture maps. This is the first model I've resorted back to the basic node set up for the entirety of the model. In this respect the model probably looks a bit flat, and I admit I'm not entirely happy with it after using the other node set ups for the vast majority of models now. I may return to Candy Cane to experiment with different node set ups I create myself. Related to this were textures which I couldn't account for and didn't know how to apply to the nodes. Another reason I resorted to the basic node set up. A bit unfortunate.

So as awkward as this model is there was one thing which made it easier to use: the diffuse maps' names are the same as the meshes' names. While I did start to use Material editor, I didn't bother after the third mesh having spotted this naming convention. Probably the quickest texture map and node set up I've had to do as a result.

Credits:
Candy Cane model courtesy of MJUMP
Node set ups:
Basic node set up by DragonLord720
Tools: 
Blender 2.78c
XNALara Posing Studio 11.8
Assets/Copyright:
Konami (Tempted to quote a certain Jim Sterling....)

18th September 2017

P.S. Tagged as mature because of the 'language' used, or more specifically Candy Cane's finger, just to be on the safe side.