Animated leaderhead preview: Mansa Mussa

Okay. Unless there is some dramatic change between now and render time these are the final previews of Mansa.

Well, if you ask me, take away the beard. Although Mansa Musa was also muslim, he wasn't that kind of man who runs around with bombs - and frankly, your Mansa looks pretty scary - which is not bad, Mansa wasa also a warrior. Hm, maybe making the eyes a bit more round would help. Don't know, just a few thoughts. Great work!

Originally posted by Nahuixtelotzin
Well, if you ask me, take away the beard. Although Mansa Musa was also muslim, he wasn't that kind of man who runs around with bombs - and frankly, your Mansa looks pretty scary

Click to expand...

It is just a leaderhead, come on people! Besides, you could use that logic on several leaderheads, it isn't Chimtot's fault that Mansa Musa had a beard.

Anyway on to the leaderhead:

1. Great work! I love it!
2. He seems a little too shiny, besides that, it is a great leaderhead.

He does look mean. I like that! Watch out Shaka - there's a new man on the continent, and he's bringing heat!

Keep up with the way you're going. I'm not sure how fine a tool set you are working with, bit would be nice if you could kind of fade the beard a little bit. The picture looks more like stubble, and I think that's a good look.

Is it too soon to start discussions on Cities, GLs, and UUs?

rd

I didn't mean to make his work bad, it's great. Just expressed my at first glance opinion, I think that's always better than just saying "great", although this really applies in this case.
I guess he'll look even better with armor and helmet on.
I'm not really sure if it's certain that ;ans had a beard though.

Well, here's my city list for the Malians is the following. It's a pan-subsaharan civilization though, including cities ranging from Mauretania to Nigeria and Lake Chad.



Timbuktu
Jenne Jeno
Gao
Koumbi Sale
Walata
Gobir
Kebbi
Agades
Tadmekka
Zamfara
Bamako
Zakzak
Sansara
Takedda
Quri Mansa
Segou
Kano
Daura
Wadene
Kangaba
Awlil
Es-Souk
Niani
Tawdenni
Birni Gazargamo
Sokoto
Koukya
Taghaza
Wagadugu
Kumasi
Kabara
Idjil
Zaghari
Mima
Tuwat
Katsina
Kita
Massina
Arawane
Kukawa
Nampala
Kara Sakho
Buda
Kayes
Yufe
Zagha
Kahir
Azelik
Kaedi
Zaria
Awdaghost
Diabali
Sijilmasa
Odienne
Tasarahla
Kankan
Jujuwat
Kiffa
Pita
Bobo Jwlasso
Kong
Chinguetti
Begho
Bono Manso
Sansanding
Say
Bussa
Oyo
Lokoja
Ilorin
Ife
Benin
Ezira
Ke

Great Leaders: Sundiata;
possibly (not from Mali itself) Mari Diata, Sumangura, Sonni Ali, Askia Muhammad Touré, Askia Daud

Mansa is the ruler title, Musa the name of the king.

Very bad a$$.

Might I suggest using yellow lighting rather than white? I think it will help reduce some of that shininess and also give him a more natural skin tone. He really looks great! Looks pissed at somebody.

Maybe add some pink to the white of his eyes, and try to pucker his lips a little bit more to make him match the picture better. Also maybe a pair of white specs in his irises to give them a more glossy look.

I was thinking of diminishing the beard with time. Full beard to stubble to sideburns to clean sahve. What do you think. Also thanks to Nahuixtelotzin for the leaders and cities. Anyone who would like to do a pedia entry and UU please have at it.

He still looks a bit shiney. Maybe difuse the light a bit more.

Could you do something with the lighting so that it doesn't look like the background is a backdrop from a mall photographer? The issue is in shadows in the corners. If he were actually standing with that in the background there would not be those shadows. Know what I mean?

The problem with shininess is that he hasn't added any Skin Texture to Mansa Musa. It's easy to fix, if you can find the right skin texture... I'll see if I can't find one online and upload it for you, alright?

Got this from Encarta:

Empire in West Africa that rose to dominance in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Mali Empire was the second and most extensive of the three great successive empires, which included the Kingdom of Ghana and Songhai. The Mali Empire served as a model of statecraft for later kingdoms long after its decline in the 15th and 16th centuries.

The Mali Empire was strategically located near gold mines and the agriculturally rich interior floodplain of the Niger River. This region had been under the domination of the Ghana Empire until the middle of the 11th century. As Ghana declined, several short-lived kingdoms vied for influence over the western Sudan region. The small state of Kangaba, led by Sundiata Keita, defeated the nearby kingdom of Susu at the Battle of Kirina in 1235. The Susu had been led by the tyrannical king Sumanguru Kante. The clans of the heartland unified under Sundiata, now king of the vast region that was to become the Mali Empire. Under Sundiata and his immediate successors, Mali expanded rapidly west to the Atlantic Ocean, south deep into the forest, east beyond the Niger River, and north to the salt and copper mines of the Sahara. The city of Niani may have been the capital. At its height, Mali was a confederation of 3 independent, freely allied states (Mali, Mema, and Wagadou) and 12 garrisoned provinces. The king reserved the right to dispense justice and to monopolize trade, particularly in gold.

Mali's renown spread to the Islamic and European worlds when its king, Mansa Musa, made a pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca (in what is now Saudi Arabia) in 1324 and 1325. He brought with him hundreds of camels laden with gold. Under Mansa Musa, Islam thrived in commercial centers such as Djenné and Tombouctou (Timbuktu) and penetrated the elaborate court life. However, in the following decades, court intrigue and succession disputes sapped the strength of the extended empire. By the early 14th century, the northern towns and provinces revolted. One of the first peoples to become independent, the Songhai, began to spread along the Niger River. Much of Mali fell to the Songhai Empire during the following century. Mali's legacy is the enduring cultural affiliation shared by the Mande language group, especially Mandinka (also known as Mandingo or Malinke), Bambara, and Soninke speakers, who today occupy the greater part of West Africa.

Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Awesome work Plexus. Veera Anlai, I hope you have better luck with skin textures than me. I Cant find one that works yet.

Are you using the Michael advanced Poser model, or just the default model that came with the program?

just the basic model.

I think I like this crown better. What do you think??

I agree that the first one was a little feminine, but this one seems too European. I would think he needs something more basic, along the lines of what Shaka is sporting.

We are talking Ancient era, right?

yeah, I thought this look like a "King Richard" type of crown too. Maybe if I remove the Jewells or something. We'll get it figured out though.

The crown is definitely too European. Why not give him a helmet or that cap he had on the picture you had in your original first post?