Week Four: Refining your sculpture... retopology
Hands and feet explored, why we should sculpt these first
Wrinkles, subcutaneous... what's that and why should we pay attention to it
Compression and how it affects what we do
Gravity why it's important
Stencils... Converting an alpha into a stencil
Retopology. How do we create a base mesh that will work for animation and production?
What is good topology?
Projecting details
Assignment: Refine character Sculpt base you've created and retopologize
Friday 28 December 2007
Wednesday 26 December 2007
Sculpting Digital Characters - Week 04: T-Pose
I have had to repose the model so that I have plenty space to work around the model during the retop.
The repose was done using the Transpose method; masking the areas you do not wish to move then using an action line to scale, rotate or move the desired section. This required another passover to adjust the muscles in their new state, which also causes a knock on effect with all the other muscles attached to the affected area.
The repose was done using the Transpose method; masking the areas you do not wish to move then using an action line to scale, rotate or move the desired section. This required another passover to adjust the muscles in their new state, which also causes a knock on effect with all the other muscles attached to the affected area.
Wednesday 19 December 2007
Sculpting Digital Characters - Week 03: Hands and Hooves
Another passover to get the form right. I reduced the mass of the body and bulked up the legs to give correct the anatomy, The last post shows how the upper form was growing too big as I worked on it.
Next I need to 'retopologize' the model. I'll talk about this in the next post.
01.jpg)
Next I need to 'retopologize' the model. I'll talk about this in the next post.
01.jpg)
Monday 17 December 2007
Sunday 16 December 2007
Sculpting Digital Characters - Week 03: Foundation
Week Three: The sculpt, knowledge is power.
Resources, seeing is believing. So why don't we have more of it?
Foundation is king!
Sculpting form vs. details
Dynamic Levels of Resolution
Layers and morphs, why are they your best friends
Polygroups, Uv regions - how can these help me?
Broken models, why they happen and how to fix them
Masks how they work and why you'll use them often
Using the canvas as a sculpting medium.
Assignment: Sculpt character form based on design you've created.
Here is the first pass over of sculpting the form of my character. Doing this I learned that I should have modelled the forearms with the palms forward. The way I modelled it here was difficult as the rotation of the wrists causes the muscle flow harder to follow. The fingers and legs are still to be finished.
Resources, seeing is believing. So why don't we have more of it?
Foundation is king!
Sculpting form vs. details
Dynamic Levels of Resolution
Layers and morphs, why are they your best friends
Polygroups, Uv regions - how can these help me?
Broken models, why they happen and how to fix them
Masks how they work and why you'll use them often
Using the canvas as a sculpting medium.
Assignment: Sculpt character form based on design you've created.
Here is the first pass over of sculpting the form of my character. Doing this I learned that I should have modelled the forearms with the palms forward. The way I modelled it here was difficult as the rotation of the wrists causes the muscle flow harder to follow. The fingers and legs are still to be finished.
Tuesday 11 December 2007
Sculpting Digital Characters - Week 02: basemesh
Week Two Objectives:
Creating a base mesh for our character using Zspheres
ZSpheres as a mesh generator not as a sculpting tool
ZSpheres for topology: head, hands
Attractor ZSpheres & Unified Skin
Modeling with Image Planes
Assignment: Design and create base mesh for your character using Zspheres.
...And Here is the mesh, generated by making an Adaptive Skin from the ZSphere armature.
ZSpheres are essentially Mesh Generators which are used to create the base shape for whatever you wish to build. The below mesh was generated the pulled around using the move tool to fit closer to the shape of the orthographic drawings (front and side views attached to the X plane or image planes)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Creating a base mesh for our character using Zspheres
ZSpheres as a mesh generator not as a sculpting tool
ZSpheres for topology: head, hands
Attractor ZSpheres & Unified Skin
Modeling with Image Planes
Assignment: Design and create base mesh for your character using Zspheres.
...And Here is the mesh, generated by making an Adaptive Skin from the ZSphere armature.
ZSpheres are essentially Mesh Generators which are used to create the base shape for whatever you wish to build. The below mesh was generated the pulled around using the move tool to fit closer to the shape of the orthographic drawings (front and side views attached to the X plane or image planes)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Sculpting Digital Characters - Week 02: ZSpheres
Here is the ZSphere armature which I built within the Image Planes, set up from last weeks orthographic drawings .
.jpg)
.jpg)
Sunday 9 December 2007
Sculpting Digital Characters - Week 01: Preperation
I have begun the eight week long course on Sculpting Digital Characters. The course is run through the CGSociety and the teacher is Cesar Dacol Junior, a professional in the field of digital sculpting, recently working on the visceral carnage of 300.
"Perfection is a by product of observation!"
http://workshops.cgsociety.org/courses/000055/
Week one was getting the foundations in place - First I had to consider and write up where I was in life and what I wanted from the course.
Secondly I had to draw front and side orthographics and flesh out the backgroung/history of my character. I have chosen to do a Minotaur type character again, starting from scratch and taking more considerations into the character, and fleshing out some background information to back up the design process (see below what I wrote). Also I made a dozen Alpha Brushes, textures for the final model such as skin texture; pores, wrinkles, warts and scars etc.
Bael, an Elder Bull Ogre, (Minotroll.) Eldest and second last of bloodline.
2024, spring, first quarter full moon, early morning...
Bael sighed and removed his glasses the fire light danced in his watery eyes, heavily burdened by what they have seen. He closed his tattered diary within his giant mecha hand and wearily stood up, straightening slowly exhuming another sigh which exploded into a cough, dry empty and ancient, like gravel pouring through parchment.
‘sh-shit’ He spat, steadying himself.
His chest heaved and his rheumatic hand shook never worse than when the sharp cold of spring morning slowed his bones. The arthritis was a result of six years of heavy labour in the scorching desert planes, as part of the Yeung Railtech mobile site. The Slaves of Hydra. ‘Driving progress across continents.’ But his sorrow today was not memories of past terror, but a bittersweet tension; expected at mid day his granddaughter Leeota, the only of his kin shall arrive. Seven years since he seen her last the summer before the accident. Before she leaves Bael must tell her his secrets. A burden perhaps better to take to the grave, but the Truth must heard.
Bael shuffled across his dusty apartment, a basic dwelling which belongs to a cluster hamlet, in the Black Feather Rock. Too many years he wished to live in the northern Isles, in the fresh green forest of Nuropia or the sub tropics of Yalliv, where it is said the Silvertail River empties crystal clear water, so pure it is said, that drinkers are cured of any illness, bathers re-grow limbs and the indigenous folk of its shores live forever.What good of that he thought, its waters would surely dissolve this ill fated, fragile husk and the blood on these hands would taint the seas for seventy moons....
[Bael as a youth, grew in the foothills of Akkari The Strongest of seven Sons of the Bakshi Clan, travelling with the Talon Academy, trained in combat and dropped into Twelve years of slaughter; a battle for the planet itself.Education.Not as youth, but self learned in later years
Significant events: Warrior in War against the Red Talon Federation. 12 years.Near fatal wounding – lost right arm and eye.Hard Labour camp. after 7 years granted Freedom
Now lives in reclusive mountain hamlet hut, bad plumbing and satellite radio, bana reed and cured timber furniture no paint on walls, unlike most hamlets this one is not painted externally but has chosen to shrink away from view.
He no longer travels far but gazes the sky with his LGX telescope. Looking out into the near cosmos and charting planets and comets, trajectories and timelines. Scribbled runes and diagrams poured into his oversize hard bound Journal, stained and bleached from years of use in the arid hills.
Dislikes: dust, sand, snakes and the twin Suns, VTOL aircraft and The Empire
Likes: telescopes, the black narcissus flower and it's psychoactive petals. Alchemy and Poetry, dreams of utopia and death]
The winter was harsh this year and many fevers were fought, deaths hand refused again and again... determination to complete his tale carried him through it all. Now the pages were final, on the eve of his telling his body feeling like it has already begun to shut down. He will never see the summer, and the storm he was about to unleash. The hand, designed for demolition and destruction... and Death. A construction limb, grafted on after Bael suffered an almost fatel mortar attack which resulted in the loss of his right arm and the sight in his right eye. Bael suffers Rheumatic arthritis and the weight of his mecha arm has become a burden...
So here are my Orthographic drawings for the creature (Minotroll) that I will be building over the next few weeks... the mecha arm will be added in later with clothing and accessories. The drawing represents the naked version of the creature, so symmetrical anatomy can be worked unhindered by garments and such.
"Perfection is a by product of observation!"
http://workshops.cgsociety.org/courses/000055/
Week one was getting the foundations in place - First I had to consider and write up where I was in life and what I wanted from the course.
Secondly I had to draw front and side orthographics and flesh out the backgroung/history of my character. I have chosen to do a Minotaur type character again, starting from scratch and taking more considerations into the character, and fleshing out some background information to back up the design process (see below what I wrote). Also I made a dozen Alpha Brushes, textures for the final model such as skin texture; pores, wrinkles, warts and scars etc.
Bael, an Elder Bull Ogre, (Minotroll.) Eldest and second last of bloodline.
2024, spring, first quarter full moon, early morning...
Bael sighed and removed his glasses the fire light danced in his watery eyes, heavily burdened by what they have seen. He closed his tattered diary within his giant mecha hand and wearily stood up, straightening slowly exhuming another sigh which exploded into a cough, dry empty and ancient, like gravel pouring through parchment.
‘sh-shit’ He spat, steadying himself.
His chest heaved and his rheumatic hand shook never worse than when the sharp cold of spring morning slowed his bones. The arthritis was a result of six years of heavy labour in the scorching desert planes, as part of the Yeung Railtech mobile site. The Slaves of Hydra. ‘Driving progress across continents.’ But his sorrow today was not memories of past terror, but a bittersweet tension; expected at mid day his granddaughter Leeota, the only of his kin shall arrive. Seven years since he seen her last the summer before the accident. Before she leaves Bael must tell her his secrets. A burden perhaps better to take to the grave, but the Truth must heard.
Bael shuffled across his dusty apartment, a basic dwelling which belongs to a cluster hamlet, in the Black Feather Rock. Too many years he wished to live in the northern Isles, in the fresh green forest of Nuropia or the sub tropics of Yalliv, where it is said the Silvertail River empties crystal clear water, so pure it is said, that drinkers are cured of any illness, bathers re-grow limbs and the indigenous folk of its shores live forever.What good of that he thought, its waters would surely dissolve this ill fated, fragile husk and the blood on these hands would taint the seas for seventy moons....
[Bael as a youth, grew in the foothills of Akkari The Strongest of seven Sons of the Bakshi Clan, travelling with the Talon Academy, trained in combat and dropped into Twelve years of slaughter; a battle for the planet itself.Education.Not as youth, but self learned in later years
Significant events: Warrior in War against the Red Talon Federation. 12 years.Near fatal wounding – lost right arm and eye.Hard Labour camp. after 7 years granted Freedom
Now lives in reclusive mountain hamlet hut, bad plumbing and satellite radio, bana reed and cured timber furniture no paint on walls, unlike most hamlets this one is not painted externally but has chosen to shrink away from view.
He no longer travels far but gazes the sky with his LGX telescope. Looking out into the near cosmos and charting planets and comets, trajectories and timelines. Scribbled runes and diagrams poured into his oversize hard bound Journal, stained and bleached from years of use in the arid hills.
Dislikes: dust, sand, snakes and the twin Suns, VTOL aircraft and The Empire
Likes: telescopes, the black narcissus flower and it's psychoactive petals. Alchemy and Poetry, dreams of utopia and death]
The winter was harsh this year and many fevers were fought, deaths hand refused again and again... determination to complete his tale carried him through it all. Now the pages were final, on the eve of his telling his body feeling like it has already begun to shut down. He will never see the summer, and the storm he was about to unleash. The hand, designed for demolition and destruction... and Death. A construction limb, grafted on after Bael suffered an almost fatel mortar attack which resulted in the loss of his right arm and the sight in his right eye. Bael suffers Rheumatic arthritis and the weight of his mecha arm has become a burden...
So here are my Orthographic drawings for the creature (Minotroll) that I will be building over the next few weeks... the mecha arm will be added in later with clothing and accessories. The drawing represents the naked version of the creature, so symmetrical anatomy can be worked unhindered by garments and such.
Tuesday 30 October 2007
Sculpting Digital Characters with Cesar Dacol Jr
So I signed up to this online course: ZBrush - Sculpting Digital Characters with Cesar Dacol Jr, which starts in November 2007. For more information, see: http://workshops.cgsociety.org/courses/000055/. This should be a great help in getting to grips with the nuances of digital character creation. I will post my results here in time.
I have not yet returned to the minotaur to retopologize it, I knew it would be a thankless and slow operation and I have shyed from it. When learning things the hard way (blindly) it takes time to learn each step, much research is needed and many of the terms mentioned at first seem alien and require further investigation. Since installing ZBrush a few weeks ago, my progress has kept me interested and I find myself dwelling on this digital approach constantly. In the studio working with traditional materials, I begin dwelling on the pro's and cons of the two sculpting processes and the possibilities of bringing these together to form a new workflow.
I have also played with MudBox, which seems a solid and intuitive program, my first impressions was that the sculpting material 'felt' more like a clay, wetter and easy to texture. Some time will be spent using MudBox in the future when I get these initial projects behind me.
I'll post some more pictures soon, and begin to gather my thoughts on the differences between the two sculpting medium.
I have not yet returned to the minotaur to retopologize it, I knew it would be a thankless and slow operation and I have shyed from it. When learning things the hard way (blindly) it takes time to learn each step, much research is needed and many of the terms mentioned at first seem alien and require further investigation. Since installing ZBrush a few weeks ago, my progress has kept me interested and I find myself dwelling on this digital approach constantly. In the studio working with traditional materials, I begin dwelling on the pro's and cons of the two sculpting processes and the possibilities of bringing these together to form a new workflow.
I have also played with MudBox, which seems a solid and intuitive program, my first impressions was that the sculpting material 'felt' more like a clay, wetter and easy to texture. Some time will be spent using MudBox in the future when I get these initial projects behind me.
I'll post some more pictures soon, and begin to gather my thoughts on the differences between the two sculpting medium.
Monday 22 October 2007
Gnomonology
FREE:
Male human head basemesh with organized topology. UVs are unwrapped. Ready to be imported into Zbrush or reorganized to match another design.
Can be downloaded Free from the great folks at Gmomon: http://gnomonology.com/tutorial/197
Male human head basemesh with organized topology. UVs are unwrapped. Ready to be imported into Zbrush or reorganized to match another design.
Can be downloaded Free from the great folks at Gmomon: http://gnomonology.com/tutorial/197
Antoine-Louis Barye
The First of my artist profiles, which will focus on sculptors from antiquity to the digital age, and give a brief outline of their career and showcase thier works that fascinate and inspire me.
_
First up is Antoine-Louis Barye, the French 'Romantic' sculptor whose animals studies and mythological scenes capture the energy and tension of the moment in the twisting forms of his stylized but studied sculptures.
Born in Paris, Antoine-Louis Barye (September 24, 1796-June 25, 1875) began his career as a goldsmith, like many sculptors of the Romantic Period. After studying under sculptor Francois-Joseph Bosio and painter Baron Antoine-Jean Gros he was in 1818 admitted to the École des Beaux Arts. But it was not until 1823, while working for Fauconnier, the goldsmith, that he discovered his true predilection from watching the wild beasts in the Jardin des Plantes, making vigorous studies of them in pencil drawings comparable to those of Delacroix, then modelling them in sculpture on a large or small scale. In 1831 he exhibited his "Tiger devouring a Crocodile", and in 1832 had mastered a style of his own in the "Lion and Snake." Thenceforward Barye, though engaged in a perpetual struggle with want, exhibited year after year these studies of animals--admirable groups which reveal him as inspired by a spirit of true romance and a feeling for the beauty of the antique, as in "Theseus and the Minotaur" (1847), "Lapitha and Centaur" (1848), and numerous minor works now very highly valued.
Barye was no less successful in sculpture on a small scale, and excelled in representing animals in their most familiar attitudes. Examples of his larger work include the "Lion of the Column of July," of which the plaster model was cast in 1839, various lions and tigers in the gardens of the Tuileries, and the four groups--"War, Peace, Strength, and Order" (1854).
In 1852 he cast his bronze "Jaguar devouring a Hare." Fame came late in the sculptor's life. He was made Professor of Drawings at the Museum of Natural History in 1854, and was elected to the Academy of Fine Arts in 1868. No new works were produced by Barye after 1869.
The mass of admirable work left by Barye entitles him to be regarded as one of the great animal life artists of the French school, and the refiner of a class of art which has attracted such men as Emmanuel Frémiet, Peter, Cain, and Gardet.
(From Wikipedia.)
_
First up is Antoine-Louis Barye, the French 'Romantic' sculptor whose animals studies and mythological scenes capture the energy and tension of the moment in the twisting forms of his stylized but studied sculptures.
Born in Paris, Antoine-Louis Barye (September 24, 1796-June 25, 1875) began his career as a goldsmith, like many sculptors of the Romantic Period. After studying under sculptor Francois-Joseph Bosio and painter Baron Antoine-Jean Gros he was in 1818 admitted to the École des Beaux Arts. But it was not until 1823, while working for Fauconnier, the goldsmith, that he discovered his true predilection from watching the wild beasts in the Jardin des Plantes, making vigorous studies of them in pencil drawings comparable to those of Delacroix, then modelling them in sculpture on a large or small scale. In 1831 he exhibited his "Tiger devouring a Crocodile", and in 1832 had mastered a style of his own in the "Lion and Snake." Thenceforward Barye, though engaged in a perpetual struggle with want, exhibited year after year these studies of animals--admirable groups which reveal him as inspired by a spirit of true romance and a feeling for the beauty of the antique, as in "Theseus and the Minotaur" (1847), "Lapitha and Centaur" (1848), and numerous minor works now very highly valued.Barye was no less successful in sculpture on a small scale, and excelled in representing animals in their most familiar attitudes. Examples of his larger work include the "Lion of the Column of July," of which the plaster model was cast in 1839, various lions and tigers in the gardens of the Tuileries, and the four groups--"War, Peace, Strength, and Order" (1854).
In 1852 he cast his bronze "Jaguar devouring a Hare." Fame came late in the sculptor's life. He was made Professor of Drawings at the Museum of Natural History in 1854, and was elected to the Academy of Fine Arts in 1868. No new works were produced by Barye after 1869.
The mass of admirable work left by Barye entitles him to be regarded as one of the great animal life artists of the French school, and the refiner of a class of art which has attracted such men as Emmanuel Frémiet, Peter, Cain, and Gardet.
(From Wikipedia.)
Recreating Topology in ZBrush
Using ZSpheres, you can create new topology in ZBrush as well as shrink wrap that topology to your existing model.
There are several reasons you may want to adjust your model's topology: To Remove Polygon Stretching and adjust the edge flow of your model. And/or to Create an animation ready low resolution base mesh.
Although I do not intend any of these early models for any use beyond my own learning, I understand that becoming aware of possible difficulties will be beneficial down the line.
It was becoming aware of topology that made me stop working upon the octopus before it’s completion. I may recreate the octopus from scratch at some point because it had a great form to work with... and I really like octopus.
The ZBrush Manual is found here: http://www.zbrush.info/docs/index.php/Main_Page
Some good introductory tutorials:
http://www.zbrush.info/docs/index.php/Tutorial:_Warrior_Image
http://www.zbrush.info/docs/index.php/Tutorial:_Sculpting_A_Skull
Document size: 3840 x 2880
HD Geometry divided twice giving: 52.69 million points (3.293 million active)
Sunday 21 October 2007
MINOTAUR 3
Here is the first passover with the sculpting brushes in ZBrush. I spent maybe 3 or 4 hours on this over two days before my wacom tablet drivers decided to die... so I'm posting this before I update and reboot...
3.293 million active points.
Once all the symetrical sculpting is complete I plan to repose the creature, give it some asymmetric quality and perhaps accesories.
The components such as eyes, teeth, garments, belts/buckles and armour will all be modelled seperately and added as subtools.
3.293 million active points.
Once all the symetrical sculpting is complete I plan to repose the creature, give it some asymmetric quality and perhaps accesories.
The components such as eyes, teeth, garments, belts/buckles and armour will all be modelled seperately and added as subtools.
Saturday 20 October 2007
MINOTAUR 2
I went back to the minotaur block in and spent a while tweaking the form. Several areas caused issues with the geometry. The way the fingers joined the hands and the area of the neck took several hours before the flow of form and the adaptive skin worked. After that it was case of shifting the pose a little and trying out different shapes for the beast's body.
some of the differing body shapes the model went through
Friday 19 October 2007
Zsphere Modeling
Here is quick video that demonstrates the building of a character with ZSpheres in ZBrush 3.0. The video was posted to YouTube by ChromeLtd.
Zbrush 3.0 Trailer
A good overview of the functions and capabilities of one of the most exciting software tools ever!
Building Creatures - Aaron Sims
Building Creatures using Zbrush from Aaron Sims and the Gnomon Workshop.
Gnomon workshop are the greatest source of 3D training resource in the world, check them out now... http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/, http://gnomonology.com/
Monday 15 October 2007
MINOTAUR
So I started this Minotaur. Modelled with ZSpheres, slowly flicking between ZSpheres and Adaptive Skin Preview, it took about 7 hours to get to this final shape.
Below are some of the variations of shape during the construction.
errr...
Below are some of the variations of shape during the construction.
errr...
Monday 8 October 2007
Takara Microman
I bought a few of these Micromen from ebay about a year ago, (two sizes of Male body and one Female.) . The 100mm articulated figures have good form and are easily manipulated to mimic 'natural' human attitudes. Great for quickly posing and sketching from or visually checking proportions, balance and flow. -
Much better than those wooden pieces of crap you get from art shops or Ikea.
Freedom of Teach
I have just purchased this anatomical model from freedom-of-teach.com. I plan on doing some serious study of the anatomy and I'm looking for a decent Life Drawing class in my area.
Cast polyurethane male figure with ecorche muscle and partly revealed skeleton.
Anatomical Resin Figure.
Cast polyurethane male figure with ecorche muscle and partly revealed skeleton.
Highest quality sculpt, hand-painted and cast.
Dimensions: 24" x 5" x 10".
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My plan is to develop a few 'basic' maquettes to be used for the basis of anatomically precise characters and creatures.
My first move was to grab a basic skeleton from Poser (standing in symmetrical pose) which I will export into 3Ds Max and build upon with 'correct' topology of body mass and form. This will then be taken into ZBrush or Mudbox (I'm gonna try both applications) for detailing, and exported (hopefully) as a workable model.
My first move was to grab a basic skeleton from Poser (standing in symmetrical pose) which I will export into 3Ds Max and build upon with 'correct' topology of body mass and form. This will then be taken into ZBrush or Mudbox (I'm gonna try both applications) for detailing, and exported (hopefully) as a workable model.
Sunday 7 October 2007
ZSphere Modelling: Octopus
So I started out to make a full figure of a man, but I stumbled upon the symmetry options and suddenly there were tentacles everywhere....
Below; the internal ZSphere armature used to construct or 'block in', the model.
Below; the internal ZSphere armature used to construct or 'block in', the model.
Again, I modelled this with no reference, so it will probably be anatomically incorrect. I just intuitively worked at it to find the right 'feel'.
Best work is done using plenty of reference, these early pieces are nothing but experimental shapes.
The suckers on the tentacles do not have enough geometry to shape them as I would like, so I just drew circles to indicate their position.
The foundations of this model (the topology created by the original ZSphere armature) were not considered to any degree of depth. So the geometry of the model could not be used for animation. I consider these first models 'sketches' rather than final sculpts. They are also just exported 'screenshots' not true renders.
STONE DEMON
SCULPTING SOFTWARE
The first step in the transition from traditional to digital is choosing the software. I have worked commercially as a sculptor for over a decade now and always kept a keen eye on the development of computer based art, but the process of orthographic views, polygons and NURBS (in apps such as 3Ds-Max and Maya) always seemed a world away from the hands-on process of working in wax.
There are now several applications that deal with surface modelling these include: ZBrush, Mudbox, Modo and Silo. It is up to you which package you choose to begin with. I have chosen to begin with Zbrush, it was the first software to get me excited watching the 'Angler Fish' demo by Pixolator, that came out with the release of ZBrush 2.0 back in 2005. You can view this movie here: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=3193
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This was such an eye opener that it prompted me to start saving up some cash to purchase all the hardware and software (including a Wacom tablet and a powerful new computer that could actually run the software comfortably).
-
Two years later (Hey, I been busy ok) I have finally set myself up to learn the digital tools and make the transition. Last week I finally sat down in front of my system and had my first play with digital clay. Here are my results:
The four heads are all tweaked variations of the same sculpt which I worked out from a single Polysphere. No reference was used, this was just a quick exercise to get to grips with the interface and check out the tools available.
There are now several applications that deal with surface modelling these include: ZBrush, Mudbox, Modo and Silo. It is up to you which package you choose to begin with. I have chosen to begin with Zbrush, it was the first software to get me excited watching the 'Angler Fish' demo by Pixolator, that came out with the release of ZBrush 2.0 back in 2005. You can view this movie here: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=3193
-
This was such an eye opener that it prompted me to start saving up some cash to purchase all the hardware and software (including a Wacom tablet and a powerful new computer that could actually run the software comfortably).
-
Two years later (Hey, I been busy ok) I have finally set myself up to learn the digital tools and make the transition. Last week I finally sat down in front of my system and had my first play with digital clay. Here are my results:
The four heads are all tweaked variations of the same sculpt which I worked out from a single Polysphere. No reference was used, this was just a quick exercise to get to grips with the interface and check out the tools available.-
The speed of the modelling was an astonishing experience. A similar head made in clay or modelling wax would have taken much longer to get to this stage of a block in. Using only the basics of ZBrush my results have fired a passion to pursue and realise the full potential of this digital sculpting tool.
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