First Squad

Studio 4C have released the trailer for their next animated movie FIRST SQUAD. I cant wait to see more, check it out...

 

It is 1942. The Red Army is putting up a violent and effective resistance against the German invaders. 14 year-old Nadya is a medium. In a deadly air raid the girl is shell-shocked. Recovering from her concussion, Nadya discovers her new gift – the ability to foresee the “Moments of Truth” - the most critical moments of future combat encounters, in which one person’s actions will decide the outcome one way or the other.

Nadya’s ability is indispensable for the classified 6th Division of the Russian Military Intelligence, which is waging a secret war against the “Ahnenerbe” – an occult order within the SS. The Ahnenerbe summons from the realm of the dead the powerful prince of darkness, Baron von Wolff. With him on their side they hope to change the course of history and achieve world domination. To oppose the Baron Nadya decides to enlist the support of her old friends from the beyond – the Pioneers of the First Squad.

Traditional Sculpting Techniques

I thought I should dedicate some blog space to traditional sculpting techniques and demonstrate my workflow from concept to finished model. The tutorial will focus on small scaled models using modelling wax and cover sculpting, mould making, casting and painting.

I have split the Tutorial over Five Chapters:

1] Preparation

2] Modelling

3] Mould Making

4] Casting & Fettling

5] Painting

   

<<I will update this lead-in with links to the chapters as I progress through them>>

Skull Sculpt

I have began a sculpt, in wax of a human skull which I’ll document through the sculpting, moulding and casting process.

 

The first duty was gathering reference. I scanned the below image from ‘Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist’ by Stephen Rogers Peck. An excellent book which I highly recommend as one of THE anatomy books worth buying.

I arranged the scans in Photoshop and printed out, in correct scale, as a template for my sculpt.

Using my Verniers (below) I can take measurements direct from the drawing to check against the sculpt. This helps keep to scale and check accuracy faster than using the eye.

 

The sculpt was begun by applying ‘wet’ wax to a component which broke from an old camera tripod. The handle sticking from the base of the skull can be unscrewed from the broken part which is buried inside the sculpt. Handy for holding up the skull during sculpting and removable for photographing and when it comes to casting.

The lower jawbone (mandible) is a separate component which I’ll make so that it can be hinged onto the cast and swung open/closed.

One annoyance I now have, having worked digitally is the fact I have to work on both sides of the model! In ZBrush you work with symmetry switched on so you can happily work away on one side of the head, for instance, and the other side is automatically replicated as you work. No such joy with wax. It takes twice as long and you have to match the symmetry of the work as you go. Huh.

I find I progress one side more rapidly than the other and replicate the work across when I’m happy with what I’ve done.

to be continued…

I’m Back!

Wahey – a new post!

 

Thought I should get back into this blogging malarky as I’ve been hiding for last four months. I started this blog to document my journey into digital sculpture but many other things have taken my time over the year and the digital side of my work and learning ground somewhat to a halt.

So what have I been doing?

I went to see Radiohead in Glasgow, then again in Amsterdam. I went to Paris with my better half, drank wine and collected conkers! I designed a range of Cats for ENESCO (which ended up ‘too cartoony’) I was offered a contract at a Games Company but had too much other work on to take up the offer (doh!) I have been perpetually busy translating Pete Underhill’s Bad Taste Bears from sketch to 3D and any other spare moments I have used to sample the delights of Yo Sushi!’s culinary conveyor belt.

 

Anyway, check this beauty out…

 

La Maine Des Maitres (The Hand of Master)

Mixing Mucha, Mamoru Oshii and Katsuhiro Otomo into a steampunked short - a majestic achievement of design, atmosphere and lighting. I love it.

The French keep delivery the most interesting Animations (and this a student film!!!), I pray these guys are working on a full length movie.

 

 

Check out the Original website here:

http://www.lamaindesmaitres.com/

an interview here for anyone who can read Francais otherwise happy translating :

http://www.3dvf.com/modules/publish/_2138_1.html

 

 

Beth Cavener Stichter

I thought I would share some images from Beth Cavener Stichter's website http://www.followtheblackrabbit.com/.

The animalistic sculptures capture both an emotional personality and psychological tension in their proportions and gesture. A view into the human condition frozen within animal form.

The sculptures create an empathy with the viewer. You feel responsible for them - want to help them...

I couldn't possibly do them justice with words. So here they are...

 

Her Artists Statement reads:

"There are primitive animal instincts lurking in our own depths, waiting for the chance to slide past a conscious moment. The sculptures I create focus on human psychology, stripped of context and rationalization, and articulated through animal and human forms. On the surface, these figures are simply feral and domestic individuals suspended in a moment of tension. Beneath the surface they embody the impacts of aggression, territorial desires, isolation, and pack mentality.

          Both human and animal interactions show patterns of intricate, subliminal gestures that betray intent and motivation. The things we leave unsaid are far more important than the words we speak out-loud to one another. I have learned to read meaning in the subtler signs; a look, the way one holds one's hands, the tightening of muscles in the shoulders, the incline of the head, the rhythm of a walk, and the slightest unconscious gestures. I rely on animal body language in my work as a metaphor for these underlying patterns, transforming the animal subjects into human psychological portraits.

          I want to pry at those uncomfortable, awkward edges between animal and human. The figures are feral and uneasy, expressing frustration for the human tendency towards cruelty and lack of understanding. Entangled in their own internal and external struggles, the figures are engaged with the subjects of fear, apathy, violence and powerlessness.

Something conscious and knowing is captured in their gestures and expressions. An invitation and a rebuke."

 

 

 

All information & images gathered from Beth's website here:

http://www.followtheblackrabbit.com/index_main.htm

All Work and No Play...

I have been lying low recently.


For the last couple of years I have worked hard. My full time studio manager position ate most hours from the day and two house moves and a part time Illustration MA stole every other second. Any spare time I had I devoted to learning new skills and after the learning curve of ZBrush I needed to put my feet up for a while. To keep a balanced life and keep my partner content; a little R&R was on the cards.


Since going Freelance at the start of this year, my main client went into administration. The fear of having to 'get a job' made me assess where I was and where I wanted to head. Luckily the work has kept coming in steady but Freelancing felt more like Freewheeling. I had to get back in charge of my destiny.

Lately I have been looking into starting my own limited company. Client work being the bread and butter untill I can launch my own product/brand. So I have not progressed the digital sculpting for a couple of months. Writing Business plans, attending Business advisory meetings, searching for funds, Designing business cards and the layout of my own website has kept me busy and there is still a mountain of tasks to get through before I can turn my full attention to developing my own product.

The hardest thing of all these tasks has been choosing a business and website name.

I have also begun to strip the 70 year old wallapaper (and the other myriad of layers) from my studio room so I can finally create a working environment suited to my needs.

So please accept my humble apologies for the lack of activity here, I'll be back on track soon. The next project I will document here may be a traditional sculpting tutorial.




Oh... when I finally launch my own website, this blog will be re-housed on the site, the deadline for publishing my website is currently September. I have posted a first draft of the web layout below - please ignore the wordage on the site, it is only included for layout purpose only.

World War Robot

I'm looking forward to the iminent release of Asley Wood's World War Robot.

Get yourself over to Ashley's site here, subscribe to his blog and check out the Future Lions

The guy is a genius.

Studio 4C

(post edited to fix links and add images)


























Studio 4C, The Japanese animation studio whose work first came to my attention on The Second Renaisance (parts 1 & 2) on the Animatrix compilation.

Tekkon Kinkreet was the next release that I heard critical acclaim for. The character designs have stepped away from the normal anime style. The clips below shows the dynamic blend of CG and traditional 2d animation to produce a distinctive, energetic storytelling style...





























Tekkonkinkreet directed by Michael Arias, adapted from a manga series "Black and White" by Taiyō Matsumoto.




































And below is a trailer for the studio to showcase it's animation talent with Genius Party. Five director shorts.

You can find the Studio 4C website here: http://www.studio4c.co.jp/english/
and the official website for the Genius movie: http://www.genius-party.jp/





I found The above trailer up at TwitchFilm which has become a favourite site for info on anything weird and/or wonderful in Film and Animation from around the Globe. The media player has hundreds of classic and bizarre trailers.

DRAGON HUNTERS

Here is a great 3min segment from the upcoming French CG movie 'Chasseurs de Dragons' AKA: DRAGON HUNTERS...

I really like the look of this, a welcome antidote to the poison that was Shrek. Can't wait to see it, here is the Trailer...

 

http://www.ivernel.com/

 

Pan and Daphnis

In Greek mythology, Daphnis (from Gk. daphne, "laurel" or "bay-tree") was a son of Hermes and a Sicilian nymph. A shepherd and flutist, he was the inventor of pastoral poetry. A naiad (possibly Echenais or Nomia) fell in love with him, but he was not faithful to her. In revenge, she either blinded him or turned him to stone. Pan also fell in love with him and taught him to play the pan pipes.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daphnis)

 

(Above)
Marble statue of Pan teaching Daphnis to play the pipes.
2nd century CE. Roman copy of a 2nd century BCE Greek original.
Archeological Museum, Naples.

(Above) Pan Seducing Daphne - looks like he's about to get a sandal wrapped around his chops.

Pan and Maenad ( http://www.ancientsculpturegallery.com/ )

 

(Above) Pan Raping Goat - He gets himself about (No information found)

 

“I rave; and I rape and I rip and I rend

Everlasting world without end!

Mannikin, maiden, maenad, man,

In the might of Pan.”

– Hymns to Pan (1929)  Aleister Crowley

Appleseed: Briareos Model Kit

This must be one of the most impressive models I have seen... The finish quality of the model is superb. I would love to have seen the final tool of this before it went for mass production.

The Poseable Model Kit from Hot Toys is the cyborg Briareos from Appleseed - Ex Machine, the popular Manga & Anime. I aint read the Manga or seen the recent (2006?) Movie and I can barely recall the first feature, but I have always loved Masumune Shirow's design of the cyborg character.






http://www.sideshowtoy.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=6363#jpgs

BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT

Wow... this is looking like a great project, I heard about this Batman Anime a while back but it slipped off the radar till now...





official site: http://warnervideo.com/batmangothamknight/

The Right of Spring

While on the Dinosaur topic, I found The Right of Spring chapters from Disney's Fantasia on YouTube so I thought I would post them here...

GENESIS



EVOLUTION



EXTINCTION

DINOSAURS

I have a child-like obsession with dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals just now. Ignited anew by my research into Human Anatomy and also Comparative Anatomy; the function and evolution of the Vertebrates. The Evolution of the planet and it's life forms, sitting in the vast cold space of the Universe is the most humbling and fascinating subject.

Any how... I plan to make a couple of Dinosaurs to roam around my desk here (watch this space) so I ordered some Schleich dinosaurs to play with, errr... I mean for reference, along with a couple of books including the utterly absorbing: Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs.

This Month's Imagine FX (issue 29 April 08), and 3d World magazine (issue 102 April 08) both have great Dino features including tutorials from Weta artists Greg Broadmore and Steve Lambert and an article on Dinotopia creator James Gurney....

http://www.imaginefx.com/

http://www.3dworldmag.com/

I went on a hunt around the internet to gather some reference and discovered some cool dinosaurs on YouTube.... check this workshop for the Waking with Dinosaurs Live experience...

And a clip from the ludicrously grand TV show Walking with Dinosaurs...

What Next...

The course ended a couple of weeks back and since I have stepped away to get some perspective on the past months.

I started this digital journey in September and have fallen for the process. The control over the character is the greatest asset of ZBrush. Utilising Layers many alternate versions of the character can be contained within a single tool.

ZBrush still has many features which remain either unused or barely explored. ZBrush combines the disciplines of drawing, painting, modelling and sculpting... and it does all well. Very well.

For now I will continue with the Minotroll, making his arm in Maya. The next step is to begin to build a libary or 'graveyard' of characters and tools. When you have many assets it is easy to steal parts from each... hands from this guy, legs from here, this old head... Frankenstein modeling, or kit bashing it is known as - it basically helps get the base mesh of your character together quicker.

So I plan to:

1) build a base mesh.

2) Adapt this to get a male and female form.

3) From these two meshes adapt each further to make three specific but still basic body shapes. Which will represent the athletic, thin and obese forms. From these I could develop any amount of humanoid characters. These will give a good base of assets to begin with for further projects.

The three ideal forms are based upon the somatotypes (endomorphic, mesomorphic, and ectomorphic) a simplistic classification of body types, developed in the 1940s by American psychologist William Sheldon.

Below is an example of somatotypes from the book: Figure Drawing without a Model, Ron Tiner. David&Charles (27 Feb 1992)

Available from: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Figure-Drawing-Without-Model-Tiner/dp/0715397850/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204412976&sr=8-3

Scott Spencer / Gentle Giant Studios

I love the projects Gentle Giant Studios get to be involved with. Gentle Giant would be a GREAT studio to work with, they variety of techniques and diversity of clients would make for great creative experiences. Scott Spencer the lead digital sculptor at Gentle Giant was one of the first artists I read about, a couple of years back, when I'd just heard discovered ZBrush.

From original Thread here: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=047113

I'm dying to get some 3D printing done and Develop a project which utilises the SLA, but technology costs money and my dreams are oversized. I remind myself that I am only at the beginning of this digital workflow, but my ideas and pursuits are years ahead of reality. I really need to win the lottery or something so I can jack the client work and get this stuff out of my head....

Zombies.... Zombies should be everywhere... In every movie and every TV show. You cant go wrong with Zombies...























and finally a painting tutorial showing the process of skin painting...

From Original Thread here: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=48840

...on the same Stingerhead as seen in Wacom's Cintiq advert....

I gotta steal me one of those...

Gears of War

Kevin Lanning

You may not have heard his name but you've seen his work.

















The high-res character design models for Gears of War are stunning to behold.

Showcased in the recent Ballistic Publishing book - d'artsiste Character Modelling II, Kevin's workflow of creating high res characters then reducing the polycount to create the low-res In-Game characters with jaw dropping results.

Check out his interview and a host of stunning models here at CGSociety:
http://features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=4040

and a myriad of concept designs for GoW can be found here...

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=94247