Portfolio 4

I wanted to do something challenging for my portfolio piece this month. I used this wonderful concept illustration from Dayne Henry. A wonderful and talented artist.

Character Design and Creation

     This is the short list of my accomplishments in this months class Character Creation. This course gets deeper into using Z Brush's tools and sculpting forms. I have learned so much about anatomy, fabric and cloth folds, deformation, hair, ears and first reads. This project consists of choosing two characters to model and sculpt from scratch with references. We later had to gather more references to add props for the characters as well as applying our studies of the ear, arm and leg. The month was a heavy workload for me as a new modeler and sculptor but also kept me very focused. I had a lot of fun.

Character 1

     I liked designing the first character based on Azadeh Eranban's concept drawings. I had fun with this character and chose it because of its variety of shapes. What worked well for me was the orthographic references I had. It was easier to get the feel of the character as I laid out its frame with z-spheres. I found out quickly that just adding z-sphere for the entire figure did not work well for modeling and I had to model the helmet separately.

     I would do a bit more planning next time and not let my excitement get ahead of my preparation. I would also think about my normals map and add a bit more facial detail because my normals map was non-existent. The only issue I came across with this model was defining the parts that make the character up. Due to the fact this character is made up and my time limit, I was able to compromise in some areas that were not essential to who the character is.

     The models came out very good and I would like to revisit them in the future. I would have like to seen a bit more detail on the faces and bodies. Overall, I am proud of my first character modeling attempts.

Prop 1 Glove

     This is one of the first props I made for my models. I never model a hand before let alone one modeled in Z Brush. As much as a powerful feature Dynamesh is, it just was not coming out the way I envisioned it. I found what worked for me was using z-spheres to get the shape I desired from the reference. I think next time I will start with something I am comfortable with to avoid wasting time trying make something else work.

     One major issue I had with z-spheres was getting the spheres to act independently of each other. For some reason they linked together and when I pulled or moved  one the corresponding sphere would react. I decided to scour the Internet until I found a very informative video about z-spheres that spoke to me and I finally grasp the concept. After getting the shape I wanted I then used Dynamesh to tweak it more. Overall I feel I did a very good job even though this was the first time I have ever built and sculpted something entirely in Z Brush.

Prop 2 Backpack

     This is probably my favorite of my props. Not because I think it looks spectacular it is because it was the one that challenged me the most. What I thought worked so well this is it made me really find out how the brushes worked in Z Brush. I got the hang of masking and tried to mix hard and soft surface modeling. What did not work so well was figuring out the folds and wrinkles. My particular challenge was to give it a realistic look of fabric with depth and weight.

     I think what I would do different with something like this next time is be more loose with my strokes. I feel I was being too rigid and precise with the folds placements drowning its organic feel.

The only issue I ran into were the buckles because I am not that good with hard surfaces in Z Brush yet. Along with the bag I modeled everything else in Maya then exported into Z Brush for sculpting.

I feel I achieved the look I was after but wish I had more time to explore this model.  More attention to the stitching, deformation in the back and the piping would bring the look out more. Overall it was a great experience.

Virtual Art Gallery

My Virtual Art Gallery for my Art History course. Enjoy!

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/favorite/group/dQKi7x9xEEhXKw

MCR Week 4 Final Scene

I would be lying if I said that this month was easy. I have never worked so hard in school in my life. I can honestly say that all the stress and late night were worth it. I've become a stronger and more confident modeler and the skills I obtained these past four weeks are tremendous. This final week we had to compose a scene with all of our models and 3 additional ones using all the skills we had acquired up to now.

I can also say that this week is a milestone for me because I was finally able to do a fourth model. It was all due to better time management, planning and getting better with Maya and Z-Brush. I think my final scene is a very worthy effort and I hope that my instructor feels the same. This month has taught me a lot about myself and my goals. I am determined more than ever to get a firm grasp on these concepts. I am looking forward to my next class.

MCR Week 3 Still Life With Digital Sculpting

This week is an exciting week for me because we are diving into Z-Brush for the first time. I've been waiting for this since I started Full Sail. Even though it is not an extensive lesson in the software I plan on getting a lot out of it. Again we had to choose three objects to model but this time we had to import the .obj into Z-Brush for projection and sculpting in some details. It took some time to navigate comfortably through the software and once I got the hang of it and using masks help me hone in on some things.

I really liked this week and feel myself getting better. I had to stay up all night to get my assignment done but that was because my job had me spinning too. I learned about normal maps and its benefits. Overall my excitement level has remained high and I feel very proud of my work so far.

MCR Week 2 Still Life

I thought last week was tough, but this second week has got my head spinning. We had to choose three model to create from reference photos. They were mostly 3/4 view and we had to get them as close as identical as we could. This would have been easy with more usable references but these were some complex models to a newcomer like me. We also started UVing our models also this week. One major lesson I learned was to add edge loops after UVing the model. That was a nightmare to UV all those surfaces.The models I chose were to help me with my weaknesses in areas like curves and scale.

We had the option to model a fourth object for extra credit but my time was vastly short. Between working a full time job with deadlines and homework it was impossible for me to start and finish fourth. Maya still exhibits a personality of its own but I am getting used to it now. I use the Edge loop tool a lot more along with the Knife tool. Modeling is still quite challenging but I will press on and get better.

MCR Week 1 Model Large Props

This week start a new chapter in my path to become a character animator. This month is MCR (Model Creation). Our first assignment was to make four large 3D models to populate a room. This was definitely a hectic week. I'm still a little shaky with Maya but I think all it would take is more practice. I learned a lot through our Concept Share site with all the critiques and advice. I started using the quick keys more and can see how it can make things a lot faster. This week was all about experimenting and I should start to lock down a work flow next week. My models turned out ok and I'm feeling a bit more confident.