RockStump

Animesh

Hey all, I've been modelling this stump throughout the month. I feel I'm about ready to start painting some texture but I wanted to get some feedback on the sculpting portion first before I decimate and UV and texture. Please feel free to critique and comment as much as you would like

[Deleted User]

is a stump or heart?

Pangahas

The roots appear to me as vines, mainly because they don't seem to come out of the stump or appear to sprout off it.You could also make em look rounder coz they seem too flat to me.

Moosebish

I agree with Pangahas, the roots are reading like vines..

I think that roots would grow away from it a little more, especially towards the bottom, it would be cool if they were hanging off the bottom. It might be easier for you to do in max at this point..

Animesh

thanks for the feedback on the roots. Do you have any feedback on the stump or the rock?

Pangahas

The stump could use some more shape definition for it to read better as a stump, again going back to my comment about the roots make them appear to sprout out off the base of the stump,make em rounder and also make them taper more as they go towards the end, the top part(the ones connected to the stump's bottom part being the thickest.)

Joopson

Did you use reference?

Animesh

Here is the reference I used.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aahTDYQX5A&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LL7sZPQndD1aPBzRyoSliE-Q"]Lunch Time ZBrush: Fantasy Tree (part 1) - YouTube[/ame]

Animesh

Here is another shot with matcap_Gray material. and from a different angle.

AzzaMat

The roots need to be much thicker at the top and then get smaller as they go down. I think overall there are too many strands of root and the rock is something that needs a lot of work. At the moment it doesn't look anything like rock. Look at the model your referencing. The rock has strong block shapes. Where as the rock you currently have is really 'blobby' without decent definition. The silhouette needs work as well. Overall advice is to use stronger bold brush strokes with your sculpt. Hope this helps

Joopson

No, I mean like a reference picture. From reality.

Lucas Annunziata

huh. Its an interesting shape, but honestly it reminds me or of a heart than anything else. Echoing what others have said, its looking very lumpy and too...meaty and organic. The stump really isnt reading as a stump, the roots look too much like veins, and the rock looks like brain tissue. Notice how in that video the rock has a lot more flat edges (probably used the trim dynamic brush to to get that).

It would probably be more work to fix what you have than to just start over from scratch. Gather some reference images of trees, rocks, and roots growing over stuff. Look at it. Visualize it. Then block out your primary forms.

Animesh

I guess I can try it again. At the time I did not know of the clip brush or trim dynamic brush. That is why the rock forms have no real flat edges.

zombie420

As others have pointed out, this defies many components that make things look real; flat edges on rocks, consistent decrease in root girth and the root count is reading like floral roots more than tree roots. Omitting important details like these do not allow you to sell the fiction you're creating and thus hinder you as an artist.

I'd google tree roots and rocks and base more reference on the material world and less on a tutorial you found. The video certainly illustrates some good techniques and overall workflow but even his demo kind of looks like a tree on a heart.