Year 2 Work by Pete

PeteHawk

Hey guys, thought I'd make a new thread on my most exciting project so far. My task is to create a character and environment to be viewed in realtime.
It's my first time using ZBrush and Maya, so any crits, ideas and tips would be most welcome.

I've started on designing my character (Female). Based around ancient south american culture.

PeteHawk

I tried Dynamesh, ZSketching and ended up using ZSpheres to create my base mesh.

Neox

The mayan culture had higheels?

show us some more, the zspheres are just a base, its okay but nothing to really crit on. Basemeshes are not worth that much these days, with dynamesh around and all.

PeteHawk

Good point.
My reference image happened to have high-heels. Haven't got into the process of using my own drawing as a reference yet.

PeteHawk

Currently using Paul Richer Artisitic Anatomy. Great book for studying where the bones are places and how the muscles are formed.



Never really used a tablet until now. Must say it's rather good fun and so much quicker. Will have to get one for myself.

PeteHawk

I get horrible looking faces in some parts of the body. Think it's where the polygon density has changed and the polys start to stretch. I don't really want to sub-divide any more. Any way around this apart from moving the verts around?

Shiskebab

Dynamesh or autoretopo

kageko

you could always use the secondary smoothbrush by letting go of shift while still pressing down left mousebutton, it uses another algorithm to smooth and usually does a good job with these things, also, the polishbrush always works for these things

Barbarian

That is a "pole" (you have more than four edges meeting at a point). You could connect the vertical edge loops (run parallel to the center line) and end up with some tris (you will never get away from having a few tris). You could then delete particular edges between the newly connected edges and the center line (or collapse those edges) and see what you get. It is like a puzzle sometimes. You don't want that diamond shape that stretches and pinches. (Note you'll have to do this in Maya or Max, just use GoZ and return to ZBrush with GoZ).

Lyaksandr

In terms of the anatomy, the shape is very much that of someone with a good deal of body fat. However, you've started carving pretty intense muscle detail on top of that which ends up looking really unsettling.

Anyone with that much definition, especially a woman, would have a leaner shape. I find it helpful to start with a very lean shape and lay down some muscle definition, then use the ClayTubes and FormSoft brushes to build up fat layers on top of that. Remember: fat lives on top of muscle.

PeteHawk

Cheers for the help guys, managing the poles now.
Decided to re-sculpt my character from the base mesh, this time using a more 'lean' body and using a better reference.
(Will get some images up when I can).

Been looking at dressing the girl up:
-Piercings/tattoos
-Bones for trinkets
-Leather bands etc

For the tattoos.
Should I draw my alpha in photoshop then spay it onto the mesh, or should I just hand draw it using the poly paint?

Anyone know if zbrush can help me out with arrays? Or copying an object along a spline (eg: creating chains)..?

Sculpted some human bones. Thinking of using them as clubs or sharpen them out for spears.


1: Humerus bone
2: Femur bone

brwnbread

Lyaksandr wrote: »

In terms of the anatomy, the shape is very much that of someone with a good deal of body fat. However, you've started carving pretty intense muscle detail on top of that which ends up looking really unsettling.

Anyone with that much definition, especially a woman, would have a leaner shape. I find it helpful to start with a very lean shape and lay down some muscle definition, then use the ClayTubes and FormSoft brushes to build up fat layers on top of that. Remember: fat lives on top of muscle.

To further illustrate this point, these 2 images helped me realize this fact when I was doing a study on this:

PeteHawk

Thanks again people.
Here is what I have come to so far.

PeteHawk

Next I'll be in the process of baking.
I was planning on importing the mesh into Max and unwrapping within 3Ds. Or should I be staying in zBrush?
I'm new to baking so I have no preferences, I would just like a clean bake and unwrap.


Bear in mind that this is going to be a model of around 9,000 - 12,000 tris. So I do plan on crunching those numbers with perhaps the Decimation Master. That does mean I will lose my quad topology.


Anyone know of any tips or pages which would direct me in unwrapping a human character? Things like where to draw the seams or what part of the mesh I should be mirroring.


Thanks again

North

I would work on getting the anatomy right first.

fantom

North wrote: »

I would work on getting the anatomy right first.

Good advise I think. Try more sketching on paper or just in zbrush , paint important muscles using clay brush, try to block important areas before you add any little details. Keep going. Cheers

System

Don't bother with details and adding character to this (or anything really) until you're confident you completely and realistically understand the human anatomy. It's clear you don't, yet, and for that your character design will suffer.

Keep sculpting from reference and you'll come out on top.