Sketchbook: gonzo_3d

gonzo_3d

Beginner sculptor here. Am interested in general feedback, as well as pointers on taking the sculpts "to the next level". I assume that typically means detail, but am unsure.

Alien creature will eventually have fur, so details may be unnecessary..? How do you know when to stop? Add more?

Soft used: Sculptris and Photoshop. Hope to zbrush eventually!

Thanks for checking in!

g3d

[Deleted User]

I like your progress! I am learning to use Zbrush too! I recommend you take a look at the books of Burne hogart, I think you could learn a lot watching his studies of anatomy

gonzo_3d

Thanks! No doubt there is so much to learn, many great resources. Have been working through Faraut. I think of him as Bridgman "applied" to 3d - (forms, mass) - even if it's "the real thing" not digital - lol.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=philippe+faraut&rh=i:aps,k:philippe+faraut"]Amazon.com: philippe faraut[/ame]

gonzo_3d

working up a basemesh for zbrush. yeah, I know there are tools already in there but one of my goals for this year is to get comfortable with some other 3d apps.

A shout out to Ryan Kingslien - his book, his mesh. Problems with proportions etc - all mine.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/ZBrush-Studio-Projects-Realistic-Characters/dp/047087256X/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1389843579&sr=8-8&keywords=zbrush"]ZBrush Studio Projects: Realistic Game Characters: Ryan Kingslien: 9780470872567: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

gonzo_3d

Basic biped rig of basemesh following tute found here;
http://www.swinburne.edu.au/design/tutorials/P-maya/T-Maya-Rigging-Rigging-a-biped-character-for-animation/ID-125/

gonzo_3d

And finished joint orientation.. after a minor (major) panic re: orientations not seeming to work, well.. actually they eventually do. Whew.

gonzo_3d

messing about in Zbrush, acclimating to the ui. "Created' my second mess, took it over to sculptris and smoothed out some rough edges. Not enough geo I suppose @ ~120k polys.

DillonJ93

Your skull study has some really nice planar quality to it. I would suggest trying out some studies from this guy: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EPNYWeEf1U"]How to Draw the Head from Any Angle - YouTube[/ame]
I think Steve breaks down the overall shapes really well, which is what I think will take your sculpts to the next level.

gonzo_3d

hey, thanks. Will check it out. Form development definitely high on the list, appreciate the clip.

meanwhile, a little messing about after blowing up a few zspheres.

gonzo_3d

I keep forgetting to check my base mesh while @ work for the degenerate faces that must be lurking in there.

Hoped that running it through meshlab >> cleanup would solve it - uuuugly! Couldn't resist just a little noodling around with the mesh once I had it in sculptris.

Then I decided to try smoothing in Maya before exporting. Better results, but there's something wrong with the hands that prevents the obj from importing. If nothing else I guess I'm going to be rebuilding hands...

gonzo_3d

Found some geo in my base mesh that was the culprit - b/c removing it means the mesh will now import. Sheesh.

HighroGlyphex

Hey gonzo I'm thinking about getting one of those books by Philippe Faraut. Should I start with Portrait Sculpting: Anatomy & Expressions in Clay?

gonzo_3d

With the caveat that he's a "real" clay sculptor - but his techniques definitely apply to the digital realm - then assuming you want to learn:
Anatomy & aging, features & hair, working in planes, the portrait (ie, likeness), common mistakes, expression - YES!
Mastering Portraiture is complimentary to this, but maybe that's my bias since that's the order I encountered them in. Either one would be a great starting place.

I really appreciate the high quality photographs, and his techniques are direct and well presented. No smoky back rooms or skipping stages.

having said that, it's sooooo tempting to skip the hard work and just start moving "clay" around, at least for me. I fully intend to work through these cover to cover - this year. Gotta do it.

Cheers!

gonzo_3d

And this is a perfect example of putting in detail before the forms are developed. Just kind of noodling along and this is what happened.

This guy is freaking because after having solved the hand problem last night, he still has no hands! Anyhoo, moving some pixels around.

gonzo_3d

After Loomis.. Much, much after..

gonzo_3d

Tried to keep this clean but it got away from me a little at the tail end. Somethings definitely wrong with the alar cartridges, but I pretended it was because there's no face. But still.. not quite right.

gonzo_3d

i think this was looking better before i started tonight. have to get more hours in.