bkost's improvement diary

bkost

Hi polycounters, here I'll be posting my zbrush pieces to log my progress, see my improvement from one sculpt to the next, and receive feedback/ critiques

Latest

carvuliero

I should probably mention this in my previous post but I think you are rushing , instead I will suggest to master each individual step -> simple head + big proportion-> bone structure and landmarks + feature placement -> individual face feature -> then try to combine everything to make a believable head , I will include a neck study somewhere in the the mix

bkost

Hey @carvuliero yes I agree. I need to slow down and focus on nailing down the big proportions. I'd like to become comfortable with the various face shapes. (round, oval, square, etc.) And I'm not sure how to setup the unique face shapes early on. 

In the screenshot below of carvuliero's heads, are these the lines indicating unique face shape planes? I feel it takes minor plane changes to capture the different shaped faces.

Good idea @Nuclear Angel. I'd love to hear your thoughts on early face shape setup.

carvuliero

This specific head are more to do with male and female then a face types , planes are based on simplified skull [if you learn this simple plane and position of points between them you will always be able to make correct head ]and some dynamic lines of Reilly's method .Variations are super easy to do check first image same base with a few move brushs you have a new face type

Second image is your formula of how they define different face types , not sure what I get it so you have to image reverse search it if you need some detailed explanation but its just moving points around nothing complex really , like if you have a b and c equal you have square face and so on

bkost

Awesome Carvuliero! I'll be studying the Reilly Construction method once I become comfortable with basic male/female head construction and proportions.

Posting these content rich gems for later. I hope these to be of use for anyone else interested in anatomy!

-Advanced Head Construction breakdown by Adam Antaloczy
-Head, Figure, and Drapery construction pdf guides my E.M. Gist
-Head Drawing Lecture Notes: Learning How to See
- Anatomy Drawing Lecture with Steve Huston

bkost

Completed three studies today. Skull, base blockout, and female face. Still need to do some 2d pen and paper 'Learn to see' studies!




edit: looks like I have a habit of making eyes too close and nose too similar

Nuclear Angel

@bkost
Hey man, nice early skull shapes! It is getting way better. But what do you mean with your question with early face shape setup? 

bkost

Hey Nuclear, thank you! I'm wanting to explore different face shapes, (rectangular like your profile pic versus oval) and I was wondering if you have any suggestions on setting those planes up early in the process before laying down fat pads. Carvuliero replied with a nice answer and I'd also like your input.

In the next two face studies I'd like to create a rectangular and oval face. Concentrating on the overall face shape and proportions.
@Nuclear Angel  

bkost

Working through week 4 of Scott Eaton's Facial Anatomy course. Digging into the features of the face and hey they're constructed. Tasked with doing face ecorches that include most of the pieces of the face puzzle. Week 5 will cover the expression muscles

Also worked on a quick full body study and skull, worktime -  ~3hrs.

bkost

Daily practice, hopped into daily drawing exercises. Following carvuliero's advice and doing a mix between his write up and drawabox.com
exercises. 

carvuliero

I can see you are having fun and skull is starting to look like one but you still have the same problem with small eye sockets , below is fast and simple way to measure yourself out of that problem, this relations very from skull to skull so I suggest to analyse as much different one as you can and find wheres is the golden area and while you doing that why dont you pick a few high point and do them as well , their relations are kind of vital to be able to correct your own work

Neck ref should be self explanatory , only think that I can add is that up plane in the front of the neck is made of sternocleidomastoid tail [sternum head] and Richer's drawing should explain red parts

Are you using reference of a real ppl for the head studies ? they all look suspiciously similar , looks to me like you are recycling the same old thing in your head , at this moment it doesn't mater if your end sculpt look like the reference it more to get yourself grounded in reality + to pick new information

BTW why are you staring with Bammes's skull ?

bkost

Hey Carvuliero, thanks for the reference! Yes I begin with a sphere and use Bammes' skull reference to blockout. Should I do it differently? Or try something else?

Then I move onto proportions, focusing on the rule of thirds (using Richer's skull proportions.)

• Top line- Brow line
• Mid line- lower parts of nasal cavity & zygomatic bone
• Bottom line- Lower jaw

Finally, I use a unique skull and aim for its features. (Male vs. Female) And this time it was a African Male Skull.

Yes, I am using different '3d Scan Store' faces as reference for each head study. I am recycling the same thing in my head (not on purpose), and I want to break that. But I don't know how, I'm reinforcing these bad habits. Any suggestions?

Next study, I'll focus on the two different skulls you linked and study their subtle differences
Cheers


@carvuliero

carvuliero

You can try to pick something completely different then your kind of head , so you wont have a change to repeat yourself

bkost

Good idea, I'll give Nefertiti a shot tomorrow. More daily work below

Nuclear Angel

@bkost Carvuliero gave a pretty good explanation of how to break down the face in to the different facial shapes. But the way I see it as I got no certain method of how I do it, I have just done a lot of faces, I like to focus on the major shapes first.

Usually I start with blocking in the Jaw shape, nose size and position, and eye sockets with all the corresponding land marks. All of that before I block in details like mouth, ears and eyes, also focus on the skull shape at this stage. And then from there I block in the first details and check the proportions and secondary planes. 

But you are doing great, if you find a method that works for you just go for it! But do not get to dependent on any type of "method". The best thing you can do is to just draw and sculpt a lot of faces! 

bkost

Hey @Nuclear Angel, thank you man! I appreciate your thoughts and your quick breakdown on how you go about blocking out faces. 

Another study

bkost

Another daily study, attempted to work on the basic proportions of Nefertiti suggested by carvuliero. Here is my embarrassing attempt. I still have a lot to learn, and this sculpt proves that. Trying to get down the silhoutte is important and thats what I attemped to focus on. The biggest issue I find while trying to block in the big forms is that while working in such low poly, it is hard to make small adjustments. I'll try this again and study the reference a little more. 

bkost

More daily face studies, I think hitting a generic male and female face is the next step I should take. While I try to hit likeness of a person, I feel in over my head.

bkost

More studies. I feel like I'm plateauing and not improving. I'll keep pushing but I need to understand how to make unique face shapes. When I try to build a unique face, it winds up being similar to my past sculpts.

I'll look into other artists approach to faces and try a new workflow


 

Alex_J

One thing may help break out of a rut is doing very different ethnicity and age. Helps with seeing too, if you start with something like a caucasian base mesh and then try to turn it into asian, southeast asian, west african, new guinean, anything different. Helps to understand what variability there is in anatomy.

nice progress btw

kotis2

You are making great progress, the skull shapes are looking really good. It might be worth trying to make each face a different age and also take off symmetry and experiment with slight variations in fat.

This reference shows the difference that both skull shape and fat can make to the face.

bkost

Hey Bigtime, I appreciate it man. Good idea! I'll try a generic base mesh, then look at a certain races skull shape and proportions.

Hi Kotis, thank you. Yeah, I'll look into messing around with age differences once I'm comfortable making a generic male & female blockout. 

Another study done. Took a different approach to blocking it out, I referenced Reilly's construction method this time. Trying out a different head construction guide seems to help me break out of this face similarity issue I've been subconsciously doing.


@BIGTIMEMASTER @kotis2

bkost

Another head study. Currently working through UVs and baking on my starman character which is taking up most of my time. 

Using Asaro's Head planes as ref now, check out this polycount thread for the head files if you're interested! 


*Infraorbital furrow and orbital fat pad area looks a bit funny

bkost

More studies!

bkost

Working my way around to understanding face proportions. Here is a study I've done with a variety of heads and skulls, I wish to do this on a larger sample size and figure out the average measurements. I've learned that the Rule of thirds, Eyes half the face vertically, and ear hole divides the face horizontally are generally true and most important for initial proportion setup. I've also learned some new proportions to look out for when tackling likeness. (Please correct me if anything is wrong)

The two vertical measurements (Face in 1/2 and 1/3) are based off of the initial measurement of the chin to lower nose. The varying degrees in the measurements from face to face is enlightening. I'd like to incorporate these measurements into my ongoing studies to hit face likeness and unique face shapes. 

This work is a compilation of info I've gathered from a variety of videos, books, and photo refs

bkost

quick skull study. getting in some drawing work as well

AndresZambrano

This thread is great, probably the best way to improve on characters is doing what you've been doing here.

bkost

@AndresZambrano Thank you man! I'm doing my best to get at it daily. I'd like to build up more of a drawing routine. I've noticed you can iterate much faster in 2d (duh) which allows for quicker learning. And it's nice to step away from the computer at times haha

AndresZambrano

bkost said:

@AndresZambrano Thank you man! I'm doing my best to get at it daily. I'd like to build up more of a drawing routine. I've noticed you can iterate much faster in 2d (duh) which allows for quicker learning. And it's nice to step away from the computer at times haha

Yeah that's true, I think that practicing in 3d is better for learning all the forms and it's where you can figure out on what aspects you are lacking the most since you have to make it from all angles. 2d is better for practicing gesture and the proportions though for sure. 

bkost

Some more studies.

bkost

body study for the night. started from mannequin.

bkost

torso n face study for the night. I'd like to focus my efforts towards nailing down arms, hands, n booty sculpting. They're giving me the most challenge 

bkost

Back to more studies! Here's a female base blockout I've been working on the past couple days.

kanga

Cool thread. No crits, just great to see the study. Also using the skeletal base is super helpful.

bkost

Recently ran through Scott Eaton's hand anatomy lectures. To help solidify the wealth of knowledge Eaton shares, I've built a sculptor friendly landmark diagram for the hands. Although this piece is intended to be a personal study, my end goal is to provide a faithful representation of the forms present. If anyone has any feedback so I may improve for next time, please let me know!

The landmarks in the diagram are geared towards anatomy sculptors, in which are mainly concerned with superficial anatomy. The diagram lists landmarks that may be less apparent than others. Running through Scott Eaton's 'Anatomy for Artists' series will reveal forms that would have been otherwise overlooked. One example is the Palmaris brevis muscle. Whenever the pinky/wrist is flexed, the Palmaris brevis tightens and creates a furrow on the Hypothenar eminence. Here's a video illustrating the furrow.

This study started out as a basic hand sculpt and evolved into jumping into Scott Eaton's lectures and painting the landmarks. I referenced 3dscanstore's photogrammetry models throughout this study. Owning the scan helps tremendously when working at odd angles. Combine that with Zbrush's new 3dCamView feature, referencing an accurate model is a breeze.

Below you can see the hand sculpt, anatomy diagram, 1 hour blockout, and sculpt stages.

Thanks for stopping by

bkost

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