ZBrush tutorials continue, adding Z's where ever they are needed. This week we looked at the ZSphere workflow, a method of building an armature using spheres and then modeling over them.
I chose to make a humanoid creature, inspired by Lovecraftian monsters.
Here is the armature.
After making this, I used the ZSketch tool to apply a layer of clay in order to model over the top of the armature.
And this is the point I reached at the end of the session. I feel it shows real promise, and I hope to update and finish this in the next few weeks.
Winter is coming.
Last week we were giving our Winter Submission brief - to create a game ready prop and show it off in the Unreal 4 engine.
I've decided to make a rifle for a sci fi game. I'd previously used a free online Flash app called Pimp My Gun (link here: http://pimpmygun.doctornoob.com/), and used one of the many designs I had cooked up a few years ago (link to the original: https://www.flickr.com/photos/56651836@N08/8516933398/).
I reworked it using this app (it allows you to export the code and re-import it at a later time), removing the scope as I felt it was not aesthetically pleasing and replacing it with iron sights, created a left side and front view, and then put it into a presentable form to model it in Maya.
My next update will be the beginning of the modelling stage.
Last week we were sorted into groups and given the task of making a point and click adventure game. The catch was that we had to base our themes around two words drawn out of a hat. The group I am in drew "Fruit" and "Party".
Naturally, we settled on a Film Noire style game about the lives, and deaths, of fruit-headed people. We call our game "Five a Day", and the player character is Jack Peele; a maverick detective who must catch the killer of Miss Elizabeth Cherry.
As a group, we've come up with a selection of moodboards to display our inspirations.
I have also started created moodboards for the architectural style and prop design, as I am the Environment Artist for the game.
We've started a games project, and to get us back into the swing of things we are practicing making a game worthy asset. Here is the reference:
Clearly, for a Nintendo game...
We used the Quad-Draw tool in Maya to make this. This allows you to draw out the vertices where you want/need them and then fill in the faces accordingly.
Here's my finished handle using the Quad-Draw tool:
you can see the screws from the reference are present, though in an almost cheating way. They're spheres that have been squashed into a screw head shape and then positioned in dips I've made in the mesh of the handle, to make them appear sunken into the handle. I've also extruded the inner faces upwards slightly, to give the handle a panel grip.
Next up is the blade, which was a bit trickier, as I needed to retain the serrations. I achieved this by using edge loops...lots and lots of edge loops.
And finally, here is the finished hi-res model, ready for texturing and mapping.
Boy, it sure has been a while! With first year of uni over and the second about to commence, we've been tasked with creating the concept art, model, and textures for a cyborg character.
I wanted to do something a little different with this project, and try and avoid the military-industrial aesthetic that many sci-fi games have currently. As I was browsing for inspiration, I came across this piece on DeviantArt by Andrea Susini:
This sparked something in my mind, so I went looking for humanoid monsters that would be ripe for turning into cyborgs.
I also looked at military drones and industrial styled cyborgs for ways of keeping a recognisable silhouette, but still dehumanise the character.
I settled on one design, which I had christened "Spring Heeled Jack" after the Victorian era supernatural serial killer. I experimented with his design, picked out the best, produced a 3/4, front, and side view, and put them all on a design document along with some world and character building.
Next comes the modelling. I was apprehensive about moving onto Maya 2016 (having been using 2014 all of last year), but it turns out to be vastly easier to use than I imagined. Following the tutorial for what I needed, I set to work.
My poly count for the low poly model is 2872. I'm not sure if I'm doing this whole modelling thing wrong or if that's just my sleek design.
Once the low poly model was done, I moved on to do the more detailed high poly model.
The head was the trickiest part to do, as I needed to allow the camera to swivel inside the head. To do this, I created a bowl shape in the head and raised the lip to make it look convincing.
The poly count for the high poly model is 4266.
