3D Model Project
I started this week on clothes for the model using a decimated export from zbrush. As the fabric is quite stiff and quite a complex shape, I thought modelling it as a hard surface would probably be the best approach for it, with details to be sculpted later. Below is the initial blockout.
Below is the base clothing combined with the zbrush model.
At this point, I asked for some feedback from a tutor, who advised me that I should probably remake the model from scratch. I was very hesitant to start over after the first model took so long, but agreed it could be cleaner and closer to my original concept. Before restarting, I took some time to do some more research, watching Blizzard's Zbrush summit and studying techniques from Danny Williams to get a better idea of how they approach the style as well as a few other videos.
I started again from the zsphere armature, adjusting the proportions to be much more exaggerated as in the original design (as seen below) and making sure the hands were solid enough not to cause an issue this time, and separating sections like the gloves, head, and feet for me to work on individually.
In terms of sculpting, I started using a lot more of the hard polish brush to give me the planar effect I'd been looking for, as well as making sure to keep the model at a low poly count for much longer than previously.
I'm really pleased with how the face is looking, particularly the hard line over the cheeks lends a real mask-like feel. I think I'm very much getting the hang of the moulded look I was aiming for. In the model above, the eyes are part of the mask, but I'm considering whether it might be better to have separate sections for them, even though they don't have to move. Currently, I'm not too concerned with the back of the hair as it will be covered by the hood, but I think the front section has turned out really well; exactly the kind of style I was aiming for.
In terms of the overall shape, the hands are probably a little big, but I don't want to make them too small at this stage and risk having issues like I had with the previous model. I've found the 'move elastic' tool does a really good job of reshaping geometry without leaving obvious marks or deforming too much, so I'll probably look again at fixing this later when other sections are more finished.
I'll probably do more work on the clothing in maya before doing any zbrush work on it, but the ones I have will work as a guide for now, I'm reasonably happy with their base shapes.
Wax model
Working on the femurs and knee joint this week, it was a really interesting section to work on. I didn't realise just how complex the joint here was, and sculpting it was a lot of fun.
Tasks
This week's task was more material cubes, this time with a focus on subsurface scattering. This isn't something I'd ever really tried to paint before, so I found it a very steep learning curve.
Overall I really like how both of these came out. The inner glow effect was maybe lost a little on the pumpkin due to interference from external light source, but I think it shows through reasonably well on the top and right sides. If I did this exercise again, I would probably start with the internal light source instead of the external one like I did this time; I think that would bring the effect out more. I was also advised to change my light source again for this painting to make it more effective, and after doing the same thing last week I think this is an indicator that I need to better plan my compositions with regards to lighting.
The candle was surprisingly difficult to get right, I found the key was pushing the values and saturation in the right places. I had a fair amount of trouble with the upper part where the wax has melted, also. I knew I definitely wanted to break the edge up somewhere, but it took me a while to make it look believable.
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