Maya for 3D Printing - Rapid Prototyping
In this course we're going to look at something a little different, creating technically accurate 3D printed parts.
# 1 03-12-2009 , 10:16 PM
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dino_chick

been working on this as an experminet with zbrush. I was looking at learning more about displacement and normal mapping. It was just the head but i think ive decided to try and take it further so ive just added the body, which i'll take over to z and see what more I can do. No real end idea in sight. I am quite pleased with the head so far, if I can be as pleased with the body, i'll consider it success

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# 2 04-12-2009 , 09:39 AM
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Hi Ben
You might want to turn the legs around (so his knee is at the back)and give him some toes before you take him into zbrush, also think where you want detail to be and add extra geometry in maya first this will help your poly count in zbrush.........dave

# 3 04-12-2009 , 12:22 PM
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Hi dave. I was unsure myself about the knee. Do you mean like a horses knee? There is an odd kink in the picture above, like two knees, but I knew Id be able to adapt in zbrush. below is one of the ref images I have collected. It is a trex but i checked with something smaller (velociraptor) and the knee points out to the front.


Photoshop playing me up today for some reason so cant put up a picture of todays progress, but knee wise I think its ok. Hopefully later whatevers making photoshop cry will have disappeared and I can post.

Check on the polycount front. Looped up good for z, started primary forms at level 3/4, currently on secondary at level 5, level 6 is weighing in at around 6.5 mil. So based on my limited experience I think its set up ok.?

And yes, feet and toes added, plus some little arms and a couple of fingers, and a little triangular devily tail (not aiming for 100% natural realism!) Have had thoughts of giving him a crown, maybe spikes, teeth, a tongue. Keep picturing some cloth draped over him in places, which is making me wonder about n-cloth and zbrush. Getting flashbacks of a creature I designed in year 12. Inspired by The Dark Crystal. We'll see.

The one problem so far is the merged points at the tip of his tail, when subdivided in z, they suddenly shoot off into the distance, one of those tell tale zbrushy/maya-ry quirks, but Ive imported it back into maya and found I can just delete the extra faces it creates/moves. So...

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# 4 04-12-2009 , 12:31 PM
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in fact... I might actually need some more geometry around the arms, they werent behaving very well in Z

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# 5 04-12-2009 , 05:20 PM
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Hi Ben
I was thinking chick legs not dinsaur, geometry shooting of into the distance is not a good sign like you said some vertices not merged in maya hope this does not put your maps out..............dave

PS when dealing with small appendages like low geometry arms in zbrush turn down the intencaty in the brush, if left high things like that shrival away


Last edited by daverave; 04-12-2009 at 05:24 PM.
# 6 04-12-2009 , 07:20 PM
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About the legs... it looks like you've got the right idea, except that the ankle looks a bit short when you compare to the dino pic you posted. Only the toes should really touch the ground. This is the same with chickens, we think the knee is backwards, but that's only cause the the thigh is hidden. The ankle is the bit that bends back.

And on a similar note... I don't know of any dinosaurs that have wings. Looks more like a dragon to me user added image but that's not really a criticism. Looks good.

# 7 04-12-2009 , 10:19 PM
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dave ... intencaty? is that spelt right? That sounds like a good useful tip though I will definitely be looking to find that. Do u mean intensity? as in brush/stroke intensity. Its not the first time ive had problems with shrivelling (!??user added image )

Stwert. Dragon! yes!, thats the word I was looking for! and i will rethink those 'ankles' when i next sculpt

# 8 05-12-2009 , 08:35 AM
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Hi Ben
Yes you spelled it wright, this is more a problem in the low subdivide levels. a little tip with zbrush if say you are at level 6 and you want to make a big change in you model move down to level 1, the brushes have more effect........dave

# 9 05-12-2009 , 01:47 PM
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I am not sure what the extrusions from the back are? If they are part of some kind of wings then I think they need to be farther forward. Hard to tell on my screen as I keep the gamma fairly low and so most images are very dark and hard to make out detail.

It has a kind of sea horse looking head. I like the texturing. Although the torso appears blurry relative to the other parts.

I need to spend some time in zbrush but I have so many other things on my plate.


"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Isaac Newton, 1675

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# 10 05-12-2009 , 02:26 PM
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Originally posted by ctbram
I am not sure what the extrusions from the back are? If they are part of some kind of wings then I think they need to be farther forward. Hard to tell on my screen as I keep the gamma fairly low and so most images are very dark and hard to make out detail.

It has a kind of sea horse looking head. I like the texturing. Although the torso appears blurry relative to the other parts.

I need to spend some time in zbrush but I have so many other things on my plate.


Hi CT. Thankyou. The extrusions are meant to be wings. I shall keep your comment in mind, I think they are going to be the hardest part, its the only part which I really have something in mind how I want the final outcome to look.

The blurring on the body at the moment is because I am just reusing the head textures for wip purposes. When I made the head I hadnt planned to add a body. When Ive worked more on the body in zbrush i will create seperate textures for the body.

# 11 07-12-2009 , 01:06 PM
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Hey all. I didnt really want to post this, as I would have liked to have got more done before posting again, but Ive hit a snag creating some textures, so I thought id post this latest wip. Im unsure where Im going to go with the hands, whether to make new geometry in maya, or maybe have him holding something and then add the fingers to what he's holding. And thinking of background aswell, ...ive got no ideas for that.

But thats getting ahead of myself I guess. Im having trouble getting a 4096 or even 2048 colour map out of zbrush, which I need as a lower res map is not doing me any favours. Ive done a poly paint, but cant get the info into a decent size map.

Might have to restart the paint..its only a basic undercoat.

Anyway...

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# 12 07-12-2009 , 10:41 PM
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Looks good so far, the renders could use a little sharpening up though. For a background you could try a lush jungle type setting, that's the first thing that came to mind.


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# 13 07-12-2009 , 11:23 PM
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user added image Thanks genny

How do you mean sharpening up? do you mean anti-aliasing wise? or level of detail/shading wise? or something else? just like, more punchy?

Hadnt thought of jungle. I keep thinking rock, or seeing a castle type room. a lush jungle setting sounds quite daunting, im not sure id know where to start...id like to use zbrush more whatever it is.

Just been playing with some different lighting bits and bobs. Took a physical sky render. Wont be on computer long now but will try out that gamma thing when Im next on.

# 14 08-12-2009 , 02:13 AM
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Well I think you could bring out the details in the texture some. I don't know if its the texture filter doing it, or the texture was maybe painted that way, maybe an adjustment in the render settings would help. Its the contrast, everything is kinda green and blurry. The castle room doesn't sound like a bad idea, you could Zbrush the hell outta those walls lol :p and let me know if the sky thing works out.


P.S

Also I noticed you made the neck considerably thinner, looks like it would snap under the weight of that head.


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# 15 08-12-2009 , 11:16 AM
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Originally posted by GecT
Well I think you could bring out the details in the texture some. I don't know if its the texture filter doing it, or the texture was maybe painted that way, maybe an adjustment in the render settings would help. Its the contrast, everything is kinda green and blurry. The castle room doesn't sound like a bad idea, you could Zbrush the hell outta those walls lol :p and let me know if the sky thing works out.


P.S

Also I noticed you made the neck considerably thinner, looks like it would snap under the weight of that head.


ha ha. yeah, thats what I thought about the walls!

when I was reading about rendering displacement maps it was suggested to take off filtering, I guess its same too with the normal map. Thats one of the points behind this excerice is exploring zmapper and the different settings, and also how the exported maps then look in maya. Im trying to get more comfortable and get some experience with using zbrush and maya side by side. So things like, the quality and depth of normal and cavity maps im going to be exploring. Getting that 4096 map was a start, needed to install a plug-in for that.

The shaders for the head and body aren't quite matching up, which is a bit annoying cause i was quite pleased with the level of detail on the head. But I think the alpha work in zbrush was a bit deeper on the head, so will be going over the body again. I want to scuplt more skin folds and creases on the body, I just stuck aload of rough detail on to get a feel for how it might look, but I'll be reworking most of it.

re: the neck. Yeah, i didnt conciously thin it, it just kinda happened, im thinking maybe im can rescale once im settled on the sculpting and textures. I did kind of give myself a problem when i decided to just stick on a body. I thought about some neck rings like some you see some tribal people wear, that stretch the neck? to cover things up a bit. still considering giving him some armour/accessories....

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