Simply ZBrush
 

EDIT: This whole thread is me learning how to sculpt in ZBrush over the course of a year. I have gone through so much learning and can honestly say I am just now getting it... This is rendered out in C4D with their SSS and the sculpt was done in ZBrush. There has been no compositing done and the texture was tweaked in PS. I also have it set for FaceRobot and my own Facial Rig inside of C4D. Ughh this took forever to learn....

The other head is the initial one I had in ZBrush when I first posted. A year later and I am gonna go back and fix it. Especially the ears... Just never knew all the settings...

Looking good, are you using references or is this just free hand. I do like you skin texture it might be a little over the top but that some times works in 3D........dave

Looks good, agree with Dave the skin texture is a little harsh but overall nice.

Good start, the ears definately need some attention though -keep it up mate

J

@Dave - These are my parents. My mom and dad, so the references are plenty. I find myself at times just staring at them now. Weirds even me out...

@ClearAir - The skin is a little harsh and I am at odds about how it will render out. I would prefer to have too much now and be able to tone down the strength later rather than be stuck with pores I can't see. As of right now they are sitting in about 6 layers and I plan on dropping it down to one through the morph target trick.

@Jay - Yeah I agree the ears need some work. Didn't really focus too much at all on my dad and spent a couple minutes on my mom, but after that I just moved onto the face.

Gonna try and keep them coming. Today I think I am gonna venture out to the creature domain and test drive dynamesh. Wondering how it will hold up at a high subdiv or whether or not I will have to stop at a point and take it into topogun to do the fine details...

Just amazes me how fast you can progress. A year ago I don't know what edge loops were...

Some progress over the last couple of hours. Really digging the dynamesh. Looks like it caps out at about a mil though so I am gonna have to mos def retopo to get to the level I want. Started this with ZSpheres. Just much more manageable at the beginning to lock down form...

Todays Progress
 

So this is where I stand before going into Topogun and then back to ZBrush. Just feel as though I have gotten my critical form down and need to solidify the geo to go in deeper. You can get to a higher subdiv out of Dynamesh but I need it to be proper at this point. Kind of just a hybrid kind of creature. Was fun to make. Should be fun to refine...:)

Only changed a few things since I had to hit the gym and go out to eat. Trying not to turn into this guy.

Cool matey, look forward to seeing your progress with these over the next month. Creature design is a tough one and they say it best to leave until you really know anatomy 100 percent if you want to get pro results. That said the form is looking good to me and I know you are very meticulous when it comes to proportions. Also it is good to have some fun and try different things, plus you will be forced to learn and use other sculpting methods on different creatures.

Keep up the good work duder and look forward to seeing your progress with this

cool stuff mate...keep up the good progress man!

cheers bullet

Maybe SOMEDAY....
 

This dudes work is inspiring to say the least:

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthr...893&viewfull=1

WOW...man thats impressive...and semi decent hard surface too!! crap Im never going to be able to do that LOL

cheers bullet

Yes, his work is very nice... Zbrush central will either inspire you to make something amazing too one day... or quit and go cry in a corner :)

But if you look at his work, especially the progress shots. You will see that he has nailed his proportions early on. The proportions and anatomy of your piece are not very clear cut. And once you retopo it, I think you'll find yourself making large proportional edits to your mesh, which would have been better done earlier on, before retopologising.

It might also help to think about how your creature is going to live. He has a rhino/triceratops head, so I imagine he will be doing a lot of ramming? Yet he has the lower body of a more flighty/light footed creature and might not have the power to throw that head around?

You might want to try a heavier set design. Head sunk lower, and a large arching back, so that the head is the first line of defense, and that armor frill can do some protective work. Maybe design the frill to arch around more, so it protects under the head a bit more, as this frill evolved on a dinosaur that walked on all fours, how might it evolve from a biped?

Anyway, nice start so far. It will be fun to see where you take this.

@Mayaniac - Yeah the whole proportions thing I kind of stuck toward the standard biped so that I could throw it on a rig. It is built off a 8 head scale and the proportions match that exactly based off the ZBrush floor. Just threw stuff together to see how it all played since I had not actually used Dynamesh at all prior to doing this thing. The real test will be to see how I displace the parts to merge different skin patches. As far as the muscles are concerned I agree that it did lack that detail but mainly because I was gonna do it after the retopo. I enjoy muscular structure and seeing how all of the pieces play. Knowing the names and connection points. I attached some earlier study pieces from around July just for the heck of it. Not natural but just allowing to show the insertion points.

I really find that people onZBrushcentral make these elaborate poses and this makes the thing impossible to rig. I plan on giving most of these away when I finish so that people in C4D can actually use them to animate. Just not a large market for it and I want to help facilitate this.

Thanks for the critiques though because I have gotten several comments on adding the muscles and it does honestly look better having done so. The "Frill" (Didn't know it was called that)around the neck is also something I have toyed with. Still up in the air as to whether make his back deep bumpy scales to transition to skin or a thick layer to surround the neck. Gonna have to think over that one....

Kind of always saw this guy as a dignitary or scholar when modeling him. A lover not a fighter.

10.13.2011 Progress
 

So I decided to sculpt a asymmetrical hybrid in the contact pose just to brush up on some things. This is the model so far and the ref to go along with it. Snagged the concept art from CGHub. Have no idea why I chose this one.

To add to the muscle talk mentioned above. I think the hardest thing to learn are the plane changes and not exactly the muscle itself. Knowing where exactly that radius and ulna dip to create the "v" shaped plane between the two muscles. Once you got that down you are golden. I will admit I know nothing of animal muscular and skeletal flow. Big weakness on my end....

Looking great, how long have you been using zbrush.............dave

@DaveRave - Been using ZBrush off and on for about 5 months. I tend to study programs for quite a while before actually creating anything in them. Lets me know the best workflows. LeonLabyk can attest to the amount of tutorials I have watched on a variety of applications. In under two years I have become quite fluent all across 3D just by hard work and dedication. Anything is possible once you ignore everything but the goal...

But like I said before I am not a 3D artist by trade. I have a degree in cinematography and freelanced as a DP in LA for 3 years before moving to the middle east to cozy up with Labyk...

Looks like your a natural at zbrush keep it up, DP? im a little thick give me a clue.........LOL.......dave

I still feel the forms are a bit odd in your update. I didn't mean the muscle details when I was referring to your creature. I think just the basic proportions and the silhouette need refining. I understand this is just a test of the dynamesh feature. But if you decided to take this project further, I might invest some time and the lowest subdivision pulling out the forms.

A lot of the posed sculpts you see on ZBC are for still images, and detailing you model in posed form greatly helps you emphasize the action, muscle/skin stretching etc. And sometimes people will pose them once finished, just to make sure they look the part when in different poses. No character is ever going to be in a T-pose in an animation or still, so it's good practice.

You latest shark-woman sculpt is looking very interesting.

If you are interested, I can show you what I was referring to when talking about the proportions of your creature. If you uploaded a version of it for download, lowest subdivision only, in .obj format or similar... so no one has your ztl. I could throw it around a bit, and show you what I meant. Of course, I would upload a base mesh too in good faith... Just a thought... an exchange of ideas?

Anyway, looking forward to more.

@Dave - A DP is a director of photography. I pretty much run the set while the director runs the actors and shot list. I am very fluent with onset practices and consider it my most comfortable professional area. I had the luxury of being given money, control, and time over in the middle east which allowed me to boss the shit out of Labyk. Nah, just kidding. I wasn't that bad. Just treated the job as a research platform for my interest in 3D. Which I am very grateful to have had that time to learn what I know now. I truly can walk into a production house and know the entire pipeline or at the very least the lingo to go with practice.

@Mayaniac - Got lazy and haven't retopoed yet. Will gladly post it on here when I get around to it. I am up for anyone having these models. I am not making them but for practice and my portfolio. No reason to hoard all the fun...

Great sketch man, I think that in 2-3 months time you should be pretty damn good at this. I am really looking forward to seeing this thread develop, you certainly put in a lot of hours into learning all the different tools and methods in zbrush which will enable you to really fly with it over the next few months as you put them into practice.

Keep up the great work matey

Labyk I hope I will be halfway decent in a couple of months. If anything it will be something to show on sets when shooting commercials or TV shows. Been farting around today with some hard surface modeling and testing out some of the new upgrades on that end. I hope to be up to par with studio guys by Christmas. Given I have the time and setup right now I best use it to maximum potential. Didn't get too far today but learned some new techniques so the lack of major productivity isn't a big worry today.

So I chopped the shark head off, remeshed and made a new one. Just had the wrong orientation so I fixed that, smoothed some bits and added some spikes. Found a good way to do the hair in the back. Look forward to you guys commenting on that result. But guess it will have to wait until tomorrow or the next day....

Keep the comments coming. It really helps motivate me to keep updating...

looking good Bish. The only areas that are weak are the hands and feet, I would not concentrate on these so much though as it can take half the best part of a day to get these areas good and so it may be best to keep working on form and go for a more speed sculpt approach. As you said earlier these are not ideal for rigging and so it may not be worth investing to much time into getting them 100% as I know your main aim is to create characters that can be rigged and used for animation further down the line. Might be worth making a hand or foot sculpt at some point though and be good practice, they are damn tough to nail.

Keep up the great work and motivation matey is always good to see you pushing ahead.

Hmmm they look a lot like Evo's from Gen Rex man...interesting and bizarre to say the least. % MONTHS...holy cow thats pretty good dude.

cheers bullet

P.S steve...I went and sat in the corner....Im still crying LOL.

Progress 10.15.2011
 

So I dabbled with the hair and tried some techniques based on that example I posted earlier. Just doin my best and tryin to learn...

A little free sketch over 20 minutes. Amazing how easy things are when you have no ref. Just let the mind flow. Thinkin of tryin to do something with steampunk next. Just need to find the right inspiration. Also insects are racking my brain at the moment.

Any ideas???

btw I based this on the face I make when watching tutorials...

10.16.2011 Progress
 

Smoothed him out and made it a slight bit less jarring. Gonna throw some teeth in there and call him done. Just a relaxing sunday afternoon with sculpting here and there...

10.17.2011 Begin
 

So I moved on the scorpion for the day. Getting the form down with the good ole ZSpheres while chilling to some Franz Kalkbrenner and Deadmau5. Ahh the joys of freedom... Could go much farther with these models but for now I am just taking it easy and not burning myself out.

Not sure i understand this... you are a DoP and you want to switch to post production?

btw, i would check your scorpion there, looks like it has 4 legs on one side and 3 on the other. haha.

hmmm
 

Well Dom it really comes down to the notion that after 12 years of set and camera work I just don't love it anymore. I was raised on the sets from a early age given it is more of a family career. My father is a director and ad/marketing consultant and my uncle is sculptor who specializes in bronze. I once showed my uncle ZBrush and he proclaimed it wasn't real sculpting. Too which he has tons of knowledge and experience but art is art and the medium doesn't matter as long as it conveys emotion.

In some ways I get on set and have probably done what we are doing before. I am only 27 years old and am a workaholic. So learning this is just one more step in me conquering a learning curve and moving forward. The cameras never change even with the transition to digital. The workflow changes slightly but the skill required to focus and expose a proper image has downgraded quite a lot. Much like 3D in some ways which is why you must embrace the idea of being a generalist in the field of creativity and not pigeon-hole yourself to one specialty...

btw symmetry is on so it kind of makes the whole 3 leg thing a perspective issue more than a modeling deficiency...

Prior to going out to Dubai I dabbled in fashion photography and drifted toward avant garde mostly. I kind of love the feeling of creative things and if I don't I tend to get depressed so every day I push myself to create and breathe through it.:D

Oh, i see now...

Was just going to say, i wouldn't switch to 3D for the money! :P

Well sat down for a little longer and pushed this is as far as I am willing to go with it. Not really a challenge once you get the ZSpheres in place. Think I might do a sea turtle next and practice some more on the hard-surface stuff tonight....

haha, ever heard of the phrase "jack of all trades"?

I think I fall into that one Dom...............dave

haha, me too. :)

Yea, been there and done that. I have gotten the term "Jack of all Trades" quite a bit in my young career. I consider myself fortunate to be in the career that I enjoy and the ability to employ the many opportunities that I am presented with. I can tell you everything from the creation and application of prosthetics and base matches on makeup to the method of optical printing. I am willing to bet none of you have even done optical printing and most of you are almost ten years my elders.

Fact is I love this stuff and make it a habit to learn and digest everything that I can. Whether it be useful as in optical-based physics to the completely useless optical printing. But I respect the past and understand the many ways to do the same thing. That is why I don't bash a method someone uses and let it stand at "different strokes for different folks." At the end of the day your life and how you enjoy it is all that matters. But don't sell yourself short and think "You Can't Do It" simply because someone else has. You go far in this life once you realize that everything has already been done before and you simply need to mimic until the piece becomes personal. Those who think they will create something new and revolutionary end up creating nothing in the end...

I not Jack and the only trade I have is Construction...of which I can do 95% of all aspects of the work. Chav.....is there a good PDF tut on Zspheres? I have the basic book on Zbrush but its a bit vague. I more want to learn Zspheres as an exercise and get my eye in so to speak. Im hopeless with organic modelling but thought after seeing Mayaniac smash a basic mesh out really quick...this might be something to learn? or should I stick with Maya basic mesh and go from there?

Nice Scorpion BTW

Cheers bullet

@Bullet - Well the base mesh it will provide is decent but not perfectly ideal. You are compromising the perfection for the speed. If you are simply concepting and want to create something organic then go ahead. I have also had success in rigging these meshes at times. The biggest issues occur when two appendages meet near the center and it creates a "pole." As far as for faces you can apply animation topology through advanced polygroup isolation and utilizing the "group loops" feature. Not even having to touch the retopo tools and getting edge flow from the beginning. But this requires extensive knowledge and if you are just starting out I recommend that you cruise youtube or wait for a while and let me make a video on the basics of ZSpheres and the skinning method. This will also fall towards which version of ZBrush you possess. The newest versions include a new skinning method that prevents twisting which was a HUGE problem in past versions. I believe they fixed this in either 3.5 or 4. Let me know these details and we can go from there...

10.18.2011 Begin
 

So decided to do a gorilla today. Was at the Omaha zoo back in August and got to see these guys from inches away and they are some big dudes. Very emotional when you look into their eyes...

UPDATE: About 20 minutes of progress after coming back from a delicious BBQ lunch. Man I love pulled pork, almost better than, nevermind not better than that....

#2: Head was too big on previous post

:face palm:

To early to really crit at the mo but look forward to seeing your progress in the morning matey. I would not class you as a jack of all trades master of none, you were well on the way to becoming a master of one but got bored of it, I would kill to of worked with some of the people you have.