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The
3D Art
& Design
TM
The world of 3D art and design continues to be one of best places in which to express
artistic creativity. As the possibilities are almost endless, 3D artists have the opportunity to
design and create whatever they want, as long as they have the inspiration. The 3D Art &
Design Book Volume 2 provides that inspiration with a variety of step-by-step tutorials and
comprehensive features covering six key aspects of a 3D artist’s portfolio. From characters and
arch-vis to vehicles and environments, these expert guides will help educate and inspire you to
create your best ever designs. And if that wasn’t enough, we’ve also included a free CD packed
full of textures, 3D models, video tutorials and source files to help you finish many of the tutorials
found in the book.
The
3D Art
& Design
TM
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Aaron Asadi
Head of Design
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Design
Rachel Shemilt
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The 3D Art & Design Book Volume 02 © 2013 Imagine Publishing Ltd
ISBN 978-1909372283
Part of the
bookazine series
IMAGINEER
OF THE YEAR
WILLIAM SHUM
ut
Syk
zej
ndr
©A
08
50 3D art tips & tricks
Character Architectural Photorealism
16 50 tips for better characters visualisation 126 50 tips for ultimate 3D realism
24 Design and model a robot 82 Master arch vis 132 Learn to create photoreal 3D
54 Design and create an exosuit 118 Fantasy arch vis: 3D illustration 156 Model and render a
photorealistic watch
61 Gallery
170 252
42 150
170 Underwater landscapes 214 Model a luxury car 244 Animate a character lifting weights
175 Gallery – Dennis Kaya 219 I made this… Black Drone
248 How to animate a jump
Iversholt
220 Sculpt a space vehicle
252 Animate action moves
176 Create a desert landscape
226 Create vehicles with open-
181 I made this… Under the source software
Southern Highway
50
Go
bli
n©
&tricks
Sv
en
Ju
hli
3D art
n
tips
8 3D Art & Design
3D art tips & tricks
W
hether you’re seeking some guidance on
rendering and postproduction, or how best to
promote yourself and your work, help is at
hand. We’ve tracked down a group of pro industry artists
with exceptional portfolios to ask them for their top tips
on composition, copyright and everything else in between… Cr
ab
©
An
» Composition MINI
MOCKUPS
Introducing…
Thumbnail sketches are the
Our panel of experts
best way to establish composition
BALANCING and lighting. Draw them small and in
Artist: Andrzej Sykut
ACT black and white to start with, keep them
Website: http://azazel.carbonmade.com
Bio: Lighting is what full-time freelancer
Mostly I place a raster on my simple and abstract, and draw at least Andrzej likes to do most. He also enjoys
image with nine squares – three in four iterations. Once you have a solid
riding his mountain bike and photography
height and three in width. Then I try to in his spare time.
composition you can then move on to
find a balance between the viewpoint colour thumbnails to establish your
of the character and that of the viewer. Artist: Carlos Ortega Elizalde
main colours and lighting Website: http://stroggtank.cgsociety.org
You can push the viewer to a desired scheme. Richard Bio: A self-taught 3D artist working in the
direction with depth-of-field LEARN media department of Guanajuato
efects and vignettes. THE RULES University, Mexico, Carlos specialises in 3D
The rule of thirds illustration, modelling and texturing.
Maarten
plays a big role in
image composition Artist: Maarten Verhoeven
and leading the eyes Learn Website: http://mutte.cghub.com
Bio: Maarten is a CG sculpting/design
into the image.
Maurice the basic artist with a passion for anatomy, film and
monsters in the toy, VFX and game world.
He has a Master’s degree in animation.
theories and
Artist: Maurice Panisch
observe why they Website: www.maurice-panisch.de
Bio: Maurice started out with grafti at a
work – then learn young age, going on to add Photoshop and
3ds Max to his arsenal. He works as a
how to break senior 3D artist at Sehsucht in Germany.
Hy
pe
rac
tive
Alie
n©C
arlos Orteg Elizalde
a
of it, continue till out each other’s work. Most of page or an award it’s hard to get noticed.
You need clients to see your work and the
the guys and gals are also very
you get there – helpful if you have questions. best place to do that is by creating
It’s a good place to get portfolios on websites that ofer that
make it happen! positive feedback. possibility, such as CGHub,
Pascal Blanché Maarten CGSociety, deviantART and so
on. Rafael GET
TOUGHEN FEEDBACK
UP It’s always good to show
Learn to accept critique
and grow a thick skin. It’ll
come in handy again and
» Portfolio tips your workflow and work-
in-progress on forums. You
have to keep your mind
again when it comes to open to other artists’
commercial work.
Do what you’re best at. Work on comments.
Andrzej your weaknesses as well, but only Rafael
Th
eF
lea
put your best work in your portfolio
©
Ca
rl
– be ruthless about that .
os
Or
te
Richard Yot PERSONAL
g PIECES
aE
FAN
OF FAN ART?
In the case of very
recognisable characters, you
can enter them into the ‘fan art’
Panisch & Markus Hanke
SIZE
ADD YOUR MATTERS
DETAILS I usually post images bigger
Always apply a signature, than 800px and smaller than
credit and email address on 1,600px – it’s a high enough
your finished images. Images resolution for people to appreciate
get lost on the web and no one your work online. People can take
will know it’s yours if you advantage of high-res images and
don’t have a name on it. make a profit out of it; it’s flattering to
Rafael know your work is good quality,
Dinoblues ©
but it’s unfair without your
Pascal Blanché consent. Carlos
47 Gallery
Nathan Boyd’s Firebomb
61 Gallery
Maciej Kuciara’s Alien 19
62 Sculpt folds and fabrics
Use ZBrush to design a stylised character
30 54 16
Andrew Hickinbottom
www.andrewhickinbottom.com
Arda Koyuncu
www.ardakoyuncu.com
Carlos Ortega
www.zigrafus.com.mx
Dmitry Cheremisin
http://d33mon.cgsociety.org
Eric Spitler
www.ericspitler.com
Jorge Lopes
www.behance.net/jorgepepelife
Luis Santos
www.luissantos.net
Matej Hradsky
http://matoh.cgsociety.org/gallery
Mohsen Fallah
www.mohsen-fallah.cghub.com
50
BETTER
TIPS
CHARACTERS I
Tiago Idalino
www.tiagoart.com
Titouan Olive
http://digitalia3d.teria.fr
CG characters
advice to help
Yang Guang
http://zhangchendaxiao.cgsociety.org
50 tips for better characters
01
Sketch Quick T-pose sculpt
“Strive for originality. The 3D market is exposure to what you wish to achieve.”
becoming quite saturated now [so] new ideas Titouan Olive
are hard to come by. Look for things for inspiration
– your favourite cartoonists, real-life moments you
experience, film, illustrations. Save any inspirational 03 “Do research. To capture the
essence of realism in your artwork,
you must study what it is you want to
reference you find and keep a record of ideas that create. For instance, if I’m texturing a
Retopologised in 3D-Coat Blocking in PolyPaint
come to you.” Andrew Hickinbottom character, I like to do a lot of research into
the character’s age and profession, and
collect reference material accordingly.”
Arda Koyuncu
challenges,” Olive says. “I torso study. You might also want to try
usually render my images with
mental ray. I often use an HDR posing one of the free models that comes
Dome coupled with Final with ZBrush rather than making one
Gather. I also create traditional
key and rim lights” from scratch.” Eric Spitler
Important
first steps
Carlos Ortega talks us through
the initial stages of this stunning
image, The Weeping Woman
For Carlos, the very first thing he needs to
consider – before even thinking about
exploring poses or sketching ideas – is the
back story of his image. He explains: “I
always take into account the character’s
attitude, the emotions or feelings I want to
convey and the background story, if any,
of the character. Sometimes I even start
thinking of the atmosphere I want for the
final image. Thinking of the mood you
want to convey helps you to narrow your
options and speed up the process.”
When it comes to posing, Carlos
believes it’s better to think about broad
shapes rather than precise positioning. “I
look for an attractive flow of shapes
between the elements on the scene and
balance whether it’s a static or a moving
pose,” he says. “In a static pose it will
avoid a stiff look in the character, and in a
moving and dynamic pose it will tell the
viewer where the elements are moving
and where they come from in space.
Always try to guide the viewer from one
element to another.”
Finally, as always, reference is key. “I
suggest you use as many references as you
can when starting out, as it helps you to
learn how a body reacts and balances in
different positions. [Whenever] I can I
look for anatomical and artistic
references, while taking a few moments to
analyse what makes me feel comfortable
or disturbed by looking at them. Most
importantly, look outside for real-world
reference at all times! The more info you
have about how people react to
© Carlos Ortega
mesh in Maya and posing the model by using Displacement or Normal maps.”
“In terms of textures, it depends on what I’m trying to adding a basic skeleton. It can serve as a Eric Spitler
make. Sometimes I use projection and paint over that; dummy to explore silhouettes, store
other times I feel I should paint some skin tone. It
depends on what I’m looking to create,” says Fallah diferent poses on the timeline and block a
Expert stylisation
31
© Luis Santos
artists start projects but never finish them!” “Materials play a big role in the
Eric Spitler stylisation of characters. You can
force the specularity to create a more plastic
Realistic skin
I’m happy.” Mohsen Fallah only limit.” José Alves da Silva
27
several passes of layered skin tones and details while “If you don’t have a good light setup it could ruin
“Photoshop has a fabulous toolset everything you’ve done up to that point. That said, a
fiddling with different opacity values. Please avoid using good lighting setup can also save a job that wasn’t as
to create painting brushes.
Mirror, as it may kill your work’s sense of authenticity, successful earlier in the process,” Idalino advises
Mastering brush creation is important when
making it look dull and unrealistic in essence – remember,
we are not truly symmetrical!” you paint textures by hand – which happens
When it comes to materials it all depends on the style very often in stylised characters – as you
you’re aiming for: “Photorealism will lead you towards can create brushes with specific purposes,
referenced materials, while illustrative works will often like adding noise, dirt, texture, stitches,
lead to rule bending,” says Luis. “Sometimes, you’ll be patterns and so on. You will be able to work
constrained by client requirements, [and] other times much faster.” José Alves da Silva
you’ll have context considerations and sometimes –
28
hopefully – it will be entirely up to your taste, and you’ll be “I use ZBrush with PolyPaint to
able to experiment in order to achieve the desired amount
create the main tone and colour
of stylisation in your textures!”
directly on my model. When this base is
done, however, I use Photoshop for the finer
details. I try to work with larger textures, as
it’s always possible to reduce the resolution
later, but the opposite is not possible.”
Titouan Olive
33 Light intensity will help pinpoint the parts of the character that you
want the viewer to see first, and establish the path that their eyes
follow when interpreting the image. Intensity and sharpness between light
Cheremisin is a fan of
MARI: “It’s easy to
implement the
process of projective
texturing; it allows
and shadow can also convey a darker or comic-book look, while softer you to create shaders
and it contains a set of
lights establish a cuter or lighter look.” José Alves da Silva masks. The benefits © Dmitry Cheremisin
are innumerable”
36
© Yang Guang
Rendering advice
The final steps of the character-creation
process can often be the most important
44
Hradsky was complex render element: we can take it “I try to render major things in one
inspired by the
“dirtiness” of from the Render Elements menu, or we pass and create masks for the
Rango’s textures can multiply VRay Difuse with VRay Raw diferent elements – like the character, the
for this image. He
used overpainting, GI. The result will be the same. It’s the background, depth of field or the efects –
gradients and
contrast on the same for the Light pass: just Multiply VRay so I can separate them or put them together
textures for the Difuse with VRay Raw Light. later on in Photoshop.” Arda Koyuncu
final version
Here’s an example:
© Matej Hradsky • GI = Difuse*Raw GI
• Light = Difuse*Raw Light
• Reflect = Raw Reflect*Reflect Filter
45 “I always render a Depth pass for
atmospheric and lens-blur
purposes. I use an Object ID pass to have
• Final render = GI (Difuse*Raw GI) + Light enough masks to work with and to adjust
(Difuse*Raw Light) + Reflection (Reflect colour values on individual objects. I add a
Filter*Raw Reflect) + Refraction (Refract Normal map pass if I need to re-light areas
Filter*Raw Refract) + Specular + Self for composition or aesthetic purposes, and
illumination + Background.” a Specular Reflection pass – just in case!”
Dmitry Cheremisin Carlos Ortega
48
material is a priority in “Rendering specular highlights easily select different objects in
material selection…
You need to spend a and self-illuminated objects in Photoshop and make colour corrections
lot of time adjusting it separate render passes is a trick I use to to each part of the image very quickly,
and comparing it to
other materials,” easily boost the highlights and create then fine-tune the colour temperature,
© Zhang Chen advises Chen bloom/glow effects in post-production.” contrast and saturation.”
model a robot
to the final render
Artist info
Red eye 2012 Niles Doubleday
Personal portfolio site
www.nilesd.com
A robot design created for practise and to demonstrate Country USA
Software used 3ds Max,
some helpful hard-surface modelling techniques KeyShot, Photoshop
Expertise Niles enjoys all
Niles Doubleday is an environment artist at Airtight Games aspects of 3D, but specialises in
props and environments for
I
f you love robots or sci-fi and want to turn some of 3D model. We’ll go through the basic workflow I use video games
your ideas into 3D, this step-by-step tutorial will when hard-surface modelling in 3ds Max and then render
give you a great start. in KeyShot (look out for my mental ray tips on the
We’ll begin by going over some of the basic design opposite page).
techniques involved in coming up with balanced If you’re already a modelling pro I’ve included some
thumbnails. Once you’ve got an idea you’re excited about, hard-surface tricks for 3ds Max, before we finish of with
you’ll then be able to turn your idea into a fully-fledged a few quick steps to make your render pop in Photoshop.
Pre-production
Plan now, save time later – the most important step!
This is what my initial a Customise your modifier
thumbnails look like – not sets and drop down a plane
exactly cohesive! with your image
for reference
02 Set up a scene I usually take one of my key concepts and put it in the
scene on a plane aligned to one of the axes. I always use an Orthographic
camera, but it’s especially important at this stage. The Orthographic view makes it a
lot easier to make shapes accurate to your concept when you start modelling. I’ve
also added some common modifiers to my Modifier box on the right. I strongly
recommend setting up this UI element to support your most-used functions b.
Concept
My initial concept
was a heavy,
low-to-the-ground
robot about two/
three-feet tall. I am
really playing with You can download the following
source files from http://tinyurl.
the idea of a 20:80 com/cp26lps:
ratio of detail versus • Final_Model_01.max (2011)
overall shape • Final_Obj.obj
Begin modelling
It’s time to define the shape of your robot Analyse the
blocked-out
c d model
Some things to remember
when blocking in:
• Gaps in shapes are fine
– you can worry about
these later
• The goal is to get a feel
for the shape of what
you’re making. Hide your
concept and ask yourself
design questions
• Is your concept working
in 3D? Does the 3D
model look like something
you want to spend
another week or so
working on? If any of
these answers are no,
experiment with what
you have; try some new
shapes or scale what you
have diferently.
03 Block in your base shapes Using the plane as a reference, start blocking in your key
shapes. I create the torso first and make it the most detailed. Once that is done, I start adding
in other pieces such as the legs and pipes in the back. This robot is going to be nearly perfectly
e
symmetrical for most of the process, so it’s important to only really work on half of it, you can mirror
and weld it later. That being said, it’s not a bad idea to copy what you have across to check out the
proportions on the full piece as you progress c.
04 Detail the blocking shapes Pick a core mesh and hide the rest of the model. Start to
detail out the mesh and get in some supporting edges so that it holds its shape when you
apply the TurboSmooth modifier. When you approach subdivision hard-surface modelling, you will
spend a lot of time looking for pinching and odd shading. To help you spot these errors easily, apply a
base material with a high Specular and Glossiness setting. This material will enable you to get a better
idea of how the forms will look when rendered later on d.
05 Add basic edge supports The most challenging part of hard-surface modelling is
getting interestingly-shaped surfaces to subdivide correctly and derive a clean form. The next
couple of steps will cover some geometry solutions I use for some common scenarios. In this example,
you can see the shading along the crease of the surface in the red box has a shadow along the edge,
the surface in the green below doesn’t. The diference is due to the extra supporting edge added
around the actual cut. This provides more support and flattens the surface quicker when smoothed e.
c Block in the basic d Apply a shiny material to e Support your g Edge Constraint is one of
forms to decide if your help you spot errors edges to get nice the key hard-surface
concept works in 3D when subdividing clean bevels modelling tools
Niles Doubleday
Currently living in the state of
Washington in the United States, Niles
spends his days working for Airtight
Games and his nights modelling to the Cryogenics facility 3ds Max, Photoshop, Unreal Engine (2011)
sounds of dubstep. When he’s not busy This is a game resolution project Niles created to practise bringing
at the computer screen he enjoys riding the sci-fi themes of his personal work into the Unreal Engine
his trusty bicycle and hanging out with Sci-fi diver 3ds Max, Photoshop, KeyShot (2011)
good friends. This image was created as an exercise using the same workflow
Niles is demonstrating in this tutorial
06 Avoid extra work It’s always important to model cleanly, however there are exceptions to
every rule. In this case, since the side of this leg segment is perfectly flat, it’s okay to leave
edges ending in the middle of polygons. You can see that it still smoothes out fine in the right-hand
image. When you have edges end in convenient places, rather than carrying them all the way into an
Edge Loop, this saves a lot of time and keeps the model a little easier to manage f.
07 Constrain edges Most important is the ability to easily move a vertex along an edge. Turn
on Edge Constraint under Constraints on the right, found in the Edit Polygon modifier. In the
image I have a vertex that is interrupting a smooth flow on this bevel. To fix this issue, turn on Edge
Constraint and slide it to one of the end vertices, then slide it back along that edge to the correct
location. Now it’ll be in line with the intended surface and won’t create any odd bumps g.
Surface type
As you continue to model, defining surfaces and details,
keep in mind what kind of material the pieces are made out
of. If you add really sharp edges and flat, smooth surfaces,
the material will appear to be much harder. Rounder edges
08 The Inset and Collapse tools The Inset tool is very useful for adding Edge Loops to
support edges and add detail. Sometimes when you add an inset it creates overlapping
vertices in sharp corners. This doesn’t work all the time, but most of the time just collapsing that will
with big bevels and a more supple surface will appear
softer. It’s important to have a couple types of surfaces in
your model. I like to have the sub-surface feel softer, with
enable you to keep your sharp corner and smooth surface without noticeable pinching. Easily navigate the exterior pieces being hard plastic or painted metal.
to Collapse by right-clicking and finding it on the pop-up menu h.
i
09 Place large details
and new forms
When supporting the edges and
defining the design further, I
Alien spine always start to add large-level
ZBrush,
detail, such as big vents or tube
Photoshop (2012)
connections. As you add the
Inspired by the Alien
franchise, Niles detail, make sure the new shapes
made a quick fit in with your existing large
ZBrush sculpt shapes. As an example, here is
before rendering what the underside of the body
the diferent looks like with the four leg-attach
elements in ZBrush points and the vent underneath.
with various Details such as this add an extra
MatCaps and layer of believability and display
compiling them in function. The more the viewer
post-production can relate the forms to real-world
using Photoshop An edge-supported mesh things, the more believable your
with some larger detail added
design will be i.
10 Fill in the gaps Now that you have all the major forms
nailed down, there are probably some gaps still left
between pieces. Now is a good time to fill those gaps. Use the
stage in the process. I push
the main lens out and add
some representational
same workflow as the other pieces to make a sub-surface. Block in plating, as well as a couple of
some base shapes that intersect with the large forms you’ve got. spline-based hoses. These
Try to make these new shapes match the design of the existing add mid-level detail by
ones as much as possible. In my case I have matched the arch of externally attaching them to k
the rear tubes with a rear guard j. the body of the machine k.
2e0a+
tion time
hours
15 Build up the scene Switch the Rotation to
Local and start rotating the base into position. All cr tion:
the legs and head should follow if you’ve parented them. Image resolu25
Next, rotate the legs and head to suit the camera and the 3,200 x 3,8
scene. I’ve set up a bunch of boxes to give the robot some
context, but sometimes a flat plane works. I generally play
around with a few diferent camera angles and poses o.
Artist info
Richard Yot
dragon tamer.mp4
karate kid-2.mp4
Animate characters
in modo 601 Modelling
Dragon Tamer 2011 Textures
T
he modo 3D
modelling software
continues to go
Create detailed assets
from strength to strength.
Many new options are
Use modo’s new features to build textures and more
featured but character-
animation tools are the most
significant. Developer
01 Initial modelling The initial modelling was completed in
ZBrush using ZSpheres to block out the basic form of the
character. I prefer to sculpt the initial stages of a character rather
Luxology has not contented than deal with polygons so that I can concentrate on finding the
itself with just copying forms without having to worry about topology. It’s also much
features from established easier to revise and tweak a design in a sculpting package since the
applications, but has mesh is so much more malleable a.
approached the workflow
from its own unique
perspective with the aim of
02 Use new retopology tools In its latest version, modo
has introduced some substantial new retopologising
features. There is a dedicated Topology tab, a new Background
making the tools accessible Constraint type and some new tools, of which the Topology Pen is
and enabling users to get a the most important and innovative. With this it is possible to
results very quickly. retopologise extremely quickly by extending edges, creating new
Ease of use and quick loops and merging vertices all without ever dropping this one tool.
Having tried all of the specialised retopologising packages on the
workflows are at the heart of With 601, modo market, I can say that modo 601 is among the very best because of
modo, and in 601 there are is now among the fast workflow it ofers and the way in which this one tool
the very best
tools that enable novices or retopologising combines so many useful features b.
those working to short solutions on
06 Lay out the bones With the assets all created, it was
then time to move to the rigging stage. Luckily this is very
straightforward in modo and can be done quickly. The tools are
flexible and set up in such a way that it is still possible to make
modelling changes without breaking the rig. To add bones to my
character it was a simple case of drawing them over the mesh in
the new dedicated Setup Mode. Modo takes care to intersect them
with the geometry of the model, so once drawn they need little or
no tweaking into position f.
Character design
problems and solutions
There is a big diference between stills and animation
when it comes to creating and preparing assets. When e
working on a still it is possible to cut a lot of corners –
topology doesn’t have to be perfect, meshes can be very
dense, textures might not be seen close-up and so can
be lower resolution. When making an animation,
however, every stage of the process is going to take
longer: a mesh that needs to deform must have good
topology, an animated character must also have a
manageable mesh density for fast playback in the
viewport. Textures might need to be seen in close-up as
well as from far away, so every asset needs much more
thought and preparation for it to hold up under every
possible situation you might require in the animation.
This means that as well as all the time spent
animating and rigging, you generally need to allow for
more time when it comes to asset creation. This means
you get the best outcome that you are capable of. In this
case I spent just as long on the assets as I did on the
rigging and animating. Three weeks were spent building
the set and characters and another three weeks on the
actual production. f g
i
d Using modo’s excellent Render
Preview makes material creation
10
modo’s paint tools, or with the
Morph map workflow Once the basic poses had been Weight tool
blocked out the next step was to create morph targets for
both the facial expression and for corrective modelling on some of h With the Pose tool you can
animate a character with
the deformed poses. With modo you can model and sculpt in pose minimal rigging or setup time
space, making the task of creating corrective morphs very
i With the Actors an Poses
straightforward and in the Deformers List you can organise the feature, you can define a motion
order in which morphs and bone deformers are triggered. This way to be used repeatedly
facial expressions can be fired before the skeleton poses, but
j Morphs can be used for facial
corrective morphs afterwards. This gives animators a lot of j animation and for corrective
flexibility with their use of morphs j. modelling on deformed meshes
Character control
Fine-tune the rough animation
Richard Yot Morph fallofs can be
I am an illustrator that specialises in making quirky
animated to add an extra
layer of subtlety to your
Think pace
characters and quirky little worlds for them to live in. I
like giving my CG work some of the charm of handmade
facial animations and contrast
things and use photorealism with a twist to create One way of helping a
something a little imperfect. story along is with pacing
and contrasts. The start
of the animation is
deliberately slow to
reinforce the idea that the
character is sleepy, the
final section is paced
much faster as a
k deliberate contrast, the
diference between the
Rufus modo (2011) two helps to tell the story.
This bad tempered l The editing was also
little mutt is part of a instrumental in this, with
family of not-really slow dissolves used in the
wooden characters. first part and fast cuts in
He’s noisy and the second to emphasise
irritating, like any self- the change in mood.
respecting small dog
should be. l Workflow in modo frees you up
to spend more time on content
rather than technical aspects
Vinyl monster
ZBrush, modo (2012)
If he had some brains, he would be scary. Part of a series of
virtual vinyl monsters created for 3D Artist magazine.
11 Morph fallofs Most deformers can be attenuated with fallofs and this applies to morphs
too, adding another layer of control and subtlety. I was able to model quite extreme versions of
my character’s expressions and then use Spherical Fallofs to modulate how and when they appeared
over his face. This enables for much subtler morph map animation and also for more movement. For
example I animated the gulp by creating a simple morph map of the throat but created the movement
by animating the fallof which made the throat move as it flowed over the morph map k.
12 Aim for emotion With most of the technical work done and the basic poses and
expressions blocked in, the most important part of the work could then proceed: the
performance. Animation is essentially about conveying emotions and maybe humour and it’s
Vlad modo, ZBrush important not to lose sight of this. Because modo enables such a rapid workflow with the Pose tool
(2011) and the minimal rigging, I was able to spend more time working with the character and his emotions
A virtual pâpier rather than spending time on technical tasks such as building rigs or setting up IK l.
maché monster with
a big mouth and even
bigger tongue. He’s
not as scary as he
13 Animate the eyes With this particular character design (although this is true of almost any
character), most of the expression had to be conveyed in the eyes. The big mouth lends the
design a lot of humour and quirkiness, but is limiting in terms of animation since it doesn’t have the
thinks, and being pink realism of a less-extreme design. This meant I had to take great care animating the eyes and I used the
doesn’t help.
lower lids extensively to convey the character’s emotions. I made a basic rig using locators and
direction constraints and another really simple rig to control the eyelids m.
34 3D Art & Design
Animate characters in modo 601
Create a
high-res creature
Desert creature 2012
With this project we wanted to create something a little different, so we mixed a few
different creature styles together. We had a vision of a desert-dwelling creature, but a
desert from another world that was dry but cool Daniel Crossland is a senior character artist
T
he aim of this tutorial is to give an overview create this creature. We were keen on the idea of a into 3D. I will now show you how to go about
of how to go about taking a concept and desert-dwelling creature on the side of cute but still making an asset to be shaded, lit and finally
translating that into a finished render. In grotesque, much akin to some of the creatures from rendered in Maya. I’ll also cover how I optimise my
my job I have the great fortune of working around the recent film John Carter. scenes for more streamlined rendering when
really talented people, so I asked Daniel Baker, a After taking Daniel’s concept I made block- memory can be an issue, and how to composite the
senior concept artist here at Ninja Theory, to help outs in ZBrush to check the concept translated well final scene.
Easy-to-follow guides
take you from concept
to the final render
Artist info
Daniel Crossland 01 Use a ZSphere rig Because the character has many
appendages I prefer to make a basic ZSphere rig. This
approach is far better then modelling a base in 3D as I can pose
Username: Pteropus
the rig, make global changes to the proportions and easily make
an Adaptive Skin mesh to lay my basic forms down a.
Personal portfolio site
www.dancrossland.co.uk
Country UK b
Software used
ZBrush, Maya, mental ray,
Photoshop
Expertise Specialist areas
include character design,
concepts, high-detailed sculpts
and 3D modelling
Sculpting
Texturing
Lighting 02 Work with DynaMesh Daniel provided me with
some silhouettes of the creature. A strong silhouette
can inform the design and is enough to make some design
sculpts in ZBrush, so from this point on I make an Adaptive Skin
from my ZSphere rig, providing a new ZTool to start sculpting
Concept on. With this done I hit Use DynaMesh under the Geometry
panel and started to sculpt. I spend a couple of hours at this
We started by discussing stage just playing with the forms. These will act as conceptual
the direction for the meshes for you to base the final model on. Having a workable
character and, knowing asset early on makes projects run much smoother b.
Daniel’s designs, I knew it
was going to be something
unique. After exploring a c
few ideas we both liked
the louse concept
New topology
Transfer the sculpt to clean topology
d d The model
with polished
major forms
04 Refinement pass At this stage I work up the sculpt
to a refined state. All the main muscle masses and the
skin quality are built but not in high-frequency detail. If we were
to detail with too many wrinkles and too much noise early, we
e The final
character pose could lose the primary masses. Without these smaller details
we don’t have structure to keep the model together. For this
f The louse pass I use my favourite brush, Clay Tubes, to place muscle. The
after a
detail pass Pinch brush also tightens areas and inflates at a very low
setting to add volume where needed. I work each area of the
face, smoothing as I go along. To tighten the primary wrinkles I
switch to a high-specular MatCap and with the Dam Standard
brush to go over the model, adding criss-cross marks to make
only the major wrinkles. I polish these afterwards by stroking
the hPolish brush lightly over the entire model, one area at a
time, to complete the refinement d.
Daniel Crossland
My fascination with art started at the age of
four and it continues to fascinate me to this
day. I’m currently senior character artist at
Ninja Theory and in a lot of my work I like
to focus on traditional art skills by looking
at anatomy and real clay sculpture. I find Fetal skull Maya, ZBrush (2010) Udasaur Maya, ZBrush (2011)
this keeps me focused on pushing my art. I I modelled this skull as part of some learning I sculpted this creature based on one of the creatures from The
try to replicate the same level of realism sculpts, to improve in sculpting and the World of King Kong natural history book. This creature didn’t
and quality in my digital work. development of form appear in the film so I took the chance to realise it in ZBrush
07
it. There are a few options
Steps for setting up UVs To set up my UVs I use i to get this to work, but
UV Layout Pro. Switching all my creature SubTools to assuming the models are
Level 0, I export my meshes and load them in for unwrapping. pretty well surfaced, each
By marking where we want our seams, we can extract those should be fairly
meshes into pieces for flattening. Once I have clean UVs with straightforward. In short,
you need to bring in your
no distortion, I import them back into ZBrush over my original new mesh, subdivide it
meshes with these new UV versions. This updates the tools so four times and then go to
I can now bake and paint my maps g. Project to get the detail
from your DynaMesh.
08
Usually there will be a
Eyes, claws and spines Once the main body is clean up of this mesh
resolved I add additional geometry to the eyes, spines where the projection has
and claws. I model these in Softimage and add them as a broken, such as under the
separate SubTool. Using the same workflow I add UVs and do a arms. I clean this then
sculpt pass to add some details h. move to the polish phase
of the sculpt.
09 Bake maps Next I bake out the base maps that I will
use later for textures. To set up my textures in ZBrush
I set my resolution under the UV section, choosing the highest
g Distortion-free UVs
h Additional features
map bake of 4,000 and maximising the edge bleed to 16 pixels
so I have no issue with seams on my normals. I then drop down i The ZBrush multimap
exporter at work
to Level 0 and use a multimap exporter to bake out my Normal
map, Displacement map and PolyPaint in one go i. j Texture map bases
Corpus
ZBrush,
Maya (2011)
This piece
was created
10 Paint the bases Painting the bases is pretty simple. I like to roughly match some basic
SSS colours so the model will give a good appearance of skin when I come to render. In
this step I block in Photoshop colour by filling with basic skin values using the Paint Bucket tool. In
for a 3D print. this case the skin is quite cool, so I add a blue Overlay layer on top of my bakes from ZBrush and
Eventually it
will be cast balance them so they’re not too strong. I make a map for each slot that includes an epidermal,
out in bronze subdermal, backscatter, Difuse and an Overall map. Making these basic block-ins will give me a
good idea of how to treat the skin and the feeling of the work before getting into fine detail j.
n n
16 Build the final render scene For rendering I add all
the OBJs that make up my creature at a mid-level mesh.
I use Level 3 so I don’t have to displace to any great detail, as
as it should.
In this industry we have
really open critiques,
displacements can soon eat up lots of memory if used to which helps push design
further than it might
displace the high-frequency details. For this model I use a usually go. Making
combination of Displacement and Normal maps. I use a concept sketches or a
Displacement map on the body and shell to take the model up digital sculpt sketch is
to a smooth result, then Normal and Bump maps for fine now possible, and I feel
has really opened up
details. This is faster for your machine when it comes to more creative workflows.
rendering and gives you great control of the details as you add As a result we can now
them into your model. I then check that everything is working see just how a model will
with a test render at small dimensions, to make sure there are o Build up the skin p With all the elements look before going into full
no nasty surprises before I hit the Render button p. using HD PolyPainting for an added we can start the production. I feel this is a
impressive efect test render process great advancement and
has benefited my
Sculpting
Texturing
ZBrush Photoshop
I Concept
n this tutorial we will cover the process to create
05 Extract gums and teeth To get a better idea of the expression, we’re going to need teeth
and gums. Hide everything but the mouth area and paint masks where we want the gums.
Click the Tool>Geometry menu and select Extract. Our mask is extracted into geometry on a new
Subtool. You can adjust the Thickness of the extract with the slider – click Accept to keep it. We’ll then
use DynaMesh on the extracted gums to move them into place.
For the teeth we use the same technique as in Step 1, append a sphere, scale it down and position it
in the mouth, then duplicate it and move one inside the mouth. We’ll form a tooth out of the first
sphere and use the second to create the tongue. By activating Transparency and Ghost modes, you
can adjust the tongue through the face and position it easily h.
We duplicate the teeth and then move/scale them into place. Work in a rough pass to get them
h looking decent, then adjust the whole mouth area to get the expression working i.
06 Duplicate parts
and add a mesh
We want to add large shapes to
j
refine the details. Pick the Clay Merge the bust with the other Subtools and apply a rough base
Buildup brush to add subtle colour to the whole model (Color>Fill object). We’ll then use
fibres to the muscles, and the Transpose Move while holding Cmd/Ctrl to mask separate
Standard brush to define the elements like the teeth and then fill them with their own colour.
taut and loose skin, paying Repeat this for the eyes, gums and the tongue. With Symmetry
attention to how it stresses and activated, start painting some tonal variation with the RGB
relaxes around the pose. Use Intensity set to around 30. Add warm tones to the fleshy areas and
the Dam Standard brush to cut darker desaturated tones to cavities, such as where the pectorals
wrinkles, followed by the Inflat meet and behind the collar bones. Deactivate Symmetry and add
brush to build up the skin subtle tonal variations using the Spray brushes. Apply warm
– especially around the eyes shades to break the contrast and give it a fleshier feel, then add
and the bridge of the nose, lighter tones where the bones push against the skin. Finally, use the
where the expression forces DragRect stroke with various alphas to add patterns onto the skin
the skin to fold up. Add a new and give a sense of underlying veins. Rotate the head and drop a
layer with custom Alphas to shoulder to break up symmetry and use the Move brush to make
add high-frequency details l. subtle changes by ofsetting features m.
l Skin pores and impurities are added using custom alphas m Use DynaMesh to create the lines of saliva in the mouth. n Experiment extensively with Overlay and
with the Standard brush and Drag Rectangle Pull them out from the middle to suggest a powerful exhale of air adjustment layers to wrap it up
Nathan Boyd
Nathan is a texture painter at
Sony Pictures Imageworks and
loves films, art and computers
Personal portfolio site
www.nathanboydart.com
Country USA
Software used Maya, MARI,
Photoshop, ZBrush
Work in progress…
Easy-to-follow guides
Design striking
characters
take you from concept
to the final render
Artist info
Kurt Papstein
Leona 2012
Username: Ikameka
A fun and vibrant character creation that’s a
Personal portfolio site
http://ikameka.blogspot.com little different to my gritty or hyper-real works
Country USA
Software used Kurt Papstein is a character and creature artist working at Turtle Rock Studios in southern California
T
ZBrush, Photoshop
Expertise Kurt specialises in his tutorial will demonstrate how to go about Insert brushes to block in the proportions and body parts
digital sculpting, creature concepting a full character in ZBrush. We will take of the character. We will also cover how to create all of the
design, and all kinds of
character creation using ZBrush this piece all the way to the end of the pipeline, props and accessories with the new Topology brush.
starting from a sketch, which we’ll translate into a 3D Each step in this tutorial will have something for
concept to build our final character from. After exploring everyone and will be focused on sharing some of the
with digital clay you’ll end up with a detailed 3D figure. newer features of ZBrush 4R4. This tutorial is just the tip
We will first go over how you can start translating your of the iceberg, but hopefully it will inspire you to take your
ideas using DynaMesh, then we’ll take advantage of Mesh sculpting further – and to be more creative with your tools.
• KP_Bags.ZBP
• KP_Buckles.ZBP
• KP_PackBuckle.ZTL
• KP_Polybag.ZTL
• KP_Spacegirl.ZTL
Concept
I wanted to revisit an older
character idea to experiment with
some of the new features in ZBrush
4R4. Creating this character in 3D
has been a really fun challenge,
which has pushed me as an artist.
Software used
in this piece
ZBrush Photoshop
F G
d Use fewer curves to keep
09 Edge looping For this step, we’re going to use the outer PolyGroups to create
additional Edge Loops on the model for some mechanical details. By hiding the outer DynaMesh with Groups
and inner shells, we are left with the side PolyGroups. Once they are hidden, open the Edge I turn Groups on in the DynaMesh drop-down menu so I can
Loop drop-down in the Geometry sub-menu and click the Edge Loop button. By default it add more meshes without fear of DynaMesh fusing them
will create four additional loops and PolyGroups. You can adjust this with the Loops slider. together. This is a really powerful way to stay organised in
your SubTool palette, by keeping things together with
Now we have new PolyGroups to mask with. You can inflate them using the Deformation PolyGroups, without sacrificing the freedom of DynaMesh. I
menu or your brushes i. apply some additional shapes using Mesh Insert primitives,
like the cylinder and the cube, then cut them into shape with
Clip Curve.
Finish up
Once we’re happy with the design and the overall shapes we
J can commit to it. Turn DynaMesh of, and begin subdividing
the mesh if we need to. I will now add detail with the usual
O
P
Design and
create
Cricket Exo-Suit
an exosuit 2012
Explore the 3D and post-production
workflow of this mechanical design,
based on the aesthetic of the Roach
Exo-Suit concept
Matthew Burke is a senior concept artist at
id Software based in Richardson, Texas
Artist info
Matthew Burke
Username: MBurke
Concept
I was asked to create a new exosuit to show my
workflow when designing mechs in my Exosuit series.
So my goal with this image is to apply similar elements
and style to one of my other concepts: Roach Exo-Suit.
T
his tutorial will illustrate my personal process of
concept design, using only the tools inside 3ds Max
and Photoshop to create a mech exosuit model.
Explore your ideas
Throughout this tutorial you may find yourself asking ‘Why
didn’t he just do that?’, ‘Wouldn’t it make more sense to do this
Let’s kick things off with the concept
instead?’ Well, gentle reader, if this proves to be the case, I
recommend listening to your gut and following your instincts.
My technique is a rat’s nest of online tutorials, a jumble of
advice from my peers, added to hours of desperate frustration.
You don’t need to travel in my exact path, but perhaps you’ll
find a kernel or two of wisdom from my unconventional
experience. At the very least I hope you’ll pull out a few tricks
to apply to your own workflow.
Essentially we will be tackling my personal favourite subject:
designing a mech. We’ll start with the rough-poly concept,
move to detailing the model, apply some mental ray shaders,
then tackle our lighting. From this point I’ll be able to walk you
through my post-production process in Photoshop and, with
any luck, we’ll end up with a killer concept. So let’s get started!
Matthew Burke
Matthew grew up in an incredibly small
town in Iowa. Desperate for entertainment
and a job outside of the agricultural
industry, he turned to a career in art. After
college he managed to land himself a
concept artist role at a small studio and he Roach Exosuit 3ds Max, Photoshop (2012) Roach Exosuit 3ds Max, Photoshop (2012)
has been successfully avoiding farming for A manned combat exosuit designed to leap great Here the same combat exosuit is presented in an action
12 years now. distances and release an arsenal of weaponry on pose to showcase his arsenal of weapons and help get
enemies. Here it’s shown in an inactive stance the idea of the mean machine across
03
and form something that supports an interesting design.
Lighting base Now I have
Now we need to create a mental ray Daylight something with
potential, I need
System under Lights. After applying a generous ground
to balance the
compass, angle the DaylightAssemblyHead towards an area form with some
of interest on your mech. This will be adjusted later, but it will function. This
serve our purposes for test renders during our concept’s means detailing
development. If you know the environment your mech will parts and objects
with a clearly
appear in, you may want to adjust the ground colour defined purpose.
accordingly under the mr Sky Parameters as well c.
f Diferent passes at
material renders
j
3
cre
0+ hours
ation t
Resolutio ime
9,722 x 5,4 n: Technique 1
6
pixels 9 Technique 2
10 Polish to
perfection
The concept is close to
CGTextures.com finds
CGTextures.com hosts many wonderfully high-quality
being wrapped up at this
textures that can help you add detail to your artworks. Here
stage, so pick a is a selection of images that Matthew finds useful when
complementary palette for bringing his exosuits to life!
the background that
highlights and doesn’t
distract from the mech. Add
some atmosphere and
shadows to help push and TECHNIQUE 1: The first technique is incredibly simple:
pull the elements, then as a just select a Standard material of your choosing and apply
final stage add a blue-green it to the entire model. Under Shader Basic Parameters
Overlay layer at 25% check the Wire and 2-Sided boxes. Then, in the Extended
Opacity over the top of the Parameters channel, adjust the thickness of your wire to
piece. This will help unify all your preference. A friendly warning: this is extremely
taxing on most computers so try to apply it to your model
the colours. Flatten the
just prior to your render.
image then play with the
Levels, Color Balance and TECHNIQUE 2: The alternative method just requires a
throw in an additional few additional steps. Select a material and change it from
a Standard to a Composite shader. The preset setting for
Sharpen filter if needed j. the base material is a Standard material and its colour will
define your mass area in the render. In this case I’ve
changed its Difuse to a solid white colour.
Go back to your original parent group and select your
Material #1, just below the Base Material. Click on the
i You can help define a Channel box and keep it a Standard material. This material
material’s qualities with
photo overlays
will define the Wireframe Overlay. In this example I have
used a solid black in the Difuse colour. Next, check the
j The final concept Wire selection and then down below in the Extended
complete with post- Parameters channel adjust the thickness of your wire. For
production edits this teapot I have it set at 3.
Maciej Kuciara
This concept designer has
recently worked on Naughty
Dog’s The Last of Us videogame
Personal portfolio site
www.maciejkuciara.com
Country USA
Software used
ZBrush, Photoshop
Work in progress…
ZBrush Photoshop
Concept
The idea behind this
illustration is to
create a unique
fantasy character –
I’ve decided to
concept a female
spirit of a tree. I want
to achieve a very
sculptural, stylised
look to the image,
inspired greatly by
ancient Greek
mythological
character sculptures.
62 ●3D3DArtist
Art & Design
Sculpt folds and fabrics
Sculpt folds
and fabrics 3D artists explain the
techniques behind
their amazing artwork
Artist info
Dryad – Spirit of a Tree 2012
The goal of this image was to create a stylised, sculptural,
fantasy character with a focus on showcasing the dress folds, the
Andrzej Kuziola
hair and the tree branches in the design and creation process
Andrzej Kuziola is a freelance illustrator and 3D artist – and he loves it! Besides Username: ak666
illustration and 3D work, he also writes tutorials and training material for artists
Personal portfolio site
I
www.kuziola.com
n this tutorial we will explain the design and creation This tutorial will explain how to design and create a Country Scotland
process of a fantasy character showcasing the features character from scratch, showing important considerations Software used
in ZBrush. We’ll explore various ZBrush tools and show along the way while explaining the workflow and various ZBrush, Photoshop
how helpful they are to visualise ideas and achieve great techniques used. We will focus mainly on sculpting the Expertise Andrzej specialises
mainly in character creation,
efects. ZBrush gives the freedom of creation in any fabric of the dress, the character’s hair and some stylised from concept to render, and
workflow, enabling you to experiment and visualise ideas. tree branches to finish. detailed 3D model creation
Andrzej Kuziola
Andrzej is a self-taught digital artist
who is currently based in Scotland. He
originally qualified in dentistry, but
decided to give it all up for a career as a
freelance illustrator and 3D artist. Z
Brush, CINEMA 4D and Photoshop are Wild at Heart ZBrush, Photoshop (2012) Tattoo Goddess ZBrush, Photoshop (2011)
now his daily tools to help him create This illustration is inspired by a woman blessed with a A T-shirt design created for Rock’n’roll Tattoo and
realms that would otherwise exist only truly wild heart and a passion for nature. It’s a very Piercing studios in Scotland. The image was also
in his mind. personal image, packed with symbolism published in EXPOSÉ 10 by Ballistic Publishing
07 Move to the top To create the top of the dress we’ll use DynaMesh again, but in a slightly
diferent way than previously. Mask the area that you want to use for a new SubTool. Go to
SubTool>Extract, adjust Thickness and choose Accept Extraction. This is a good way to create a mesh
around a complex shape. Now start to reshape a new mesh, using the Move Elastic, Move Topological
and Standard brushes to add volume and block large folds. Remember that DynaMesh needs some
thickness. When you get artefacts after re-calculation, undo the action and work on the area with the
Inflate brush G.
08 Design the tree Create a curved tree trunk with ZSpheres, adjust its shape with the Move
Elastic brush, then transfer it to DynaMesh and start adding branches with the Curve Multi
Tube brush. This is a great tool for elongated, tentacle-like structures. Re-calculate the mesh often and
also use the Inflate, Smooth, Move Topological and SnakeHook brushes. This sketch-like workflow is a
good way to create designs and develop ideas straight in 3D without an initial sketch H.
09 Create the background Now we’ll add a background that will play two roles. First it will
show the final image proportions that will consequently help establish an efective
composition. We’re also going to use the background plane as a basis for the hair – but first we need to
add some dimensionality to it. Use the Move Elastic brush to create a recess behind the character, then
move a part behind the head towards it and the bottom edge towards the viewer to create some
ground. After that, sculpt the whole plane with the Clay Tubes brush, then equalise it roughly with the
TrimDynamic brush and Morph Target I.
H 10 Sculpt the hair Now we can start sculpting the hair with a modified Slash 2 brush.
Sculpt the hair strands with loose and smooth strokes on a separate layer. Our goal is to create
an efect of hair filling the background and turning into it. We also want the hair to be tangled with the
branches. At the end, decrease the layer’s intensity and gradually work with the Morph brush to create
a smooth transition between the strands and the background material. For the loose hair strands,
append a sphere and move it to the head area, also using the DynaMesh and Curve Multi Tube
brushes. After that, flatten the strands with the TrimDynamic brush and finish with the Standard brush
with Alpha 38 and Lazy Mouse options turned on J.
M
Crinkle and
fold effects
To create believable
wrinkles or folds you need
to keep in mind a few
factors such as the
interactions of folds and
the forces generating
wrinkles like kinetic
energy and gravity. You
need to know where to
place anchor points –
12 Add some wrinkles Start sculpting wrinkles and folds
on the bottom part of the dress. Begin working with the
Standard brush without any Alpha loaded and with Lazy Mouse
areas of retention on a mode turned on. Begin to add volume with the Inflate brush, using
body – where wrinkle it lightly with low pressure. Also adjust the brush’s Gravity Strength
systems will originate. I and start using Alpha 38 for the finer wrinkles. Work with smooth,
highly recommend the loose brush movements, relying on your own intuition and
book Dynamic Wrinkles experience. During this process, smooth and sculpt again until you
and Drapery by Burne get the shapes you want. You can also switch between ZAdd and
Hogarth, where you can ZSub modes L.
find all this information.
O Q
Create a
mythical beast Fauno
In this step-by-step guide I will offer an insight into my workflow for the
2011
I
ntrigued by mythical creatures, I decided to create one to in Roman mythology and elsewhere. The subject
as a personal 3D project. Over the next six pages I hope presented a great challenge to me as an artist because Modelling
to share some of the techniques I used to produce this there were many diferent elements to incorporate into one
fictitious beast. body. I used 3ds Max, ZBrush, Photoshop and V-Ray to Texturing
For those who may be unfamiliar with this creature, the tackle the task at hand, the techniques of which I’ll reveal Lighting
faun is a man with goat’s horns, ears, tail and legs referred over the next few pages.
Initial concepts
From rough ideas to designing the model
B
Luiz Alves
Build features
Progress the character’s design
06 Move on to maps With my basic mesh finished, it’s now time for UV mapping. I organise
the UV maps and use the chequered map to indicate whether there is any deformation. In
order to economise the space in the UV area, I organise them into groups of similar sizes f.
g
08 Use the brushes Once I have subdivided my model to
five levels, I begin sculpting the volumes and details with
07 Sculpt stage After modelling and mapping the base mesh, I export the OBJ file to ZBrush.
Before I start sculpting, I always check to see if the UVs are correct with the UV Check tool in
the Texture Map panel. This way it guarantees I won’t have any map-related problems g.
ZBrush’s basic brushes (Standard, Flatten, Smooth and so on). I
use alphas to create details such as creases, scratches,
deformation and asymmetrical small details h.
14 Realistic skin
I complete the shading
process using the maps created
in Photoshop. To simulate more
realistic skin, I would suggest
using VRayFast SSS2 – a m
practical and fast V-Ray shader
that’s great for translucent
materials. To control the SSS
shader create a SSS mpa. o
Meanwhile, I use the VRayFast
SSS2 to make the translucent
aspect of the eyes, but to give a
reflective element I create a
Refraction and Reflection
shader applied on the superior n
eyes geometry n.
15 A new coat The faun’s fur was created in 3ds Max’s Hair
and Fur modifier. In order to optimise the process it’s
necessary to convert the base geometry into a new geometry. This
way it is possible to brush comb it really fast and get control using a
density map I made in ZBrush o.
16 Increase
size
the
The final
render for this
illustration was
generated in 4,000 x
3,072px as an 8-bit
TIFF file. I prefer to use
a larger scale for the
final render because
p it makes it easier to
make selections
while compositing
everything and I
can see more details
than if it was a
medium-quality
image. If you look
closely, the medium
render always
produces a blur in the
finer details, whereas
this doesn’t happen
q often with the higher
quality render p.
• LayeredFile_Satyrguy_abaker.tif
• Merged_satyrFawnGuy_012.OBJ
• Satyr_renderFile_01.PSD
ZBrush Photoshop
Concept
The aim of this tutorial is
to create a fantasy
satyr-type character. I
want to create an overly
stylised face for a fantasy
genre that can be
rendered realistically and
create impact.
Master Weta
character design 3D artists explain the
techniques behind
their amazing artwork
Artist info
The Satyr 2012
Learn to use ZBrush to create a fantasy character portrait, following
the principles of Andrew’s 3D character conceptualising workflow at Andrew Baker
Weta Workshop Personal portfolio site
http://andbakerdesigns.
Andrew Baker is a senior character/creature designer at Weta Workshop Design Studio in New Zealand blogspot.co.nz
Location New Zealand
A
Software used
bust or portrait is always a great place to start Without getting too focused on the technical aspects in ZBrush, Photoshop
visualising a character. ZBrush enables us to the 3D process, I’d like to show how I generally start Expertise Creating and
conceptualise an idea to an extremely high level conceptualising a character by creating a bust and portrait. conceptualising characters and
creatures for physical and
relatively quickly. We no longer have to go through an Due to the speed at which I execute such refined work, this digital pipelines
arduous technical process to create an efective, realistic- is where I begin the conceptual stage of my project – often,
looking 3D character. in essence, cutting straight to the point.
DynaMesh mesh you had already created. I’ve always found this process a bit
limiting on a conceptual level, though, as you are technically
wisely pushing and pulling a volumetric shape – it feels constraining. All of
my design sculpting now starts from a sphere. With the use of
Insert Mesh brushes and DynaMesh I can experiment with
I start using DynaMesh diferent shapes before locking into the base I’ll use to finish the
on a very low level. In this sculpture on. Once I’ve got enough primitives there to manipulate, I
case I have it set to 48, use DynaMesh at a low level of 48 and start sculpting A.
but depending on how
large your model is the
resolution will difer. At
the early stages it’s
B
02 Design considerations I create several lines to
highlight relationships on the face. The ears line up with
the eyes to the point of the nose and from the nose outwards to the
almost like what you do
with sketching: blurring edges of his jaw. I generally think of character faces in triangles that
your eyes to start are largely based on humanoid configurations. This can be pushed
visualising where the as far as you like – for example huge noses, tiny eyes, massive
forms are, and quickly chins. It’s a game of consideration. Be aware of what’s working and
laying down broad strokes what isn’t. This will be the design base for the following steps B.
to find the design.
DynaMesh is extremely C
useful at this stage and
can be used in the entire
sculpting process.
However, I prefer to use it
03 The right geometry With this sculpture we’re trying
to be fast, but efective. My goal is not to create a
production model; however, ZBrush still enables you to create a
as a base generator and high-res sculpt really quickly, so it’s worth having enough geometry
subdivide further. Later I to get you there. I find it’s essential to get as much information in
want to be able to the lowest subdivision level before subdividing, so that I won’t need
drastically pose this DynaMesh again. I keep design elements like horns and eyes on a
character, so having a separate SubTool to move them independently if I need to. I
lower subdivision level
subdivide twice at this stage to begin sculpting further C.
helps with this.
A Using primitives with the Insert B My plans in regards to the C The DynaMesh base created,
and Move brushes to nature of the face I want to with more subdividing needed
manipulate my base eventually create to move it on further
Top shaders
Using diferent shaders is
a great way to tackle
certain aspects of your
sculpting and colouration.
For my primary forms, I
prefer to use a shader like
MatCap Grey, which
shows the forms of really
well. When I start my
secondary forms, I turn
on the Blinn shader, as
this has a nice general
specular highlight, which
is also good for showing
the detail. I flick between
that and MatCap Grey.
The Skin Shader default is
awesome for colouring
flesh-toned characters,
and I use this a lot for my
E concepts as it displays
really well.
06
surface noise
Tighten up the forms Now that the model is posed
and I have some higher subdivision levels, it’s about h Use a scattering efect on the
refining those secondary forms, like the cheekbones, lips, brows, brush, adding in some extra
pore detail
eye sockets and so on. For me, there’s no better brush than the
Clay for this. It creates very nice crease lines, which can start as the I Layer up the colour of the
base for our wrinkles. I find the Clay brush, if treated right, can give character, masking the cavities
and washing over the top with a
some nice results to the higher subdivision levels, using the Smooth base colour
brush to soften where needed. I also play with the shape of the
J You can still tighten up the
horns, considering how they afect the overall silhouette more, details with your sculpting
F
now they’re on the posed character f. brushes as you apply colour
10 Refine detail with colour Because ZBrush enables us to afect the form while adding
colour, I go back to my DamStandard brush, turn the RGB down very low with a brown colour
and start to tighten up some of the wrinkle details. I also use the Inflate brush to push all the details
J
tighter together j.
12 Get creative
Without going too far
and crashing your machine, you
can have a lot of fun creating
diferent hair around the face.
Masking areas like the tips of
the ears is a nice touch, I find,
while creating some scraggly
sideburns can also be efective.
There are lots of options to play
with, so I suggest spending
some time to get used to
what’s possible. I always take
13 Give him some ink I want to add another element to this character that isn’t necessarily a
costume accessory. I’m thinking of a large religious-style tattoo on his back. I create the tattoo
in Photoshop as a flat template then use Spotlight in ZBrush to project it onto my character. Spotlight is
time to manipulate with the
brushes afterwards, so I can be
sure to create a much more
another great way to project any other further texture onto characters m. efective look l.
Paint-over
tips & tricks
Depending on how long I
have to get an image
done, I sometimes spend
a bit of time playing with
the hair and positioning
tattoos. These are often
things that can be
explored in 2D for
conceptual pieces, but it
never hurts to have
something 3D there for
the final render. All of
what’s been done so far
has been done very
quickly without getting
too consumed with
technical aspects. If it’s
not working in 3D, solve
the idea quickly in 2D by
doing paint-overs before
committing to the 3D
render. This can also be
really handy to show a
client for variations. M
k Mask of areas on the head m Use ZBrush’s Spotlight to apply n Some layers rendered in ZBrush p The final ZBrush layers
where you want to create hair the tattoo created in Photoshop. to take into Photoshop composited in Photoshop
Adjust the hue and opacity
L l Add diferent types of hair before applying to the model so o A layer rendered out in ZBrush q Give the final image some
around the ear it blends in correctly for Photoshop blending post-production work
p q
100
82
88
110 94
I
3D artists explain the n the first of this three-part tutorial, we’ll be learning
techniques behind
their amazing artwork
how to handle a professional architectural visualisation Concept
project using the free and open-source 3D software,
The plan for this arch-vis project is to build a standard,
Blender. This first part will include some very useful
Artist info
Part one
Modelling
Texturing Building plans
Finished model of the building
Helpful modelling scripts
Software used
in this piece
Blender
03 Begin with basic geometry With everything set up, create a simple plane and scale it up
by about 20 times. Now add a cube and enter Edit Mode. With the ‘floor_plan.jpg’ file from
the disc set as the background, start extruding one of the faces along the outer walls of the building.
C Press T in 3D View to open a
panel with more options
E Hold the Alt/Opt key while
selecting edges to mark at once
D You can add a ground plane F For the best efect it’s good to
Don’t be bothered by the cube’s height at the moment, we’ll set it up later. While extruding try to mark object for better scene have some reference images of
all the openings, windows and doors by hitting E just where they appear on the building plan c. navigation in later steps the object you’re modelling
09 Model a door
The door modelling
techniques are pretty much the
same as with the windows. I’ve
even used the basic window
shape to create the entrance
door model. Enhance the frame
by removing the bottom
element and add four
horizontal slats to make the
doors difer from the windows
at some points. However, the
balcony doors are still very
similar to the base shape i.
l 1. Tile model
used in this
project
12 Add roof tiles Create a rectangular roof tile by scaling
the cube object and soften its edges by applying Bevel in
Edit Mode. Rotate the tile matching the roof angle and add two
Jewish Museum,
Array modifiers. The first one will duplicate the tile along the wider
Berlin Blender,
V-Ray, Photoshop roof edge and the second will multiply all these tiles upwards.
(2011) Tweak the Relative Ofset settings to match all the duplicates.
This scene was Switch to Top Orthographic view and apply the modifiers. In Edit
created for light study 2. The first Mode, select all the elements, hit W and pick the Fake Knife tool.
Array modifier Cut the tiles along the roof edges and delete unwanted parts l.
purposes. I always
found this building
very touching and
inspiring and still look
m
3. Rotate
forward to finishing a the tiles
CG animation project
regarding it.
4. The second
Array modifier
Coming up next
In this tutorial you’ve hopefully learned some essential skills on how to approach and manage
a standard architectural rendering project. In the next couple we’ll be covering the
environment setup, diferent types of vegetation, scene enhancements together with
Shaders, rendering and final postproduction. Hopefully you’ll stay with us and find out what
amazing things can be done using free and commonly available software.
O Bricks are just
simple cubes scaled
into typical proportions
Visualise architecture
using Blender House – stage two
Starting from proper camera placement and setup, we’ll create the building’s
2012
surroundings, vegetation and the lighting environment Lech Sokołowski runs his own studio
T
his is the second part of a tutorial series building’s surroundings, vegetation and the painting. A common aspect of all these art
in which we’ll learn how to handle a lighting environment. We’ll also get into the hair disciplines is the need to use proper image
professional, architectural visualisation particle system and study some of the great composition. There are dozens of renders on the
project using the free and open-source 3D features of Blender’s rendering engine, Cycles. internet that are perfect when it comes to
application, Blender. In the previous tutorial we The article will also cover some modelling tricks technical issues, yet the overall efect is often
looked at the modelling techniques and skills and other important aspects of creating average at best. Commercial architectural
required for professional 3D building preparation. professional, good-looking images. renderings aren’t the kind of projects where we
This time we’ll focus on various other aspects of As each render is in fact a 2D image created can apply many artistic values, yet a good
architectural rendering. Starting from proper inside 3D software, it can be considered on the composition will always give us many benefits.
camera placement and setup, we’ll create the same basis as photography, drawing or even This will be our starting point for this article.
88 ●3D3DArtist
Art & Design
Visualise architecture using Blender
Software used
in this piece Camera setup
Blender Shaders
2.62
Lighting
Camera setup
Good camera placement is essential
a
02 Camera
properties The
image aspect ratio used is 1.6:1,
b
Building surroundings
With camera placed, we’ll now add surroundings and place the final details
c Setting up the vertical lens shift d
04 Surroundings and
building details
I start by creating the wall
surrounding the plot. Depending
on your client’s preferences, you
might be asked to create a metal
fence or organic enclosure like
bushes or hedges. This would
require you spending more time
working on the background,
perhaps adding neighbouring
05 Additional refinements The flowerpots from the previous tutorial don’t look good
enough so I’ll extend them through the whole terrace. The building walls also need some
detail. I’ve created thin kerbs and distributed them all around the building. Now we’ll fill the gap with
gravel stones. Create the plane object and extrude it along the building walls. Add a cube object, enter
Edit Mode and subdivide it once, adding some random rotation to the newly created faces. The stones
will be very small so the single subdivision should work well. Adjust the object manually by editing its
f Kerbs, walls and
Vertices. Create up to four diferent stones using this technique e. gravel distribution
07 Pre-made models
encounter during your own projects, but keep in mind that
In real-life situations you’re very often working within tight deadlines
in real life you should build a workflow that will suit your
and many other stressful circumstances – that’s why you need to be fast end efcient. While
own preferences. Be flexible, change the steps order, mix
it’s quite easy to prepare objects like windows, flowerpots and doors by yourself, creating good-quality the techniques together or try to develop your own, basing
furniture models for each scene is totally pointless. That’s why it’s essential to build up your own library this on the information you’ve already received. Ultimately,
of 3D models, ready to use at any time. Although most of the models available online are dedicated to that’s the only way to successfully learn new things and take
commercial software, you can store them as .obj files, since Blender imports these without any your skills to a higher level.
problems. You may also create a Cycles shader library that might be used simultaneously g.
Interior design
Glass material for windows, plus curtain-making
i
Material system
In the previous steps I’ve very
roughly described the Cycles Step 1
material system. This topic will be
covered more deeply in the next
part of this tutorial series, but
some basic understanding of the
shading system is required for the
next steps of this article.
Cycles uses a node-based
system for creating the materials
and currently it doesn’t ofer any Step 2
pre-made setups or shaders – it’s
up to us to build them from
scratch. This approach has both h
advantages and disadvantages.
First of all, you have total control
over the shader. Most 3D
applications have material
08 Basic shaders In order to see the furniture we’ve
just placed, we need to create a glass material.
Although the Cycles shading system gives us a glass-type
systems supporting pre-defined shader on the go, we still need to apply some adjustments.
shader types such as Difuse, Firstly, your glass object must have a thickness, just like in Step 3
Glossy or Translucent. Each of the real world. Secondly, we need to tweak its Ray Visibility
these has its own specific values options. These settings determine which aspects of the
and parameters. In Cycles, every material will take part in the rendering process. For instance,
material you create can be freely we can switch of the object’s visibility, but still allow it to be
defined and changed using the visible in the reflective surfaces. For glass objects, especially
node editor. For instance, when windows, we need to turn of the Shadow, Transmit and
we choose the Glass type of Difuse properties h.
material, the node editor gives us
the freedom to delete the Glass
shader node and replace it with
Transparent or Emit shader 09 Adding curtains The building’s interior looks too
empty so I’ve decided to add some curtains. Create
a Bézier Curve object and enter Edit Mode. Select an end
nodes. To create a physically
accurate glossy material, we need point and by pressing the E key, extrude the curve, adjusting
to mix Difuse and Glossy its shape. Convert it to mesh geometry by returning to Object
shaders, using a Fresnel node as Mode and pressing Opt/Alt+C. Choose ‘Mesh from Curve’ Step 4 Step 5
the input for the mixing value. It and enter Edit Mode once more. Extrude the path towards
may seem complicated, but once the ceiling, add horizontal subdivisions and press the P key to
you grasp how this system works, switch on Proportional Editing. By selecting random vertices,
you’ll love it. One drawback is the adjust the curtains and diversify their shape i.
lack of pre-made, useful materials
that could be quickly added to the
g Some of the models that i Creating curtains in
scene. This can be solved by I’ve been using in this step-by-step fashion
creating your own library of the tutorial scene
most used shaders and storing j The same method was used
h Step-by-step process of to map and texture the
them in one Blender file. creating a glass object surrounding walls, Step 7 Step 6
and material flowerpots and terrace
j
10 Quick UV mapping
speed up the texturing
process we’ll use the Cube
To
Environment Shaders
and
Illuminate the scene using sun and environmental lights lighting
15 seconds using CPU 15 seconds using GPU It can often happen that
a specific shader which
worked perfectly in one
scene doesn’t seem to
look good when we try
to reuse it in another
project. This issue is
common to all 3D
applications and in fact
isn’t even an error or
software failure. Just as
k Using GPU mode in real life, where we
may speed up the rendering perceive colours,
process by a factor of ten or more! materials and surfaces
depending on the
11 Lighting and preview rendering Before we create a lighting setup, let’s learn how to preview our scene and render it in
real-time. Next to the Mode button in the bottom tab of 3D Viewport we have a Display Mode button. Choose the ‘Rendered’ type
of display and after a few seconds you should see your scene with an ambient occlusion type of lighting being rendered in real time. If the
environment in which
they’re located, the
same efect applies to
‘Rendered’ type of display is not available, check if you’ve chosen Cycles from the Rendering Engine tab located in the Info panel. You can the digital world.
switch between CPU and GPU rendering modes in User Preferences>System options k.
l Change the Sun or Textured Icosphere imitating sky m If the sky sphere shader
Environment emitting seems too complicated,
values for fine-tuning check the tutorial files
the lighting for additional
information
Sun location
Vegetation 30minutes
render tim
With other details finished, we will focus on vegetation e
Resolution
3,200 x 2,00 :
n Trees and bushes o Remember to apply a shader with grass image
0
used in my scene to the plane object distributing particles
16
Only two 3D models were used to create p Limit yourself to just four tree objects
High-poly geometry Fine-looking trees are usually the foreground vegetation. Each model is and use diferent scale and rotation
very heavy 3D objects, comprising up to hundreds of distributed as an instance parameters for diversifying their look
thousands or even millions of polygons, so we have to use them
very wisely. In Blender we can duplicate or copy objects in two
ways. The standard Shift+D method results in creating two totally
independent objects. During the rendering process each of them is
being calculated separately, requiring more RAM and therefore
slowing down the rendering. However, we can copy objects in a
much less resource-consuming way. For this we should use the
Opt/Alt+D key combination to create an object instance.
Instanced objects will be calculated only once and can be
distributed through the scene countless times p. q A tree in the
foreground has
the displacement
modifier applied,
Apply the
finishing touches
House – stage three
In the final chapter of this three-part series, Lech Sokołowski reveals how to apply the
finishing touches to your house-build project Lech Sokołowski is a 3D generalist based in Poland
W
elcome to the third and final part of Over the next six pages we will cover Cycles’ While I won’t be describing how I’ve achieved
this tutorial series. So far, we have rendering settings and an in-depth study of every particular efect for the final image, I will
covered modelling a house from 2D Blender’s new shading system. We’ll create introduce skills such as material creation, proper
plans, properly distributing high-poly diverse materials from scratch, later separating scene rendering and finishing touches in 2D
vegetation models throughout the scene and we them from the final rendering as individual layers. software. You can then apply these skills to your
have also given insight into Blender’s shading and We’ll also cover the process of transforming the personal projects, or develop them for use in your
rendering systems. raw rendering using Photoshop techniques. professional portfolio.
94 ●3D3DArtist
Art & Design
Apply the fnishing touches
Shaders Set up
Materials Review your options
Rendering
Software used
• Sample shaders for your in this piece
personal projects
• Shader descriptions
Blender Photoshop
• Final rendering with 2.62
02 Basic settings
postproduction layers
The Rendering panel is divided into
a few categories. The Render tab contains the
available computing devices and buttons starting the
a You can choose the rendering rendering process. The Dimensions tab has all the settings
method in the User Preferences
window under System Settings Before regarding the image’s resolution, the animation’s frame rate
05 The Glossy shader This shader can be regarded as a perfectly reflective material such
as polished metal, or as a coating layer that can be added to difuse material. This shader
has an additional attribute called Roughness which determines the blur amount of the
reflections. We can apply image textures to determine both the glossy colour and Roughness
factor. Brighter values will give the stronger and sharper reflections, just as darker colours would
result in weaker and more blurry ones e.
06 The Mix Shader The Mix Shader is one of the most important nodes available in
Cycles. It enables us to join two independent shaders based on the Fac value. By default
it’s set to 0.5, which means that materials will be mixed in equal proportions. Various nodes can
be plugged into the Fac slot; for instance, we can use a procedural noise texture to randomly f
mix shaders together f.
10 The Light Path node To enhance the materials even more let’s now use a Light Path
node. Each of its pins, when plugged into the Fac slot of the Mix Shader, determines
everything works. Press Shift+B in the 3D viewport and
select which region you’d like to render. This is also useful for
what would happen to the second (bottom) shade. For instance, let’s take two Difuse noticing errors on the final picture – if the changes aren’t too
shaders – red and blue. Blue would be plugged to the upper slot and red to the bottom. If we big, you can render the selected region instead of the whole
choose the Is Glossy Ray property and plug it into the Fac slot, the red Difuse shader will picture and later merge them in Photoshop. To disable
now be visible in all glossy reflections, but the basic material would still remain blue j. bordering select the outline of the camera k.
Postproduction stages
Prepare your piece for rendering
Lech Sokołowski
I’m an architect by education and 3D artist by passion.
12 Material ID Quite often
objects on final
Since my youth I have been interested in various forms renderings have a diferent tint,
of expression, especially drawing. My adventure with saturation or values than
3D graphics started during my studies and I’ve quickly expected. Masking them in
fallen into it. Currently I run my own 3D graphics Photoshop may take time so
studio, NoTriangle, and live a happy life in a quiet, we’ll use render layers instead.
mellow region in east Poland. In the Rendering panel, go to
the Layers tab and enable the
Material Index option. Now
open the Material panel, go to
Settings and change the Pass
Index to any suitable number.
Repeat this process for every
material you’d like to have
l
masked out l.
14 Save the outputs To extract Material ID, switch to Compositing Nodes. Hit Cmd/
Ctrl+A and add an ID Mask node from the Convertor group. Connect it to the
IndexMA slot in a Render Layers node. Add and connect a Viewer node for a preview and
Checkmate Blender, Cycles (2012) change the Index number to view masked material. Colorise each mask and merge them
A frame from a short animation project commissioned by a client together using a Color Mix node. To save the masked output, plug in a Composite instead of
for educational purposes. a Viewer node and save the image in the rendering window. You can revert to the raw
rendering by plugging the Composite node into the Image slot in the Render Layers node n.
3 1 4
Eugenio Garcia
Villarreal
Username: artecnl
T
his tutorial will show you how to create an interior
bedroom scene, focusing on texturing, cloth
simulation and lighting. You’ll learn techniques I
have developed throughout my career as a 3D artist,
Research and sketch
including basic modelling using essential LightWave
Explore the perfect shot for your scene
Modeler tools, and the best way to find good textures with
complementary maps, such as Bump and Displacement.
We’ll also focus on lighting and how to make warm scenes
01 Start with a sketch
I use basic 3D shapes to
create a quick 3D sketch. This
with contrast to achieve a dramatic mood. We’ll also tackle will help me with the final
the compositing process, exploring some of my favourite compositing later on, as I can
touch up this 3D base in
techniques to fine-tune details, using colour correction,
Photoshop to add objects and
masks, textures as well as simple matte-painting techniques. atmosphere. Along with an
I’d like to thank Alejandro Tello, a talented artist at initial sketch, this will give us a
a
D10Studio who helped me with the final colour correction. solid base for the project a.
Be practical
When I model objects for
a still image I try to add
details – but not too
many, as I can do this
later on in Photoshop. An
example is the curtains: I
completed a simple spline
drawing, extruded in Y,
subdivided it – and that
was basically it. I’ll can
use the Liquify tool in
Photoshop to create the
organic cloth folds. With
time-saving tricks like
these you can be practical
and finish the job in a
fraction of the time, with
all the same results of 3D,
with respective limits. b c
d f
05 Research your textures I always recommend using texture sites – most of them have a
free quota of textures. Personally, I have a membership with CGTextures.com, which gives
me a quota of 100MB of textures a day. This is more than enough for a single 3D artist so I suggest
06 Tile your textures When you find a nice texture, you
may discover that it won’t make useful tiles to cover the
area you want to texture. A good way to get around this is to use
you give it a look. For this scene, I choose a basic brick texture, a couple of wood maps, white plaster the Ofset tool in Photoshop, which you’ll find in the Filters tab.
and some cloth textures. These are only small textures, as we’ll make the magic happen later when we Simply make a vertical and horizontal ofset to create a good centre
get into Photoshop e. for the seams of the texture. You should find that by using the
Clone Stamp tool you can get
rid of the excess seams. Move
e
the Ofset tool again and try to
use a round brush with your
Clone Stamp tool for really
precise results f.
e CGTextures.com helped me
with the texture hunt for this
particular scene
g
Play with
contrast
For a long time contrast
has been used to make
images more interesting,
as it helps the eye to
explore the complete
image. Plain light is your
enemy! The use of good
contrast is eye-candy, as
it can be applied to light,
dark and colour
temperature, as well as
the concentration of mass
objects too. With this
scene I use contrast to
create depth and a warm
environment. You can
experiment with this in
3D using linear grading
lights. Textures will help
with this a lot too.
Keep it
natural
In 3D we usually prefer to
be as clean and perfect as
possible, but we also
need to see the nature of
objects. It’s the little
imperfections that make
an object real, such as
burnt marks in a wooden
plank, aged efects on
walls, rounded, cool, worn
objects and so on. Just try
to imagine the story of
every object and what
may have afected it over
time. Take the floor for
instance: think about how
many people pass over it,
where they put their feet
and work out where the
worn textures should go.
This will make your work
m even more believable.
o
16 Final details Little details are added now, using the
Dodge and Burn tools to make more contrast. I use the Burn
tool behind the beams and at the edges of the image. I’m trying to
mimic the efect of being in a dark room and suddenly entering one
with a strong source of light. When this happens you only can see
limited aspects of the dark spaces. Some glows are also added with
a large round brush. I add this on a top layer, so I can easily
transform its scale p.
Render setup
For the final render I use LightWave’s
rendering engine with Adaptive Sampling set
to a level range of 12-12 with Classic q
Reconstruction filter and a low-discrepancy
Sampling Pattern. The radiosity is Monte n Try to get some nice contrast at p Use your Transform tool to
Carlo with three bounces in the final render. this stage – it will be the base of increase the size of the glow,
all the final details setting a warm tone
The final resolution of the image is 7,534 x
3,304 pixels, rendered using F9 and saved as o You could add details infinitely, q HDR Toning is a great tool if you
32-bit TGA files. so you need to focus on the know how to combine it with
primary ones for time’s sake your base image
Tutorial files:
• Tutorial screenshots
E
very once in a while artists should take that they will run silky smooth, even on your bouncing photons and bleeding pixels. You can
the plunge and give up their favourite mobile device. also kiss goodbye to visible Normal maps in
tools. Tasks that were once so easy to This way of working can be excused in a lightmapped scenes, as the Directional
solve will become incredibly hard to complete, hectic work environment with looming lightmap feature is greyed out. Optimisation-
forcing your brain to come up with new deadlines behind every corner, but what would wise, both Umbra Occlusion and the mighty
solutions for all sorts of problems. This is really happen if your favourite tools suddenly Profiler are taken away, but thankfully we still
what this tutorial is about: learning the disappeared? What would you do if Tool A have the Level of Detail functionality. You’re
possibilities of a limited tool – namely the free was no longer accessible and your beloved probably thinking this all sounds pretty drastic.
version of the Unity game engine. Tool B was nowhere to be found? How would Is it possible to create something visually on a
Having used the professional version of this you react if your workflow was turned upside par with the Pro version with all these powerful
excellent engine for the last five years, I have down? This very scenario is pretty much what features taken away? It certainly is, but it will
learnt how to complete tasks in a more- I’ll be covering. require some workarounds, clever thinking and
advanced way. Previously dull and flat-looking Let’s start by comparing the limited free a lot of patience. So let’s see how far we can
scenes instantly get a massive visual boost just version with the feature-packed professional take this.
by adding a couple of image efects and some edition of Unity. Unfortunately, most of the As this is a Unity-focused tutorial, I won’t go
nice-looking, light-mapped global illumination. features aimed at artists are stripped from the into detail about creating assets, but one
Sloppy and poorly optimised models receive free version of the engine and the few features important thing to keep in mind when
the Umbra Occlusion treatment, which means that are left are pretty limited in terms of visual preparing these is the addition of a secondary
02
g The Skybox does Add collision geometry When
not emit any light,
as it’s only there making models for videogames
for the visuals and interactive media in general, every
frame counts. You’ll find that creating a
h Using a simple GI
rig, we can separate low-resolution model to act as
produce at least collision geometry will definitely make for a
some semi- better and smoother experience. For this
realistic lighting in
scene, around 30 regular boxes did the job,
the scene
which meant that instead of calculating the
i With the lighting distance to thousands of triangles every
setup used here, frame, the First Person Controller inside
even the interior’s
corners get nice Unity would only have to calculate a couple
i
and even shades of hundred maximum e.
Easy-to-follow guides
take you from concept
to the final render
Artist info
Paweł Podwojewski
Personal portfolio site
www.motyw.com
Country Poland
Software used
Software used in this piece 3ds Max, V-Ray, Unfold3D,
Photoshop
Expertise Paweł believes his
3ds Max V-Ray Unfold3D Photoshop strongest skills lie in lighting
and compositing
arch-vis assets
steps that will add extra detail to your arch-vis
scenes. The skills covered are designed to help
you build your own reference library of assets to
use time and again in your scenes and give them
a unique touch. To keep things efcient I will be
using techniques in 3ds Max and with plug-ins
that are available for free online where possible.
I
n this tutorial you will learn how to create realistic-looking plants with simple tools that will
enrich your arch-vis scenes and bring a unique touch to the final output. We will go through
planning the model and learn how to model, shade, render and finally retouch our image. We will
also take a quick look at basic particle systems for extra details.
01 Shoot the mood Creating nature in 3D is a great challenge, which makes it crucial to focus your early the leaves will be in our focal point. We have taken two
stages on finding good references. We strongly recommend grabbing a camera – even if it’s on your mobile samples of leaves and made a simple scan. Using
phone or another device – and shoot photos. This will give you a much better understanding of the subject and you Photoshop in the next steps we will create all our
will notice much more detail than when looking at images on the internet a. relevant maps. Good quality images will let you render
the created models even on close-ups, which may be a
a Create your own references. By shooting your b Shoot your references in c Create detailed textures by scanning very good way to frame your architectural scene and
own photos you will remember more detail orthogonal view key elements focus the viewer on certain parts of the image c.
The stalk
after unwrapping
Begin the
modelling with
simple geometry f Create several
copies of the leaf
for a more random
04 Plant structure modelling Let’s start this step with a plane and a texture showing your
plant reference. We’ve used splines to build the base structure. This is a crucial step that will
determine the final plant appearance. Please be careful to work in real-world units to keep the proper
and natural look
scale of elements. It’s very important for physically-correct light distribution while rendering and
refining the scene with Particle Flow. Try to build a low-poly mesh and keep the MeshSmooth as a
modifier. This will let you easily edit the model in the next steps when you decide to change, for
example, the composition. Relatively low- or mid-poly models will be easier to use in more complex
scenes and will also save memory while rendering. Remember, your workstation processing power is
always limited and we are working on details that should be easy to use and not stress your GPU d.
Paweł Podwojewski
An architect by profession and 3D artist
by passion, Paweł’s designs and
concepts are influenced by architecture
from various industries, including
retail, residential and commercial and
urban planning. In 2009 he started
CGWorkshop.org, an online service that Underwater Hotels 3ds Max, V-Ray, Photoshop (2011) Diving Centre 3ds Max, V-Ray, Photoshop (2011)
provides training for CG artists in the Waterdiscus – an underwater hotel. Paweł is the architect A concept sketch created for the Underwater Hotels
form of video tutorials and workshops. behind the design and rendered concepts project in 2011
07 Final leaf
adjustments Once the
leaf models are finished we can
h Try using Particle Flow
for extra details like
water droplets and dust
j
10 Final details Good-looking plants need a proper ground, so we’ll create real geometric
branches. First we need mid-poly branches that can be scattered on the ground. We want
them to collide, so to create this simulation you can use MassFX in 3ds Max. Be sure to create a couple
Housing in France 3ds Max, V-Ray, Photoshop (2012) of branches and then add the simulation to a few elements at once (otherwise you may cause 3ds Max
A housing project in France by Nadau Lavergne studio located in to crash). In the Settings of the Modify panel, you can choose a preset for the material. Also make sure
the Unesco-protected zone to choose the Mesh type as Original. This will make the calculation longer but also the efect will be
much more convincing. Details like bugs and butterflies may also make a nice touch k.
11 Stalk shading
Stalk material is very specific. Resolution
To create a physically correct
shader, choose VRayFastSSS2. The versus
light should travel through the
stalk, the same efect we can see
quality
on human skin. This solution
makes sure we get similar results. While painting textures,
Since the stalk is pretty well note that the resolution
exposed, the decision is simple. has a huge impact on the
final efect. It’s best to use
When you look at the shader in the
a tripod while shooting
Material Editor you’ll see you can
images for crisper
choose from a bunch of presets l. reference. This will
enhance not only the
12 Paint leaf textures
Now we’ll prepare our
UVW templates from earlier. Open
Difuse maps, but also the
conversion into
Displacement and
a template in Photoshop and fit Normal maps. For
scanned leaf images or creating Normal maps,
photographs. Be careful at the you can use a free
edges, paint a little outside the Photoshop plug-in that
template to avoid strokes on leaf you can find in the
borders while rendering. Once the Developer Zone on the
Difuse map is ready, create one NVIDIA website.
more for translucency and one for
the bump and reflections. For the L We use the VRayFastSSS2
displacement we’ll paint a custom shader for translucent objects
map to increase the visibility of the l m Paint extra Displacement maps
leaf veins m. for higher-quality results
m
13 Leaf shaders
Leaves are also a good
example for the VRayFastSSS2
material. To speed up rendering
we’ll use translucency in the
default V-Ray material. Note you
need to add a Color map that will
afect the bottom part of the leaf
in the Translucency channel.
Usually it will be a slightly
brighter map than the Difuse
map. You can use a Color
Correct map to tweak the Difuse
map straight in 3ds Max. Enable
Translucency in the Material
Editor. Use a hybrid model with
Thickness set to 0,002m n.
With physical DOF it’s much harder to work with masks in Photoshop
17 The final retouch
since a lot of elements are out of focus and the edges are blurry. What we can do in this case is
basic colour correction by tweaking the colour balance and contrast. It’s best to use Curves for this
purpose. Use the Raw Reflection Render element with Reflection Filter as a mask to better control the
amount of reflectivity on the leaves and other selected objects. Also use the FastSSS2 channel to
increase the translucent efect on stalk. You can add some noise for extra photorealism at the end r.
q n Create leaves with translucency.
Easy-to-follow guides
take you from concept
to the final render
Artist info
Concept
Sonia Foltarz My idea is essentially an
iceberg that combines
Personal portfolio site http://
crystalisedheart.deviantart.com
both architecture and
Location Gdynia, Poland
nature in an abstract way.
Re-creating this in 3D is
Software used Photoshop
going to be quite a
Expertise Sonia specialises in
computer graphics and concept challenge, but the final
art. She loves drawing cartoon results should make it look
character designs in 2D even more fantastical!
T
his concept is about combining architecture and I find it quite difcult to get a perfect icy look when depicting
nature in a very abstract way. The design breaks the an iceberg, so for this specific efect I use observational skills
rules of physics and rational thinking – I doubt an and experimentation to create textures in Photoshop that work.
underwater iceberg building could ever actually exist – but Another difculty I encounter while working on this concept is
that’s what makes it so unique and mysterious. It’s a great showing the depth of the interior of the iceberg. You’ll need to
challenge for a 3D artist to take on! play around with colours and diferent levels of opacity.
Create a concept 01 Research & make sketches To begin, I search for
lots of iceberg photos on the internet and decide how
I can present the project to be as visually tremendous as
Define your ideas in Photoshop possible. After a little trial and error, I decide to go for a
front-on view. Thanks to this adjustment I don’t need to
change the sizes of windows and other small elements
a because everything is more or less at the same angle. This
Always imagine your 2D art from gives a clear view of my project for the 3D artist to follow a.
a 3D artist’s perspective so you
can get the right shapes and
angles of the details 02 Find the right colours We need to realistically
colour our iceberg. I find it useful to take a piece of
ice to see how it looks in diferent surroundings. Then in
Photoshop, I divide all levels and layers using foundation
colours, which later on help me develop the depth of my
piece. The dark-blue tone helps the perspective and
demonstrates the complexity of the interior the iceberg b.
03
angled). This is especially useful a Make your sketch engaging and Lighting & particles Lighting is the hardest step in
when your project is complex and clear for a 3D artist to follow this whole process. Ice has a specific glossiness that
overloaded with details. This helps b Experiment with colour to gain makes it look somewhat translucent, so I’m using a wide
the ideal depth of your artwork range of custom brushes and white paint to help me form the
the 3D artist create it as details of windows, stairs, columns and a fountain. I later
precisely as possible c Use opacity and light colours to
create a perfect glossiness experiment with the opacity of the diferent layers of my
lighting and finally get an icy look that I’m happy with c.
Easy-to-follow guides
take you from concept
to the final render
Artist info
Paweł Podwojewski
Personal portfolio site
http://be.net/simonhc
Location Gdańsk, Poland
Software used Software used in this piece
3ds Max, V-Ray, Photoshop
Expertise Paweł specialises in
lighting, compositing and 3ds Max V-Ray Photoshop
optimising scenes
Concept
Sonia created lots of quick
drawings in search of the best
concept. The final sketch was
a fusion of a few very diferent
ideas that she explored. The
concept looks very complex at
first glance and shows lots of
details, which is why it’s crucial • A crystal shader and model
to plan your 3D project from • A Photoshop file with the
the beginning – especially the basic render elements
modelling stage. • Tutorial screenshots
T
his tutorial will show you how use 3ds Max, V-Ray memory. Because 3ds Max doesn’t have dedicated sculpting
and Photoshop to build a scene from a supplied tools, we will also use a couple of tricks and scripts to make
concept. Following the art provided by the designer, we things go smoothly. Fractured surfaces can be achieved with a
will create an abstract iceberg structure that combines MaxScript and simple modelling tools will enable you to work
architecture and nature. This fantasy structure will be an inside just the one major software.
exciting challenge, because the irregular forms and complex To add a strong atmosphere to the final image, we’ll explore
geometry will compel us to find ways to optimise our scene. volumetric lights and environmental fog. To finish up, correct
We’ll use Normal Bump maps to enhance the impression of use of render elements from V-Ray will help us out in the
detail in our architectural elements, saving time, poly count and post-production stage in Photoshop.
Problems &
solutions
Plan your project
Begin to work from the concept piece
01
The composition of this
concept sets the ground Prepare the scene The initial stages of this project are crucial, so we need to divide
on one level, which means the concept into parts to simplify the workflow. I decide to focus on the main shape of
we have far fewer the iceberg, the interior arcades and the spiral staircase. Making a plan and a list of elements
elements to build the 3D
impression with than in a will help you to get the job done and not fall into limbo. Start with simple shapes such as a
regular architectural couple of polygons, to try to fit the scale and shape to the iceberg concept a.
02
scene. We need to find
other elements to build Find the best scale Analyse the concept and look at the single elements. Our main
our atmosphere and to elements are the iceberg, interior arcades and spiral staircase. To achieve the best
give of the solid c
impression that a 3D results when rendering, we need to properly scale the scene to get a physically correct
03
render should provide. If response from the rendering engine. It’s not easy to judge scale when working with an
not, the render will be just abstract concept like this, although the arcades can give us an idea of what scale we should Set your camera
a normal, flat picture. I use. For instance, assume that one level of arcades will have a height of four metres b. Setting the camera
decide to focus on the
shader, lighting with up at an early stage will help
volumetric efects as well you find out how much will
as adding a couple of actually be seen. Later on we
elements in the can adjust the level of detail
foreground to better to the view. The concept
describe the distance
between the viewer and shows the iceberg from a
the ice structure. frontal view, which is a nice
Modelling ice isn’t that angle that exposes lots of
simple in 3ds Max, either. details. Unfortunately, for a
We don’t have precise
sculpting tools and the b 3D scene it won’t be easy to
vertex-by-vertex get a great 3D depth
poly-modelling method a Start with simple geometry because we can’t divide the
would take forever. A to get the right scale scene into grounds
reasonable way is to adjust following the concept art (foreground, midground,
some modifiers to speed
up the process, while background). This means
b Look at elements you are
keeping interesting results familiar with from reality to that all the elements will
and getting close to the find the right scale appear equally important in
concept. Procedural maps the shot and the lighting will
and displacements will c Consider the composition to
enhance the model. better understand the have a minor impact on the
a
merits of your view space-perception c.
Begin modelling
With the planning done, we can now build the main elements of our scene
06
e
Mapping & Normal Bumps Once the arcade
model is complete, I unwrap it and render the
Normal Bump map. You can do this very simply by rendering
the object without GI and saving the V-Ray Normals render
element. I then simplify the model using the Optimize
modifier and rebuild some elements, like the pillars and
windows, into much simpler geometry. I apply a shader to
the low-poly model with the rendered Normal map as a
bitmap under the V-Ray Normal Bump. Thanks to this action
I can save millions of polygons, while keeping a decent level
of detail at the same time. Also, I find rendering times are
much improved. So, with the concept angle, distance from
the camera and a planned resolution, I am sure this level of
detail will be good enough f.
Fracture &
demolition
09 Give your
structure space
At the very beginning of this
project I knew the shot
When working with wouldn’t be easy to sell in a
architectural visualisation, 3D environment, because
in most cases we don’t
the composition would make
need much destruction in
our scenes. Most likely our it far too flat. The concept
clients will require a clean looks really exciting as a 2D
environment, but there are painting, but it’s now my job
situations where some to also make it vivid and
damage can be expected.
3ds Max is a very powerful alive in the third dimension. I
tool for this and in recent agree with Sonia that some
versions we’ve been given foreground elements will let
the MassFX simulation the viewer better judge the
system, which enables a
distance and perceive the
very quick and easy way to
collide rigid bodies. depth of the final image. The
RayFire and FumeFX give iceberg is floating in a vast
advanced smoke and ocean, so it’s interesting to
fracture efects, although add some broken ice floating
for most arch-vis stills,
simple scripts will also do around. This gives the
the job. Today, viewer information about the
workstations are very camera angle and
powerful, but it’s crucial to perspective, giving the
keep scenes optimised. It’s
structure the chance it
very easy to go too far with
details and for the needs to really show of its
geometry to lose focus on 3D depth i.
the atmosphere. The
battle between light and
shadow is what makes i
images truly unique.
j
10
g Use Array to multiply the
arcade modules Fracture the ground Creating fractured elements is usually a challenge. I could
h Use a stock stair element in complete this task manually, but again time is always precious so I decide to dig out
3ds Max to add the some handy scripts. This time I’ll use a script called Fracture Voronoi (www.scriptspot.
communication system, as com/3ds-max/scripts/fracture-voronoi), which can be found and downloaded for free from
seen in the concept
ScriptSpot. The first step is to create a plane object, then set the dimensions to fit the camera
i Create extra ground angle and canvas size. Set a reasonable segment count for the plane and run the script. First
elements to gain better copy the code from the ScriptSpot site, open the MaxScript window, paste the code, save the
spatial performance script on your drive, then hit the Run Script button and choose the previously saved file. A
j Apply some fractures to the pop-up window will appear with your script options, so set the element count to divide the
ice using MaxScripts selected object into as many pieces as you wish j.
11
source for direct rays is a
Use ice shaders The ice shader is key to this scene, VRaySun. A high amount of
as it will obviously get applied to all the elements. I environmental fog is set to
prepare two types of shaders: one for the general iceberg 100m, which produces a
shape and the second for the arcades. The arcade shader will sort of vacuum environment
be exactly the same as any other, except for an added broken by the light rays l.
Normal Bump created at the very beginning to add extra
detail, as well as to keep the poly count low. The ice shader
has 100% Reflection, with Reflection Glossiness set at level Motion in
0.9 with Fresnel efect and IOR changed to 12. Refraction is still images
totally transparent. Additionally, I add a foggy blue colour
and turn on Translucency mode for the soft water k. Still images have obvious
limitations: we can only
view the scene from a
m certain perspective and
we have no power to look
around the details. The key
is to bring life to the image,
so the viewer remains
attracted to the focal
points that the artist
intended to expose. This
means less work can be
applied in the artwork, but
the impression will be the
opposite. Motion in
images with walking
characters and moving
vehicles can bring a lot of
information about world
13
structure, physics, time
and can also provide Particle efects
information out of context. To represent broken
Taking our iceberg as an ice flying around the scene
example, the extra flying I’ll create a blizzard system.
pieces of ice make us feel
we are dealing with Set the Particle Type to
vertical movement. It’s just Triangle and adjust the
a captured moment, but Speed to Camera Shutter. If
also provides clues about the speed is too high, the k Create an ice shader with a
what could happen in the fog efect to better achieve
next second. This is all particles will be blurry. The
the depth of the elements
about telling a story and broken ice surface needs
the quality of the image or some debris pieces, so using l Create light rays with
the techniques may play a MultiScatter I spread three V-Ray’s environment fog
secondary role, if the shot types of crystals regularly
is planned well. m Use particle systems for
across the whole surface m. creating dynamic detail
Find the
right lighting
Build atmosphere with
good lighting efects is
very important. You can
achieve them in your
rendering software, like
the volumetric light rays
created in this tutorial, or
you can apply similar
efects in some scenes
using Photoshop plug-ins. I
recommend the Rays
plug-in by Digital Film
Tools (www.
digitalfilmtools.com/rays).
Remember: well-balanced
images are friendlier on
the eye, while too many
colours in your scenes
may be distracting. In my
workflow I try to find a
leading colour for the shot.
So on the top of the layer
stack I place a Color
n o Balance adjustment layer
14
to make the colour range a
Choose your renderer I’m going to use V-Ray as little more even.
the rendering engine. Balancing the time-and-quality
ratio, I choose the Light Cache and Irradiance map as the GI n Try to save diferent render
algorithm. I need to remember that in post-production I’ll passes for the post-
add a couple of main render elements, like RawRefraction, production process
RawReflection and WireColor. At this stage I know the RGB o Test diferent post-
pass will not be the main one used while compositing. The production options to decide
environment fog can also be saved with an Atmospheric on the best workflow
pass. Combining all the elements on a diferent layer brings p Organise the render
me to the final result. Please be sure to increase the elements in one PSD file
subdivisions for the fog; in this case 24 works well n.
q Paint bubble efects with
15
p
Scattering brush options
Post-production sketches Usually, rendering tests
17
are enough to give you an idea of where you’re
heading with a final image. Because in this case only the Build the water &
combined passes are present before the final output, I render add some efects
a sketch shot during the process to see if all the pieces will Water bubbles are painted
work together. The presented post-production set enables using a round brush with
me to decide which colour scheme I should go with for the Dynamics and Scatter
final production. Perhaps this is duplicating the work, but options enabled in
either way it gives me more control over the concept o. Photoshop. Again, using a
16
tablet gives you lots of
Prepare the PSD file After creating the post- freedom and better control
production sketches and final rendered passes, I start while painting. Try to create
to organise the layers. On the very bottom lands the black layers on the very top
RawReflection pass, which becomes my base. Above, I add a of the stack. Paint blue
masked-out Atmosphere pass, placing the rays and light circles with a large, soft,
around the iceberg and setting this to Screen mode. Using round brush and set the
WireColor on the very top for a quick selection will help, but mode to Soft Light or Screen.
keep this invisible for the final save. Use Calculations and the This is how you can create
ReflectionFilter pass for creating the mask, which can be glowing bowl efects, which
used to control the Transparency and Reflection levels of the will add more atmosphere to
q
ice, combined with the RawRefraction pass p. your image q.
ULTIMATE
3D REALISM
Fool the eye and wow your viewers with our top tips from
industry pros on how to achieve realistic 3D images
Realism is often the ultimate goal of the 3D artist; to render something as close to life as possible and
showcase your individual talent as well as the power and potential of CGI software. Here we compile
a selection of tips from pro 3D artists to help you create your most realistic images ever.
50 S FO R
TIPFECT 3D
PEORTOREALISM
PH
Eldorado. “At the beginning I wasn’t really
sure what would be the hero of the shot. I
was thinking about a tennis ball, golf ball,
pack of cigarettes, bottles and so on, but
in the end one little toy car won”
© Marek Denko
MODEL FROM
REFERENCES
Get your project of to the best start
during this crucial stage
01
It´s extremely important to have a lot
of references and I… request
constant references (from photos to
real objects) whenever a new job or update
arrives in the office. Jacinto
02
The best criteria [when sourcing
references] is the resolution of
photos. It is very important to see the
details of an object in the photo… that way
you don’t waste your time trying to
understand it. Denis L
03
Not using references may not give
you enough information about the
scale of the objects in your scene… In
my opinion scale is the most important aspect
of creating realistic images. Denis O
04
I like to have at least one side view
and a three-quarter view. Even better
would be if you had access to the real
objects themselves, to either take pictures of
or have next to you while modelling. Emre
05
It’s a matter of finding the right
balance between a low and
high-poly mesh [initially]. For the
basic model I use Maya, then I switch to
Mudbox for the details and normal maps. I try
to keep the mesh topology flawless based on
quads and loops. Massimo
ARTIST PROFILE
Marek Denko Dmitriy Glazyrin Denis Lebedev Jacinto Denis Pawel Massimo Righi Emre Salihov
Website: www. Website: www. Website: http:// Monteiro Osmanbegovic Podwojewski Website: http:// Website: www.
marekdenko.net glazyrin.com lebedev.cgsociety. Website: www. Website: vema3dart. Website: www. massimorighi.com be.net/emresalihov
Bio: Marek fell in Bio: One of the org/gallery metrocubicodigital. blogspot.com motyw.com Bio: Massimo is a Bio: Emre is a
love with computers founders of Ujean & Bio: After forgetting com Bio: Currently Bio: Pawel has been freelance 3D artist 22-year-old artist
in 1991 with his first Glazyrin studio, his childhood Bio: Jacinto working at Cryptic involved in the based in Italy, often from Sweden. As a
Atari 800XL. In Dmitriy has worked passion for drawing graduated as an Studios in California, development of working in child his favourite
2007, together with with a range of for many years, architect in 2002. In Denis is an designs and collaboration with his toys to play with
Peter Sanitra, he creatives, including Denis returned to 2007 he radically environment artist for concepts in the field wife Silvia Puliè. They were LEGO cars. He
established the retouching studio the art world and switched profession videogame projects of architecture for are often involved in claims he found his
creative studio Platinum FMD, and began exploring the and has now been a including Star Trek various industries. In various projects calling in life when
NoEmotion (http:// has obtained a series many possibilities of 3D arch-vis artist for Online and 2009 he started CG within the games and Autodesk’s Maya fell
noemotion.net). of awards. 3D art in 2009. five years. Neverwinter Nights. WORKSHOP online. film industries. into his hands.
©Dmitriy Glazyrin
TEXTURES AND
MATERIALS
Choose and apply efects to your
Image by Jacinto Monteiro ©Metro Cúbico Digital
06
Textures and materials are a very
important stage in creating realism in
work, [and] probably the longest
one… Good textures and materials make the
model more expressive, bad ones destroy
even the most gorgeous geometry. Dmitriy
07
There are two main types of textures:
custom-made… and tileable
textures. Perfect texture should have
a good resolution, good colour depth and
©Pawel Podwojewski
details… based on the purpose of the texture
in the scene. Marek PRODUCE EXPERT LIGHTING
From rigs to shaders, lighting is vital for realism
08
I try to custom texture everything…
13 16
[using] a lot of different custom Lighting will get your project 80 per The right lighting shows all the small
brushes in Photoshop allows me to cent of the way there… with some details you’ve modelled… [so] it is
do this. This doesn’t mean I don’t use textures experience you will understand more useful to use images (pictures and
I find on the internet, but I do use them or less what you can fake later on… [but] don’t photos) where you can see beautiful lighting,
carefully. Denis O worry about the richness and contrast of the to analyse it and take note of it. Denis L
colours. It is easier to crunch them in post with
09 17
For [texturing] hard-surface objects, I colour correction. Emre It’s important to build shaders and
use 3ds Max and Photoshop and for lighting in an organised way. Make
14
organic, ZBrush and Photoshop. In I tend to keep lighting as simple as sure the same group of lights will be
any case, Photoshop is an indispensable tool possible… It is really important to instanced so you can easily adjust all of the
for creating textures, both at the stage of study your renderer of choice and lights at [once]. Shaders should be built with a
texturing and [post work]. Dmitriy how it relates to your main program (3ds colour-correction plug-in used for textures. In Student Housing. Project
designed by Pawel for
Max, Softimage, Maya and so on) and most cases this will enable you to adjust the Nadau Lavergne studio,
10
Creating a simple light setup before understand its potential. Denis O shaders without 2D texture editing. Pawel located in Bordeaux,
you start texturing is a very good France in area under
11
the same options as a real one. Sometimes I check the settings of the camera on the
The textures used to light a scene
should be saved as high dynamic reference images (you can check it in Image Properties) to get an idea about physical
range images (HDRI). This allows conditions and [then] apply them to the VRayPhysicalCamera. Dmitriy
you to control the exposure and luminance at If you are doing one-man projects and want quick, accurate and good results, then
any stage while rendering. Pawel V-Ray is what I would choose. I like mental ray as well but it requires lots more
preparation and clicking of buttons to achieve what you want. Emre
12
The [most] useful texture maps are I prefer to light in 3ds Max and mental ray. mental ray is a really powerful renderer
Color, Specular, Bump and Normal… with some pretty easy-to-tweak options. Also, 3ds Max comes with a pack of arch and
[though if you are texturing] fur, design materials for mental ray with a couple of presets that are easy to change. Denis O
sometimes you don’t need to create normal V-Ray is the best. Sometimes I use HDR images, other times the VRaySky method, House. Using mental ray,
maps or you only need to create them for the this full scene took four
sometimes just a semi-sphere for the sky with only a sphere light. Jacinto hours to render
visible mesh. Massimo
19
Sometimes I use HDR images to light
my scene. If the HDR image is a
good one, the lighting just looks
incredible (and more credible). Colours and
reflections are rich and you also have more
freedom in post to tune the image based on
those colours. Marek
20
For my main [lighting] I don’t use
HDR images so often because it’s
difficult to handle that type of light
source with fur, but I [sometimes] use it in
21
CGSkies (www.cgskies.com) and
Peter Guthrie’s HDRI lighting setups Learn the process used for this professional project
have made the 3D community very Pawel produced this image as part of his concept design for a
happy lately, and each day more and more student housing project by architectural studio Nadau Lavergne.
artists are using it in their normal workflow. In his experience, utilising render passes means you have more
Jacinto scope and flexibility with your image: “During the production you
may find the render channels very handy while applying changes
22
surrounding all these buildings
Render elements are very useful and
layers into a PSD format [and] additional masks can [then be
save a lot of time in postproduction,
©Massimo Righi
Green Frog. Modelled in added] manually while editing the image. I can recommend it for
Maya, the depth of field and especially when working with
background were rendered animated sequences. With passes you can Photoshop lovers.”
with mental ray
easily change any elements in your image a Pawel used V-Ray for a
without re-rendering. Denis L a e
range of passes that add
detail and atmosphere.
23
You only get [some] of the beauty “Each pass had the same
settings as this RGB render”
render straight out of the rendering,
the rest comes in when you start to b “We added a lot of detail
composite it together… with V-Ray it is very in postproduction compared
to the raw render… glass
easy to render out with passes and you can reflections have been
also render out each light as a separate pass, controlled using [more]
specific passes”
which can be very useful. Emre b f
c “We used some channels
24
I would say that V-Ray Z-Depth is the to add efects and other
most important pass [for ones as selection masks. For
example, the Reflection
hyperrealism]. It can add better filter will be a selection [on
mood, depth and postproduction depth of the] Raw Reflection pass”
field to the image… The biggest danger for me d “For reflection and
would be to go too far… so I avoid doing heavy atmospheric passes you can
postproduction. Jacinto try out the Screen blending
c mode to quickly key out the g
25
black tones”
A solid Beauty pass where I can see
my image almost done when I e The Refraction filter is
render it is the better way… As extra the colour by which the raw
refractions are multiplied
passes I use Z-Depth, masks, sometimes
extra light passes and… when there are f A handy pass for quick
changes, you can alter the
effects like smoke or fire, they are always colour of reflections and add
rendered as a separate pass. Marek glows with Wire Color
26
d g “Sometimes it is much h
You need to rely on your experience faster and easier to add the
to know if a result is right or wrong. desired [background]
Very common mistakes appear while elements in postproduction,
but… to speed things up I
using Z-Depth [passes]. It is a very handy often use the Z-Depth
technique that can save a lot of rendering time [pass] to control the DOF”
[and] such effects may enhance your image…
h An additional clay render
but when applied in the wrong way can also of the window scene
kill the scene. Pawel
©Emre Salihov
28
Woodworker. The carpenter was
I find that using a node-based shot on a Canon Mark II, with the
compositing program such as NUKE wood chips and car modelled in
[makes bringing render layers 3ds Max. The stand was made in
ZBrush with final compositing
together] much easier. I don’t do any fancy completed in Photoshop
blending, I just use overs and plusses.
Occlusion is a good example. Emre
29
The wrong settings for the Z-Depth
pass won’t allow you to make depth
of field… [so] use the Tape tool in the
Helpers palette in 3ds Max. [Also] some
passes can have rough edges and, in the
postproduction stage… will have a bad visible
contour. For this it is better to use the
Multimatte render element in V-Ray instead
of Object ID. Denis L
The final touches are to
30 add detail – dust, light rays, flying
It is necessary to establish the real
behaviour of the camera as precisely
THE ART OF
COMPOSITING 34 The ideal combination
Dmitriy Glazyrin shares how he went about
Seamlessly integrate 3D renders compositing his incredible image Woodworker
with 2D elements for realistic scenes
© Dmitriy Glazyrin
31
When I create an environment [for
compositing] I usually like to
matte-paint it [in Photoshop] using a
mixture of photographs and retouching. I
must have in mind what everything should
look like so I create it based on the [render’s]
lighting. Massimo
32
Objects that [are] lit in a way that
don’t match the scene will obviously Dmitriy carefully analyses his own work to
look fake [so] we [need to] enhance make sure the result is as realistic as possible: “Often a side
the lighting using different blending modes view helps to see the defects and bring an objective judgment”
and paintovers. It is crucial [at this stage] to
use colours we find in the final scene for better As far as Dmitriy is concerned, the art to seamless software of choice. “In handling 2D objects [it is] the
integration. Pawel compositing requires a few main ingredients: “The key clear leader. Some use video compositing software
factors are the well-detailed model, the right light and such as After Efects or NUKE, but in my opinion for
33
[When compositing] you can the materials. static [images] it makes no sense and is more
convert the image to a monochrome “Light sets the mood of the whole picture”, he says, complicated [than it has to be].
version. When the colour does not and cites it as the deciding factor for embarking on a “Attention to detail, observation and analysis” are
©Pawel Podwojewski
distract you can compare the brightness of compositing project. “I use a picture to create the basis key, but Dmitriy advises not to go it alone: “Put a
shadows and light, the environment and the for future models or find a reference by the light I like… picture of your work online and show your friends”, as
models, and seek the similarities. Then bring then you achieve the ideal combination of objects.” To the more feedback you can get, the closer you will
the colour back and get the desired result with achieve this ideal combination, Photoshop is Dmitriy’s come to the ultimate realistic composite.
the shaders. Dmitriy
©Denis Lebedev
It’s Going to Rain. “I wanted to show an
authentic landscape with the post-Soviet
realities. I wanted to train myself to a
higher level,” Denis L says
j
©Massimo Righi
35
The key steps [in the compositing
©Denis Osmanbegovic
36
Matching perspective and colour
balance are the most important
parts [of compositing]. My advice PERFECT POSTPRODUCTION
would be to avoid fish-eye photographs to Complete your image with last-minute adjustments for maximum impact
© Dmitriy Glazyrin
42 47
was a bit frustrating! Jacinto For me ten per cent or less is done in For postproduction I prefer
postproduction… I [adjust] Curves, Photoshop while working with 3D
37
The most important thing is [getting] Levels, Color Balance and… it’s stills and After Effects for animations.
the right perspective and lighting… It important because my raw renders always These two work well for compositing as well
is great when you can shoot the need colour and light correction. Jacinto as postproduction. Photoshop can handle
objects in a studio because you can apply the huge files and compositions, assuring a quick
43
virtual camera settings to the real one to Many artists make their final renders and stable workflow. Pawel
obtain a perfect match. Pawel to a very high quality, so often the
48
post work takes about five per cent of The most important thing is colour
38
Compositing is a matter of taste, the time… It brings some additional control to correction in Photoshop. I use it on
[but] my feeling is that if a rendering make your work a little better. Denis L the whole image and separate
is looking good without an objects using masks. I always work with a
44
environment then it’s ready to go for Each image – even from the same copy of the layer and use Levels, Curves,
compositing. The first test is always getting it project – will require a different Selective Color and Color Balance
right on a neutral background. Massimo amount of postproduction work. In adjustments. Before each touch I create a
my case the average [time dedicated] will be snapshot in the History palette, and then after
39
[For adding photographic characters around 20 per cent. Pawel [I do the same] to compare the result. Denis L
to CG scenes], having high-res
45 49
people is important. Then a lot of About ten per cent of my final [effort] I think too much postproduction may
curves, colour balance, shadow, motion blur goes into postproduction. I tend not stylise the image but not necessarily
and saturation changes should be made in to spend a lot of time adjusting the make it more realistic. Some of the
order to make them realistically fit. Jacinto raw render since I try to get the desired results real-world effects though, like [adding] image
straight out of mental ray… [but] I think it grain or chromatic aberration… can be a nice
40
Poor composition is unlikely to affect depends on the artist and the scene itself. and quick touch towards a photorealistic
the realism [of a piece]. It may have Sometimes you can have a final image image style. Pawel
impact on the overall impression of without any postproduction. Denis O
50
the picture, but after all, the camera can be Very soft lens distortions may be a
46
bad for the composition of the picture, though You can… get the ideal result by good idea to increase the realism.
[still be] quite realistic! Dmitriy rendering but, on the time side, it You may think most viewers will not
[won’t] be comparable with working notice this but, believe me, our brains do. It is a
41
Sky is such an important object in the in Photoshop, [which] can correct most of the perfect situation when you feel something is
light and material system, [so] try to render and [do it] much faster. Dmitriy natural without knowing why! Pawel
avoid replacing it [at the compositing
stage]. I render skies straight from 3ds Max… i Lunchtime. As he renders all of j Interior Loft. An interior that k Student Housing. A project
his animal characters in Maya, Denis O made to practise an designed by Pawel for Nadau
k for the most realistic results (at least for Shave and a Haircut is image that seems open but Lavergne studio, located in
exterior scenes). Jacinto Massimo’s go-to for fur feels “packed with stuf” Bordeaux, France
Concept
I’ve always liked pictures
• OBJ files, textures, presets for
modo, a ladybird ZTL plus of the macro world; I love
tutorial screenshots the sense of scale and
3D artists explain the
• An exclusive UVLayout incredible levels of detail. I
techniques behind Hobbyist software trial also particularly enjoy
their amazing artwork using bokeh efects with a
large depth of field.
Artist info
Dmitry Denisov
Personal portfolio site
www.dmi3ryd.com
Country Moscow, Russia
Software used
ZBrush, Photoshop, modo
Expertise Character
modelling, texturing and
technical visualisations
Learn to create
photoreal 3D
Macro ladybird shot 2012
Learn how to re-create a photorealistic model of a ladybird
Dmitry Denisov is a 3D modeller working on game-dev and character projects
I
n this tutorial I will show you how to
create a photorealistic image of a
ladybird using modo, ZBrush and
Model the ladybird
Photoshop. We will discuss modelling Begin with ZBrush DynaMesh in ZBrush
techniques, topology, UV mapping,
sculpting, texturing, applying difuse and
normal maps, lighting settings and the final
post-processing of the image.
I’ll begin by showing you how to create a
simple model using DynaMesh in ZBrush
and then retopologise in modo. You’ll learn
how to use Replicators to create convincing
water drops and air particles. We’ll also
cover how to build a real-world camera,
setting up the focal length, aperture and
bokeh efects.
A
Finally, you’ll learn the basic aspects of
02 Use GoZ to move the mesh to modo I recommend you first draw the topology on
your model and then create the retopology. Add a new mesh and set focus on it. Go to the
Topo tab, then go to Tools>Pen and create the first quad on your model. As we will very often use a
Topology Pen, it’s best to set up a hot key. Hold Shift and drag LMB to extrude the edge; you can also
extrude vertexes. Please focus your mind on topology and try to feel the polygon flow. Always
remember that it’s better to have a polygon as a quad – do not stretch polygons and keep all quads the
same size. Try to use this rule and the results will be very accurate and comfortable for sculpting. If you
find topology terms difcult to understand, as well as retopologising in modo, please take a step back
and draw on your topology using PolyPaint, and then apply Symmetry once more B.
05 Sculpt the
ladybird detail
We’ll use the Standard brush
with Alpha 07 or 23 and Spray
options to create surface noise.
There’s nothing special here;
simply create a couple of
subdivision levels and sculpt
them. You can also apply
surface noise to your model
and relax it with the Morph
brush. After that we need
normal and cavity maps to
adjust the realism of our model.
E
In our case we will use Multi
Map Exporter because our D The Unfold tool with cutting F Textures for the ladybird,
model has UV ofset. Now we edges and UV packing set to 0, difuse and cavity maps
1, 2 values
have both normal and cavity
D G The main parts of the materials,
maps we can move to the next E ZBrush sculpting using brushes, the fur settings and their
06 Create textures
Step 3: Select all cut edges, move the cursor to a diferent
part and hit Enter (Separate) or Shift+S (Cut). This lets you
Use the Export UVs to cut or separate the model comfortably. When you’ve
EPS function to create a UV finished, you need to put all these parts in the UV Editor.
wire. Open the EPS file in Hold D and press 1 to move to the UV Editor.
Photoshop with 4,096 pixels. Step 4: Move your cursor to a separated part and hold A
First look at reference images until you like the result. You can also use Shift+F to flatten
and imagine the structure of the separated part better. Open Pack, choose Best Quality
your painting. Get a red or and click Pack All. Don’t forget to activate Tile UV!
orange base colour, then add Step 5: Hit 3 to see your unwrapped UV model. If all is
surface noise for a better look. okay, click Send and in modo click Import From UVLayout.
We’ll paint on modo procedure
textures, adding black and
white areas as indicated by
your reference images. Do not
paint with Symmetry on
because we need the model to
be unique. Try to add further
points with diferent layer
styles and layer blending
G modes for various results F.
07 Create materials in modo We need three main materials for the ladybird, leaf and
water particles. The structure of the ladybird contains: Difuse, Specular, Normal, SSS and
Procedure maps and textures. You can see the Tree Material settings for the ladybird and leaf. Use a
Material preset for the water particles. Moving to fur, duplicate all of your parts for the legs and body
and move to the meshes. Use the Reduction tool if your geometry has high density. Go to the Paint tab
and Hair Tools tab, then use hair guides and click on the mesh. Refer to the screenshot provided for the
settings. We need to stretch our guides on the joints and the top part of the body. Add a fur material
and move it to the top of the Shader Tree. This is very important because we will manually set Render
options for the fur. Again, refer to the screenshot for the fur settings; I recommend Monte Carlo G.
So delete the polygons under the legs, and the few that are deepest
under the body, and then add a cube and smooth it. This will be our
first water drop, so scale it on the Y-axis a little. Do the same again
but use a diferent size and add a Replicator. Create a new group
and add the water drop meshes to this group. Choose water drop
meshes 1 and 2, and then hit 7 and move the Center position to the
bottom. In the Replicator settings, set Prototype to the group name
and Point Source mesh with leaf triangulated background
polygons. See all the Replicator settings in the screenshot H.
10 HDRI
particles material set No Difuse and turn on Luminosity to white
and value 1. Now in the Render Preview you can see particles with J lighting &
bokeh efects I. camera settings
We’ve taken a preset HDRI
I image from Luxology content.
In the Environment tab add a
new image with an HDRI. Use
the Projection Type as Light
Probe with Projection Axis Y,
then use rotation to get a big
composition result. To improve
placement in GL Reflection, use
Environment. Add a Minimum
Spot of about 6-7 in order to
texture. This brings some
interesting blur to the image.
With HDRI lighting we can
capture beautiful global
illumination lighting and
self-shadows in our scenes.
This map will also be visible in
the water droplets to give us
great results. Create a new
render camera and place it in a
H The Replicator placement and position that you like. We’re
settings used
using about 150mm focal
I Placing air particles length and 6 Iris Blades. This is
J The HDRI map essential in order for the bokeh
efects to work efectively J.
K Volumetric render pass with the
settings used
Dmitry Denisov
Currently working at the Kaspersky Lab as a web
12 Set up the render Organise your Shader Tree and create groups for all the model’s parts.
Remember that you can always add a Render Output for each part to help you in post-
production. Choose all textures, set None to Antialiasing and Texture Filtering to Nearest. This is
designer, Dmitry explores 3D as a hobby, spending most important as it gives more sharpness to our textures. Use Indirect Illumination type Monte Carlo and
of his free time experimenting with various projects change Indirect Rays to 1,024. Set Antialiasing to about 256 or 512 samples, Mitchel filter, Refinement
Shading to 0.1, Refinement Threshold to 0.3 and Ray Threshold to 0.01. Turn on DOF, set FStop to 8,
Iris Blades to 5 and Edge Weighting to 50%. Check the screenshot for all the settings. This will be a
first render pass with final colour and AO, but without Specular and Reflection passes L.
L
Portrait of a man
M Bokeh settings
Q Chromatic aberrations
14 Render volumetric light and air particles Choose the main shader, click RMB and set
the Fog type, enabling us to render only volumetric lighting. You can also add diferent types of
noise to Volumetric Density to get an interesting result. Try to find the optimal value of samples to get
a suitable quality: 256-512 tends to work well. In Environment, set Visible to Camera to None. In
To Windows 7 After Efects, modo (2010) Render Camera Settings I recommend using Edge Weighting with 50-70% to create a nice bokeh
A still from the movie created for a Kaspersky Promo for Windows 7 efect. Next, select the air particles group, isolate it from the scene and render it. These will be small
particles with a bokeh blur applied N.
15 Compare render passes in Photoshop Now we have a final Difuse pass with all the
lighting, AO, reflection, specular, volume light and air particles included. First duplicate the
Color passes and blur them. Use this layer as a clipping mask for the AO pass, making our self-
shadows much more interesting. Next add specular and reflection to produce a bokeh efect and use a
blending mode to merge the two. Control the strength of these efects by adjusting the layer opacity.
Remember you can decrease the strength of each pass by tweaking the Opacity or using Adjustment
Layers. For example, you can duplicate the Color passes, blur and append them as clipping masks to
the Reflection or Specular pass with Opacity set to 15%, and an Add blending mode O.
15+
layers for each mesh and manually add
them to the compositing program
hou
creation ti rs
me
Resolution
3,000 x 3,80 :
0
3D realism
take you from concept
to the final render
Artist info
Rolleiflex camera 2011 Modelling
Texturing Eric Cain
We take you through the main stages Lighting
of creating a realistic 3D model of this Username: cain3d
traditional camera Personal portfolio site
www.cain3d.com
Eric Cain is a 3D artist specialising in modelling and visualisation Country United States
I
Software used 3ds Max, mental
selected this camera as a portfolio production piece I began to make that the focus of the production, I wanted ray, Photoshop
while I was a student. I originally selected this subject to create the camera and have it look as lifelike as possible. Expertise I am a 3D artist
working in modelling, texturing
because I liked the modern interpretation of the original There is a huge industry in commercial art, which many feel and lighting. My passion is
vintage Rolleiflex camera, and felt the unique design would is less creative than original art, but the skill required to visualisation and postwork. I
want to make things look as
make for an interesting project. But it quickly became an create 3D images so accurately that they can pass as real, is realistic as possible, and that’s
experiment in realism. just as artistic as any other. all in the details!
When people knowingly look at 3D art, they often spend This tutorial will take you through my workflow and
their time looking for flaws; anything that gives away the design process from start to finish for this camera
fact that it’s a 3D production. If they don’t know it’s a production. We will go through modelling techniques,
production, their eyes will still often notice anything that is applying UVW mapping, texturing, lighting and finally the
out of place, especially if the object is well-known. postproduction stages.
01 Research and
gather reference
Spending time to find the right
reference is extremely
important. You cannot create
something from your memory.
It’s not the overall shape or
general details of an object that
make it look convincing, it’s the
subtle details, the ones that are
normally not captured in your
memory. It’s easy to get excited
about a new project and jump
right in with little or no
reference, but in the end this
results in a lot of reworking, or
an object that does not truly
reflect what you were trying to
create originally a.
b
a Gathering as much
f
05 Place wires After having
everything blocked in and all
the locking loops in place, it’s now time
to start applying the Turbo Smooth
modifier to everything. Depending on
the distance from the camera, you can
sometimes set the Iterations at 1 or 2,
but because this is a very close shot,
everything has three Iterations applied
so we will not see any faceting e.
i
09 Apply the texture
After creating the
texture in Photoshop, you can
then move it into 3ds Max to
create a plastic mental ray
material. After several tweaks
from the preset material
parameters I was able to get the
plastic to achieve a matte
appearance with the reflection
quality I wanted. Under Special
Purpose Maps there is a Bump
Map slot, this is where I put in
the bump texture I created. I
adjusted the amount to .18 to get
the desired height of the bump
on my model i.
10 Lighting and camera angles I first find where I think will be the best place to shoot from,
set my 35mm camera into place and make sure to lock it in. To emulate a real-life studio
lighting, I used two target photometric lights. They emit light from the rectangle shape, which I sized to
scale with my camera. To create this setup I first researched studio lighting to make sure I would get a
real-life studio look. My other light is a Skylight that I used to run my HDR image through j.
Attention to detail
When creating real-life objects in 3D, it’s extremely important to focus on the details at all
levels of the design and production. The original block-out must be sized and scaled correctly
and the smallest details have to be included in the model work. Textures are also key, so it
won’t matter if the model is perfectly clean, if the textures don’t look real then the efect will
be lost. The lighting and staging help to create the final trompe l’oeil!
Final rendering
Bring your model to life with postwork
Eric Cain
My passion for art started at a young age and my eye for
realism and detail was always apparent, whether I was
drawing comic book characters or figure studies. I only
made the transition into 3D art about three years ago
while getting my degree in Media Arts and Animation.
But as I moved from 2D to 3D, I simply changed the tools I
used to create my art.
l
12 The Ambient Occlusion pass The Ambient Occlusion (AO) pass is an important step to
create realism, and is one of my favourite passes. The AO pass gives us a Dirt map that helps us
see where light would be naturally occluded. I typically make two AO passes: one with larger Spread
and Fallof than the other. The first is a general shadow map showing where all the darker areas are on
the model, and the other is only to show extremely dark areas like fine crevices. I then use this in
Photoshop as a multiplier layer in postproduction with a low opacity l.
13 The Z Depth pass I used the Z Depth pass to create the auto-focus look that a real camera
would give when taking a photograph. I wanted to achieve a very subtle auto-focus with a slight
blur efect to draw attention the camera. Under Render Setup, add Z Depth and make sure to have
Elements active. Choose your minimum maximum Depth for the focus area. To get an absolute
amount without having to render, you can get out the Tape Measure under the Helpers menu and
measure it from your camera m.
Artist info
main colour to create variation k
us behind their artwor
I created the wrinkles in ZBrush by
painting a mask on the cat’s body, to which
I applied the Inflate deformer
twice and a little correction
with Smooth and Dam Standard
brushes. For small wrinkles, I used the
Standard brush with an Alpha
Visualise realistic
products in modo
Luxurious Fountain Pen 2012
Achieve high quality, photoreal renderings using modo’s Pixar
Subdivision Surfaces, built-in assets and environment lighting
Wojciech Portnicki is a 3D artist who specialises in product visualisation and hard-surface modelling
T
his tutorial will provide an insight
into my workflow for this elegant
fountain pen. It was modelled as
Begin the modelling
part of my personal portfolio. I wanted to
achieve something detailed and realistic.
Start out with a 20-sided cylinder
Over the next few pages I hope to walk
you through the whole process of creating a
the image: from modelling the pen nib, to
applying UV, texture creation, simple light
settings, tweaking the camera, and finally
to the render settings.
To get really smooth results with
geometry we’ll be using Pixar Subdivision
Surfaces (PSub). The benefits of using
PSub is that it ofers great features, such
as Refined Edge Weighting and smoother
surfaces with vertices holding more than 01 Cone-like cylinder I always like to start my modelling with the parts that look hardest to model – that way,
it’s always downhill from there. When you look closely at the nib it’s just a cylinder curve-sliced to the desired
shape. Start of by dragging out a 20-sided cylinder. The dimensions of my original mesh were out of scale (1,400mm
four edges (which we normally avoid, but
tall and a radius of 190mm) but don’t worry about that now, you can scale it down later on. Select the bottom ngon and
sometimes it’s acceptable).
scale it uniformly to 220% on XYZ a.
We’ll also use one of modo’s greatest
Modelling
Materials
Lighting
Easy-to-follow guides
take you from concept
to the final render
Artist info
Wojciech Portnicki
Concept
Username: Wojtek
Reference is very important when it comes to re-creating
real-world objects in 3D. We’re not doing a specific pen Personal portfolio site
model, but we want it to look real. I often start with www.behance.net/auror
browsing image searches online for pictures I like and Country Poland
Software used in this piece compiling them into a reference folder. From what I’ve Software used
gathered up I then work out a couple of design choices I Illustrator, Photoshop, modo 501
SP6 (64-bit)
like: old-style ball nib, gold and silver sections, plus
modo Illustrator Photoshop Expertise Product visualisation
geometric engravings. and hard-surface modelling
05 Bevel the
spine edge
Now select the edge
running down from our
hole all the way to the
tip. Hit Edge Bevel
(with a Round Level of
0) and give it a small
Give your pen
bevel. Select the
nib an edge
by bevelling created polygon row,
its spine the hole poly and last
hit Delete E.
07 Radial fallof to round the tip We should round of the pen’s tip because now it has
become flat. To do this there is no better way than the radial fallof. Play with it until you get
the shape you desire. Don’t worry if there’s very little geometry to shape the tip with. When you hit
Shift+Tab it all smoothens out. Also, set your mesh subdivision level to 3 or higher G.
Final touches
Apply materials, lighting and rendering
k
12 Add details with a custom bump map Select all
the polys on your nib you want to be gold and create a new
material (M) for them. Do the same with polys that will be silver.
Now drag and drop the default Gold and Silver materials (from
11 UV creation: Unwrapping To texture our pen properly we need a nice UV map. Go to the
UV tab and create a new, empty UV map for your mesh. Select an edge loop running along the
side of the nib and also the edge we created for separating its gold and silver parts. Now use the
Assets) inside the gold and silver areas on your model. You can
add your own black and white images to these materials and use
them as bump maps. Be sure to use your UV, I used some default
Unwrap tool (set to Group Normal). This should result in a pretty clean UV map to work with K. Illustrator patterns for my nib engravings L.
Artist info
Taha Alkan
Username: tahaalkan
Personal portfolio site
http://tahaalkan.cgsociety.org
Country Turkey
Software used Maya, ZBrush,
mental ray, Photoshop
Work in progressÉ
Texturing
Lighting
Rendering
Easy-to-follow guides
take you from concept
to the final render
Artist info
Yasin Hasanian
A
roma was a great opportunity for me drive of this guide is texturing and rendering, we where you have lots of light pouring in or light can
to challenge myself and expand my will look at these in a little more detail before be distinguished from other properties.
skills. Rather than sculpting my usual moving to the compositing stage. In terms of software I used Maya for scene
freaky creatures, I decided to have a go at One of the main challenges of this project was setup, ZBrush for sculpting, mental ray for
creating realistic-looking food. to ensure I captured the right mood for the scene. rendering and Photoshop for texturing and
This tutorial will be divided into sections: the If you look at food photography, you’ll find that postproduction. However, the ideas and workflow
first will look at gathering references and briefly the camera focus plays a big role in close-up covered in this tutorial can also be applied to
discuss the modelling stages. Since the main shots – particularly in dreamy bright scenes other packages.
Build a concept
Find examples to inform your work’s realism
a b
02 Search for detail Since I was trying to make the piece look as convincing as possible I
found a lot of fruit-related references. I tried to observe any surface qualities I could find of
strawberries, seed orientations, peaches, scatterings of light and so on. From there I roughly planned
the pipeline b.
c 03 Start to model
The modelling
stage was a pretty
e
Problems
Say Cheese to The World Maya, ZBrush, BodyPaint 3D,
and some
Photoshop, mental ray (2010) solutions
The inspiration for this came from a painting I found by chance. I
used Shave and a Haircut and p_HairTK for the fur. There are In order to get a decent
roughly 13 million hair prims divided into five hair systems. look for the cloth piece I
decided to simulate it
with nCloth by simply
colliding the dish to the
cloth. After that I took it
to ZBrush to add
I Used to be a Hero high-frequency details,
Maya, ZBrush, such as the vertical
mental ray, pattern and pitch fuzz
BodyPaint 3D, pores. One thing to bear
Photoshop (2012) in mind about the
Maya was used for peaches is that there is
05 Edit lighting
scene setup, ZBrush another layer of
Before I actually began texturing models I
for sculpting, geometry around them.
created a temporary lighting setup to get the overall mood
BodyPaint 3D for This represents the
for the scene, because it renders much faster and more efciently. water coat layer on any
texturing, Photoshop
The first thing to manage was setting up the scene, meaning wet surfaces. That layer
for texturing and
applying all the normal or displacement maps if applicable. All also maintains the
compositing and last
rendering was done objects were given mia_material_X_passes as no other shader can curvature at the contact
in mental ray. beat them in accurate behaviour. Usually I keep the lighting setup on areas to catch nice
a separate render layer which has a grey material (mia_material) highlights. To create
override in order to adjust lighting later more easily e. that layer, in ZBrush I
combined all medium
resolution peaches
f together and sculpted
the layer in a way that it
could represent a water
shell around them.
To handle objects
that need some sort of
surrounding, repeating
pattern, I often use
Radial Symmetry. Later
06 Use the linear workflow After setting up the scene
the most crucial factor not to overlook is LWF (linear
workflow). In the recent versions of Maya there are LWF features but
when I’m satisfied with
the look I add another
layer and deform the
I can never get them working the way they should. It’s best to assign object to suit the piece.
Miss Mutation Maya, ZBrush, mental ray, Photoshop (2010) a lens shader to the camera and a gammaCorrect node to any This method usually
The model is Ophelia Overdose. Maya was used for the base mesh textures or colour swatches (RGB channels). Regarding shaders and saves a lot of
and scene setup, ZBrush for sculpting, Photoshop for texturing and lights, even blackbody or cie_d nodes produce RGB values rather headaches, not to
final touches, mental ray for rendering and compositing in NUKE. than Kelvin Color Temperatures therefore they need to be gamma mention time.
corrected if they are connected to the colour input of any node f.
Add textures
Complete your lighting, move to materials and shading
h
13 Avoid shortcuts
my experience you can
achieve burnt highlights by
In
k Incandescence Refraction Reflection
Rod DeWeese
Rod worked for eight years in the
landscape architecture industry
before pursuing freelance work
Username: RDeWeese
Personal portfolio site
www.rdeweese.com
Country US
Software used
3ds Max, mental ray, Photoshop
Work in progress…
• RolexYachtmasterIIMaterials
(LWO files)
• Tutorial screenshots
T
his tutorial will focus on the Pro Suite. You can grab trials for these from
production of a photorealistic the respective websites: www.keyshot.
render of a wristwatch. Workflow com/try and www.bunkspeed.com/
is always important to avoid back-tracking software/trypro. Both are very capable and
and repeating steps as much as possible. very fast rendering solutions, which for
Part of what will be specifically looked at is many projects provide a much faster
the process of completing the work with turnaround than LightWave alone.
the best tools for the job. In this case we’ll Taking that into account, the basic
use LightWave for modelling because it’s a workflow we’ll cover is the setting up of
rock-solid polygon modeller. Breaking out of reference images and the modelling of the
a simple LightWave workflow – even watch. Modelling will include the assigning
though it has a good renderer – we’ll step of surfaces ready for shading. This requires
into other software to render. some consideration with regard to the
Why move out of LightWave, you ask? model going into the third-party renderers.
Well, as simplicity isn’t always a good This is because the surface assignments
reason to limit your options, it’s important will dictate how the model is editable within
to understand all the tools you have at your the other renderers. There is also some UV
disposal, and when to use them. mapping to do.
As well as LightWave, I often use Once all the work is done in LightWave’s
Luxion’s KeyShot Pro and the Bunkspeed Modeler, our workflow will split. For
01 Prepare to model
for most situations. A workflow consideration that might not
Whichever method you use, it’s worth apply to everyone is compatibility with First you need to find a suitable
pointing out that it represents pretty much CAD systems. LightWave can handle OBJ, reference to use as a foundation for the basic modelling
the end of any LightWave input to the end Collada, and FBX, but these don’t directly process. In an ideal world we would have side and front views of
result. This means you need to be really help with CAD. The other two go a step a wristwatch. Although decent-enough front views are easy to
certain that your modelling work is finished, further. Bunkspeed ofers a free plug-in for find from a Google Images search, I couldn’t find a decent side
that all your surfaces are correctly assigned use with various other software systems, view for this Rolex. My reference is plentiful enough for the job,
and all required UV sets have been created. with Pro/E being one of the main ones in though, and I can gauge the depth of the watch, so it’s not the
Failure to do so can see you needing to go CAD terms, but it requires a licensed copy end of the world. With the front view set as the backdrop, basic
back to LightWave to do further work, and of Pro/Eand not everyone will have a model blocking can now begin A.
efectively write of a lot of time spent licence for it. KeyShot also has the native
C D
E F
04
at 1. Also, interpolated GI isn’t the fastest Deep Exploration. The main reason is that it
c A simple scene
Arrange your shaders The option, so with it turned of, GI set to Monte can read a LightWave scene, including with an HDRI map
screenshot for this stage shows Carlo and the RPE set to 4, we’re good to animation, and enable you to export to is all we’ll need
you the major settings for the 24-carat gold go. I usually keep the adaptive threshold at Collada and FBX. This is great if you want to
D Shading in
shader. When it comes to shaders you may 0.01 for finals. Minimum Samples on the render an animated sequence outside of LightWave – try to
wish to remain relatively old-school and camera are kept low, but maximum LightWave. It also makes it a snap to export keep it simple
keep use of nodes is minimal when it can samples need tweaking for your scene E. any frame of the scene as an OBJ file. As a
06
be. Never make it more complicated than it user, you will rarely render sequences E Major render
settings in
needs to be! In the case of the gold shading, Export and render outside of LightWave, so OBJ is the way to LightWave
it’s not the most complicated thing to do There are several options available go. LightWave will export Collada natively, grouped together
and really comes down to getting the colour for getting geometry out of LightWave and but for reasons not entirely clear, the file
F Using Deep
right along with the balance of difuse and into KeyShot or Bunkspeed Pro. My sizes are in excess of ten-times the size of Exploration to
reflection. Provided is the full LightWave favoured method is Right Hemisphere’s those from Deep Exploration F. export the watch
07
H
Import into either KeyShot or G Import options for
both KeyShot and
Bunkspeed On account of their Bunkspeed
similar product specs and pipelines, there is
not a great diference in how you get the H Working on the
model into KeyShot or Bunkspeed. Both model in KeyShot
ofer you options as to how the object will I Working with
be organised after the import has shaders inside
completed. The default options work well in of Bunkspeed
both cases, giving you a separate entity for J Adding realism
each material from LightWave. This means through grading
it’s worth giving consideration to this when
surfacing the model in LightWave to avoid
restrictions later. If any applied texture
maps are placed in the folder with the OBJ
file, then both renderers will load the
textures in while importing the model G.
10
then the ofine render can be used for
finished output H. Grade your renders There is no J
09
doubt that the results that can be
Alternative shading and obtained from LightWave, KeyShot and
rendering in Bunkspeed Pro Bunkspeed are fantastic, but one of the
After importing into Bunkspeed Pro, as with biggest mistakes to make is to assume that
KeyShot, you start by dragging and the process ends there. I find just adding a
dropping materials onto your model. The little chromatic aberration and noise to the
library of supplied materials, environments, image is enough to take away the clean CGI
and backplates is enough to cover most look. Also adding a colour tint to make it a
requirements. Parts of the model can be little less neutral is a great way to achieve
hidden to gain access to parts otherwise this. With the aid of a depth pass, you can
blocked from drag-and-drop operations. also add depth of field, which is pretty
For rapid turnarounds without crucial for LightWave renders, as rendering
compromising quality, it’s a great tool to DOF in LightWave is still prohibitive of your
use, even if it’s not exactly cheap I. precious time j.
From planning to
rendering and post-
production, you will learn
all the techniques 176
20 steps to better
environments
Consumed 2012
The concept for this image came from wanting to
create a piece dedicated to a person who lived below my
apartment, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease
Toni Bratincevic is a senior environment modeller at Blizzard Entertainment in the
Cinematic department. He’s a self-taught 3D artist with almost ten years of
professional experience
his tutorial will cover the making of Consumed, focusing mostly on my personal
T approach to the modelling process. I will show how basic modelling is done in 3ds Max
using some simple techniques, and how ZBrush is used to sculpt the character and additional
objects featured in the scene.
To finish up I will quickly go over some procedural texturing techniques to add dirt layers on wood
and will show you how V-Ray RT can be used to set up lighting in an interactive way.
I’m using ZBrush primarily as my sculpting tool, but I also often rely on its texturing and UV
unwrapping tools, as well as its geometry optimisation tool, Decimation Master. So let’s begin!
Artist info
Toni Bratincevic
Username: InterceptoV
Personal portfolio site
www.interstation3d.com
Location California, USA
Software used
3ds Max, Photoshop, ZBrush,
V-Ray RT
Expertise Toni works with
environments professionally,
and is currently focusing on
character modelling in his spare
time to introduce more variety
into his portfolio
Always be
Start the layout and modelling prepared
Establish the scene and create models for the environment The first steps are usually
the most important when
creating an image –
especially one that is more
complex. These are the
stages where everything is
established in a broad
sense: the composition,
distribution of objects,
forms, basic light setup
and colour correction for
the final image. It’s
essentially a simplified
draft version of what the
end result will be. After
this point it’s just a matter
of being patient and
detailing all the objects,
textures, materials and
light to bring the image to
the final version. If you
A don’t feel comfortable
with the layout you’ve
01
completed and you can’t
Scene blocking After gathering my various pencil sketches together, I set up the imagine it as a final work,
a Simple objects to stage the
scene and build the layout
then try starting from
basic layout of the scene and stage the camera. This step takes me around ten scratch and beginning
minutes. I’m not wasting time keeping topology clean and making good UVs. At this point I’m everything again in a
b The basic lighting setup to
starting most of the objects from a simple box and using poly-modelling tools like Cut, check which objects are diferent way. Imagine this
Extrude, Bridge and Connect. I’m aiming to model all objects that will serve as starting points more in focus process as paving the way
to the final product – after
for the high-poly modelling. It’s also during this stage that I define the basic camera position
c Models from the layout are which you only need to
so that I’m building the scene based on what I see. I will also establish the basic composition exported into separate take steps forward!
during the process a. assets for detailing
02
layout was a simple re-modelled box object, is exported to a
Basic lighting Next I establish the overall lighting of the scene. Although some separate scene named ‘Fridge_V01_01.max’ where I can
artists tend to create lighting in later stages, I usually decide to work on it as soon as I re-model and detail the object. The layout model of the
create the layout. Lighting – along with camera view – will define what parts of the scenes are fridge is positioned to fit the layout scene but when I export
more visible, what will be in focus and what I should concentrate my time modelling and this placeholder object into the new scene I reset all the
texturing. This basic lighting is done with a couple of V-Ray area lights. One light uses a transformations so it’s positioned at the origin where I did all
warmer tone and serves as a primary to illuminate areas where the character should be, while the re-modelling. I merge this model back into the original
others are used as fill lights with cooler colours b. scene and align it to the layout model of the fridge C.
Detailed modelling
Re-create your models from the initial layout to perfect the level of detail
05
variations of stones that I
Sculpt detail with ZBrush I export the base use around the scene. UVs
character model into an OBJ format (using the are also done in ZBrush
ZBrush preset). In ZBrush I merge the OBJ, subdivide it a using the UV Master tools. I
couple of times and, using brushes like Move, Clay Buildup, use the Decimation Master
Smooth and Dam Standard, I sculpt all the wrinkles and plug-in for ZBrush to
details on the suit. Once I’m done sculpting, on the first level optimise meshes and reduce
of subdivision I use UV Unwrap in ZBrush to create simple mesh complexity. Once the
UVs for the character. I could export back to 3ds Max on one objects are decimated I
of the lower subdivision levels of the objects and create a export them as OBJ files and
Displacement map. This time I choose to export the highest merge them all into a 3ds
level to keep all the details I’ve sculpted, since with Max file where I can
e
displacement you always lose some sculpted details e. continue texturing f.
08 Tear of the light box panel To peel the light box
panel above the clock I’ve developed a simple
technique. Once the panel is modelled and textured I make a
duplicate of the same object and apply a Subdivision
modifier with a value of 0.2. After that, I convert it back into
Edit Poly object and cut areas where I want the peeling paint
to appear. Then, using Soft Selection and Move/Rotate tools,
I move the inner edges of the mesh so it looks like it’s peeling
G
from the original object h.
07 Set dressing Objects used for set dressing are relatively simple to model. Some of
them are created by drawing a profile curve and using the Lathe modifier to revolve it
around its axis, like a few bottles and a teapot. Other objects are created from a simple box
d The character is modelled
and posed in 3ds Max
g Objects for set dressing
created in a separate scene
and later scattered around
and extruding and cutting the mesh to make the shapes needed. At this point I also create e Sculpt the character from the base scene
simple UVs using the UVW Map modifier with box mapping. These objects are later merged the base mesh
h More details for the top
into the original layout scene and distributed around the image to add complexity where f Rocks are made in ZBrush, light panel are added by
needed g. including the base mesh copying the original object
2D Displacement in V-Ray?
Although nice efects can be achieved with 3D Mapping
Displacement mode in V-Ray, whenever I can I try to use
the 2D Displacement feature, which is much faster and
more predictable. It can also produce more detailed
displacement than the other two methods, and is especially L
useful for surfaces that are relatively flat like a grass field or
tileable ground covered with small stones. The limitation of
2D Displacement is that it can only use Displacement maps i Model only one section of the clock and k The ProCutter compound object is used to
that are based on the UV space of the object, which means copy it seven times to get the full shape break the wood boxes around the scene
3D textures like noise can’t be used. In this case the 3D
method is the only way to go. j The cobwebs are made using a free script l 2D Displacement is used to add geometry
from JokerMartini.com details over the scene
16
Fallof, V-Ray MultiSubTex,
Composite and Cellular. Clock material To detail the clock object I use three
key materials that are mixed together to get the most
m The procedural approach efective look. To mix these materials I use a VRayBlendMtl
using the Vertex Paint
modifier to add dirt with a base material set to a metallic copper. The second
one is set to a more difused green material (the more
n Fridge textures painted in oxidized areas of the metal). The third and final material is
Photoshop. A scratch
mask is used to mix the highly reflective and used to add scratches on top of the
aluminium material in the previous two materials. For Material Mix maps I bake an
VRayBlendMtl settings Occlusion map from 3ds Max and use that Occlusion map
in Photoshop to refine it into a final Mix map. Based on
o Paint textures for the back
wall. I bake an Occlusion occlusion intensity, I paint both Mix maps. Where it’s more
map for contact points occluded I add extra dirt into the first Material Mix map so
that it looks like it’s more oxidised. However, in areas
p The clock material is a
combination of three exposed and not occluded (white) I add more scratches for
diferent materials the second Material Mix map p.
18 Physical camera V-Ray’s camera is used instead of single modification I would
have to render a new
the classic 3ds Max camera. I decide not to use image, which takes a
exposure inside the VRayPhysicalCamera, which is on by while. Because of that, I
default. Instead, exposure is added in the V-Ray Color don’t bother getting a
Mapping menu in Render Settings. I use a Cubic method with great-looking image from
3ds Max and instead
a 0.05 value to get a nice distortion around the image focus on doing
borders, which gives a more dynamic composition to the compositing in Fusion
scene and looks more natural. Depth of field is also used in where I can tweak colours
the camera to get a nice blurred foreground. I always use in a matter of seconds.
DOF in the camera for still images because it gives better
image quality than doing it in the post-processing phase r. q V-Ray RT is used to make
19
quick changes to the
Rendering in V-Ray I render with the Adaptive scene’s lighting
DMC sampler with Subdivisions set to Min 1 and Max r Testing V-Ray’s camera
10. An Irradiance map is used as the primary bounce for GI with diferent distortion
while Lightcache is used for secondary GI bounces. The values. For the final image
it is set to 0.05
Irradiance map is set to High and I use Ambient Occlusion
set to the default value. For Lightcache I use Subdivs set to s Settings for the final render
r 1,500. In the Render Settings menu I set Global Subdivs (screenshots supplied)
Multiplier to 4 to get decent sampling for glossy reflections
t Fusion is used for colour
and DOF. All render tests are done in 2,000 resolution while corrections on the raw
the final image is rendered in 5,000 s. OpenEXR-rendered image
20 Final compositing The final image is rendered in OpenEXR format so that I don’t
lose any information from the colour values, like TGA or PNG formats do. This is
then taken into Fusion where I apply several colour corrections to get the values I want. I also
use masks in combination with colour corrections to darken parts of the image in the
foreground while areas around the clock and the character are corrected to be more visible
and to attract attention from the viewer. While doing post work I tend to flip the image often
t
to get a fresh perspective. The final image is actually a flipped version of the original t.
Artist info
Website
rg
http://radicjoe.cgsociety.o
Country Hungary
, V-Ray,
Software used 3ds Max
Photoshop
Incredible 3D artists take
ed in
Bio Viktor is a 3D artist bas
Budapest, Hungary
k
us behind their artwor
Distribution
Software used
in this piece
Lighting
Rendering
Vue
landscapes
Artist info
Conrad Allan
I
n this article we’ll be covering there’s a current flowing through. Next huge and lighting settings sensitive. and creating environments in
Vue for matte paintings and full
advanced techniques for creating we’ll look into using terrains in a unique With the advent of Vue 10 came a new 3D animations
scenes in Vue. While we’ll be way to get rock overhangs in our ocean physical water system. It meant
building an underwater scene, the scene for coral to grow on and fish to relearning the entire water-rendering
techniques you’ll learn are easily swim through. experience. Hopefully by the end of the
transferred to many other, above- Veterans of Vue will understand article we will have removed the
ground creations in the software. First rendering underwater scenes in it has shroud in your understanding of the
we’ll be preparing a plant to use as our always been a challenge. The ocean new physical water system.
seagrass where we’ll use the animation material is easy enough to set up We’re covering a lot of elements and
phasing to make the plant look like initially, but render times can often be have a lot to get through, so buckle up.
b c
Final touches
Depth of field and render settings
Conrad Allan
I started my career as a structure modeller for
n
14 Displace the
hyperblobs We
architects. I then discovered Vue and fell in love with need to add some framing to
the quick results I could achieve. From the very our scene. To do this, add a
beginning I strove to separate myself from the crowd cylinder and Ctrl/right-click
and achieve the highest level of realism I could with on the Metablob icon again
pure 3D scenes in Vue. More recently my work has to create a hyperblob.
begun to focus on matte painting for various fields. Accept the change of
15 Hyperblob
o material, we’ll use this as our
materials default material. In the
Change the material Colour &
material mapping Density settings,
for the cylinder to enable Use
World-Standard, as Distance Field, set
this will give it to 95% and the
variations when we Overall Density to
duplicate the cylinder. 2. This will take
We need to improve some tweaking
the bump for depending on your
Hypertexture Material. particular version
In the Bump tab of the fractal n.
Halo: Faith Vue, Photoshop (2011) change the Bump to
This was made for an independent short film, ’Halo: Faith‘. It is a -25. Finally, duplicate this object so
frame from the finished trailer that aired late 2011. It was made
there are a couple of iterations on the left and right Use Z-depth
mostly inside Vue with Photoshop colour corrections, compositing
efects and addition of the live-action soldier. of your image frame and at diferent distances from the post rendering
camera. Each instance should look diferent o.
If you’re applying depth of
field in another software,
Artist info
Dennis Kaya
Iversholt
Dennis is a 32-year-old 3D
generalist working at Cadesign
in Aarhus, Denmark
Personal portfolio site
http://latter.cgsociety.org
Country Denmark
Software used 3ds Max, V-Ray,
Mudbox, Photoshop
Work in progress…
This is the type of scene I wanted to create for years. My initial idea
was to create a present day or futuristic scene, but as I started modelling
the character I changed my mind and made this scene, which is
inspired by New York in the 50s Dennis Kaya Iversholt, Neon City, 2012
3D Art & Design 175
Environment
Create a desert
landscape
Mars Desert 2012
Easy-to-follow guides
take you from concept Software used in this piece
to the final render
LightWave ZBrush Photoshop
Artist info
T
his image was inspired by the landscapes of Mars and My toolset included LightWave for the basic geometry,
deserts on Earth. The mix of diferent arid ZBrush to get a base mesh for the final rocks in the image and
Username: artecnl
environments enabled me to expand on the tonal range then Photoshop for the final integration of the base image and
Personal portfolio site and structures in the scene. I added an element of natural textures. I also included some matte painting techniques to add
www.flickr.com/artecnl
Country Mexico
greenery to provide a contrasting colour and shape – it to the overall efect.
Software used represents the moment a plant found its way to the surface in a
LightWave, ZBrush, Photoshop
Expertise Eugenio is a texture
deadly environment.
Over the next few pages I will share my workflow and
Concept
and environment artist with Films and comics such as John Carter of Mars and Roger
experience working in the techniques for producing the final image using a mixture of 2D
advertising industry. He is a Dean landscapes, plus Earth-based deserts and the Red
and 3D techniques. This approach meant I could produce a Planet itself, inspired this scene.
co-founder of D10 Studio.
commercial-quality image while working to a tight deadline.
Modelling
Texturing
Retouching
04 Move to ZBrush sculpting As I mentioned, I made the basic shapes in the LightWave
modeller. I then exported the OBJ files and imported every piece into ZBrush. While I’m not
an expert user of ZBrush, I understand the basic sculpt tools which is all you need for this piece. Import
some jagged rock alphas to achieve nice detail in the objects. First subdivide them all, then use the
Move tool, Drag and Rock brushes to create the canyon walls, mountain and rocks.
To save time I only created five diferent objects then cloned some of them throughout in the layout.
This is a very practical approach since I knew I was planning to do a matte painting on the 3D base d.
d
c
f
06 Arrange your
layout object
Since this is a matte painting
base, we only need the
high-resolution objects with
simple red rock texture. Export
everything from ZBrush to OBJ,
with level 5 of subdivision.
Only replace the proxy
e objects with the ZBrush
exported objects, already saved
09 Start to polish the base 3D Now is the time to fix the details you’re not entirely happy
with, such as the sand shapes. Tweak this with a simple brush where the sand is dispersed.
You will later replace it with a real sand texture, the brush is simply used as a guide for the final texture.
For the rocks I used a jagged rock texture that was colour-corrected to match the image. I then
applied red dirt textures to create the dust and make a more realistic foreground i.
Guanajuato Alley
LightWave 3D
(2007) j
Guanajuato Alley is
one of my first
images combining
3D and 2D
techniques. Inspired
by the old colonial
city in Mexico, it
was created with
box-modelling
techniques and
simple UV mapping.
10 Look to the sky The original sky was made using base colours of the render, but I decided
to change it to a greenish colour later on. It is composed of real photography of an afternoon
sky in Overlay mode to have a nice fusion. The moon is a simple texture with Screen mode, masked to
show only one side – it was later cloned to have the two-moon efect j.
12 Insert
plants
water and
Now it’s time to
apply the images collected in
the texture stage, with
Photoshop modes. Add a
caustic image in Overlay mode
and add little details in the rock
borders to see the water level.
A Soft Round brush was
used for the waterfall and the
13 Begin to retouch Now we can work on ambient details, such as fog, to add depth, detail and
emphasise the scale efects. Adding some clouds in the ground helps make some sand storms.
To achieve this efect simply add some volumetric light on the top-left side, use the Selection tool with
a white colour combined with the Overlay mode and Gaussian Blur m.
Color Burn tool to add highlights to the edges of the rocks and
mountains. For contrast you might like to do a HDR Toning pass.
With a mask bring some of the rock highlights to the surface n.
15 Finish image details Once you’re happy with the final result, flatten the PSD. Mirror the
image again and add more highlights with the Burn tool. Use the Sharpen tool on some
foreground rocks to get a nice crisp efect. Now your Mars desert should be complete o.
I’ve tried to capture some sort of greyness of life. As a man gets older V-Ray, Photoshop
ion
Bio Marek founded NoEmot
and older as he starts to burn down, slowly. Tired of the world and its Incredible 3D artists take Studio in 2007
Artist info
ridiculousness, looking around and seeing things that I’ve never noticed k
or needed to notice before as life goes on day after day and the priorities
us behind their artwor
of everyday life are changing. Just for the record, this is not meant to be
some sort of protective image of mothers or old architecture, but the I rendered with the great Chaos
coalition/composition of slightly contrasting elements that do exist
together and create special places.
Group V-Ray renderer. Colour correction
was done in Photoshop
Software used in this piece
3ds
Max V-Ray Photoshop
I used VRayEnvironmentFog
directly in the render, so the
render time was a little higher,
but it was completely worth it.
No extra plug-ins were used
B
efore the Tree Generator was works seamlessly with Unity’s own Terrain branches will often take some time but, as always with 3D work,
introduced in Unity, the only way to engine. This means you can create dense patience is king.
populate your virtual worlds with forests with diferent types of trees As the Tree Editor is node-based, the main workflow evolves
trees would involve a lot of manual work without even leaving Unity. For textures around the creation and connection of nodes. These nodes have
using external 3D applications or and leaves you will most probably use an their own separate settings and can either be adjusted using
dedicated tree generators. Not only would external 3D and image application, but numerical input, sliders or by applying curves. At first these
this complicate the main workflow, but other than that most of the work can be curves can seem a little daunting, but once you understand the
some of that software costs a lot more done in Unity. basic principle behind them, you will start to wonder how you
than a handful of Unity licences. With the For this small tutorial we will guide you managed to work without them. Not only do curves give you full
release of Unity 3.0 though, this has through the creation of a simple birch tree. control over the placement of leaves and branches, but you can
changed, as the main coder behind the It has a pretty basic structure and should also use them to control scale based on their placement on the
generator joins forces with the Unity be quite easy to create using the Tree branches and so on.
developers to include the powerful Tree Editor. You can create pretty much any The Tree Editor has its limitations though and can’t, in its
Editor into the Unity engine. tree type with this tool, but some types current state, be compared to dedicated programs such as
Not only is the Tree Editor fully will require more time and patience. The SpeedTree. As it comes free with Unity, the Tree Editor is still an
implemented in the Unity editor, but it also creation of custom mesh leaves and extremely powerful addition to the toolset and the more time you
c d e f
cityscapes
to the final render
Artist info
Floating City 2012 Neil Maccormack
Personal portfolio site
www.bearfootfilms.com
A conceptual 3D illustration for a floating futuristic city, complete Country Switzerland
Software used
with landing platforms and foliage LightWave, Photoshop
Expertise Neil says his greatest
Neil Maccormack is a freelance 3D artist from the UK living and working in Geneva, Switzerland strengths lie in composition,
scene setup, lighting, modelling
and digital painting
T
his tutorial will demonstrate how to go about creating a large-scale sci-fi scene, using LightWave 11 for the main
3D part and then Photoshop as the post-production and painting program.
The idea is to create a conceptual design for a floating city and then model, texture, light and render it all out ready
for post-production in Photoshop. We will add in other 2D elements along the way with some basic matte-painting
techniques and make final retouches to complete the scene.
Concept
The concept for this
image is to design a flying
– or floating – city with
water and forest features. Software used
in this piece
We will be aiming to relay
a sense of gargantuan
scale and futuristic design Photoshop LightWave
in the final illustration.
d The platform finished of with f Here you can see some of the
some extra bevels and Smooth hero buildings that were
Shifts. It’s not necessary to modelled, as well as some roof
create super high-res geometry Nurnies added in
– basic polys will be enough
g I create three diferent layers of
e The more randomly these trees to avoid repetition. Repeat
buildings can be bevelled and the process, remembering to
cut, the more realistic they will use a diferent poly and UV map
appear in the final image each time
Backgrounds
Normally I like my images to have a certain style or look,
but in a studio environment this isn’t always possible. In
early versions of the image I tried to use diferent skies and
diferent cloud images before deciding to paint my own.
07 Add some trees There are many ways to model trees, so in order for this tutorial to be
usable in versions other than LightWave 11, I’m going to map tree images to flat polygons.
Again, with the platforms and buildings in the background layer, I use the Spray Points tool to create
Existing cloud and sky images have an advantage of there points where I want the trees to be. Each point will then represent a tree. I create a very simple flat poly
already being an evident light source (the sun) so you can and a planar UV map for this poly and, with the points in the background and the poly in the
match the 3D lighting with that of the background image. foreground layer, I use the Point Clone Plus tool to create the trees. We now have multiple tree objects
all cloned so we can texture them using one UV map g.
08 Basic texturing
The texturing for
the city buildings is really
quite simple. Divide the city
up into three or four
diferent surfaces, and for
the main body of the polys
simply cubic-map an image
of some industrial
containers as the base
texture. Repeat this layer in
the Difuse and Bump
channels. For the platforms,
use an image of a dirty,
leaking wall and again
cubic-map them in all three
channels, as mentioned
before. The trees have
actual Images of trees
mapped to them using the h
UV maps created before.
Then, once brought into
Layout, we’ll create a
black-and-white version of
the tree texture to use a Clip
Clip Maps
Map in the Object Creating trees using the Clip
Properties. This way Map process can be an easier
LightWave will only render low-poly alternative to using
what the Clip Map leaves actual tree objects. Keep an
behind on the poly, which in alpha image of your tree
this case is the tree h. texture available to map to
the object properties in the
Clip Map section. Alternate
09 Scene layout
Now that we have
the majority of the
ways could be instancing in
LightWave 11 or using a point
cloud and then clip-mapped
modelling, we can go back hypervoxels to create the
to our basic scene setup various foliage.
and start to bring in our
higher-res objects. Because h In LightWave 11 there is also the
it’s easier to work with option to create trees using the new
models in layers, make sure Instancing system
you separate your i The scene layout. Note the
higher-res objects into i colour-coded objects that are all
parented correctly
layers and then parent them
in the scene once you have
imported them. Also
remember to colour code
each object to make
selecting them easier. If you
clone layers to have multiple
copies in the scene you can
organise them easier i.
Non-destructive
layers can be altered
without harming the
15 Matte-painting techniques Next I begin to add in
some extra 2D elements to the image to really take it to the
next level. I use some images of waterfalls to integrate with the
n original render image, just selecting the water and copying and pasting onto my
image. I can then tweak the contrast, colours and shadows to
14 Colour balancing and tweaking To kick of the post-production I Sharpen the image
once and add the Noise filter. I then create a new group of adjustment layers to tweak the tone
and value of each colour until I’m happy with the results.
match my picture. I then overpaint using a simple Scatter brush
with some foam and falling water. The clouds are added using a
simple Soft Round brush in the lower and mid part of the image,
For me (and my style), I like to include a layer to slightly lower the vibrancy and saturation of the each time selecting colours from the image itself to use as the
image. I also like the image to be lower in these values to give a grainier, more sci-fi feel. The other cloud colour. Lights on the buildings and aerials are also added with
layers are colour adjustments, a colour channel and a slight gradient layer to boost the contrast n. a small square brush as well as the white-painted birds o.
o I add in one or two extra trees q The final two sun layers are
using the same methods as the added over the other layers, so
clouds and water that they are all afected
A little sunshine
q
Sun rays can be done in your 3D package. LightWave uses
Volumetric lights in order to do this. The process involves
cloning your 3D scene, matting everything in black and
enabling the Volumetric light so you only render the light to
a black background. This can be composited over the top
17 Final touches To completely finish the image I want to add in a couple of sun rays in the
middle of the image to try to show the sun shining from above, through the gaps in the
platforms. I paint these rays with a large round soft brush in yellow then set the layer to Divide, which
in Photoshop or your compositing package. turns them a slightly bluish hint – which works quite well but isn’t enough. So I duplicate the layer and
reduce the second layer’s opacity slightly to portray the efect q.
C
reating realistic terrains in Unity Just as important as sculpting the basic
isn’t rocket science, but as with terrain geometry is painting quality
most 3D design work, it will take textures onto it. These textures should be
some time to get right. Not only are as tileable as possible and the fewer you
reference images important, but having a use the better, as they tend to slow down
library of good-looking trees, rocks, the process by adding drawcalls to your
textures and other props is crucial to get scenes. You can also blend these textures
impressive results. A tablet is also handy together, so in theory four core textures
for terrain sculpting. could give you plenty of variations.
Sculpting basic terrains in Unity couldn’t Not only limited to sculpting and
be easier, though, as the built-in terrain painting textures, the Unity terrain engine
engine ofers sculpting features similar to also enables you to paint trees and detail
those found in programs such as ZBrush objects such as grass and rocks onto your
and Mudbox. The limitation in Unity is that terrains. These objects are automatically
you can only sculpt the terrain in its added to the terrain system’s level of detail
vertical axis, as the core system is based calculations, so this makes creating dense
on greyscale heightmaps. This means you forests and detailed landscapes a breeze. a
can’t sculpt caves and other concave Creating terrains based on real-world
features, and in heavily distorted areas of data is also possible by importing A quick search on the Unity Asset Store and Google will give
your terrain you can experience some heightmaps into Unity. This is an you access to some of these features, adding to the already
texture stretching. With this in mind invaluable feature if you’re making a game robust toolset.
though, a good workflow should start with or scene that needs to be as accurate as
sculpting the main terrain features using
the basic sculpting tools and then adding
fancy details such as rocks, clifs and
possible, as it can produce some
extremely realistic results.
Clever users of Unity can add to its
01 Creation and setup We create the terrain base object
by selecting the Terrain menu and choosing Create
Terrain. We now have a terrain object in our scene, but before we
custom-imported 3D objects last. This is core features by writing their own plug-ins, start sculpting we need to adjust the terrain object’s base settings
usually how it’s done in game engines and since the terrain engine has been using the Set Resolution menu. This is basically where we set the
nowadays, but hopefully we’ll see some lacking some major ones such as normal physical scale and resolution of terrain, textures and heightmaps.
major improvements to this technology in maps and river/road generators, there are I suggest playing around with these settings to better understand
the not-so-distant future. quite a few free and cheap ones out there. how they work a.
Importing External
Terrain Data
A quick and easy way to generate
realistic-looking terrains is to import a
greyscale heightmap from dedicated
terrain generators such as Terragen,
World Machine or Geo Control. These
programs are extremely powerful and
can generate some incredible terrains
methodically, based on complex
mathematical algorithms. When
importing these into Unity though,
using Terrain/Import Heightmap-Raw,
you must make sure the
measurements of your Unity terrain
matches the external terrain. Not
paying attention to this minor detail is
guaranteed to give you unexpected and
b c imprecise results.
d e
• Vue 10 Frontier
• Free terrain and materials
from D&D Creations
Tutorial files:
• The atmosphere file Drea
used in her scene:
‘Abandoned_atmo.atm’ plus
tutorial screenshots
Concept
When I first saw some
top-down reference
photographs of ruins and
clifs overgrown with
vegetation, I had a
specific workflow in mind
to get the best results in
3D using Vue.
Vue landscape
to the final render
Artist info
Abandoned 2012 Drea Horvath
The focus in this scene is an old ruin in a natural, picturesque
Username: Drea
environment. The image depicts the discovery of forgotten places Personal portfolio site
Drea Horvath is a 3D landscape artist www.dreahorvath.com
Country The Netherlands
W
Software used
hen I was assigned to write this tutorial, I was Throughout the tutorial you’ll notice that I’m using Vue, Photoshop, Filter Forge
happy to learn that it would be based on a lush, commercial products to build the environment. Don’t worry: Expertise 3D artist Drea
rocky environment from a top-down view. I the tutorial focuses on methods that can be applied to any specialises in creating detailed
and realistic landscapes using
love creating environments from a bird’s-eye view, so a kind of content you have in your library. For example, grass Vue. She has particular strengths
concept came to me quickly. from AsileFX is my personal choice, but Vue ships with when working with atmospheres
and lighting
This tutorial will illustrate the key steps to building an epic several kinds of grasses you can use without having to
landscape. From planning to rendering and post-production, purchase extra items. We’ll focus on EcoSystem
Software used in this piece
you will learn all the techniques I use. I’ll describe how manipulation, atmosphere and lighting settings, render
terrain is generated as well as how I set up multi-layer setups, optimisation, material tweaking and so on. All of this
Filter
material distribution, achieve realistic lighting, optimise is important when it comes to building scenes in Vue, Vue Photoshop
Forge
materials for greater believability and shorter render times. regardless of what content is used.
c
03 Assign your proportions
Next I select the second material and
change it into a Mixed Material; its second
material becomes the moss layer. This time the
material distribution is dependent on Slope
a
(100%) only. The Mixing proportions are set to
31%. After setting up the distribution, I can load
01Choose your terrain I’ve chosen the Eroded Canyon terrain from my
(D&D Creations) Canyon Terrains for Vue pack, as it perfectly fits the scene
(available online at http://tinyurl.com/canyonvue). This detailed terrain has a curvy
materials: a darker sand from the RealSand pack,
our own sandstone material (supplied) and Grass
‘n’ Rocks from the Clifhangers product by Mark
riverbed and steep, highly eroded clifs. The shape is based on a procedural terrain Lawson. You can find Mark’s products on
created in Vue using the terrain fractal with Canyon and Strata filters. The erosion Cornucopia3D: www.cornucopia3d.com/
was added using the World Machine 2 terrain generator (www.world-machine. purchase.php?item_id=11447 c.
com). You can find the terrain supplied with this book’s disc (also found at
www.3dartistonline.com/news/tutorial-files/). With the terrain loaded, I find a
spot with a clif wall that looks iconic enough to be in focus with the ruins. I can then
a A distant shot of the spot b A shot illustrating the first c The highlights show how
add my ruin components (a model purchased from Renderosity.com) next to the on the terrain where the steps of controlling the materials will be
wall and adjust the camera angle to suit a. ruins will be placed material distribution distributed in the scene
f
How to
achieve
realistic
lighting
Realistic lighting is one of
the most important
factors in a scene.
Lighting can make or
break a scene, whether
it’s a realistic, fantasy,
surreal or sci-fi landscape.
Even if you look at the
most surrealistic image
possible, if the lighting is
bad it can make you g
question what you’re
looking at. The Global
Radiosity lighting model is
the only model that
perfectly imitates realistic
06Populate the ruins The goal of the grassy
groundcover EcoSystem is to help the clif and ruins
blend together. This is an efective way to unify the whole scene
lighting with indirect light and draw the viewer’s eye around all the details. On the ruins I
and colour-reflected light. use a similar EcoSystem: a layer of the same long grass plus a
This means the only light layer of hanging roots. The grass layer’s direction from the
source you need to use to surface is set to Perpendicular, while the roots are set to
light up the whole scene Vertical. The Density of the grass is set to 100%, while for the
is the Sunlight. ruins it’s set to 93%. Before populating, I make sure I set the
Slope Influence to 100% f.
D How the scene looks after
loading materials and water
Use static
plants for
more
realism
Professional versions of
Vue ship with a huge
library of detailed
SolidGrowth plants and
you can also browse
hundreds of other plants
available for purchase, like
those on the Cornucopia
store: www.
cornucopia3d.com.
These are prefect for
distance shots, but due to
lower-quality Alpha
i mapping on their leaves,
they’re not suitable for
close-up views. This is
09 Atmospheric efects
h
In the Sky, Fog and Haze tab why many studios pick
of the Atmosphere Editor, it’s vital to enable the static plants, such as
08Global Radiosity Now it’s time to add some
atmosphere using the Light tab. The first step is to
enable Global Radiosity, with Indirect Skylighting and Optimize
Volumetric Sunlight option. This is essential to achieve realistic
lighting. With higher Haze (30%) and Fog (50%) levels I can
generate subtle rays where the terrain blocks the sunlight. It’s
Xfrog (http://xfrog.com)
or SpeedTree (www.
speedtree.com) models.
for Outdoor Rendering ticked. I set a low Gain value of 0.4 and a also important to set a dark Haze tone, since particles in our However, you can’t edit
very dark-greenish Bias colour (RGB 21, 25, 23). To get efective atmosphere are dark. The Glow Intensity is set to 56%, them in Vue’s Plant Editor
contrasts I set Light Balance towards Sunlight (90%). The Scattering Anisotropy to 0.4 and the Aerial Perspective value to and they tend to render
ambient light comes entirely from the sky, providing a realistic 5.77 to give more depth to the scene. Finally, Quality Boost is very slowly.
and rich ambience h. set to +8 to avoid noise i.
10 Add some low fog I want a sparse, low fog layer over the river in the background, so to
begin I add a stratus cloud from AsileFX’s Spectral v2 Clouds – Low Altitude pack. I set the
Altitude to 27m and the Height to no more than 75m. I increase the Detail amount and the
Altitude variations, then set the Density to 29%. In the cloud’s Material Editor I set the Volumetric
colour to white j. k
11
h Settings in the Light tab, j The cloud and cloud material
Get ready to render After tweaking the atmosphere to a point where it can be considered activating Global Radiosity in settings being tweaked in the
ready, it’s time to take a few steps to speed up the rendering process without any virtual the Atmosphere Editor Atmosphere Editor
quality loss. In the Atmosphere Editor I reduce the Lighting Quality to -0.5, then open the cloud’s
i Settings used in the Sky, Fog k Settings in the Light Editor
Material Editor and in the Lighting & Efects tab disable all four options. In the Light Editor I also and Haze tab of the – Shadows Softness quality is
reduce the Shadows Softness Quality to -1 k. Atmosphere Editor set to -1 for quicker rendering
14 Post-production in Photoshop
m A screenshot of the
Anti-Aliasing settings When a render is
applied to the scene done, I always load the image into Photoshop for a little
n A screenshot illustrating post work. With this project I adjust the contrast, make the
the Photoshop Levels and highlights more powerful with Levels adjustment layers and
Curves adjustments further enhance the image with Curves. To help the vegetation
o See how the settings on the look more realistic, I slightly saturate the green and yellow tones
left changed the image? on the leaves n.
n o
Post-production enhancements 15Filter Forge tweaks If you want to give a really nice
boost to your renders, Filter Forge (www.filterforge.com)
is a perfect choice. I mostly use the Dreamy filter on my images,
It’s a never-ending controversy among Vue users whether to use any post work on renders because it provides more control over the highlights, contrast
or not. In my opinion, what counts is the end result and the process of creation is not and colours. I don’t want the highlights too strong in this project,
supposed to stop when the picture is rendered. Tools such as Photoshop don’t just enable because that way I’ll lose details in the background. However, I
you to enhance your render, as you can use them for fixing minor issues as well. For example, still want to make the atmosphere more powerful to give a real
in this scene I used the Clone tool to cover some areas with grass. I also use this a lot to hide impact and complement the piece. To do this, I set Highlight
floating roots, fix materials and artefacts on rocks, or to remove sharp lines where two Coverage to 9, Highlight Strength to 57, Highlight Radius to 100
materials meet. It’s possible to fix these issues in Vue, but leaving some fixes for post work
and Dreamy Colors to 35. This gives a bit more contrast and
saves a lot of time.
vibrancy to the overall efect o.
Artist info
Lee Griggs
Lee works as a technical author
at Solid Angle, producing
documentation and tutorials
Personal portfolio site
www.solidangle.com
Country Madrid, Spain
Software used
Maya, ZBrush, Arnold
Work in progress…
214 200
206 226
Model vehicles
for animation
Sunbeam Rapier Mark IV
2013
Easy-to-follow guides
take you from concept
to the final render
Artist info
Software used
in this piece
Maya
Jahirul Amin
Personal portfolio site
www.warpeaceandpixels.com
Country UK
Software used Maya
Expertise Jahirul is an expert
animator and rigging genius
About When Jahirul isn’t
Tutorial files: teaching computer animation
• The ‘project_rapier’ folder at the NCCA at Bournemouth
consists of Maya scene files University, he’s running an
and reference images independent animation and
• Video references design studio to provide various
solutions for his client’s needs
• Tutorial screenshots
T
his tutorial will run through modelling To briefly explain the process, we’ll first draw
a classic car, namely a Sunbeam
Rapier Mark IV, while focusing on
over the reference to get a basic topology
before hitting CG. This is mainly
Concept
hard-surface modelling techniques. preparatory work that will stand you in good The Rapiers of the Sixties were built by hand and
therefore have an almost organic look to them. This fits
Throughout the process we’re going to stick stead later on. In this tutorial the draw-overs in perfectly with my modelling techniques of manually
to basic modelling theories such as using provide the image planes in Maya and act as a pushing each point around to get things feeling right.
quads and achieving evenly spaced faces. The rough guide as you block out the model. The
latter enables sculpting in Mudbox or ZBrush if further we progress, the more we have to rely
you need to, while also reducing the risk of on our wits and intuition to get a good edge
stretching textures. There will also be an flow. Just as with a drawing or painting, we’ll
insistence on creating plenty of bevelled edges. block out the major forms to provide a solid
This is in order to stick closely to real-world foundation before going anywhere near finer
examples and avoid a flat CG version of reality. detail. The elements of the car are all
I must give huge thanks to Graeme Jenner modelled separately, as they would be in the
(www.classiccarportraits.co.uk) who has real world, which makes it easier to rig for
kindly allowed me to use his beautiful portrait animation if needed. The good news here is
of the Rapier being reproduced here. I also that you only have to model half a car, as you
used an Oxford Diecast model to have a can mirror it over.
physical reference, as well as numerous One piece of advice that I’ll leave you with is
images and videos I’ve found online to help me not to be afraid to abandon ship. By this I mean
piece the model together. The more that if something isn’t working, don’t be scared
information you gather, the less guesswork you of scrapping it, putting the kettle on and
have to do inside Maya. If you’re looking to starting again. The time lost trying to rework
model vehicles, planes, buildings and so on, and tweak a section that’s got of to a bad start
then do check out www.the-blueprints.com for can be huge and soul-destroying, whereas
more inspiration. second-time-around edits can be quicker.
Reference
Move to the side orthographic view and set it to Default View.
Import ‘referenceSide_v1.tif’ and give it the same settings as the
front image. Do the same for the top view, loading in
Always draw guide lines ‘referenceTop_v1.tif’ as the reference. Once all three reference
b
over the references in planes are in, check that they line up in the perspective view. Push
Photoshop to help match the Center attributes of each image plane along their
up the position of the corresponding axes so there’s plenty of space to model in the
front, side and top images centre of the world space a.
in Maya. Make sure that
Lights, camera, reaction! 06 Model the door & roof Start blocking in the door
and the roof panels. Again, I begin each piece with a
single plane, then extrude or add edge loops for more detail. To
It’s worth setting up some lights in the scene as you go, so get the flow between the separate elements working, hold down
a Bring in your key reference that you can see how the surfaces of the model and the V key to point-snap the border vertices of the door and the
b Free up some working space by components react to light. I throw in a few spotlights, which roof to the main base. To finish, use Duplicate Special to mirror
pushing aside the reference stay in place and are used as fill lights. I also add one the geometry over f.
directional light, which will be my key light and will have
09 Apply bonnets
& bumpers
To create the bonnet, select a
11 Attach your tyres
& hubcaps
Although they may look pretty
range of faces from the main complex, the hubcaps are very
base of the car where the quick to create. First shape a
bonnet should be situated, then cylinder and delete all the faces
go to Edit Mesh>Duplicate other than the top, then add
Faces to make a copy of those extra edge loops to help define
faces. This enables us to get j the areas that will need pulling
the flow between the main out or pushing back. These
base and the bonnet working sections can then be extruded
well. Add some tight edges
around the border of this new
piece to add some solidity and
10 Insert lights & grills At this stage the initial blockout is acceptable, though tweaking will
continue and we’ll begin to add some of the key details that make this car distinct. For the
headlight, select some faces at the front and extrude them into the car. After some point-pushing to
out and the entire model can be
smoothed using the Mesh>
Smooth tool. Select a row of
depth to the bonnet. For the get this region as round as possible, place a semi-sphere into the cavity. Further basic polygon cubes faces, disable Keep Faces
bumper, begin with a default can be shaped to form the Rapier’s eyelids and some tight rims around the headlights to sit them in Together under Edit Mesh
cube and insert edge loops to more realistically. The grill and indicator lights can also be pushed from simple shapes such as and perform another extrude.
match it to the reference image. cylinders, cubes and spheres that are refined by adding edge loops or extrusions. To get them to sit This time, scale in the faces in
The bumper can be duplicated flush against the front of the car, use a lattice deformer from the Animation panel. With the lattice X and Y and extrude the new
onto the car’s rear i. points you can quickly and efectively reshape the mesh j. faces inwards. Finally, to get
rid of the roundness of the
detailed areas, add two edge
When you can’t see the loops around the recessed
Split Poly Tool. Extruding out from the back of the wings also
enables us a base to sit the rear lights on. Adding a tight edge in the
region helps to hold the unique shape when it’s smoothed. Next
you can hollow out the boot, as it would be in a real car. This will
also enable us to sit the boot door nicely into the cavity and create
a believable tight shadow in between the surfaces l.
13 Bevel the base & the top Now that we have our main
forms in place, we need to start adding some solidity to
them and layer on some thickness. To do this we need to bevel the
edges of the components. Begin by adding tight loops around the
main base and the window frame, then extrude out the outer
edges and pull them in. The metal rims around the window frames
will also need a bevel added to them. Leaving them without one
either makes them too flat in Unsmoothed mode or too rubbery in
Smoothed mode. For the roof, select all the faces and make a large
extrude inwards. This enables us to use the depth of the roof to rest
the side windows against m.
Rig vehicles
in Maya
Sunbeam Rapier
Mark IV 2013
Jahirul Amin is a freelance rigger, animator and an
associate lecturer at the NCCA in Bournemouth
Easy-to-follow guides
take you through the
creation process
Artist info
Jahirul Amin
Personal portfolio site
www.warpeaceandpixels.com
Country UK Tutorial files:
Software used Maya • Maya scene files
Expertise Jahirul is an expert • Video tuition
animator and rigging genius • Tutorial screenshots
I
n this tutorial we’ll be creating the rig for the to see as a car drives over a cobbled street. We’ll pivot locators around the car to enable us to tumble
Sunbeam Rapier, which was modelled in the also need to have the car follow a path. Finally, we’ll and rock it from the wheels upwards. We’ll
last tutorial. The scene files you’ll need to follow give the animator the chance to add drag to the car. additionally give it suspension.
the tutorial can be found with the disc or Just to reiterate what I feel is a crucial point: the To create our rig, we’ll use a range of connection
downloaded from www.3dartistonline.com/files. animator will be able to disable all of the automated methods; for example constraints, expressions, the
The way I tend to approach rigging an inanimate controls and animate by hand, if needed. Aside Connection Editor and the Hypergraph. And that
object is to see the model as a character, or part of a from automated controls, we’ll add a number of should be enough to unleash your inner geek.
character. Once the model and rig are in the hands
of the animator, they will begin to give the model life
and personality. As a rigger, I’m already imagining
how that something is going to move.
Basically then, we’re going to treat the car as one
big reverse foot setup with a few bells and whistles
thrown in for good measure. The car needs to tilt
and shift in a similar way to a foot, so the pivot
points will be arranged in the same sort of fashion.
A good rig is one that is fit for purpose, by which I
mean it will be able to perform in the way required.
During the tutorial we’ll be adding a good few
automated controls to help the animator, while also
enabling the controls to be disabled so the animator
can work on top. Essentially, the rig should provide
the animator with the freedom to work as they
choose and push the rig as far as desired.
Let’s consider some of those bells and whistles.
We’ll add a device to automatically rotate the
wheels with the translation of the car. Another
A preparatory sketch of the intended rig
control will bring the kind of jitter that you’d expect
03 Squash & stretch Go to Create>Measure Tools>Distance Tool. First click at the root of
the fpSuspensionSpring_curve and then click again at the end. Using Snap to Curve, make
sure the locators are sitting right at each end of the curve. Rename the start locator
Define the controls
‘fpSuspensionStart_loc’ and the end locator ‘fpSuspensionEnd_loc’. Also rename the Distance node All of the controls will be made out of NURBS curves,
‘fpSuspension_dist’. Parent fpSuspensionStart_loc under fpSuspensionBallA_loc and enabling controls to be easily editable in Component mode.
fpSuspensionEnd_loc under fpSuspensionBallB_loc. Select the fpSuspension_dist and hit the down Please note well: once your control has been correctly
arrow on the keyboard to pick-walk to its shape node, fpSuspension_distShape. Now go to placed, only edit its shape in Component mode. Every
Window>Rendering Editors>Hypershade and within the window click Graph>Add Selected to Graph. control will be grouped to itself twice to create a small
Next go to Create>General Utilities>Multiply Divide and rename the new node ‘fpSuspension_md’. hierarchy. The top node (_ofset) will be used to position
Select the fpSuspensionSpring_curve and go to Graph>Add Selected to Graph to bring it into the work and orient the control. The next level down (_sdk) will be
area. Now connect the distance from the fpSuspension_distShape into the Input1X of the
used to drive automated attributes, such as the jitter
efects. The lowest level is the control curve (_ctrl), which
fpSuspension_md. Copy the same value that is in Input1X into Input2X and also set the Operation to
the animator will use directly.
Divide. Finally, connect the OutputX from the fpSuspension_md into the scale Y of the
fpSuspensionSpring_curve.
04 Add some spin control To finish of the spring, Parent Constrain both the
fpSuspensionSpring_curve and the fpSuspensionSpring_curveBaseWire to
fpSuspensionBallA_loc. Now create a locator and rename it ‘fpTyreSpin_ctrl’. Group it to itself twice by
hitting Cmd/Ctrl+G, rename the topmost group ‘fpTyretSpin_ctrl_ofset’ and the group below
‘fpTyreSpin_ctrl_sdk’. Use the _ofset group to position the control at the centre of the tyre. Now select
fpTyreSpin_ctrl, Shift-select fpSuspensionBallParentB_loc and go to Constrain>Parent. Select
fpTyreSpin_ctrl, Shift-select fpTyre_geo and again go to Constrain>Parent. We will use the Rotate X of
the fpTyreSpin_ctrl to spin the tyre only.
03
06 The main controls Using the CV Curve tool with its Curve degree set to 1 Linear, draw a
square around the car. You can use Snap to Grids and draw down from the top view to get a
clean rectangular shape. Rename the control ‘main_ctrl’. Create another control using the CV Curve
06
tool. This time make it a unique shape that can be easily read as a path follow control. Rename the
control ‘attachToPath_ctrl’. For both controls, make sure their pivots are at the world centre and then
go to Modify>Freeze Transformations. Parent main_ctrl under attachToPath_ctrl. With attachToPath_
ctrl selected, hit Cmd/Ctrl+G and rename that group ‘main_ctrl_ofset’. Create another rectangular
control in the same manner as the main_ctrl but make it larger. Rename this control ‘globalSRT_ctrl’
and with it selected, hit Cmd/Ctrl+G twice. Rename the topmost group ‘globalSRT_ctrl_ofset’ and the
next group down ‘globalSRT_ctrl_sdk’. Parent main_ctrl_ofset under globalSRT_ctrl.
07
08 Add pivot locators Create six locators and rename them ‘fPivot_loc’, ‘rPivot_loc’,
’dPivot_loc’, ’pPivot_loc’, ‘fWheelPivot_loc’ and ‘rWheelPivot_loc’. Position the fPivot_loc and
rPivot_loc at either end of the car and at the centre of the X plane. Position the dPivot_loc and pPivot_
08
loc on the outside of the tyres, either side of the car. Position fWheelPivot_loc and ‘rWheelPivot_loc in
between the front and rear tyres and centred to the X plane. Zero out the Translate Y on all the
locators so they sit cleanly on the Y plane. Next parent rWheelPivot_loc under fWheelPivot_loc.
Parent fWheelPivot_loc under pPivot_loc. Parent pPivot_loc under dPivot_loc. Parent dPivot_loc
under rPivot_loc. Parent rPivot_loc under fPivot_loc. Then parent fPivot_loc under main_ctrl and
finally parent all the xxTyre_ctrl_ofset groups and the body_ctrl_ofset under rWheelPivot_loc.
09 Bonnet, door & boot Create three new controls and call them ‘bonnet_ctrl’, ‘pDoor_ctrl’,
‘dDoor_ctrl’ and ‘boot_ctrl’. As before, group each control to itself twice to create the _sdk
and _ofset nodes. Use the _ofset nodes to place the controls. When the controls are placed, Parent
Constrain bonnet_geo to bonnet_ctrl, pDoor_geo to pDoor_ctrl, dDoor_geo to dDoor_ctrl and
boot_geo to boot_ctrl. Take all the _ofset groups for the controls and parent them under body_ctrl.
09
Naming conventions
Before beginning a project, I like to establish some naming
10 conventions that will be used throughout. This will help
ensure consistency as well as clarity for all involved. Here is
a breakdown of some of the naming conventions used in
this tutorial:
geo = geometry, ctrl = control, loc = locator, grp = group, f =
front, r = rear, d = driver, p = passenger.
10 The jitter control Create a new control curve and name it ‘autoJitter_ctrl’. Don’t create the
_sdk and _ofset setup for this, as it will just be a placeholder for some custom attributes.
Position the control above the body_ctrl and parent it under the body_ctrl. Highlight all the Translate,
Rotate and Scale attributes in the Channel Box and go to Channels>Lock and Hide Selected.
11 Add extra attributes Select the main_ctrl and go to Modify>Add Attribute. Create an
attribute called ‘tyres’ and set its Make attribute to Displayable. This will act as a Divider. Now
create an attribute called ‘autoSpin’, set its Make attribute to Keyable and give it a Data Type of Integer.
11
Set its Minimum value to 0, its Maximum to 1 and its Default value to 1. Add another attribute and call
it ‘frontWheelsTurn’. Make it a Data Type of Float and leave its Min/Max parameters empty. Create
another Divider and call it ‘dragAndPivot’. Now create the following attributes with a Data Type of Float
and leave the Minimum, Maximum and Default values empty: ‘frontDrag’, ‘rearDrag’, ‘sidePivot’,
‘frontWheelPivot’ and ‘rearWheelPivot’.
13 Set up the tyres Select the fpTyre_ctrl and go to Modify>Add Attribute. Call the attribute
‘spin’ and give it a Data type of Float. Leave the Minimum, Maximum and Default values empty.
Next highlight the Rotate X attribute in the Channel Box and go to Channels>Lock and Hide Selected.
With fpTyre_ctrl still selected, go to Window>General Editors>Connection Editor. Now select
fpTyreSpin_ctrl and click Reload Right. Connect the spin in the left column to the Rotate X in the right 12
column and do the same for the remainder of the tyres.
13 14
and create the expression that you can find on the disc at the back
of the bookazine.
Texture a realistic
vehicle Create a quick texture for a stealth plane
and maintain a flexible workflow in MARI
M
ARI is a relatively new The risk of having too much freedom is a
software, but it’s quickly that you can quickly get lost in the
becoming the new standard process. The first thing that every texture
for texture artists in the industry. I use artist should create is a well-organised
it almost every day at work and it has library; a place to keep all the reference
now become an essential tool in my images (generic and project-related) and
texturing workflow. the textures that they can directly use and
It’s designed to work with a vast project onto the model. It takes some time
amount of textures at high resolution, in the beginning but it’s totally worth it,
enabling artists to focus on the artistic since it prevents you from having to leave
process without having to worry about the the software and look for more references,
technical issues of working with an object losing you time and concentration.
with multiple UV tiles. MARI is very It’s also very important to keep the
similar to Photoshop for certain aspects: workflow as non-destructive as possible,
you can directly import PSD files since it especially if you’re part of a team where
uses the same blending modes in its other people rely on your work. It’s also a
shaders, and most of its image-editing huge time-saver, since it’s hard to predict
tools and filters will be very familiar to what your client or supervisor will ask you the diferent aspects of the colour. If you keep things separated it
Photoshop users. to modify next. will also be easier to reuse those layers in the creation of the
Even though texturing with MARI feels The most efcient way to proceed is to secondary maps, such as Bump, Displacement and Specular.
very easy and fluid, it remains very analyse the texture you want to re-create In this tutorial we’ll discuss how to create a quick texture for a
important to plan what you want to and divide it into layers (or channels, in stealth plane and how to set up MARI in order to maintain a
achieve before even opening the software. MARI), so you can have a lot of control on flexible workflow.
d e f
Model a
Jaguar xkx concept
luxury car
The objective was to design a concept car inspired by the
Jaguar E-Type, and give a rebirth to the original brand
Hussain Almossawi and Marin Myftiu A graphic designer and architect
respectively, both 3D and car enthusiasts
Easy-to-follow guides
take you from concept
to the final render
Artist info
Hussain Almossawi
P
Marin Myftiu resentation is always a key factor when
a
you want to sell an idea; sometimes a
great idea can be presented poorly while
Username: mossawi09
a bad one can seem greater than it is. This
Personal portfolio site tutorial will guide you through the preparation of
www.skyrill.com
modelling a car, and then how to present it in the
www.marinmyftiu.com
Country Bahrain/Albania best way. The aim is to have a great design with
Software used smooth presentation, to pay of for all the hard
3ds Max, V-Ray, Photoshop work on your car, or any other model.
Expertise Hussain is a graphic
designer and currently
As we progressed through the various stages
completing his masters degree of the design, we found the unavoidable need to
in Industrial Design at the transform our concept-creating, modelling and
University of Alberta. Marin is
an architect in his final year at presentational skills to a level that would reveal
the Polytechnic University of the full boldness and innovation of the original
Concept
Modelling
Lighting
b c
02 Design the rims Several sketches were done for the rims, but
directly playing with simple functions such as scaling and moving
points on circles began to give the most satisfactory results, with an
03 Prepare the blueprints The final sketches, together with the
path analysis were then combined into sketches of the main
orthogonal views and subsequently cleaned up to blueprints in Photoshop.
X-shaped inner part. This emphasises both a sense of raw power and a Those blueprints were subsequently used in 3ds Max to aid with the
gentle pulse of energy b. modelling stage c.
09 Add materials
3D world. I run Skyrill.com alongside my brother.
The main
matte material for the car was
made using a V-Ray Blend Material. The
main idea is using the base material and
coat material, with similar settings, but
having slight diferences in the reflective
settings, to enable the light to spread
h
better on the matte finish i.
Love Potion
3ds Max,
Photoshop (2009)
A poster that
visualises the
metaphor of love
being medication for
the ailing heart. This
poster was selected
as a Daily Deviation
on deviantART on
28 March 2009.
“A lifetime without
Add atmosphere
Time to give your car that finished shine
11 Perfect the
headlights These
lights are sometimes the
k
12 Polish the
surfaces The
brake lights in the back of
l
45
make it stand out more k. for presenting your work l.
The mood of the scene is one of the most important elements; it minutes
needs to flow very well with the lighting on the car to add a greater render time
sense of realism Resolution
4,000 x 1,304:
13 Unify the
overall scene
The mood of scene is one
m
Marin Myftiu
I am a freelance designer and architect
with experience in architectural, interior
and product design. Also competent in 3D
modelling and rendering, my
experiences include graphics design,
programming and journalism.
SKIN Blender, Photoshop (2011) VW PASSAT S-Revision 2 Blender, Photoshop (2011)
Recently I have become more and more Inheriting the most distinctive morphology of the Revision 2 of the Passat S model tries to carve a distinctive
interested in car design, studying Renault 4, SKIN tries to go one step further than visual character for the Volkswagen Passat name. I am
current trends and trying to anticipate other retro designs by preserving the main taking the previous project towards a more refined
future ones in personal, commissioned silhouettes of the car. The piece is interpreted using geometry, while also taking into account hexagonal trends
and competitive projects. current Renault design trends. in vehicle design.
Artist info
k
us behind their artwor
Detail, detail,
detail. In my experience
Black Drone 2010 the more you have to feed the
eye, the more wow factor it
The Black Drone was a project assigned to me back in 2010… to
Software used in this piece brings and makes a huge
illustrate the latest technology in autonomous engineering and design.
The environment was a crucial part of the project to bring the impact at the end result
Maya mental ray Photoshop
secrecy and mysterious vibe with a futuristic feel!
Easy-to-follow guides
take you from concept
to the final render
Artist info
I
www.behance.net/
chaotic_atmospheres n this tutorial we’ll create an insect- Once you’ve secured the skills, you’ll be a
Country Switzerland inspired battleship; a vehicle that flows hard-surface sculpting master in no time.
Software used ZBrush, through space curled into itself like a Before even opening ZBrush, always think
Photoshop, Illustrator, Vue
Expertise I use 3D as a way to
cocoon, but when attacking opens up its through the details of the project using photo
create final artwork; I’m not wings and gigantic claws. references. In this case, try to imagine the
necessarily specialised in any Remember, even though we’re making a universe where a concept like this would have
field, I tend to switch between
techniques and software to battleship here, the method described can also evolved. Try to set your objectives in context.
create the objects I need to be used to model a whole host of other types Here we’re not thinking about specific designs
finish my illustrations.
of vehicles, buildings, weapons and more. for a battleship, just about the details – imagine
Software used
in this piece
ZBrush Photoshop
Illustrator Vue
02 Set up a base outline I begin by drawing a basic body have the same
Group Loop ‘Hard cut’
of the ship in Illustrator. The shadowboxbase.ai file is Polyframe, so I simply
method method select a Polyframe and
supplied as a tutorial file with this issue. Basically, you just rough out
modify it with the Inflate
silhouette images for the front, side and top views and then export
deformer and Inflate
the file as a JPEG. We can then use the image to create the base balloon. See the
form using ShadowBox in ZBrush. You can also design the wing supplied video file for
shape in Plan view. We’ll use these shapes with the Make 3D Group Loops.
function of the Alpha menu in ZBrush (covered in Step 5) b.
c
04 Sculpt some elements With an interesting basic
shape established, we can add the elements of the
battleship: reactors, weapons, shells and any other specific parts
– such as claws, in the case of the Lucanus. For this, we append
03 Model the battleship’s body The first thing to do is load in your textures – which is the
image we’ve exported from Illustrator. Create a ShadowBox in medium resolution, around 512
pixels. In the Texture tab of the Tool menu, apply the previously loaded image as a texture to your
(SubTool tab) a simple object that we’ll distort using the Transpose
tool to achieve the volume needed. Then model the object using
the ‘hard cut’ method.
ShadowBox. Then, in the Masking tab, create a Mask By Intensity so that the texture of the ShadowBox For the claws, append a ZSphere and create a frame that we
is used to retrieve the mask. We can now disable the ShadowBox and start working with the ‘hard cut’ work on using the Group Loops method. Finish the look with some
method – don’t forget to Activate Symmetry in X on the Transform menu at this stage c. hard cutting, so that they integrate well with the other elements d.
Hard-surface modelling
Pick from several tools to produce consistent results
B Create the basic shapes d At this stage the basic g If we hide the battleship,
in Illustrator so we can structure of the the pipe structure should
build variations with ease battleship is complete bring up its outline
c Load the image as a e Wings are not totally h Retopology can help you
texture into the flat, so give them a get more accurate and
ShadowBox provided slight curve lighter objects
f
e
05 Create the wings For the wings, once again use the image created in
Illustrator. Loading it as an alpha enables us to extrude it through the Make 3D
tab of the Alpha menu. Work on the wings using the ‘hard cut’ method to make them
look like the other elements of the battleship. Append the wing to the battleship and
define the point where it must be attached. Use this anchor point to precisely position
the wing with the Transpose tool and add some curve with the options on the
Deformation tab (particularly SBend, SSkew and Twist) e.
06 Modify the battleship with a rig The claws and mouth aren’t open
enough, so use the rigging function to distort all the SubTools in one step. Use
the Transpose Master plug-in (ZPlugin menu). Activate the option ZSphere Rig and click
TPoseMesh. This creates a ZSphere with a ghost of the battleship. Create the rig with the
ZSpheres and then go to Tool>Rigging and click on Bind Mesh. Move the ZSpheres to The rig in the
change the geometry of the battleship, then go back to Transpose Master and battleship will distort
all SubTools together
TPose>Sub. Transpose Master will apply the changes to each SubTool in just one step f.
g
08 Retopologise the model The jaw area should be more detailed, but
we don’t want to subdivide the entire model. So instead, we’ll
07 Add detail with pipes Append a ZSphere inside the battleship and create
a web frame (with X Symmetry enabled) by going in and out of the battleship’s
surface. This adds density to some key points – the junction between the body and
retopologise. Open a new ZSphere, select Rigging in the Tool menu and click on
Select Mesh to open the battleship as a ghost. Then go into the Topology options
and click Edit Topology. Create the new topology directly on the model and, when
claws, for example – and highlights the strong lines of the battleship. Once the basic the new jaw is ready, go to Tool>Adaptive Skin and then Make Adaptive Skin.
armature is complete, turn of X Symmetry and add some more pipes. Then use the We can now increase the polycount of the new part and finish up with the
Group Loops method to finish the look of the structure g. Group Loops and ‘hard cut’ modelling methods h.
11 Detail
brushes
with custom
We can now
use custom brushes (supplied)
to add detail between the two
parts separately masked. The
contour will be made of rigid
plate steel and the inside will be
made of thin strips. The wings
should look like they are made
of small plates that slide when
they close. For all these details,
use the default brushes in
ZBrush (mostly in the Scales
and Pattern directories).
Choose one where the flow
matches what you’re looking
for and change the Alpha to
i images created in Illustrator or k
Photoshop (files supplied) k.
Render in ZBrush
Use BPR to capture lots of vessels for a space opera mash-up!
Lucanus: 1/5 n
Picked
colour
Lucanus: 5/5
Lucanus: 5/5
15 The final composition Equalise your composition to artwork and the associated
environment map
achieve a balanced outcome between your starships. Stars
However, when they’re moved, even slightly, it can distort their n The rendering time can be
perspective. If the integration seems wrong, go back to ZBrush to optimised by lowering the level
of subdivision for the small
render it from the new location. background vessels
After some back and forth between the two programs, you’ll get Vue background
render o Each group of battleships should
the desired result. A simple technique to check that your have a diferent size for even
composition works is to flip the image horizontally in order to better readability
check it as a mirrored image. Once in reverse, all the errors of
p Here is a map of the final
perspective will become obvious. If after this little test everything composition with all the various
seems okay, turn to the final stage of the image o. types of layers
• porsche_911_3DArtist.blend
• textures.zip
• reference.zip
• Plus tutorial screenshots
I
t’s good news for open-source software in mind to get good results. The high-beam lights, for example, unmanageable and each new change could
lovers; a new version of Blender is ready require accurate modelling. This is particularly true with the inside become a disaster.
for download! Version 2.64 features of the vehicle, otherwise the reflections will look unrealistic. To reduce the use of RAM and the
many important innovations, including a Proportions must be as accurate as possible, so it’s essential to workload of the video card, it’s important to
new mask editor, new nodes in compositing have good reference images. Ideally you’ll use a blueprint with all use diferent layers. For this project, we’ll
(box mask, colour correction, re-route and the views of the car (front, rear, side and top), but often these files place the wheels, body, interior and stage
more), colour management (Blender 2.63 are not easy to find, especially for newer car models. If you don’t with the lights on diferent layers. The
only supports two colour spaces, linear and have blueprints, make sure that photo references are well aligned design of the car is full of soft lines, so we’ll
sRGB) and scene loading optimisations for and that the diferent views are exactly the same size – if necessary, use only the vertices needed and let the
Cycles renders. A new non-progressive re-size them with the free image editor, GIMP (www.gimp.org). algorithm of subsurface do the work for us.
integrator has also been added and These images will be placed as a background image – one for each Once a piece is finished and the result
panoramic fish-eye cameras, new mesh view – so make sure they are perfectly centred. satisfies us, it’s better to put the subsurface
tools and sculpting improvements are now While modelling, we’ll use Blender’s modifiers to simplify work. of the Viewport to a minimum level.
available. So before you begin this tutorial, The Mirror modifier will be used a lot and will enable us to do half For all the pieces that have a radial
download the new free version from www. the work by taking advantage of the symmetry of the car. The most symmetry (such as the wheels), we’ll model
blender.org now. important rule to follow is the KISS principle (Keep It Short and a single slice and then clone it with the
Creating a car with 3D software is a Simple). We must not forget to KISS, so during the modelling never modifier spin. It’s important to give the right
challenge as there are many details to keep add more vertices than needed as the mesh will become thickness to the body of the car, otherwise
it will look toy-like. For simple pieces we’ll Blender’s node compositor is good, but using graphic-editing Create a sports car in ten
use the Solidify modifier; for more complex software like GIMP makes post-production work more fluid and simple steps…
objects we’ll extrude edges by hand. immediate. The final image is balanced with an AO layer and glossy
It’s very important to save often,
especially before making a radical change.
Backups use space on the disk, but they will
reflections added to give more detail to the shadows and to
emphasise reflections where needed. The very last edit we’ll make
is the addition of a lens flare on the high-beam light. This adds an
01 Blender windows The first
step is to set the reference images
in various windows. Open your reference
enable you to save valuable time. eye-catching flash to the result. photos (supplied on the disc) in GIMP and
Another very important aspect is the make sure they are horizontal and aligned
creation of good car paint, as luxury cars c with the floor. Enable the rulers in GIMP
have three-layered paint with iridescent and cut the images so that the height and
reflections. Our car-paint material will width of the car are the same in the front
consist of a Difuse shader mixed with a and rear view. It would be nice to have a
Glossy and another Glossy material that picture from the top, but if you don’t have
will simulate the iridescent reflections. one we will need to study the diferent
Chrome or shiny materials are composed of views to understand the structure of the
a Glossy shader with a diferent roughness car. You’ll find reference images are
index and two colours blended. supplied with this tutorial, so there’s plenty
We want a car with a racing look to it, so to work from d.
we’re going to add a stripe on the hood and a The final render.
the side. Lighting is also crucial: we’ll use a Lens flare was
big fill light on the car, two front lights (one added in
with warm light and one with cold) and a post-processing
using the free
series of emitter floors that will influence software GIMP
only the reflections of the car paint.
We’ll use a three-quarter view of the car b In this wireframe
render the
with the headlights turned on as the main subsurface level
image because it gives an overall has been reduced
impression and is a good way to emphasise to make the
mesh structure
the beauty of the car. During rendering we’ll more evident
save glossy reflections, ambient occlusion
images and, with the node editor, create a c A wireframe
JPEG with the reflections generated by the render of the
interior view
headlights. These images are then
d
combined in GIMP. d Reference setup
03 Continue the wheels Add axles. We’ll use a cylinder for the disc brake to check if your model contains errors h.
another circle in the central part of and then shape the brake caliper. To model
the wheel, scale the vertices to the centre the clamp we’ll enable a Mirror. The holes
in the discs will be added with a texture f. Compositing node editor benefits
The node editor is another of Blender’s very powerful tools that
10 Time to render
the car
After
assigning the materials, we’ll create l A map of the
the scene for rendering, using a classic car-paint material
studio setup with a rear plane and m Use a simple setup m
three-point lighting. The plane will be for the lighting
252
Learn to animate a
bouncing ball
Jahirul Amin guides us through the essential first
steps of animation: the bouncing ball
T
his tutorial is going to be the first in a initially seem simple but is an invaluable first step. As with all animation, getting good reference is
series that will take you through the first The bouncing ball demands an adherence to the essential first step. Watch how diferent kinds
steps of animating in CG. We’ll be using some of the key principles of animation, namely of balls drop and bounce, compare the behaviour
Maya but the same principles and techniques can timing, spacing, weight, squash and stretch. of the diferent balls and see Newton’s laws of
easily be transferred to whichever package you Also, the motion created by the ball may be motion in action. Record the balls bouncing watch
prefer. To begin, we’ll focus on setting foundations: seen as a somewhat primitive precursor to a them on repeat. You can then take your footage
introducing tools such as the Graph Editor, Dope moving character, making the bouncing ball into the fabulous and utterly free and open source
Sheet and Motion Trails. We’ll then go through a exercise a useful preparation for a walk cycle. Kinovea (www.kinovea.org), break it down and
workflow, using these tools to animate a ball. Finally, the exercise will help you get used to some draw over it to get a feeling for the key poses,
The main outcome of this first tutorial is an of the animation tools in Maya such as those timing, spacing, the way the balls lose energy and
animated bouncing ball. It’s an exercise that may mentioned above. so on.
05
keyframe. To do this, make sure the object The Dope Sheet Open up the frame 17. They are 16 frames apart so I
G The Graph Editor can go in and add a breakdown pose at
has some keys on it and press the comma Dope Sheet by going to Window> frame 9. We can then go in and add
will be your best
friend, so get used
or full-stop on your keyboard F. Animation Editors>Dope Sheet. Again, two further poses between frames 1
to using it navigating in here is the same as the Graph and 9 (frame 5) and frame 9 and 17
04 The Graph Editor For this stage Editor and the 3D Viewports. With the (frame 13). When it gets to the final
H For a quick tool to clean-up of the animation, the timing
it’s essential that you have a third Move tool activated, you can highlight any may alter, but I find this a good start to
shufe around
your keys, use the mouse button enabled. To open up the of the keys, and with the third (or middle) the initial blocking stage.
Dope Sheet Graph Editor, go to Window>Animation mouse button drag them to rework the
i
For this j
exercise I’ve
provided a ball
rig. It’s pretty
simple, but
k
you’ll find it will
be able to do
what you need
it to do
09
view the arcs
that upon each contact the ball is losing Include rotation Let’s now get upon it, so make sure the controls all have
energy. When you have all your bounces, this ball moving in the horizontal a value of zero at this point. As the ball m Some subtle
your animation will look pretty weightless. axis as well as adding some rotation to it. stretches, you also want to make sure that squash and stretch
If you open up the Graph Editor you’ll see Go to frame 1 and set a key on the Translate it is doing it along the arc. Use the can always add
more to your
that the curve looks a little like the Alps X channel for BALL_Move_Rotate_Ctrl. Go BALL_SandS_Rotate_Ctrl to help orient animation when
mountain range, but you should also be to the last frame of your animation, the controls to do this m. it’s required
Realistic character
rigging In this tutorial we will cover the creation
of a joint structure for a biped character and
its importance in getting good deformation
J
oint placement is the most end of the ten steps, you will be able to files provided, there is a skeletal structure
important part of creating a rig. The create skeleton structures for any realistic that has been placed within the body to
majority of a character’s deformation biped character, though the concepts can help position the joints, which is a
comes from the translation and orientation easily be transferred to other types of technique that is very useful, whether
of joints, so without good joint placement, characters such as quadrupeds or more rigging realistic or cartoon characters.
a A rendered image you could be setting yourself up for hard cartoon-like characters. At the outset planning is essential, so it’s
of a series of work later on in the form of shape fixers to When considering realistic characters, a good idea to take front and side images of
poses using the
final rig remedy local problems. The idea is that the it’s vital that our rigs are based on anatomy; your model and sketch over them. Think
better your joint placement, the simpler, we are trying to replicate the articulation of about the following questions: How many
b A draw-over to cleaner and more efective the whole the human body, so anatomical reference is joints are there? Where should they go?
help figure out
process becomes. the key to believability. There may be What kind of spine do you need? Will you
where to place the
diferent joints This tutorial will explain how to create occasions where we stray away from the need any shot-specific rigs? Be as thorough
the skeleton for a biped character. We will reference – for example, we will reduce the at this stage as you can.
c The rig in a quick mainly be focusing on joint placement, but number of joints in the spine – the reason For this particular example we’ll be
pose using IK
handles to keep throughout the process we will be adhering for this is to simplify wherever possible, creating what is known as a broken
the feet planted to some key rigging principles. So by the without sacrificing credibility. In the scene hierarchy rig. The body will be divided up
2 x thoracic
joints
2 x lumber joints
• Broken
hierarchy rig
• FK spine
(maybe add an Maybe add
IK spline later) rib joints?
• Independent
shoulders
• Independent
hips
FK/IK legs
and arms
into segments, namely the torso, neck and help others to read and navigate through Let the rigging commence
head, arms, legs and finally hands. The your scenes more easily. For example, we
body will later be fused together using
orient and point constraints. The reason for
will use the sufx _jnt for all joints and _geo
for all geometry. Although we will, for the 01 Create the spine Open up scene file ‘01_start.ma’ and, in
the Animation panel, navigate to the Skeleton>Joint Tool. Go
this approach is first to make the rig more majority of the time, try to stick to these into the side view and create a five-joint chain that follows the
manageable and more easily editable, guidelines, there will be times when we will curvature of the spine starting from around the belly button.
simply because each part is smaller and have to bend these rules also. One example Rename the joints from the root to the tip, as follows:
separate. Also, by having the ability to turn will be for the positioning of the scapula ‘spine_a_jnt’, ‘spine_b_jnt’, ‘spine_c_jnt’, ‘spine_d_jnt’ and ‘spine_
the weighting of the orient constraints on joint. As we will want to maintain the end_jnt’. Select spine_a_jnt and go to Skeleton>Orient Joints
and of, we can play more freely with the orientation values for this joint, we will (Options), set Orientation to XYZ and Second World Axis to +Z.
behaviour of each segment, which can translate both the parent and the child joint Make sure Orient Child Joints is checked on and hit Apply. Select
produce interesting results. to position it. the spine_end_jnt, go to Skeleton>Orient Joints and set the
Throughout the process we shall be A final point with respect to joint creation Orientation to None d.
02
setting ourselves some guidelines to is to ensure that joints are drawn in
maintain consistency in the rig. First, it will orthographic (front, side or top) views, but Root and hips Using the Joint tool, create a single joint in
be desirable to have the Rotate Z as the are positioned in all views including the the side view and hit Enter. Rename the joint ‘root_jnt’ and
forward-driving motion for each joint, using perspective. This technique will help increase its Radius in the Channel box to make it larger. Holding
the Orient Joint tool. By so doing, the achieve correct placement and will also down the V key, point snap the root_jnt to the same position as the
animation curves on the graph editor will be enable joints to be mirrored over more
easily understood by an animator. Second, accurately, saving time later on.
to position the joints, we can translate in X, For this tutorial, we will only be creating
Y and Z for the parent joint of the joint the skeletal structure for the rig. This initial
chain, but for all children joints we will only step can be developed by adding a control
use the Translate X, which is also the length rig with features such as FK/IK blending
of the joint. To rotate the joints, we will use and reverse foot setup, which will make it
Joint Orient in the Attribute Editor in order more suitable for animators. The first step
to keep the Rotate channels and Translate Y of the tutorial will be to focus on the torso,
and Z at 0, enabling an easy passage back as it is the central and main driving force of
to the creation pose. Last, it’s advantageous the character and therefore needs to be as
c
to use naming conventions, as these will accurate as we can make it.
d A side view spine_a_jnt. Next go back into the Joint tool to make their behaviour consistent to
breakdown
for the spine tool and create a two-joint chain for the the spine. Parent the jaw_a_jnt under
hips. You can point snap the start of this head_jnt f.
04
e Highlight the chain to also begin at the root joint.
independent spine
and torso
Rename the new chain ‘hip_jnt’ and Arm and clavicle Move into
‘hip_end_jnt’. Using the Orient Joint tool, the front view and create a
f A perspective change the orientation of the hip joint so its four-joint chain starting close to the
and side view of
Positive Z rotation opposes the spine centre of the body, travelling down the
both the neck and
jaw chain rotation. Parent spine_a_jnt and hip_jnt arm to the wrist. Rename the joints: ‘l_
under root_jnt e. shoulder_jnt’, ‘l_upper_arm_jnt’, ‘l_lower_
g A breakdown of
03
Arm_jnt’ and l_arm_end_jnt’. Use the Joint
the arm and
clavicle chain Neck and head In the side Orient and the Translate X of each joint to h
positioned using view, create a five-joint chain for position the arm correctly, making sure to
Joint Orient and the neck and head. Begin the chain by check in all views. Also, in the front view, scapula geometry. Parent the l_scapula_jnt
Translate X tools
holding down the V key and point create a two-joint clavicle chain using the to l_shoulder_jnt. Now select spine_end_
h The scapula joints snapping to the spine_end_jnt. You geometry as a guide. Rename the joints: jnt and duplicate it twice. With both
in position should draw three joints for the neck, one ‘l_clavicle_jnt’ and ‘l_clavicle_end_jnt’. selected, hit Shift+P to bring them out from
for the head and an end joint. Rename the Once both chains have been positioned, their current hierarchy. Rename the two
i Checking the
consistent joints from root to tip: ‘neck_a_jnt’, make sure to set the Orientation to XYZ joints ‘l_shoulder_root_jnt’ and ‘r_shoulder_
behaviour in the ‘neck_b_jnt’, ‘neck_c_jnt’, ‘head_jnt’ and with a Second World Axis of +Z in the root_jnt’ h.
orientation of the
06
‘head_end_jnt’. Again, in the side view, Orient Joint tool. Select the l_arm_end_jnt
leg joints
create a three-joint chain for the jaw. and set its Orientation to None using the Leg joints In the side view, create
j Creating the Rename these joints: ‘jaw_a_jnt’, ‘jaw_b_ same tool g. a five-joint chain starting at the
05
finger joints jnt’ and ‘jaw_end_jnt’. Use the Orient Joint femur bone and ending at the tip of the
Shape the scapula Select toes. Rename the joints as follows: ‘l_
Avoiding Gimbal Lock the l_shoulder_jnt and duplicate
it. Translate it back slightly onto the
upper_leg_jnt’, ‘l_lower_leg_jnt’, ‘l_ankle_
jnt’, ‘l_ball_jnt’ and ‘l_toes_jnt’. Move into
Gimbal Lock is the result of two axes sitting on top of each other scapula geometry and delete the elbow the perspective view and move the l_
and therefore both producing a similar rotational result. To see
the efects of this, double-click the Rotate tool to open up its joint on that new chain. You should now be upper_leg_jnt into place. Again, using the
settings and change the Rotate Mode to Gimbal. Select the l_ left with a two-joint chain. Rename them Translate X and the Joint Orient of each
upper_arm_jnt and rotate it in negative Y. You will find that the Z ‘l_scapula_jnt’ and ‘l_scapula_end_jnt’. For joint, translate and orient the joints into
and X axes overlap as we have gone into Gimbal Lock. With the the scapula, we want to leave the position using the skeleton as a guide.
l_upper_arm selected, go into the Attribute Editor and change orientation as it is so we can drive it using Select l_upper_leg_jnt and use Skeleton>
the Rotate Order to ZXY. Orient the arm again and you will find
that you no longer hit Gimbal Lock using the Rotate Y. the l_shoulder_jnt. To position it, just Orient Joints with the Orientation set to
translate both joints to sit within the XYZ and the Second World Axis set to +Z.
k Component By
Cleaning up the rig Type and Local
Rotation Axes
It’s important that should anyone else need to continue with the
rig that they are able to understand how things have been l The Mirror Joint
structured and set up. I like to create groups for each section of settings used
my rigs. For example, we could group together root_jnt and m The weighting
neck_const_jnt and call that group ‘torso_rig_grp’. We could for the orient
also select both leg chains and group them together, calling that constraints k
group ‘leg_rig_grp’. We could then take these new groups and
group them all under one group and call that ‘rig_grp’.
l m
Select the l_toes_jnt and use the tool again, only this time set come out of Component mode. Now In the Outliner select l_arm_end_jnt,
Orientation to None i. parent all the finger and thumb _a joints to Cmd/Ctrl-click l_hand_const_jnt and then
07
l_hand_jnt k. go to Constrain>Point then Constrain>
09
Hands and fingers Select the l_arm_jnt and duplicate Orient. Next select l_shoulder_root_jnt,
it. Un-parent it from its current hierarchy and rename it: Mirror the joints Select l_ duplicate it and delete all the children.
‘l_hand_geo’. Duplicate l_hand_geo and use Translate X to slide it upper_leg_jnt and go Rename the joint ‘l_shoulder_const_jnt’.
towards the end of the palm. Rename the duplicated joint: ‘l_hand_ Skeleton>Mirror Joints (Options). Set Parent l_shoulder_root_jnt under l_
end_jnt’ and parent it under l_hand_jnt. Go into the top view and Mirror across to YZ, set Mirror Function to shoulder_const_jnt. Select spine_end_jnt,
draw a five-joint chain along the pinky finger. Rename the joints: ‘l_ Behaviour, search for: l_ and replace with: r_ Cmd/Ctrl-click l_shoulder_const_jnt, go to
pinky_a_jnt’, ‘l_pinky_b_jnt’, ‘l_pinky_c_jnt’, ‘l_pinky_d_jnt’ and ‘l_ then hit Apply. Repeat this step for l_ Constrain>Point and then Constrain>
pinky_end_jnt’. Use the methods mentioned earlier, position and shoulder_jnt, l_clavicle_jnt and l_hand_jnt. Orient. For the leg, select l_upper_leg_jnt
orient the joints into place. Once the pinky finger is done, duplicate Parent l_shoulder_jnt and l_clavicle_jnt and duplicate it twice.
it and replace the word ‘pinky’ with ‘ring’. Again, position and orient under l_shoulders_root_jnt. Do the same Delete all the children in both new joint
the joints to sit in the ring finger geometry. Do this for all the for the right shoulder. Select neck_a_jnt chains to leave two single joints. Rename
remaining fingers j. and duplicate it. Delete all the child joints them ‘l_hip_jnt’ and ‘l_upper_leg_const_
08
and rename the single joint ‘neck_const_ jnt’. Parent l_hip_jnt under hip_jnt. Parent
Thumbs In the top view, draw a four-joint chain jnt’. Parent neck_a_jnt under neck_const_ l_upper_leg_jnt under l_upper_leg_const_
along the thumb and rename the joints. Position and jnt. In the Outliner, select spine_end_jnt, hit jnt. Select l_hip_jnt, Cmd/Ctrl-click l_
orient the joint into place. To curl the thumb inwards using only the Cmd/Ctrl, select neck_const_jnt, go to upper_leg_const_jnt, go to Constrain>
Rotate Z, we will manually edit its orientation. In the Status Line Constrain>Point then Constrain>Orient. Point and then Constrain>Orient. Make the
toolbar, click the Select By Component Type button. Then Ctrl/ Now select l_hand_jnt and duplicate it. exact same alterations for the right-hand
right-click over the question mark icon (select miscellaneous Delete all of its children and rename that side of the rig. Finally parent the skeleton
components) and check Local Rotation Axes. You can now select single joint ‘l_hand_const_jnt’ l. geometry to its relevant joint. Give
10
the thumb joints and, using the Rotate tool, orient the joints everything a last check over to ensure
manually. When you are happy with how the thumb rotates Constraints continued Parent everything is correct, then you should be
using only the Z axis, click the Select By Object Type button to l_hand_jnt under l_hand_const_jnt. ready to test out the rig m.
Learn to animate
a walk cycle
Jahirul Amin guides us through the creation of a walk cycle
in Maya, although the principles apply to other software, too
T
his time, we’re going to create a walk be focusing on timing, spacing, weight shift, drag Moreover, I suppose because we are used to
cycle. We’ll be using the principles of and overlap. All the principles of animation seeing people walk every day, a clunky walk cycle
animation that we looked at in the bouncing identified by the Disney masters in the Thirties will sticks out like a sore thumb.
ball animation exercise, and take them a few steps be in action here, which is why the walk cycle is So in order to get it right, as ever, the first step is
further – no pun intended. Once again, we’re going such a valuable exercise to learn well. to gather good reference. Watch people walk;
to be using Maya, but obviously feel free to use The creation of a walk cycle may seem relatively watch kids toddle, the elderly hobble; watch skinny
whichever software package suits you best. simple but it’s deceptively tricky. We have many of legs stride and watch stout legs waddle. Walk
Last time we met the Graph Editor and in this the same issues that we faced with the bouncing around the house yourself. Work out how many
exercise it’ll be our main tool. We also used motion ball here too, but now we have to contend with frames are needed to take a step. Get a feeling for
trails and they’ll be used here to check for arcs and limbs, a head and a neck. How all these parts work which parts of the body are leading and which are
figure of eights at diferent points of the body. We’ll together as a single unit is of huge importance. following (for instance, the arms will follow the
Sequence. Translate the camera out of the hips go down as the weight is taken onto the
way from the main action and split your leg and make sure the forward foot is flat on
layout into two panes side by side, enabling the floor. Use the Roll attribute on the back
you to work with your reference D. foot to bring it onto its toe ready to come of
the ground. Add more drag to the hands as
03 Use a passing pose Now move timeline now as frames 1 and 25 should be indication of the Viewport playback H The back leg
speed. To do so, go to Display>Heads moves forward,
to frame 7 to create the first passing identical. We don’t want to view the same Up Display>Frame Count. ready to get into
pose. The front leg should now be directly frame twice as we play back H. the contact pose
07 Refine from the root Go to motion trails to create decent arcs and if you
Window>Settings/Preferences> have to, go in and animate frame by frame
Preferences and highlight Animation in the to do so. The legs can be the trickiest part to
left column. Go to the Tangents tab and get right. Make sure that you spend time
change the Default Out tangents to either here to iron out any severe popping and get
Spline or Auto. Whenever we add a new key the co-ordination between the hips and the
now we will get the interpolation in the legs right K.
curves. Now we start refining and again
we’ll start at the core and work our way out.
Use your Graph Editor as much as possible 09 Work up to the spine Getting
the spine to work well shouldn’t
from now on and massage each curve. We take too long. We mainly want to focus on
want to end up with hips that create a figure getting the movement clean without any
of eight as the body’s weight shifts from one jerkiness. Take out the majority of the key
leg to the other. At this stage you should use frames that are not adding too much and
motion curves as much as possible. Select really smooth out the curves. Also add
the hip_ik_ctrl, go to Animate>Create some twist to oppose the hips and gradually
I
Editable Motion Trail and use it as an increase the amount of twist to propagate
accurate guide to create transition from one up the spine. Moving to the neck and head,
J leg to the other J. add delay to these parts so they feel as if
they are always playing catch up. An easy
Getting personal
By the end of the tutorial you should
have a fairly generic vanilla walk. From K
here, you can start adding in some
personality, because as Samuel L.
Jackson would say: “Personality goes a I Cleaning and refining the L Try to get the shoulder to
curves will give us much oppose the hips to give you
M
long way.” See what happens if you
bring the feet up higher on the up pose. smoother results plenty of contrast
Does it make the character feel
angrier? What happens if you reduce J Focus on getting the arcs and M Capture the natural arcs that
figures of eight occur in the human body
the swing on the arms and rotate the
head lower? Does he seem depressed? K From the contact to the roll of
Go ahead: experiment a little and make the ground, try to make the
your walk a ‘Royale with Cheese’! speed constant
Animate a character
lifting weights
Jahirul Amin helps us add realism to animations frames in order to help transitions from
pose to pose and to add subtle detail. This
in Maya, although any software can be used is something that the computer cannot
achieve by itself. This is simply the way the
I
n this tutorial, we’re going to be looking at how to First we’ll consider the physics behind what we’re exercise is approached here, however. It’s
create a believable interplay between a character trying to achieve. We’ll look at the centre of gravity of by no means the only way to skin this
and a heavy object, to convey a sense of weight. an object and a character and see how the latter shifts particular cat, so please find your own
Our character is going to lift a heavy ball from the floor during their interplay. We’ll also revisit Newton’s Third preferred way and try diferent methods.
and place it on a plinth. Not an everyday activity, I grant Law of Motion, which states that every action has an The centre of gravity, as you’ll all
you, but if you want any character to interact with its equal and opposite reaction. We’ll then – as ever – remember from school, is the average
environment – open a door, make a cup of tea, then sit move to the essential step of gathering and analysing position of weight distribution in an object
down and read a copy of your favourite magazine – good references. After that it’ll be time to block out the or character. In this exercise the ball’s centre
you’re going to have to be able to master the fine art of key poses. of gravity will be its geometric centre, while
animating weight. Here we’ll be using Maya, but the Sorry to disappoint, but we won’t be seeing too the centre of gravity for our friend Box Boy
same techniques can be transferred to a 3D package of much of the Graph Editor this tutorial as by the end of – at the beginning of the animation when
your choice, so you’re not confined to one program. the animation we’ll have keyed in poses every 2-4 he’s standing upright – will be around the
d Take your
references into
Maya to view
e Animating to h
camera enables
you to ‘cheat’
i k
his hips under the ball before moving up to not, I recommend you re-jig the poses until arc of the spine to
add contrast
anticipate this big move ahead. Add you are happy, as it will be more difcult to
contrast by switching from the C-shaped make broad changes later. Next, open up j Capture the
spine to a U-shaped spine and begin to use your Animation Preferences and change the wave-like motion
the legs to help lift the ball by straightening Default Out tangent to either Spline or of the body
during the lift
them out i. Auto. Select all the controls, open up the
Graph Editor and convert the Stepped k Convert the
07 Wave motion With the hips curves to Spline or Auto. Now go through interpolation of
your curves from
leading and pushing the ball up, we the entire animation again, adding in the Stepped to Spline
now want to create a wave-like motion breakdown poses. Here you can add further as you add poses in
running up the spine that rolls the ball up as anticipation to the poses if needed and also between
opposed to purely lifting with the arms. start delaying parts of the body k. l Use the tools to
Really arch the spine backwards and check your arcs
How to animate
a jump A giant leap for geek-kind: Jahirul Amin
helps you animate a jump
I
n this tutorial we will be creating a jump animation process using the pose-to-pose method, admin goes, we have very kindly been given
animation. This will involve acquainting so my Default Out tangents are set to Stepped in permission to use and tell you about the fantastic
ourselves further with many of the principles of my Animation Preferences. Third, I have the legs bhGhost onion-skinning tool created by Brian
animation that we’ve been looking at in recent set to IK to enable us to have the feet planted on Horgan. Please check it out with his other
tutorials. The jump itself will only last a few the floor, but the arms set to FK to take advantage impressive tools at www.graphite9.com.
seconds, but achieving that brief movement in of its naturally occurring arcs. There’s an issue with As usual, at this point in the tutorial, I’m going to
CG will necessitate a sensitive and skilled the FK arms, because as we are using rotations at wax lyrical about the beauty and importance of
handling of timing, spacing, weight, drag, overlap, some point we could hit gimbal lock. This is where getting good reference. Unfortunately we weren’t
moving holds, squash, stretch, anticipation and two axes sit on top of each other, leading us to lose able to reproduce the reference used in this article.
arcs. As a result, it’s a great exercise to flex your one axis. However, do take a very good look at Eadweard
animation muscles. If you want to do your best to minimise this Muybridge’s Human And Animal Locomotion (1887)
Before the fun starts we need to go through the sticky situation, get familiar with arm rotation to and there is reference aplenty on the net. During
admin. I’m working in 25 frames per second using work out which rotation is going to work best. For this exercise more than any other, I found myself
Maya, although the same techniques apply to any what it’s worth, I’ve set my rotate order as ZXY on getting up out of my chair to replicate the
3D package of choice. Second, I will begin the the upper arm control. Last but not least, as far as movement and jumping across the rug myself.
D F
F What goes up
must always
come down
02 Create the squash & stretch
poses Now we will create the
first two of our extreme poses: squashed
G The landing and stretched. Begin with the former by
G
squashed pose really compressing his body down. Try to
H I
06 Anticipation & weight Once Constantinos Glynos, has kindly created
can help you
a Python script, CG_VertexMotionTrail_
the main poses are in, we can start focus closely
V2.py (supplied), that will enable you to
adding some anticipation. Place a key create a Motion Trail on a selected
L Use the tools to
between pose A and B, then slightly lift the check your arcs vertex. I like to view the arcs being
character up on the balls of his feet. Have created in places such as the tip of the
him bring his arms up also, ready to swing M Just a small fingers or the end of a toe, so this tool
movement can enables me to do that with more
them back into the extreme, squashed help keep the accuracy and confidence.
K
pose. Then, as he lands on the other side of character alive
the jump, push him down further than the
squashed pose and as his hips lift up have to issues in another. Having the ability to the path of action. Also add some drag and overlap to the toes
his spine continue to go down. The hide parts of the geometry can really help as they go through the jump. Then on the land, have them slam
opposing action here will help soften the you focus on the areas that need cleaning down in a couple frames to help bring some weight and impact to
potential rigidity of him standing up as one up. For example, you may want to get the the landing L.
lump mass I. spine working well without viewing how the
Tutorial files:
• Maya .ma scene files
• Video Reference .mov
• Final animation render .mov
• Reference images to use in Maya
• CG_VertexMotionTrail_V2 script
Animate action moves Hong Kong GUI: we’ve bounced, walked, lifted and jumped,
so let’s put it all together in a 540-degree martial-arts kick!
W
rapping up our lessons on obvious addition of limbs – not to mention the In previous lessons I’ve encouraged you to try
animation (see the previous spin – will give us plenty to get our teeth into. the moves you’re intending to animate. However,
tutorials for more helpful guides, As ever, the initial work must be devoted to in this case it may not be such a wise idea if
including walk cycles and weightlifting), we reference. There is an abundance of excellent procreation interests you in any way. So in place of
should now feel brave enough to experience reference online, so when you find some this I’ve provided some 2D reference that can be
the creation of an action move. In this case, the examples that you like, make sure you analyse taken into Maya (supplied). This is essentially a
tornado kick. them over and over. It’s a very complex move series of loose drawings using a stick man, which
This 540-degree move, practised in and you’ll need to focus carefully on weight-shift, can mainly be used to figure out your timing.
Taekwondo and other martial arts, sees the the spacing of the feet as they move through the When it comes to the poses, these can be pushed
body at its finest. It is, without doubt, a very air, as well as the natural arcs and flow. further to make the whole piece more dynamic
challenging piece to animate, but it brings Listen to martial-arts trainers online talking and appealing. In the drawings, the key poses are
together the work that we have already done to about the move: how weight shifts and which in red and the breakdown poses are in green. The
a pretty impressive crescendo. There’s so much parts of the body lead and which follow. I guess images also each have a frame number to help you
here: timing, spacing, anticipation, weight, path you’ll always be against the clock when work out where to put the initial poses – although
of action, arcs – you name it! The poses are very animating, but it’s always worthwhile doing the this rough timing can very likely change.
dynamic and there are opposing tilts between prep, as once you’ve started the animation Because there’s so much going on in this piece,
hips and shoulders, as well as twists in the spine. process, having to go back on yourself is even it becomes imperative that we decide which
We will be using the principles of the bouncing more time-consuming – not to mention kinematic mode the limbs will be in, before
ball, which we covered on page 232, so our dispiriting. Make use of free tools such as starting. You should find arms fairly
timing for this piece can be established using the Kinovea (http://www.kinovea.org) to make straightforward to animate. The hands do not
ball as the hips of this character. However, the your life easier. make contact with anything, but only follow the
Kick of!
e
Tools & scripts
I am using the bhGhost tool,
created by Brian Horgan, which can
be found at www.graphite9.com.
This is what I will use to check how
one pose leads into the next
through the blocking stages. To
check the arcs of a selected vertex,
I use ‘CG_VertexMotionTrail_V2.
py’ (supplied), created by
Constantinos Glynos. By default,
Maya doesn’t enable you to
f motion-trail a vertex, but this tool
will do just that.
that they are following the translation and that in my animation I need a few extra
orientation of the hips as the body spins. At frames on each spin, as they occur too fast
this early stage I want to make sure I get and cause some popping – especially when
some interesting and strong poses the legs cross for the first time. To add the
happening, as well as to play with opposing extra frames, I select all the controls and g
lines, such as those created by the hips and open up the Dope Sheet, which you can
shoulders and the reverse C-shape in the find under Window>Animation Editors. In when the legs are in the air. Be sure to
spine. At this stage, try to consider which the Dope Sheet Summary bar at the top I create motion trails – not on the controls,
body part is leading and which will be grab all the keys that I need to move along but on a vertex on the model, such as the
following. Later on we can think about in order to give me the extra frames and ankle or the end of the foot. This will
delaying some body parts to loosen the push them to the right g. create an honest representation of the arc e The many key
move up e. being created by the leg’s swing. Also, as poses used in this
complex shot
the feet will be pivoting from the toe or the
03 Insert breakdown poses For 05 Work from the core Once you
are happy with the timing, select
ball, it’s important that when this happens
there is no popping. I like to create a locator
f The various
breakdown poses
the second pass through I’ll start all the animation controls and convert the to finish the initial
at the point where the foot will pivot from, blocking process
adding in a breakdown pose between each tangents in the Graph Editor from
then use that as a guide to position and
key pose. Adding these poses will enable us Stepped to Auto or Spline mode. As always, g If the animation is
orient the foot. If the foot slides around, we
to better anticipate how the animation will I begin from the core outwards when not clear and
will lose believability in our animation i.
look when we transition from Stepped refining, so my first port of call will be the readable, look at
retiming what you
tangents to either Spline or Auto. As the hips. For this move I’m mainly using the currently have
character is spinning and we are working root_ctrl for translating the character up,
with the legs in IK mode, we’ll also start down and rotating him, then the hip_ik_ctrl h Work from the
core outwards,
creating the arcs that we can then finesse to get some extra rotation in the hips, if
implementing the
later on in the process. Focus on the path of needed. I start by going through and principles applied
action for each limb so they flow from one deleting any keys that are not doing much to a bouncing ball
frame to the other without any sudden for the animation or are adding too much
i Focus in on the
popping. We can also begin to indicate noise. We can then go through and try to arcs and check the
principles such as drag on the hands and mimic the motion and arc we would h movement when
toes, as well as anticipation of the expect to see on a bouncing ball. Also, Box Boy pivots
movements to come f. you can add extra keys if you need to get
the arcs flowing well in other areas, as
j
Reference
Some people will sometimes frown
upon the use of reference and will tell
you that a good animator should be
able to work without it. However,
everyone from the early Disney
pioneers to the brains behind Avatar
have used reference. Whether it’s
photographic reference that you will
draw beside, or mo-cap reference that
you can take into a 3D scene –
whatever will get you to your goal in the
most-efcient manner and give you the
best results, do it. Be flexible and in the
words of the mighty Bruce Lee: “Be like
water, my friend”.
07 Animate the spine, neck and make sure the arms hit the pose a few k
head We’re starting to work up frames later and also have one arm hit the
the torso, so as all the upper limbs are final pose a frame or two before the second
children of the spine we’ll start there. arm does l.
Again, begin by cleaning up the curves and
getting rid of any keys that aren’t helping.
Push the shoulders and hips to really get 10 Keep on moving As we hit
the final frames, we’ll want to keep
some striking poses from the opposing the motion and the character alive. To do
lines. Also, add twist to the torso, orient so, we can employ the technique of using
the chest in one direction, the hips in Moving Holds. For the hips, the upper-
another and the head in a third direction. body and arms, I’ll add a small amount of
This will add further interest to the poses motion, continuing through to the final
and make them more dynamic. Try to delay frame of the animation. It’s important to
the neck and head slightly, making sure the keep this motion, moving in the direction l
path of action on the head is smooth and that the body is travelling. The change in
clean as it swings j. movement from the final pose to the
final frame may be barely noticeable,