Gnomon_Environment Modeling Week 2

This week we start our intro to using Zbrush as a prop modeling program.  I found it a little tricky to get Zbrush to do what I wanted since it takes a few tricks to get a hard surface look rather than a traditional sculpted look.  Trying to emulate carved stone was particularly tricky but using some of the techniques we were taught in class did work quite well.  The first column's ivy wrapping round the shaft was done with alphas but the scrolling volutes of the capital was mostly done in Maya.  Figuring out what parts were best to do in Maya vs Zbrush is pretty much what the next few weeks of this course is about.  I got a little frustrated with the first column not coming out the way I wanted so the second Santo de Muerte column was a lot easier to emulate with a traditional sculpting workflow.

Gnomon_CharacterModeling_Week 02

So week 2 and we are starting on our characters for the next 8 weeks!! This week we are sculpting the head.  It was a pretty frustrating slog to be honest building the topology wasn't too tricky but pushing the verts to get the forms to work did get challenging at times especially since I had gotten so used to the zbrush workflow that I could have built a bust in an hour or so instead of the considerably longer time it took to get this one looking right.  But I have to say getting the topology to flow right makes the sculpting process go so smoothly!!! I am so happy I put the effort in to get it all just right (well as right as I could).  I am really happy with the outcome and I cant wait to try out some facial animation on this model at the end of the course!!
On a side note, the ear.... if any of you reading are poly modelers you may share my appreciation but Kevin's technique for building the ear was (to me) nothing short of some kind of magic trick!!  Somehow step by step he was able to create a looping piece of geometry that seamlessly grows out of the head and loops around the ear and back into the head and well its hard to explain but needless to say I really enjoyed learning the process!
So this week we are working on the rest of the body, focusing on the arms and legs for now till we move onto the torso.

Gnomon Environment Modeling _Week 01

So for my first homework I had to kitbash together a lamp from various references and then build it in 3D.  I went for a steampunk style lamp made of thrown together pieces one might find in a mysterious workshop.  I was imagining the character walking through this strange room and looking at all these moving objects and starting to become a little unnerved.  This meant I needed something that was human enough for the audience to get what it was but strange enough to be intriguing.
Now that I have it on screen and having had feedback on the design during the class I do see that it could be improved by changing the proportions of certain parts to change the overall silhouette to a slightly more dynamic look.  This will be something I keep in mind in the future when I kitbash my next reference.

Gnomon Character Modeling _ Week 01

My first weeks homework for character modeling.  I had a lot of fun with this model the only thing I really struggled with was the hair! It took me around 5 attempts using different methods to get the look I finished with and I still want to work on it more but I also have my Environment Modeling homework 2 do :)

Kevin did give me some good pointers though!  Modeling the ODM gear was just as fun as I was expecting and while I was looking for reference I found there is a very cool looking fan game being built for Attack on Titan! If I had more time I might have looked into it more :p

The last piece of the homework was to work on picking a concept for your final piece and I have settled on the pirate character on the below image.  She has some really cool props and costume but also just looks like a fun character to work on for the next 9 weeks.  Our homework for this week is to build a head for our final character.

Here is a link to the 3d model on Sketchfab:

 Mikasa on Sketchfab

All the images in the above photo are from Pintrest and not my own work

Next round of Gnomon yay!

So its the Gnomon Spring term yay! I am being a bit more ambitious for this term and taking both Character Modeling and Sculpting with Kevin Hudson and Environment Modeling and Sculpting with Devon Fay.  The first lessons were really fun, I got to meet my new peers and tutors and learn a little about all their backgrounds.
I am really looking forward to getting stuck into these two classes! both syllabuses look great and since they are not introduction courses we spend the last few weeks working on a single piece which will help my portfolio a lot :)

So week 1 homework for Character Modeling and Sculpting is to build a quick character using a polygon workflow.  Kevin built a stylized version of the monkey from Space Ghost during the tutorial from a cool reference so we will be using the same workflow to build our own characters.  I am attempting to build a chibi style version of Mikasa from Attack on Titan.  I recently binge watched the entire first season on Netflix while doing homework from last term and thought it was amazing!  I really like the ODM gear the characters use so obviously jumped at the first excuse to model it.

image taken from Pintrest (not my own work)

We also have to piece together some reference for our final project.  I scoured Pintrest for a few hours and I think I have settled on a cool looking Pirate character.  I will get some feedback next week as to whether I should proceed with this character or not.

Week 1 homework for Environment Modeling and Sculpting is to kitbash reference for a lamp prop and then model it.  The concept of kitbashing reference together is really cool and not something I had done before.  Overall back in my 1 model a day training I got quite experienced at modeling quick props from reference but taking multiple parts you like and modeling something unique should be a lot of fun.  I'm going with a Steampunk style lamp, already have quite a bit of reference from this morning and its gonna look awesome!