gonkdroid's blog
After a gentle nudge from SD it's time to start posting my thoughts and progress as I change my workflow to include ZBrush in the initial concept and blocking out stage of modeling.
I finally upgraded to ZB4 and the new hard surface sculpting brushes definitely make exploring different shapes quick and easy. I'd recommend sculpting and experimenting on numerous polyspheres until you become comfortable with each brush.
Up until now I've used Maya alone for hard surface modeling. I adore it's tools and UI, but it can be very time consuming to build and rebuild shapes until you're happy with the direction a project is going.
I'm blocking out the Patrol Mecha for VFX2 and will be posting images here. I think it'll be interesting to see things progress to final model and hopefully a few people will follow along (and comment too!).
3D World magazine has put together a massive tutorial on the steps needed to build a short film from scratch to final piece (working to create a Tron Light Cycle scene).
Here's the first paragraph of the tutorial that caught my eye:
"How many times have you had a wonderful idea for a short film? But how often do those ideas become reality? Not that often, unfortunately. Work gets in the way and excuses abound - but one of the main reasons is that the journey from idea through concept to completion looks like such a daunting exercise.
In fact, it is not; it's actually a series of smaller steps. Think of it as a ladder, each rung leading you closer to your goal."
It then goes on to explain the following steps with additional video tutorials and scene files on the CD.
Modelling
Storyboards and Animatics
Animation
Rendering
Matte Painting
Compositing
There's lots of info. for those interested.
It's definitely got my wheels turning about creating a Tron Light Jet short.
Here's my recommendation for time well spent over the holidays:
1) Go see Tron Legacy
2) Have a Merry Christmas
Found this over at ZBrushCentral and thought it was interesting.
It covers some of the steps involved in creating the creature for James Vs Reality. Apparently with little to no money.
The vimeo link within the thread leads to video of the rig used and some animation tests.
The author also gives a few tips on working between different apps and their work flow.
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?t=97862&page=1&pp=15
Cool.
EDIT: Making of video link here.
