VizWorld.com

Just got a tip from Pixologic that they’ll be releasing ZBrush 4 for Mac and Windows on Monday, August 9th, and doing some pre-release demos in their booth at SIGGRAPH.  They’ve got several artists on hand to demonstrate the product, including:

• Bryan Wynia – Character Artist, Naughty Dog
• David Lesperance – Environmental Artist
• Jeff Feligno – Character Artist, Sucker Punch Productions
• Jelmer Boskma – Freelance Artist
• Joel Mongeon – Microsoft Game Studio
• Leonardo Sanchez Barbossa – Disney Animation Studios
• Neville Page – Concept Designer
• Steve Jubinville – Lead Character Artist, Meduzarts
• Sze Jones – Character Modeling Supervisor, Blur Studios
• Tully Summers – Freelance Artist
• Zack Petroc – Zack Petroc Studios

Visit their SIGGRAPH page for full details and backgrounds on all the artists, and hit Booth #709 at SIGGRAPH for the demos.

Graphics siggraph, software, zbrush

While ZBrush excels as soft body and organic modeling, unwrapping these models for UV Texturing can be tricky.  Pixologic acknowledges this and has just released a new free plugin called ‘UV Master’  that makes UV Unwrapping a 1-click affair.

With UV Master’s cutting-edge technology you can leave all the technical work to the computer. Because the UV maps generated by the plugin can be in one UV island you will be able to understand your modelís UVs in any 2D image editor and paint or edit them like you would do with manually unwrapped UVs. Amazingly, what needs mere minutes with UV Master could take hours in other dedicated solutions! Just load your model, click Unwrap and you’re done!

If the automatic process is just too convenient for you, you can use other new tools for more manual controls of seams.  Alltogether, a must-have addition to ZBrush.

via Pixologic :: ZBrush :: UV Master.

Graphics plugin, software, zbrush

This week’s recommended resource is for all of you fans of ZBrush’s organic modeling and sculpting tools, but find your models still lacking that little something that brings them to life.  “ZBrush Digital Sculpting Human Anatomy” from Scott Spencer aims to give you the concepts required to make your models more human and more lifelike.

Create memorable human figures for movies and games

To create compelling characters, you need to make them realistic, and ZBrush by itself can take you only so far. You also need solid artistic skills. This full-color, illustrated guide teaches you the basics of human anatomy, so you can create captivating human figures that really come to life on screen.

Using ZBrush 3.5 tools, you'll sculpt a heroic male figure, learning each body part as you go, including head, neck, torso, arms, legs, bones, and muscle. This book emphasizes concepts that have guided artists for centuries, such as gesture, form, and proportion, helping you develop foundational skills you can draw upon throughout your career. Transform your animation into professional-level artistry with this must-have guide.

• Understand the basic tenets of form, proportion, gesture, and rhythm
• Master basic anatomical terms for skeletal regions and muscle groups
• Break down the regions of the body into simple geometric shapes
• Begin roughing in your figure with Claytubes and other tools
• Create the impression of flesh over underlying muscle and bone
• Learn ZBrush remeshing and color-mapping techniques
• Flesh out your figure with fine detail and costuming
• Repurpose your figure for film, video games, Web, or digital output

Build skills you can also apply to Maya®, 3ds Max, Blender, and Photoshop

VALUABLE COMPANION DVD

Enhance your learning with video instruction that walks you through the projects in the book. You'll also find anatomy models to use for practice.

Use ZBrush tools to perfect the fine detail of muscle construction

Sculpt different kinds of fabric to clad a heroic character

Lay the groundwork for believable facial expression with a solid foundation

This book and many others are available in the VizWorld Store.

Graphics resource of the week, zbrush

“Patton” on the ZBrushCentral forums has posted some early concept work from Avatar showcasing some of the early modeling and design work that went into the project 3 years ago using ZBrush.

I started working on Avatar 3 years ago and was working with Zbrush 2 ( that means no subtools!!) I had to work on a fairly slow laptop so that I could work directly with Jim Cameron on the mocap stage.

I was really green as a 3D artist but jumped in with both feet, after all this time I still really love the stuff we produced at Stan Winston Studio / Legacy effects.

I was part of the group of artists that Designed the Na’vi characters I was responsible for working out Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) Digital sculpts with expressions as a proof of concept for the look of the Na’vi people. I also did the designs for Norm (Joel Moore) as well as the Grace ( Sigourney Weaver}.

via ZBrushCentral – Avatar.

Graphics avatar, movie, vfx, zbrush

German VFX site “CGHeute” (CGToday in German) has the story of John Streider’s “Pink Assassin”, make with ZBrush, Cinema4D, and FryRender.

On this project I used C4D for modeling and scene setup, ZBrush for sculpting and texture painting as well as fryrender for material creation and rendering.

I also used the plug ins “paintonsurface” and “spline­spread” for C4D.

My intention was to create a character with personal­ity, who looks like she had lived, and tell a story just through her face and not through accessories.

via Making of Pink Assassin | cgheute.

Graphics cinema4d, fryrender, tutorial, vfx, zbrush

For PBS’s new “Becoming Human” documentaries, Viktor Deak got the job of sculpting the 3D bodies of the hominid’s.  He talks to Wired Magazine about his process and how it differs from his previous experiences with physical clay.

For Becoming Human, he worked with ZBrush, a 3-D modeling program that lets him work with the sculpture in even greater detail. “The nuances of the skin, the way light scatters underneath it, they figured all that out,” he said of the program’s naturalism. “There’s no limitation on what you can do, as long as your machine can handle it.” He poses his sculptures in desired position, then renders it with different materials and lighting. The renderings are then sent to Photoshop, layered and tweaked for maximum realism.

via 3-D Renderings Bring Ancient Hominids to Life | Wired Science | Wired.com.

Graphics television, vfx, zbrush

Christopher Adajar is the winner of the recent CGArena competition themed “Accident” in which he modeled an unfortunate biker crashing his Kawasaki at high-speed in what could only result in a wicked case of road rash.  He writes up his project for CGArena:

Maya 2008 was the primary software used for building the entire scene, Photoshop for painting textures, ZBrush for sculpting and After Effects for compositing. Since it is a common subject I did not have hard time finding good reference for modeling the motorcycle. Initially I started building curves to draw the initial base of my mesh then I used brail tools to patch up the meshes.

via Making of the Rider by Christopher Adajar.

Graphics cgarena, contest, maya, zbrush

ZBrush users eagerly anticipating version 3.5 for Wndows will definately want to head over to CGSociety to see some of the work done by some of the early beta testers.  In the article, they talk to Joseph Drust ( Senior Character Artist for Vicious Cycle Software), Scott Spencer (Character Designer for Weta Workshop), Ryan Kingslein (The Gnomon Workshop), Mia Lee (Creature Modeler at ILM), and several freelancers.  They show videos and screenshots of some of the new features as well.

CGSociety – Pixologic ZBrush 3.5..

Graphics interview, pixologic, software, zbrush

motion504 got the gig to create the AICP Minnesota Show Reception Sponsor Reel and made an amazing sequence showing the fictional “Verne Bros. Kinetic Type Company”.

Set in a world with a turn-of-the-last-century aesthetic, the visually striking sequence opens at the storefront of the fictional Verne Bros. Kinetic Type Company. Inside, the elderly protagonist earnestly works away during the wee small hours at his closed shop. His undertakings are a mystery until, suddenly, peculiar kinetic gadgets appear and unexplainably come to life. His compelling conjurations abound in the dusty workshop, as each unique gadget unravels with science-defying wonder, creatively introducing the AICP reception sponsors, one by one.

First go watch the reel here, then wonder how they did it.  First, the live action was show with the ever-popular RED Camera:

The studio arranged for a one-day live action shoot using the RED Camera. “Having a snorkel lens was crucial to get the close-ups that we needed to create the right feeling,” says motion504 Executive Producer Eric Mueller. “Our studio worked closely with the production team to ensure the gadgets would look like they belonged in the space. The end result is a visual tour-de-force. “

Then the 16 gadgets they show were modeled in Cinema4D and painted with ZBrush:

Wenner modeled the 16 3D gadgets in Cinema 4D, motion504′s primary 3D package for graphics. Each unique gadget features Victorian-influenced detail, flourishes and decoration, which Wenner hand-painted in ZBrush. Amy Schmitt, who worked closely alongside Scott from the project’s outset, including the live action shoot, handled a majority of the intensive tracking lighting and rendering required by the project.

Some great work indeed. Read the full announcement after the break.

Read more…

Graphics cinema4d, motion504, red, reel, vfx, zbrush

Over at CGArena, Ke Weilin has a new breakdown online showing how he created his “Chinese Girl” image using ZBrush and 3dsMax.

In the period of making this girl, I found that the most important thing to a character is the facial expression and posture, when considering the facial expression, I paid most attention on her eyes and mouth, coz these two areas are the key to the facial expression.

via Making of a Chinese Girl.

Graphics 3dsmax, makingof, zbrush