Spring Tree

[GregoryBruce]

Here it is in Spring:

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/uploaded_from_zbc/200404/user_image-1083011262tex.jpg


Greg Smith

[Frenchy Pilou]

Hi Bruce
Cool vegetation :cool:
Pilou
Ps
Why not put all in a same thread ?
I Suppose Automne and Summer will coming :)

[wchamlet]

Excellent work! I like this better than my own tree. I'd really like to see your workflow/technique, if you have the time to share it. I'm sure I, and others, would learn a lot from it.

Thanks for sharing!

[Sleeperservice]

Yeah, it must be spring with all the trees around atm :)

I'm also interested in how you produced this.

[GregoryBruce]

I actually recorded a ZScript that chronicled the making of the parts of the tree and the tree itself, however, when I play it back on my machine it gives me an error. I'm not a technician, so I don't know where the problem lies.

I can tell you, but I will be spilling the beans for my upcoming training series, but, what the hey:

It has to do with the "Deco" brush. Much more to do with everything "3D" than Art Deco. I think, once discovered, this will prove to be the most powerful tool in the 3D painter's toolbox. It actually does paint with depth in a unique fashion, so, I guess the tree is truly 3D: I never really understood all of this banter about 3D vs. 2.5D, anyway. It is all illusory in the first place and not 3D at all. It is all a matter of shortcuts for the artist, (who has been making "3D art" all along with actual 3D paint), giving him the electronic tools to speed the process of illusion.

I have found that working in the 3D static graphic world and the animation world that making everything truly "3D", (i.e. modeling everything), is not necessary for most shots and often times produces an inferior result to just plain old matte art. Back at LucasFilm, in the olden days, all those fantastic Star Wars backgrounds were just acrylic paint on large panels of glass painted by very talented and underpaid young men. Still, at the time, and even today, many still think of these static backgrounds as "special effects". Very special.

Also, even if you are going to start and finish a static composition in ZBrush, and use the environmental effects like fog, it's often better to do everything except the vegetation and bake the image first - then apply "painted" vegetable elements with varying levels of "RGB" intensity according to distance. No matter how you cut it and how many shortcuts you employ, it's still ultimately up to the artist whether a "3D" composition is believable and real or not.

In my series I plan to reveal how to get all of the bang for the buck from "static" imagery and shorten the time it takes to produce quality 3D artwork and animation, by the single-handed studio.

Greg Smith

[Jaycephus]

Amen to all the points you made, and I am so looking forward to your training series. :)

[Cezar Souza]

Amazing tree! Congratulations!

[Mahlikus The Black]

Bravo Gregory. I totally agree.
As for the Deco brush, I too have found it to be a very amazing tool. I used it to test the making of tree bark, wrinkles, skin folds, and even gaping scars. Its a tasty new addition to our arsenal.

[SpaceMan]

Your conceptualization for your series sounds great :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

(can we have it today :D)