Monstermaker's old man Now with free skin tex alphas

[monstermaker]

Hi again,
I haven't been able to ZBrush as much lately. Life has gotten in the way. I did manage to do this portrait of my father. Jim Mc Pherson's old guy inspired me. I plan on painting him, but won't be able to get to it for a while so I thought I would post him now2oldmen .jpg oldman1.5.jpg

[roguenroll]

holy crap thats some good stuff.

better slow down though, I dont think there is anything after, kicking ass, AND taking names.:D

[froyd]

I dunno what to say... :O

stunned...
amazing work! and thats even too less said...

congrats!

greets
froyd

[xsiFlasher]

:eek: :eek: awesome:tu:
keep up the good work:tu: :tu:

[portart]

This one is.... , don't know what to say , too good!!
You are the greatest inspiration for me.
Can't wait to see when it is painted . :tu: :tu: :tu:

[Patton]

Good Job !

[edgeey]

Wow, Really nice shapes and texturing. You've become quite the 3D master in a short amount of time. Give us more.

[Greg Petchkovsky]

Dude..... that's beautiful. And its asymmetrical; did you start out with symmetry or paint the two sides completely independently? Is the base mesh zspheres? Did you use many custom texture brushes?

[monstermaker]

Greg,
Hey thanks man for noticing the asymmetry. I started out semmetrical got the forms blocked in then switched to one side at a time. I started out with a generic head model a friend gave me, the same one I used for my ape guy. I made a bunch of custom alphas and started the texture with them but ended up mostly using the simple brush with alpha 36, I believe and basically re did everything. Most of the texturing was in projection master but I also did a lot out of projection master. I use the move tool a lot. Glad you like it

[willog]

What a beautiful tribute to your father, great modeling, great expression and pose. I envy your sculpting skills.

Congratulations on this fine piece of artwork

Bill

[aminuts]

Fantastic!! great job.

Man I wish I had 1/100th of your natural talent!!:D

Only thing that bugs me is the bags under his eyes....not sure if that's a lighting thing or what but am quite sure once you color him up all will be painfully perfect and I will be jealous forever!!

Quite the inspiration am glad you joined us!

[Max the Artist]

This head is just stunning! very impressive and detailed beyond belief :) now i'm not gonna overuse all the superlatives here but i have to say it's one of the craziest details i've seen in a ZB2 mesh on the forum in a long time :) i'm curious to how many polygons this head really contains, it must be in the multiple of milllions.. you deserve a spot on the top row for this one! :D

/ Max

[SolidSnakexxx]

your ZArts always make me say "WOOOOW" very nice.....

Yong

[DaveG]

This is really so good I can't quite grasp it!

You have a wonderful talent - well done and a great tribute to your father. ;)

That I should be so lucky to be able to sculpt like that!

Cheers!
;)

[drmapl]

I am green with envy! Serious, this is absolutely fantastic :tu: :tu: :tu:
I wish I could model like that :cry: But I can - in 20 years time :lol:

This is real inspiration! 5 Stars.

[jantim]

I think the black & white is making this a very strong portrait !
Great work, i hope that you can spend more time Zbrushing soon :tu:

jantim

[Sebcesoir]

Super!

I have the feeling that the eye poches are a bit too big, and the under neck middle wrinkles looks a bit strong, in opposite of the eye poches that looks too smooth, but I think you copy a photo, so it must be like that in reality...
Awsome...

[Sebcesoir]

Ah! Monstermaker, do you work in 3d, or special fx or something like that?

[Jim McPherson]

Glad to have been a inspiration. Really like the varations in the textures!

[Andromedia]

Hi.. I go with Jantim,, Black and white...gives the face a feeling about life...

And if you watch the little thumbnail in the upper row , the contrast is amazing,,
so my suggestion is to stay with B/W .. :) gretz from Andy

[monstermaker]

Animuts, I knew someone was going to say something about the eye bags I also figured someone would say something about his ears especially the lobes . My dad had really big puffy smooth eye bags in fact in this sculpt imade them a little less puffy and smooth. They kind of bug me too especially because my eye bags are starting to look like that.
max the artist , poly count is 3082752

[marcel]

whowww, really fine modelisation!... the "skin work" with all the wrinckels, is amazing!... do you plan to export the model, or to texture and render in zbrush?... and is it an heavy mesh?... anyway,bravo!...

[roger]

Looks great monstermaker............ :D

-R

[asims]

Your continue to amaze me. All of the work you have posted has been outstanding, but this one is really amazing. I love the weight of the skin and the subtle details. You are truly an inspiration.

[Meats Meier]

Nice work, monstermaker!
I really love the feel of the skin, especially around the neck area. You really nailed this one!
The lighting is really nice, as well. It is really striking in black and white.
You just keep on impressing me...

[AdamT]

Whew, that's one of the best head models I've ever scene. :tu: :tu:

Edit: "seen". Pun unintended. :)

[Frenchy Pilou]

Pilou

[monstermaker]

Hi again ,I just wanted to show that there is some detail on the eyebags it is more subtle than the rest of the face because I find that the skin texture usually is more subtle on that part of the face . Having said that I do agree something bugs me too about the bags . They need more form. I'll work on them more.
I want to thank everyone for the nice complements. I spent a rather horrifying day at the doctors today and it was nice to come home to the positive response. It makes me want to do more and better work. Thank you eye bags .jpg

[jelee]

Thank you for posting such beautifully detailed and modeled work.
I hope everything will be okay between you and the doctors.

j

[aminuts]

hi again,

i hope the dr. visit is more of a what could be than what is.

I have to say that the eyebags look much better in this light. I also think it's less that they aren't possible or realistic than it was just the lighting from first pictures....black and white obviously shows things you wouldn't notice with color.

Personnally I like how they are....I think its the black and white that is making them seem hmmmm heavy maybe is the word where as, lets say the same bags on a human obviously with skin color....they wouldn't look heavy.....I hope that makes sense.....I know what I mean I just don't know how to translate it from my whacko head to print.

[marciani]

Well done,
and good luck
bye
Leo

[longshanks]

Monstermaker,

Is there any chance you could post the skin texture you used it's excellent, the model is fantastic I love it.

Or let me know where I can get it.

Many Thanks

Longshanks

[alnh]

Thanks for posting these. It's great work!

Allan

[aminuts]

Longshanks......

I believe a great eye, hard work gave him that texture.........

his post here in this thread....

"Hey thanks man for noticing the asymmetry. I started out semmetrical got the forms blocked in then switched to one side at a time. I started out with a generic head model a friend gave me, the same one I used for my ape guy. I made a bunch of custom alphas and started the texture with them but ended up mostly using the simple brush with alpha 36, I believe and basically re did everything. Most of the texturing was in projection master but I also did a lot out of projection master. I use the move tool a lot. Glad you like it"

[maxmaster]

Of all those expressionless models I have been seeing, this is something look real.

Great work.

[DktrHeadache]

your models are simply amazing Monstermaker...:eek:
could you share some tricks of yours about the material and the lightsetup ? It really look like a professional studio spotlight session... How do you put this kind of fog in the light ? too cool... also do you use post-process in Photoshop or do they come out B&W and clean as that just from Zbrush ?
Continue to post! you re a great source of inspiration..:tu:
thanx

[monstermaker]

Hi,
Here are the alphas that I used for my old man. As I mentioned before I did a lot with the simple brush and alpha 36. About the lighting and material used, the material is just the fast shader at the moment. I personally like a lot of contrast and not too many lights. I usually turn the ambient to 0, use the sun light as a key light move it around till I like how it looks ,and adjust the intensity until I like that. Sometimes use a second sun light usually as a back light adjust to taste again. I also adjust the contrast usually bump it up to around 20. Then I export it to photoshop and adjust the levels some until I like that.Dktrheadache I not sure what you are refering to when you mention the fog in the light inless you are talking about the bg on the image with the head looking up .I did that in photoshop also simply with the dodge tool as an after thought could have done it in ZBrush with the intensity brush .Hope you find this helpful feel free to use the alphas let me know when you do I would like to see what others do with them, Oh ya ,I shouldn't have mentioned the doctor thing, what happened is I have been getting so many complements on my work in this forum, that my hats didn't fit anymore so I had to get a head reduction.

[Neville]

Wonderful stuff. Like anything, you don't really appreciate something until you try it yourself. I just loaded up z-brush last week and have started to dabble. Although I was impressed before, now I really appreciate the results you are getting. And, as an educator, I am impressed and thankful with you sharing techniques and actual alphas. I shall now try to do something worth posting.

[ilusiondigital]

MM you are a really Zfriend.

And a great inspiration too.

One question: You know other 3d programs too? Because you are a very very good modelled.

[Baryonix]

Exellent work. We would consider it alive.
There is an incredible sum of details.

[TomLong74]

Nice work MM :tu: :tu:

-TL74

[flioink]

Monstermaker 10x for the share ,it`s a superb work - i give you 6 of 5;)

[Scott Spencer]

Monstermaker,

Great work man... I suspect you are a sculptor. Am I correct on this? I say so because you call youir tecture alphas "stipples" and you know that pores can be directional... : )

Awesome work, this head and your previous work as well!

Scott Spencer
www.scottspencer.com (http://www.scottspencer.com/)

[anguyen]

thanks monstermaker for such a wonderful thread! thanks for sharing and adding to the growth of this zcommunity! thanks! thanks! thanks!

[hyper1]

I hope I can make use of your alphas and to do something good with them. If art is all about inspiration then you need to put your talent in a bottle and sell it here a ZCentral. I think everyone would buy a supply:D

[Fouad B.]

really nice work, sculpted and detailed with talent! :tu:

[monstermaker]

Hi again, I finally had a chance last night to throw some paint on this guy . I took it into photoshop and painted some hair on and then realized how off my likeness was. Likeness moldels are too hard. I find it especially difficult without the eyes or hair. Once I saw this with hair and eyes I tweaked it some in 2d to make the likeness better, not that anyone really knows what my dad looks like anyways . Now I will have to tweak the model and do a better paint job. I must admit I am still having a problem with the layers just when I think I understand it something wierd happens, Any advice on whereI might find more on the layers? painted oldman.jpg

[B.C.Johnson]

That is incredible.:eek:

[aurick]

Great work!

What is the difficulty that you're having with layers? If it happens when you merge them, then it's the Draw palette. You need to make sure that Mrgb and Zadd are both active before merging layers or the results get... interesting.

[hawkline13]

Stunning! I know what you mean about layers :confused:
The hair is gorgeous :tu: :tu: as is the entire model.

[Sebcesoir]

Its seriously kick ass.....:cry:

Great job Monster!

[jantim]

"What a fantastic paintjob you did !!" its in a class of its own,..:tu:

jantim

[andreseloy]

:tu: just waiting for a tutorial og this zbrush master¡

Andreseloy

[hyper1]

Monster, your skill really puts you in a class ALL by yourself. I know how much trouble writing or making tutorials can be, however there are so many who would benifit from your sculpting experience here at Z, myself included, that I know that ZScripts, DVDs, HTML, or PDFs would be gobbled up faster than you could produce them. Never mind your new at Z2, its your insights that would be valuable. Now I'll shut up and go practice.

[Mahlikus The Black]

OMG *faints*

[Roger Nobs]

I've never posted here before and I don't even own ZBrush, but I drop in every day to be inspired by the great artwork and to dream of having the cash for ZBrush one day. I have to say something now. When I saw the model of your dad, I was very thoughtful because it seemed to me that here was true art. There is so much truth and life in this head; something of Holbein or Durer, or F.X. Messerschmidt. I feel you could be the first great digital realist I have seen (speaking as a trad media artist).
Thanks and please keep working and posting.
Roger :eek:

[bicc39]

As Andresloy has written, all the adjectives have been used.
One ps: when I first glanced at the painted one, I literally thought
you had submitted a photo to show what you were trying to achieve.
I can pay you no higher compliment that to say that in addition to
Marcel, I now have another artist whose posts cause my fingers to rush
to the keyboard.
I thank you and curse you.:D

[herdmann]

Fantastic - it has so much presence - the eyes are beautiful. And no clay , no moulding , no silicone or latex ,no hair insertion , no mechs or cables and you could bring it to life with an animation software. Hallelujah!

What is it about layers monstermaker? Do you mean when your rendering or what do you have on layers other than the lenses of your eyes for transparency? At what point are things getting weird?

H

[Bas Mazur]

Exelent! I like to know what your dad said about it. My old one should had said: 'Why don't you make a picture and paint your house'. I admire you made your best model of your father! Every detail you made brought a remembrance from times ago, like the small spot in his neck. I should like I could do the same! :tu: :tu:
New tread?

[Boulandier]

Fantastico :eek:

[monstermaker]

Ya, I guess I was pretty vague about the layers. I should write stuff down when it happens. lets see one of the things I have had happen is, if I have a bg layer ,a head layer, a layer with the eyes, and a layer with outer eyes for transparency and do a best render with shadows some times all of the layers don't render.
for example the eye base dissappears or only part of the face renders. I have also had multable crashes when I have several layers and I add or change a light. What I've done in the past to get around this is just render one layer at a time and put them together in photoshop. I've also had wierd shadow stuff happen. a shadow appears from no where in the middle of a forehead or shadows don't show up on the eyes for example Should I merge the layers before I render? I'de rather not I would like the flexability to change stuff around. I was just hopeing there was an everything you want to know about working with layers thread also one for materials as well.
Baz ,unfortunately my father is dead , but I sure he would have said, did you have to put all of those wrinkels and spots, and couldn't you have my eye bags smaller. That is pretty much what he said when I presented him with a similar oil painting of himself a few years ago.
herdsman you forgot no smells, no toxic chem. no sticky crud on your hands, no big mess to clean up. But it is nice to have something that you can hold in your hands or put on a shelf, or scare your friends with
Again thanks everyone for the nice complements makes me want to do more and better work.
And as far as tutorials go I would feel stupid doing one now as I am new to this and have so much to learn

[aminuts]

hi

monstermaker...since you are or seem pretty familiar with photoshop I would like to offer this straight from the z2 feature pages....that will help ya out until I can gather up and edit any of the layer info and tips I have gathered over the last year or two that may or may not help ya :D

"Live Update

A most significant breakthrough for texturing is the new live update feature. If a texture is applied to a mesh that is in Edit mode, that texture can also be opened in another application (such as Photoshop). As soon as the texture is saved in the other application, it will also be automatically updated on your model in ZBrush!"

There actually is a wealth of info on layers but it is almost always (no pun intended) layered with texturing and material info so sometimes it's hard on a search to find info that will help put the grand puzzle together. I will endeavor to do that for you so that I may enjoy what you do with it! I wouldn't be suprised if Meats, etc have not offered their expertise to such a fine talent as yourself so whatever I might put together maybe old news by then but that's ok.
I want you to achieve what it is you know, want, and obviously can.

so keep an eye open.

:D

[Keramazotti]

How WOW is that...are u gonna colur it?...actually dont need to.

[Sebcesoir]

Monstermaker, one very little thing, I maybe find that your eye spec is a bit smooth.
I use to play with the jelly bean shader, I use to contrast extremly the spec to get a super sharpen circular highlight, close from glass, it gives interestings results on textures eyes...
You did it for the sheep man you did before...

glossy.JPG

[agrapha]

good Uncle Sam, if not your dad.

AG

[marciani]

Hi man,
you have done an amazing job:tu:



a layer with outer eyes for transparency and do a best render with shadows some times all of the layers don't render.
for example the eye base dissappears or only part of the face renders. I have also had multable crashes when I have several layers and I add or change a light. What I've done in the past to get around this is just render one layer at a time and put them together in photoshop. I've also had wierd shadow stuff happen. a shadow appears from no where in the middle of a forehead or shadows don't show up on the eyes for example Should I merge the layers before I render?
Don't worry you are not alone:http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=21457
Like just said this is an incredible software, but has some limitations;often its dipend directlyon size canvas.
if you work at medium low res 2000*2000 the shadow and layer give almost no problem, up of this finger cross:unpredictable shadow,weird render, mesh "exploding" when you use Mmarker(another crazy tool)and last but not last is crashing at every operation you are doing.
I've notice this......but i'm fall in love....;)
Bye
Leo

[herdmann]

Monstermaker- you do know that you can export these files and have them 'printed' as actual 3D objects that you can' hold in your hands'

http://www.3darttopart.com/index.php

Someone posted a thread about this a while ago but I cant find it..

I think there may not be a simple solution to the layer 'problems' you describe - certainly they seem all too familiar. With 'flatten' switched off for the eye transparency i think you have to render each layer individually.
And youre right sometimes weird stuff just happens - I often have to quit zbrush and restart it to clear the bugs. And the crashing when youre messing with the lights on a poly dense scene drives you mad... but hey
its not as bad as a mould full of uncured chemicals - right?

H

[strom]

Great !! I like the hair a lot too, did you paint this ?

[Greg Petchkovsky]

I think you could get a great deal more realism in the skin shading. At the moment the skin looks kind of metalic/CG. I'd suggest giving the specular a very slight blue tint, and you could try some fake translucency.

[pixelsoul]

:DAwesome work, he does look angy man :lol:one mean dad :)

[monstermaker]

Had a chance to work on the paint job more today.
Pixelsoul, He does look mean but actually my dad was funny,nice, and very talented. he just liked to make mean faces.
herdman, have you or anyone you know had an obj. "printed' with this process? The detail doesn't look that good on the examples that they showedoldman2.0.jpg

[Aztec...soljA]

it looks wonderful as it is already, you just know how to give life to this 3D alternative...great!!!

[Neville]

Wonderful image monstermaker. As for 3-d printing, I have done alot in my career. Many ways to go as I am sure that you are well aware. I have a small CNC that I am anxious to try on a large file. I have had good luck with simple things (from z brush) but have yet to try textural stuff. I usually cut right out of wax and then this allows detailing to be done. The site linked above seems to be the corn startch printer (ironically called Z-Corp.....no relationship to Z-Brush folks). It is a good rough prototype machine but is not good for details. There are few machines that can "print" the resolution that you sculpt in anyhow.
Again, beautiful work!!

[aminuts]

wow with that lighting and background and look on his face,

I can picture a wwI or II army helmet on his head as if he is contemplating the worthlessness of his orders but he's gonna pass em on anyway. the quintessential war is hell pic.

please keep on experimenting!!

[andreseloy]

I just imagine the emotions you have inside Master when you are doing this outstanding piece from your father...My all respect for you...¡
Andreseloy

ps:Monstermaker yes, i consider you are a Master and admire you¡

[andreseloy]

Thanks
Andreseloy

[herdmann]

Monstermaker you're right -I havent seen any thing printed with the kind of detail we're talking about here - but i have seen some simpler cartoony figures up close and they seemed as good as the resolution of the file .ie the polys werent that small and so you could still see the facets. But with a couple of million poly model from zbrush i would imagine you'd be getting a better surface. The wax prints seem to have a better surface that is easier to work further on.
Bear in mind also how new this technology is - its only a matter of time and we'll be abe to print copies of our zmodels in our choice of materials.
A couple of years ago most of us didnt even even know what an obj was.
I cant wait!

H

[ilusiondigital]

I hope to see your gnomon dvds as soon as possible :D

[punchatz]

Wow it just gets better and better, truly inspiring! Your work has inspired me to refocus my energies on character creation. Thanks!

I wonder how many cuts of Z brush are going to be sold just on the wow factor of your work?
Greg

[Jim McPherson]

Hi Everybody,
First, the head is FANTASTIC!
Second, I've been doing some experimenting with 3D printing. I think the potential for 3D prototyping with Zbrush will first be felt in the toy industry, then infinite possibilities.
I have some friends who own these machines, and i've had one figure printed out of the Resin bath type (lazer beam catalyzing the resin.) I think I used a level 4, 1 million poly figure. The lazer printing can do a full figure in the round. There was a slight bit of stair stepping on the piece. Could easily be cleaned up in wax, but I want to see how good it can be with no clean up.
I've seen some OBJs milled out with the CDC machine. They really look good (and they weren't Zbrush models.) You could see some faceting from the poly model but I know with a Zbrush model there would be less. Since it's a milling machine you have to have all the parts of the model broken into pieces with undercuts taken into account. Like the head cut into 3 sections with a face, and 2 backs of the head split down the center. So then a left and right section with an ear on each. Maya crashed trying to do these cuts in a high poly figure, had to use Lightwave. There's a size limit on what the machine will take, 50 MBs per piece. Then also you have mold the pieces, put them together in wax, and clean up the seams.
Quite interesting, I think of it like being able to sculpt your own scan data of something. It's like "cloud data' but better.
Costs some money to do printing, estimate like $500 to $1000 to have small figure printed in resin. I think buying a CDC machine is around $3000.
I'm sure there's some artists around with some better info on this than me, I'm doing it more as a hobby with maybe fine art applications down the road.

[Neville]

Jim McPherson puts it well.
Andreseloy,
CNC means Computer Numerically Controlled. Basically it is a dremel tool (like a drill/grinder) conected to an xyz axis driver allowing you to cut out of whatever material you desire your shape. My machine is a small table top type I use for small prototypes and toys.
By the way, Jim is correct in saying that the toy world uses this proess alot. I have done many sculpts in wax, both from scratch and also from outputs.
One detail to point out is that with a really good cnc (5 axis) is that you do not need to cut the part into pieces. Undercuts are no problem. You still need some way in which to hold the piece however (the beauty of "growing" is that you do not need to hold the piece-support material is the only thing)
Lastly, with a cheap CNC ($5000.00 US) you can cut your design out of one block. It takes some foresight, but you can cut one face, rotate, cut the next, etc. I have done this with success.
If you are fortunate enough to have $5000.00 burning a hole in your pocket, I would warn you against buying this type of equiptment. Client work should be paying for it ultimately. So, you will need to have enough jobs to justify it. Then there is the running, maintaining and updating the machine and software. Oh, and like computers, for the first hour of owning it, it is new. After then it is becoming obsolete by newer technology.
If you want to see the best of the best in this world, check out my friend Karls company: Gentle Giant http://www.gentlegiantstudios.com/

[monstermaker]

Put some hair and a few tweaks on him oldmanwhair.jpg

[Dezz]

impressive skin work!

[andreseloy]

Monstermaker you have make a revolution here both artistic and attitude to help other with your great work and kind.Some few guys are very short in explaining or sharing but fortunately people like you are splendid¡ also we can see and thanks to Aurick the great tutorial from Antropus....like a preludium to the new ZB update hope soon.
Thanks again
ANdreseloy

[Trurl]

Great work! Congrats! :tu:

[Antropus]

GREAT work man!
I can just try to help because the work is amazing anyway. Try to reduce the bump aspect. The pores are a little over in some parts like the neck. Making softer will help even more with the realism. I don't know about your shader and if you are using different ones for your model but if it can help you, try some tips about different levels of specular in my tutorial posted here today. I hope it can help you to improve even more your shaders and lighting because about modeling I'm learning here from your work ;)

Cheers,
Kris

[jlester2000]

Just joined, and I must say this is great work. Highly looking forward to further developments on this project.

[Lucky_1]

Fantastic work monstermaker ! :eek:

more...more...:)

Lucky_1

[AdamT]

Interesting to see all the different looks and styles with the great model. Your old man seems quite PO'd in the latest. :)

[monstermaker]

Hi,
I Had to do a happy version of my dad because so many people said that he looked mean or po'd and actually he was a nice happy guy who just liked to make mean faces. He is happy here because I gave him more hair. I'm happy because I love ZBrush. It's so cool that you can take a painted, textured model and change it around. Speaking of which I can't wait for the new upgrade I watched the movies of the new features and got very excited. It will make changes like this a lot easier happy dad smaller.jpg

[andreseloy]

:tu:
Andreseloy

[xsiFlasher]

just beautiful:tu: :tu:

[portart]

That looks great!! I was having trouble to figure out about the material. And very frustrated , but I feel better bcasue of this !! Thanks big brother!

[Dickie]

Monstermaker, what a wonderfully sweet portrait. It is not only technically amazing, but as a z-Brush portrait, it is the best I've seen. It is such a joy seeing your work...:D


Dickie

[boozy floozie]

Your skill as a painter shines through in breathing life into the form.
A keen eye and then some.

Fine work indeed.

[Bas Mazur]

Much better this way!
About the upgrade: we all wait for it!!!!

[herdmann]

Its just beautiful Monstermaker! His eyes are fantastic. The hair is really beautiful too (all photoshop?) - better and better with each post . You have too much free time (and a very patient partner!)!

H

[fizzy]

The detail is insane. Tlop dog MonsterMaker thanks for telling me about your work I'm glad you did.

Pete B

:tu: :tu: :)

[hyper1]

I'm only assuming that your art is also part of your income, because your client list must be enormous! If not and you are persueing art for arts sake your a master. Hats off my friend.

[monstermaker]

Thanks everyone for the nice complements on my latest post on this thread.
hyper1 Right now I don't have an income I'm taking some time to improve my skills and I must say that ZBrush has become an obsession with me. I like to sculpt and paint, was spending most of my time painting until I got ZBrush a little under 2 months ago and haven't done much else since. One of the many things that I love about it is that it combinds sculpting and painting.
herdmann,hair is all photoshop ,I have lots of free time but somehow it doesn't seem enough,and I do have a patient partner, she knows that I have to spend time being creative, or I'm an unhappy camper.Looking forward to your next post
Dickie, you are too kind
Thanks again all, I just started yet another expression on this same model I'll post when it's done
MM

[deity]

amazing piece monster maker. so many good talents here. also thanks for the alphas you posted, they will come in handy for my next projects.

[monstermaker]

I removed this image sorry that the following responses won't make sense now.
MM

[Keramazotti]

Wonderful job. The only thing bad is that if we are lucky enough we will die like this...hehe no offence wouldnt hang it on a wall but a beautiful work.

[Aztec...soljA]

Woh, I think that you are the first person that's ever posted something like this, art is art no matter how raw, happy, sad, etc.

[andreseloy]

With all the respect you inspire me, i just have time to put in your shoes for a moment...my father died 8 years ago and this piece translate me...to those days beside my profession i have frequently with this kind of situations.
I dont know what to say but i am with you¡
Andreseloy

[frogspasm]

Wow, man...
That's a powerful image. I don't know how something like that wouldn't stay with you. I'm glad you got to be there for him when he left.
Talk about therapy through art, though...
Looks like you've been working alot of stuff out.

~Mike D.

[CHRIS REID]

Man, as soon as I saw the thumbnail at the top, I felt like you just witnessed his death. That is such a dramatic image. Really takes your breath away. I didn't know it had already happened. I hope it helps you cope with the events that you have endured. We all feel for these situations, and that image really takes us there. I do know that your images have brought such inspiration to all thoses who view your great work. I wish you the best and thanks for your wonderful posts.

....wait, I have a question....
You did a post with a red "hell-like" background and a cross. (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showpost.php?p=192896&postcount=71)
It really makes me wonder ....

Now I am really going to have to follow these posts to see how this story unfolds.

Well done.

Chris Reid

[MrZankO]

Monstermaker,
Very compelling it really tells
a story. Beautiful color and texture!!
I'll be looking at this one for a
long time.
Thx for Share,
HanKO.

[Willis]

Its amazing that you sparked all of this discussion of real life on a website devoted to a computer program but your work sets the bar higher, not just technically, it shows that you can communicate powerfully no matter what the tool is, thanks for that Monstermaker.

[pajonate]

Bravo, MM
I must say that I am glad that you've decided to show us different views of your father through your zbrush work. This last image is the most dramatic one from them all. I lake the expression on his face because it reflects something I have witnessed few ears ago for a similar reason. If you were as close to your father as I was to mine, than I really can't imagine what was happening in your head when you were making this last image. I hope it will have a therapeutic effect on your soul.
Bravo.


:cool: Pajonate

[aminuts]

Wow, Monster

You outdid yourself with this one, the viewer can feel the heartbreak and helplessness of the painter. I have been in that room myself and you captured the emotion quite well.

I hope that by creating these moments, a weight has been lifted and you're ready to honor him by doing what you do so damn well and enjoy it again.

[Dickie]

MM, what a brave man you are to share this glimpse into your life and soul.
This is not only an amazingly dramatic work of art but it's like you are giving us a piece of you. I see this painting and am saddened but I still feel that with our collective sadness we help you bear the weight of your loss. No small feat, my friend. A wonderful tribute...


Dickie

[Mytholon]

This image is so strong! The interpretation of this final moment has a dark aspect to it that makes the image hard to look at. I think that apart from the intensity of the model's expression, the emotion on this image is created by the surounding colours, lighting, and used - dirty textures. To me, this is an image focused on the negative aspect of death. It is a portrait of an empty shell, right after the lifeforce that was inhabiting it has departed. A great image, perhaps serving you as an emotional outlet (?)

[fizzy]

I agree with mytholon this a very dark image and I'm not suprised it's haunted you for so long. I'm glad that Ihaven't had to face any such event thus far although inevitably I know that day will come. Awesome and brave work my man.

Maybe your next work should be a happy one :D

Pete B

[hyper1]

MM, I think this last rendering might be the springboard for myself, having experienced losses as well it might serve to attempt those faces first (hmm). Your courage is only surpassed by your artistry. Life-art art-life

Keep pushing those pixols

[fallenherald]

Hey MonsterMaker, phenomenal work on this old man. This is the type of work that we all aspire. I am working on a model myself and your work is an inspiration to me. I just have a couple questions about your workflow. I am new to ZBrush and Im trying to get similar results as your model. Ive subdivided my model 3-4 times but whenever I use the Zadd & Zsub tools and I bring the draw size to 1 and try to work in some detail, the lines turn out spotty. I was wondering if its because I havent subdivided enough? Is projection Master a better tool to use for that? What process did you go through to create such a refined and highly detailed model? How many times did you divide, what tools did you use? Any info that you could give me concerning this would be greatly appreciated. And again, Phenomenal Work!!!!

[edgeey]

This changes the whole perspective of "hey look at what I made with z-brush and I am going to post it" transcending the techniques, it affects you personally and is in a totally different class. Very much what art should do. Great MM

[fizzy]

Fallenherald. Once you go below a draw size of around 10 then you'll get that dotted problem. I always use projection Master for that sort of fine detail.

pete B

[juandel]

thats the moment i dread the most. from what i am told by those who already had to "handle" it i understand that being a direct witness helps to go on with your own life alot. you are "handling" it in a wonderful way. its the same words i use often but with a special meaning this time: thanks for sharing, monstermaker!

& kudos on craftsmannship, insights & al.! :tu: :tu: :tu:

- juandel

[monstermaker]

Thanks to you all for your kind words and thoughts . They helped me a great deal . For those of you that have been down this road I am sorry for posting this image. I hope that it hasn't brought back bad memories . I'm going to remove the image from this thread.
Fallenherald; I've had that same problem I wish I would take notes so I could remember how I fixed it. One thing you might try is is under stroke changing the spacing to 0. The other thing is to make sure you are in freehand stroke. You also might try a larger brush with a smaller focal shift. Ultamately though I think projection master is the way to go. Check out the part of this thread where I posted the alphas I talk some about how I work there. What I do when I get a problem like that is just play around with different stuff until I get the results that I'm looking for. Hope this was of some help

[Sebcesoir]

Hard.. but superb work....
Dont know what to say more.....

[Bill B]

Hey Monstermaker,



I just wanted to say how amazing your work is, and only after a few weeks with z-brush you are dominating. Seeing your stuff really makes me anxious to use Z-Brush for what it is really for. I have only used z-brush so far in the development of a new product line. You see I have been using Z-Brush to create 3-D sculptural reliefs from photographs. I am actually starting up a side line business doing this. The final products are CNC milled, painted using a dry brush technique, put in a picture frame and shipped to the happy customer. The final product is a milled part that is basically a sculptural version of the original photograph all thanks to projection master.



Which actually brings me to some talk in a previous thread regarding Rapid Prototyping. I have been using SRP for the last 6 years in my work as a toy sculptor, model maker and toy prototyper. I do 99% of all my work using a digital work flow. My company BNT Studios specializes in SRP (subtractive rapid prototyping) CNC. You can check out some of my work at www.bnt4cncrp.com (http://www.bnt4cncrp.com/) IF! you are interested and have some time. Some of my recent stuff is the toys for the movie Robots done for Mattel. All of the original toys were all done on my cnc and modeled in Light wave. I consider what I am doing with digital modeling and cnc milling beyond what most are doing in my industry. I am milling some pretty high end detailed stuff and all at small toy scale. A lot of the stuff I am milling is done with end mills that go down to .008 for specific milling operations. In fact the z-Brush relief stuff I am doing now is really nuts, with so much detail most people are amazed at how much detail I can machine.
SO Anyways



What I was going to suggest is if you are in to it, I have been really interested in seeing how a Z-Brush model would run on CNC. Since I have not had time to just play with Z-Brush and sculpt. I am wondering if you would be interested in a test. I would be willing to mill one of your peaces. “maybe your dad” or what ever. I’m interested in seeing whether or not running tool path on such a dense mesh is even possible. I think you said it was in the 3 million range???. It would be interesting to see if my CAM program could handle such a monster file. And in the end find out how much detail I can hold in the final milled part.



Any ways I just wanted to throw this out there for you to think about. Let me know if you are interested. I think it would be interesting for you to see how the digital world becomes reality. Let me know what you think.



Best

Bill B

[aminuts]

MM,

I would plead that you did not remove the picture. It is a superb piece of work (unless of course it bothers you or it's too personal a moment for you, which for one I am glad you shared it, to give you another perspective, I have been there, and it did bring back some maybe not so pleasant memories, however personal each experience is, it is a comfort to be reminded that we are not alone in that, and that it is a natural part of life no matter how unpleasant or trying) anyway you could if you wish to keep it posted, add a warning to the message title.

I understand if you wish not to.

But it's such a powerful picture I think that it should remain up as it really goes with all the incarnations you posted and tells a part of the picture story....as well as a part of the personal story.

[edgeey]

It is one of the best things on this site and you have many fans that love your work. Unless it is bothering you, it provokes thought and emotion, and should be posted.

[monstermaker]

aminuts,and edgee,
Thanks but I think for now at least I will keep it off.
Edgee in the thread I just see ,I agree with aminuts, but while making this post I can see that you said more,It's greyed out but I can still read it, Thank you for what you said
Monstermaker

[Dfisherhouse]

Amazing Work, can't get any better, well a little. The work around the eyes and ear seams a little too blurred or untextured compared to the rest of the piece. Fix that and you have the perfect 3-d model. Have you exported to Maya to try and animate any artwork that you do in Z-Brush. I would be interested to see what you could accomplish.

Awesome work though, haven't seen anything remotely close

[ambient-whisper]

its wonderful work but you already know that.

i got a question. did you use zbrush autouvs? or did you make them from in another application?

[dsavage]

Monstermaker



I realise this may seem like an old thread to you but I’ve just recently started looking seriously into getting Zbrush and was flicking through the threads and I have to say that your work is astounding. The detail and natural way the flesh folds is outstanding. I can even see a family resemblance.



It’s some of the best work I’ve seen anywhere and reminded me of some of the sculptures Dick Smith did for his old-age makeups and the great work of Rick Baker (the unique route of each wrinkle, the hint of veins just below the skin) and then I realised – I’ve followed your outstanding work since I was 12. I remember the line on the business card you used (Rick Baker – Monster Maker).



I have to say that I am amazed to have found your work in such a haphazard way. Please don’t think I’m a stalker or anything but I have old Fangorias, Cinefex (Maker of Monsters, Master of the Apes) etc covering you career. I’m just delighted to have stumbled upon your amazing work yet again and even more interested to see what you do in the digital realm as well as in film.



Best Regards

David Savage

[Graphixvision]

very nice i would like to see more of your wips :D

[Bpharr273]

Hey Monstermaker,

My name is Brian. I want to tell you that this is some of the best 3D work I've ever seen at least on this site. I want to compliment you and I will be trying as hell to improve myself at least up to your standards. If you post more work up, please let me know. Thanks again for posting this.

Brian :eek:

[Rich Suchy]

Fantastic Work! I'd love to see a movie or at least a short with some of these dead actors living again, but in this stylerather than photoreal.

[WillBellJr]

I realize that this is a mature thread, I've discovered it due to all the Siggraph anticipation and reading your ZBrush site interview.

As others, I'm just dropping in to say I also respect and honor your talent - you are truly blessed.

I'm a new ZBrush user myself (well I purchased it back in March but have only now started to learn and enjoy it's wonderful capabilities.)

I've always felt this digital stuff is for the "young", being in my early 40's, and before ZBrush, I felt grasping all of this 3d modeling stuff was perhaps a little beyond me now - seeing your work is an inspiration for me (and obviously to every one else - your talents are absolute and ageless...)

I'm sorry I missed your "Death" image, I hope you will eventually put it back up, it sounds like it was a very powerful piece of art.

Thanks for sharing yourself and your wonderful art with the community!

-Will

[monstermaker]

Glad to see this old thread has some new life.
WillBelljr, hey early 40's sounds young to me I'm almost 55. besides I think it has nothing to do with age rather a willingness to learn and have fun. I happen to think ZBrush is really fun.

[rubber_rules]

Hi rick, wow just joined this forum today been away filming stuff, worked myself almost to death, so i decided to take time out to relax and recover, so i jump onto this site after just buying z brush havent used it yet, but as a classical sculpter its very encouraging to see how easy it looks (yeah famous last words!!!) then i see that familiar face, aged, rick!! but no its ya dad and mighty fine the render is too mate!! great work, NO-ONE in the uk creature fx industry is using this software, maybe i can get out of the killer chemical workshops i have been dyin in, and z brush for a living (famous last words!!!!)
graet work nice to see your back from your break, lets see some gritty, dark, gothicy scary **** from you and cinnovation soon :)
simon uk
p.s hope to post some work v soon.

[rubber_rules]

i have been reading the past treads and looking at some amazing work, what is really funny is the gradual exposure of rick baker! i was weeing myself as the time went on more people were kind of squinting tilting their heads saying " er is he?" were recognising who he was. And then the sudden realisation "rick!!" in creep the fans as the gossip spread
i have this vision of rick in a comunist spy outfit shaking his fist "****e, ive been rumbled" what once was a nice little creative safe haven is now a nest of fan boys, dont get me wrong im not being nasty, i just found this very funny in a very british dry way. i think its great that rick still has fans he he he, sorry that was a bit harsh.
i have to sat though ive met rick a few times and worked with some of his mates, i dont know him well. but im sure he would laugh at this (gulp i hope)
well this ends my light comic relief. keep up the fantastic work all you people i hope to be as good one day xxxx simon

[Swin]

Great work MonsterMaker,wish I could have been at Siggraph for a quick natter about stuff.Incidently the U.K. film/game industry is getting to be quite a large user of ZBrush on the concept/art dept side as well as digital maquette/model building in film and next gen games,ILM's release on the front page makes interesting reading for the future of creature/visual effects I would say.

[graphics100]

hi is there a chance of seeing a body to go with this head
thanks :tu:

[MattHHH]

:eek: :eek: :eek:

EXCELLENT!!!!
Ehiiia!Awesome!
Monstermaker,I'm very impressed by your work.Very soon I'll study your works in your DVD!!!I'm sure that I'll learn many things by you.

[whitecat]

woww..!! great work..!

[N2ChristTheKing]

Amazing work Monstermaker! I can't believe how quickly you picked up ZBrush

[Gettarobox]

sorry to have brought any unwanted attention if that is why you killed your post. I was just surprised that you used LW and thought that someone could have stolen yer nickname on that forum. it all happened so fast.
anyway that was a cool lab that you had going.
hope to see you again on the LW forums. I'll keep my mouth shut from now on. ;)

[monstermaker]

Gettarobox, No worries man, I'll post something when I have something better to post

[Da_VooDooChild]

Hey Monstermaker,

Gotr a question about this awesome head you worked on. At what level were you working and how many polygons did your model have at your highest level? Gotta say this is beautiful art!

Brian

[LynneMitchell]

If this is the level one can reach in a year--I can't wait for 2007!--and ZB ver 2.5.

[monstermaker]

Da-VooDooChild, I did this like 11 months ago it's an old post so I don't really remember but I pretty sure that it was up around 3 million polys. I usually divide it till I can't go any more because Projection master works better with high poly count
Lynne Mitchell, This is the level that I reached after about a month of owning ZBrush and we all can't wait for ver 2.5
mm

[Craig Ward]

Wowsers MM. Stunningly blindingly amazingly awesome.
Da_VooDooChild : I think the exact # of poly's is on page 1 of this thread.

[eddski]

whoa theres a true master at work! Im quite new to this forum and ive just stumbled upon this forum somehow but I always hear Rick Bakers name mentioned everywher ebut havent actually seen any of his work but when I saw this forum I was blown away. Fuggin awesome work Rick!

[jit_gohil]

Erm, Edski, if you've seen American werewolf in London, the Thriller video, then you have seen his work. :D

[eddski]

oops, forgive my ignorance... :o

[calum5ZB]

Its evident the creation of this piece came from your heart,compliments is all I can offer,cal

[CalicoWishes]

Excelente compandre!

[highlander_72]

I know this thread is ancient, but I just had to say: Great work and thanks a bunch for those alphas!:D

[jonnyd'artiste]

u are the master sir rick baker!

[gallen0]

Great work man and thanks a lot for sharing :)

[zBroden]

Hi Monstermaker,

i see, you now your job. Beautiful and interesting work !!
Can I ask you for help? I work with Mac ZB 3.2 and Maya.
I made a high Res Mesh with the intentinon to rapid protoyping. By sending the file ( OBJ and STL ) from Zb and Maya only the Low Res mesh is achieved, and the fine details are lost.
Now the big question: can you tell me the correct setup ( Workflow ) for the export ? Thank you for help Gianni Roden

[hyper1]

zBroden,
You already have access to the most astounding tools already available for the Mac.
http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/downloadcenter/zplugins/

I do not work on a Mac personally, but I've reciently had the opportunity to convert a high resolution ZTool to a Decimated .stl file and the process worked flawlessly. Just follow the Decimation Master tutorial to the letter and you'll have a printed part in no time! ;)
Gary

[zBroden]

thanks for the prompt reply. Your help is very welcome. I will take the Master Decimation Manual again under the microscope. ;)

[zBroden]

NOW I HAVE IT !!! I am very grateful to you all. SMACK :D :D :D

[definitely_maybe]

awesome as always

[zBroden]

Hi,
sorry, my English is still in need of expansion. Please tell me what "awesome" means.
Thank you.

[Deborah59]

Monstermaker: Still enjoying your work after all these years. You are always absolutely astounding. Hope all is well. DMcGaf

[zBroden]

Hi DMcGaf,

yes i am still working and searching with satisfaction.

[Deborah59]

Sorry, zBroden, my note was for monstermaker! We were friends long ago.

[Sergio Santos]

You are the digital sculptor that I admire the most.

another great work, congratulations!

[cjmorgan]

brilliant, absolutely amazing,I really love your work.

[monstermaker]

Wow this old thread has popped up again. I was checking to see if anyone else responded to my pride and prejudice thread and was surprised to see this.
thanks cjmorgan
thanks sergio
Deborah59 is that you Debby?wow it has been a long time
thanks to all of the other guys who responded to this since I visited last long ago

[zBroden]

I'm sorry I made a mistake.
Gianni Roden

[3mm]

absolutely amazing works still after the 6 years.....

[Frenchy Pilou]

...at any time! ;)

[Deborah59]

Sorry, I didn't check this for a long time either. Yes, it's me! I'm kinda surprised you would even remember me! But I've been following your career for many years now and proud to say I knew you when! Way back when. Your work is always amazing and thrilling. I hope you are as happy in your life as you seem to be.

[cjmorgan]

just wanted to congratulate you on your oscar win.well done!!!

[Devans_87]

I agree with 3MM,U are my idol~Monstermaker....