Melanin

[joe_seig]

Hi,

I haven't posted my work in forums too often, but this seems like a friendly place.

Joe_Seig_Pair2.jpg
Joe_Seig_Pair3.jpg

Fairly recent character, originally generated from zspheres. I made him to learn Zbrush.
(Mesh was redirected a little in mayax for animating).
Macro and micro sculpting in zbrush.
AUV tiles... so color painted directly on model, ZappLink, and displacement map from zb.

Rendered with Mental Ray using Maya 5.0
Shader is DT3d Skin Shader by Miguel A. Santiago, a.k.a. migusan76. Hey!
Hair was created using Joe Alter's Shave and a Haircut.

The character is based on someone with albinism, those who have a complete lack of melanin in their skin, hair, and sometimes the eyes.
Melanin, the chemical in our skin which reacts to the sun, how do you represent skin without it?

So I'm trying to work out the balance between light and color with this.
Not sure if I'm succeeding with a certain quality I'm after... not tan, not too pale or powdered.
Alive, not dead, maybe just too red.
(Is rhyming allowed?) oops, sorry.

All hard crits are welcome, please kick this hard if you have the time.
I'll try to post more images showing improvement.

Oh here's the wire, 2000 polys, AUV tiles with util_mark6.tif mapped earlier on them.
Maybe too poly heavy on the ears ect., I'm trying to unlearn that.

Joe_Seig_Wire.jpg

Crazy how Auv's get scrambled around.

Thanks for looking

[mutant]

hey -this guy looks great!! i love the shape/weight of the lips and the teeth.
kick it hard? hmmmm - well the skin shader needs some work - he looks a little dry. needs some subtle specularity in there. im not to keen on the eyes. not the fact that they are red and inspired by the albino condition, but that they appear low resolution compared to the rest of him....
great to see some different expressions too! are these blendshapes/morph targets or just moved around in zbrush?
one thing that would really add another level of detail would be to make different displacement maps for each belndshape. for example, if he scrunches up his nose - you sculpt a more bunched/wrinkly map to blend to, aswell as the model changing.

im not exactly sure how this is done in maya, as im a max user, but ive set up a little pipeline that allows blending from one map to the next, aswell each model.

canat wait to see further updates :tu: :tu: :tu:

[joeanomics]

good work! i really like the exaggerated eyes and nose, clean wire frame too. i think adding a bit more variation in the skin will add more character, but as it is, its A+ work in my opinion.

[Logick]

so clean, everything looks great to me, great work

[lemonnado]

Excellent!
Stunning model.
:tu::tu::tu:
LemonNado

[tiktok]

this looks fantastic!
I recall this guy from your website a month or two back...

very inspirational stuff. Great animation too!
Didn't he have a funny hat? or is that another character?

How is it jumping from the sculpture medium...to the digital sculpture medium?
keep it up the excellent style!
-tiktok

[Jason Belec]

Very nice character and look. Nice Zsphere model. ;)

[Suzana]

Beautiful, beautiful, this is what i really like - realistic character with a bit stylization. Wonderful.:D
5stars.

[Drummer]

great character !!
cool :cool: :tu:

[Bas Mazur]

Great model! :tu: :tu:

[Brainplug]

Amazing Joe! Don't think I have ever seen a 3D Albino before :)

You have a great sense of style.

If I was to make a crit I would agree with mutant about adding a little more subtle specularity, somehow the spec seems a bit diffused (not very helpful I know, sorry). You make an interesting point about the ability to represent skin without melanin, not sure if skin shaders take Albino's into account when they are being designed :p

Once again, awesome work keep it up

:tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

Ben

[joe_seig]

mutant: Thanks, was hoping the specularity issue wouldn't come up, I'll look into it.
I agree with the eyes, I haven't fully explored them. Good call. Also more chaos in the lashes.
These are blendshapes/morf targets, but now I know zbrush can help with that too.
I've yet to figure out blending between displacement maps, I'll look into it as well.

joeanomics: Thanks, yes more variation, I'll check my references.

Logick and lemonnado: Glad you like him, thanks for your positive feedback.

tiktok: Hey, thanks, you still sketching up bizarre ideas? ;)
This is a different character, completely started using zbrush, but they do ressemble one another.
Good eye. Let's call 'em brothers.

Your sculpture medium vs. digital sculpture medium question:
Digital is harder, dang it is.

Jason Belec: Thanks Jason, yeah the original zsphere is in there somewhere. Still peeking at your low-rez.;)

Suzana: Thanks, you nailed it. Great work you're doing btw.

Drummer: Grazie! ciao for now.

Bas Mazur: Thank you, Your influence runs deep here. I know it's flowed my way.

Brainplug: Yes you're right about the specular, it's been difficult. Thanks, glad you like it so far.

I'll try to work on this tonight, thanks for the motivation everyone.

[odhinn]

Bro, you rock:tu::tu::tu:

[Polaris30]

what program are you useing for your rendering and animation?

the shaders you have created/used are outstanding
TIA

[mutant]

hi again joe,

heres a link to a cool plugin thats been developed to blend/morph between meshes/displacements. vertex cache for maya. looks pretty powerful/handy :)

http://imaginecube.com/features.html

[Svengali]

Brilliant work Joe. My only comment is I wonder about the scale of the bumps/grain/pores on the facial skin. My guess is its twice too large for the model, but you're likely still working on that.

Gotta say, yours is about the best from-scratch-in-ZBrush work I've seen lately. :D

Sven

[Atwooki]

Excellent work, Joe!
Really love the stylisation of this character - albinism, hair, expressions and all :tu:

As I remember, albinos do tend to have slightly dryer skin than usual, so the
diffuse and spec would be different; also are you planning to use SSS with
this guy eventually? It'd be a real 'scattering playground' :)

C.

[SolidSnakexxx]

Excellent Stuff!!! Very nice model and texture.. Great job!!

[Webhead]

FANTASTIC!! :tu:

[migusan76]

:D Wooooott WooooTT, Hey Joe great to see your character around, Plus Featured Gallery thats awesome!!! Keep up the Great Work. Too bad your not rendering through Maya's software render I could pass you a modified version of the shader with a True SSS term so you could get some nice Behind the ear light on this model. :p Or you could use fast_SSS shader for mental ray.

[lemons]

First off, I concurr - very tasty modeling. Yessir.

Next, you asked for people to kick it hard, so I did. And the only thing that fell off is the shader you used.

I think it's a wee bit on the red side, but you're on the right track if you're shooting for realism.

I don't know anything about Maya-ax - but I would see if I could get some nice SSS and translucency going on there. I think it might be the trick.

As I said, it's the only part that I could make a dent in when I kicked it. :tu:

[Polaris30]

I cant help but keep looking at your creation,,,

this albino keeps me in facination!

hope i never have any step children that look like this..

it realy is an amazing model, and textureing, and lighting.... the hair is UNREAL!

thanks for shareing with us :)

[Strannik]

good style and face rigging :tu:

[aminuts]

hey joe,

he looks great...have to agree about the specularity but if you find it too hard to get the right touch with the shader perhaps a little faking it with the texture will add the right touch you are looking for? the HighlighterII brush is pretty good for that but you may find others that work better for you.

can't wait to see the animation of this one! If your gonna give us a peek that is!:D

[joe_seig]

Wow! Thanks for the top row.
Ouch, now the pressures on.

odhinn: Hey, thanks, well I used to rock back in the day, on a japanese copy of a fender strat.
Now I just noodle the blues. These three keep me hoppin'now. (My rockin days are over).

joe_seigPhoto.jpg

Polaris30: Using Mental Ray for rendering and Maya 5.0 for animating.
Woah now, the Shader is by Miguel A. Santiago, it's called DT3D Skin Shader, you'll find it on HighEnd if you use maya.
He really knows his shader stuff, he's written alot of them.

mutant: Yes, of course, the formidable Julian Johnson's solution for blending between displacements. I'll check it out. Thanks mutant.

Svengali: Hey man this is you're fault, you know that right? :p
Thanks, reconsidering the pores. I'm trying to exagerate certain qualities, so I maybe went overboard with those.
Not sure I agree with you on the "best from scratch" comment, but thanks anyway for the compliment.


Atwooki: Yes what I'm after is something convincing, so that it feels resolved.
It's those annoying glitches that disturb the eye the first millisecond you look at something.
I'm trying to eliminate those, but I've been staring at this so long my eyes aren't fresh anymore.
All these great suggestions help me see it clearer. Thanks for yours, gets me off the specular hook for the moment.
As far as SSS, it doesn't work with Maya 5.0, and my upgrade discount has expired with alias.
Full price for 7.0 Complete for me now, so we'll see. I'm lovin' Miguels shader for the moment.
Excellent work yourself btw.

SolidSnakexxx and Webhead: Thanks guys! Much appreciated.

Migusan76: Hey there you are! (Tried to email you @webaddress last night, came back. Wuzup with that? email me)
No, remember fast_SSS shader wasn't built for maya 5.0, You're all I got brother. :)

lemons: Thanks, I'm not sure I'm using Miguel's shader to it's fullest potential, lemme see what's possible. Thanks for kickin it lemons.

Polaris30: Hi again, and thanks for enjoying this. Joe Alter and his crew at Shave do a great job with their hair plugin.

Strannick: Appreciate the thumb, still have alot of rigging/morfing to do.

Joe_Seig_ColorMap.jpg

Here's the Color Map grabbed from ZBrush (flat render), I adjusted it, now to see how it works in Mental Ray.

[joe_seig]

Hey aminuts! I see you're up late again in this big city.
Thanks for the tips man, I'll give it a shot.
(p.s. burbs or city?)

[lemons]

Veins! Yeah, now you're talking.

I think this will look nice when you're done. My hat's off to you.

[aminuts]

Burbs. Work nights + insomniac.

Cub fan but must say go Sox go!!:rolleyes:

Is that ohare in the background?

[DHARMAESTUDIO]

One of the most beautiful character of the forum(if monstermaker let me say that).
I love everything about it?
Only one sugestion about the color.
Think that if he don´t have melanin he would have less protected the skin so the reds, became very important in the patern.
They use to have more obvious capilars and in the chek bones sometimes have redish spots(In my neighbourhood there are two albine people).
I think that for the chek bones would be really cool if you paint like "worms" over the surface(in a real face could be like 2 or 3 mm) and over them other layer of worms in a yellow color (1 mm of thinknes), and over that if you over do, you can put a very transluced layer of the base tone to
control completly the final result.
Please, take that sugestion like a way of admiration, I think it is really cool your character and I would be happy to help a little bit.
All the best, Arturo

[Moochie]

Great, inspirational way to start the day. Fab work, Joe. And yes .. this is a friendly place to post.

Any UK footie fans out there? Think this character looks like Alan Smith (Man U .. ptthuh .. wash my mouth out with soap and water)?

[DHARMAESTUDIO]

OPPPPSSSS!
If I look to your color in the flat render I can see "worms"!!!!
Maybe a little bit more in cheeks.
Oh I forgot one thing, they use to have a redish neck!!
Arturo

[migusan76]

Hey Joe: Yep Yep here i'am. thats odds maybe its cause I haven't check my mail in like a week but I got your email today so I'll hit you back. Ooo yea thats right fast_SSS isn't for maya 5.0. Oooo but wait once you upgrade I'll be old news :o then you'll be all other that fast_SSS AHHhhhh better get back to the drawing board.

[DigitalDreamer]

Excellent work. :tu:

[joe_seig]

aminuts: "Is that ohare in the background?"
Bingo you know it well, taken this spring.
Cub fan here too, but the Sox just might take it.
City, near Bucktown/Wicker Park. Insomniac + work days, not a good mix.

Didn't reply to your animation question... sure, no problem, I'll be glad to show something.

DHARMAESTUDIO: Very descriptive Arturo, thanks for your help. Your "worm" idea could be interesting.
As a still, of course all the detail shows, but once movement happens we tend to focus less on the details.
Something to balance.

Moochie: Hey still waiting on the Ear Challenge you're cookin up. You've inspired me too.
Sorry, you lost me on the UK footie Alan Smith, (off to google).
Maybe we'll get some UK footies in here who'd like to kick in some teeth. j/k
Joe_Seig_AlanSmith.jpg
See what you mean there, but he's definitely more of a looker. Sorry, can't use that tan he's sportin'.

migusan76: "once you upgrade I'll be old news" Hah! good one. Don't you believe it. With all those shaders you've written?

Digital Dreamer: Thanks for posting the positive feedback. Glad you like it.

Okay, back to work now.

[Frenchy Pilou]

...the hidden brother of Doc Emmett Brown ? :D (Back to the Futur) :lol:
http://www.christopherlloyd.net/christopherlloyd/bttfdoc.jpg

[joe_seig]

Frenchy: zoot I forgot about him, perfect reference for facial expressions too.
Christopher Lloyd, of course! Thanks

[Cassandra Helm]

Excellent expresion! Thanks for posting!

[Ron Harris]

You really captured a very realistic character with this render. I know someone that looks very much like your guy here, cept he isn't albino, just a 3rd shift guy that never goes into the sun.....the skin and sparse moles/freckles on the shoulders reminded me of the guy so much and the eyes, mouth and teeth....a most excellant image.....

My only crit with having said the above, (and I need to work on this on my own works too) is that this guy to me needs some tartar buildup between his gums and teeth...and I don't know what advice to give you on how to do it....

Again, a killer image...you just recieved a new fan :D

creatively,

Ron
catfishmn@aol.com

[Yainderidoo]

...















^
sssst....speechless....(whispermode on) 10 ********** out of 10!! (whispermode of)

[jantim]

Its great seeing your work here, Joe !
Only a pity that posing and animating your models needs Maya & Mental Ray..it would be interesting seeing your models rendered in Zbrush and "dressed" in Zmaterials...!

jantim

[CaptainNemo]

Hi Joe ,
It's a fantastic character , a very clean mesh . Excellent work .
But man , how could you overcome the seams that appear in AUV texturing ?:mad:
I was working on it for a month ( fix seams , adjustment , ...) and I could not find any answer ,:cry:
May I ask you AUV Master ?
Thanks .

[TEMPEST]

Nice work dude,
The character has a freakish quality which is unnerving and makes you feel uncomfortable, yet you can't look away and draws you back, great work.

[Bonecradle]

Hey Joe, I've been a fan for a while ever since I saw A Man with a Habit. I love the humanity in your sculpts. And this guy captures the albino feel well.

So I feel a bit trite nitpicking.
Melanin does look a bit dry overall, but I wonder if that might be helped by making just the mouth and teeth a bit wetter? The contrast with a wetter mouth might give the dry skin some 'purpose'.
And the top eye lashes look a bit bristle like, very short, straight and stiff.

I love his ribs. I've been fiddling with something similarly ribby boney for a while without satisfaction, so I'll be returning for the odd peek.

[Thomas Mahler]

Hey Joe,

It's always great to see your work here, inspiring stuff! Keep rockin! :)

[bicc39]

excellent job!!!
Best part is that it is 2000 poly.
The norm lately is over 2 million with results that
do not come close to this

[galenb]

WoW! Very cool. Excellent character and I love the facial expressions. I have to say that I'm not to fond of the skin shading though. I love the model for sure but the skin just doesn't cut it for me. One thing I think is that Albinos may have a lack of melanin in there skin but they certainly don't have a lack of blood. So, I would try putting some more sub surface red in there. Also, you might try and use a very pale blue base on the top surface layer of the skin instead of the current pink. And finally, I think you need more specular in there as well (using fresnel) to give it more of a waxy look.

Speaking of rocking, another Albino you might want to look up is Edgar Winter:

[/url]http://secure.ifanz.net/images/image.php?ID=869&W=100%25

[url="http://secure.ifanz.net/images/image.php?ID=55&W=100%25"] (http://secure.ifanz.net/images/image.php?ID=869&W=100%25)http://secure.ifanz.net/images/image.php?ID=55&W=100%25
:)

[joe_seig]

Hi great thanks so much everyone for giving me such great feedback.
I'll reply to each one, but today was a long day and I didn't have much time to focus on this.
I did look into some of your concerns about the specular, but maybe he's too shined out now.
I hate shiney.

Animation (http://www.joeseigenthaler.com/files/CG/zbrush/Joe_Seig_Displace.gif)

Here's an animated gif image showing where it's at, and how the displacement is affecting the model. (Hopefully it works in your browser).
I screwed some things up making changes, but I'll put it back right hopefully.
The eyelids are too red, and I was a little sloppy with Projection Master in the ears, ect.
The lighting was tweaked and I think I lost some contrast. Whoever said this was easy?

Back to you:

Cassandra: Glad you like the expressions, I'm aching to make many more soon, once I nail these crits! :D

Ron: Good point about the teeth, I tried to spec highlight them, but maybe I've broken something. What do you think?
I think the secret to tartar is avoiding too much dark contrast in color and value where the tooth meets the gum.
But if your going for skanky nicotine stain that wouldn't apply.
Clarksville, cool man, I was born in Nashville. Good to see a fellow Volunteer here in the thread.
You're really prolific, keep crankin the z Ron!

Yainderidoo: Thanks for whispering so low, people are sleeping. Thanks man. I remember fondly a girl named Tjitske (who was from your islands).

Jantim: Hey there, I've been admiring your work! yes I imagine in the not too distant future we'll all be modeling, texturing, rendering, and animating in zbrush... one day!
For the present though, I'll try to get to know the z materials and renderer better. So much to learn!

Captain Nemo: Well if I were you I would go to talk to the real AUV master named Aurick.
Have you posted your detailed concerns in the Questions and Troubleshooting Forum, with some images?
Search around over there, I know you'll find the answer. If not, email me and I'll see where you're at.
Thanks btw for your positive comments.

TEMPEST: Cool observation, I liked the way you put that. Thanks for the insight man.

Bonecradle: Yeah "Man with a Habit", smashed to a thousand pieces. Thanks for diggin around in there.
Also feel free to nitpick away, I took your suggestion for focusing on the lips and teeth to heart.
Not sure if it's resolved yet, but you got me started on that. Thanks for that nitpickin'!

Thomas: Hi, haven't had a chance to really look hard at your new wip. I'll stop by. Thanks. I'm still refering to that xcellent demo of yours.
Hope your scuplture class is going well.

bicc39: Thanks bicc
I suppose it wasn't very clear earlier when I stated it, but the -Base- mesh is 2000 polys. Once divided up 5 levels it reaches the 2 million mark.
Then displacement map for rendering, ya know? Sorry for the confusion. Hope you're not too disappointed there. ;)

galenb: Great I'm hearing ya man! I'll try your ideas and see how they work. Put away your forks now, not done yet.
Also thanks for the links to Edgar (orange?), but he was more of a Classic Rock dude... muunh
His brother Johnny though, now's there's the real deal.
JohnnyWinter.jpg

will be back soon... and thanks again everyone, big help!

[Buckie]

Well the gif's working in Firefox...

How the hell did I miss this, awesome work fella, well deserved top row...:cool:

[Yainderidoo]

This is so good to see and soooo inspiring, you must be a very special person to create such a special errrr....person.

Did you see that? I called him "person"! This guy on your canvas has real personality. He's someone with a background (no...LOL I'm not talking about the canvas...) a family and everything. He could be living down the block.
And you know what I think? He's enjoying all the attention.

You've got my attention too! Great work...like I said: 10 out of 10 :ex:

Greetings from Tjitske!

(and me) Jeen(deridoo)

ps...I hate to say it, but Fryslân is part of the Netherlands, which is part of Europe....so no Islands. Unless you're talking about our Wadden Islands?

Take care.

[1stbrother]

amazing work.

maybe i missed it but will we hear him speak? will we hear how he longs for the warm sunlight to gently caress his checks?

soup nazi style :: no sun for you!

[88 finger louis]

Would love to see a ten second animation of this char....i really love it. Nice work dude. You compliment this site well with your work...now enough of this praise!!!! GET ON AND DO SOME MORE!!!! heh heh;) :D excelllllllllllent!

[bicc39]

excellent at two million, would have said stupendous at 2000:D

[Blaine91555]

:tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

[jamesleaburn]

Joe. Great great work. When I get that good I'm going to top myself and die a happy man.

[joe_seig]

Hi, my girls were dancing around to the Black Eyed Peas last night so we keyframed this together for them.

Click Here for a Quick 22 sec. Test (http://www.joeseigenthaler.com/files/CG/zbrush/Joe_Seig_PlayBlast.mov) only 1,730kbs, so let it load.

Now they want me to do the whole song. I think it's a go.

Really rough, just a playblast (rendered from the ui), to save all that slow rendering time ;)
Needs tweaking, as always.

Buckie: Thanks mate, still working on it.

Yainderidoo: Heh-heh, no he's not real. Yes I was refering to the Wadden Islands in the Noordzee. Thanks Jeen, I sense you have alot of energy.

1stbrother: Click the link, just a little speaking for you.

88 finger louis: Thanks, well, here's 20. Trying to fit it in between other projects. (I'll probably have it finished when this is on page 29).

bicc39: yes only 2000, but it could be alot lower too.

Blaine91555: Thanks for the support Blaine. Did you finish your Brain? :)

jamesleaburn: I'm sure you'll die a happy man nevertheless. Keep working hard and stay fascinated. Thanks.

Sorry for the lack of updates, but Jason Belec's Little Challenge has captured my attention for the moment.

Still working on the list of improvements you all have given. Thanks again.

[Yainderidoo]

Yainderidoo...speechless and in awe....thanks to your girls too ;) .

*****

[88 finger louis]

Thanks Joe....great site btw. Man, your talent is mindblowing in all the mediums you use. Some amazing work...Thanks.

[tiktok]

joe-
man that last animation is hilarious.
awesome.
I must also say you're the best 'replier' on zbrush ever. I've never seen anybody answer questions so thoroughly as you...must be the teacher in you...;)

If I'm ever in chicago I'm going to make it a point to see some of your sculptures...

-tiktok

[Moochie]

Supoib.

[joe_seig]

Hey just wanted to catch these comments quickly...

Yainderidoo, yes kids are inspirational (and the best critics too). ;)

Thanks 88!

Moochie: hehe is that your Curly from the Three Stooges voice? Thanks, ear challenge underway i see.

tiktok: no best repliers go to the mods here, not me. Went to your site the other day to show some friends your work btw.
Well if you ever visit chicago send me an e so I know.

[aminuts]

haha great 22secs! Have to give your kids a thumbs up for that one.

[schtoo]

theres a script at highend3d called kineMapper.mel that lets you morph between displacement maps,and hooks em up to your blendshapes

[facial deluxe]

Hey Seig :)
Very very long time I didn't see you !
Gorgeous stuff as always ! Haven't red the whole thread yet, I bet this will be for an upcoming exhibit...

I tried to reach you, I even wrote your agent to get your mail with no luck.
Seems you're still alive ;)
I'm happy to be able to see your work again :tu:

Take care

[porksoda]

nice image. I just realised that its Bob Geldoff hehe

Andy

[Bas Mazur]

Joe, the more I see that white dude, the more I have to smile about him. Please make a funny scene with him or show us an animation. Damn, I need more 3d programs to make fun like that (also the money). I hope we get a big surprise with the new update of ZB, animation, nice hair tool, good perspective, omg I have to stop smoking and drinking to get more time to explore all!

[raf1]

Fantastic work! Am I the only one who sees the octagenarian Jerry Seinfeld here?!?!

Cheers

[fALk]

Absolutely cool work! Only thing thats strange are the big pores as someone else pointed out before me - other wise ultra lovely.

Would you mind explaining a little bit in detail your workflow from the model to Mayaanimation. Did you use vertexes or did you make blendshapes in ZBrush for the expressions and "synching"- how did you fit the teeth and jaw into the model afterwards (a real pain in ZBrush in my opinion but maybe I miss some secret recipe) or is it all one model with special texture? Any other catchas you experienced you might want to share - something that was more problematic then first anticipated?

....

[Yainderidoo]

Bas....didn't you see this one ?: http://www.joeseigenthaler.com/files/CG/zbrush/Joe_Seig_PlayBlast.mov (http://www.joeseigenthaler.com/files/CG/zbrush/Joe_Seig_PlayBlast.mov)

Jeen(deridoo)

[Blaine91555]

In grew up with a true albino in the same age group. He stopped attending school with us by the time I was in my early teens. Too many problems with avoiding the light or something. He was even paler than your image, which is awesome by the way :tu: - His skin was not as specular as normal. It was waxy with a powdery surface. I'm not sure how to describe it exactly. He was much lighter skinned than you have now. His irises were pink and he had very redish eyelids and edges to his ears where the light penetrated. Very much like you have allready. Because his skin was whiter the contrast with the areas where the underlying structure (blood and veins etc.) was more pronounced than you have. There was no flesh color at all except where the light penetrated. Once again - Awesome work :tu:

[Bas Mazur]

Hahahahaha!!!!!!!! ROFL That movie is great!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :tu: :tu:

[Frenchy Pilou]

Pilou

[Bas Mazur]

Shh, crazy that animations I've seen at your webside, peegunn and elvis, just great! Damn! You made my day :tu:

[joe_seig]

Hi, thanks for posting everyone.
This will be more of a 'behind the scenes' type of post.
Some of you Pros (who do this in your sleep) may want to go grab a cup of coffee or check your email...
or stay... and watch me possibly make a fool out of myself.

First some responses:

Aminuts, Thanks fellow chi-towner!
schtoo, I've downloaded the kineMapper.mel for morfing between displacements and i'm checking it out. Thanks for posting the info.
Ah, mon cher facial deluxe, another email is coming. No, not for an upcoming exhibit, just for play. We'll see...
porksoda Yes! could be Bob Geldolf, or some sorta boomtown rat... heheh.
Bas...UROCK!!!
raf1 yes Seinfield, never thought about it, but since you've mentioned it... could Geldolf and Seinfield be brothers?
Yainderidoo Thanks for re-linking that, maybe got lost in all the words before.
Blaine91555 First-hand descriptions, observations are always helpful. Much appreciated.
Frenchy big smile for you Pilou!!! :D!!!

fALk ! great questions, glad you asked, so let's get technical then...

"Would you mind explaining a little bit in detail your workflow from the model to Mayaanimation."

Okay, first I'll start to develope the mesh this way:
startHead.jpg
(Note: this model's final mesh is light enough to animate without slow response in the UI.)
Also at this point we're uv mapping (AUV tiles in this case because I've always hated unwrapping UVs in Maya and now love painting directly on the model).

Next, sculpt in Zbrush...
bust_3Views_zbrush.jpg
Three critical views, profile, three-quarter, and front. All views can be important, but these three the most.(imho).
I think it's also important to spend more time on the actual sculpting and getting a convincing model before jumping into issues of color, fine texture, ect.
Great mapping and detail will often enhance greatly a model (realtime games for example), but they'll never save a poorly realized model. (again, imho).

"Did you use vertexes or did you make blendshapes in ZBrush for the expressions and "synching"-
how did you fit the teeth and jaw into the model afterwards (a real pain in ZBrush in my opinion
but maybe I miss some secret recipe) or is it all one model with special texture?"

Here's an image which may help clarify that, let's start with the teeth and jaw:
jawStuff.jpg
Eyes, eyelashes, upper and lower teeth, tongue... all seperate geometry, parented to joints/bones.
So there's the rig, primal, but effective for my purposes.
Nice that painting skin weights in maya is similar to using Zbrush.
White = total weight, Black = no influence, Shades of Grey = gradation of influence of joint on the geometry.

The Wig and Brows are seperate geometry as well, situated just below the surface, with a shaveNode applied.
shave.jpg
This program's interface isn't too far from ZBrush either when moving, scaling the hair around.
much better than maya's Fur...(imho).

Lashes are geometry with a map in the shader's transparency slot. BlendShaped for opening and closing.

For blendShapes...
blendshapes.jpg
Modeled in maya, not Zbrush (running tests on that now though).
Since I'm using 5.0, soft selection tools are out, so it's old school vertex, edge, face, selection sculpting.
You get used to it, but I'd like to use zbrush for this now.
Jaw rotation (up-down-side-to-side) combined with blends, you can get alot of mobility going in the face.

Here's a test showing some basic movement, just tests tho...

(*edit* link below repaired)

Testing_MoveTests.mov....1,300kbs (http://www.joeseigenthaler.com/files/CG/zbrush/tests_moveTests.mov)

Notice the clavicle is bending, putting a corrective blend on that should help.
Also I'm testing the hair movement... subtle, but it's gotta be there.

"Any other catchas you experienced you might want to share - something that was more problematic then first anticipated?"

The hundreds of displacement maps, color maps, spec maps ect... that I've imported/exported out of Zbrush to maya, only to find I need to rework them again.:(
That's a little frustrating. Now how many times has 'imf_copy' been typed in a command line? (u don wanna no).
So it's a challenge at first, but then can become (hopefully) second nature.

I left out alot here, for example set driven key info, all that, but this ZBC afterall. I'll keep updating here, have been a bit swamped, sorry.

Off Topic:
Took a poll here in Chicagoland today by ramdomnly calling computer users at home. (I know, icky, right?)
Asked them to visit ZBC and give some feedback...
Here's the result!
16,287 chicagoland viewers agreed:
"Bubbit! to the Top"!!!
(now that many Chicagoans couldn't be wrong, could they?)

[Scott Spencer]

Great stuff here Joe. I was away from the thread a bit then I come back and its chock full of even more great stuff...
animations and kick butt information.

As I said before, really nice sculpt and a great presentation of your workflow!
thanks for sharing.


Scott

edit: for imf_copy fatigue try the bat file atwooki posted. The link is in my sigblock.

Also... the "traditional" work on your site is really outstanding. Very inspiring!

[Moochie]

Thanks for all the cool gen, Joe. Inspiring and a practical leg-up. Much appreciated.

[aminuts]

Flash news report:

November 3, 2005
The Chicago Sun-Times reported today that a phone poll conducted by one Joe_Sieg regarding ZBC was found to have been grossly misconducted. Voters were found to have voted at least twice perhaps even three times and the other half of the voters were found to have been deceased for more than ten years. An investigation into said telephone poll has already begun. A full detailed report will be in the Sunday Metro section.

:rolleyes:

couldn't resist

[joe_seig]

Hey aminuts, just trying to help a brother out. I deny all charges. No comment at this time.

Glad the info was helpful for you Moochie. Maybe we see better now the kit of parts that make up the whole.

Scott Thanks so much man, I'm a true fan of your work as well...and I'll check Atwookie's bat file, thanks for pointing that out.
Hey I only realised the other day that you guys have a great zbrush forum going over at highend3d, looks like some great info is brewing there. Congrats!

[Yainderidoo]

Thank you very much Joe for the insight! Wow what an outstandibg job you did! (and do! ;) )

Have your daughters thought of a name for him yet? This is definitely a job for them ;) :tu:

Best wishes

Jeen(deridoo)

ps..how old are they? I have 4 sons to get rid of...hahahaha L:lol:L

[joe_seig]

Hello Jeen,

Thanks for your post and kind words. No name as of yet, the girls are still deciding...
Only 12, 9, and 6 years old, still too young for your lil dutchmen it seems.:lol:

Hey here's a few links to some other artists, thought you may enjoy these Jeen, (but maybe you already know them!)

Odd Nerdrum (http://www.nerdrum.com)...Norwegian painter, check his earlier work.

Chris Mars (http://www.chrismarspublishing.com)...kickBooty Painter (and drummer who founded the 80's band "The Replacements").

Félix de Recondo (http://www.miessengallery.com/derecondo/index.htm)...Spanish Sculptor/Painter, not many images, but great anyway.

[Yainderidoo]

Thanks Joe for the links. I don't like these Chris Mars....to much skulls and death things. I liked the sculptures of Félix (http://www.miessengallery.com/derecondo/index.htm) and the paintings made by Odd are indeed very odd.

Allthough we get a little sidetracked inside your thread! I'll hope you permit me to submit these two links:

http://www.edouardleoncortes.com/ (http://www.edouardleoncortes.com/) A french painter I admire for his technique and perspective! Not to forget the beautiful colours.

http://www.worldoffroud.com/ (http://www.worldoffroud.com/) Wonderful elves and goblins by Brian Froud.

Especialy the last link is very nice for your girls too! Btw My boys are 19, 16, 16, and 7 ;)

Greetings from the outback of Fryslan!

Jeen(deridoo)

[Webhead]

Loved the information on how you did it as well as the sample movie.
Really fantastic work! :tu:

[joe_seig]

Hey Jeen, no problem for sidetracking the thread, I like the paintings of Paris, and Brian Froud's work too.

Sorry you didn't like Chris Mar's work so much, his Statement puts what he's up to in perspective.

Maybe you'd like his drumming more click here (http://www.twintone.com/video/mats)..heheh, third one down rocks...
(Remember though, that was 24 years ago, not as accepted then as it is today).:tu:? :td:?

Whoops, way off the road now...okay, back on track!

Hi Webhead, Thanks alot, glad the overview was helpful, I'll try to get something fresher posted up by next week.
...and if you have any detailed technical questions I missed, just fire away... no problem.

[coye]

Hey Joe,

firstly I love your work. I really love all that twisted stuff on your site, particularly the animation, a very unique style.

Also thanks for all the stuff you've shared, its very helpful and shows a newbie like myself where Im going right and wrong. Only problem is the more you share the more people like me are going to ask questions...

I do have a Mayaish question but it does relate to Zbrush so I dont think Ill get lynched. I was wondering how you take you Zbrush AUVs and link them in the Hypershade in Maya? Mine always come out wrong projection or no projection.

Any suggestion would be appreciated


Cheers

[CAS NYC]

Great job !!!

I Worked for WARNER BROS for about 8 years doing CHARACTER work.
I love it !!! And it is pieces like this that make me want to keep going forward.

Thank you for sharing this with the world.


CAS


Here is one of MINE:

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=30299

[joe_seig]

Hi coye, thanks for posting. Glad you like the work.

After looking at some of your other posts, I see you have a bust going. Looking good!
Are you now changing to auv tiles?, seems you were having problems with cylindrical mapping.

If you haven't already, for starting out with texturing in ZBrush, see the:

Answers (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/faq.php?) to frequently asked ZBrush-related questions.

Second link down you'll see How do I ASSIGN AUVTILES...explained there (http://www.pixolator.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=144).

Also the F.A.Q. Forums (http://www.pixolator.com/zbc/forumdisplay.php?f=6), spend time pouring through those, many answers there.

You asked, ...was wondering how you take your Zbrush AUVs and link them in the Hypershade in Maya?"

Well I don't link AUVs in the hypershade, no need for that.
Make sure the model you import from Maya into Zbrush has all of its' vertices merged.
That may be the root of your problem.
Try this in maya (I'm on 5.01, but it should be the same):
Select the Modeling menu, and have the Channel Box open (Display>UI Elements>Channel Box/Layer Editor)
Right-click over your model and select 'Vertex', then drag select arounnd the entire model, so that you capture/select all the vertices. Get 'em all.
Look up at the top of Channel Box, you should see 'CVs(click to show)' under the name of your model. Click those words.
Boom there's all your vertices listed. Scroll down using the bar to get the total count.
Now go Edit Polygons>Merge Vertices>click the small box.
Change the distance to 0.0001
Keeping note of your total vertex count from before, go ahead and hit MergeVertex or Apply.
If the total count didn't change, then your vertices were well merged, if the number amout dropped, you've fixed it, maybe...
You can try lower amounts on the distance too (0.001, 0.01, 0.1) just to be sure. Delete History on those nodes too.

Not sure if you built it this way, but I'm assuming you used the merge edge tool to weld the two halves together.

So if all that checks out okay, import your saved OBJ model to ZBrush, and follow the instructions above for creating your auvs...

Store a morf target before starting any sculpting in Zbrush, sculpt on the morf. Switch before exporting the model back out to maya.
You'll need to flip Vertically any maps, sure you know that.

So you see the AUVs are stored with the model now, no need to link anything in the hypershade...(that I know of).

You said, "Mine always come out wrong projection or no projection."

I'm not sure specifically what you mean by that, but Maya doesn't do AUVtile Mapping, that's unique to ZBrush.

In Maya, try a Two Pane Side by Side Layout, and have the uv texture editor in one, persp view in the other.
Select your model in persp view and you should see the AUV layout in the uv texture editor window. No? Lots of squares in a grid?

Maybe you're confusing the 'hypershade' with the 'uv texture editor'? I'll stop here and get your feedback.
Feel free to throw an image in here if it can clarify your problem.


Hey CAS NYC, thanks man, I really like that dude, I saw him over on cgTalk the other day. Glad to see him here too!
...Yeah, keep going forward, no turning back! Thanks for posting :tu:

[Svengali]

Hey Joe,

Thought you might find this announcement interesting.

GeoUV (http://www.geometricinformatics.com/products.php)

Sven

(BTW, this thread continues to be quite good! :D )

[coye]

Wow, thanks!

Really appreciate you spending time to steer me in the right direction. This is fantastic, very useful. Im sure others will get alot out of this as well.

Yep, mapping is a nightmare. Ive turned to AUVs as they just make sense and seem most accurate, I do however like being able to adjust textures in PS which is kind of hard to do with an AUV.

Just to clarify what I meant by "Mine always come out wrong, projection or no projection." I wasnt sure how you may have projected your textures onto your models, if you even were meant to use projections. Ive never known of the technique you have described so Im quite excited to try it out. I wasnt sure if AUVs were unique to Zbrush either... Im obviously pretty new to a lot of stuff here.

I fixed up the problem I had by reworking the entire texture and reapplying... not something I want to do again. Anyway, Ill post it soon and then try your tutorial out tomorrow (getting late here) although I havent been keeping morph targets so it may need to wait til my next character... which Ill probably start tomorrow anyway:)

Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

[Ivanperezayala]

Very good work. The very good shaped one, the expression is the better thing. Congratulation.

[Blaine91555]

Joe - The links are great, thanks.

[rtwolfenstein@hotmail.com]

omg he looks so much like jerry seinfeld (some comedian) thats cool

[jBibble]

Has anyone ever tried creating hair in another program like shave and haircut and then bringing that hairstyle into zBrush?

[joe_seig]

Hey sven,
Wow great link, must say I'm intrigued by the GeoVideo - RealTime Motion Capture Camera (http://www.geometricinformatics.com/images/GI_3D_camera_Small.mov) technology.
That video is excellent just for its' reference alone. The wave of the future?
Tried to download the GeoUV-Texture Mapper (http://www.geometricinformatics.com/products.php) but I'll need maya 7.0.
Upgrade-time! Impressive technology coming out, thanks for the info Sven...
(and if we've learned anything here, it's that ya just gotta be careful who you link to out there.):D

hey again coye, yeah well hope that helps, just a merge-vertice check, the rest of the Zbrush workflow can be found by searching here on the forum.:tu:

Ivanperezayala...thanks Ivan, hey I enjoyed looking at your site, nice work there!

Blaine glad you liked the links, alot of great work out there in the world.

rtwolfenstein hey you're the second person to mention Seinfield. I watch the reruns all the time, but it never occured to me. Maybe we'll name him Jerry...(Nah!)

Greetings jBibble ...seems like you've already gotten some great answers in your thread (http://www.pixolator.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=30323) from Derlandvogt, Jason Belec, and Kircho.
I emailed jAlter about it and he warned that once converted, the poly count can get heavy in maya pretty quick. Yep, yep...

So I did a little test by converting the model's shave hair to polys and imported the OBJ into Zbrush.

600,000 polys on this wig, kind of heavy for a hairdo don'tcha think?

Seems Bas Mazur has it going on for zbrush and photoshop hair... Hey Bas!:)

shave_to_zbrush_test.jpg

Nevertheless your question is a good one, because some other non-hair related things could come out of working with Shave and ZBrush together.

[Bas Mazur]

Hehehe, I did some tests with the fiberbrush and also with hair made from Zspheres. Making 3d hair in ZBrush (hair by hair) mostly gives unwanted black shadows because we work in pixols and not in real 3d. The light cannot shine behind a hair. Importing 3d hair gives the same problems. The best way I found was using a layer and render it without shadows. Another way is to make solid strings of hair and detail it after with an rgb brush.

[jBibble]

Hey Joe. Greetings to you.
Thanks for testing the "Shave" import. Very interesting and insightful. What do you think of my new post?:
http://www.pixolator.com/zbc/showthread.php?p=240330#post240330

[Bas Mazur]

Did visit you wonderful webside, nice sculptures! What kind of meterial did you use? Cannot find a translation :confused: Hahaha, the butt-man. Why smashed the man eating his toes? Grrr, I am the same, burned all the paintings I made to clean memories.

[jBibble]

It would be cool if zBrush had collision detection. Also if you could take a dot pattern, alpha skin it and mark each dot with the multi marker tool. You could kinda grow hair while maintaining control of the hairs. It would also be nice if you could pick more than one brush/tool to use at the same time. Then pick up each tool's drawn objects. Does anybody know the extent of the multimarker's capabilities in this area? With multiple tools that is?

I'm trying to keep it zBrush painterly but whatever external packages (meshpaint, shave, ornatrix) would still be informative.

Thanks.

[joe_seig]

Hello Bas and jBibble... everyone else reading along.

On the topic of hair:

Hair especially cg, can be difficult, but really worth exploring for all of its' expressiveness.
Its' seen as an outward statement in society, a symbol for how we want to be perceived...(or stereotyped).

Really good example of how important hair can be -Sebastian Kruger (http://www.krugerstars.com/) always considers it so well.
Oh man he has to be one of the best examples out there of seeing the head and hair as equally important. And in so many styles.
What do you check first when you look in the mirror? Your hair, your pores, or your lip cracks? heheh...
Never under estimate the power of a good head of hair. Shaved heads are cool too, but maybe just too many digital ones.

So jBibble, hope you can post some images of your hair explorations, maybe a 'hair challenge' too.
Oh yeah, are you planning to buy a hair plugin? Seems you're a Mac Lightwaver, how about Sasquatch (http://www.worley.com/sasquatch/sasquatch.html)...

Regarding the sculptural work Bas...
Really not sure if it applies to the Zbrush focus here, but since you asked, I'll oblige a little...
Yes for the material: Most of the work has been done with fired clay, not everything, and more recent works not at all...

motherSculpture.jpg

Here's an example of a clay piece when it was in progress, unfired at this point. (The hair is a wig, not clay)
If you've ever taken a pottery class, or watched someone throw on a wheel...
you've realised there are two sides of the clay wall being worked on the hollow form, often at the same time...
and that's an important difference from working solid on an armature, a very significant difference in this case.

Just to back up a little, you start with the feet and build the hollow form upwards, like laying bricks,(or clayburgers).
and then when the clay wants to fall, you stop, cover the edge with plastic (as shown here at wrists), wait for the exposed clay to set.
So you're creating a foundation onto which you'll add more weight. Once set, unwrap the plastic, continue up from the fresh wet edge...
Only when it starts to fall or sag do you stop and wrap the edge...patience is a virtue. No interior steel or wood armature needed.
Now and then I'd use an exterior prop to hold the form in place while the clay sets to a leather hard state.

Bas you may ask,"But why Joe, why do it this way?"
Easier to sculpt (imho) when you can work from the inside as well as the outside.
Let's you sculpt the internal 'pushing out' we all seem to have in common, and the push doesn't destroy the exterior detail either.(!)
Easier also because no molds are needed, the fired clay is the finished piece. (Although molds can be taken of course at anytime).
Cheaper too, water based clay costs very little. Found objects, mixed media costs very little as well.

So it's the analog version of zbrush et al, in that you're basically sculpting a hollow form. Goes way back in time this process.
Eventually the negative aspects of this material, (fragility, heaviness on a large scale), made me search for other options...
Epoxy, a non toxic one. Lately I've been carving foam and covering that with a non-toxic sculpture epoxy (http://www.polygem.com/zoo/zoopoxy.php) that is almost like water-based clay.
You can smooth it with water, texture/emboss it, just amazing how close to clay it is. Sets hard, paintable, magic stuff really.
A comparison to zbrush would be using foam for divisions 1,2,3, and the epoxy at divisions 4,5,6...for all the detail.

Bas you asked "Why smashed the man eating his toes?"
Actually needed the room he was taking up, to be honest. Kind of wish I didn't now, but at the time it seemed necessary.
So hey don't burn anymore of your paintings man, hope you're at least taking photos before you light the match.
:)

Okay, guess my next post here will have to be less talk and more melanin...(still in the oven)... see ya!

[Moochie]

Yowza .. thanks for the info Joe. Fascinating stuff on the sculpting. And a great link to the work of Mr Kruger .. really love the humour and affection in his portraits. The link as is doesn't work .. just take out the two extra //.

[Bas Mazur]

Hi Joe, thanks for the explaination :tu:

[Frenchy Pilou]

...forum about sculpture : shiflettbrothers.com (http://www.shiflettbrothers.com/messageboard/index.php) :cool:
@ Joe_Seig : praise of the Uggly looking? ;)
Ps
Your Krugger is more than a caricaturist :tu:

[ctedin]

I can vouch for the strange process of building clay sculptural forms from the bottom up. Simply a natural process of gravity over creativity. You just need to spread the creative urge over a long period of time. The "gestalt" is something you have to put on the back burner and try to re-discover it with every sag and droop (unless you are like Joe and are pretty adept at keeping it straight.)

Been lurking on this site for a while. My teaching schedule keeps me from doing a lot of work with ZeeBrush (or ZedBrush if you are Canadian...) I've been following Joe's work since 1988, and watched the growth of this woman above since the solid clay feet. Impressive sight, to see it go up. Kinda like a skyscraper. One part of the process that Joe forgot to mention is the cigarettes and coffee he burns through during the making of these landscapes of flesh.

Joe and I went to grad school together, and both in the clay department. I was probably the one to blame when I showed him Maya. I think I ruined him ;-) ZBrush really reflects the way we both work in clay. I do mostly figurative relief on large forms, while Joe works "in the round", but this metaphor really works nicely. And, our studios have become portable and compact. Not to mention the addition of animation. Look for much more from this guy, trust me. We have only seen the beginning.

Sorry Joe. That sounded a little like "the pressure's on", but I didn't mean it that way. The pressure is on me to match the work you've done. Time to put my new copy of XSI 5.0 in high gear. Nice interface with ZBrush, in case anyone cares about my 2 cents.

Zbrush 2.5 in December? Nice birthday present. :-)

Christopher Tedin
instructor, Illinois Institute of Art -- Schaumburg

[Moochie]

Hello Christopher. Course, now you've stuck your head over the parapet, you'll have to show us some of your stuff. Heh heh.

It's been bugging me, but I've finally worked out what Joe's woman sculpture reminds me of .. the work of Hans Bellmer (sorry, can't recall if that's one or two 'Ls' in his surname). I only really know a tiny bit about him, but he crops up in ummm erotic compendiums from time to time. He drew the most amazing women's shoes. Oh dear, that's going to look very odd. But he made some sculptures out of doll and manikin parts too, if memory serves, which had a similar feel to Joe's work.

Later: turns out there are loads of links to sites if you google his name. I hadn't realised there were quite so many doll sculptures, most of which look and feel nothing like Joe's stuff. A false lead, but cool all the same. If you go looking for Bellmer's stuff, be warned. It's pretty ... thought provoking. Ahem.

[joe_seig]

Dang wasn't planning on posting yet but...

wtf?...yo ctedin!!! hey you got that $150 bux you still owe me?
Pay up bro, all this yadda yadda's cool...but still, gimmee da cash! .
So you sneaky ole sacka-poo, laying low then poppin'out without even knockin' on the door...

Hahaheh, glad to see you here Chris! :)
How's your crazy brother Mark (http://tedinmark.home.mindspring.com/10KamiofTwistedReflection.html) doin btw?
Yep, you know every 3d program out there (ha! except maybe Zbrush) :p ... (but you'll have that down by Friday no doubt).
So I guess you have all your 3dsMax animation students lurking away too ?
You dawg. Nice surprise. Let's have some beers sometime.

Moochie is right, you stuck your pretty head up, now you gotta show us what ya got. Watch out Moochie.
...and yes it is spelled Bellmer btw. ;)

Hi Frenchy, your "ugly" question... for later, d'accord?
Hi Bas, seems your question about the sculptures made a good friend come out of hiding.

[Bas Mazur]

Hi dude :-)
Where is the final animation of the albino?
Every time when my dog dies I look to your Peegunn animation what makes me happy again. I have an old white rabbit, so maybe I need.... Dang, be quick, this mornig his nose was a bit dry!! Cheer me up!
BTW, wonderful claywork you make! Keep going :tu:

[tiktok]

hey joe--
I was wondering what kind of sculptable epoxy you use? I have done a bit of foam sculpting myself, I ended up just coating it in resin and sanding it smooth. Is it magic sculpt?....or epoxysculpt or one of those? Can you get it in large quantities? only time I've got it was from compleat sculptor in ny...but I recall it came in a small quantity I rememeber it being rather pricy...(as is that plumber's putty you get at the hardware store)....

Would love to know more about this stuff
love going between this portable digital sculpting and real sculpting

very cool
titkotk

[billrobertson42]

One type of sculptable epoxy is called greenstuff or kneadatite. It's kind of expensive, but you want want to do larger things you can mix it with milliput which is another form of sculptable epoxy that costs quite a bit less.

[joe_seig]

Hi,
Bas...sorry to hear about your dog, glad something I did can cheer you up from that.

Melanin animation is on hold lately, until I finish some work deadlines for next week, (lately architectural visualization animations).
We've also been doing alot of house construction/renovation here as well, so my focus is a bit scattered, (yes I know...excuses, excuses)

You'll see more updates Bas, if only just to keep you cheered up...
Hey-hah-he btw I really like your recent buttheadman (http://www.pixolator.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=30747).
Wanted to ask if you know these references (http://www.joeseigenthaler.com/files/CG/zbrush/buttheads.jpg)? :D :lol:
...but of course I find yours to be the funniest.:)
Your sense of humor never ceases to amaze me Bas.

tiktok, good to hear from you, I use a sculpture epoxy from Polygem-Chicago, called 307fr-Lite (http://www.polygem.com/zoo/dinogoo.php).(The "fr" stands for fire retardant).
They have a powder thickener (garamite) to firm up the consistency. The formula contains garamite, so you're just adding in more.
This sculpture epoxy sells at $450.00 for 10 gallons, not cheap, but is the closest to a waterbased natural clay experience.
Figure $45 a gallon for smaller quantities.
They bill it as non-toxic, (washes off with water) but it's still best to wear latex gloves. (which foregoes somewhat the natural experience).
I try to avoid sanding (anything) as much as possible, after years of breathing every dust imaginable.
Nothing like the dust-free sculpting of a computer generated model! :) I agree, it's great working with both artforms.

Hey billrobertson42, thanks for your sculpture epoxy info.
(Btw, on your website, it would be great to see more detailed images of the figures, no?).

[39do]

amazing work!!!
~shot~~jc~~
awsome!!!!!!

[Yainderidoo]

Hi dude :-)
Where is the final animation of the albino?
Every time when my dog dies I look to your Peegunn animation what makes me happy again. I have an old white rabbit, so maybe I need.... Dang, be quick, this mornig his nose was a bit dry!! Cheer me up!
BTW, wonderful claywork you make! Keep going :tu:
I agree with Bas! The only difference is the dogs....it's cats over at my place...LOL.

Is it your (beautiful ;) ) dauhgters keepin ya away from the ZeeBee?

Take your time Joe....now......heheee...

Greetings from Fryslan :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

Jeen(deridoo)

[tiktok]

hey joe..
thanks for the info!!
I'll definetly check out this stuff when I get some more time on my hands. I have been imagining some large bohemoths resting amongst the wildlife in my backyard. One of these days I will have to bring them to fruition...

-tiktok

[tperz]

Joe,
How did you do the eyebrows with Shave? Did you use a map for hair placement? And if so, could you post the image that you used.

[joe_seig]

Hi time for an update of sorts...

Determined to finish what's been started with the Black Eyed Peas animation , here's 54 more seconds... or 1300 frames at 24fps.

PC QUICKTIME ANIMATION file-- ::::DOWNLOAD HERE - 23mbs (http://www.joeseigenthaler.com/files/CG/zbrush/pump_it_BEP_Jseig_24fps.mov):::: --
This will load in your browser, but better to right click and save.

QUICKTIME--------::MAC VERSION - DOWNLOAD HERE - 26.5 Mbs (http://www.joeseigenthaler.com/files/CG/zbrush/pump_it_MacVersion.mov) :: --------
*edit* Right Click Save Only... otherwise may crash browser, I'll look into it.

(Sorry for the large file size)... save to disk and view fullscreen if you please... (and pump it!...and/or delete it!) :)

Screen grabs from the Quicktime player:

pump_it_Views_BEP_Jseig.jpg

Playing around with a grungy projection look, then to a less immaterial and more physical 3d appearance


This rappin' melanin-man is a lip synch challenge, so please let me know if it seems off the mark or too choppy... (and ignore all of his braggin' and boastin').

When I stare just at the mouth, the timing can seem out of place, and other times it seems ok if I don't focus there. (?)

I'm using adobe after effects for the post work.


Thanks to Bas for keeping the fire under my arse to get this done! (but still 2.5 minutes more to do). Maybe over the holidays...


39do thank you sir! much appreciated.

Hello Yainderidoo, yes lately alot of things have been keeping me from exploring the ZeeBee, but hopefully not for too long.
Do any of your boys work with Zbrush btw? Greetings from Chicago Jeen, where we shovel ice and snow.

tiktok let me know if you need anymore info on the sculpture material, no problem.

tperz for the eyerbrows...sorry, no map. I scaled and moved them using the edit interface. I do have a grayscale cut map for the head-hair.

Thanks as always for looking!

[facial deluxe]

Hey Seig :)

Cool stuff so far !
I like your purpulish color sheme, nice try, you have to dig in that direction.
May i give a few animation crits ?
First of, I think what you have done with the eyes expression works rather well in terms of "madness".
I'm less conviced by the mouth part.
IMHO, the animation of the top of the face and the bottom the face are too separated. An "Oooo", "Aaaaa", "Iiiiii" are also affecting the sheeks, the eyes, the forehead and the ears. (look yourself in a mirror ;) )
I think you should rework the "Oooo" and "Iiiiii", they are not enough exagerated for his kind of face.
You have real good parts in your animation with nice jaw+mouth movements, and some other parts which are IMHO too stiff.

My advice (2cents), when you model your shapes, don't start from the mouth. Start with the global muscles (all around) of the face which are going to give the overal direction. (I don't have all the english words to explain) For example, an "Oooo" is the overal face comming from back to front rounding arround the mouth. An "Iiiii" is the bottom of the face expanding Left and Right.

Mmmm rereading myself, not sure I'm that clear....

Cool stuff my friend, real worth pushing it :tu:

Take care,
Facial

[Bas Mazur]

Grrrr, cannot play the movie! Quicktime 'needs' something to play it. Bbbbut what?
I waited for this and cant play it :cry:

[Frenchy Pilou]

The server is very slow so you must wait some minutes before something was loaded and streamed !
33Ko/S = 12 minutes ....for me ;)
I have now seen it and listen :lol:

[Bas Mazur]

But it is only loading the music... !?? Nothing to see...

[aminuts]

hey Bas it worked ok for me....may try right clicking and save as...oops or whatever the mac version of that is....and watch it from your computer ....see if you get the same

Joe....looking cool......watched it a few times and it does seem like sometimes his mouth follows perfect and then seems a tad off so it's probably all good we are just nuts!
Looking forward to the other 2.5 (double intended).

lovely weather here eh? it's really great for the 'ol arthritis arrghhhhhh. ok gotta go find my long johns so I can head out for some coffee. Keep going...he's fun!

[Yainderidoo]

Bas...rightclick and download. Forget the streaming. (edit: ooops aminuts beat me with a couple of minutes ;) )
And I can tell you it's worth the wait!

HAHAHAHAHAHA...it's unbelievable....incredible....I just dig this guys attitude. He looks sooooooo good, even if (!) there's some tweaking to be done.
Joe this is very good stuff. Maybe you would consider to give the movie a touch of 60ties/70ties look....some more caleidoscoping...tripping etc...or whatever you call it.

I've saved it to my harddisk and i'm not going to delete it untill the next update.

Thanks Chicago mate! :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

Jeen(deridoo)

[Bas Mazur]

DANG,GRRRRR nope! Only the music. I downloaded it to the HD, but no film only music! :cry: :cry: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[aminuts]

bas try redownloading your viewer...maybe it needs a codec update. I had the most recent Qtime but couldn't watch someone else's video....so I redownloaded and installed qtime and it worked after that so maybe that will work for you?

[Noggin]

Waaaaaaayyyyy Coool!!

[Bas Mazur]

Tried everything but there must be something wrong for Mac-users. Any other mac-user who can open this movie? I use the latest QT 7-pro :confused:

[Webhead]

I'm on a Mac with QT7 and I couldn't get it to work. I usually don't have a problem - and didn't have a problem with the last one Joe_Seig made.
Rats!... I wanted to see it too. :cry:

[Bas Mazur]

I had this problem before with another movie, after a short magic of the maker it worked. Joe, do your magic :)

[joe_seig]

Bas so sorry, posted early this morning, then was away from the machine all day, and now just seeing the replies...

I use discreet's Cleaner to compress, for this .mov file I tried the Intel Indeo Video 4.4 codec
Big mistake since apparently Macs can't read that (intel?) :confused:
Recompressing now using the H.264...noticed the last Zmapper video uses that.

Give me a moment to finish that and upload to the server.:tu:

[joe_seig]

Again my apologies to the Mac users (Bas and Webhead).
I edited the post on the previous page... with the link to the Mac compatible (I hope) file.
Also you can download it HERE - 26.5 Mbs (http://www.joeseigenthaler.com/files/CG/zbrush/pump_it_MacVersion.mov)...
Doesn't stream (sorry Frenchy), so save to disk.
*Edit* just clicked on link and it crashed Firefox (dammit), but will download by right clicking. I'll look into the crash thing...

Facial thanks for the crits... very clear, you're right.
Key frame lip-synch, especially fast, is hard and always needs tweaking - tweaking - tweaking, or a complete rework.
I tried a different strategy with this by using as few morfs as possible (mixed with the jaw joint rotation).
The morfs I used are shown below, not many, as well as the jaw rotation (open, closed, and to the side) :

Animated (http://www.joeseigenthaler.com/files/CG/zbrush/bust_BlendShapes.gif)

I'll need to go back and make more where needed, and edit/blend the movement into the face as you suggest.
The blue color scheme is just an experiment, perhaps worth exploring further.
Always great to hear from you my friend! Thanks for your great insight.:) I'll keep pushing it.

Noggin hi Thanks!!! (I like that name of yours Noggin)

aminuts lol yes this can make one go nuts... Hey didn't realize the double entendre with 2.5 (minutes) there really is 2mins 30secs left.
Good to hear some feed back on this before investing in the rest. Glad you like it so far.
Was asking myself if we stare so much at people's mouths in real life, dunno, maybe just the virtual ones.
Weather: we live on a corner so I've been shoveling lots of snow (front and side of property). YaY!!!
Sad to think it will just melt after all that.

Yainderidoo how about some groovy 60's go-go dancers to the side, I think I could dig up some footage of that.
I like your idea for a more retro-look. Glad his attitude is coming through, didn't want him to show every facial expression possible.
Then he would go out of character. But Facial DeLuxe has given me more to consider.
Thanks so much Jeen, I always enjoy your input! :)

[Bas Mazur]

Pump-it!
Hahahah you dude, got it!!! Thanks, you made my day!
I hope my turn will come soon. Still wrestling how to put the bones in C4D.

[Frenchy Pilou]

...all was perfectly loading even under Firfox :cool:
Just take the time to load this "movie Clip" :rolleyes:
Is there somewhere the text of this hectic song ? :D
Because all that is too speedy for my poor english level :rolleyes:
Thx by advance!
Pilou

[aminuts]

Frenchy....

your wish for once is my command:D

Blackeyed Peas...Pump It (http://www.lyricsdownload.com/black-eyed-peas-pump-it-lyrics.html)

ps.....took me a long time to figure out the lyrics myself...and after reading em....i got 30% wrong hahahaha

[aminuts]

hey joe,

for fun, i decided to play the original with the new at the same time.

what i really liked about the original was his seemingly wasted self kinda coming alive when the song came on....i see this kinda thing all the time in the crap neighborhood I work in...but could identify more i think with this version....cuz he is so different from others and wears that like the letter A. What are you saying nuts? I am saying that he could be wasted out of his mind, and if he was anyone but who he was we wouldn't even notice him but because he does not look like anyone we can identify with in our small little worlds we take notice and pity him whether he wants it, deserves it or not. This is what I like about the indifference in his facial movements , gestures whatever in the first video......he was doing it for himself....cuz he knows.

in the new one.....he is too "out to make a buck"...well that's not quite the look but he is too aware of us the folks who pity him.....which would be ok if it made us ashamed of ourselves for walking by kind of thing but don't feel that here, I wanna keep feeling like I shoulda dropped a buck in his hat, always wondering how he came to be there, all the while feeling ashamed that I kept on walking by and did nothing to help him.

I kept trying to figure out what I thought was missing from A to B....I think that was it.

[facial deluxe]

Thank's Seig for showing your morphs.
Hope I wasn't too rude in my previous message, because it's a real cool work your doing :)
Watching your morphes I still believe their action should be propagated more all other the face. That's all really.
I don't think you need more morphes, mixing those all together should give you enough combinations.
Perhaps, just check out you can do the "Mmmm" "Ffff" and "Sssss" mouth positions with what you already have. Perhaps playing with negative Morph values.
That's all, keep it up my friend :cool:

[Abyssis]

Pump-it!
Hahahah you dude, got it!!! Thanks, you made my day!
I hope my turn will come soon. Still wrestling how to put the bones in C4D.I don't need to say any comments, Bas said it 4 me:cool:

[Webhead]

Thanks for making a Mac version; that was mighty nice of you!
Just watched it. I think your creation has lots of character. Good job! :tu:

[Frenchy Pilou]

I will translate all that with attention ! ;)

[joe_seig]

Shouldn't there be an expiration date on this thread somewhere?
After the last problem with the Mac- PC encoder compatibility issue, and large file size, (my fault) I decided to try and resolve it.
Spent most of any free-time last week learning and running many tests with the Quicktime 7 encoder - H.264.
And wow what a joy it is!!! Mac or PC? No problem. This encoder is absolutely amazing! (hehe, a commercial).

The 30 dollar QuickTime 7 Pro Version is required, but that's money well spent to use this encoder.
The three sites linked below were a great help.
If you're interested in encoding animation or video for web delivery on your site, they're a must read.

1.This H.264 thing is going to change everything (http://theshapeofdays.com/h264) ...just great info.

2.Apple's H.264 Tutorial (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/h264.html) ...thanks Apple!

3.How to Encode H.264 with QuickTime7 (http://www.ceprix.net/archives/how-to-encode-h264-with-quicktime-7)...some good info at bottom of page.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cut the file size in half this time, yet the resolution is larger, and the image quality is not too bad for 13 MBs. No superfine z-details though.
We're at 1 min 18 secs now, and those familiar with the tune will notice I've edited the first chorus out...(is that cheating?)

Also there's some questionable Language in the song here and there a couple of times...
Some of it was obvious when I started this lip-sync undertaking, PG-13-ish speak, but some I only recently realized.
So I can delete these downloads (or I suppose the mods will) if this becomes problematic.

::::: Download Animation - 13MBs (http://www.joeseigenthaler.com/files/CG/zbrush/pump_it_BEP_Jseig_640x480_13MBs.mov) ::::: Mac or PC, just click.

(Not set to stream automatically, so let it load 3/4 through, then start).

Some frames below. Tried to tweak a few glitches from before, but you may notice he gets more lively closer to the end of the sequence.
Still playing around with layers in after effects, but if I could do it in ZBrush I would.

1.jpg
2.jpg
3.jpg

Some overdue replies to your posts 2 weeks ago...

baz lol Thanks, I always enjoy your feedback. Hey how's your C4D rigging coming along? Can't wait to see something from that.

Frenchy Hopefully this one will load faster for you. For the song, next time I should try to do a french song. Any requests? :)

aminuts Lyrics, "and after reading em....i got 30% wrong". 10% wrong for me, I never really read the text before starting...
Hey I really enjoy the insight you posted about comparing the initial animation with the latter.
The very first unrendered one is different in that the camera isn't moving back. Other than that there was no change to the face or gestures.
They're exactly the same, so the camera movement back then forward must have changed the feel, and apparently it does .
You mentioned he seems more aware of the viewer in the more recent one, yes that was intentional, maybe I should reconsider that.
I never thought of him as 'out to make a buck', but he looks like he could use one, at least to get a shirt. Great feedback man!

Facial thanks for the crits, no it's not rude to say what bothers your eye...
I wasn't able yet to fully rework the morphs, some, but not all, maybe it shows more towards the end.
I'll need to rerender everything eventually. I think I'm still missing the widening of the face and tighter lips for "mmmm".
Hope all is well for you these days.

Abyssis hey thanks for stopping by and leaving a note. You have some crazy-great work going on these days!

Webhead Hi again, appreciate your feedback, let me know if you have any problems in downloading this time. I don't have a Mac.

To be continued, lol...

[Abyssis]

...wrong format here, please delete this my mistake....

[Abyssis]

Abyssis hey thanks for stopping by and leaving a note. You have some crazy-great work going on these days!
thankyou-joe-dude:cool: BUT: no wonder if I have such great teacher like U are:tu: :tu:

[Bas Mazur]

Great to see it back! I look a bit like him after XMass and NewYear, need to be pumped up again:-)
I did not have lots of time to work with C4D, but I downloaded tons of tutorials and have to read them all, pffff. I like to animate the goose of Johnny the Noseblower and I try to find some logic in how to use all the tools.
Here is a grab of a test I made, the more I close his mouth he looks like a singing P.
:confused:

[Moochie]

Joe .. thanks for the codec info. I made my first ever anim a few days ago, and found the choice of compression variations somewhat confusing. Can Quicktime Pro turn a string of stills into an animated sequence?

Great movie. Are the major jaw movements created by rigging or by morph targets? It has been cool watching you work through this piece. :tu:

Baz .. that will be a fantastic animation. Good luck with it.

[Sebcesoir]

Thats really really really cool!!

What about tunring his skincolor into black guy? it would fit on the rnb musci?
Great job....

[Jason Belec]

Hey Moochie, I know Joe is busy right now - the answer is yes, concerning the stills into a sequence. They do have to have sequential numbers, but that is rather easy! You can email me directly if you like and I will be happy to give you all kinds of tips for H.264. ;)

[joe_seig]

Thanks for the feedback
Dusty business all day, we're in the middle of a rehab-demolish on the back half our building.
It's nice to settle in and enjoy the silence now...

Abyssis hey thanks, too kind, seems we're all learning a lot from each other on this great forum. :cool:

Bas I couldn't resist! a little preview of YOUR GOOSE... hahaha

baz_Kipje.gif

lol, your goose has a sexy tongue... and He's a horn blower too!
That's a super character you've created.

Moochie Good to hear from you, thanks, and yes as Jason mentioned you can import an image sequence into QT7... go File > Open Image Sequence.
Perhaps he's already explained all the steps by now?

You can use the free IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com/) for batch coverting, renaming, renumbering image sequences.

The major jaw movements are from rigging.
The jawBone rotation drives the lower face's geometry,like in nature, and zspheres. ;)
Usually it needs tweaking a little with a corrective morph. Hope that makes sense.
I've tried the wide open mouth position in the past using a morph, but had problems with the influence of other morphs wrecking it's open shape.
Also you can parent the lower teeth and tongue to the jawJoint for a simpler setup. Check a few pages back in the thread for some pix showing that.

Seb, salut, glad you liked the latest version. Still needs to be more dynamic somehow.
I like your idea for changing him....Maybe the color map could morph to different skin tones at certain beats?
Not the overall mesh geometry, maybe just the color tones, and perhaps the hair color too. I'll run some tests to see. Thanks Seb!

Jason Thanks for covering for me while the dust was flying lol, I'll contact you about your tips for H.264... much appreciated. :tu:

[Craig Ward]

'Woohaaaaa' 'Woohaaaaa' 'Woohaaaaa'. That's funny, Bas and joe_seig.......and Melanin is COOOOOOOOOOL !!!

[DarthWayne]

Joe without doubt the monst entertaining render I've seen. It goes without saying that the style of the model is ...well its fabulous. But the way its ben presented realy catches the eye. As for the colour change all I can say is nice one mate. I really want to see the rest now.:D

Wayne...

[Webhead]

This guy seems so alive - creepy but cool nontheless!
The animation is nicely done, but I think the lip-synch needs some touching up. Oh, and thanks for the information on Quicktime's H.264.
I have it, and was looking to use it, but wasn't quite sure of how to go about it until now. Keep on rockin'!!! :tu:

[joe_seig]

A skintone possibility. I'll try others. Thanks ZappLink...
No hair, eyebrows, or lashes here, trying to rework those parts.

melaninSkinTone3_Jseig.jpg

Craig Ward Bas Mazur's Goose, the .gif is from the 6 poses that he posted.
(Hope that's okay Bas :) ... I'm so in love with that goose - onk onk). :tu:

Wayne Thanks a lot mate, I'm trying to work out the color changes, then more rendering.
Should be able to do the blending in post with AfterEffects. Sorry you'll have to wait lol.

Webhead I'll definitely agree with you, the lip-synch can be touched up in a lot of places.
I have actually reworked more of it, just haven't rerendered.
Hey glad the links on the H.264 encoder were helpful.

[aminuts]

with the color....my first thought was of Laurel and Hardy...can never remember which is the skinny guy....but pictured your dude with a bowler.:D:rolleyes: like the name states...am nuts!

[Frenchy Pilou]

...of cool prog of Recolorization?
Seems magic (http://www.cs.huji.ac.il/~yweiss/Colorization/) :cool:
If you scroll the page example of movies are show !
Pilou
Ps I will think for a french song :D

[Abyssis]

Hey joe, your small animation made me laughin and laughin:lol: :lol: :D

What do you think 'bout my last work?
Face-study-thread: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=31752
image: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/attachmen...achmentid=24478 (http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/attachment.php?attachmentid=24478)

[joe_seig]

aminuts oh yeah that would be Stan Laurel, the skinny one. Just checking out some pix of him, you're right! Also maybe Buster Keaton in there somewhere? :lol: Good eye.

Frenchy very cool! I'll look at that soft closer, looks very useful.
Hope you can think of a song, but please no Johnny Hallyday :D , yet Serge Gainsbourg is cool :tu:

Abyssis heheh glad you laughed!

[Frenchy Pilou]

Here the prog
Prog + Doc + Theory (http://www.ece.northwestern.edu/%7Emya671/Colorization.htm) (1200* 1000 max)
And my speedy test !
That's works perfectly :cool:
The trick is to load a BMP image in Colors (and not a grey level image!!! I have losted 10 minutes to find that!:rolleyes:
Import BMP, JPG, PNG, PMG
Pilou
Ps Gainsbourg :cool: of course : I will find a cool song for you :)

[Frenchy Pilou]

I have find it !
Comic Strip (http://www.paroles.net/chansons/13064.htm) by Serge Gainsbourg :cool:
Very well adapted of your animation :D

A man like that were a very cool guy !
The brother of Melanin of course ;)
Serge Gainsbourg by William Klein
http://www.photographers.it/articoli/foto1/klein/Klein2x.jpg

[joe_seig]

Frenchy merci bien, beh oui ils se ressemblent...I knew you would see it! :D

sergePetit.jpg

Okay "comic strip", I think I have it at home somewhere. I'll listen to it again.
and Thanks for showing me the software, I'll explore later with it.
Cool Frenchy! :tu:

[Jason Belec]

That's a cool app Frenchy Pilou. Of course a good app like Photoshop or Gimp can do that as well. Photoshop for example sees no colour at all, only levels of grey - since day one. Oh my that makes me sound old. ;)

Back to work Joe - wrecking stuff is fun and should not be left to those that can't appreciate it. Love your character here by the way. ;)

[Frenchy Pilou]

good app like Photoshop or Gimp can do that as well.
...not with this sort of way :)
...or with a maybe with a special plug in like this one (http://akvis.com/fr/coloriage-tutorial/girl-old-photo.php) :rolleyes:

[Yainderidoo]

I was wondering where this wonderful crazy guy has gone to:

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/attachment.php?attachmentid=24468

Yainderidoo :)

[droarty]

love how much character he has..

looks great

[elarcano]

Ok, I'll try to keep it short this time -Sir Belec must be regretting the day I stepped in his thread-

It's funny how things start to make sense to me -no, I'm not talking about Zbrush / looong way from that- but some respectable names connect with some great images I've seen randomly in the zgallery and Mr. Seigenthaler's no exception... in fact... he's the one I have in mind when saying: OH MY PLASTIC DUCK! THAT'S F-blip-NG AWESOME MAN! YOU SURELY MAKE MY SPRINKLER GO OFF DUDE! ... wait... that didn't come out very well... huh!... I think I'll stick with the formality

Melanin... one of the best images I've seen so far... keep up the great work Mr. Seigenthaler... see you in Sir. Belecs Thread

PS.
-yes... I'm stalking you-
Muuuahahahaha

[breakneck]

can we vote favorite thread?? This one has my vote!!!!!! please don't give up on this wip!!!! i'm beggin for the finished video!

[monica.t]

Not only yours is a very interesting subject, it's also technically challenging because of teh peculiarity of the skin.
I really like it, especially the balance you found between stylization and realism, very nice. my congratulations!:tu:

[Slosh]

Hi Joe...this thread is so old, you might not even get to read this, as you may have unsubscribed to it and moved on. But I hope you do see it. Aside from telling you how awesome the character is and how much I loved watching the animation, I mainly want to thank you for helping make weight mapping clear to me.

I saw this Melanin character while lurking in ZBC a couple of years ago, but the thread at that time was too confusing to me. After reading it again today, from start to finish, I actually learned a few things. I never understood what weight maps were intended to do. I use Lightwave as my "traditional" 3d app and there are many references to creating weight maps to go with your morphs. Could never understand the point. Now I do. It helps to control stretching of the mesh during animation! Thank you so much. I don't think you were even intending to teach there, but you did.

Brian

[SNARK]

Hi.

This is such a great thread, I felt it needed to be resurrected.

Joe!

Great work, man. If possible, could you clarify some blend shape issues for me?

Okay:

I guess one of the big questions I have is about building my meshes and sculptures in ZBrush.

If I have a fully modeled character in ZBrush, with multiple SubD levels, how do I use this with Maya’s blend shape animation?

Here is my understanding:

1. Export Neutral Pose ZBrush .OBJ

2. Enter Maya > Import ZBrush .OBJ

3. Save as .MB

4. Duplicate Neutral Pose Model in Maya > Offset in ‘X’ > Rename Copy > Export as .OBJ

5. Enter ZBrush > Import Maya .OBJ > Sculpt New Blend Shape > Export .OBJ (to overwrite Maya import)

6. Enter Maya > Import Modified ZBrush .OBJ > Offset in ‘X’ > Continue

However: am I dealing with whole bodies or just heads that can be attached to a key framed body? Questions. Questions.

I have seen tutorials that show whole bodies and tutorials that show heads only. I have done several ‘head only’ blend shape exercises but I am ready to go further.

Thoughts?

~S.~