Eagle Morphing Insert Mesh

[Adam_Stewart]

I am working on a shot that requires an eagle to morph out of a rough plaster wall. I have two objects that I want to join in Zbrush - boolean would be the term you'd use in 3dsmax and probably Maya. The plan is to join the two objects so I can create morph targets in Zbrush.
Anybody got an idea how to insert one tool into another inside Zbrush ?

Thanks as always

[ludikastyle]

I assume you want to render the shot in max (or maya), if i'm wrong just skip ahead to the next reply :)
Just thinkin loud:


take the eagle in 3dsMax (low poligons plz), squash it with the scale tool in 3dsMax in the direction from the head to the tail so that it flattens out and becomes bidimensionally splatted towards the tip of the tail (an so the wall) and expands a little along the other 2 axes.... (you might add a relax or spherify modifier after scaling, to make the splatted poligons more even, the idea is to go for a kind of pelting of them) export the two versions of the eagle to obj.
import the squashed one in zbrush, store morph target, now import the "healthy" one (anyone correct me if I 'm wrong with this last step), now divide and model further details of the eagle till the desired resolution, add texture at will.
Now go back to div1, work with the morph slider iterating the following steps: slighly return towards the splatted eagle, go up divLevels and edit the mesh with move and draw tools, some more backmorphin, edit again to make the transformation less linear, further back morphin, further editing. At each step export the divided mesh as an obj.
Import the different "snapshots" in max ,take the completely splatted one and add the morph modifier and take as successive targets the snapshots toward the HealtyEagle. Place the splatted eagle just behind the surface of the wall.
Play with the morph slider and see how this looks like and finally apply a blend material to the eagle that goes from the one of the wall (with it's own mapping) to the one using Zbrushed texture and mapping coords.
Never tried this but it might even work!! :) :)

[Adam_Stewart]

This technique sounds good - I just don't understand the most crucial part - how do I import Eagle mesh into the wall mesh ? That is what has me stumped - other then that the method sounds great .

[ludikastyle]

You don't! the idea is to keep them as separate...
but just put the flat eagle inside the wall, when it comes out as it initially has the same material and mapping coords of the wall it should visually blend together, I tellya I'm not totally sure about this, it's a matter of smoothing groups but I think that if you render with global illumination the blending should work pretty well...
I'll have a try tomorrow, now it's 1:32AM here :)

[Adam_Stewart]

My mistake - I get what your saying now - I don't think that will work for the project I am working on at the moment. I didn't really explain properly. I am pushing the Eagle through a wall - I want the morph targets so I can emphasis the struggle of the eagle to come through. Eye used a similar effect in one of the nightmare on Elm Street films Where freddie pushes through a bedroom wall as though it was made of fabric (not that extreme). The idea was to combine the two models - create the stretched version and then work backwards to get the plain wall. The technique I have in mind involves getting the two meshes joined together - the Eagle and the wall.

Thanks again

[ludikastyle]

I'm not sure to have understood this one, you want a wall that stretches like it was made of bubblegum say like if it had an eagle inside trying to come through?
If that's the case try experimenting with max's conform modifier... well, I'm too tired now, I'll think of it for tomorrow, provide some simple sketches of the idea if you like :) goodnight.

[aminuts]

how about put them together in max ...in position then export them separately. then import the wall into zbrush first go to tool>import>addmesh or add...forget what it says off the top of my head and import your head. It should import it into the right position but if not mask the wall and move the head where ya want it.


another thing you might try tho is to load your head and position it so it faces you. use the mrgbzgrabber tool to grab the head....this will make a texture and an alpha.

load your wall in and use the head alpha (since it will have all the depth info) and use ummm shoot either the snake hook or hook brush to bring the head out at various depths. practice first so you get an idea how it works but you'll see how you can make it look cool and like its being stretched out.

[Adam_Stewart]

Thanks for all your help. This is my current plan of attack. I am going to use the Conform Compound Object to drape the wall over the Eagle. Then I will Export to Zbrush - add texture to the wall and then gradually blend the Eagle shape back into wall - saving morph targets as I go. Doing it in reverse seems the most logical solution.

That is today's plan anyway - spent alot of tiime experimenting last night and I think it will work - I'll show you results when I get any good ones.


Thanks again for all your help.

[ludikastyle]

Ok Adam! Good luck for your plan, enjoy and maybe post some WIP images, both of max and zbrush! :) I'm staying tuned for updates!
Oh by the way!! :idea::idea::idea: You can try also with the cloth simulator!!! stick the borders of the wall and animate the elasticity of the cloth while the eagle passes thru !!! :)
Federaik

PS. aminuts I'm sorry but I didn't understand much of your post, but it's probably my fault.

[aminuts]

Probably not Ludikastyle....Sometimes I don't even make sense to myself!:D

was trying to offer up some zbrush suggestions for work arounds or give Adam some ideas that might be possible to attain his goal. If you have a question in particular to something I wrote...just ask...will try to answer better.:D