Virtual actors Wip update>>>5

[Grub]

I've started on a new project that requires me to create 5 futuristic virtual actors(or Vactors). Got three weeks left to get them done :eek: , thankfully I recieved a copy of the beta earlier this week to aid in the task. During the past couple of days I made a start on the first one. I began sculpting from a Zsphere head, then exported to 3dsmax for further tweaking. He's not based on anyone, just free form modelling all the Z way. The actual head is really low poly(perfect for animation), although the head's been divided a couple of times for the test Zbrush render below.
Body and textures to follow later. :)

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1027820224msn.jpg

[Stonecutter]

That's a really interesting way to make a head, Robert, and I'm definitely going to try this...It made me think of 'contour mapping' and how it could translate...Nice work, as well as imaginative technique! ;)

:tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :cool:

[DLee]

He looks really good, Grub.

[Vikki]

Ummm, was this a slip or am I reading something into it :D

"...sculpting from a Zsphere head..."

Did you mean you were sculpting a head from a ZSphere OR is there more to ZSpheres than just a sphere...if you're allowed to answer? :D

Very awesome. I love the color. I'm working on a Cuba Gooding Jr right now and can't for the life of me get a good color let alone a lot of his facial features. Been working on it two days and finally ditched it to start from scratch again. Any hints on the color? :D

[robotalk]

That was what I was gonna TRY this morning before --I decided to finish my Troll thread...Man!!!! you do great work that way--I still didn't get what I wanted so my ZSphere head

is hidden under the bed
out in the shed
where uglies all tread
..But you wont ever see it so do not dread :D :D

[Northstarr]

He looks really good! I have no idea by what you said since I don't have the beta, but the final outcome of whatever it is you did, looks great!
:cool: :tu: :tu: :tu:

[wenna]

wow Grub!! That is excellent modeling!! Really like it!

[Slosh]

Vikki,
I think he meant "sphere" since this is a bodiless head, but it's interesting that you caught that. Still don't know what we can and cannot say, so I won't elaborate on whether your guess was correct or not.

[Vikki]

Hehe Slosh,

Any port in a ztorm, any crumbZzzzzz from a ******* and any HEAD help I can get...any shrinkz 'round these partz...No,don't anzwer that..it'd be zcary to know. :D

Zo, the myztery iz ztill, ees eet from Z sphere or ees eet from Z-Head-Zsphere...zenquiring mindz will find out when zee final verzion comezzz along...oizh! me Z-lizt(not to be confuzed with Franz Liszt) is z-growing and z-growing populating me thoughts like zee zpray bruzh on zee beta canvazzz. :D

Disclaimer:
Any head shrinkers analyzing these posts will have to take into account the z-side effects of z-waiting zoooo long. :D

[DeeVee]

as already said, the skin tones are perfect. The modeling outstanding! I look forward to seeing in which direction you go in the updates.

[Grub]

Stonecutter- You should try it. ;)
Vikki- Slosh is right, I meant head from Zsphere. lol
The material for the skin tone was alas aided by a beta material, but you can create a similar look in 1.23b with a dark orange-brown, specular material. Nothing fancy really.
Robo- you've got a bed in a shed, if it's right what you said, you could get a chill and be dead. :p
Thanks for commenting the rest of you guys n' gals. :tu:

Here's an update:
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1027898166yqd.jpg
The body was created from a Zsphere, again really low poly, a snip to make with the new tool. I'll be exporting this body to 3dsmax next for tweaking as I did with the head. Hopefully he won't stay naked for too long either. :D

[Ron Harris]

so this figure was made completely with the 1.5...??? very kewl stuff...thnx for posting this.../me continues to wipe the drool off his mouth... :D

[robotalk]

That figure --Is very --very good--marvelous command of the new 1.5 in such a short time..masterful!! :D :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :D

[Grub]

Thanks guys :tu:
- Ron, yeah the body is complety 1.5, I've taken the mesh as far as I could in Zbrush with the least amount of polys I could use. Low poly modellers are really going to love the new version. :)

[Vikki]

Very awesome!

Aww Shoot Grub,

Thought I was gonna get a modeling head - head start with a Z-head-Sphere tool.

Thanks very much for the tip on the color. Gonna try it out tonight and see if I can get better results with 'ol erm young Cuba Jr. :D

[cartoonmonkey]

Amazing!
I can't wait to see what Zspheres can do!
Me want demo version!
Now if I could only figure out IK in Messiah..
-monkey

[DeeVee]

Outstanding :ex: simply outstanding :ex: :D

[Grub]

Thanks for commenting folks :tu:
I've been busy working on a female characters body, using the same low poly Zsphere methods. Heads to do next, the hands are to be added also. I'll be tweaking this body outside Zbrush, she's a bit on the 'leggy' side.lol.

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1028063029ety.jpg

[robotalk]

She's a beauty --very nice work with ZSpheres..and leggy?? --well ad agencies even lengthen lady legs on purpose for sensuosity..so youre on the right track...she's a keeper...and 'then some' :tu: :tu: :D :D :tu: :tu:

[DeeVee]

Looking forward to seeing the development of this project. So far excelent
:ex:
DeeVee,
Joe.

[Grub]

Here's the female head model, took me a solid 2 days on the pesky minx. Comments appreciated as always. :)

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1028247789hpb.jpg

[Vikki]

Grub,

Awesome head!

Could I ask a favor if it's not too much trouble and I'm not showing bad form by asking. I am having a heck of a time as always. Would it be possible for you to post a bottoms up view of her head. You know like if you looking from inside her shoulders blades to the top of her head? I'm trying to figure out the cheek area from a profile and most importantly from a bottoms up view.

Like the view of the one below?

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1028251131vps.jpg

If it's not cool don't worry about it. I can find profile views all over the net but I can't find a bottoms up view, else I've just missed em.

[Ron Harris]

just saw your message and hope it wasn't out of line to reply here...here is DM's BB head tool for what you asked...you may still want more....

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1028252357myo.jpg

[Vikki]

Thanks Ron!

That's exactly what I needed to see. My ears area and shape are off and I wasn't figuring it out.

I was also trying to figure out how to sculpt the cheekbones. My main reason for asking. It's very hard for me to visualize and implement cheekbones when I'm doing a portrait type image. When I'm just creating something from scratch it's no big deal because I can do what I want. But, in my portrait stuff I am ending up with chipmunks (and malformed ones at that) instead of my intended outcome. :D

Thanks again!

[DM]

Nice job all round Grub,the ears are particularly neat and the eyelids very finely made. I can appreciate the length of time that head took you, the one Ron has put on of mine, still took considerable time with adjustments, from that stage to the one I used in the final image. :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:
Dave

[Grub]

Vikki it's really no trouble at all to help you out, thanks Ron+Dm combo for stepping in while I was in bed snoring for England. Here's the under the chin shot -you had to ask to see the part that I've been paying the least attention too! lol. Take note there's a distinct lack of neck.

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1028288742xvw.jpg

[Hanuman]

Vikki,

You can't beat finding a willing subject and gazing at them from all the necessary angles. In fact if you want to get an accurate map of someone's face then you need to do this in low poly point by point moving. Because take the curve of the mouth for example. If you look at it from underneath you can see the XY displacement but you have no idea at all of the Z displacement. So you could get the curve right from underneath then turn off XY in the transform mode and turn on Z only and then view it from the side to make the z adjustments. Then you will have to go back to the underneath view to clean it up some more etc...

Remember that this is only necessary if you want ot map someone in particular. Otherwise facial features can be radically different between people. Noses can be very flat or pointy, jawlines vary a great deal.

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1028294497usa.jpg

[Vikki]

Hey Grub,

Thank you very much. I'll not look at the neck area. LOL! :D Seriously though it wasn't the neck I needed to look at anyway. It's lining up the features exactly as you have shown in the example. Thank you so much.

That is exactly what I wanted to see. I can see that the cheek bones do indeed come out a bit further but also have a more slanted area below that to the mouth/chin/jaw area. It also helps me with the geography from the chin to mouth, mouth to nose etc and then the overall shape from chin to ears. And, the area around the mouth to the chin. Thank you very much!

Hanuman, alas, my family are not willing subjects. They still think I need to go back to cartoons where features are what we want to make them, not what they really are. I just ignore them. :D

Thank you for posting that explanation and the image for me, with the extra semi side view. It also helps to reinforce what I'm trying to learn. I have since started turning on the TV to watch the *real people* there but, unfortunately they don't give me this particular view. :D

And yes, when I do my *dorky* stuff, it doesn't matter very much the geometry as long as I show the recognizable features. However, one of the things I'm working on learning is portraits and what Ed's script and help is teaching me, characterization. Those things require that I know how the geometry works in order to get the desired effect. :D Cheekbones and mouths in particular are a bugger.

I've noticed watching TV that faces are radically different in their geometry. For instance when you learn from things like Loomis, the geometry is pretty much vertical in a profile. However, as Grubs head shows, and watching TV, it's not really that way in a lot of faces. Some chins and noses(at the bridge) are innys, some foreheads are outys etc. Front on views are very deceiving, profiles can be a mystery too until you add that bottom view. Now things are starting to make sense to me.

I've goobered all these examples together into one image and will load it into a layer below so I can use them for reference.

You guys have all been very, very helpful! Thank you all so much!

[Grub]

Haven't updated recently, but I've been very busy working on the Vactors, I pulled an all nighter yesterday and feel a bit cacky. Anyhoo here's another update :)
I've done extensive reworking on the head and body models, and I've posted the female head and body here as they are the most finished. I'll add the man soon.
These are rendered in 3dsmax, so that I could show you all a hairy model for a change :D. The (jazzy!) hair was done by arranging and layering low poly strips, mapped with transparent textures. I was wanting to render in Zbrush to take advantage of soft shadows but the nightmare of importing and re-arranging all those hair strips was too much to think about :D I've also spent some time creating a set of hands, by importing zbrush created finger bit's n' bobs and assembling in max.

Reworked Figure:-
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1028764610ykg.jpg

closeup reworked head shot:-
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1028764807umt.jpg

[Vikki]

This update is very cool.

It shows me how to my arms better.

Wow on the hair. Talk about detail. That is awesome. My puny little brain never thought to do it that way...but I'm not sure I'd have the patience. :D

[wenna]

She is fantastic!! Great modeling!

Tons of :tu: :tu: :tu:

[DanielMD]

Impressive :D, and good looking chick, Nice and smooth can wait to see her with clothes LOL :)

[DM]

Nice update, its coming along great. :tu: :tu: :tu:
Dave

[Grub]

Thanks for taking time to comment all, appreciate it. :)
:tu:

[upham]

Just gotta get my congrats in at the end! Looks like you are onto a winner grub!

What enviroment are they going to go into?
Do you need to model the entire body if it's not going to be seen? Do you need to make mouth and facial morph targets? Do you have a grunty computer to animate these models together at the same time? Have you considered making a less polygon intesive model but with a highly intensive texture map to cover all the lower-poly blemishes?

I just ask you all these questions because you may encounter problems further down the track and all this hard work will be in vain!

Arrgh! So much work involved! Keep battling on. I'm looking forward to any updates!! Keep posting!
Upham :)

[Grub]

Cheers Upham :tu:
Here's some more info on the project.
The 5 vactors are going to be used as a spoof promotion for standard minidisk packaging. I'm going to go for a technopunk futuristic theme as the minidisc is a pretty high-tech product. The characters need to each have their own unique look, costume and accessories, but tied with the main theme of course.
Since these characters will feature individually on the packaging, ultimately the final images will be stills. However I'll still have to do some morph targets and rigging for the expressions and positioning of the characters. I could have just created the characters totally in Zbrush, without worrying about polys etc, but my tutor requires that the figures have the functionality for animation use in film, as well as cinema looks (he doesn't ask for much!) I'll have to balance up somewhere between high quality texturing versus modelled detail, as I am strapped for time on this project.
I've a pretty beefy Pc, but the models are low poly anyway, so animation will not be a problem in terms of horsepower.
As for the environment of the characters, it's not fixed yet, but I could do with some techno reference (suggestions anyone? :)), to help me out.
Thanks for your input, the battle goes on...
Rob.

[Grub]

Finally got back to work on this project, after juggling other assignments(blah, paper work!).
Here's a brand new noggin. :)

Modelled Zbrush 1.5/3dmax, textured and rendered in Zbrush 1.5.

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1030058914asa.jpg

Oh, and critiques welcome, don't be shy :D.

[zerobugetgamemaker]

Good work grub. There are two things I would change tough. The bottom of the neck seems to curve inward, exactly opposite of what it should do, and the shoulder muscles should start coming out from the neck about an inch from the neck's bottom.

David

[Grub]

Thanks ZeroBG,
Yeah I hear you on the neck thing, when I attach it to a body I'll sort it, cheers. :tu:

[Ron Harris]

pretty real lookin....how did you achieve the veins close to the surface of the skin look? I like that....his eyebrow has a bit too much green in it but other than that ...great job!!!

[Grub]

I agree Ron, the colours came out a bit iffy, I fluked the veinyness, the texturing of the stubble turned out a tad more colourful than I intended, woopsy! :D Just standard texturing in texturemaster, using the circular alpha brush no.5.
Thanks Ron.

[DM]

Very nice work, an incredible realistic head. :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:
Dave

[filament9]

Some very good work here Grub.