Tolkien Dwarves anyone?

[Angst]

What with all the renewed interest in Lord Of The Rings, I've been remembering how cool the dwarves really were (especially in the Silmarillion novel) and decided to try my hand at one... any others interested?

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1011173181sfj.jpg

Modeled, textured and "haired" in Zbrush, brightness/contrasted and smoothed a tad in photoshop.
Have at it all!

[ZBC Moderator]

That is a cool image, Angst :tu:
Tip :: You can also do contrast/brightness and gamma corrections within ZBrush by adjusting the modifiers in the RENDER ::ADJUSTMENTS sub-palette.
-ZuZu

[Angst]

D'oh! You're right. I'd forgotton about that. I have to play more with those render settings, they really are powerful. Wasn't it Southern who did the whole tutorial on how all PhotoShop post-work could be done in Zbrush instead? I'll have to find the thread and brush up on that.
Thanks ZuZu for the kind words, I really appreciate it. And thanks, too, for this great forum.

[JohnArtbox]

magical dwarf

[el_pix]

geez, with all the furry things that occasionall show up (your dwarf being a really furry - and really good - one), it seems i must finally try to use that scary fiber brush :)

[dOb]

Angst, this is lovely! Great. I like it. Good work.

[Angst]

El Pix, don't be afraid of the Fiber brush.. I was until I delved into it and finally overcame my fear to do stuff like this with it...
http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1011176549xln.jpg

Trust me... stick with it. You'll be glad you did.
(Oh, and thanks all for the nice words).
~a.

[drjjwow]

i agree very cool images.. wonderful use of textures, colors, and fiber brush...

[Ron Harris]

ya know I love waking up anymore...coz when i do I light my first cig and sit down to see what was posted while I slumbered..and low and behold the same proves true this morning...great imagess and the fiber brush usage is fantastic.... :tu: :tu:

[s o u t h e r n]

Very impressive images Angst. Direct from the Halls of Moria. You top Dwarf has a touch of Santa about his to my mind which is an added bonus. Your use of the fibre brush is fantastic.

Tips for those who don`y know...........

http://www.southerngfx.co.uk/uploads/arrow.gif You can do all your environment adjustments (Brightness, contrast, RBG etc. in-house as ZuZu points out. The reason most people don`t is just force of habit. Have a mess around with the RENDER>ADJUSTMENTS and you may surprise yourself. You can even adjust contrast after rendering!

http://www.southerngfx.co.uk/uploads/arrow.gif Before working with the Fibre Brush complete the (hairless) image, add the lights and render the scene. Use `BAKE` (ctrl+B) to bake the layer. Use FLAT material and adjust settings as you need in the TOOL panel.

http://www.southerngfx.co.uk/uploads/arrow.gif You can do post work in ZBrush by making good use of the SMUDGE and BLUR brushes. Either work on the image before rendering or save out the final image and re-import the PSD or BMP into a new layer and work on it with the FLAT material selected.

G

[filament9]

Both characters are wonderful Angst. Big :tu:

[PinheadPaul]

Great fiber and character works Angst! :eek:
Encourages me to keep plugging away.

Paul

[HimiCo]

Very nice! Especially, I like your Fiber brush works of the second image. Can you give a brief instruction?

:) :) :)

[Stonecutter]

That Dwarf is much cool! :tu: :cool:
Nice job, and thanks for reposting the Grinch! :D

[DeeVee]

Thanks for all the information. Very nice images.

[robotalk]

Nice Troll--Such personality--beautifully done!

--and all the tips in this thread --really have made it valuable!

[PusGhetty]

Really great work on these chracters Angst!
They sure have a lot of personality! Great fiberbrush use! :tu: :tu: :tu:

[cneofotistos]

fantastic, Angst. I first read the hobbit when I was 9, and still dig it. Thorin Oakenshield had never looked as good as your rendition :)
the silmarillion was a bore, but after the 3rd time all became clear :)
and I'm on my 7th time through re-reading LOTR.

:tu: from a moderately avid Tolkien fan

[Angst]

Thank you all for your very kind words. You have no idea how much they mean coming from a group of such talented artists as yourselves and that said I'd also like to thank Glen Southern for his tip o' the hat (and yes, he DID start out as the model of an old drawing I did - Santa Claws - but looked too "Dwarfish" when I finally got to the end).

...begin grovel... Glen, I've been a fan of your work since I first saw it on the old Z Academy site and I'm constantly visiting your site to be amazed by your talent. 70% of the things I'm able to do in this program have been made possible by your tutorials and examples. Thanks again for the help you selflessly provide and for your amazing collection of work. ...end grovel...

OK, as to tips on fiber brushing, Glen has nailed it pretty much on the head (as usual) and here is a reposting of what I wrote last time regarding this curious tool:

1.) Finish up the model you're working on (shading, texturing etc. - I love the Shader/Enhancer brush myself).

2.) Render it at Best level with shadows on (if that's your preference… it is mine)
3.) BAKE it at 99% (Bake command under Layer Menu - under Modifiers).

4.) Select the Fiber brush BUT make sure the material you paint with is the flat color material (the left-most one in the pop-up list).

5.) I play allot with the fiber brush modifiers (in particular: Gravity, Grooming and Density) AND with the Zintensity and RGB intensity of the draw modifiers. Also I start with a dark color first (as a base) and change up gradually through the grays to white on top... gives a better illusion of multi-dimensional hair.

That's really it. It's an art not a science so I can't really pinpoint a 'formula' but with experimentation you get really nice results.

Thanx again people,

~a.

PS an old high school drawing that WAS to be the inspiration for the piece… Santa Claws. (Santa's on the right…)

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1011217442oav.jpg

[robotalk]

GREAT DRAWING WOW!!!

[s o u t h e r n]

KUDOS.
...and I`ve right clicked it ;)

Your work reminds me of the images created by
DOUGLAS CARRELL (http://www.hollywoodcomics.com/carrel.html), an Artist from right here in the UK (Scotland, actually). Anyone not familiar should take a look at his weird and wonderful creations.

and Angst, you are talented my friend.

[Angst]

Oh MAN! I just went to the Carrell site Glen posted. Now THAT'S pencil drawing!! Talk about talent. I'm a convert now.
Thanx Glen for the heads-up.
Carrell reminds ME of John Findley's stuff (Tex Arcana in particular). http://www.sweaz.com/

[thelonious]

Angst,

that is some serious fur you've got happening.

[Muvlo]

The modeling is wonderful, but the hair is magical. It really brings the whole thing through. You really inspire one to go after that brush and learn its secrets! :)

[el_pix]

hm, i was so damn prod of my first successful (ok, to a certain extent...) use of the dreaded fiber thing, that i started a new topic ...
hope you don't mind me *cross-posting* the image here, where it actually belongs.

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1011227134rlu.jpg

[Stonecutter]

Nice one, El_Pix! :tu: :cool:
(My only critique is you might have wanted to do the hat a different shade from the hair....)

[Angst]

VERY nice, El PIX. About a thousand times more impressive than my first use of the fiber brush. One or two more pics like that and we'll all be asking you for tips.
~a.

[HimiCo]

Angst, thank you very much for the instruction. It is very useful. I also like your great drawing.

el_pix, very nice work!

HimiCo :) :) :)

[DM]

Great images well modelled.
Dave