"Prove to Dad" series

[SuperHer0]

From someone who has/had no talent, no skill, no real support from family but a huge passion and love for what he does...

Hi Zfriends, first time poster lOoOng time lurker here on ZBC (best forum EVER with incredible members!), so i kinda know many of you. my name is Yasin Hasanian (a.k.a. SuperHero!) and i'm self-taught. just a few days ago i became 20 , it feels weird. i wish i could post this thread on my birthday but the creepy university final exams did'nt let me :P !
This series is called "Prove to Dad" consists of 6 images intended to prove a large number of people of Iran specially my father that CG is not a childish game! and one's dream/passion can be something other than the hardcore business stuff. actually i asked my parents that they give me a chance to accomplish this series, fortunately they did. eventually, i've gone through a lot and sacrificed too many things just to make the most of my chance and reach my dream.
anyway, here is how it all happened. hope you like these:


as you can see, it sux big time and is filled with flaws.
Maya, ZBrush, Bodypaint, mental ray, photoshop





even though this piece already won a second prize at a local Wacom challenge, unfortunately my dad satisfaction did'nt last long. the theme was to create something which has to do with aliens. this was made on the fly with no special initial sketch for it.
Maya, ZBrush, *coughs* mudbox, mental ray, Photoshop









it was titled revenge of the fallen because i was struggling with myself to see if i could appeal my parents satisfaction and to alleviate the mental pressure on myself -.- (i'm a TF fan too XD ). time will tell.
while i was working on this one i faced with many problems and i learnt a lot from them, even the simplest stage of laying out the UV became problematic! it was when i found out about an awesome plugin called Roadkill Pro, it just saved my life! this app is super fast and accurate in unwrapping the object(both organic and hard surface) in comparison to Headus UVlayout and Unwrella,it unwraps 500,000 polys in less than 10 seconds!(i was given a free licence of it, well a long story :P ), although UVMaster is pretty good itself . i hope RoadKill production is not stopped because its website is down.
Maya, ZBrush, mental ray, Photoshop









well, it is called cage because it somehow depicts my inside feelings as if being blocked by some ways to reach the dream! this one again won the second prize at another local challenge. i wish i could get the first to make my dad happier but thats how life is and i really like it that way :P . so the drama continued...
(the concept is by an artist i saw on CA whom unfortunately i can't remember his name.)
Maya, ZBrush, mental ray, Photoshop









then i reached to a point where i thought my nickname does'nt really suit me, how can i be a superhero when i can't even help myself out?! therefore this artwork has a direct connection to myself as a hero who is too weak to even help others. when i found out this one got at least short-listed for expose 8, you have no idea how heartwarming it was for me, that i thought i have'nt really wasted my life over these and i'm almost hopefully moving in the right direction.
(inspired by an art piece of one of my fav 2D artists, Max Verehin.)
Maya, ZBrush, mental ray, Photoshop








.
.
.
SPECS:
_ most of the textures are hand-painted with Mouse since i don't have a tablet!
_ RAM: 2 GB + vista = 1 GB :/
_ CPU: Q6600
_ VGA: 8600GT

anyhow, through out the series i just learnt tons and tons of new stuff, what to do and what not and really enjoyed/loved working on it, although there were indeed tough moments. plz let me know what you think about these(i will reply individually) because that can potentially change my life, i'm also so open to crits, i believe it has been a huge learning source for me. then i can decide if these are good enough to prove my dad or not.
in the end i'd like to dedicate this to my dad, i hope you will be delighted, dad.

btw, i'd like to mention that i'm available for freelance and will work free for the first client =) (if it is well-known though)

thanks in advance and keep an eye on this thread for an update !

[jramauri]

Where are the images?

[Scrybe]

Yeah, I'd be interested if I could see them.

[SuperHer0]

thx for feedback, it should work now

[Scrybe]

Oh, there they are. Well, they show a range of skill and a lot of technical aptitude. I know for a fact that there are a lot of artists in the game industry who are at or below your skill level, so given the opportunity and enough time I'm sure you could get a job in my field.

As for the dad thing... I guess being thoroughly westernized I really don't get it. Does he control your future? Can he keep you from pursuing a career in art somehow? If you are trying to "prove" yourself to him, what are his criteria? Somehow I doubt he's going to look at a cool computer rendering and say: "My son! At last I respect you and give you my blessing to do as you will and follow your heart!"

If it helps, tell him a 13-year video game industry veteran says you have a good shot at getting a good career in games. (Assuming you live anywhere near where games are made.)

[VictorCS]

That's some uber stuff you got there, you're too skilled to quit. I bet the culture over in Iran is alot different from the "western world" when it comes to respect and family. But I still think one should do what one has passion for.

My mom laughs about me doing Zbrushing, and cant understand how I can waste my time on these weird sculpts. But aslong as I wanna do CG, it's nothing she can do about it. It's my choice, and she has to respect that. And I need to spend time doing it if I wanna get good.

In my eyes CG is art, even tho some might not see it as that, they only see it as something generated by the computer. Like trance music, sure it's made with a computer, but it's not the computer doing the work.

[tobbeo]

I like number 5 a lot and I like your other pieces too. I respect that you are so open about your goals to become an artist and the obstacles in the way. Hopefully your art will become less about proving your dad wrong and more about just doing it for your own satisfaction. Seems to me you have what it takes to work in the industry, I've been doing it professionally for 14 years (and three years before that learning it like you, on my own) and I had no support going into 3D either.

Best of luck to you and keep up the great work.

[KillahPriest]

You have really great stuff here. You can really tell you put a lot of yourself into these and have a lot of passion for it. I hope everything works out for you and you get to follow your dream.

[Aberrant]

Very nice works! You have a good eye for composition and color. Only crit is some of the human anatomy seems a bit too bulky, but overall great works!

[SuperHer0]

thx a lot for CnC
@scrybe, VictorCS: well, i feel he is worried about my future since he has'nt seen anyone around working in this field and does'nt know much about it, though i have tried so hard to make him familiar with CG. my father is a merchant, therefore he probably more concerned about its financial aspect. after all i also try to understand him but i just won't forgive myself if i don't reach my dream. generally i guess he woudl'nt believe me unless i do it as a job but still not sure about that. thx a lot
@tobbeo:thank you. its a dream for me to work in the industry XD.
@KillahPriest: thx a lot dude
@Aberrant: thank you so much. yeah i'm really working on the anatomy , indeed the first one has an awful anatomy :P

[TrappedInFlesh]

Great work. You're 20 years old. I wish I can go back in time. I've always loved art and was never supported by my family. Their idea was "get a good paying job that will be steady and secure." They were both born in Mexico and did not go to college, themselves taught by their parents that work was all they needed. They knew I liked to draw but never really said anything about what I drew. My mother till this day asks why I sculpt (in clay) the things I do. "The things you make are always ugly, who's going to want them?" shes says. They never really suggested college either. I'm 37 now and want to have something to do with the creation of video games..I love them, always have. Don't give up even if it upsets your father. I'm years behind, but I'm still going to try. Your timing is perfect, you're only 20 years old and already your work is very good. You are sure to find a job somewhere. Your cg is really good and it will only improve. By the time your my age you will be one of the masters that everyone wants to hire.

[cherub_rock]

Great work!

[koyima]

To SuperHer0's dad: please leave your son alone, he is doing really good work and maybe some new professions will broaden the horizon over there.

What should he do for a living? If he is talented in it why not pursue it?
What should his purpose be if not to follow his dream?

Truly only the fact that he has to ask permission to show you is too much.

Anyway my father was exactly the opposite: supportive and so was my mother and now I thank them that I can make a living out of something creative.

To SuperHer0: keep up the good work. We can all see the effort you have put into these works and I really like the guy with the sword and the mask.

[XxDarkMessiahxX]

Your work it pretty good. Best of luck to you. Being self taught, I think the level of your work should impress your parents, even with them knowing nothing about the industry you hope to be get into. At your age and with your skills, you should have a bright future if you keep at it. I wish my work were as good as yours, and Ive been tinkering around with 3D for close to 10 years. Better yet, I wish I could actually finish something that I start, LOL.

Keep it up. I'd like to see more of your work.

[SuperHer0]

wow guys! you are all awesome, ZBC is with no doubt the best friendly forum i have ever.
Due to some serious technical issues and other problems my latest work got delayed, but its 99% done now. hopefully this thread will be updated REALLY soon.

@TrappedInFlesh: Thank you so much for the time you put into writing this interesting comment, looks like we are somehow on the same boat but with age difference, believe me or not i'm still regretting i could have made the most of the time i had since i started it when i was 14. i wish you the best of luck as well
@cherub_rock: Thanks lot!
@koyima: thanks a lot man . well i think my parents are getting bored telling them to wait so that i can make money out of it too! i hope everything changes after i finish this series. thx again!
@XxDarkMessiahxX: Thanks a lot. i think i myself am really meticulous working on a project, i might stuck in something simple deciding what to choose between the options for minutes!