Hey guys here are some characters I’ve been working since I started using Zbrush in the 2.0 days. Up until now I’ve been soley working on them in Zbrush only. Lately I’ve brought them into Maya to use Mental Ray, as it is a very powerful rendering engine. I’ve Been learning SSS and lighting in Maya along with how to utilize all the maps I created in Zbrush. I must say using Zbrush and Maya as a workflow have gotten me the results I want.
Here are the old, but newly rendered models:.
Hey everyone, Im back from vacation. I was really excited to load up this thread to see what people thought of the update. Now not so excited. In fact I’m wondering WTF. Really wondering why 7 of you thought this work is in the “bad” category. No comments either, kinda weird. Originally I wasn’t asking for C&C, but now seeing these are disliked, I am. Can someone please tell me why you think this is bad work, because personally I don’t. Definitely not 5 star, but 2. Never achieved such a low score on a thread. I took me a long time to learn and execute these characters, and put a lot of hours into them. I’m trying to get better, but apparently I’m getting worse.
I am being silly reading into this too much? Maybe, but it’s really killing my drive to continue working in Zbrush.
Thanks,
jesse
hey man . i just stumbled on to your thread via someone elses ‘orc escape’ thread. i see youre bothered by lack of comments, but i think maybe youre taking it a bit too far?
you should be modeling and creating things for your own pleasure, not for a forums approval, no?
as for comments on the pieces, i would say they are well excuted models. the main critique i have about them are that the detailing could be pushed perhaps a little more, and that he shading on the models is a little flat too (maybe its just the renders?). i think the skin tone on the second model is a little unerving too - maybe if you made it a more complimentary color to the green? like a spotty yellowish lighter green perhaps? and lastly his pose looks a little stiff, i dont feel the weight of the rock by looking at him.
hope i could help. definitely dont let a low thread score break your spirit. it would be a shame to let that stop you from continuing to persue something you clearly love.
cheers man.
Thanks, I’m not modeling for forum approval. I’m modeling to develop my skills, and to know if I’m improving. Putting my work in the bad category, without reason is not helping me improve. It’s like 7 people saying “your work sucks end of story.” I’m more interested what people think than just slapping the “bad” tag on it.
As for the pose. I just put them in a quick pose to get them out of t-formation, these are not finished “art.” They are character models, they should be viewed as that, not a finished composited work.
Forums haven’t broken my spirit yet, and probably won’t. I’ll get over it. I just will post in other forums, because lately ZBcentral is too active a forum, and I find my work getting lost in the jumble.
HI JesseGraffam, definitely your work is not bad! But i agree with OrgoneGhost for sure you can get better skills addings more details, working on the shading/textures…
…for the ratings i personally think that there are people that like to put everyting on the bad gategory just for the plesure to do that without using their brains!
still working on materials and rendering. I can’t stop.
You know and I know they are not bad at all. I have actually noticed lately that there have been quite a few great models marked as less than what they deserved. I would not doubt if some of this was just for spite or lack of skill in their own work.
Keep it up. I would love to see the shadows more defined on the rock creature and additional detail added to the face region (especially the nose and eyes) with more well defined muscle detail on the body, etc. Take a look at some more references for the facial features and the body work. There are some subtle issues but the work is very cool…
I feel you though. You worked hard but make sure that when you show your work you feel as good about it as you want everyone else to.
nice concept and work
nice work there
hello Jesse. your models look good dont be discouraged at all. I think the most noticable thing for me is a bit a anotomical inconsistancy. The alien has a few things that are a bit off upon first glance. The abdominal muscles should be pushed up closer to the rib-cage, I think right now theres just a bit too much space there. Also the arms look large compared to the shoulders. Right now I dont see enough distinction between the deltoid and trapezius, it looks like the deltoid is going right into the neck which it shouldn’t. The clavical is also a very important detail i dont see. I see some similair issues on the reptillian character as well.
i think the actual sculpting you’ve done with all the muscle forms are fine they r just slightly misplaced in just enough areas to make anyone be able to notice it right away.
The head render is pretty sweet. i would reccomend sharpening up the jaw-line, and putting in some nice sternocleidomastoid(there must be a shorter name for this) muscles runing down the neck and into the clavical. Keep up the good work man.
(p.s. you going to school in SF?)
gr888
I think you nailed it spot on.
yea don’t ever take anything too seriously on the forums, but i strongly feel you need to make some new content so you can practice your rendering on models that are “worth” it. when i say worth it, i mean models that are completed to the best of your ability. To my understanding these are couple of years old(and outdated). Instead of rendering(unless you want to focus on that soley) i’d study anatomy, sculpting and texturing techniques then i’d worry about rendering…
cheers
i dont agree 100% with veedubb’s comments. i think if your looking at alien and monsters etc. (arnt we all) its best to look at the pose and weight rather than anatomy. i mean whos to say how this guys muscles are developed i mean if he breaths hydrogen rather than oxygen for example his bones would waste and his skin would hang. its a mute point for anatomy in aliens. the only reason to study it when it comes to fantasy is to give the audience something to relate to. and lighting and texturing makes or breaks a model. in that last render the sculpt isnt zack petroc standards but who gives a damn with a shader and dynamic lighting that you have nailed! looks great. keep on truckin.
and after a second glance maybe you could punch out his eyeballs a bit with a nice bright rim refelction on them. 
although, if the alien is humanoid it is more than likely going to have very similar anatomy. Even animals have similar muscle structures to an extent. I still think an understanding of anatomy is crucial to any character artist, fantasy or not. Matisse for example still studied formal anatomy and figure drawing even though he painted in a distorted style.
You think they’re outdated or you’re sick of seeing them. They are 1 year old, and made while learning ZBrush. I’ve been working when ever I have free time, no rush on these. I have other characters made, but they are not ready yet.
Had some time to change the lighting and better specularity.
May be cool to have him pointing at the viewer instead. The pose seems lukewarm. Or you could add some magical element floating in his hand giving off some light on the rest of his body.
The background isnt really working for me. I would like to see it plain black instead. Or white.
Keep going.