Chimz Sketchbook

[Chimz]

Hi everyone,

I Thought it was time to begin a nice new fresh sketchbook.

I’ve decided that I am going to create a base set of sculpts that I’ve made from scratch (starting from a sphere and using the ZRemesher and Dynamesh features), that I can then use as a starting point for my other sculpts, thus eventually saving some time overall hopefully. I am starting with a male head sculpt. I also am hoping to improve upon/learn some new techniques along the way.

Here is my current work in progress for my male bust so far.

Attachments

[Chimz]

Eye shader test.

Skin Shader Test.

I need to tweak my lighting further, it’s currently pretty harsh in places. I think the shader needs adjusting somewhat also. This is my
first attempt at creating a skin shader in ZBrush. I usually just use the ones available to download on the Pixologic support pages. This one is a Quad Shader, so I can add more shadow/specular etc quite easily.

[Chimz]

Hi guys,

So I’ve developed my eyeball material further. I decided to create another material to create the transparent film covering the eyeball. I think it’s added more depth and glossiness which is nice.

I’m also still tweaking my skin material and my lighting set up. Still not happy with them though, they need more work.
I tried using the hair materials already available in ZBrush but they weren’t giving me the results I was after so I’ve made my own that I’ve applied here to the eyebrows. Once I begin adding more hair I may have to make other variations of this.

I’ve sculpted a little more into the face and I’ve made changes here and there to the proportions, I’m still not all that happy with his mouth though so I’ll probably have to change that a little.

[Chimz]

Another update. I’ve changed his mouth a bit and added more finer details such as skin pores and wrinkles/creases on his neck etc.
Next I want to paint some more detail in his skin and start adding more hair sections such as some stubble and eyelashes etc. I’ll also revisit my lighting set up, as I wouldn’t mind slightly darker shadows.

[Chimz]

Hi everyone here’s another update.
I’ve begun adding hairs using fibermesh with my created hair material.
Here is the untextured version along with a section of a test render. I’m quite happy with how it’s going so far,
but I know I have tons of room for improvement as well. Hopefully if I keep practicing I’ll learn more and get better at this sort of thing.
Any feedback is always welcome!

[Aurum]

hey looks great! The only thing that bothers me really are the lips, they look unnatural. They should have a soft transition into the surrounding skin.

[Chimz]

Thanks Aurum! Yes, I totally agree with you. Hopefully I can improve upon that area further.

[Chimz]

I’ve begun making some assets/props for my sculpt. I am quite happy with my male bust sculpt as a decent base mesh, that I can use to create into other sculpts which was my original plan. I’m going to go with a Western theme now, to take this sculpt a little further.

For the hat I modeled a really basic mesh in Maya then exported it into ZBrush as an obj file.
I then divide the geometry about three times and then use the move tool to pull the shape around until it resembles what I want and then I get rid of a couple of the higher levels. I then use the ZRemesher tool to create a new mesh that is quite low poly.

I then divide this a few times to sculpt further details into my new subtool. This is my progress with the hat so far. Once I’m happy with the basic shape I’ll add finer details such as stitching and small worn patches in the fabric etc. To make a subtle appearance of fabric I have applied a layer of noise to the subtool.

[Chimz]

I have added a little more detail to his hat. I used an IMM brush to create the stitching around the brim.

[Chimz]

Further work on some subtools. A poncho style top and a little more detailing on his hat.
Here it is untextured so far, with a test render.

My next step will be to create some small tassels for the top that hang off the stitched trim around the neck area and also to model a sheriffs badge.

[FourtyNights]

I like that you’re actively working on something and trying to improve, keep at it!

BUT, you are missing a lot of basic planes of the face. Now it looks like you took a little to no time with the head, but ran into sculpting the skin details, which is always a rookie mistake.

You need to understand the underlying bone structure of the skull and the the muscles. Still, I’d say focus more on important bony landmarks and SHAPES of the musculature, rather than individual muscles of the head.

Good examples:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mMr59SUgFnQ/VPaULjMoSXI/AAAAAAAAAz4/1ugyHzZ6pEI/s1600/Planar%2Bhead.jpg

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/706/365/1bf41f54b8ad4eecae3cbd2655f2bd71_large.jpg?1393973

http://orig08.deviantart.net/3269/f/2012/334/4/2/asaro_head_sculpt___model_download_by_adam_fisher-d5mlsit.jpg
Not sure how much these are going to help with this particular piece you’re working on, since you have so much to change in the basic shapes of your sculpt, and you’ve progressed so far already… But keep this in mind for your future projects. So, you have kinda nice detailing skills, but combined with a proper knowledge of basic shapes, you’ll be much better.

And what comes to eyes… The cornea is the glossy and transparent outer shell with a convex round bulge in front of the pupil and iris (this bulging part is smooth, but the area around it can be rough because of blood vessels and such, but it’s not mandatory though). The eyeball is not shiny, but the iris and pupil are is slightly concave.

http://www.glaucoma.org/uploads/eye-anatomy-2012_650.gif

Hope these helps you to correct your workflow.

[Chimz]

Thanks for your feedback FourtyNights. I’ll do my best to improve further on getting the planes right. Thanks for giving some examples too, always useful. The eyeball I’ve made does have a slightly concave iris to capture the light but I haven’t added any roughness around it, so I may give that a go, see if it works better!

Here’s some more progress. I’ve created some tassels for the poncho.

I’ve got a bit more work to do on his face, as it isn’t quite a harsh as I’d like when it renders out in areas. I also need to work further on my lighting set up.

[Chimz]

I’ve begun tweaking the face, adding harsher features like I wanted to make him appear more hardened.
I started making a Sheriffs badge then a friend said ‘why? He would be cooler as an outlaw!’ So he’s now not on the laws side.

[FourtyNights]

That’s the spirit, keep improving! That definition of the zygomatic arch/cheek bone is making it much better.

Mouth could be improved as well, and this might help a bit:
http://i.imgur.com/g97yww4.jpg

[Chimz]

That’s great FourtyNights. Thanks so much, I really love getting feedback - it’s always appreciated and very helpful. I just want to improve as much as I can.

[Chimz]

Hi everyone,

I just rendered out and finished off this fella. I added the smoke effect and the background in photoshop.

Untextured render:

Below are my render passes for him:

[Chimz]

Hiya people,

I’ve begun a new base mesh now. This time a female. Again I began with a 3D sphere and have begun sculpting the basic forms of the face first by using both Dynamesh and the Remesher tools.
Here is my progress so far.

[FourtyNights]

Be careful with the polygon count. I’d recommend to start slow and blocking out the basic planes of the head, with a lot lower polygon amount.

At this point, the ear is too far back and the back of the skull is also a bit too far back. Also, eye sockets aren’t deep enough.

[Chimz]

Cheers FourtyNights. I do have a lower subdivision version that I keep going back to and checking, so it’s pretty easy to make adjustments.
I have a few references in front of me whilst working too that I keep referring back to.

[Chimz]

A small update.