Chris Curtis Sketchbook (nudity)

[SolidSnakexxx]

Cute looking Sand Puppy there Captain Sensible Looking forward for more!

[Captain_Sensible]

Hey guys, thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately the sand puppy is having to go on hold at the moment as I’m itching to jump onto my next project…

[Captain_Sensible]

(previous article from my action hero thread)
[[attach=145203]Article.jpg[/attach]]

(today's news) [[attach=145204]Article2.jpg[/attach]] I have seen a few people giving some extra love and attention to their entries well after the Action Hero contest and I would now like to give mine the same but in my own special way. I had always planned to rework my entry as I felt it was only ever half done. I had to compromise many of my ideas because of time and also being restricted to using just ZBrush (not because ZBrush isn't capable, but because my methods and skills didn't stretch as far as some people demonstrated). I am currently working on portfolio pieces and that has to be my main focus at present. Nitrate, in her current state, is only pretty much a 'concept sculpt'. She looks ok on my reel, but needs to be made into a more 'production' style piece in order to look much better. Therefore, my intention is to make my polygons and hard-edged stuff in Maya, do the heavy sculpting work in ZBrush and import meshes and maps back to Maya for a nice turntable and still render using Mental Ray and it's wonderful shaders. Shave and a Haircut will be used for her hair. I am currently working on concept sketches and will start posting those real soon. I plan to post WIP images so my progress will be seen here. Probably not daily updates, like in the contest, as I want to keep them substantial, but also want to keep them regular. Also I plan to make this at my own pace and concentrate on quality as the most important thing. Key things I need to improve on for her is her anatomy, her pose, her hair which was ultimately compromised, displaying her 'powers' in her design, 'proper' textures for realistic skin and some 'proper' renders at the end. As I am making this to improve not only myself but also the character and quality in which she is done, I would ask if people will comment and critique as much a possible. No matter how small. It will all go into making a better piece :) Here are some examples of my inspiration. I have drooled over these many times. Not just in subject matter ;) If I could reach anywhere near what these guys have produced then that would be fantastic! I know if I push myself I will be able to come up with something at least half decent. [[attach=145205]Examples.jpg[/attach]]

[Vsions]

Hey Curtis Great Stuff!! That sand puppy is creepy looking man, something about those extra little legs just dangling there. But tis perfect, Looks like something I would run away from in fallout 3;)

Also you and I definitely look at the same stuff for inspiration. I have almost the exact same images in my inspiration folder as well.

[gregoconn]

Hey Capt good to see your going to refine your process and character!

My first suggestion is that the main difference that I can see between the examples you have posted and your action hero is that the pose is a strong one. Also very femanine on each.

I’d spend a lot of time in preplanning, thinking about pose and composition and that your final product will look attractive and apeal to the viewer.

Can’t wait to see your progress!

[spimmy]

Hey Captain, sounds cool that you want to rework the action hero entry!! The reference images you have chosen are pretty awesome, so am looking forward to see how the version will develop!!

[Moni-Poroni]

You´re going to work further on Nitrate? Great news, Captain!
I love the new article!
Although I really liked the old Nitrate I can´t wait to see the new one.

[Captain_Sensible]

Vsions: Thanks. I hope to revisit the sand puppy after this project. It’s always good to have images for inspiration. So many times I’ve seen things and never been able to find them again when I want them!

gregoconn: Thanks. Yup lots of planning and sketches before I move any polygons! Nitrate v1.0 had issues with the pose and definitely needed to be more feminine.

spimmy: Thanks. Yeah I need to raise the bar in terms of quality in what I do. Those images and the artists who created them are damn awesome. I need to aspire somewhere in that direction. Just how far remains to be seen.

Moni-Poroni: Thank you. I promise you will like the new one even better

[Geert_Etcher_Melis]

I’m really lookin’ forward to seeing the further development of Nitrate! !

[dustbin1_uk]

This is what I love about ZBcentral contests. Everyone still wants to keep going and make their creations better and better!

I mean how good is this going to be with no deadline!

GREAT! Can’t wait!!! :D

[Dong_Won_Yang]

Hi, Thank you for the reply.
I am also interested in your thread.

[gregoconn]

yeah that’s awesome man. Be sure to show us your sketches I’m really keen to see them

[gahpe]

Real nice models Captain Sensible
Looking forward to see the hero girl you are working on !!!

[Captain_Sensible]

[attach=146404]Nitrate_Logo_Small.jpg[/attach]

[attach=146405]Story.jpg[/attach]

[attach=146408]NitrateConceptSketch01b.jpg[/attach]

Thanks guys! Here’s some initial sketches. Decided to put pencil to paper rather than use the wacom as I need to improve my drawing skills. I intend to make more sketches as i go along and also tweak/improve the design

Attachments

[Captain_Sensible]

Right. Kicking things off. I’ve tweaked my original base mesh and imported into ZBrush. Pulled here and there to rough out her form. I’m using ZBrush version 3.2 on the mac so I’m now GoZ enabled Should make this process much more fun as I can now chuck her between Maya and ZBrush as I please.

(how can I edit my first post so I can add “Nudity” into my thread title? )

Attachments

[Captain_Sensible]

Made a little more progress today. Just sculpting in the basic anatomy. C&Cs welcome

Attachments

[Webhead]

Not too much to crit at this stage, except, make the shoulders a little bigger perhaps. Looks like a good start to me. I’ll have to watch how this progresses.

[Marsyas]

Great to see Nitrate again!

Coming along nicely. All I can say at the moment is that the neck is looking kinda beefy from behind. Good to flesh out the muscle groups though–you can always reproportion later.

[spimmy]

Hi there Captain, great start on the new Nitrate!

[gregoconn]

Hey Captain, great to see a start.

To me it looks like there is a bit of work to do still on your base before moving on. Her head looks very unnatural, her jaw angles down too sharpley, chin seems to be too far below the lips and also perhaps sticking too far forward. She looks like she is pursing her lips as well so you may need to widen them a bit. The shape of the skull, in particular the back of the hard is a little off, I’d suggest looking at some bald reference, female if you can get it.

She looks like she has her shoulders ‘rolled forward’. Put your arms out to the side and then roll your shoulders forward, it should be uncomfortable and look a little odd. I think if you pull her shoulders back a bit this might help. I think some of the problem lies in the shape of her spin though. She is leaning forward slightly. You may need to tweak a bit there.

Hope this helps man. Get as much reference as you can, and try to match that.

Cheers,

G