William Lowrey - Sketchbook & WIP's

[Wilzah]

Hello Zbrush community!! Please allow me to introduce myself…

Among you all, are people who have inspired me for years whilst i recently wasted away in a call center after losing a good creative job. I’d spend hours at quiet times marveling at what people can do which is why i purchased Zbrush and i’m delighted to eventually join you all in the use of this wonderful program.

With a fairly long background in wax sculpting, (was head sculptor at Piranha Studio’s for over a decade before it’s demise). We did some approved work under licence for Disney, Nickelodeon and Warner Bro’s but mainly just spent years making slightly naughty wee bears under licence from Peter Underhill. http://www.badtastebears.co.uk/

Piranha employed creatives with a leaning toward a cartoon or comic style which still seems to pervade all i try. This here sheep is my first ever Zbrush model. my friend introduced me - and showed me the basics and I realised we wax sculptors would be replaced one day!
It’s around 4 million polys and [like a nooby] i deleted all lower subdiv’s - yet still i thought at the time i would be able to make it animated haha, how naive! I still cannot animate anything hehe. Apologies in advance about image quality.

Sheep 2009.

It’s a crazy, blobby, shiny green sheep, made with a mouse (didn’t have tablet then)… [chuckles].

peace.

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[Wilzah]

And - somewhat ironically, this guy was the second model I made with mouse! - Mauski 2011. He has no mouth and I animated him using SL (second life) - you can see little funny film of him here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h90rp7hZdt4

[Wilzah]

This guy didn’t take long, started with Zspheres for first time, once the mouse was dancing I wanted to have a cat buddy for him - again … was a while ago.

This is him in second life - it was really messing about with that world for a while which got me involved in rigging and texturing further down the line as you’ll see.

[Wilzah]

Me and a friend had the idea that if we could make a mouse and a cat dance, we would make other characters and see if we could cut together a machinima movie in second life (I was at Uni then so I had some time for messing around!) so I started this doll like girl…

The idea was to use the platform to make this girl like the lead role - surrounded by weird animal friends. It never manifested past her getting a coat and boots - which I have lost the image of. Back then I had no idea how deep CG really is.

[Wilzah]

For years i crafted these bad taste bears, sculpting and painting traditionally before learning digital tools… some were a little too rude to post here without MA rating hehe.

We had fun making these - it lasted over a decade… I made enough of the fur to cover a small field!

[Wilzah]

OK - so for years I had tinkered with wax and made a few things with Zbrush here and there. I didn’t have a great PC, or a gfx tablet - so I went and got that stuff. I lost the job in credit crunch 2008 anyway - no other Sculptors jobs in North East England (where the weather is fit only for druids). It had been known for years that Digital would replace wax in toy / character industry so it was time to really learn.

I supplemented my hobby by making things I could sell on marketplace in virtual environments… it turned out to be mainly boots for some reason.

This was my first real project, a pair of boots, rendered (badly) in Zbrush.

[Wilzah]

My second project - basically a friend set up a fashion label in Second Life called Aphorism. I was working full time in corporate environment and he lived in S.L., worked in S.L. and started doing ok. He was using Zbrush for his creations and he taught me about UV’s and how to make them more properly. This second pair of boots did very well on the S.L. marketplace. http://www.aphorism-sl.com/

By this stage I began to use Keyshot - something I’m still no expert at…

[Wilzah]

My 3rd project for Aphorism, a kind of Eskimo inspired hippie boot…

[Wilzah]

There is such a thing as a ‘Gatcha’ machine - they are popular among shoppers on the virtual world grid. I did several projects for those things.
You pay and pull the lever and get a prize, some are rarer and come out less frequently - here are some of the viking helmets, forgive the rendering!

There were more designs but these two were the rare ones which collectors seek…

[Wilzah]

Another of the aforementioned gatcha machine projects - a great deal of work went into this one…

It ended up with both a male and a female - they were rigged and wearable as avatars in S.L. -
There is a funny little video on YouTube promoting them for Halloween - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahPvGglSt2E

[Wilzah]

It seemed that word had spread and I was getting more orders for boots…
I based these ‘Beatle Boots’ on a pair I own from eBay - circa. 1963.

[Wilzah]

Gatcha Project.
These rag doll animals can be worn as a cuddle animation,
or they can be carried by the hand, (models altered to suit gravity).
Or you can simply have them lying around your virtual home. (I know Second Life is weird, but it seems things will get weirder still!)
You don’t get paid much, but it’s ok to earn a few extra pounds as a hobby to learn.

haha! couldnt help it! We all need to fit in somewhere right ?

[Wilzah]

Released these sandals for the summer, another gatcha selection - this was the rarest pair…

A little too over-saturated perhaps…

[Wilzah]

A box of ragdolls in-wold in Second life - all low poly [2 - 3 k] with maps etc.

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[Wilzah]

Yep - I’m quite the digital cobbler!
These for a more dystopian vibe.

[Wilzah]

I’ve been churning out stuff for the marketplace, its about time I learned to make a human!
I realise that with my background it’s going to be tricky. First thing I did was try to make a male body.
There will be much wrong with it - and I hope that someone points out some major flaws I cannot see.

[Wilzah]

OK - Decided to group the model so that I can separate the pieces more easily.

[Wilzah]

So - I retopologised the mesh in Topogun 2 - then broke it down into groups in Zbrush.
I removed basic head mesh and began trying to make a character…

I call my basic male mesh generic Eric before he becomes anyone.

I start pulling and tweaking - he begins to take on some character - but I’m not happy with result.

OK - i like the idea of him being a cool black dude, so I’m going with that.

Quick attempt at making him grin, but he looks younger somehow.

Definitely meaner.

I’ll leave him here for now …

[Wilzah]

Heh - stuck old Viking helmet I made back when on him for a quick test, with the black features and the viking-esque helmet he looks
like some fantasy character.

Rendered in Keyshot - with blue light from Zbrush. I think I enjoy anatomy more than making shoes,
yet I realise there is a life long learning with human form…

[Wilzah]

These boots were the latest pair created created for Aphorism