Innehållsförteckning för August 2023 från 3D World

COVER ARTIST Jamir Blanco bit.ly/30Fo8rU SOFTWARE ZBrush, Blender, Maya, Arnold, Photoshop This month we bring you a huge variety of inspiration and training to get you excited about your next project, and to give you the skills to make it the best it can be. Learn how to create stylised animations using a full production workflow, and discover ways to up your game creating character renders. We all suffer from gear acquisition syndrome, so we take the guess work out of it for you with reviews of the latest tools, from Quixel to V-Ray and Phoenix. And when it comes to hardware it can be tricky to decide which direction to go. so chec out our guide to GPUs. Enjoy the issue!…

The Gallery CG art to inspire “I love sculpting, but I also want to somplify the creation process as much as possible. So I usually use Polypaint instead of textures, so that I can skip the steps of retopology and UV unwrapping. After the general shape is sculpted, I usually use Sculptris Pro to sculpt the details. This way, where a lot of details are needed there can be enough polygons, and the parts that do not need details can keep a relatively low polycount.” • artstation.com/zhuyao ARTIST zhuzhu SOFTWARE ZBrush, Blender…

“Great 3D character artists online create portraits so lifelike; it's really inspiring. In a way, you become the photographer, and it's like your own digital photo studio. My inspiration comes from a series of photographs from Chad Kirkland. I think it's important to work closely with your references. On this project I had the opportunity to process the skin texture maps at work at Texturing XYZ, and then use them on this portrait of the actor. The best tool to make your work believable is probably Photoshop; a quick paintover or photo edit of your reference, compared to your work-in-progress, really shows what needs more work. Using masks in Maya's Hypershade to adjust the displacement, roughness or specular by areas gives more control and speeds up lookdev.” • artstation.com/anderr ARTIST…

Feature Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 Stop-motion has been a part of Star Wars storytelling since the original George Lucas movie was released in the summer of 1977. From the game board pieces aboard the Millennium Falcon to the realisation of the Tauntaun in The Empire Strikes Back; from the evil Empire's machines in Return of the Jedi to the creatures of Endor in the Ewok TV movies The Ewok Adventure and The Battle for Endor, stopmotion has been showcased in a galaxy far, far away. This distinct storytelling style has been the perfect match for Aardman, and the studio's new film I Am Your Mother is one of the nine new short films comprising the second series of Star Wars: Visions that launched in May 2023 on the Disney+…

The Pipeline Sculpt a striking underworld goddess ZBRUSH | BLENDER | MAYA | ARNOLD | PHOTOSHOP Practical tips and tutorials from pro artists to improve your CG ills In my most recent work, I've had the great honour to serve as a lead cinematic character artist on Blizzard's Diablo IV. In that role, I worked on some of the game's highest fidelity and performance-heavy characters, such as the villainous antagonist Lilith. In this tutorial, I'm going to run you through the process I followed for creating another demonic character, namely Helena, my award-winning personal project. She was created for Rafael Grassetti's underworld-themed character sculpting contest and chosen as one of the winners. I'll go over each key step of the process it took to create Helena from start to finish. Beginning…

3DS MAX | CORONA | PHOTOSHOP The Pipeline Build a Scandinavian-style bedroom scene Scandinavian design is characterised by a minimal, clean approach that combines functionality with beauty. Its focus is on simple lines and light spaces, devoid of clutter. These principles extend to all areas of design, from architecture to electronics, but it's most commonly used to describe interior design, including furniture, textiles, ceramics and lighting. Typically, there is nothing superfluous about the Scandinavian design style; it strips back anything that is unnecessary, showcasing the essential elements of any product. Lighting is a huge part of Scandinavian design, as the Nordic countries get so little of it naturally during the winter. As well as maximising natural light at every opportunity with white walls or large windows, lamps and lighting solutions…

01 CREATE A DOCUMENT In your 2D program of choice (here I'm using procreate) make a document at any size you like. The bigger the better for resolution, but don't go too big. I typically use 2,048 × 2,048px for most detailed alphas. The proportions depend on what you need it for; square is the most common, but you may want a long, thin alpha for things like veins and skin folds. 02 ADD A BLACK LAYER One important point to remember is that you don't want any white paint going to the edge of the alphas. You can paint carefully, but a good idea is to make a template that has a black, blurred edge above the white layer. Make a new layer, fill it black, make a selection in…

The Hub PROJECT INSIGHT Starship News and views from around the international CG community This last couple of years I've witnessed enormous passion for space exploration. I made Starship to be a part of that, and to give something back. This short film has been a deeply personal journey for me. As a director, I've been tasked with the responsibility of telling a story, while as an animator, I've brought that story to life visually. However, as a father, my ultimate goal has been to leave behind something meaningful for my daughter. In the story, the astronaut represents my daughter, while I'm the father behind the camera. Though I may not be physically present in the years to come, it's my hope that my spirit will continue to watch over…

Whether the goal is to make a pipeline more efficient or to aid a concept with inspiration, the number of Al tools on offer to artists is increasing by the day. Here are some of Lux Aeterna's top suggestions. Midjourney Utilising tools like Midjourney, with its ability to generate photorealistic text-to-image visuals, can aid the creative development of your project. This enables you to explore complex ideas visually, in a matter of seconds. Move.ai Gone are the days of expensive and restrictive mocap suits. Move.ai has introduced markerless motion capture with the simple use of iPhones. The free app offers an initial two free minutes of motion, while a $365 annual subscription fee gives you unlimited motion. Nvidia Instant NeRF This inverse rendering tool uses Al to turn static 2D…

AUTHOR PROFILE Paul Hatton After graduating with a first-class computer science degree, Paul Hatton has spent nearly two decades working within the 3D visualisation industry. + PROS Further post-processing capabilities Extra realism for decals Performance improvements - CONS More competitively priced alternatives available USD support still lags behind other software PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS New features are great but, at times, performance improvements are more valuable. It's therefore great to see V-Ray giving this area some attention. Artists who have used environment fog will know how slow it can be, making it particularly difficult to make adjustments and fine-tune results. This latest update promises results that are “up to 30 per cent faster”, making it much more responsive and usable. “DISPLAY COMPOSITION GUIDES, SUCH AS RULE OF THIRDS, RIGHT IN THE VIEWPORT”…

The Gallery CG art to inspire ARTIST Hossein Afzali SOFTWARE ZBrush, Maya, Substance 3D Painter, XGen, Arnold “Initially, Gloo Gloo was a 2D concept that I created for my YouTube channel. I decided to implement it in 3D with a few changes. I love characters with historical backgrounds, and I'm inexplicably drawn to cave people! I looked at many references from Adrie and Alfons Kennis (www.kenniskennis.com), who have done incredible work creating lifelike figures of early humans. However, my challenge was to maintain a balance between stylisation and realism. I' glad Gloo Gloo came out of his cave and appeared in 3D World! I'll definitely create his whole family so that he won't be alone!” • hosseinafzali.com…

The Gallery CG art to inspire “I've always been inspired by Michael Jordan and decided to make my own take on his insane jump for the 1987 Slam Dunk Contest. As an artist, I find inspiration from Bruce Timm and Jamie Hewlett, and I try to incorporate some of their unique styles into my work, especially in terms of the silhouette. The sculpting phase is the most enjoyable part of the process for me, and in this particular piece, I chose to create it without using symmetry to allow for more creative freedom. To achieve the desired outcome, I used ZBrush for sculpting and Polypainting, and then exported it directly to Marmoset to create a couple of renders. Finally, I made some finishing touches using Photoshop.” • rperroni.myportfolio.com ARTIST Raphael…

“The important thing that was done in CG are the mouths,” Osinska explains. “This is the first time that Aardman has done something like this, and this was a little bit due to the schedule. It would have taken ages to print the mouths out and make it in stop motion. We had about a year and a half to make this film. We were coming up with a completely new style, that wasn't the style of Wallace & Gromit or Chicken Run. From the beginning, we realised that we wouldn't have time to print out the faces as usual, and so, our head of puppets [Sam Holland] suggested using CG mouths. It gave us lots of control. To be honest, I don't think I would ever want to go…

Over the-years, AMD has proactively supported Blender's development through regular contributions to both the Blender Development Fund and the Blender code base. This continued support demonstrates its desire to make AMD the, hardware of choice far Blender users. Blender artists are in fairly unique position of being able to use both Nvidia or AMD graphics cards. AMD hardware is compatible with Cycles-and Eevee through their HIP (Heterogeheous-computing Interface for Portability) API. All of the features of Cycles X, such as improves rendering of hair and fur, support for microjittering and enhanced ambient occlusion handling are all available. The future of AMD hardware ray tracing also looks postive with HIP RT closing the gap between its raytracing capabilities and that of Nvidia. Alongside those built-in render engines, Blender artists can also…

Feature After starting out as a photographer, Bertrand Benoit changed course 15 years ago towards the realm of 3D art. Combining a passion for photorealism with architectural visualisation skills and a creative mind, he has become prolific at producing breathtakingly beautiful artwork. We got up close with one of the world's most accomplished artists to learn more. How did you get into creating 3D art on the first place? Being trained as a photographer, I remember being stunned when seeing the first photorealistic images rendered on a home computer and thinking about what it would mean if I could photograph stuff that didn't need to exist. It must have been around 2007 or 2008. For me, at the time, it was a life-changing thought of the kind that people are…

Paul Hatton After graduating with a first-class computer science degree, Paul Hatton has spent nearly two decades working within the 3D visualisation industry. Mike Griggs Mike Griggs is a digital content creator with over two decades of experience creating VFX and CGI for a wide range of clients. www.creativebloke.com Glen Southern Glen runs SouthernGFX, a small Cheshire-based studio specialising in character and creature design. He has been using and training ZBrush in the UK for over 15 years. youtube.com/c/SouthernGFX/videos Pietro Chiovaro Pietro is a freelance 3D artist and YouTuber. An expert in the creation of game assets and environments, he shares many of his creations on his channel. www.pietrochiovaro.com GET IN TOUCH EMAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO rob.redman@futurenet.com Paul Hatton replies Virtual camera rigs are perfect for simplifying the process of…

01 DOWNLOAD THE NUKE SERVER PLUGIN Make sure you have the latest available versions of Nuke and Unreal Engine installed. Download the Nuke Server, which is used to create the connection to Unreal for free (https://bit.ly/41Xmcho). If a new version of either Nuke or Unreal has been launched, check the compatibility of this new version against those shown on the download page. 02 MAKE SURE THE PLUGIN IS WORKING With the Nuke Server plugin installed in Unreal, create a new Unreal Engine project; in this example a third-person shooter template. Go to Edit>Plugins, and in the search bar, type “Nuke”. This will highlight the Nuke Server plugin, which can then be activated. Restart the project, and the Nuke Server panel will be available in Window>Nuke Server. Choose whether you wish…

1. Reference and support For the spaceship design, I drew significant inspiration from SpaceX's Starship. To refine my vision, I joined a vibrant community of 3D artists, photographers, and even 3D printers on Twitter. By sharing works in progress and references, we were able to provide valuable feedback and support to each other. Real-life photography played a pivotal role in my 3D work, serving as my primary source of reference. In my experience, the composition and lighting of a shot can significantly define its overall impact and effectiveness. Thus, I made sure to pay close attention to these factors, striving to create dynamic and visually striking scenes that captured the essence of my creative vision. 2. Learn from the best Successful directors have always drawn inspiration from those who came before them,…

Technique focus Traditional clay sculpting TRADITIONAL CLAY SCULPTING I'm a traditional sculptor and work combining old techniques with the modern. Dhalo's face was modelled in clay and casted in plaster, which I carved to better define the shapes and give it that old wood texture. I created the composition from a real wood frame, and the head in plaster, clay, and reused objects and broken toys. Through a silicone mould I created a resin version, to which I added new assembly objects, and finally painted it. I love playing with the contrast of ancestral and futuristic, to emphasise what is eternal in our history. Tomàs Barceló linktr.ee/tomasbarcelo…

AUTHOR PROFILE Paul Hatton After graduating with a first-class computer science degree, Paul Hatton has spent nearly two decades working within the 3D visualisation industry. + PROS Further integration with 3ds Max Real-time results Greater control over simulations - CONS Other more established alternatives STREAMLINE PREVIEWS It's now possible to convert streamline previews into native 3ds Max and Maya splines. This is surprisingly simple with conversion happening with a single click. Artists can now get accurate and detailed streamline previwes before the simulation has even begun. This last year Phoenix has not only moved on to version 5 of its evolution, but has also received a major update. For those unfamiliar with this software, Phoenix is a dynamics simulator that can create fire, smoke, liquids, flames, explosions, rigid body simulations,…

The Gallery CG art to inspire ARTIST Arthur Gatineau SOFTWARE ZBrush, 3ds Max, Photoshop “I started this project back in 2022 as a demo sculpt for a school I'm teaching at. Time passed and it really caught dust on my hard drive. I initially wanted to make a game-ready character asset, but I lost interest working on it (an eternal problem for me!). I decided to wrap up this project by doing a quick pose in ZBrush and using Polypaint as texture. I decimated the model and imported it in 3ds Max, using Polypaint as vertex colour, as I avoided making any UV work. Once rendered, I compoisted a few render passes in Photoshop to make it pop!” • artstation.com/arthurgtn…

“We did have quite a few versions, but it was a quick process. The whole design process in general was brilliant and Z-1 was designed by Felicie Haymoz. I felt that I had the most freedom in that part of production. I love adding some personal story and background to the characters. It helps me and the animators and the designers to understand straight away who that character is. Z-1 was inspired by my first dog, a sausage dog, and she was a bit funny and cheeky, and a bit malfunctioning. She would get very excited when she saw people and wouldn't be able to hold her bladder. So that was the inspiration for Z-1. I knew I wanted a droid, and I told the designer, ‘I want it to…

when research GPUs, it might seem that the best way to compare them is to look at their features and try and compare like for like. This can certainly give you a better idea at the performance capabilities of different cards, but it's much better to use benchmark tests instead. These types of tests compare a variety of factors including speed, performance and efficiency to determine not only the overall effectiveness of the card, but also the individual components such as RAM, GPU cycle, and processing power. A simple internet search of the words “GPU benchmark comparison site” will give you a number of websites that have already done all the hard work for you. The comparisons will usually give you not only individual breakdowns for each component, but an…

1. The first step is to make the objects opaque and diffuse. For this, I don't use matting spray as I find that it's too rough and hides the fine surface details of the object. Instead, I dip the object in a thin mixture of water and gouache. It needs to be very watery so as not to create a thick coat on the object. Even if it isn't completely opaque, it's fine if it just makes the object a little more diffuse. You might need to let the object dry and repeat the process a few times. 2. When the object is completely dry, I start spraying coloured gouache on it with a toothbrush dipped in diluted paint of different colours. Again, it's important not to spray the object…

The Pipeline Create a 3D character from a 2D concept ZBRUSH | MAYA | BLENDER | SUBSTANCE 3D PAINTER | ARNOLD In this tutorial, I'll show you how to convert a 2D concept into a stunning 3D render that captures the essence of the original. The character I've chosen here is the famous hobbit Bilbo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings, based on a concept by Spanish artist Javier Burgos. With the techniques in this tutorial, you'll learn to create characters that are faithful to the concept while adding your own personal touches. You'll gain valuable skills and experience in sculpting, texturing, lighting and rendering that you can apply to your future projects. We'll start by using ZBrush to sculpt the character, before diving into Maya for retopology and…

01 ACTIVATE THE ADD-ON As the camera rig is an add-on, you'll have to enable it. You can do this by going to the Edit menu, followed by Preferences. Using the search box in the top-right, search for “Camera”, and in the results tick the checkbox next to ‘Camera: Add Camera Rigs’. This will give you access to three camera rigs inside of the Add>Camera menu. 02 CREATE THE CAMERA RIG OBJECT Using the menu found at Add>Camera, bring in a new Camera followed by a Crane Camera Rig. Next create an object that will be your point of focus and move it so that it's aligned with the aim item of the rig. Create a new view and set it to your active camera. Head over to the View settings,…

We explore the latest software and hardware tools to see if they are worth your time or money AUTHOR PROFILE Paul Hatton After graduating with a first-class computer science degree, Paul Hatton has spent nearly two decades working within the 3D visualisation industry + PROS Works well with Quixel's Megascans Integrates into Unreal Engine Smart materials that adapt - CONS Lacks some important features Future development looks uncertain NEW BLOOM EFFECT Mixer now ships with Bloom effect capability. It comes with a fairly basic number of controls including intensity, radius and threshold for creating simple blooms. Mixer was first released in 2018 with an acquisition at the hands of Epic Games not long after. This takeover was with a view to turn Mixer into a feature-rich material authoring tool that…