Putting the 'character' in character design

Workshop #3 Back to the basics

In Monday's workshop we discussed aspects of form and design that help communicate your character to your audience. In the workshop I asked students what makes a 'good' character and you all replied with acceptable answers: Strong background (Story), emotion, form/design, accessories etc..

Before attempting to sculpt/model a character one should make a character exist in one's mind. With this I have challenged all who participate in this workshop to... IMAGINE. Your imagination as an artist is one of your strongest tools in your box. Much like drawing and design your imagination also needs its practice, this is easy to lose track of while taking classes and dealing with life so make sure you don't lose touch with it!



The exercise: Imagine a character or creature and picture it moving, acting, dieing, fighting, breathing and feeling emotion. You have probably done this 1000s of times however make this one special. Imagine you are this character/creature... whether you're in the shower, listening to music, looking like a fool on the highway... find your way to connect mind and body to your creation.

At this point it is optional but highly suggested to "Think allowed on paper" and start drawing various interesting shapes and figures that involve a part of your character/creature or that represent them as a whole.

Thank you for your time... And have fun!!!
Christopher M. Chinea

Workshop #2 Character/Creature Free Sculpt

This workshop was aimed for our spring break using the past few techniques we have gone over in meetings.

The Scoop:
Time: Unlimited
Date Due: April 16th

You can either start with a base mesh from Maya as detailed as you wish or you can go use the Zsphere armature with or without the Zsketch method. Your character or creature does not have to be a full bodied model, although it is recommended you try to shoot for a full bodied. You are also not restricted by any requirements in theme, so you can do anything from an anatomy piece to a wacky fun or creepy character. Here was a character that went through the process in ~10 hours.

To use Zspheres select a Zsphere from the Tool menu on the right. Make sure you have X symmetry on and start creating branches of Zspheres from your original, you can adjust location and size of any sphere by selecting Scale, Rotate, or Move. To enter Zsketch mode with your Zspheres press Shift+A.

Be sure to post progress/questions on the forums @ SheltonAllen.com under the 3D forums section.

If you want direct feedback from me, you can Email me at Vuthaixen@gmail.com

Have fun and good luck!!!

Room & time change for meetings

Just as the title states, DCW will be meeting most likely in a different room and different times. I will keep you guys updated on when this is. The schedule for the labs will not be settled until ~2 weeks into the quarter, until then we will be jumping around to open rooms.

Our first meeting will be April 9th @12pm-4pm in front of room 232 (or refer to sign on door)

Challenge #1 Architectural Disc Design

Using the method I went over in workshop #1 create a disc type design with the radial symmetry. Designs can be that of Human architecture or Alien/Organic.

Requirements:

Time: 4 Hours Max
Due By: February 26

Brief Overview:
Create a Circle3D primitive in Zbrush using the SimpleBrush option(Make sure to also have EDIT mode on after you draw out your primitive). After that is done click "MakePolyMesh3D" to allow subdivisions & sculpting as seen below.


Using the Transform menu activate (Z)(M)(R) Symmetry by making sure they are highlighted as seen below.

*Be sure to adjust and keep aware of how high your Radial Count is

Have Fun!!!

WELCOME!!!

Hello and welcome to the first meeting of the Digital Clay Workshop!

This meeting is all about informing you, the potential members, what our goals and vision are for D.C.W. Our goal as a 'club' is to be noticed as a community using this blog and forums at SheltonAllen.com to network with other artists in the CG world whether you're an MA student or a GAD student networking is GOOD, it gets you places, gets you noticed, gets your work out there, and gets your work critiqued by your piers or professors and in some cases (possibly) companies.

Now comes the question, "What will we be doing in here?". In D.C.W. members/students will learn Zbrush from a sculpting approach and viable methods/workflow techniques that can be and are being used in the industry today. We wont only be bringing you this info through tutorials that we come across; in most cases we will also be going over a demo in meetings so if anyone has any questions about said method they can be asked and we can answer or research them.

"Learning is great but I wanna do something!", these meetings will be focused on hands on learning in Zbrush as well as participating in challenges, projects, group work, even bring in another class's project to Zbrush it up. Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate! While participating in these events or projects get up, walk around to other people's computers and if you find something interesting then ask how they did it. We learn how we do our own work mostly from the observation of others and by study. If there is an opportunity to work with cross major resources feel free to do so, GAD work with MA for FMV sequences for that cool game idea, or vice versa.

Thank you for your time and your participation,
Christopher M. Chinea