Machinimal concepts 2

More silhouette ideas for the Machinimal project. I think we've narrowed it down to body type. We thought about going with a more insect-look, so I came up with variations of a grasshopper-like head. Then we decided we didn't want it to look too much like an insect, because then we would just be modeling an insect. We're happy with the quadriped body type and want to take that further. We also like the big knife-like mandibles. I think I'm ready to start some detail sketching.

Machinimal concepts 1

I started a new collaborative character design project that I hope to complete to finished 3D model with Joel Lueck.  The plan is for me to come up with the character designs and concept art, model sheets, color/material studies and textures.  Joel will do most of the 3D modeling, materials, lighting, and if we decide to take it further, character rigging for animation.  If it gets that far (and I hope it does) I plan on helping with the environment design and extra scene modeling.

The idea is to create a biomechanical organism that may or may not be a weapon; haven't decided yet.  Not just a cyborg or robot shaped like an animal, but a living thing made of composite tissue, muscles, metal, cables, nano-fibers, stuff like that.  I'm taking some inspiration from the works of H.R. Giger, among other places.

This is just a silhouette sheet, to give me an idea of what the general shape of the creature will be.  So far I like the bottom-left two.  I like the idea of a creature that moves like a primate.  I've always found the image of a gorilla charging very intimidating and scary.  I thought of that, only much faster and sleeker.  We may or may not incorporate guns into the creature; perhaps the creature itself needs no firearms.  Blades, however, might be cool.

Catalog sketch

I've found that sketching from clothing catalogs is a great way to practice drawing people. They contain great references for fashion, hair, anatomy and so forth. This sketch was from the Talbot's winter catalog. It keeps getting delivered to my house, addressed to the previous owners if you're wondering what I'm doing with a women's clothing catalog.

Art Nouveau Heather

I finished this portrait of my ex-girlfriend about 5 days before we broke up. I thought I'd post it here anyway. It was inspired by the art of Alphonse Mucha.

3D Bacteria

One of my tasks this week was to create some realistic-looking bacteria. This is what I came up with. I created a capsule with some mesh optimization and a VRayDisplacementMod modifier using a cellular procedural map. My material has a Diffuse map with a falloff and a Self-illumination map with a falloff and adjusted output levels to get that "overbright" look. The field of view and background effects are done in Photoshop.

3D Cell Phone Model

This is what I did at work last Tuesday. I built and modeled a cell phone in 3D for a project at work. Using my LG enV3 phone as a loose reference, I started with a box, 10 segments long, 6 wide and 3 deep.


I added an Edit Poly modifier and moved some vertices around.


I then added a TurboSmooth modifier.



I added another Edit Poly modifier on top of that, extending the length of some of the lower vertices and separately beveling the groups of polygons that make up the buttons and the screen.


I created a cylinder for the navigation/OK button.


I added an Edit Poly modifier, insetting and beveling polygon groups as needed.


First render pass, using VRay global illumination.


Second render, with preliminary materials.


Final render, with refined materials and texture map. The entire process, including waiting for test renders, took about 3 hours. Boom. Cell phone. Give me something hard next time (that's what she said).

Final Bullet - Finished!

After a few more days of tweaking and adding detail, I'm calling this one finished. First, I decided I didn't like the direct lighting on the dreadlocked figure in the background. His definition just made him look too much like a foreground figure. So I restricted my background hunters to silhouettes with rim lighting. They look much more sinister that way.



I adjusted the cloth wrappings around his ankles based on some photoreference sources. I added detail to the vertical pipe. I like that smaller pipe that snakes around; it adds interest. I also added a layer of grime to the main character and refined his hair and facial blending.



Then came the ground itself. Man, I need some training and tutelage on how to draw ground junk. I spent most of today working that up, with lots of false starts. Nothing looked right to me. Junk, rubble, clutter, detritus, I've always had a problem with that. Maybe I'm sweating it too much, because it's not the focal point, but I'd like to get better at that area of painting and concept art. I think I just need to practice painting from real scenery or just go to a junkyard and take a whole bunch of photoreference. Overall I'm quite happy with how it turned out, though. I think this is one of my best paintings yet.