Ben Hobden - Horror Challenge - Page 5 - Simply Maya User Community

# 61 27-08-2010 , 10:48 PM

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Ive made the beginnings of the set. It kind of looked a bit funny I thought. I think because ive been lighting it as I go along, had the thought that it would be better if I just relit it at the end when Ive finished making it all. But I did a render test to see if I could render the background at the same time as the creature, expecting mental ray to crash. But it didnt. So I thought I'd post the result up, which gives an idea of the direction I want to take this. I will add some more detail to the background, both for interest and for composition sake, but the overall effect is there or there abouts, with the aquamarine colour working off the red and blue lighting on the character. I played around with some stuff in Photoshop on top. Just playing, wanted to add some DOF in the final render.

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# 62 27-08-2010 , 10:58 PM

The thin red line
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This was a win for me Ben not what you have done after..............dave

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# 63 28-08-2010 , 12:25 AM

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Like the green thinking there ben.....still have the soul light there?

cheers bullet

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"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes

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# 64 28-08-2010 , 01:38 AM

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cheers bullet, yeah, the green really works i think. the glow has gone, the volume light around his face is still there, yeah, will prob tone that down also

im torn dave. im disheartened you dont like the image, im pretty pleased with it, and more so because i know theres more i can do to improve it. i agree that it is a shame some detail/form has got lost in translation. i struggle to see that wip shot ending in a better image than what i have in maya though, if i worked it up in z. perhaps im not looking hard enough. i shall sleep on it.

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# 65 28-08-2010 , 01:48 AM

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bah...I think its fine and you are doing well. There are always improvements you can make mate...dave is but another pair of eyes and that is a good thing mate. Better to have comment than none at all I say....I think he is also making light of the model LOL (depends on how many beers he has had).

I think now the red light has to go...it is taking away the green hue mate..which I might add has given the image that old B&W TV about to die feel..if you know what I mean.

Keep going man.....I like it...make a good tattoo actually....if you finish it well I might even consider asking your permission to get it in ink on my arm.

cheers bullet

edit: I still think the main character should be B&W with the green fog/hue JUST visible in colour...it gives it more menacing a feel IMO.

bullet1968

"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes

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# 66 28-08-2010 , 08:58 AM

The thin red line
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Sorry Ben
I think I am old school horrer, I just think you are loosing to much detail taking it out of zbrush. In the end you must listen to what you think is wright..........all the best...........dave

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# 67 28-08-2010 , 12:02 PM

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Yeah, fair play. I think ive reached the point where ive looked at this so much, im finding it hard to tell if im seeing it more in my head than what is actually there. When I look at it I visualise alot of detail and some lighting that id like to add. And I judge it on what I can see it becoming, perhaps, rather than whats there. On that note I might be being too stubborn and set in my ways to change track. But I dont want to be someone who cant take on board constructive criticism.im liking having the opportunity of working in maya as it gives me a chance to go over and refresh some of the stuff I learned on that lighting and rendering course I did.

I was still interested in following that zbrush rendering workflow. One of the ideas ive had floating about, as I said before, was of this maya shot, being like a film still. As ive been working on it, ive been picturing it being like the main image on a movie poster, with film title above and actors names/credits/release date or whatever elsewhere. The best I can think of so far is to present the image that way, therefore I could follow the zbrush route also and have that elsewhere in the poster? Thats something id like to try. I dont think ill be able to do to much more until the middle of next week now, thatll be the next opportunity I have to spend any prolonged amount of time on it.though I may be able to fit in some bits and pieces. Im gonna seek out some second opinions in the meantime, I know I can be as one track minded as they come.

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# 68 29-08-2010 , 11:56 AM

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ps bullet, if you want as a tattoo, no problem. just be sure to post some pics if you do.

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# 69 29-08-2010 , 09:04 PM

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no problem mate...now just to ask the missus for the money...bahahahahaha

cheers bullet

bullet1968

"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes

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# 70 03-09-2010 , 10:54 AM

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thought Id post some updateson this to bring up to speed. The amount of geometry in my scene has finally exceeded mental ray, well, my computer. So Im having to break this scene up into two parts for compositing, the character, and then the set. I've been having a go at doing some post work in photoshop every now and then to have a look - Im pretty settled on what Im aiming for now for the final image. But still got some tweaks to make.

I managed to get some more detail out of zbrush. As usual it has brought some cons aswell as pros so I need to go back to z to smooth out some areas, but basically, where I had used layers to hold each part of the finer details on the model, they were all set at like o.1 or o.2 or 0.4, as these settings gave the most subtle and realistic results. But obviously they werent transferring across to Maya. In a moment of pondering (one of many!), I realised I could increase the depth settings on the layers in z to then create my normal map. Which I did. SO, the detail around the hand and wrist has increased, but some funky stuff has started happening around the elbow area. So need to go back into z and sort that out. Im also not to happy with the teeth, and unsure what to do for his right (as we look at it) eye. I had a go at painting it in with like a light glint in PS, but not 100% satisfied with it. So might actually create and textur some geometry for it. Also the lighting set up, as its playing out, is possibly meaning I will have to create some legs for him. And still have it in mnd to maybe create a new left arm that will curl forward and into the front of the shot.

Below is a picture of the background set layer as it stands. Just about done I think. It looks quite gaudy and not lit so well, lacking detail etc, but what I do with it in PS takes care of that. (I think)

Hope every one is getting on well.

Ben

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# 71 03-09-2010 , 01:19 PM

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Mate....Im glad to see you print this...if I may copy and save your findings into my archive?

No I havent touched mine....glad to see you are.

The greenish hue and B&W LOL

fog...some greeny fog

bullet1968

"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes

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# 72 04-09-2010 , 06:18 AM

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Would you listen if I said no? user added image

Yeah, of course, glad to help if it ever comes in handy. its nothing major, just as its the first time ive used layers in zbrush, not used to thinking like that. There are probably more experienced zbrushers who would read that and think 'doh, why didnt you do that in the first place you idiot', but thats part of what these competitions are about isnt it.

The greenish hue has and will remain. I actually played with making a black and white version in photoshop. And a sepia one too, which has become my new screensaver, ha ha.

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# 73 04-09-2010 , 07:09 AM

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LOL brilliant mate...well anyone with an ego may say "idiot..why didnt you do that". Yes mate..thats what this comp is about...FUN..learning and helping others.

I HAVE ALWAYS put myself in a position to help people in regards to my Survey knoweldge mate...I abhor those who think their s**t dont stink or feel threatened by young uns (Im old) who may be able to do it better or faster.

The way I see life is this...if I can help some one be better..faster or more efficient than me...bloody well done and I have done a good job. Im a freak...I dont feel threatened...I actually feel proud that I may have helped somebody acheive a high standard. I have dealt with a LOT of guys in my industry who are anally retentive when it comes to teaching. Keep up the good work mate!

Cheers bullet

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"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes

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# 74 06-09-2010 , 10:56 AM

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Hi all. I've started to feel a bit wierd about this. Almost like after the opening few weeks, I've started to look at what Im doing/have done, differently. I cant tell whether I like it or not.

In this, I hope I am right in saying that I have managed to bring out some more of the detail around the hand area. The elbow is a mess, and some of the lines across his upper chest area have always bugged me, so I plan on having another session in ZBrush where to try and smooth out those areas.

I dont like his mouth. His mouth and his face. Something about them is bothering me. I made some gums for him, which I completely forgot about, and the teeth in this image were rendered seperate and then pasted in, so when I redo the zbrush, I will render him anew with teeth and gums included which should make them look a little more like they belong there.

Im also considering whether to open his right eye up. I guess it was supposed to look like he'd lost his eye or something, but I just think theres not enough interest in that part of the image. Im thinking about cutting some of the polys there and replacing with a sphere which I can use to create an eye. Or perhaps I could even build some robotic/terminator style metallic bits to overlay any dodgy areas.

I do still plan on making him a left arm also.

Most importantly for me, theres something about his skin I dont like. I think it's a combination of Dave's view that there is just a lck of finer detail, skin pores, etc, and the shader. I have a sub surface scattering shader on him, which I have left at just the default settings. But theres a hardness to his skin still. Almost like, a lack of ambient occlusiony-ness. I have tried an Ao render and putting this into the mix but it doesnt quite work how I want. Perhaps its the specular highlighting thats too hard. I may play with the shader when I make that last push to correct some of the detail/smoothing issues.

I had thought about extending the image up so I could make some kind of city background, but when experimenting with this, it really blew the composition, and the top of the frame really does look best, in terms of him, where it is, just above his head, I think.

This is the overall look I think I am settling on. But with these above changes to make/add. When I have done them, I shall see how I feel, and, with so much time remaining, perhaps I will start something else.

This being the first challenge here, or elsewhere, I have tried, its been good that the deadline is far off, because, where typically, I probably would have moved on, or settled for less, the deadline makes you really push on and fix or try to improve things that otherwise I might not have.

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# 75 06-09-2010 , 11:23 AM

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Mate...you are doing better than I.....

I will say (Im a noob so ignore me if Im wrong LOL) I think his skin now looks like wax or plastic...if you get my drift??

I think with the backlight you have lost too much detail on his front....its in too much of a shadow. Dont know if you can lighten it maybe a tad?

With the elbow I would pull the upper left out just a touch..to round it off a wee bit and slightly close off the channel running from the outer elbow down the forearm.

I wouldnt give him a full eye mate...it looks ok but maybe can you open it a little??? Give it a fat/black eye look...like a boxer.

Maybe add some texture to the skin...like smeared sandpaper or something? and what colour will it be?? Maybe a lightish grey with a blue/green hue..like a cadaver. I did prefer the B&W thing (sorry personal pref)...

Dont give up mate...I nearly did but Mayaniac saved my arse...so if I can keep going..so can you.

Cheers bullet

bullet1968

"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes

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