Week 1:
Mood Boards
Skyfall
- Fog
- Atmospheric
- Scottish Highlands
- Stone buildings
- Mountains
- Greens and browns
- Clouds
- Peaceful setting
Blade Runner
- Neon
- Industrial
- Metal works
- Cityscape
- Light flare
- Rain
- Smog
Savannah
- Desert
- Dust
- Foliage
- Wildlife
- Rocks
- Sunset
- Dry grass
Live Brief Final:
Skyfall Scene
Original images used for the final composition:
Elements Used:
Final Comp:
Savannah Scene
Original images used for the final composition:
Elements Used:
Final Comp:
Blade Runner Scene
Original images used for the final composition:
Elements Used:
Final Comp:
Breakdown:
Live Brief 02
Frankenstein
- Zbrush Frankenstein monster
- Simple but suspenseful
- Lay on operating table
- Half covered by sheet
- Black and White theme
- Blue tone
- Head turn and eyes open for movement
- Close up shot
- Pan up length of body to face
- Grain
Inspiration Mood Board
Rough Composition and Lighting:
Create the Frankenstein monster, inspired by 1931 movie, strapped to table. Low lighting with blue tone hue. Blue tone used a lot in Guillermo del Toro movies to set night scenes. Camera pans up covered body to face. Eyes open.
Sculpt
References:
Process:
I used Zbrush to sculpt the Frankenstein character. Lying him on a rectangle (the bed) and sculpting a belt strap across his chest as if keeping him lay down.
As the body was going to be hidden under a sheet which I made using the cloth simulator in Zbrush, I focused only on sculpting from the neck up.
I extracted the material around the neck an shoulders to create a t-shirt and added some creasing and seam details.
For the head I gave him larger proportions that a normal human a he is supposed to be made from random body parts stitched together. I elongated the forehead and squared off the top and sides of the head. I pulled down the chin and jaw to make him more aggressive looking and brought the eyes closer together based off the references I used.
I gave him a larger nose and sunken eyes that are covered by the shelf of his forehead and eyebrow bone. I used the IMM brush and 2 cylinders to make the the bolts in his neck.
For the stitches and staples I just used the standard brush to build up parts of the sculpt where the stitches would join the pieces of skin. I used the Alpha brush to create pores and skin textures.
Base model that I sculpted over the summer was used as a starting point.
I added a cube and elongated it to fit the body. I moved the arms to sit by his side using the transpose tool.
Using the cloth simulator I added this sheet which I dropped over the body and froze.
I then started using the reference images to begin sculpting the facial features.
Adding the bolts using 2 cylinders and the IMM bolts tool.
Creating the stitches and skin parts using the dam-standard, standard and inflate brushes.
Creating the belt using a cylinder and the IMM clothing brush to make the buckle and studs.
Test with harsh lighting in Zbrush.
Importing all the separate parts into Maya and added materials.
Adding lighting and blue tone in Maya.
I then created the eyes in Maya using textures and bump maps from a previous year.
Final Video Clips with different colour grades:
Frankenstein Breakdown:
Week 4
Wall-E Brief
Keywords
- Shallow depth of field
- Desert colours
- Dust
- Abandoned
- Sense of loneliness
- Rust
- Matte metals
- Vast cityscape
- Rubble
- Post-apocalyptic
Colour Palette
Mood Board
Image 1
Paper/rubble blowing across the scene. Point of focus being drawn by the path leading towards horizon. Piles of debris and discarded building lining the road. Skyscrapers in distance. Sense of isolation and loneliness. Instead of the view being blocked like in below image, continue the line of sight right to the horizon with the sun blazing onto the remaining cityscape in the distance.
Action Plan
Week 1
- Block out cityscape with basic shapes to get an idea of placement and scene.
- Model building in Maya and send basic models to Jo for destruction.
- Sculpt skyscrapers of rubbish in Zbrush and texture with polypaint.
Week 2
- Texture Maya building models in substance painter.
- Find megascans assets to support the scene i.e. rubble, bricks, lampposts, ground.
- Place all environment assets into Maya and create scene.
- Set up camera for the final shot.
- Set up lighting with directional light coming from off camera to create strong shadows.
Week 3
- Render scene with camera and lighting to give to Jo for Nuke comp.
- Render together in Nuke with Jo’s particle effects and building destruction simulation.
- Colour grade scene.
Build Process
Grey Block Scene:
I started by blocking out the scene using basic shapes to get a sense of what I wanted the scene to look like. I also adding in the camera so I could plan the camera angle and place the geometry accordingly. 
Basic Skyscraper:
I then modeled a simple skyscraper building that will be used in the skyline of the scene. I did this by using a cube and extruding the sides to make the panels around the windows. I then used the duplicate special to add more rows and columns until I reached the desired size. As I planned for this building to be more in the distance I didn’t need to add too much detail as it wouldn’t be seen closely. I added basic materials of chrome for the structure and glass for the windows so that it would reflect the lighting well.
Shop Building:
I then modelled a shop building that will be in the foreground of the scene. I wanted it to have more detail than the skyscraper as it would be in focus. I added wires and pipes on the side facing the camera for extra detail. I wanted the building to look more industrial which is the style I tried to replicate with this building.
Skyscraper 2:
I started with a basic shape but added details with the building paneling and an air-conditioner unit on the side of the building as well as some wires connecting it. I kept the more rustic industrial look with building also to tie in with the shop model.
House
I used the model of the shop above to make some variations of houses/low buildings. I kept the empty futuristic feel of the original and just expanded the size. I changed the angles so I could use the building on both sides of the shot. I added some more wires and pipes to the front for a more undone look.
I combined both building to make a two-story version that I felt looked well matched together.
I then used the skyscraper model from before to make a different version with a pointed top. I kept the rustic look of the structure and added a steeple on top as well as a version with signs for a hotel. This way I had three versions of the taller buildings to use.
I then put all the building into the greyblock scene to test what they looked like all together through the camera angle. I used Google Maps to find some street view references as a base for my own camera angle. The results are below.
References:
Test Scene 1:
This was with a 35mm focal length which I felt was too close and made the scene look too crowded. I wanted more negative space in the middle and more of a sense of distance and vastness.
Test Scene 2:
This was with a 20mm lens which was an improvement on the original but still didn’t quite capture the sense of vastness I wanted. However I did pace apart the building more and create a space where the horizon is in the distance, this draws the eye into the distance and creates a sense of distance.
Test Scene 3:
A wider lens of 15mm made the shot look more vast and scenic. I felt it made the city have more of a focal point and draws the eye into the horizon now that I created more space between buildings.
Textures:
I then added some base textures in Maya to see how the scene looked collectively and get a better idea about colour palette and tones.
I then worked on the UVs for each of the buildings so that they were ready to take into Substance Painter to be textured.
I textured in Substance Painter on the buildings and then brought it back into Maya to make sure the UVs worked and the textures would transfer. I then used Substance painter to texture all the buildings plus the ground plain with run-down looking textures to match the post-apocalyptical theme of the scene.
Textured scene in Maya with camera imported. This is a still frame of the full textured scene.
I then did a low quality playblast to check the positioning was the same as the test scenes for earlier in the project and that the camera was working.
Final Scene:
Adding a glass texture. I applied a physical sky just for test rendering purposes.
I then took a 3D Scan of mince pies for tabletop decoration done in on my iPhone in Polycam. I plan to have the plate sat besides the whiskey to add to the Christmassy feel, as well as try out scanning for the first time.
Adjusted camera angle for grey box scene. After feedback the camera angle starts lower.
Santa sculpt references:
Zbrush sculpt base body:
For this sculpt I used the base male model provided by zbrush as I knew the whole model would not be visible in the final scene. I adjusted the body type to match the reference of Santa that I used. I then sculpted clothes and base hair on to the model as well as use polypaint to add texture. I then sculpted the hair and beard from spheres and attached them on to the model. 
I then took the model into Maya and applied a quick character rig using the Quick Rig Tool. I then used this to position the Santa into a sitting position.
I then brought all my own assets: the Whiskey Bottle and Glass (hero objects), the Santa characters, the fire simulation, the portrait of Santa and his wife and the 3D scan of the mince pies into a Maya scene to start building the final scene. I then used a mix of Megascan and Sketchfab assets to dress the rest of the scene to create a cozy living room decorated for Christmas. (The Christmas tree was a 3D scan I found and the others assets were models.)
Scene before lighting:
Scene with lighting:
I used a sky dome on low intensity to get the whole scene lit and then added a directional light emitting from the fire to give the room an orangey glow. I wanted the scene to be quite dark and have a cozy quiet ambience as if Santa had got home late into the night.
I also added a picture frame with a hand drawn picture of Mr. and Mrs. Claus to make it look like their home. I used the image taken from my sketch at the beginning of the project and added some color. I kept it basic as I knew it wouldn’t be in shot for long and didn’t want to use up too much time on it.
Here I rendered a test play blast of the full scene with animated camera.
I then sourced some piano music for Auld Lang Syne to fit over the top of the video to tie in with the Scottish heritage of the whiskey. I took the rendered images and pieced together the final video in Premier Pro.
Below is the final Christmas Advert:
Christmas Advert Breakdown:
Challenge Brief:
Focusing on character modelling.
I am going to recreate the stylized character Caitlyn from the game ‘League of Legends’ in Zbrush. I’m using this challenge brief to work on sculpting high quality clothing to improve on this skill.
Below are my references:
Progress screen shots:
Due to time constraints I used the Zbrush female base model to begin with for the general form. I then used the extract tool to starting making the individual pieces of clothing.
I used the inflate and dam standard tools to create the ruffles on the shirt and skirt hem. I used the pinch tool to create seems around the shoulder pads and collar of the jacket to give a more structured look. I appended cylinders to create the belt and harness strap which I will embellish later on.
I then started modelling the boots using a variety of shapes (sphere, cube and cylinder) to create the general form then using the move tool to mold it around her feet and legs.
I made the belt with bullets out of cylinders that I smoothed and moved into shape around her waist. I applied this techniques to all the straps and harnesses on her clothes.
I used cylinders that I scaled thin at one end to create some stylized eyelashes, I then applied them one by one around the upper lid to give the eyes more definition.
The rest of the clothes where modelled in similar ways to the previous, either extracting parts and moving into position or using basic shapes to sculpt and smooth into the right shape.
For the hair I separated it into three pieces, 2 for the fringe pieces and one for the body of hair at the back. I then used the damstandard and inflate tools to sculpt strands into the hairs.
I then made the leg holsters and ammo boxes attached. I used cubes and cylinders for the basic shapes then used the pinch tool to create sharper edges. I used the move tool to make the smaller details such as the straps, buckles and clasps.
The buckles were made from spheres that I cut in half then used the move tool to mold into the shape seen below. I then molded cylinders into the strap ends and placed them under the buckles to look like they are attached.
Buttons were made by cutting spheres in half and placing them down the boots. The boot decorations where cylinders that I scaled to wrap round the legs.
For the face I used my references to make her look feminine and used the move, standard and inflate tools to achieve the same look.
The gloves were extruded from the characters hands then moved to sit loosely round the wrists. I used the pinch tool to create the crease details.
Flat Colour:
I applied basic colours to the model to plan out where the different items of clothing were and how I would approaching texturing them.
Texture:
I used Zbrush Polypaint to texture the model. I used my references to get the colours of the clothes right and then added my own touches such as wear and tear marks, seams, brushed metal look and creases. I kept the detail fairly subtle to keep the stylized look.
The below images are BPR render shots from Zbrush:
I then posed the character using the transpose tool and sculpted a turntable out of cylinders. I then used the turntable movie render to make my final turntable below.
Final Posed Shot
Final Turntables:
Final Full Show Reel for Live Brief Module:
Final Full Breakdown Reel for Live Brief Module: