My New Task
Hello, fellow Steemians. The tiger is back from the shadows again with a new post, and one that could, hopefully, lead to my posting with more regularity in here. I've been given a new task and it could well end up being my primary way of creating my artistic contributions at work, for the duration of the project.
To cut a long story short, I've been given a mandate to get up to speed on organic modeling and sculpting. My superiors gave me a month to re-familiarize myself with the process, and I am currently in my second week of learning. And, this blog will be my first post showcasing my long-dormant, and rusty 3D sculpting skills.
Sculpting 101
So, what is digital sculpting? It is a way of creating 3D models through a very specialized way that vastly differs from traditional 3D polygon modeling.
It is called sculpting because it literally resembles sculpting in the traditional sense, and it is done in a way that is best described as, drawing with clay in the air of the virtual world space in the viewport of the program.
If that sounds like fun, then you can bet your derriere that it is tons of fun, at least after you get past the headaches of learning the interface of this software that I will be using for it, most of the time.
The software I will be using is ZBrush, and it is made by company named, Pixologic.
Videos
Ask any 3D modeler you know about sculpting and they will tell you how difficult learning ZBrush is. The difficulty in learning it lies in the non-traditional design of its user interface. I can remember the first time I saw it back in 2003 and how I was pretty much blown away at how easy it makes it look easy to create organic shapes with it, particularly character and creatures heads, which were exactly what most ZBrush demo videos often show. And, that's exactly how one goes about learning it. But, like a lot of people at the time, I couldn't get into yet because of the damned interface. And now, seventeen years later, here I am using it and wishing I had persevered with it back then. If I had, then I'd probably be an expert with it by now. Hindsight is always 20/20.
This video shows the head of an ape-type creature and also the very first 3D model I've sculpted without giving up on it! Hurray! Anyway, I initially chose to sculpt an orangutan named Suzanne, who happens to be the mascot of the other 3D program I use, Blender.
I ended up creating a mash-up that looks like the unfortunate by-product of an unholy coupling between Suzanne and Thanos. My first effort was clearly intended to be cartoony, and satisfied with the way it turned, I stopped to have dinner, and hoping to get started on sculpting other things afterwards.
As you can see in this next video that I had more fun with the model, and decided to turn it from its cartoony incarnation to a realistic one. I liked so much how it turned that I thought of posting it here, as a way to introduce you to what will become my main way of creating 3D models for work, and also for blogging about on here. Feast your eyes on some more screenshots below.
Screenshots
I'm glad I was able to get into this software again without the difficulty I've experienced with it seventeen years ago. But then, being paid to do something difficult certainly makes it a bit easier.
And since this a mandated task, I will be sculpting things everyday. Another good thing is that I own everything I create with it, during the period I've been given to learn the software.
That means I am free to post them here. Our recent Internet connection upgrade to a fiber optic plan of 15 MBps is certainly going to help me a lot with all the sculpting timelapse video uploads I will be doing for my future blog posts.
It's now five in the morning. Time for me to get some shuteye.
So, that's all for now, folks. Thank you for reading, and I hope you found this post entertaining, or even helpful in some way. God Bless you all, and have a nice day.
This blog was created with eSteem Surfer, ZBrush, and GIMP.