3D Artist No. 114
3D Artist magazine is a luxury title for fans of 3D software and the phenomenal images that can be created. Each issue is packed with advice and inspiration for 3D devotees, all written by first-class artists. The tutorials give readers valuable insight into the techniques used by 3D professionals, while interviews and features focus on the latest projects being created by commercial studios and freelancers. 3D Artist looks at the entire 3D world, from TV and architecture design, through to film work, concept art and character development. The unique 'Workspace' mini-mag is for people training for a 3D career and shines the spotlight on 3D university and college courses, in addition to specific career advice from experts in the field, interviews with 3D studios and recruitment agencies, plus tips for anyone starting out as a freelancer. Please note: Digital versions of the magazines do not include the covermount items or supplements that you would find on printed editions.
in this issue
welcome
Across the 3D community, there’s always one genre that seems to trump others when it comes to character concepts. And it’s no surprise. Science fiction is ingrained in our history of computer graphics, it’s the root of some of our dreams and innovations across the industry. But crafting inspiring character concepts is no mean feat, and this issue we have Goodbye Kansas senior character artist Daniel Bystedt to teach us some of his expertise! He explores techniques for beautiful character art using ZBrush 4R8 and Blender over on page 44. Elsewhere, we go behind the scenes of Pixar’s latest feature Coco, talk to the Mad Men of 3D, learn how to create Cinema 4D textile sculptures and get to grips with a ZBrush to Substance Designer to Unreal workflow. This issue we’ve…
the expert panel
DANIEL BYSTEDT artstation.com/dbystedt Daniel is a senior character artist at Goodbye Kansas Studios and is our cover artist this issue. He’s given us his steps for making stellar sci-fi concept sculpts. Read them on page 44. 3DArtist username N/A TIMOTHY DRIES timothydries.com As environment artist at Frontier Developments, Timothy has plenty of workflow tricks to make your scenes sing. Check out his ZBrush to Substance to UE4 tutorial on page 52. 3DArtist username Luxap ANDREW HODGSON andrew-hodgson.com Andrew specialises in hard surface models and concepts, so we thought there was no better person to teach us some pro techniques in Maya. Don’t miss his tutorial on page 60. 3DArtist username AndrewHodgson ANDREAS BARDEN andreasbarden.com Andreas’ awesome Cinema 4D abstract sculptures are a cloth simulation dream, so why not discover how you can re-create his incredible textiles over on page 70? 3DArtist username andibpunkt RAINER DUDA rd-innovations.de Rainer has…
the gallery
“This villa’s owner is a politician who is known for being classy and firm, so he asked that his room should express his own personality”Yahia Gamal Mattar, Immortalize, 2017 Yahia Gamal Mattar behance.net/yahia_matt4dbd Yahia is a freelance architect and architecture visualiser and his studio is located in Egypt Software 3ds Max, V-Ray and Photoshop Work in progress… “ This image is based on a concept by Jeff Delgado; a stylised rendition of Tim Murphy from Jurassic Park. I recently watched Moana and Big Hero 6 and was inspired by how well they mixed stylised shapes with realistic shaders. I wanted to tackle a character of a similar aesthetic focusing on lighting, expression and the hair especially”Omar Taher, Timmy, 2017 Omar Taher omartaher.com Omar is a 3D generalist specialising in modelling, texturing and lighting Software ZBrush, Maya, Substance Painter, V-Ray and…
making coco pop
Coco is Pixar’s 19th feature film, and in many ways is unlike anything the studio has done before. Following the adventures of 12-year-old Mexican boy Miguel, as he grapples with his family’s celebration of the Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) holiday, Coco is packed with colour and culture, along with some of the richest detail ever seen in a Pixar film. With insights from several of Coco’s key filmmakers, including director Lee Unkrich, 3D Artist goes behind the scenes of the technical challenges of the film. This includes a look at the massive CG sets and lighting solutions required to realise the Land of the Dead, insights into the simulation of bridges made of marigolds, how Pixar crafted crowds this time around and what other new tools…
behind a coco scene
01 Storyboard creation This storyboard by story supervisor Jason Katz was one of approximately 107,160 story panels provided to editorial during the making of Coco. The idea here is to rough out the scene. 02 Add colour and light Concept art, developed by the production designer and art department, takes the scene further and fleshes out the desired feelings of colour and light. This concept art piece was created by Sharon Calahan. 03 The layout Basic forms and shapes of the sets and characters are placed in the layout stage. Meanwhile, modelling and shading of these assets will be continuing to take place. Layout also involves the positioning of a virtual camera in tandem with the staging of the characters to work out appropriate camera angles. 04 The animation begins The animation stage.…
pixar’s timeline of tech
1979 PIXAR BEFORE PIXAR Before Pixar became the powerhouse animated feature production house it is today, its original incarnation was as The Graphics Group in the Computer Division of Lucasfilm. Here it pioneered computer graphics techniques, rendering and other digital filmmaking tools. Eventually, the unit would spin off as Pixar in 1986, continuing to produce short films and make technological leaps and bounds in computer graphics. 1988 RENDERMAN REVEALED, VIA THE TIN TOY SHORT Even before Toy Story was released in 1995, RenderMan was already in major use in VFX and animation, including, for example, at ILM on features such as Terminator 2. In 1993, the developers of RenderMan received a Scientific & Engineering Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It was the first Oscar awarded for a piece of…
