3D Worldの October 2024 の目次

The Gallery CG art to inspire “YOU NEED TO HAVE A BEAUTIFUL COMPOSITION OF IMAGES AND A PLAY OF LIGHT THAT TELLS A STORY” ARTIST Alexandre Mougenot SOFTWARE ZBrush, Maya, Arnold, Substance 3D Painter, Houdini, Photoshop “I was inspired by Alex Accorsi's illustration for Disney Lorcana, as I'm a big fan of all the illustrations made for the card game. I used software such as ZBrush and Maya for character and background modelling, and Substance 3D Painter for surfacing. For the hair I used Houdini, which in my opinion is the best software for grooming. I drew a lot of my inspiration from the lighting in films such as Migration and The Super Mario Bros. Movie as they were able to achieve a natural image exposure that's splendid. I love…

Feature Ultraman: Rising You can date Ultraman: Rising as far back as 2001, when the film was first born in the mind of writer and director Shannon Tindle. Pitched to a swathe of studios, the project was eventually picked up by Netflix and released back in June. The development work that had been undertaken over the previous two decades was there for Tindle, his co-director John Aoshima, and their collaborators at ILM Feature Animation to build upon. Key to the pleasure of Ultraman: Rising is in the way that it distinctively evokes the 1960s styling of the original Ultraman series, while possessing the visual identity and energy of a contemporary movie. The film is appropriately designed in terms of both characters and environments. Of the character design in the film,…

Feature The Garfield Movie Bringing a classic comic strip to life in an extra dimension is no simple task, but it was precisely the challenge required when creating The Garfield Movie. The vast cast of animal characters for the latest cinematic adaptation of Jim Davis' treasured lasagna-loving feline required an animation studio that was up to the task. Up stepped DNEG Animation. Led by director Mark Dindal, DNEG overcome unique challenges en route to wrapping up the May release. We caught up with Stephan Osterburg, DNEG Animation's head of rigging, to find out how the Ziva toolset helped to translate household names into 3D animation. What was DNEG's involvement in the Garfield movie? Stephan Osterburg: The Garfield Movie was produced by Alcon Entertainment and DNEG CEO Namit Malhotra's production company, Prime…

SPEEDTREE Working as a 3D generalist, my interests span across multiple disciplines in the CG world, but when it comes to vegetation creation the first software that comes to mind is SpeedTree. There are multiple versions of SpeedTree, and for this tutorial I'll be using the Modeler version. If you just want to follow along without paying out for the full package, a free learning version is available with all the same features, just without the option to export your creations. Using SpeedTree has added a whole new dimension to my work. The software's procedural nature combined with manual and more artistic tools is a perfect blend between artistic control and efficiency. It provides a powerful yet flexible system for generating incredibly realistic vegetation including trees, flowers, ivy, and so…

01 PUSH FOR REALISM Achieving realism in your 3D tree models requires attention to detail. Use high-quality textures and pay attention to the natural growth patterns of trees. It's good to vary the size, shape and orientation of branches and leaves to avoid uniformity. Incorporate subtle imperfections such as knots and bends in the trunk to add authenticity too. Lighting also plays a crucial role in realism, so ensure your model reacts accurately to light sources in your scene. Regularly reference real-world trees and study their structure and details to enhance your models. 02 THE WIND EDITOR Activate SpeedTree's Wind tools by pressing '8' while in the viewport. Adjust the strength and direction using the properties to create dynamic, lifelike animations with realistic wind effects. 03 TEMPLATES You can save your favourite settings…

01 PLACE THE OBJECT This tutorial was created using the POP 3 scanner and the iOS version of Revo Scan. In this image, the colour scanning option has been set, which is why the orange appears in colour. Be mindful that using colour scan creates a strobe effect from the scanner. Ensure the object is placed in even lighting, as seen from the colour and depth views, which will help you create an even scan. 02 CAPTURE THE SCAN When using the POP 3, it can take in every object it sees. To select only the required object, tools such as the Scan Distance button are available to set the depth that the scanner will use. The handy Base Removal tool can also intelligently remove an object's base plate. When the scan…

SOFTWARE: BLENDER Pietro Chiovaro replies I'm sure we've all seen amber fossils, famous for preserving ancient plants, insects and more just as much as their own gorgeous orange tint. It's absolutely possible for us to create a digital reconstruction of amber too, taking no more than five minutes in Blender with this swift workflow. Before we get going, make sure the Blender render engine is set to Cycles. After that we can create a new sphere and modify the shape a little to look like an amber gem, before creating a new material to apply to the model. Give your new material a recognisable name such as 'Amber material', which can be useful for keeping your own material library well managed. As always for materials, enable the Use Node option…

Follow the link to download your free files https://bit.ly/3dworld-ultraman MODELS AND TEXTURES EVERY MONTH Download these models and textures to use in your own projects FREE ASSET DOWNLOADS Download a set of fantastic objects and build your own asset library with these industrial models from in our monthly model and texture giveaway. BUILD A PROJECT WITH PERSONALITY Follow along with Julio Benavides' process as he sprouts ferocious flora using ZBrush and more. CREATE LIFELIKE TREES Learn how to generate perfect plants with Mario Leone's introduction to SpeedTree. NEXT MONTH Learn how to build a powerhouse 3D workstation with our best pro build. ON SALE 10TH SEPTEMBER Subscribe today: www.bit.ly/3dworld-subs…

The Gallery CG art to inspire “GETTING TO THE FINAL MODEL IS SO MUCH FUN, BUT CAN BE TRICKY AT TIMES” “I'm passionate about sci-fi designs, but my inspiration for this character was a mesmerising video of a blooming flower. I felt combining such a beautiful organism with a futuristic exosuit would make for a nice contrast to focus on while working. ZBrush was used for all the modelling as it includes a variety of tools to dynamically handle both organic and hard-surface objects. Getting to the final model is so much fun but can be tricky at times, which is why I figure out the design as much as possible in the blocking stages, sculpting just like I would with clay. Each part was detailed with tools like ZRemesher, ZModeler,…

The Gallery “This Breaking Bad-inspired project was a culmination of my passion for CGI and the iconic TV series. Using 3ds Max for modelling, Redshift for rendering, and Substance 3D Painter for detailed textures, I faithfully recreated every aspect. Marvelous Designer also helped me to achieve realistic fabric simulations for Walter White's clothing, while drone photogrammetry and RealityCapture were used to replicate the New Mexico landscapes. Collaborating with my skilled colleagues Orion Terry and Michał Bonczyk enriched the project. The most fulfilling part was blending CGI with real-world exploration and travel, bringing the RV to life in its natural setting, and any challenges were outweighed by the joy of seeing a beloved scene come to life.” instagram.com/john.zi ARTIST Piotr Tatar SOFTWARE 3ds Max, Redshift, ZBrush, Substance 3D Painter, Nuke, RealityCapture,…

All the characters in The Garfield Movie had a large variety of designs and volumes. There were small, round characters like Garfield and large characters with huge volumes, such as Vic and Roland. It was clear from the off that it would be a challenge handling the range of designs. Our goal was to provide animation with a fast rig that had high degrees of volume preservation as well as overall deformation. We felt that the traditional workflow of creating joint readers and corrective shapes would struggle with the broad volumes of our characters. We wanted to be able to create a more organic, natural result that usually comes from muscle simulations. Using Ziva Real Time was the solution to this problem. Ziva RT is a machine learning tool that…

The Pipeline Make lifelike trees and vegetation SpeedTree is an industry-standard software for creating realistic 3D vegetation and is widely used in gaming, film and archviz. Its robust toolkit enables artists to generate highly detailed trees, plants and foliage with ease. SpeedTree offers a procedural modelling approach combined with hand-drawn techniques, which means users can create unique, realistic assets. In this first section, we'll explore the basics, including the interface and key features, and run through a step-by-step guide to creating your first tree model. 01 SET UP YOUR PROJECT To begin using SpeedTree, first create your project. Open up the software and select a template that suits your needs. SpeedTree offers various templates, including broadleaf, tropical, vines and more, though you can always start off with a blank project. Once…

SOFTWARE: KEYSHOT Artist Q&A Your CG problems solved Paul Hatton replies Being able to simulate objects in 3D is an incredibly useful ability. One of the primary benefits is that it provides the ability to animate objects interacting with each other. Something that would have taken ages to keyframe can suddenly be achieved in a matter of minutes. There's something god-like in the ability to set something in motion and enjoy the simulated results moments later. The other benefit of physics simulation is the ability to place objects into a scene in a natural way. I first remember seeing 3D visualisers do this when visualising food items on a chopping board. Rather than painstakingly positioning a variety of cut pepper pieces, why not drop them from above the chopping board and…

Technique focus Speed up your hard surfaces Radu Mocanu artstation.com/radumocanu98 Radu is a hard-surface weapon artist from Moldova. He has two years of experience in video games and is a former graphic designer. SPEED UP YOUR HARD SURFACES I began this project by meticulously analysing references, which is crucial in creating 3D assets. For the blockout phase I used Plasticity, a piece of CAD software designed for artists, which accelerated my hard-surface modelling process by around 40 per cent. After exporting the model with high-density geometry, I polished the sharp edges and added details such as dents and wood damage using ZBrush, utilising its Morph function for flexible sculpting. MoI handled the CAD to geometry conversion, which provided the vast majority of the game-ready geometry, with the remainder refined in…

PRICE £47/$60 monthly / £310/$405 annual | COMPANY Chaos | WEBSITE chaos.com/corona AUTHOR PROFILE Paul Hatton After graduating with a first-class computer science degree, Paul Hatton has spent nearly two decades working within the 3D visualisation industry. + PROS Fast and interactive Great new features Backed by Chaos - CONS Scatter Instance Brush not available for Cinema 4D Separate subscription required for Vantage EXPORT TO CHAOS VANTAGE It's now possible to export directly from Corona to Vantage, which streamlines the process between final renders and real-time exploration. Vantage is getting better with every release and gradually closing the gap to offline renderers. Ever since Chaos's acquisition of the Corona renderer, the majority of features have revolved around integrating Chaos tools and technology into Corona itself. This isn't necessarily a problem,…

The Gallery CG art to inspire “I was aiming to enhance my skills in realistic character creation by working on a Vladimir Harkonnen project inspired by Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Two. Starting as a likeness exercise, it evolved into a full character project completed in my spare time. I gathered references and began sculpting from a base mesh with good topology and UVs, focusing on artistic details. Texturing was done in Substance 3D Painter with scanned textures, and the cloth was detailed in ZBrush. Iterations and feedback were crucial throughout the process. The final render was completed with Marmoset Toolbag 4.” artstation.com/srijanart ARTIST Srijan Maharjan SOFTWARE ZBrush, Maya, Marvelous Designer, Marmoset Toolbag, Substance 3D Painter, Photoshop “HARKONNEN EVOLVED INTO A FULL CHARACTER PROJECT, COMPLETED IN MY SPARE TIME”…

The Gallery The Rookies Discover your potential with The Rookies, the launchpad for emerging digital artists. At The Rookies, your work doesn't just get seen, it gets noticed and featured, just like this! Join a community where your journey from hobbyist to professional is supported every step of the way. WWW.THEROOKIES.CO SOFTWARE ZBrush, Maya, Blender, Substance 3D Painter, Photoshop YEAR CREATED 2024 I'd already done lots of sculpting and texturing practice before tackling this project, and I felt ready to really test my creative skills. I picked out a concept art piece created by Justin Gerard because they're challenging and truly enjoyable to bring to life in 3D. I absolutely love exaggerated expressions in character design, and creature modelling is my absolute favourite task. The design for this Werebat stole my…

Practical tips and tutorials from pro artists to improve your CG skills Like any good artist, I'm always searching for new and exciting ways to create stunning 3D visuals that evoke strong emotions. I love making digital scenes and assisting fellow artists; it brings me joy to lend an ear and offer support to others. Here I'm going to show you my new piece The Flower, which has been inspired by the artwork of Nestor Marinero and Kevin Martínez. For this project, I wanted to place my flower in different scenarios, play with its proportions, and highlight my favourite parts of the concept. I used a range of software to create this project, and always look to make the most of what each program offers to develop every step of…

Artist Q&A Your CG problems solved SOFTWARE: REVO SCAN Mike Griggs replies Creating bespoke 3D assets can be a chore, especially for those artists who are in a rush or don't have the skills to develop them using complicated software. To alleviate this problem, 3D scanning can be a great way to create assets quickly. There are numerous 3D scanning solutions; some use mobile phones, and it can be a quick, easy way to find a solution. However, the best results are achieved by those who own the latest phone hardware containing LiDAR scanners. Many of the top software packages are also expensive. An example of a dedicated handheld scanner is Revopoint's POP 3, which will set you back a lot less than a flagship phone and comes with free software…

The Hub The secrets of character design INDUSTRY INSIGHT News and views from around the international CG community For those seeking pro animation advice, the team at Outpost VFX is a mighty good place to start. They've just wrapped up work on Knuckles, a miniseries for streaming service Paramount+ based on the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. 3D World sat down with Outpost animation supervisors Oliver Dale and Peta Bayley, and creature supervisor Dan Zelcs to discover the secret of creating believable creatures and characters, and the nuances of character performance, whether for entirely photoreal or wildly stylised projects. The trio have a remarkable list of credits to their name, having previously worked on some of the most acclaimed and technically ground-breaking projects of the last 10 years, including Apple's lauded Prehistoric Planet,…

PROJECT INSIGHT The Hub The Imaginary Anime has provided various fascinating instances of British children's books being adapted for retelling on the screen. Among the most recent, Japanese animators Studio Ponoc looked to The Imaginary, written by A.F. Harrold and illustrated by Emily Gravett, as the starting point for a feature film that released last December. The animated adventure's story moves back and forth between the real world and a dazzling range of fantasy environments, following the journey of a group of imaginary friends. In bringing the known and unknown worlds together, a key point of the movie's aesthetic resides in its integration of 2D and 3D elements. The production worked with France-based Les Films du Poisson Rouge, an animation studio that has developed lighting and shading softwares. Those toolsets have been applied…