I am back from the trip to Los Angeles for this year’s ZBrush Summit put on by Pixologic. It was again held at the campus of Gnomon School, it the green screen hanger. I have to say, one of the things I like about this event being at the Gnomon School is all the cool art that you get to see as you walk around. It’s showcased everywhere. I should have taken pictures.
As always, there is so much information and great stuff being presented that by the end of the first day, my brain was already full. I liked getting so see the person behind the creation of the DamStandard brush. He was the first presenter and had a nice treat for all. He’s created a second brush which I will have to look for and download. The DamStandard brush is a favorite of a lot of people because it allows you to create really fine tight lines in the mesh. Sadly, I forgot what the difference is with the new brush. It was a long weekend. But as I recall, it will be a nice addition to the tool box.
I hadn’t really planned on watching the Funko presentation but am glad I did. It was really great to see an entire ZBrush panel of women. They were the only female presenters for the weekend, still, it was great. And it was interesting. It was all interesting. And since so much of it is a blur, I’m really glad Pixologic have posted it to their YouTube channel.
A few others that were there that I was wanting to see were Marvel Studios, because, it’s Marvel. Cki Vang because he was covering some hard surface stuff. Bungie, for the Destiny 2 weapons. I think the Rat King gun is awesome, what a concept. Ubisoft, because it’s Ubisoft. I hadn’t expected to watch Dan Katcher’s presentation. Mostly because, I didn’t know who he was and I was thinking I was going to need a break. But I watched it. And for you Game of Thrones fans out there. This is the guy who designed and modeled the dragons. Oh yeah. He was really interesting to watch and listen to. His was more of a demonstration presentation than some of the others and it was fascinating. I think most people were like I was, some what mesmerized as he put scales on the creature and then made them look real by adding depth and making them stand away from the surface.
Another presentation that I hadn’t really planned to watch, but, I am glad I did, was the ZBrush Awards. This is for people that have been posting on the ZBrush Central forum all year. There were categories for individuals as well as studios. For a couple of the awards there were the same 3 studios each for the same project. And even in some of the individual work I think one person received two or three awards. There were two acceptance speeches that I think were the best. Piotr from Flying Wild Hog just said “Thank you”. The other one was for the honorary award that they give out. The first year they gave it, it went to Rick Baker. This year it went to Sir Richard Taylor, co-founder of Weta Workshop. Take a moment, look them up. Weta Workshop. Yeah, got it? Sir Richard brought a 20 to 40 slide presentation with a complete narrative to share with us. He talked about all that Weta does, and is working on and how they have had to innovate to stay competitive and how integral ZBrush has been in helping them do that. It was really fascinating.
One of the interesting things I saw this year that I don’t recall seeing before was the number of presenters that came with full on presentations. They didn’t just bring a few portfolio pieces and then do a demo and sort of wing it. They did full presentations with slides and video, and also demonstrations. I think it demonstrated a different level of professionalism. Very much something to aim for. Not just their creations, also their presentation. I don’t know if people watching realized it, I didn’t at the time, but what we were seeing was a good demonstration of what I imagine they want to see in the work of a person applying to work for them. Not some renders on your phone. But a full, proper, presentation.
I think before the next one happens, I want and need to get my copy of ZBrush upgraded to 4R8 and whatever patch level it’s at now. There are so many new cool tools in it that it could really make some of my modeling go so much faster, if I would use it. And after this year’s summit, I really want to learn to use it.
So next up for me? Well, the second term of the VR class starts next week. That means I have the rest of this week to try to finish up the Christmas card. I’m also going to try to prioritize upgrading ZBrush. I will likely, also, go back to looking for assets for a VR project. Those probably aren’t the only things I’ll be working on, it’s just difficult to say what else I will get to.
Oh, and yes. My connecting flight home was an hour and a half late. At least it was the last leg of the trip. No pictures this week. I’ll try to do better next time. See you then.