I would really like to say I got a lot done this week, and I did. I just don’t have a lot of art work to show for it.
If you remember I have the main character for the TKD Project created and it’s in a state ready to rig. The thing about that is that I have to learn how to do that. So, I have been watching an Introduction to Rigging in 3DS Max tutorial at Digital Tutors. A side note here. I love my subscription to Digital Tutors. It is some of the best training money I have spent. Now back to my week.The course I have been watching is 32 smaller segments and I have managed to watch them all. A few of them more than once. There was another course recommended repeatedly in the course I was watching and after looking at what it should cover, I have decided that I want to watch it too. It has 78 segments. I’ve got some homework to do for sure.
Just because I have the tutorials to watch doesn’t mean I have to stop work on the project. I still have a lot more modeling to do which you will have a chance to see and read about. I did work on some of this modeling this week. I got a couple of things for the TKD studio modeled. I started on a chair for the lobby and realized that I didn’t have a good enough picture in my head of it and how it worked. This send me to the web to an office supply place to look for pictures. I found some and have added them to my reference file. Now I have them to work from. Unfortunately, it meant that I had to completely scrap what I had
already done. A little disappointing but that seems to be how it is when you jump into something only partially prepared.
I did a little more work on that Dolphin sculpt in ZBrush. I started getting the eyes worked
out. I had tried to work on it a few days before and was just not having any luck. I was so not happy with how it was going that time that I didn’t even save any screenshots or renders of what it was looking like. This time though, I have made enough progress that I’m ok with, to save out a render or two.
As I was looking at some of the shots I found that I may have a little proportion issue happening. We’ll see the next time I go to work on it, if it’s still bothering me.
There was a notice this week that patch 3 is out for ZBrush 4r7 and it is highly recommended it be installed. It would be awesome if this would auto update from the menu but it looks like it is an uninstall and re-install update. These don’t make me really happy and it will take some time away from me getting other work done when I do it. But one of the things that is getting an update is the ZRemesher and since I am becoming a fan of that tool, I think I’ll update.
I don’t remember if I told you about this Sleigh Project I’m working on. If I haven’t then I will tell you, I have been working or creating the sleigh or sled in 3DS Max. It started out as me being curious if I could start with a tube and deform it in a manner to make it look like a sleigh body. Once I figured out that I could, I decided I want to develop that. So I worked on that a bit this week as well. Here’s a quick peek at it.
Though I did spend a lot of time working on the Sleigh and the TKD project and watching tutorials, I really don’t feel like I got much done because what I can show is so little. But there has also been a lot of thinking work happen as well and that by nature doesn’t always give you something physical or digital that you can hold up and say “Here. I did, this.” Some of that thinking time included a little clarification and direction for the story for the TKD project. That will help a lot. It looks like it is going to add a lot more work to it but if the story works out, I will be happy to have done the work.
I’m also still working on a logo for the business side. SusanG Productions, I think, should have some sort of visual to go with it besides just the name in a nice font on the business card. I’ve been working on all kinds of possibilities and I think I may have finally hit on one I like. I need to get it into the computer and test it out. If it works, I will be really happy. Sometimes the hardest person to do design work for is yourself.
Pixologic had announced that they will be holding the 2nd Zbrush Summit, once again at Gnomon School in California. It’s going to be the end of September. The exact dates are September 25-27. I’m very excited about this. I watched last year’s from home since they streamed it and it was really awesome, they will be streaming it again this year. However, since I have enough notice of when and where it is, I’m considering attending in person.