Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted October 18, 2011 Advanced Member Share Posted October 18, 2011 If there's one single subject of study that will immensely improve the abilities of any artist, it's the study of anatomy. And we, the beneficiaries of the computer graphics revolution are fortunate enough to have at our disposal the resources and tools that only a very few wealthy people or people fortunate enough to be patronized by the wealthy and enlightened could experience. We have a sculpture studio on our desk capable of amazing things. Man is the microcosm of the universe, and if we master the art of sculpting, drawing, and painting man to excellence then we master all... Therefore I want to consacrate this thread to the study of anatomy, mainly human but also animal. My own struggles to master anatomy have paralleled my struggles to obtain some mastery over this new medium. Early on I assumed that NURBS was the only way to model and my struggles to create the kind of complex irregular surfaces one encounters in the biological world repeatedly frustrated me. Then I discovered SubD polygonal modeling and the advent of Zbrush and I was able to make further progress. But there again the difficulties imposed by the topology of a subD polygonal object raised all sorts of difficult barriers. Of course we have the examples of Zack Petroc over as Zbrush but I wasn't really inspired to undertake this work, the work of constructing the human form from it's individual constituent parts in all their detail and beauty until I came across 3d Coat and Leigh Bamforth's superb tutorial series on the human skull that I got the courage to try again. That's when I decided to buy 3d Coat and get into Voxel sculpting, which I feel is the way of the future. http://vimeo.com/channels/ljbsculptingtutorials So join me and contribute your own serious efforts at mastering this difficult and rewarding subject. I'm not going to stop this thread until I die or triumph.. In the process I hope to be sharing resources that all can use. I own a real human skelton that I purchased in 1980 and I've been gathering texture palettes that I will be posting for everyone's use here as well as models and 2d resources. I hope you too will have resources you can share with us... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted October 18, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted October 18, 2011 Here's an experiment from when I first bought 3d Coat when I was struggling to learn how to get thin walled surfaces...it's a study of the interior of the skull, just a crude sketch but still successful in that I got what I wanted from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contributor Tony Nemo Posted October 19, 2011 Contributor Share Posted October 19, 2011 Apropos, here is an example of medical animation: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=xMYjfb_M9wM&vq=large Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member Garagarape Posted October 23, 2011 Advanced Member Share Posted October 23, 2011 Great job there! If you look into Leigh Sketch book you'll see similar attempt. He also covered bone model with flesh, but using the "muscle" tool I think. Keep on the good job! "Allez les bleus!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member michalis Posted October 23, 2011 Advanced Member Share Posted October 23, 2011 I like to join this effort. So many times I posted opinions a bit agains anatomy. The basic principles of composition, of sculpting have little to do with anatomy. Anatomy is an analytic approach but may be an inspiration to sculpt even crazy things. In any case I like to participate. I had some hard time, searching the web for some interesting references. On interesting poses. A simple chart on a T like pose doesn't help me. What comes from bones, what from muscles, when looking at the surface... When all these details becoming soft, what part is still sharp and visible... Anatomy is an idea after all, it can also serve psychology, expressionism etc. Analysis is the appropriate word. I think so. But, most of all, observation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted October 23, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted October 23, 2011 I like to join this effort. So many times I posted opinions a bit agains anatomy. The basic principles of composition, of sculpting have little to do with anatomy. Anatomy is an analytic approach but may be an inspiration to sculpt even crazy things. In any case I like to participate. I had some hard time, searching the web for some interesting references. On interesting poses. A simple chart on a T like pose doesn't help me. What comes from bones, what from muscles, when looking at the surface... When all these details becoming soft, what part is still sharp and visible... Anatomy is an idea after all, it can also serve psychology, expressionism etc. Analysis is the appropriate word. I think so. But, most of all, observation. That would be excellent michalis. You're a very knowledgeable and talented guy. I look foward to seeing your contributions to it. Maybe it'll inspire me to get off my lazy ass and start working on it. And I agree that the mechanical approach to anatomy is not the be all and end all to sculpture, but it's an essential fundamental skill that allows the higher functions of the art to flourish on top of a firm foundation of correct knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted October 24, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted October 24, 2011 Got to get rolling on this now...there's a lot of work ahead.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member michalis Posted October 27, 2011 Advanced Member Share Posted October 27, 2011 These are great !!! And great texturing. Just to warm up this thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted October 27, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted October 27, 2011 These are great !!! And great texturing. Just to warm up this thread http://vesalius.northwestern.edu/ https://rs111l32.rapidshare.com/#!download|111l34|261998998|Vesalius.__De_Humani_Corporis_Fabrica__1543_.PDF|97234|R~E0A6D062F7C0F052832F1B150872CEA4|0|0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted November 8, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted November 8, 2011 I was really stoked for my mirror project then I went dead after I finished it. Call it procrastination, laziness, artist's block it wasn't fun. I wasted the last two weeks being bored, vexed annoyed, frustrated. Albrecht Durer made a superb etching on this subject, called Melancholia...Saturn exerts it's malign influence upon creative people...and they sink into a paralyzing depression... Anyway, last night I'd had enough and set to work despite feeling depressed, or rather overwhelmed by all the problems that this medium presents to me, particularly in texturing. And after just a little bit of work I felt a whole lot better... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reputable Contributor digman Posted November 8, 2011 Reputable Contributor Share Posted November 8, 2011 Been there, done that... I once took off 3D work for about 6 months and just did all 2D painting. I hope to join your anatomy project once I get some more rest... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member moska Posted November 9, 2011 Advanced Member Share Posted November 9, 2011 you should check Ryan Kingslien. although its on ZB he is the most commited to anatomy i v seen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted November 11, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted November 11, 2011 So I brought the skeletal foot piece by piece as exports from Maya to .obj into 3d Coat as voxels but each piece was hollow. How do I bring this stuff in as a solid not as a hollow voxel object? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted November 11, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted November 11, 2011 OK I see my mistake; I don't want to "Merge as Skin"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reputable Contributor digman Posted November 11, 2011 Reputable Contributor Share Posted November 11, 2011 The foot is an amazing part of the human anatomy... a good one to study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted November 12, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted November 12, 2011 So I finally got it right and loaded the foot in as a set of discreet solid individual bones. Too bad you can't import a layered mesh from Maya..I kept making stupid mistakes until I woke up from my stupor and did it right. These short gloomy days are making me sluggish and stupid right now. Now I can start really sculpting and texturing it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reputable Contributor digman Posted November 12, 2011 Reputable Contributor Share Posted November 12, 2011 I decided to a general anatomy man first. This is a very rough work so far with lots of anatomy not quite right... I broke symmetry very earlier in the process and no references used so far, just to push myself some. I will use references though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member michalis Posted November 12, 2011 Advanced Member Share Posted November 12, 2011 I did hundreds of drawings on paper, (no digital) lol. On Michelangelo's work, on anatomy charts, on Da Vinci's drawings, ancient greek sculpture etc etc. Still confused. Something I'm working on. Unfinished. I mean I have one almost complete but some anatomic issues here and there , he he . Though rendered in zb-bpr only a few strokes added, basically a voxel based sculpting. Because I love the natural way I can subtract massive pieces of stuff (3DC) It's the light important for me, not the logical enclosure. BTW I believe that symmetry doesn't help on this kind of experiments. Just for fun... it looks like a portrait now, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted November 13, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted November 13, 2011 I played around a bit with Live Clay but got some crazy explosions of the surface...glad I backed things up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member michalis Posted November 13, 2011 Advanced Member Share Posted November 13, 2011 Very nice L'Ancien Regime, waiting for muscle layers and we call all try some studies of human feet. Another interesting video: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted November 13, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted November 13, 2011 Very nice L'Ancien Regime, waiting for muscle layers and we call all try some studies of human feet. Another interesting video: Very cool michalis...thanks.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted November 14, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted November 14, 2011 The voxel sculpt is complete. Now for the creation of individual Autopo for each bone/layer. Then production of UV and normal maps for each polygonal mesh produced. Then I can start painting colour/bump/specularity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted November 14, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted November 14, 2011 OK so I Autopo'd the Calcaneus, and then redid the UV mapping to my liking...and that went well but when I went to the Paint Room the polygon surface is totally black. What did I do wrong? Are the normals flipped the wrong way or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reputable Contributor digman Posted November 14, 2011 Reputable Contributor Share Posted November 14, 2011 I know what the problem is and how to fix it. 3DCoat is not seeing your voxel model... flip polys is not the problem. This problem seems to appear when we use an imported model that we merged to the voxel room and "use names correspondence for baking" is selected. How to fix: First get rid of the top empty layer in the retopo room. The one that 3DCoat puts there by default. That I believe causes the problem. It seems to affect the baking when "use names correspondence for baking" is selected which I assume you have selected. Make sure your group names match the voxel layer names. Just to keep things tidy correct your uvmap name set when merging. If I have a uv map set named "man", when I merge (bake) 3DCoat wants to change the uv map set name to "man_man". I correct that and I rename it back to "man" before baking. How I know about this is it happened to me awhile ago. I had to this morning drink my coffee and get my brain going to remember the steps to fix it. I recreated your problem and then fixed using the above method.. It's a bug I think in that new feature (use names correspondence for baking) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reputable Contributor digman Posted November 14, 2011 Reputable Contributor Share Posted November 14, 2011 I hope the above does help. I had posted a little update on my work but 3DCoat crashes now every time I try to load the file. I will repost when I get further along again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted November 14, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted November 14, 2011 I hope the above does help. I had posted a little update on my work but 3DCoat crashes now every time I try to load the file. I will repost when I get further along again. Digman to the rescue. It's like you're some kind of god of 3d Coat that knows all its infinite mysteries.. :brush: :clapping: But seriously I'm going to have to wrap my brains around what you've just told me..this is tough.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted November 14, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted November 14, 2011 Wow, I'm in trouble now...I reverted to a pre Autopo version of just the voxel sculpt and this is what I get... OK...whew...I shut down 3d Coat and turned it back on and now it's able to load the original voxel sculpt properly...that's a relief. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted November 14, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted November 14, 2011 OK I'm AUTOPOing the calcaneus again...is there anything I can do at this point to avoid this problem cropping up again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reputable Contributor digman Posted November 14, 2011 Reputable Contributor Share Posted November 14, 2011 Just select Auto-retopo only. Next manually create your uv seams or run the auto uv mapper in the retopo room. This is my own workflow, as I always want to check stuff before being turned loose in the paint room. The auto uv mapper in the retopo room will not send you to the paint room. You have lots more control and more options at how you bake going this route... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member L'Ancien Regime Posted November 14, 2011 Author Advanced Member Share Posted November 14, 2011 Just select Auto-retopo only. Next manually create your uv seams or run the auto uv mapper in the retopo room. This is my own workflow, as I always want to check stuff before being turned loose in the paint room. The auto uv mapper in the retopo room will not send you to the paint room. You have lots more control and more options at how you bake going this route... Thanks. I just went out for a walk on a cold clear day with lots of wind and I got the idea that if I took that black autopo mesh and exported it as an obj then reimported it that might work. OK did a straight up Autopo like you said and got this. But there's nothing in the UV Room or the Paint Room. What's the correct path to get the mesh into those places? There does seem to be some kind of one piece distorted UV map in the Retopo Room UV Prieveiw though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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