Researching 3D Sculpting in Mudbox
I have been doing some research into videos of people sculpting
human heads so that I can start my sculpt. I am pretty intimdated by Mudbox and what you can do with it and I must
admit, I really don’t know where to start other than diving in at the deep end.
I have my reference images ready to go which I will post next. For now, here
are links to a couple of videos I found that have influenced me to start my sculpt and
that I am sure will help me throughout the work.
My Human Head Sculpt: Reference Images
Here are my reference images that I took for my digital sculpting project.
As you can see, I have plenty of reference images for my
sculpt. I figured I would need as many as possible to benefit me in actually
doing the sculpt itself. I have a few that focus on specific parts of the face, from different angles and with
different facial hair to see which would be best to sculpt. Have done some hair
experiments, I decided to leave out the facial hair and stick with the smooth
face with long hair and eyebrows.
The Sculpt in Stages
Here are a selection of screen shots I have taken from various
saves I made during my work. I had a total of 52 saves when I finished and here
are the main ones where the face started to take on shape and form. I will also
include some experiments I did along the way to help further my studies and
make my sculpt richer.
Stage 1
Here is where I began my sculpt. I started off by picking a
section of the face and building it towards other features. I chose the nose.
You can see I have bought it out from the face/the original standard head model
given on mudbox and I have begun to
work detail into it such as nostrils and shape.
Stage 2
Here you can see I began to work out into the face by starting
work on the lips. The lips were probably the hardest part for me. My model has
large plump lips and I found that simply creating a small crease and having an
overhanging top lip (like a lot of guides suggest for lips) just didn’t work or
look like his. You will see how they progress.
Stage 3
I thought it would be a good idea to start brining in the eyes
now as I had been hearing they can be tricky to shape and make look
realistic. The shape isn't quite right
here.
Stage 4
From watching various tutorials I gathered it was easier to
block in the shape of the hair then add detail to it. Hair is another
incredibly tricky element to sculpt because it is made of so many separate
compartments.
Stage 5
Here you can see that I have given the hair detail and shaped
the eyes so that they look more like my models. The lips still need work and I
can remember being at this stage and wanting to give up with lips, they are so
tricky!!
Stage 6
This is very close to my final version now. I am happy with the
lips (well, sort of). They resemble lips and they do even look like my models
lips…at certain angles! The hair is now finished. I used the knife tool to get
the hair to look like strands and the grab and sculpt tool to lift it from his
head slightly so it looked real.
Finished Sculpt
Experiments Along the Way
As I was sculpting my head I had a few various saves with
different experiments I had done to see what gave the best look. As I am new to this software…or
was, I figured the only way to learn is by doing.
Hair was one of the main things I struggled with so here are
some experiments I did before I came to the final verdict…
As you can see, I used various experimental methods to create
hair, I used the sculpt tool with a higher strength to built up the main areas
of hair. I used a small sculpt brush with a fairly strong strength to draw
individual hairs…it looked more like worms. The final one, which was what I
adapted in the final outcome, was to build up a rough shape on top of the head
with a large sculpt brush on a low strength and block in the hair. I then used
the knife tool to cut away at it and create a depth to the hair.
Topology Research
From what I have read over various websites, topology is a
study into the correct form and shape. When applied in mudbox to a human head, it
depicts where key parts of the face are such as the eyes, nose and mouth. This
is often shown by various lines being drawn too and from the key elements, sort
of like a map of the face. Where areas bulge in and out, the lines show this.
Topology can go further than just a face and can be used on other obvjects to define their
important aereas too.
During our practical sessions, we were told that when depicting our own topology on our sculpts that we were to try and create an image with no “tris”. Tris are where your lines cross and create a trianlge as opposed to a “quad”, which is a 4 sided shape. Your shapes may have more than 1 side which is called a pole.
During our practical sessions, we were told that when depicting our own topology on our sculpts that we were to try and create an image with no “tris”. Tris are where your lines cross and create a trianlge as opposed to a “quad”, which is a 4 sided shape. Your shapes may have more than 1 side which is called a pole.
Image and usefull video found at the website
Having done 3 topological drawings on my head sculpt, I can say
that it is a lot harder than it sounds. “draw a load of lines around the major
parts of the face” is only the half of it. I found that some of my areas would
contain tri’s and others just
didn’t add up at all. Here they are as well as a video of the best one…
Topology Drawing 1
Topology Drawing 2
Project Summary
Okay, so I found certain parts of the sculpt difficult and frustrating. The good news Is that I have
found something I love doing, despite all the negative stuff! I know my sculpt
isn't perfect, nor is it identical to my reference images but I am so happy
with the way it came out. It is human like and I am proud of the way I have
handled sculpting and learning at the same time. I plan to carry on my
sculpting and 3D modelling and find ways to merge it into other projects
because I don’t want to let it go! I
will find ways to mix it with concept art and ideas that I form and I want to
also ensure that my 3D skills improve as I learn.
I am certainly hoping I get the chance to hone my skills in mudbox and learn new
software such as Zbrush or Sculptress. Overall I think this project has been a
success which makes me feel better because I certainly didn’t enjoy doing the
animation half as much as I enjoyed this!
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