Useful website for 3D Modellers

Within my research for learning new techniques, skills and practices within the 3D Modelling industry I came across a website called www.digitaltutors.com. I believe this website could potentially be very useful as it has many, many hours of different and useful modelling techniques hints and tips which are easy to understand and follow.

This will be a great help for me personally as I have never used the Mudbox software before and this will show me a lot of hints, tips and tricks that I can try out and apply to my model at the later stages of my Dissertation.

This website also has a lot of help with modelling within Max as well, so again, I can use this site for help with my modelling technique research, as well as assistance with my modelling. I am also not very efficient with my Unwrapping and Mapping skills in Max and this is where I believe I am going to have the most difficulty within this process, even compared to learning the new modelling software, as for some reason, I find it a very difficult part of the modelling process. Luckily for me however, this website is very well stocked with information and resources on this and many other aspects of 3D Modelling.

The only downside to this website is that there is a fee to use their services, but for the amount of information that is displayed and can be taught to you in such a short space of time I think this website will be a very good, investment for any 3D Modeller who needs to learn new skills within the industry and not just for myself. The pricing is $45 a month, which for me I can use this site in the last month or two of my modelling process which is where I believe I will need the most help and will potentially get the best results possible using this and the many other websites and resources I have found. 

I have specifically written about this site however because it impressed me with how much is displayed for the price you pay and the potential of how much you can learn from it. I thought that it could also be very useful for anyone else out there looking to do 3D Modelling, whether you are just starting up, need to refresh your memory and learn new techniques and tricks or even if you are experienced in Modelling already, and of course, to help the many other students out there doing there Dissertation on 3D Modelling.

Final Dissertation Proposal

After conducting many more hours of research and after discussing with my tutors I have now completed my Dissertation Proposal and handed it in.

This is a quick overview of what I am now going to be undertaking over the next academic year within the Dissertation Module.

I am going to be carrying on my research into 3D Modelling techniques and testing and playing with them until I find some that I like. Once I have found these I will be starting my modelling process. I still haven't decided yet whether I will be creating the model as a whole piece or as individual pieces and compile them together once all of the parts are completed. I will be deciding this when experimenting with the different techniques I find as different aspects of the armour appear to be more difficult to model than others so may be more beneficial for me to model them separately with different techniques as this may speed up my modelling time. If however I find a modelling technique that will work well with all aspects of the model I will make the model as a whole suit instead of the previous modelling method. I will be making my higher poly version of the model at around 10-15k polys as this appears to be the average poly count for higher end in game models.

After completing this stage I will be Unwrapping the UVW's of the completed model in 3ds Max, then export them into Mudbox and will be adjusting and tweaking the model to give it neater edges and more detail to give the appearance of a higher quality model than the physical model that was made in Max. Once I am happy with the details I have added to the Mudbox model I will then export it and Bake it onto the lower quality model as a Normal Map to give it the desired effect and usability within a game engine.

This is a very popular method of high quality character modelling as this gives a model the appearance of being a much higher quality than they really are, meaning less stress is put on the game engine when running the model. This will also give me a lot of information and techniques to research within Mudbox as well as showing me a lot of the capabilities and uses of Mudbox. Upon completing my dissertation I will have hopefully learned a lot of new skills within both pieces of software and this will also greatly help with employability and my portfolio for the future.

Mudbox Research

As I have done a lot of research into 3D modelling for my Iron Man model I have found that the most useful and best tool to use to create my model is 3ds Max. Following the research I have found, I have also looked into other 3D modelling tools to use, I was also suggested by my tutor to look into and possibly use Mudbox along with 3ds Max.

Below are some of the links to videos I found giving examples of the work that can be done with Mudbox as well as simple tutorials on how to use the basics and more advanced tools within the software.

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=126YvIpwXHQ - Hard Surface Forms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIP9L7N5JTE - Modelling and Painting in Mudbox

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGwXOC2ham4 - Introduction to Character Modelling using Mudbox and Maya

Artwork examples:
Iron man:


Bio Suit:


Deadpool:


From the links above you can see that Mudbox is more suited for organic models as it is more of a sculpting tool. I could still use Mudbox to create a 'Hard Surface Form' but as I already have some knowledge in Max and time is precious, I think I will be more beneficial doing the whole model in Max instead of using both. I will discuss this with my tutors first before committing to a decision as I believe that using Mudbox for my dissertation is not necessary as my model is a rigid model and the desired look I wish to create can be made using 3ds Max alone and creating rigid models in Mudbox looks far more complex and time consuming.

If am to complete my model using just 3ds Max this would give me the opportunity to develop my skills a lot further than if I was to learn how to use Mudbox and apply what I have learnt in Mudbox to my model. I believe that using Mudbox after modelling in Max would be useful for future, organic models but would potentially be useless or time wasting for the model that I wish to create now. As I mentioned earlier before I completely rule out using Mudbox I will be discussing this issue further with my tutor to ensure I am making the right decision before proceeding with my dissertation.

I have also included a link in my bibliography to a website which give many different tutorials which may be useful if I decide to use Mudbox in the future as well as for others who wish to learn some useful tools and tips in Mudbox.

Bibliography:
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=126YvIpwXHQ - Hard Surface Forms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIP9L7N5JTE - Modelling and Painting in Mudbox
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGwXOC2ham4 - Introduction to Character Modelling using Mudbox and Maya

Images:
https://area.autodesk.com/mudcom/showcase/iron-man-3d-by-felipe-fierro -Iron Man model (textured)
http://mudbox-sin.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/iron-man.html - Iron man bust model (not finished, non textured)
http://mudbox-sin.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/bio-suit-mark-2.html - bio suit full model
http://mudbox-sin.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/deadpool.html - Deadpool bust

Tutorials:
http://cg.tutsplus.com/articles/web-roundups/43-mind-bending-mudbox-tuts/

Research of Iron man 3D Models

Here is a small post showing some of the research I have looked into on modelling Iron Man in 3DS MAX.

The information I have found can be used as a guide as well as for help as there are a few tutorial videos showing me how to create different parts of the suit, of which I can apply to other parts and/or the whole suit at a later date. These also give me a chance to play with and experiment with different techniques in 3DS MAX.

Tutorials:
Helmet Tutorials:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fklceLbWqs - part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dy6rLRGwFE - part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdhzvY-WcZ0 - part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt2Vfkt455Q - part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYD95f8FrVg - part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9z3Y_K7o_I - part 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mvXKkJzzC0 - part 7 (Texturing) will not be texturing my model but is still relevant


Guides and/or examples of 3D Models:
http://www.henrythejedi.com/index.php/i-am-iron-man-volume-1-modelling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jctqLIfK-w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEuFv5oJx4c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK130qZUD8Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbV8Y9JIHZ8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmcHf-LK6ao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZbOxSoKEEI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwwpKst0xew
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhs0d6hVBN8


Speed modelling:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRAHIg-GrKE

Skinning:
Here is also a simple skinning tutorial that I found. I am not going to be skinning or rigging my model but I thought this was relevant to the work I will be undertaking.  As I will need to take into consideration the geometry and topology of my model to allow for movement, animating and rigging. If I was working in the industry the modelling and animating would be done by different parts of the production team so need to make sure that I can do this skill well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9-y1bJjoWo


As well as the many YouTube videos above I am also making my way through these books (see bibliography) as well and will be posting my findings from them as well as my development and experimenting with the tutorials above.


Bibliography:

2D Artwork and 3D Modelling for Game Artists - David Franson
3ds Max 2008 - Kelly L. Murdock
Poly-Modelling with 3ds Max - Todd Daniele

Short and Sweet Job Advertisement and Requirements

As suggested to me by a fellow student on my course, I was told to look up adverts so that I would get an idea at what potential employers would e looking for from me and my work in the future.

As I am doing a 3D Modelling Dissertation my main point of interest was 3D Modelling jobs in the games industry. I came across a few adverts that were suited to me and I will be structuring my work around the specific constraints of the job advert that I found most appealing as well as the general constraints of other advertisements that I found that had very similar attributes that they were looking for i.e. knowledge in 3DS Max, Maya, Mud Box etc.

Here is the advert link that I found most appealing and one that I believe I could apply for in the future after completing the course as I display some of the attributes they are looking for and hopefully once I have completed this module I will be able to demonstrate even more of the requirements they are looking for.

http://jobview.monster.co.uk/AAA-UK-Console-Studio-Seeks-Junior-Graduate-3d-Artists-Job-London-London-UK-124840169.aspx?WT.mc_n=Indeed_UK&from=indeed

Here are the requirements that are listed on a job advert from G3D Limited. From this I can see what I need to focus on with my work to ensure that I have the best possible chance to get into the field I want to work in, in the future. Some aspects I believe I may already have but this gives me the opportunity to develop my skills and hopefully acquire the skills I don't have yet.

Requirements:
Strong Portfolio with examples of:

• Low and High-resolution modelling in 3ds Max (preferred)
• High quality texture creation
• Normal mapped game assets
• Photoshop at good level
• Preferably Z-brush / Mudbox experience

The candidate will ideally have the following qualities:

• Strong communication skills.
• Unreal Engine experience.
• Good eye for details.
• Able to work as part of a team.
• Be a keen gamer

Here is another job application I found which also will help me focus on what I need to learn and develop to aid me getting a job in the future.

http://www.cwjobs.co.uk/JobSearch/JobDetails.aspx?JobId=57768123

Essential Skills:

• Experience of management 
• Solid understanding of CG / Modelling Production Pipelines 
• Experience using either 3DS Max, Maya, Rhino, Photoshop, V-Ray 
• Can do attitude 
• Interest in the 3D Industry 

Desirable Skills:

• Python 
• MAXScript 
• Catia V5

Initial Ideas for my Dissertation

Throughout the summer I have been putting a lot of thought about what I should do for my dissertation as I want to challenge myself as well as create something that will be beneficial for me in the future when compiling my portfolio for when I am searching for jobs or roles in the industry I wish to pursue.

I quickly came to the conclusion that I want to pursue a career in the 3D modelling industry whether that be for games, films or TV. From this I then had to decide what I wanted to do and what could be done in the time frame given as well as challenge me.

My initial idea was to model a high quality version of my car and fully texture and animate it to make it look like my car was driving down a road and perhaps transforming into another vehicle or a transformers style robot, if I had time to do so. This would be very challenging for me as just the model alone would take up a lot if not all of my time frame let alone the texturing, rigging and animating side of the project. This idea was scrapped after talking with fellow students on my course as the time frame and lack of knowledge in rigging and animating would make this too difficult for me to learn and produce a high quality end result in the given time.

As many of you may know reading this, I am a big fan of the Marvel Comics Company and particularly the character Iron Man as I have included Marvel or Iron Man in some of my work over the last two years. So I thought I would carry on the tradition and try to incorporate one of them into my third year. I decided in the end to use Iron Man again as this would be a challenging model for me to complete.

My initial idea with Iron Man was to model, texture, rig and animate, similar to the above with my car idea, a full suit if the characters armour. But after discussing with my tutors and with some research into the time frame and difficulty of modelling something like this with so much detail and depth whilst taking into account the geometry for the characters movement, I decided to only model the full suit or bust. If I was working in the industry the modelling, rigging, texturing and animating would be done by different people or teams and I was encouraged to focus on one of them and not all as this would be more beneficial for me as it is better to be very good at one aspect instead of OK at many different parts of the creation process. As I am working on my own and not in a team it will still challenge my abilities and teach me new techniques and skills in the process whilst being relevant and demanding a lot of time and research.

Research:
I briefly looked into examples of previous Iron Man models and the time, patience and ability needed to create a high quality end product. As well as looking at the above and example tutorials on the internet on creating a Iron Man model I will also be researching how to create tidy geometry in my models as well as experimenting on different methods/techniques of creating the model and different software and what the software can and can't do. I will also be delving into how to create models to be ready to handed over to animation/rigging teams and how to have my model ready to go, for example taking into account the characters movement i.e. moving arms and legs whilst keeping the geometry tidy and free from deformations and warping.

Software and learning outcomes:
The software I was initially planning to use was Autodesk 3D Studio Max as I already have some knowledge on this software and how to use it. This software is also very highly used in most industries, whether that be games, film, TV, etc. so it will be great to show to potential, future employers what I can create using this software and I will be learning/trying out different techniques to see what style suits me best and I can work well with and apply to some, if not all, of my model as well as give myself greater knowledge of Max and a challenge  in the creation process.

Again, after discussing with my tutors I was advised to research into using the MudBox software as, again, this is highly used in the industry, can do things easier/better than Max can, will be great to show to future employers and will broaden my knowledge with different software.

The model will be created initially in Max then imported into MudBox to add further details and sculpt the model until I am happy with the final result. This will also be challenging and developing my skills as I have yet to use MudBox but having knowledge in using more than one 3D modelling software is not going to be any disadvantage to me in the future. I will ensure that I have given my self enough time in the allotted time frame given to develop, learn and make mistakes using Max and MudBox as these, I believe are key pieces of software to learn how to use properly and I want my end result to be the highest quality I can possibly make, without having to rush at the last minute or leave unfinished because I didn't give myself enough time to make mistakes and learn the best methods, techniques and the general usage of the software.

My final decision to make is to either create a full suit or just a bust of the suit as both will be challenging for me. The bust would give me more time to make mistakes, research and learn better or different techniques with the software. However I may have enough time to create the full suit as I could potentially pick up and understand the software and techniques quite well, due to past knowledge with Max. The only other option is to start with the bust of the suit and if I believe I have under scoped or have more time once the bust is complete to then add to the bust and create the full suit. I will be discussing this further with my tutors and researching into this idea in more depth to fully understand what I plan on undertaking over the next year.

Examples of Iron Man Models and Busts:

Bibliography:
Full Suits:
http://www.deviantart.com/morelikethis/311902929#
http://blueslogo.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/3d-ironman-model/
http://blueslogo.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/3d-ironman.png
http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-model-of-ironman-mark2-mark3/643578
http://www.blueprintshut.com/25th-2011-cool-do-you-can-t-make-any-comments-because-are-not-/the-blueprints.com*blueprints-depot*humans*humans*ironman-mark-2.png/

Busts:
http://grabcad.com/library/iron-man-mark-2-bust
http://hypebeast.com/2013/3/hot-toys-iron-man-3-iron-patriot-collectible-bust
http://hypebeast.com/2013/1/hot-toys-iron-man-3-mark-xlii-collectible-bust
http://www.xavierpop.com/2013/02/28/10-new-images-for-iron-man-3/
http://www.angolz.com/store/iron-man-mark-vii-1-4th-scale-collectible-bust-iron-man-3-hot-toys-htb13.html