Table of contents for Christmas 2021 in 3D World

This issue we take a good look at game art, as you may have guessed from our wonderful Link fan art cover. If you are looking to create your own, we have you covered, as the artist behind that piece reveals his workflow and techniques. We also delve into the process of making in-game assets, using Cinema 4D and Adobe Substance to build a weapon. Sometimes it isn’t about the hero shot but the supporting cast, so we look at Gaea to teach you how to set up wonderfully detailed maps for your next project. Oh, and if you hadn’t heard, Dune has hit the cinemas; we explore the stunning visual effects of this long-awaited sci-fi movie. rob.redman@futurenet.com…

Pietro Berto is a 3D character artist at Framestore’s Montreal studio. He spent two to three weeks on this impressive sculpture, and particularly enjoyed being able to create from his own imagination, diving deep into mythology for his inspiration. “There are a million ways to interpret a character or a concept, especially when we read of these stories. The path that brought me to the final image was like reading a book. I enjoyed every minute of it,” he tells 3D World. “I started this as a loose and sketched sculpt, I just wanted to create something figurative with strong body language,” he explains. “I blocked the initial pose using the mannequin in ZBrush and kept sculpting anatomy the way I remember it, without any specific reference.” Just a few…

Character modeller Carlos Adrian Gonzalez Villagomez worked for three to four weeks on this fun character, based on an illustration by Devon Cady-Lee. After finding Cady-Lee’s image he began blocking out the basic shapes in ZBrush, trying to nail the proportions before sculpting the muscles and working on the clothes. The entire model was created on a T-pose in ZBrush. “After I have the model in ZBrush I use the decimate tool and get the model into Maya where I make the topology and UVs,” Villagomez explains. “Usually I make a simple rig for the model in Maya and pose the character, but this time I decided to use the model with topology in ZBrush and pose it there, I thought it would be faster.” Once he’s satisfied with the…

Claudio Amoroso works as a lead modeller at Rainbow CGI. Prior to that, he studied traditional arts, played videogames and tried his best to improve his skillset, which he still does to this day. www.artstation.com/claudioamoroso Practical tips and tutorials from pro artists to improve your CG skills WATCH THE VIDEO https://bit.ly/3D-world-games In this tutorial, you will learn a complete workflow for designing 3D character fan art. This process is more focused on the creation of the final image rather than an animation-ready model; this will allow you to skip or just simplify long and technical steps such as retopology, UVs and rigging, and achieve the final look for your model in a shorter time. The minimum requirements for this tutorial are a basic knowledge of ZBrush, plus good knowledge of…

A lead artist at Climax Studios, Lance joined the gaming industry in 2013. Projects include Star Citizen, Sniper Elite 4, Adventure Time and some LEGO titles. climaxstudios.com Climax Studios is a multidisciplinary game developer headquartered in Portsmouth, UK. As one of the UK’s veteran game studios, we run the gamut of projects with credits for co-development on AAA titles through to work on original IPs, released on every mainstream platform. We’ve had the pleasure of working on nextgen consoles, augmented and virtual reality, and even locationbased haptic VR experiences. With this varied workload comes a chance to work on a diverse range of art styles. For example, one game could take place in a hyper-realistic sci-fi forest, whilst another in a lowpolygon, hand-painted fantasy dungeon. This artistic diversity means that…

Ronald asked how he could get his images out of ZBrush with a transparent background and use them in print projects. There are a few things to consider if you want to do this, and they include the resolution of the image inside ZBrush, and an understanding of different render passes. Let’s first consider the size of the documents. To print an image you need to have a high DPI, which means dots per inch. On a computer that translates to PPI, pixels per inch. To get really high-quality, magazine-ready artwork, you need to have lots of pixels or a high PPI. When ZBrush opens it gives you a very small canvas usually, and the first thing you would need to do is set your canvas to the size of…

Evan Boehm is an award-winning artist who specialises in combining storytelling and technology in virtual, physical and hybrid spaces. He joined BUCK as a creative director in February 2021. In his role, he is leading many of the company’s creative technology and innovation projects. What’s on the horizon at BUCK? BUCK has always focused on cultivating an incredibly diverse and talented group of artists who bring distinctive perspectives to our work. We are currently expanding the scope of the projects and the mediums we are working in, imagining new ways to push technology to its limits and deliver otherworldly experiences. We also expanded into Europe this year. With a new team in Amsterdam, we are tapping into the region’s remarkable talent. What most excites you about new mediums for advertising…

The best digital art from the CG community Tel Aviv, Israel-based freelance digital artist, Tim Razumovsky, spent about two weeks creating this captivating scene. “I use 3D on a daily basis as one of my main tools,” he explains to 3D World, “I love the freedom it gives me. The pipeline, in that case, varies depending on the idea or task.” On this particular project, Razumovsky utilised Blender and its physically based production renderer Cycles, along with Photoshop. He began, as is his preference, by blocking out the scene in 3D as a simple mockup before playing around with the lighting and camera angles. “The next step is tightening the models until they reach a certain complexity point,” he says, discussing his modelling and texturing process. Once Razumovsky feels he…

Michele Rocca, a full-time 3D student at IED Milano, created this project for his first year 3D modelling, shading and lighting final exam. “This being my first complete CG start-to-end project, I had some concerns and encountered several challenges,” he explains. Many of Rocca’s creative challenges were overcome with the help of online guides and tutorials. “What I enjoyed most during this work was realising how much I could learn while working,” he adds. Rocca also learned a lot from the tips of his teacher at IED Milano, “the most valuable one that I will apply in every future project is to take the necessary time to think of what you want to create, which techniques you want to use and to find good references.” Rocca spent two hours analysing…

This dynamic sci-fi scene was an ‘on and off’ personal project for digital art freelancer Christian Hecker. “I used this project to learn Blender,” he explains. “About time! I have learned so many things since I started this project.” Creating variations of objects for kitbashing proved to be a steep learning curve for Hecker, who found the answers to all his questions on the internet. “More and more I learn how powerful Blender is,” he adds. “It has a very large community, so there is always someone that can answer your questions.” Diving into the world he was creating proved to be a highlight of the process for Hecker, who started to struggle with the foreground of the scene halfway through. “I got the idea of someone sitting there and…

Unreal Engine is now used across a wide range of industries as the demand for real-time 3D skills heats up. From virtual production on blockbuster films and TV shows like The Mandalorian, to custom car configurators when shopping for a Lamborghini or BMW, to city-wide infrastructure planning with the use of digital twins, the interactivity and visual fidelity provided by Unreal Engine is reshaping the world in ways both large and small. One of my personal favourite Unreal Engine projects is created by The Famous Group for my local NFL team, the Carolina Panthers: an augmented reality panther mascot that interacts live with both the crowd and viewers at home on game days. The larger-than-life panther prowls around the stadium, roars at opponents, and even shreds the opposing team’s flag.…

Mike Griggs is a veteran creator with a passion for explaining the process of digital content creation to new artists. www.creativebloke.com Creating a bespoke solution for a complex problem is at the heart of any 3D model, scene or animation. The trick to becoming a successful 3D artist is understanding that the ‘complex problem’ changes for the type of output that is required. A good example is creating 3D assets for games, whether animated or to be used as a static prop. Linear animation or VFX tend to need highly detailed assets and have multiple complex systems for animations, such as muscles, dynamic skin, etc. All of these elements will be utilised in the compositing phase after a render. Some of these animation requirements are being used in the latest…

mizutori.art Mikhail Bugrimov is a concept and promo art illustrator from Moscow, Russia. POST-PRODUCTION IN PHOTOSHOP When it comes to post-processing, first I use the Camera RAW filter to adjust the colours and tones in Color Mixer and Curve. I play with other settings, exploring interesting variations. Doing this with Smart Filters, I get deeper settings and quicker access, compared to the adjustment layer. Then Magic Bullet’s PhotoLooks plugin comes to work, I try to experiment there every time. My favourite tools are Diffusion, Chromatic Aberration, and Haze/Flare. Next, I apply Posterize Adjustment to imitate a crashed image – there are new tints and interesting jagged transitions instead of gradients, I like that. Finally, I apply the cute texture of paper in Soft Light blending mode. ANCIENT CAVES Software Procreate,…

Creating procedural material in Blender is really fun, and here I’ll show you how I made the base procedural material for this planet. The very first thing we need to do is to add a primitive geometry in the 3D space (a sphere) and fix the level of detail, increasing the subdivision of the surface. Once that’s done we can smooth the shade of the sphere by applying the ‘Object – Shade Smooth’. At this point, we can add new material in the mesh (give it a name like ‘Procedural Planet’ or ‘Planet Material’) and open the Shader Editor panel to start the creation of the procedural material. Now we can start to add the essential nodes of this material, the very first being the Noise Texture and Musgrave Texture,…

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Missing an issue of 3D World? Fill the gaps in your collection today! ISSUE 279 DECEMBER 2021 THE VFX OF FOUNDATION ● Get the lowdown on the Apple TV+ sci-fi series Foundation ● Inside Blue Zoo: Part 5, the final instalment, exploring the exciting future of real-time technology ● Stage and compose a shot with Pixar’s layout artist ● Get started in VR: how to utilise this immersive creative medium ● Downloads Free models and textures, files and more! ISSUE 278 NOVEMBER 2021 STYLISED SCENES ● Work with toon shaders to produce an amazing stylised scene ● Inside Blue Zoo: Part 4, delving into lighting and comp workflows ● The secrets behind the VFX of Those Who Wish Me Dead ● We test, rate and review a range of quality…

“THE FLOWERS ARE CURVES THAT HAVE BEEN REVOLVED AROUND THEIR AXIS AND TURNED INTO GEOMETRY USING VDB TECHNIQUES” Armin Lotfi is a self-taught 3D visual artist and motion designer. He is passionate about designing abstract art by blending both natural and sci-fi elements. This scene is part of Lotfi’s Alien Souvenirs series which he plans to release as an NFT collection. He has also created a course centred around this design style for the SideFX website (sidefx.com/tutorials). “The plant is the main element of the project,” Lotfi explains, “the branches are based on an initial curve that has been deformed and copied on itself. The flowers are curves that have been revolved around their axis and turned into geometry using VDB techniques, and deformed based on noise techniques. The inside…

Self-taught freelance 3D artist, Jean-Baptiste Gaeng, worked on this fierce character in his spare time over a three-month period, totalling around 130 hours. “It took me quite a long time because it is in this very project that I learned the workflow to create a realistic CG character,” Gaeng tells 3D World. Several courses helped make this character a reality: ‘Liu Yifei likeness as Mulan’ by Jungwon Park (from which Gaeng took the initial base mesh of the head), ‘Creating an advanced cinematic character – Vagrant Knight’ by Huifeng Huang, and ‘Creating a photorealistic character: Joan of Arc’ by Mike Hong. Gaeng used Mari for the albedo and displacement head maps, and textured with Texturing.xyz. “The Texturing.xyz textures allowed me to go faster and gain realism without having to hand…

LOCATION South Korea I have loved films since I was a kid, and I especially felt the biggest attraction to CG. My goal is to make films that impress people. ‘Little friend in the forest’ is a story of a chipmunk. I think documentaries are works of art that are the best way to show the beauty of nature. So, I wanted to show the calm and mind-relieving atmosphere of the forest, and the cuteness of the chipmunk through my artwork. artstation.com/ramg_story THE ROOKIES The Rookies is a platform to help digital artists get discovered without having to compete with professionals for attention. You’ll get to the front page of those sites one day, but for now, we’ve got your back and want to help turn your passion for creative…

WORTH £90.00 NOT FROM THE UK? Visit our website (opposite) and save up to 45 per cent off an annual print subscription! Combines space, cutting-edge impact protection and sleek tailoring. The CableReady system lets you charge devices with cords out of sight. The padded strap and clever back panel design provide all-round comfort. Terms and conditions: Offer closes 31 January 2022. Offer open to new UK subscribers only. All gift subscriptions will start post-Christmas with the next available issue. Please allow up to six weeks for delivery. Your gift will be delivered separately within 60 days after your first payment has cleared. Gifts only available to subscribers on the UK mainland. In the unlikely event that we run out of this gift, we promise to offer you an alternative gift of…

Cirstyn has moved from Radeon’s ProRender to the RizomUV team, where she does product management as well as modelling, UV mapping and tutorial writing. cirstyn.com You've seen Nathan Drake hold one, and Arthur Morgan draw doodles on his. Maps are a staple in game art, not only as part of the UI but also as hero props, treasure maps or placeables, helping to drive the narrative. And that’s what we're going to create here with Gaea. First, we'll procedurally generate a terrain and its features, mixing and blending GeoPrimitive, LookDev and Water nodes, before we let Erosion do the heavy lifting into a terrain which we'll turn into a map using the Cartography node, complete with a detour through portals to add textures before building and exporting it all via…

Practical tips and tutorials from pro artists to improve your CG skills Mike Griggs Mike Griggs is a digital content creator with over two decades of experience creating VFX and CGI for a wide range of clients. www.creativebloke.com Glen Southern Glen runs SouthernGFX, a small Cheshire-based studio specialising in character and creature design. He has been using and training ZBrush in the UK for over 15 years. youtube.com/c/SouthernGFX/videos Antony Ward Be it game development, rigging or recording in-depth courses for his YouTube channel, Antony boasts experience in most areas of 3D. www.antcgi.com Pietro Chiovaro Pietro is a freelance 3D artist and YouTuber. An expert in the creation of game assets and environments, he shares many of his creations on his channel. www.pietrochiovaro.com Recently Insydium, creator of the X-Particles and Cycles…

When it comes to a 3D model, there is nothing more important than its topology. The way the edges flow and the spacing of the faces can dictate how well the model looks and how it will deform when animated. Ensuring it has a clean edge flow is essential, which sounds simple enough, but there will be times as you’re modelling when you’ll end up with areas that need to be reworked. An automatic retopology tool for example, which is often used to quickly reduce the polygon count on scanned or sculpted models, doesn’t always result in the best polygon distribution. So, although it may be a faster approach, it could also be risky as the algorithm can result in unpredictable and sometimes unusable results. You could also end up…

gustavo-medeiros.artstation.com Gustavo Medeiros is a Brazilian 3D character artist seeking his dreams. He has experience working for a number of different game studios. LIGHTING AND COMPOSITING One of the most common questions I hear is how I achieved this result of lighting and composing; there is no secret to it. I used ACES tone mapping for this project, which helps a lot. First of all, I wrote a story for this character, who he is, where he lives, what is happening, after that I tried to put the character inside this atmosphere. I did research on medieval movies, games and TV series, to study how the director deals with natural and internal lighting, and I tried to replicate this in my own project – this was the result. FRANCIS - THE…