Master and Servant 3D Entry: Diego Velasco-De Armas

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115614976_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115614976_large.jpg)

This came out of a quick sketch that I did the other day at work. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.. so I decided to develop it here. The master/servant relationship in this illustration is more of a psychological nature, one of reflecting with one's internal demons. In this case, literally... The child is showing a picture of someone who he would like devoured, quartered, or otherwise taken care of. The demon is the servant, though he is portrayed in a way that he could easily be the master, being sizeably larger than the boy. The composition needs more development (thought I'll probably do that in 3D), and should emphasize the power of the demon, though it is subdued and controlled. The left half should be orderly, full of straight lines and hard edges, logical and concrete: the actual room where the kid is. The right side should be chaotic and dishevelled, a cave reminescent of the subconsious, the dark side of the psyche. The left side is colourful and simplistic, mostly primary colors with accents of gray. The right side somber and black, with hard lighting, and colors ranging from deep reds to purple to bluish tints and gray as well. The transition between one side and the other is nebulous, a smoky haze.The boy will be very cartoony, a caricature. The beast will be as realistic as I can get it. Hopefully I'll have enough time to develop this into as interesting image. I'll be using Maya, Zbrush, and photoshop. Sticking to the basics, not much time left.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115696090_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115696090_large.jpg)

This is a more refined sketch of the demon/rage character. His skin should have the appearance of beaten flesh- not beaten to the point of piercing or flaying the skin, but rather the black and blue effect of a bruise. Since time is of the essence, I decided to make him symmetrical, very simple, and paint the displament in Z-Brush.

[NEWT#]

Nice, what can I say, good sketch. Maybe it needs some more clues about whos commanding who, perhaps kid pointing his finger: "go get him, boy!", something like dat...

Good luck!

[andrem]

The monster is looking really cool :)

What´s interesting about this concept is this duality : who is the master , who is the servant ? A way to emphasize this, i think, is not to let this relationship explicit by going into visual clichés of suggesting goodness or evilness - instead, just leave it open to the viewers interpretation, by suggesting that the boy, although much smaller than the monster, could be easily the master of the situation - or being ruled by it.

I like that idea a lot - after all, are we slave of our inner demons or should we use them to our advantage?

It´s gonna look awesome in 3D! Hope you´re able to finish it on time :)

good luck my friend !

metello

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115738821_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115738821_large.jpg)

Thanks Metello! :) We´ll see how it develops. This is the beginning of the modeling. The idea is to lean heavily on the time-tested, age-old brazillian concept of "cara de pau". Simple modeling, then Zbrush all the way.

[ilusiondigital]

Hey Diego good luck, i think is a interesting concept, take an outlook to this image (the monster).

http://highlightzone.info/comic/comic_bilder/bone.jpg

Greetings

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115752488_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115752488_large.jpg)

Progress image. Need to do the hands, then I´ll be set to start painting in Zbrush. Couldn´t resist modeling in square polygons, edge loops, etc. I was hoping to model something really dirty, full of n-gons and triangles, but couldn´t do it- kept thinking that it would be good for Zbrush to have a nice, clean topology to work with.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115763355_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115763355_large.jpg)

This is the final demon. For now... Tonight I´ll import it into Zbrush, and hopefully tomorrow I´ll be posting something closer to the final character.

[velascodearmas]

I´ll be posting yet another model tonight before the Zbrush step.. I think he needs hands, not paws in front. Looks too much like a rabbit.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115780616_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115780616_large.jpg)

I decided the demon should have real hands (well, 3 fingers- close enough), as it would probably look more aggressive and have more personality. I'll pose them after I texture them, as they have to be symmetrical for Zbrush to work correctly. So, unfortunately, looks like I'm going to have to rig this creature, after all.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115789448_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115789448_large.jpg)

Hands attached. Default pose, needs a rig to pose him after Zbrushing.

[smaddl]

very nice concept and the modeling. keep going!

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115827791_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115827791_large.jpg)

simple skeleton for posing

[pierrebixquert]

HI dvelasco :thumbsup:

Good idea, I like much, I hope that you have time to finish it.
Luck.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115861559_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115861559_large.jpg)

These are the groups I divided the mesh into in Zbrush. It´s essential to the modeling process. Note that I divided the arms and legs into two groups- that´s so that I can get into the creases with the brush without too much of a hassle.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115869908_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115869908_large.jpg)

Working at home. Now I have to get the rest of the model to this level of detail.. Should be enough to hold up with the textures applied to it. Zbrush is awesome!

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115879024_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115879024_large.jpg)

What a great program. Bizarre interface, pretty confusing workflow (even orbiting around), but the results are very rewarding. just a couple of years ago this kind of detail in a model would have been a pain in the butt to make.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115879116_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115879116_large.jpg)

Too bad the leg is going to be in front of the torso, it seems like it's going to be an interesting area.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115880862_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115880862_large.jpg)

coming together nicely... only need to sculpt the legs,and then its off to texturing.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115888375_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115888375_large.jpg)

Finished the modeling of the demon! Any comments very welcome. By making him symmetrical, in the end he is useable from any angle. Should make finding an interesting angle for the final image easier.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115888657_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115888657_large.jpg)

Another pose. An interesting trick to get striation in the muscles is to paint the general form of the muscle with a broad brush, then make the brush tiny, complement the form with many scribbles on the form, and smooth with shift. Also, try and avoid painting to the edge of a group when the adjacent group is invisible. This creates seams. Another thing that I did that was interesting was to regroup the groups into pairs. So every group that had a mirror group on the other side ended up as one group. This is because if you're painting (like I did) with mirroring, if you hide one of the hads, for example, as you paint you will only paint one of the hads. The objects that are hidden don't get modified. Sounds pretty obvious, but not at 5 am.. Noticed this after painting quite a bit of the left forearm.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115888836_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1115888836_large.jpg)

Last one ;). I actually made the legs twice, the second time after Zbrush crashed as I was painting the final details of the foot (the legs were 100% done). Had to redo the legs from scratch. Oh well. Time to get some sleep...

[TRXSI]

nice sculpting. good luck dude

[monsitj]

wow! nice sculpting! man ! another example of good weapon(zbrush) that in the hand of great artist!

[(o)ne]

you're doing very good, wish you finish in time :thumbsup:

[L.G.Amaral]

Outstanding work dude...you’re doing great.
I wonder how you divided the mesh in groups, I’ve tried that before with Z-brush but it seems too hard do get it right. Hope you finish it in time.

[DaddyMack]

Hi dvelasco, what you have so far looks great! I hope you can pull it together real quick!

[velascodearmas]

Hey, thanks a lot for the comments, fellas! :) I too hope that I get to finish this in time ;). The big effort is going to be this weeekend, starting today... I'm having a lot of fun with Zbrush. I'm working on the color right now, should be able to post something finished very soon.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116037732_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116037732_large.jpg)

I thought I'd post an update, and answer Amaral's question at the same time. To group the object into different parts: 1) go to the lowest level in your object's subdivision, 2) use Control+Shift to isolate what you want to make into a group, or (which is what I did) first isolate a larger chunk with control+shift, then chip away at your selection using control+shift (and then let go of the shift button, which will turn your selection box red). The polygons under the red box will disappear. When only the polygons that are to be in the group are visible, hit the Tool -> Polygroups -> Group Visible button. The polys on-screen should turn another color. Then, unhide everything with a click outside of your object (on the canvas) while pressing Control+Shift. Repeat the process for every group. I suggest you group the left and right sides of a part (Eg., left and right leg), makes painting easier. It's a bizarre interface, but you end up getting used to it.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116045813_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116045813_large.jpg)

This is what the color map will look like for now. Now I'm going model the room, and start posing him and doing some preliminary lighting in the scene, to get a feeling for how the texture is working with the composition.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116045922_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116045922_large.jpg)

I feel that he is still a bit monochromatic. Maybe after I start lighting with the colored lights that won't be a problem anymore.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116046127_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116046127_large.jpg)

Yet another pose to show the texturing. Even though I think that he is only going to be seen from the left, I worked both sides of the texture. Too bad Zbrush doesn't have a mirror function (at least I don't know where it is, if it does) where you only paint one side and then flip it to create the full texture. The mirror brush doesn't cut it. For this texture I used mostly the spatter brush (the one with many dots), to give it an organic feeling. The airbrush makes it too soft, so I used it sparsely. I'm going to render some stills before I start working on a bump map, might be a waste of time.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116046246_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116046246_large.jpg)

Ok, last one ;). Now onto something else, for now. Need to start testing the displacement in Maya with Mental Ray, and make sure that the rigging works well with it.

[biriba]

Hey diego,

Your demon/monster is looking really cool, man! I can't wait to see how the rest of the scene will come up.

Cheers,

Biriba

Ps:I gotta learn ZBrush NOW!!! :O)

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116101417_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116101417_large.jpg)

I found a very old (circa 1997) model that I did of myself, that I used as reference for my boy model.I had modeled myself at the time, so it still looks more mature than it should, but it´s still a good reference for the general feel of the structure. Also, it was all done in NURBS (!!), in the old "sock puppet" style with trimmed eyes and ears. I ended up modeling from scratch anyway, but it was interesting to take a look.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116101780_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116101780_large.jpg)

Damn. One polygon is messed up, should set me back a few hours in the process.

[schaal]

Go Diego, Go!

Very nice work, and this is really a challenge for you!
I know how much work you have to do at Trattoria and how short is your spare time to dedicate to this competition.

Z-brush, nurbs, polys, use everything! I wanna see this creature in full render!

:thumbsup:

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116137468_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116137468_large.jpg)

Hey Schaal, thanks for the incentive! After all, you were the one who inspired me to get into the competition. Que roubada, hem? For those who haven't seen Schaal's entry into the 2D contest, take a look, it's worth the visit :).

Well, this is what the kid looks like so far. The hair is going to be texture mapped transparency. The color I'll have to paint in Zbrush or BodyPaint, probably based on a photo. Not quite done yet... Probably will texture some, then go back into the model. The final expression will be a blendshape. I'd rather use a BS than model him already in the pose because this way I have more flexibility, and it will probably look better.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116157946_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116157946_large.jpg)

This is the final texture for the kid. I could still make some minor adjustments (the hair from this angle looks bad), but all in all I'm happy with it. Might still make the eyes a bit darker, less saturated.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116158242_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116158242_large.jpg)

The hair turned out better than I expected it to. The trick here was to make it in layers: one layer of base hair (which is a darker color and less specular), and a copy of it, which is offset has a second, more specular (anisotropic) shader is applied to it. The head is also painted with a hair texture under the hair geometry. Separate bump, color, and transparency maps for the hairs.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116158378_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116158378_large.jpg)

Now it's onto the body for the kid. I'm going to pose him, and detail the posed version in Zbrush. The displacement did not work well enough, from now on I'm going to import the subdivided meshes into Maya and render that.

[arLutiK]

Diego, you do amazing texturing, good luck.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116199499_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116199499_large.jpg)

The kid's in his room, so he is barefoot. Actually, he's got his sleeping clothes on. The bed should be undone, etc. This is to imply a dreamlike/alpha state, right at the time when you think about all the crap that has happened during the day... And then can't sleep for a long time...

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116201109_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116201109_large.jpg)

New pants. I actually modeled the detail in the clothes, didn't think that there was a need to Zbrush it. Maybe I'll add some more details later on. The shirt is going to be the major Zbrush item on the boy.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116202423_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116202423_large.jpg)

Ok, even I admit it- no one is ever going to know the diference if there are no triangles in the foot. Enough with the foot, already. Onto the shirt.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116203869_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116203869_large.jpg)

one side is going to go inside the pants, the other side should be falling out. Simple modeling; this is the end of the symmetrical model.

[gra7]

hey man..
great progress u have here..
boa sorte ae brother.. esperandu pra ve mais !
c ya !

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116211203_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116211203_large.jpg)

The shirt is modeled and adjusted to the pants. Need to rig him first, pose him, and lastly pass him through Zbrush for final textures and mesh with folds and creases.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116212004_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116212004_large.jpg)

Made the ear closer to the eye (and the center of the head). Something was off before, I'm pretty sure this was it. Hark! Onto rigging.

[Wandddo]

Hi Diego:) Very impressive man!!! You modelling is amazing!!! A unica coisa q eu diria são as cavidades entre os dedos dos pés, talvez vc poderia suavizar um pouco ali proximo ao peito do pé, é q ta dando a sensação dos dedos estarem compridos... e talvez as pernas pudessem ser ligeiramente maiores tb, o restante ta muito show!!! Parabéns e boa sorte!!!:thumbsup:
gde abraço

[velascodearmas]

Hey Wanddo, thanks a lot, man! Lots still to do...Your points are very valid. I think I'll incorporate the suggestions, thanks! The thing about the legs is that kids are naturally a bit oddly proportioned. Their heads seem too big. If I make the legs longer, he'll seem older. But still, I'll make them a bit longer :). I was wondering about that. Valeu!

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116229193_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116229193_large.jpg)

Man, I gotta animate this thing when the contest is over. The boy now has a full-fledged Final Rig rigging, with painted skin weights and all. Hmm. I should probably get started on the scenery :/. Well, at least the scenery is a lot quicker than the characters...

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116233148_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116233148_large.jpg)

This is a tentative first pose. The next step is to build the environment, and see if it is working. If it is, then I need to sculpt the blendshape for his (satanic) facial expression, thicken his wrist, and sculpt overall details into the pose that will make it more natural (zbrush). The textures are also a first pass. On his face I need to make the lips slightly thinner, and give him thicker eyebrows. The body needs more work as well, including a pajama texture as well as the usual shading. But all this is after the background is at least roughed in, and I settle on a final composition. I also need to figure out the demon's rigging/displacement bit before I finalize the shot. But first, some sleep... ;)

[chez]

Your work is situated near the border of the perfection:buttrock:, it is really impressive how much you produced in so little time!! and with as much quality as it was made in months!! I am really very inspired by your workmanship and desire really some day to see and to carry through dificult tasks so easely as you:shrug:! good luck! and PLEASE finish it, it will be a shame that this beutyfull work don't made it!:thumbsup:

[JRBRAZ]

Hi Diego,

I hope you finish in time this work. I like the idea and modeling.

Isso é bem pessoal, mas achei as proporções um pouco exageradas, como o tamanho das mãos e da cabeça .. ficou parecendo mais um anão do que uma criança ... MAs como disse isso é pessoal mesmo ... :p

[velascodearmas]

Hi Chez and Jr Braz! Thanks for the comments! I really hope to finish this image in time. Couldn´t do much today during the day, but I´ll compensate at night. About the proportion, I agree, I´m still fiddling with it. The hand is definitely too big, and looks wrong, actually. Kids have fatter, shorter fingers. Anyway, it´s progressing :). I´ll change it when I start working with the blendshape for the head. Thanks!

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116286819_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116286819_large.jpg)

Ok, the proportions were weird. Even more if you put both side by side. I´ll tend to this later on tonight, after the background (!!). Man, lots and lots to do...two more days, and then a render!

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116319243_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116319243_large.jpg)

I modified the head and hands, now I think that he is better proportioned. The hand still needs to be modeled over, but that is only when I finalize the pose (freeze it). I also touched up the face shader/texture, as well as the shirt. 1 hour of sleep, then back to the grind... Need to model the background ASAP!

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116350125_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116350125_large.jpg)

This is the modeling and camera for the room and the cave.RUNRUNRUN! Off to Zbrush for the stalactites and stalagmites. I am not 100% sure of the camera, but if this is not the angle, it´s pretty close. Could be lower. We´ll see as things progress, probably after the lighting.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116364870_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116364870_large.jpg)

New window on the side, plus a Zbrushed cave interior. This is giving me some really nice highlights and shadows. There is a red light coming from the depths of the cave. From the window there will be a nightlit scene, probably some buildings or some such that would cast a bluish light onto the boy. Now I need to light the scene and make sense of the origins of the lights in a way that makes the scene interesting and dramatic. Should be a lot of shadows in the underside of the beast, and warmer tones in the background of the room.

[Ludal]

really nice modelling of the beast man !

good luck ;):thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116374524_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116374524_large.jpg)

This is closer to what I´m trying to achieve wih the lighting. Still a lot to do, but at least the general idea is here. Will have to do a lot of faked bounce lights, the preliminary tests with mental ray just showed me that I could have a good looking image sometime around friday... So This is mental ray, but without GI, final gather, etc. I actually don´t think that GI & final gather are the end all of lighting, they just quicken the path there. Then again, once the scene is lit, you either have to bake everything, or it usually flickers.

[cmiura]

Hey Diego!

You´ve accomplished so much these past few days! :thumbsup: Way to go!

As far as lighting go (though I know you´re not done with it quite yet), perhaps you could focus a little more on the boy, to emphasize the devilish :twisted: look you´re going for. Since you rigged the boy, you could also tweak his pose a little bit, in order to make it clearer what he´s in there for. Maybe to straighten up his spine and legs a bit, giving him a more assertive look? Oh well, just suggestions from a novice. After all, you are the master. :)

You are extremely thorough and talented, and I´m positive your submission will look wonderful.

Keep it up!

[schaal]

Diego!!!

Great start in the lighting process. One little thing about the texture of wood in the floor, I think is too rustic or rough for a kid's bedroom, (but this kid is not a regular kid).

Go and finish this. Will be a great piece of 3d art. :thumbsup:

[pigwater]

this is coming out really cool ... just found this .. great concept and the image is working well

good luck on getting this thing done :thumbsup:

[velascodearmas]

Hi Cintia! Man, I didn't expect such comments.. thanks, really! Got me inspired to work still a couple of hours more tonight ;). The only thing is, now I feel like I have even more pressure to make the image look good! hehe Well, tomorrow we'll see how it went. At least on the 18th I'll sleep well. But sincerely, thanks. Your commments on the kid's posture were good, though I am going for something slightly different. If he were to stand erect, and command the demon with assertion, I think that the ambiguity that I am going for would be somewhat lost. My ideas is to show that there is a conflict with your inner demons, and that though you would like to command them, that isn't always the case. I still need to change two things to emphasize this concept- the kid should have a more intent expression (though this posture says that he isn't very sure of his command), and the creature needs to articulate his hands. The hands will somewhat encircle the boy, in a fashion that is either about to crush him or protect him. Hmm. I might be trippin'. hehe Anyway, that's the concept, at least. I didn't change the lighting much on this pass, my computer is acting up and overheating and complaining with annoying beeps. So I'll work on that tomorrow, at work. Which is a good thing, too, because this monitor is shot, as well.. sucks for color work. Well, enough complaining. Off to bed. Um beijo!
--Diego

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116402556_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116402556_large.jpg)

In this update I was aiming to fill up the room with things that are both characteristic of a kid about that age, as well as things that somewhat remind me of my own past. The art table, for example, has a texture on it that was a photo from my own table at RISD. The little table next to the bed is one that I had in my room for about 20 years. The art on the wall is mine, one a movie poster, the other a copy in oil of a Frank Benson painting. That one turned out well, but you can't really see it, since it's in the shadow. Schaal, I atenuated the flooring (and gave it a blurry reflection); I think that it won't be a problem once the lighting is finished. Next step is.. finishing! 1 more day to model, render, composite, AND UPLOAD! Oh man. Hey Pigwater, thanks for the comments, man.

[ilusiondigital]

I love your design, good luck mate

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116437542_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116437542_large.jpg)

Ok, things are pretty ugly right now because the elements are all competing- too much light, bump, colors, etc. Need to make it more harmonious. I had to redo the cave for resolution and UV reasons. The upshot is that I deleted all of the occluded polygons before even painting in Zbrush, so it´s lighter to render now.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116450886_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116450886_large.jpg)

Getting closer. Not happy with the coloring on the right. The mood in the room is getting better. Need a better drawing, as well. Monster needs shader, I´ll probably render a large image in layers now and start tweaking by layer, in a photoshop comp. Need to start to understand how the smoke effect is going to look.

[JRBRAZ]

Hi Diego. Is getting better and better!!! :thumbsup:

Run, the time is almost over... :bounce:

To gostando bastante, só um detalhe que acho que vc poderia mudar, é a cor do final do túnel do demonio .. acho que uma cor mais escura, como preto ou vermelho ficaria melhor ... e como vc disse que testar, e eu tb acho que ficaria bom, são uma fumaças espalhadas pela cena, saindo do tunel, etc ...
E na rocha, acho que vc poderia testar um displace .. pois acho que ela está muito plana na parte no chão do quarto

E um outro detalhe, mas esse é bem pessoal, seria vc colocar um fio na luminaria do lado da cama, e deixar ela caída no chão, para iluminar os personagens de baixo para cima .. é só lembrar de filmes de terror .. hehhe ... sempre fica dramática esse tipo de iluminação ... :thumbsup:

[Matt-Bortolino]

Great work, lovely models. If you want to finish off the monsters skin quickly, just go with procedural textures, & use the same cellular pattern maybe to add some bump & diffuse variation (with the recessed areas darker), & a bit of specular too. Vertex colours I find are quicker than painting custom blend maps if you want to blend between different procedural textures/shaders. You could also try some simple vignetting in photoshop too to give the scene lighting a focussed, enclosed feeling (I usually multipy/hard light some black around the edges).

edit: what about doing a global dirtmap/occlusion pass too & multiplying that on top by 30% or so to give finer contact shadows?

[velascodearmas]

Thanks for the comments, guys. About the bump map on the sking of the character- I´ll probably try to do something quickly in Zbrush. Procedurals are good for the very tiniest bumps, in my opinion. Otherwise you get the "orange effect". I didn´t understand your workflow with the vertex colors. What´s the process? I´ll definitely do a lot of post work on this in photoshp. The floor under him is part of this idea. In fact, the floor of the cave will probably be mostly covered in fog or invisible, as there should be a whimsical/ethereal quality to the transition between the room and the cave (which is a figment of his imagination, after all). I tried the darker color at the end of the tunnel, it gave it a rather muddy feel to the whole right side of the frame. The tunnel starts to look like the creature. About the light on the floor, interesting idea. I might try that after I´m done with this first lighting concept. I´ll definitely make an occlusion pass when I´m done, though actually I think that I might just paint the shadow details in photoshop, since I´m rendering in so many layers.

--Diego

[Wandddo]

Hey Diego, You got a great result man... em tão pouco tempo vc conseguiu desenvolver um belo trabalho... Parabéns e boa sorte :thumbsup:

gde abraço

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116463353_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116463353_large.jpg)

Better/clearer drawing on the kid´s hands, plus I think that I have it pretty close to what I want lighting-wise in the tunnel. All the shadows in the image should be raytraced/soft shadows, not quite sure if I´m going to have the time to do that. Now I´m going to paint some smoke.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116469921_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116469921_large.jpg)

I´m starting to be really happy with my image. I can see the final piece taking shape (which is about time anyway!). Details to do: 1) better texture/details in bed area, 2) texture on the monster (bump map), 3) more reflection on the ground, 4) bump up the batman poster, 5) eye of the creature, 6) detailing the pants, and 7) fixing the hand. If I manage to do all of this before the deadline, I will be content ;).

[cmiura]

Diego,

wonderful job! You´re very close to finishing your entry! :thumbsup:

I love what you´ve done with the cave and the red dust/ smoke. The warm colours and organic shapes of the cave/ monster provide a good contrast against the straight lines and organization of the boy´s bedroom. A couple of things strike me though as slightly off (and I may be wrong, and in that case, disregard my comments) -

- the boy´s left shoulder seems a little shorter, even though we know he´s shrugging. It may be the perspective, but perhaps if you lower the shoulder a tiny bit, or rotate his left arm a tad, this problem will be fixed;

- the diameter of the lamp by the drawing table seems a little too large.

Other than that, sensacional, espetacular! :buttrock:

Beijos e boa sorte!

[DaddyMack]

Wicked! good luck with the final Diego!

[JRBRAZ]

Good update. This smoke really improve the scene. :thumbsup: It´s 2d paint or are a 3d particles?


About the overal composition, I just don´t understand what´s happening in the scene ... The kid invoke a demon to show his drawing? Don´t take me bad .. but my doubts could be same of the judges ... ;)


Só mais 6 horas ... corre, corre, corre.... :bounce: Quero muito ver essa imagem terminada ... :thumbsup:

[DaVee]

Amazing, there's a full of détails in the room. Nice
Good luck.
David.

[velascodearmas]

http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116496684_medium.jpg (http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/entries/9/7675/7675_1116496684_large.jpg)

I´ll upload the TIF, then I´ll post some comments.

[(o)ne]

wow, I impressed! very good work :applause:
only one crit..I thought that monster's skin will have more details...

[velascodearmas]

Made it! :D

Time left: 0 days, 1 hours, 29 minutes, 14 seconds

Damn! Cut it very, very close. So this is the final image. I am very happy with the way it turned out, and especially with the fact that it turned out at all! This challenge was a very interesting experience, I´ll definitely participate in future challenges. With one major diference- I´ll get an early start! I liked the concept of the image, and took the challenge to heart until I finished it. Which means that I pretty much slept about 4 hours a day (if at all) ever since I got in. The image is a depiction of an imaginary confrontation of a boy and his inner demons (here represented by just a big one). The cave in the room is an impossibility (aggravated by the fact that the room is in an apartment), and the smoke (which is painted in 2D, BTW) softens the line between the real and the imaginary. Their relationship is purposefully ambiguous, as are most relationships we have with our darker emotions. I decided not to make a very obvious image to leave some space for interpretation. The picture of the man is pretty much a symbol for something that would invoke the demon of anger. It just had to be simple and direct, and convey the emotion that it was a target for the beast. Anyway, I enjoyed tripping on the idea, and then on the execution. This illustration had a curious effect in that I had a very clear idea of what I wanted right from the start, and continually kept fleshing out the details in my head (even when I wasn´t actually working on it). In the end, the original sketch shows through pretty clearly. Well, I hope you like it.

cheers,

--Diego

[element5]

Great image and very magical in it feel :thumbsup:

[overcontrast]

i'm amazed by the concept of ur work... and its also very well done... i like the shape of that demon... very stony but organic. love those smokes and the color difference... very well done.. wish u all the best :thumbsup:

[Gunilla]

Wonderful work from concept to fulfillment - can't believe I haven't seen this until now...

Congrats and good luck! :thumbsup:

[JRBRAZ]

Parabéns Diego. O salto na qualidade visual nesses ultimos updates foi incrivel. Gostei muito do resultado final. A iluminação do quarto e as cores melhoraram muito.

Parabéns pelo ótimo trabalho. :applause:

Boa sorte. :thumbsup:


Ah! Eu finalizei meu trabalho para esse contest tb, se quiser dar uma olhada, o link está na minha assinatura. :)

[mmoir]

Hey DIego,
Very impressive image:thumbsup:, the blending of the 2 worlds is very nicely done . Good luck with this.

[trattor]

so you did it!! cool man well done!!! as we say around here in dust we trust!!

[pixelkeg]

Oh wow, i'm sorry I haven't seen this one before. I think it's a very well executed image, and a great concept to start with. The textures really sell this one for me, well as the cool cloudy effect.

[Antropus]

Diego,

Congratulations man. I saw you running against the clock and you made it! Great job for the short amount of time you had. Nice final image. Good luck :thumbsup:

Peace,
Kris

[velascodearmas]

Thanks again to all who took the time to reply to this thread and give me some feedback on the progress of my image. I know that the final image has already been submitted, but I still feel like polishing it a bit. I worked a few hours on the bump/texturing/shading of the demon, and I'm posting the results on this thread:

http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=241829

Next is the kid's expression, and toning down a bit the light in the middle of the room.

Also, I wrote something on the other thread about the composition of the image that is interesting to note, as it was already part of the finished image-

...
The only point on which I disagree with you is the doorway. For me, it does a couple of things for the picture: 1) gives it some breathing room, with the area in the back contrasting with the amount of detail in the front. It would probably look pretty cramped if that weren't the case. And 2) there's a mirroring effect going on- two exits, so to speak: one in the actual world, to the left, and another (the tunnel) in the escapist imaginary world, _into_ the subconscious, to the right. Two choices, in contrast with each other. I like that idea. It looked too empty before the rug, but I thought that the rug fixed that.

[smaddl]

impressive work! great texturing and lighting ! good luck :thumbsup:

[patina]

hi dvelasco

Super final image, congrats, I missed your thread until the end, I love your post effects
and the concept is wonderful, I thought the boy might be slightly off balance, its only a small thing, love the deatils and lighting
good luck, hope to see more of your work in the next challenge!

Patina

My M-S, the hunchback,
http://www.cgnetworks.com/challenge/masterandservant/entry.php?challenger=7495

[velascodearmas]

Hi Patina, Smaddl! I'm happy that you liked the end result. I'm looking forward to being a regular at these contests :).

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