Meet the Artist: Zack Petroc

#22

Hello Zack,

As many others have stated, I am a fan of your work and workflow as featured on the Gnomon DVD.

Here are my questions, and thanks again for taking the time to do this:

#1: Mortuary assistant?
On the DVD, I thought I heard you say you spent some time as a mortuary assistant. Is this correct? If so, did you do it with the intent of increasing your anatomical knowledge?

#2: What other resources would you recommend to sculptors (digital and traditional alike)? Books, DVDs, Artists, etc.

#3: What advice would you give to people learning to sculpt related to approaching their work. I work with some amazing sculptors who have been at it for a while, and they always give me tips and hints on how to approach things that help me get faster and improve the quality of my work. What insight can you provide related to this topic?

#4: Finally, are there any Mel or Z scripts that you use a lot(non-proprietary of course)?

Again, thanks tons for doing this.

#23
  1. #(2) Novikov Stepan

[ol]
do you think that this type of work flow will soon completely replace hardcore poly by poly or any modeling?

[/ol]

1- It won’t be soon, but if the technical aspects of digital mediums continue to develop to “serve” the creative aspects, then its only a matter of time.

  1. #(6) Leonardo davi

[ol]
1- Can you tell Us a little bit of your tradiotional’s background ? ( drawing,sculputure…etc…)
2- Do you think that anyone can draw or sculpt ? i mean… do you belive in talented and non-talented person or is just a daaily practise to draw shapes and forms?
3- Can you tell us how it was your experience at fine art school ?
4-Can you tell us some future project ? new dvd’s etc…

[/ol]

1- BFA of Sculpture with a dual minor in Drawing and Digital Medias. Did a bit of everything in undergrad, woodworking, welding, clay, marble, and mixed medias.

2- I believe some people have more natural potential then others to be great artists. I also believe the DESIRE to be a great artist is almost more important then having natural talent. The desire, and persistence it takes to succeed are the true gifts. Not many people are willing to fail over, and over, and over, and over again to finally achieve their goals.

3-The Cleveland Institute of Art was a great experience for me, although I have to admit I felt a bit alienated at first. Being the offspring of country folk and someone who actually played a few sports, I visually personified the kid in High School that every other art school student hated. It was an entertaining start to my education. As the years went by, it was interesting to watch as the best artists emerged and evolved. Without fail, the best in our class, of all disciplines, made no attempt to distinguish themselves, to the rest of the world, as artists. No green hair, no out of the ordinary cloths or makeup. Not that any of those things are bad, but I think the students that were really passionate about their art put their art first. Even in front of how they were currently being perceived by the rest of the world. When it was all said and done, it was really an interesting experience to live through those stereotypes and see how it affected my personality and art.

4- I do plan on creating another DVD but I was hoping to use the next version of ZBrush as a platform. I’m currently developing a lecture on character design, and critiquing that I’d like to use as my next topic release. One of the best lectures I had was titled “Good painting, Bad painting” by my first year design teacher. Listening to someone critique a design, then watching them “fix” it is a great way to learn. You can directly compare the before and after to truly understand the changes.

  1. #(7) Yarlagadda.nagavamsi

[ol]
good work…damn good… particularly charecter posings
could u explain u r charecter modeling work flow in maya

[/ol]

1- Currently, I create a very low-rez model in Maya, almost ignoring the topology, then take that mesh into ZBrush to develop the forms. Next I create an organized mesh by painting the curve network (topology) onto the surface of the model in ZBrush. Then I use that curve network as a template to re-create the mesh in Maya. Maybe someone would be nice enough to lend you the DVD.

4. #(8) Capirossi

[ol]
I have few question.

  1. Do you have any rules before you start designing or sculpting?

  2. What advice would you give to ZBrush beginner,I am an intermediate maya user.

  3. Do you think a single person doing a short will be able to do everything right from designing, modeling, animation to compositing till the last step?
    Do you have any advice for them technically or production pipeline?

  4. Lastly,Visual art or story telling is more important?

[/ol]

1-I’ve come across two main approaches artists use when starting a piece. The first is to just begin. The second is to have a fairly clear idea of what you are doing and why. Everything else falls somewhere in between. It sounds simple, but I typically use a variation of the second approach. I have found that having a general idea of what I’d like to create makes it easier for me to make creative decisions as I refine the piece. If you don’t know what you are creating, or why, then it also becomes much harder to critique. If you are making a generic alien and have no context to put it in, then when you have two different design solutions it can be very difficult to decide which is truly the best choice.

2-Bare with the ZBrush interface. Many artists will tell you it gets better once you’re accustom to it. They are full of shit. To be honest, I still can’t stand it. I’m probably just not as technically adept as those who have gotten use to it. I’d also say you are better off approaching it in a similar way to how you would approach clay, as apposed to how you would approach Maya.

3-Its possible. I’ve just noticed that there are people that are more passionate about other artistic disciplines then I am, i.e. animation, compositing, and therefor, much better at those disciplines then I am. If I was doing a short, I would want the best quality I could get for every area of development. Try to define exactly what you want your short to convey, and why. Focus on that and build around it. If time and resources become limited take it out of areas that impact your main objective the least.

4-For me, the visual qualities of a piece are typically more important. But if you are creating a piece for a film, game, or other narrative based project, then the story telling qualities should be developed with that in mind.

  1. #(9) Francesco Glavina

[ol]
What is the way for make this work? I have no school, just passion, and here in Italy there aren’t good schools…
Must I make a good modeling, or a short film and send to ILM?
Do u have any suggestions?
My dream since I was 1 year old was to work in films world, with the massive contribution of the mind, and over all the heart… With years I started with CG and now I feel that I wanna live making the modeller…or something like this
What is the way for make this work? I have no school, just passion, and here in Italy there aren’t good schools…
Must I make a good modelling, or a short film and send to ILM?
Do u have any suggestions?

Good art man!!!

PS.How do you made that perfect cloth’s folds in your models? Are them zbrushed?

[/ol]

1- I would suggest using your passion, or energy, to create options. A great place to start trying to develop options is through making contacts. Try to find people that are doing what you want to be doing. Preferably geographically close to you. In other words look for a mentor. Try to find out what path they took to get where they are. Second, never, ever, stop. Ask yourself every morning when you get up, and every night when you go to bed, “How can I achieve my goals”. The more time you devote to asking the questions the more likely you are to finding the solutions.

2- Regarding the cloth- I cant’ tell you how many times I have made crappy cloth. The point is that I just kept going. Technically speaking, the cloth was created in FreeForm, or ZBrush from a low rez mesh.

  1. #(10) Julio C. Espada

[ol]
My question is , Is ZBrush really changing something up there in the big studios or it is just me ? Is really the philosopher’s stone for the modeling and texturing.

[/ol]

1- I know of a few Studios that are starting to integrate ZBrush into their work flows. I don’t think its being used as much for texturing as it is to add surface detail to digital models.

  1. #(11) Andrew Browne

[ol]
How long do you spend on a project. I know everywhere is different but in a general 9-5 work day, say you needed to create one of those female statues (which are amazing by the way), how long would it take you and whats the lonest thing you have ever worked on?

oh and do you rig your characters, maybe to put them in a different pose?

[/ol]

1- A typical character like the female figure will take about one week, on a ten hour work day. In school I’d spend about five weeks on a life size, practical figure, without casting. I think the longest I’ve ever spent on one digital character sculpt is about two and a half weeks.

2- I don’t rig my characters.

  1. #(12) Jeff Lohrius
    1.Right now you redraw the animation cage topology in ZBrush then use it as a template in Maya to reconstruct- I noticed though that you use Silo so have you changed your work flow to include the topology brush now? Can you forsee doing all this in ZBrush when the next release comes out and you can use Zspheres to bulid new loops around the existing mesh?

2.How do you see yourself using the new rigging tools in ZBrush coming out? This seems like it will allow the artist to quickly reposition the mesh using Zspheres- seems like a good tool for morph targets etc.

3.I find UV mapping to be the one thing that frustrates and slows down the organic digital sculpting process- can you share some thoughts on how you approach it?

4.Any chance you can do a tutorial on the iguana animation that you showed @ the ZBrush user group meeting? I saw a clip of it but I would love to see the whole process from laying out the base mesh, refining, uv, texturing, and animating.

1-Actually, I don’t use Silo, but I think we’ve seen the same ZBrush update movie previews and I can’t wait to get a hold of the damn thing. I’d love to use ZBrush to re-draw the mesh.

2-I’d use the ZBrush rigging to pose a concept sculpt. As a digital concept designer you are competing with traditional artists that know how much a pose or expression can “sell” a character. It would be nice to be able to quickly compete with them in that respect.

3-I skip it. When I set up a team, I typically divide the UV mapping responsibility into the texture department. To visualize color on a concept sculpt, I’ll just use the automatic mapping in ZBrush.

4-I only did the design and sculpt on that one. However, it was really straight forward. We wanted to see how low of a mesh we could displace and ended up with a poly mesh count of a couple hundred.

  1. #(13) Jake Farrell Scotty Doesn’t Know

[ol]

  1. How long did those take about?
  2. How much did you make on average for working in the sky captain?
  3. What made you want to be a artist?

[/ol]

1-Usually, I spend about a week to sculpt a high-rez full body character.

2-8.2 million dollars. My lawyer screwed my affairs badly though, and I lost most of it.

3-I think I am an artist, I don’t think its something I can stop “being”

4-”Don’t tell Jake that his girlfriend and me do it in my van on Sundays. She says she’s goin to church, she’s down on her knees, but she’s not prayin’, Jakey doesn’t know, Jakey Doesn’t know, Jakey doesn’t know!”

  1. #(14) The Pumpkin King

[ol]
First, I’d want to know if you can reccomend any books or media (besides your DVD, which I am planning to buy) on sculpting anatomy? My second question is what would you like to see added or improved in the next major version of ZBRUSH?

[/ol]

1-I’d recommend -Anatomy for the Artist by Sarah Simblet | The Human Machine, and Constructive Anatomy by George B. Bridgman, and any book you can buy from Andrew Loomis.

2-I’d like to see the ability to redraw a mesh, pose a character, and multiple pieces in the same session.

#24

that’s still plenty left over… you’re buying lunch.

#25

I wanna thank you for being with us in this forum. Its a total pleasure to talk with u.
and congratulations for your amazing work, is truly inspiring!!

1.What artist do u admire? Not only in CG but in general. Like painters, writers, musicians, etc.

2.How can i improved my comunication skills when i m working in a team? I have found that when i m selling my work to a client or director, most of the time i get a different idea of what they where thinking.

3.In order to be a good character modeller what do u recomend for a beginner? I mostly model cars, tanks, trains and machines in general. I have always been a little afraid of modelling humans. Any suggestions?

4.Can u give away just one of your CG secrets to success?

#26

eh, exactly on what did you make 8.2 million dollars? What did you make on Sky Captain? Sorry, I am ignorant. Please enlighten me.

#27

ZACK writed:I would suggest using your passion, or energy, to create options. A great place to start trying to develop options is through making contacts. Try to find people that are doing what you want to be doing. Preferably geographically close to you. In other words look for a mentor. Try to find out what path they took to get where they are. Second, never, ever, stop. Ask yourself every morning when you get up, and every night when you go to bed, “How can I achieve my goals”. The more time you devote to asking the questions the more likely you are to finding the solutions.

[color=white]I write this word and I go on with them since the end…And the end don’t exist…[/color]
Thank u!

#28

i think what jack meant to say was Sky Captain made 8.2 million dollars at the box office.

zhack, how much inspirations did you get from your modeling team during the making of Sky Captain?

#29

Hi first of all, congrats for your beautyful work. your love for the human figure , and for sculpture art,is really noticeable and makes the difference.

i was wondering, since u use z brush as an important tool of your pipeline, if you use z spheres also to build your human figures sometimes, and if using a mesh built in maya makes the difference and why.

i am really amazed from the upcoming z brush features.forr redrawing topology. they will solve many probs related to modelling IMO.
surely for us traditional artist, is way more easy to build and texture figures using a process that simulates the hand work of an artist.

another thing i would ask, are some advice to how to understand better sculpting.drawing is good, but sculpting is a different process. how does a real sculptor works, and how he takes the right proportions? is there a method to follow to improve and understand better how shapes are in 3D?

thanx in advance.

p.s. btw sky captain rocks!!! :slight_smile:

#30

hi zack

its great you have taken the time to aswer questions here on cgtalk.
for me your work stands out from the crowd, taking a more classical approach and focusing on vital aspects like weight and form I believe they are important criteria for modellers to be conciously aware of.
i havent had the pleasure of your zbrush dvd - yet but that will be my first when i get zbrush, i actually came across the gallery and saw the models you had built and i have to admit i tried to match them because i wanted to see how my own skills matched against a quality modeller. that reminded me of the vital aspects of life drawing that i lost.

much of your work is humanoid, do you work on creatures and fantasy work?

i know you get asked this question and i apologize if it has already been asked but what would you like to see from someone who is applying for a modellers job in their showreeel?

  1. is it vital to include drawings?
  2. should models be created from a story concept?
#31

thank you zack for answering my question, i have one more for you (knew i would). You really show of what can be done with Zbrush and we can all see you comfortable with it in terms of sculpting. But what did you do before Zbrush? Did you use maya or any other package? If so, is it ok to show us some of tha work?

Thanks again

oh and your got 8.2 million on Sky Captain? That more than Jude Law got on Alfie according to imdb. This cant be true… can it, then i better pulll my socks up then :).

#32

11.#(15) Scott Wells

[ol]
Could you talk about your time at the Florence Academy? How long you were there and an overview of what you studied?

[/ol]

I was in Florence for around seven months. I majored in figure sculpture, but ironically, I spent very little time actually sculpting the figure. The most influential part of studying abroad, for me, was experiencing the culture and the environment. It was a great time to observe. Immersing yourself in a different culture gives you an even greater understanding of your own culture. It can make your re-think the way you communicate, and understand other people on a very fundamental level. Communication is a large part of my art, and I think the experiences I had in Italy helped me understand those skills and consequently greatly improved my art. It was also amazing to live in a city that was built around a “people” scale, as apposed to an “automobile” scale like most cities in the U.S. Again, it just gives you a new understanding. The more you understand about your art, the better it will become.

12.#(16) Chad Hamlet

[ol]
Being that there is such an amazing way to sculpt with ZBrush, what is your take on putting 3D digital concepts on a demo reel? I know that in the old days Disney, and other studios, wanted to see artists sketches, and life drawings etc… Do you think that the time has come to start adding those types of “sketches” to 3D demo reels?

[/ol]

1- Yes. I think digital concept models can be a great way to round-out your portfolio. I would just make sure to keep a good variety of “organized-meshes” on your reel as well. Remember, you are applying to be a digital sculptor in a production pipeline, so they will need to see that you understand the needs of that pipeline.

13.#(17) Rick Klein

[ol]

  1. How long have you been modeling and what inspired you to start?
  2. Is there a specific form you enjoy modeling more than others?
  3. How would you rate the quality of a program like ZBrush against something like Maya which is a full service program?
  4. What advice could you offer to someone thats just getting started?
  5. Do you feel the modeling field is extremely competitive?

[/ol]

1- I’ve been sculpting and creating characters since mixing flour, salt, and water, made play-doe. So literally, as long as I can remember.

2- I do enjoy sculpting the human form. I might still enjoy it because I feel like I still have so much more to learn about it.

3- I’d give it about an 82%. ZBrush is great for developing a character and organic forms. Obviously, I don’t think it competes with Maya in other areas. I don’t think its trying to yet.

4- Find out what it is you really want to do. Find someone that’s doing it and find out how they got where they are today. The only other advice I have is to never stop trying. The only way you can ever fail is if you stop trying.

5- I think a lot of people see modeling as the first step in the pipeline and think they can use it to get into a studio, then transfer to a different department. The problem is, I don’t know any lead modelers that want to hire someone that only wants to model until something better comes along. So, yes there is a lot of competition, but no, I really don’t believe there are a lot of great modelers. Not yet.

14.#(18) Colin Sutcliffe

[ol]
There have been a few posts where people have expressed an opinion that using ZBrush is almost like cheating as they claim it’s easy to get great results and that ZBrush is like a magic wand that can make a bad or average artist great. What’s you’re take on this? Also, will you be creating any more DVD’s for Gnomon?

[/ol]

1- My opinion is that those type of people don’t know what great art is. They use ZBrush to “polish tirds”. If you’re the type of person that thinks a polished tird is great art then yes, ZBrush is a way of cheating. Its only a tool, no more, no less. The real art comes from the user. I like the fact that ZBrush makes it easy to create fine detail and surface textures, because now that anyone can do it, people will hopefully start to look at the elements of a sculpture that really count. For example the weight, balance, and design.

15.#(19) Michael Phillips

[ol]
hey Zack, I thought your work was great in sky captain, and remember reading somewhere that you guys used a new modeling tool…kinda like a scanning stylis or something that allowed you to sculpt an a more traditional way. If that’s so, could you give us a little info on what it was like.

[/ol]

1- That was FreeForm. Cool tool but hard to fit into the pipeline, and expensive. You’ll be able to find a link if you Google it. Probably find an article where myself and other artists talk about it more in-depth too.

16.#(20) A_K

[ol]

  1. after you have built a mesh in zbrush and created another one in
    maya, with good topology, you kept subdividing it and using shrinkwrap
    to transfer the detail from the high-res z brush model to the new one…

the question is - do you end up with a dense mesh and leave it as it
is or somehow extract the displacement map and apply it to the original
mesh constructed on top of the zbrush one in maya?

  1. one more question that was given before - if you don’t mind is about the Haptic device and if it’s a good thing to invest - does it really make a difference comparing to a wacom and ZBrush - or it’s good for starting a model and then switching to Zbrush…and does it have a future or it will be soon replaced by other technologies?

[/ol]

1- After you’ve suddivided a mesh in Maya, you can take it back into ZBrush and “re-construct the lower levels by hitting the “reconstruct subdiv” button under the tool\ Geometry tab. Then you use the low rez organized mesh the same way you would use any other low rez mesh in ZBrush. You will still be able to “step” up and down through the levels of resolution.

2- I don’t think the haptic device ever really took off. It is great to use, but the price point was too great for what it had to offer. Once I got use to using the wacom, and the other functionalities of ZBrush, I really didn’t miss the haptic device that much.

17.#(21) Øystein Sollesnes

[ol]
So, have you been interested in art all your life? When did you start, and what made you start? And special reason? Oh, and how did you get into CG?
Yep, I might be asking for your whole life story, but just shorten it down as much as you want.

[/ol]

I’ve always been interested in art. Can’t really think of a reason why. Again, I think the real “gift” is the desire to create art. Its what I prefer to do. I got into CG my third year in undergrad. Our school acquired six Octane workstations with Alias AutoStudio (predecessor to Maya, used mainly for Industrial Design). Because my sculpts have always been about a narrative and characters as apposed to materials and space, digital medias seemed to be the right choice for what I wanted my art to achieve.

18.#(22) Daniel Williams

    #1: Mortuary assistant?
  On the DVD, I thought I heard you say you spent some time as a mortuary assistant.

Is this correct? If so, did you do it with the intent of increasing your anatomical knowledge?

[ol]
#2: What other resources would you recommend to sculptors (digital and traditional alike)? Books, DVDs, Artists, etc.

#3: What advice would you give to people learning to sculpt related to approaching their work. I work with some amazing sculptors who have been at it for a while, and they always give me tips and hints on how to approach things that help me get faster and improve the quality of my work. What insight can you provide related to this topic?

#4: Finally, are there any Mel or Z scripts that you use a lot(non-proprietary of course)?

[/ol]

1- No, I did it for the ladies. Actually, I was not a mortuary assistant, I did however study anatomy at Case Western School of Medicine.

2- I think I listed a few books in another answer, but as far as artists go, I like the work of Matthew Barney, and Jeff Koons to name a few. Ian McCaig’s DVD’s are also worth while.

3- Instead of looking at digital art, go to a museum. Always try to improve your perception of what good art is.

4- To be honest, no. Most of the scripts I use are directly related to the pipeline of the specific shows I’m working on.

19#(23)Arts&Rats

[ol]
1.What artist do u admire? Not only in CG but in general. Like painters, writers, musicians, etc.

2.How can i improved my communication skills when i m working in a team? I have found that when i m selling my work to a client or director, most of the time i get a different idea of what they where thinking.

3.In order to be a good character modeler what do u recommend for a beginner? I mostly model cars, tanks, trains and machines in general. I have always been a little afraid of modeling humans. Any suggestions?

4.Can u give away just one of your CG secrets to success?

[/ol]

1- I think I answered this in the post above this one.

2- Every person communicates differently, there are countless books on how to manage and communicate to different personality types. If you want a really tough read, try “Science of the Mind” by Owen Flanagan.

3-If you enjoy modeling cars, trains, ext., then maybe you shouldn’t model humans. Who says you have too? If you are really passionate about hardedge modeling, then go for it. If you are afraid of modeling humans, then maybe you don’t really want to.

4- How about three. Viagra, Rohipnal, and Baskin Robin’s Mochachino Blasts. Other than that, the only secret I know of is persistence.

#33

hey zack, it would be great if you could set the theme for the next challenge here at cg talk, please give it some thought if you have the time.

#34

Hi, Zack

Thanks for taking the time to answer all our questions, your work is really inspiring.
This is maybe a weird question, but I’d like to know how much money do u take for a sculpture e.g. the girl?

Thanks.

#35

I have another question: What is your favorite sculpture you have done, both physically and in ZBrush, and could you post pictures, if you have them?

#36

First I might say you’re the most impressive organic modeler of these days. Your traditional approach to the 3D media using this new powerful tool that is zbrush changed completely my view of 3D. My frustration in not been able to reproduce the feel of the flesh and bones in 3D was gone with your minotaur, and then you made that DVD, and nowadays i know that is possible to be less technician and more artist in 3D. Forget all those who blame zbrush for being “easy”. Those are the same that complain about having to see naked men in drawing classes or think that studying corpses is sick. Those would end up making 3d versions of scanned data. You are making art in 3D, and this is an amazing thing.

K, after this ass kissing I have some questions :smiley:

1 - Are you planing to make a woman for you next DVD? I found the anatomy of a girl very hard to match both in 3d and 2D. Since women are too smooth/round. Your girl statue has a life in it, and it’s smooth at the same time. Beatiful.

2 - have you ever thought of bringing your 3d to life? There are lots of methods nowadays to “print” in 3D.

3 - Will you ever redo your site? :smiley: You have a brilliant work but your site is… err… simple? The best images (the biggest) I saw from your work came from the artists gallery of Gnomon Workshop. You might post bigger renders of your stuff in your site, C’mon, don’t be shy :smiley:

4 - You know any good book with photos of sculptures. I know from your DVD that you have taken photos from fonts and sculptures in Italy. I live in brazil and unforntunately our museums don’t have this kind of sculptures (our baroque was a little different from that one in europe). So I’m looking for boos. Art renewal does have some great pictures of sculptures, but having them on a book… wow, much better.

5 - Bernini or Michelangelo? :smiley:

Thanks if you have some time to answer.

Cheers,
Fabricio

#37

Hi Zack,

this is a great opportunity to kind of speak to you. Being a modeller myself, I had the feeling that nowadays in 3D world, more and more interest was given to Rendering and tecnical solutions and all that kind of great stuff. I felt that modelling had much more to say when I saw your works and the works of many other great artists (this one is for you Dave Cardwell) using Zbrush in combination with a regular 3D program. The sense of life that pops out of your models is incredible and truly inspiring. The first time I saw your gallery I came closer to the screen going WhhhooooO, ca c est un mechant… Thank you so muchos.

Sandro

“It was the first collaborative project I’ve been involved with that didn’t leave me wanting to work on my own pieces at home at the end of the work day. Kevin and Kerry Conran wanted all the artists involved to feel a sense of ownership in the final film. I think they succeeded.” - that must be great, thats why I started posting on CGtalk - entering a competition forces you to get busy with your own art after work. You need that boost when you do 3D commercials - sometimes it is so a headache! hehhe

Cheers

My M&S

#38

21.#(28) Punnw01

how much inspirations did you get from your modeling team during the making of Sky Captain?

1- I would say having the chance to work with that team was one of the most enjoyable parts of the project. It was also incredibly inspirational when I learned that a rolly-polly Asian dude CAN marry a good looking white chick. Way to go Punn. You make entire team so, so very proud.

22.#(29) Daniele Mattei

1- i was wondering, since u use z brush as an important tool of your pipeline, if you use z spheres also to build your human figures sometimes, and if using a mesh built in maya makes the difference and why.

2- i am really amazed from the upcoming z brush features.forr redrawing topology. they will solve many probs related to modelling IMO.
surely for us traditional artist, is way more easy to build and texture figures using a process that simulates the hand work of an artist.

3- another thing i would ask, are some advice to how to understand better sculpting.drawing is good, but sculpting is a different process. how does a real sculptor works, and how he takes the right proportions? is there a method to follow to improve and understand better how shapes are in 3D?

1- I don’t use Zspheres yet. From what I’ve seen you could, but I like to set my mesh up in Maya so I know the exact scale and placement of the sculpt I’m about to create. I also like to go back and forth between Maya and ZBrush so I can use a few of Maya’s other tools. I’ll probably make the switch to Zspheres when the next version arrives.

2- I concur.

3- Yes, there is a way to improve your abilities as a sculptor. Study form and good sculptors. Look at their works and really try to appreciate what is going on. Sometimes you really need to look at something to realize how much more there is to it. The CG industry, and CG art community in general are extremely shallow. Sorry, but I believe its true. Ninety percent of the art I see looks like it should be painted on the side of a van. How much of it really transcends? At this stage, CG art is very one dimensional. You look at an image or a digital sculpt once, and you’re done. There’s nothing else to be gained. It’s like a one-liner joke. Its entertaining for a second, but then its on to the next. The difficult and interesting part is that truly defining what makes a piece of art “transcend” is almost impossible to do, and varies from person to person. You ever wonder why Norman Rockwell illustrations are never in museums? Good illustrations, but always “one-liners”. Ain’t no transcending there. I would equate some of the best CG art to a Norman Rockwell illustration. Not to piss more people off, but I would also call Rockwell and illustrator, not a painter. Back to the point, if you are interested in finding out more about sculpture, try to understand more about great sculptors. If you were to make a practical sculpt, would you ask yourself about the space it occupies? Would you ask yourself about why you are using certain materials? If it was made from sculpt y that’s swell, but you might ask how the piece would change if you made it from wax. If you sculpt the figure from wax and its next to another object made of wood, how does that affect your perception of the wax. To me, that’s what sculpture is about, materials, and space. Ironically, digital art does an odd thing to both of those concepts. It gets very convoluted. Anyway, hope that give you a few clues to start investigating.

23.#(30) Orion 77

1-much of your work is humanoid, do you work on creatures and fantasy work?

2-i know you get asked this question and i apologize if it has already been asked but what would you like to see from someone who is applying for a modelers job in their showreeel?
3- is it vital to include drawings?
4- should models be created from a story concept?

1- As an art director on Jon Carter of Mars I’ll have to create creatures. I have a lot of work to do on that, but I look forward to developing those skills as well. As for fantasy art, I’ve never been much of a fan.

2- I do look for raw talent, but I also need to see how that person is going to fit into my team’s dynamic. I try to set up a team with many different types of digital sculpting positions because I believe that each personality type has something to add. I want hard-edge, organic, and technical modelers. I want experienced, and even new-bee modelers. They all have something to add. If you are a new-bee I usually look for a person that is truly passionate about their work. Its also nice to see someone that realizes where they fit into the team. The person that thinks they know everything has no way of finding out that they don’t. Think about that one, its a very important concept. Know how good your art is, or is not.

3- I like to see drawings, but its probably not vital. A drawing is a very basic way to assess someone’s artistic talent. However, if you have bad drawings, I’d rather not see them at all. This one dude sent in a reel and unbound 4x6 photos of his drawings he must have taken on a disposable camera. What the hell was this guy thinking? What you send me is my impression of you. Put some time into it. Make the shit go together, and do things for a reason. A well presented and designed packet can go a long way. Another guy that wanted to work on Sky Captain miss-spelled the word “tomorrow” on his cover letter. I’m a God-awful speller, but the least you can do is spell all the words in the title of the film you want to work on correctly.

4- It doesn’t hurt to have models that where developed for drawings. It shows that you can translate 2-D images into 3D designers which is an important trait to master.

24.#(31) Andrew Browne

You really show of what can be done with Zbrush and we can all see you comfortable with it in terms of sculpting. But what did you do before Zbrush? Did you use maya or any other package? If so, is it ok to show us some of the work?

1- Before ZBrush I used FreeForm. You can google it for more info, and I think they still might have a few images of my work in their galleries.

25.#(33) Orion 77

hey zack, it would be great if you could set the theme for the next challenge here at cg talk, please give it some thought if you have the time

1- I’ll have to think about that, it could be interesting.

26.#(34) Vladimir Minguillo

This is maybe a weird question, but I’d like to know how much money do u take for a sculpture e.g. the girl?

1- I get paid in lipstick, pretty shades of lipstick. Actually a few of you have asked about rates, so here’s a ball-park, for a beginner to intermediate sculptor in L.A. you can expect any where from about 1100 to 2300 per week. It varies dramatically. For a lead or sup it can vary even more. That’s all I have to say about that.

27.#(35) The Pumpkin King

I have another question: What is your favorite sculpture you have done, both physically and in ZBrush, and could you post pictures, if you have them?

1- I think my favorite practical sculpt is the large piece that’s pictured on the first page of this thread. I don’t think I have a favorite ZBrush sculpt yet. I’m still working on it.

2- I will post a few other images of my work on this thread for those of you how were cool enough to post questions and all.

28.#(36) Fabrício Torres

1 - Are you planing to make a woman for you next DVD? I found the anatomy of a girl very hard to match both in 3d and 2D. Since women are too smooth/round. Your girl statue has a life in it, and it’s smooth at the same time. Beautiful.

2 - have you ever thought of bringing your 3d to life? There are lots of methods nowadays to “print” in 3D.

3 - Will you ever redo your site? You have a brilliant work but your site is… err… simple? The best images (the biggest) I saw from your work came from the artists gallery of Gnomon Workshop. You might post bigger renders of your stuff in your site, C’mon, don’t be shy

4 - You know any good book with photos of sculptures. I know from your DVD that you have taken photos from fonts and sculptures in Italy. I live in brazil and unfortunately our museums don’t have this kind of sculptures (our baroque was a little different from that one in Europe). So I’m looking for boos. Art renewal does have some great pictures of sculptures, but having them on a book… wow, much better.

5 - Bernini or Michelangelo?

1-Thanks, I might choose a female figure for part of my next DVD. By the way, I do plan on making the first ever “R” rated Gnomon DVD. I keep telling them that and I don’t think they realize I’m serious. I’ll be Zbrushing and just when I’ve overcome some incredibly hard part of the model, I’ll smash-edit-cut to some random little kid saying
“ Now that’s some ****in Zbrushin!” or they can say “He just smacked that ZBrush Bitch Up!” It will be awesome!

2-I’ve had a number of sculpts output. Even had one milled from a 1000 bound billet of aluminum. Its cool, but that’s just not what my art is about. Plus there is already enough junk in this world. I kind of like the thought that it only exists in a digital formate.

3- I agree, the site needs a lot of work. I just need to find more time. Soon I’ll just break down and pay someone.

4- I bought a lot of books when I was in Italy, and other European cities, so unfortunately I don’t think they would be available to you. Its also hard to find a book that does justice to the sculptures with the pictures. Sorry I don’t have any books that jump out in my memory.

5-I might have to go with Bernini.

#39 
I just had to quote these incase anyone missed it.  Frickin hilarious!

Anyway my question is, what is your proudest moment in your art life?

#40

Hey Zack, good to see you here answering questions! :slight_smile: I’m just popping in to communicate my partial disagreement to this statement. Norman Rockwell was not the “one trick pony” that you seem to suggest. His work is not in art museums for the same reason that the work of Leyendecker, Dean Cornwell, Howard Pyle, etc. is hard to find in museums. They were all illustrators and comercial artists. They mostly worked creating art for magazine covers, storybooks and such. I think that they were all geniuses and master painters, only that they decided to work in the comercial design world, instead of the fine art one. I would argue that Rockwell was as great a painter as there have ever been.

Most current CG art doesn’t even scratch the surface of Normal Rockwell’s work, which is masterfully crafted and painfully designed, while still communicating very human messages and stories. The big difference here is that almost anyone can realate to Rockwell’s characters and visual stories. The same is not true of most cg art. (also, most cg artists don’t even have half of the knowledge and education on design that Rockwell had).

Anyway, going back to the Q&A :slight_smile:
who are your main influences when it comes to painting? Why do you like their work (what sets them appart from the rest, in your opinion)?

Thanks for your time Zack!

#41

Hey Im so impressed with your work that i feel like I dont know anyting. I loved the scene you did in sky captain with the styalized angel in the ship with the sword. That was the coolest. I am a student at Cal State University Fullerton right now and am studying both illusration and 3D animation. I was wondering If you could give me some feedback on my stuff? I know its still WIP but hopefully with some insight from the pros like you I could get better. Anyway for those organic models of the figures you did was that Z brush? or something else. My 3D instructor advises not to build a character that realistic if its going to be animated, so Im curious what will you use those for. Well Thanks allot For your time, I really appreciate it.
-Dave :bounce: