Starting out

[Shawry]

hey guys..

I was just wondering, when your like me and a complete nooB to sculpting, what kinda of models should i attack first when learning Mudbox.?? Some of my friends have said try human heads etc.. or should i start with something simpler?

I can model human heads fine in Maya, but my brain just doesn't get sculpting, and there isn't much learning stuff out there other than waynes Quickstart vids..

I hope Waynes Mudbox 2010 book comes out soon ;)
So yeh, just curious how other have started out learning.

cheers.

[Wayne]

It depends what area you wish to spealise in, or if you want to be all rounder or not. There are many fantastic digital sculptors that are completely screwed the moment you tell them to step outside of thier comfort zone. I dont belive in 'comfort zones' only in bad habits, its why every now and again I'll change tack and do something differnt like the enviro peices I did last night.

I would advice doing some enviro sculpting as its easier and more forgiving that organics and also it helps to build confidence. Now the biggest problem for any new artist of any type , digital or not, is fear. The moment you are scared if a stroke will screw up your model or not, you've already lost the battle.


You gain confidence by getting very familiar with your tools and knowing what each stroke will look like before you do it. What only comes with a lot of practice and also more importantly knowing 'why' a tool behaves the way it does. For example knowing why the sculpt and wax brushes are different ,or the foamy and sculpt brush. Thats all info that helps when your sculpting.

The way I like to put it, is that you need ot learn stuff in order to be able to forget it. Also you need to know the 'rules' before you can break them, although I prefer to think of them more as guidelines. ;)


For orginics, start by learning the skeleton itself and its shapes and forms very well, so that you can replicate these, but also then know where you can exagerate parts for creatures. Only then is it a good idea to learn the muscles and insertion points. Without a knowledge of the bones the muscles are useless.

One big advice I would give is not just to simply copy any tutorials but make sure you know WHY something has been done. If not and you dont understand why a stroke or form have been added...then feel free to ask.

So really its down to a combination of knowledge and experience. One is easy to gain, but the other takes time. One thing I always say in my videos and espeicaly at live masterclasses is that we dont live in 'the matrix' and we cannot simply dowload info into our heads. It takes time and often learning in small bite sized pieces gives far better results that trying to learn everything all at once. break things down into small sections and never be afraid of cocking a model up.

Mistakes are a good thing as if we didn't make a mistake ever on our art , then we'd never learn. So each time you screw up see it as a positive thing, it means you've learned from the process and hence gained experience.

I hope that helps and maes sense (been a long morning and it is quite possible its complete gibberish lol.)

I should also point out that lots of guys in digital sculpting do not agree with me and advise specalisation etc.... To me though thats a bit saying you wish to learn to drive but will only drive a lotus elan lol.

Hope that helps.

Wayne...

[Shawry]

Hey wayne, thanks very much for that.. i think that was exactly what i need to hear..

I want to aim at being a good enough artist to be able to say, " give me anything u want and i can model it." hard surface - organic whateva. ( but don't get me wrong, i'll give anything a Crack, but u don't wanna get caught talking crap in a production pipeline ) At the moment tho, im almost 90% a organic modeller, because so far thats all my jobs have required, but am totally open to hard surface, tho when i go to model , say a car for instance.. my brain tries to link everything in a way an organic piece would be like.. so yes i understand where your coming from on that point... its a " Bad habit " i would like to break ;) im sure it will happen in time.

My problem at the moment is that, i can see what i want to do in my head, but i don't know what techniques are used to get certain looks.. i have the basic understanding of what brushes do what, but again its like u said, knowing WHY u do something a certain times can be missed quite easily as sometimes most tutorials can be too quick and overwhelming.
Although i think after today i am starting to catch on, im working on a small head bust that a type of alien parasite thingy is trying to take over his head, and doin this is getting me more comfortable with mudbox, ( i'll post it up tomorrow so u'll understand. its not for a reel or anything its just practice. )

Im not affraid to make a mess of a model, tho u have to admit tho at times it can be bloody frustrating ;) lol

So far from what i have seen of you and your work wayno, Ur pretty F*n good !! so im quite happy to take any advice you send my way, so thank you very much for that. haha ;)

Specialisation = limiting jobs ;)

Thanks again wayne, appreciate the help.
Cheers.

Adam

[Shawry]

oh another thing:

I heard once while i was working overseas a TD say that if u want to be a good modeller u have to be able to draw..? what does everyone think of that? personaly i don't beleive it.. but im not saying that extra skills like drawing etc arn't benificial to a modellers eye.

It was just a thought that poped in me noggin lol

[Wayne]

oh another thing:

I heard once while i was working overseas a TD say that if u want to be a good modeller u have to be able to draw..? what does everyone think of that? personaly i don't beleive it.. but im not saying that extra skills like drawing etc arn't benificial to a modellers eye.

It was just a thought that poped in me noggin lol

well put it this way....myh drawing skills are (to be polite) 'limited', as my brain works in 3 dimensions not 2. Make of that what you will.


Wayne...

[spindraft]

oh another thing:

I heard once while i was working overseas a TD say that if u want to be a good modeller u have to be able to draw..? what does everyone think of that? personaly i don't beleive it.. but im not saying that extra skills like drawing etc arn't benificial to a modellers eye.

It was just a thought that poped in me noggin lol

I think that notion likely comes from the fact that developing skill in drawing will force you to learn a lot of things that transfer well to sculpting. I.e. basic anatomy, proportions, shadow/light behavior, etc. etc.

However, I don't think you necessarily have learn these concepts via. learning to draw. I'm sure there's various other avenues in which you can pick up said skills, as well as the fact that some people seem to simply have a better natural understanding of these concepts than others.

I used to be able to draw quite well many moons ago, but I didn't keep up on it & now my 2d skills are like a rusted beat up old car sitting the back yard. Could get running again, but she needs a lot of work. ;)

[Shawry]

hahaha, thanks guys, nice analogies lol