魔獸的制作

我總是試圖推動自己在各種科目中制作3D藝術。 這是因為我可以通過學習如何使用新的軟件在創(chuàng)作過程中學到很多技巧。 我也認為這是學習新技能的最好辦法。

過去曾做過幾個人物，但還沒有造出任何幻想的生物。 然后我記得了暴雪娛樂的插圖之一。 獸人是3D中創(chuàng)造的最常見和最有趣的主題之一， 所以，因為我是魔獸世界的大粉絲，我決定把這個人物插圖作為我的下一個項目。

即使我有一個特定的圖示作為我的目標，我仍然需要收集更多的這個角色的參考，以創(chuàng)建準確的細節(jié)和圖中隱藏的部分。

I always try to push myself to make 3D art in a variety of subjects. This is because I can learn a lot of techniques during the creation process by learning how to use new software. I also believe that it's the best way to learn new skills.

I had made a few human characters in the past, but hadn't yet made any fantasy creatures. Then I remembered one of the illustrations from Blizzard Entertainment. Orcs are one of the most common and fun subjects to create in 3D, and I'd never tried to make one before ? so since I'm a big fan of World of Warcraft, I decided to make this character illustration as my next project.

To start, even though I had a specific illustration as my goal, I still needed to gather more references of this character to create accurate details and the parts hidden in the illustration.

Modeling the body

I made the body in ZBrush first because it's the main object that will hold all the other accessories. It's not human, but it still needs the correct anatomy. I tried to find general orc character proportions and blended it with the basic human anatomy structure. This will be a still image, so I didn't make plans to do a lot of sculpting for areas that will be hidden by the armor.

My sculpting started from DynaMesh. Usually, once I'm happy with the overall form, I retopologize it and put more details when topology is ready. But in this case, I used ZRemesher ? it doesn't generate perfect geometry but was more than enough for my purposes.

建模身體

我首先在ZBrush身上做了身體，因為它是主要的對象，將保持所有其他的配件。 它不是人類，但它仍然需要正確的解剖。 我試圖找到一般的獸人字符比例，并將其與基本的人體解剖結構混合。 這將是一個靜止的形象，所以我沒有計劃對那些將被盔甲隱藏的區(qū)域進行大量的雕刻。

我的雕刻從DynaMesh開始。 通常，一旦我對整體形式感到滿意，我將重新拓撲化，并在拓撲準備就緒時提供更多的細節(jié)。 但在這種情況下，我使用ZRemesher。 它不會產生完美的幾何，但是足夠我的目的。

Modeling the armor

For the armor, I decided to make a base mesh in Maya, and then export it to ZBrush for the details. So I imported the body base mesh to Maya and made the armor base meshes to fit on the body. To help later on in the sculpting process, I tried to maintain an equal polygon density for each object ? even if it was a flat surface.

There were a lot of skulls around the armor, so I created one skull in ZBrush and exported it to Maya, and then duplicated it around the armor where it was needed. I used the IMM Chain brush in ZBrush to create the wrist chains.

造型裝甲

對于裝甲，我決定在Maya中制作一個基礎網(wǎng)格，然后將其導出到ZBrush中。 所以我將身體基礎網(wǎng)格導入到瑪雅，并制作了裝甲底座以適應身體。 為了幫助以后在雕刻過程中，我試圖為每個對象保持一個相等的多邊形密度。 即使它是一個平坦的表面。

盔甲周圍有許多頭骨，所以我在ZBrush中創(chuàng)造了一個頭骨，將其導出到Maya，然后將其復制在需要的盔甲上。 我在ZBrush中使用IMM Chain刷創(chuàng)建腕鏈。

UV Unwrap

Once I was happy with base mesh, I created UV maps for each object. I used 9 UV tiles so I put a lot of detail in the texture maps, in case I wanted to use a close up render.

UV展開

一旦我對基礎網(wǎng)格感到滿意，我為每個對象創(chuàng)建了UV映射。 我使用9個UV瓷磚，所以我在紋理貼圖中放了很多細節(jié)。

Posing

I exported each armor mesh to ZBrush. Before sculpting the details, I decided to make the pose first. Usually sculpting comes before posing, but this character will stay in the same pose for the final image.

There's a great tool in ZBrush called the Transpose Master. This makes all the SubTools low res and merges them temporarily to allow us to adjust the overall object together ? this means it's great for posing, especially when a scene contains multiple SubTools. I could have moved and rotated the model using this temporary mesh, but instead I exported this mesh to Maya and rigged it so I could get a pose with a better weight distribution.

Once I was happy with the pose, I exported the mesh to ZBrush and switched the temp mesh to posed mesh. During this process, the Vertex ID or object name shouldn't be changed.

造型

我將每個護甲網(wǎng)格導出到ZBrush。 在雕刻細節(jié)之前，我決定先做好姿勢。 通常雕塑來擺姿勢，但這個角色將保持在同一姿勢的最終形象。

ZBrush有一個很棒的工具，稱為“轉置大師”。 這使所有的SubTools低分辨率和臨時合并，讓我們一起調整整體對象， 這意味著它非常適合擺放，特別是當場景包含多個SubTools時。 我可以使用這個臨時網(wǎng)格移動和旋轉模型，而是將這個網(wǎng)格導出到Maya并裝載它，所以我可以得到一個更好的體重分布的姿勢。

一旦我對姿勢感到滿意，我將網(wǎng)格導出到ZBrush，并將溫度網(wǎng)格切換成網(wǎng)格。 在此過程中，不應更改頂點ID或對象名稱。

Sculpting details

When all the base meshes were imported into ZBrush, it was time for sculpting. First, I thought about what kind of material it should be, and tried to collect reference photos of related objects.

Sculpting can be defined in terms of three stages:

1. Low frequency details

2. Mid frequency details

3. High frequency details

For example, skins can be defined like:

1.    General muscle form

2.    Subtle bumpiness

3.    Pore, wrinkle detail

ZBrush has a great option in the brush settings ? Spray. Using the alpha map with Spray is a fast and efficient way to generate basic surface details.

Once I had enough detail for the base, I kept putting more details on top. DamStandard, Trim Dynamic, and Alpha with DragRect brush options were my usual choices.

雕刻細節(jié)

當所有的基礎網(wǎng)格都被導入ZBrush時，現(xiàn)在是雕刻的時候了。 首先，我想了解應該是什么樣的材料，并嘗試收集相關對象的參考照片。

雕刻可以按照三個階段來定義：

1.低頻細節(jié)

2.中頻細節(jié)

3.高頻細節(jié)

例如，皮膚可以定義如下：

1.一般肌肉形態(tài)

2.微妙的顛簸

3.孔，皺紋細節(jié)

ZBrush在畫筆設置中有很好的選擇， 噴霧。 使用Alpha映射與噴涂是一種快速有效的方式來生成基本的表面細節(jié)。

一旦我有足夠的細節(jié)為基礎，我不斷提出更多的細節(jié)在上面。 DamStandard，Trim Dynamic和Alpha與DragRect畫筆選項是我平常的選擇。

Marvelous Designer

For the banner on the back, I used Marvelous Designer to create fast, easy and natural drapery. Nothing fancy in the settings; I just created the basic shape of the banner, used Pin to hold the top side, and then clicked Simulate. What a software.

Marvelous Designer

對于背面的橫幅，我使用Marvelous Designer來創(chuàng)建快速，簡單和自然的窗簾。 在設置中沒有什么花哨; 我剛剛創(chuàng)建了旗幟的基本形狀，用Pin來保持頂端，然后點擊Simulate。 

Texturing

I chose MARI as my main texturing tool. I set the texture size to 8,000 with a 16-bit color depth. 8,000 allowed me to put a lot of detail into the textures, and 16-bit gave me more freedom in the texture adjustment ? though you need to keep in mind that this setting can easily become very heavy. Caching layers is one option for distressed GPUs, so when you think one layer is done editing, it's good to cache it. If it keeps getting harder to handle on your machine, you can always merge layers, change the depth a bit, or decrease the texture size.

Texturing in MARI is very much like sculpting. You need to apply a broad color base, then apply the mid color break-up, and finally apply the small details.

Tileable textures are a great option for making the base texture map. Photo projection gives you a great level of detail, and it's a key technique in MARI. Layering ambient occlusion maps also makes a very good starting point, and matches with geometry as well. Having a procedural layer is another great, easy way to break up the texture details.

紋理

我選擇MARI作為我的主要紋理工具。我將紋理大小設置為8,000，色彩深度為16位。 8,000允許我把很多的細節(jié)放在紋理中，16位給我更多的紋理調整自由，雖然你需要記住，這個設置很容易變得很重。緩存層是令人不安的GPU的一個選擇，所以當您認為一層完成編輯時，緩存它是很好的。如果它越來越難以處理您的機器，您可以隨時合并圖層，更改深度，或減小紋理大小。

MARI中的紋理非常像雕刻。您需要應用廣泛的顏色基礎，然后應用中間顏色分解，最后應用小細節(jié)。

可紋理紋理是制作基礎紋理貼圖的好選擇。照片投影給你一個很大的細節(jié)，這是MARI的一個關鍵技術。分層環(huán)境遮擋圖也是一個非常好的起點，并與幾何匹配。有一個程序層是分解紋理細節(jié)的另一個很好的方法。

Fur

Yeti is a great fur/hair plug-in for Maya, and is a relatively new software in the industry.

Setting up hair with Yeti was a little different to using other hair plug-ins. It's a node-based tool that generates hairs from hair-dots which can be freely moved around on a mesh surface. Each dot can be paintable, within a value range of 0 ? 1. Most of the hair attributes supports this paintable value for its own input. The viewport hair preview is also pretty accurate as well. Overall, it's a great tool that offers a visually-intuitive hair-creation method.

毛皮

Yeti是Maya的一款很好的皮草/頭發(fā)插件，是行業(yè)中相對較新的軟件。

使用Yeti設置頭發(fā)與使用其他頭發(fā)插件有點不同。 它是一個基于節(jié)點的工具，可以從頭發(fā)點生成頭發(fā)，可以在網(wǎng)格表面上自由移動。 每個點都可以繪制，范圍在0？ 大多數(shù)的頭發(fā)屬性都支持這個可以自己輸入的可繪制的值。 視口的頭發(fā)預覽也是非常準確的。 總體而言，這是一個非常棒的工具，提供了一種視覺直觀的頭發(fā)創(chuàng)作方法。

Lighting and shading

Setting up the light is a really time-consuming stage. Keep moving the light around and adjust the value for each light till you're satisfied with the way it looks. Start with a Key light (the sun), then add one light at a time and try to render out separately with each light, so you know what each light is contributing to the scene.

I had a specific lighting set in my concept image, so I had to match the lighting setup for it.

I created a mesh for a light blocker, so the sunlight could travel through the hole. I then created a V-Ray Dome light with a HDR map to create an ambient light with natural reflection. I also created a spot light to make an intensive light falloff on his upper head.

照明和陰影

建立光線是一個非常耗時的階段。 繼續(xù)移動光線，并調整每個光線的值，直到您滿意的樣子。 從一個鑰匙燈（太陽）開始，然后一次添加一個燈，并嘗試單獨渲染每個燈，所以你知道每個燈對場景做出貢獻。

我的概念圖像中有一個特定的照明設置，所以我必須匹配它的照明設置。

我創(chuàng)造了一個遮光劑的網(wǎng)格，所以陽光可以穿過洞。 然后，我創(chuàng)建了一個帶有HDR地圖的V-Ray Dome燈，以自然的反射創(chuàng)造一個環(huán)境光。 我也創(chuàng)造了一個聚光燈，在他的上頭部發(fā)出強烈的光衰。

Shaders

For the skin, I used a VRayFastSSS2 shader, and the others are made from VRayMtl.

For the map input, I made a normal map from ZBrush and a bump map from the texture.

V-Ray has a VRayBumpMtl which allows you to hook up an extra bump/normal map on the existing shader. The skin shader has built-in specular options, but instead, I chose to use the VRayMtl for the sharp spec and Cook-TorranceMtl for a broad spec. I then used the VRayBlendMtl to blend them together.

著色器

對于皮膚，我使用了VRayFastSSS2著色器，其他的是由VRayMtl制成的。

對于地圖輸入，我從ZBrush制作了一個法線貼圖和紋理貼圖。

V-Ray具有VRayBumpMtl，允許您在現(xiàn)有著色器上連接一個額外的凸起/法線貼圖。 皮膚著色器具有內置的鏡面選項，相反，我選擇使用VRayMtl作為尖銳的規(guī)格和Cook-TorranceMtl的廣泛規(guī)格。 然后我使用VRayBlendMtl將它們混合在一起。

Post-production

The post-production stage can make a scene come alive.

For this project, I rendered out various render passes to prepare for this stage. Specifically,

I rendered Z-Depth, Material ID, RGB Light, Spec, Reflect, and a Beauty pass rendered with 32-bit EXR, so I could do exposure adjustment too without losing any color information.

I increased the rim light a bit, added depth using Z-Depth as a source of Lens Blur in Photoshop, and finally added a light fog on the bottom.

后期制作

后期制作階段可以使場景活躍起來。

對于這個項目，我提供了各種渲染通行證來準備這個階段。 特別，

我使用32位EXR渲染Z深度，材質ID，RGB光，Spec，Reflect和Beauty Pass，所以我也可以在不丟失任何顏色信息的情況下進行曝光調整。

我增加了邊緣光，稍微增加了深度，使用Z-Depth作為Photoshop中的鏡頭模糊的來源，最后在底部添加了一個光霧。

Conclusion

Creating 3D artwork usually involves a lot of work. To create the image that I'm aiming for, I sometimes need to learn many different aspects of a piece of software. Problem-solving skills are essential here, as some of the effects take weeks to figure out. From this though, I've learned that there's always a way out. Each time I finish a piece, I realize that all the work pays off ? all that time I spent and the problems I worked through become part of my knowledge.

結論

創(chuàng)建3D藝術品通常涉及很多工作。 為了創(chuàng)建我想要的圖像，我有時需要學習一個軟件的許多不同方面。 解決問題的技巧在這里至關重要，因為某些效果需要幾周的時間才能弄清楚。 從此，我了解到總有一種出路。 每當我完成一件事，我意識到所有的工作都會付出代價， 我所花的時間和我所工作的問題成為我的知識的一部分。