(RoW Oct. 9 – 15)
Lately, I decided to try to create an image with a person. People are very hard to make look real. There are skin tones, poses, hair- alot of different things to take into account. Also, I wanted to create an image with my new G2 James (Generation 2). The G2 figure is so amazingly more complex than the original James figure: more polygons, realistic textures (skin tones), etc..
I started off in Poser 6. After texturing the shirt, pants, and shoes, I posed the figure into an ideal position and added the hair. Hair is one of the most complex objects in digital art and animation. There are two types of hair: Transmap and Dynamic. *pulling out my P6 manual*
Transmap (or Prop-Based) Hair: “a special kind of prop that automatically attaches itself to a figure’s head.” Transmap hair is usually shorter hair (maybe chin length at the most). Alot of guys’ hair is prop-based. If you wanted some wind to blow hair around, it is NOT possible with transmap hair (because it is considered to be one prop.)
Dynamic (or Strand-Based) Hair: “…add dynamic hair to the scene for ultimate realism.” Strand-based hair is difficult to work with, but produces some outstanding results. The reason this type of hair looks so much more real than Transmap, is because it takes into account each and every strand of hair on a figure’s head. If you wanted some wind to blow hair around, it IS possible with dynamic hair (because each and every strand of hair is calculated differently by the computer when rendering.) The only downside to dynamic hair, is that it takes a long time to render.
Okay. So I’ve created the figure, worked with the dynamic hair, posed him, and then imported him into Vue. I set up a small scene around James and then went back to Poser to work with the skateboard. The skateboard model was a freebie that I got with a software package. But, the textures for it were really ugly (like a painted skull and crossbones and some weird colors). I wanted my skateboard to look more realistic. After playing around with lots of different textures, I found one I liked, adjusted the colors, imported into Vue, and placed it beside James.
I used 1 light and global illumination in the scene. The rendering process took quite a while (global illumination, dynamic hair). I also ended up retouching some of the image and lighting in Photoshop. All in all, I was very satisfied and impressed with my first “person” image in Vue.
lol Cool, Brady. I’m not sure I’d like to run into that guy on the street. I mean, man! His face looks pretty creepy.
Good job, Brady!
Great job Brady!
WOW! That looks complicated!!!! Good job!
Well done, Brady. M