ZBrush Props

'Ya know, I don't know.  Yeah, that's right.

I'm going to break my regular blogging pattern and post an update.  Scary, I know.  Hopefully it won't be such a rarity in the future.  I didn't really intend to get locked into the whole 'blogging once a week' thing (and I guess I didn't really) but only meant that to be the bare minimum.
Yeah.  Wow.  I ramble about the most random things.  I guess everyone doesn't need to know (or care) about my blog posting psychology.  I guess it's one of those lonely computer geek things.  Anyway, I'm going to cut this thought off and get to the meat of the matter.

Ok, so maybe the meat of the matter has already been picked clean by the Aegypiinae.  "At what am I looking?" you may ask.  (By the way, you may not ask, "What am I looking at?"  That is grammatically incorrect and I will smack you with silence if you do.)  Well, to answer your properly phrased question, you are looking at my first ZBrush sculpture!

It was fun to play around with, and I'm pretty please with the results.  However, I'm suffer no dillusions and realize that it really isn't all that great.  For one thing the proportions are lacking rather badly (though, considering the time I spent on it I'm ok with that.)  So yeah, that's that.  You're looking at about 2-3 hours of doodling with ZBrush.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is a vase.  Yeah, I know it's awesome.  It's also what I whipped up at the beginning of class so that I had something to turn in for my review.  It was also the time that I discovered the Macintosh ZBrush files aren't compatible with Windows ZBrush. (I couldn't turn in my skull!!!  Urgh.)  Anyway.  It's a pot.  I had a lot of fun with the radial brush as you can probably tell.

Here are my final two props.  You did know that I was making "props," right?  My teacher gave us a list of different categories of stuff we could do and each had their own point value.  All of our props had to add up to 10 points.  Anyway.  I made these last two because everything else on the list looked really boring (Who would want to sculpt a sock, honestly?)  If you don't recognize them, they're the helm and cuirass of the Uruk-Hai from Lord of the Rings.  Predictable, I know.  I guess it was fresh in my mind from doing the Mighty Muggs.  Or maybe it's because I can see eight books related to Lord of the Rings from where I'm sitting right now. (That isn't counting the trilogy itself.)  Yeah, I'm a geek.

So, that's what I've been up to... last night.  And I guess some of it is from last week, too.  That's all for now.

Stay tuned, I hope to be posting some concept art for a new project in the next day or two.

Double Stuffed Blog

Things have been crazy, crazy busy for the last two weeks.  Gosh.  Where do I even begin?  Well, I guess the beginning would probably be a good place...

So, to kick this off I'll start with Monday last week.  All in all, it was a mostly uneventful day filled with homework and other such fun stuff.  However, that evening I started up a Theology Study group at my church.  It's a year-long study that we're spending going through Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology.  So far it's been a really great experience, and I think I'll learn a lot.

Let's see.... What next?  Well, obviously, there are the every day classes which are pretty unremarkable.  However, I suddenly found myself with the free time and inspiration to put together the poster for my girlfriend's Jr. Recital.  I don't think I've ever had quite so much fun working on graphic design stuff.  Here 'tis:

As far as class projects go, I was assigned to create five 'props'.  Low poly,  scene filler type stuff.  The props were split into two sections; three due the first week and two on the second (next Tuesday).  I ended up staying up until 3:30 on Monday, to finish my props in time, and then my teacher gave us an extension on it in class the next day.  I was kind of frustrated.  Oh well.  It gave me the opportunity to tweak them a bit and render out some better pics.  Now they're ALL ready to go, and pretty spiffy.  (Though, as a note, I was assigned to create the fence and trashcan.  Those weren't my idea.)  Here are some pics:

So, that's a large part of what I've been working on for the last two weeks.  Though, as a matter of fact, I've also been assigned to create props for my ZBrush class, so expect to see those up soon.  As far as class work goes, that pretty much sums everything up.

School isn't everything though, and I've also been working on a website and logo for a friend of mine (in all the fractional bits of extra time).  I'm hoping that I'll be able to get a handle on all my homework and stuff so I have some extra time to do more 'fun' work.

I'm also really looking into how I can break into freelancing and actually earn some money, since my finances are running rather... low.  Quite low.  So.  I really have no idea how I'll be able to do this on top of everything else, but somehow, no doubt, I'll figure it out.

That concludes this week! (And last week).  I think I'll have time to post on time next week, so please check back soon.

Goodbye Earth, goodbye Earth.

Goodbye Earth,

Goodbye Earth.

The stars are spiraling overhead,

Somewhere, there, my dreams have fled.

I hear them whispering my name,

"Goodnight Zane, goodnight Zane."

Goodbye Earth,

Goodbye Earth.

I seek to catch my dreams again,

To hold them here within my brain.

So once I've found them; gripped them tight.

From beneath my hat they will not soon take flight.

Goodbye Earth,

Goodbye Earth.

It's time I dream my dreams.

Week Two

First of all, I have to think of some more interesting titles for these updates. It's going to get boring really fast... actually, I think it already is boring. I just don't want to get to the 16th week of this semester and call it: Week 16. Boring!

Okay. Now that I've ranted about that, I can get on with the update.

Where to begin? A lot has happened this week. I guess I can kick things off with my first finished homework assignment! (First one of interest, anyway.) I had to pick a character (any character) and create textures for a Mighty Muggs based on that character. Of course I went with Lord of the Rings and picked an Uruk-Hai. Because they're cool. Also, I thought that the shape of their helmets would work well with the shape of the Mighty Muggs.

My "beauty shot":

Other than my Mighty Muggs turn in, most of my school work has been pretty hum-drum so far. However, this week Ferris hosted "Frag Fest," which happens the second week of every Semester. The Frag Fest is a 24 hour game design competition, which (this time) was focused on 3D modeling.

This semester was the first time that I've attended/competed, even though I'm a sophomore. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to go this time either, since it landed (rather inconveniently) on the evening of my birthday. However, I ended up going and teaming up with Wesley Mayle and Steve Reister.

The theme for this Frag Fest was "Alternate History." So, we had to model something that was somehow related to a short story that we wrote about a way that history could have been different. We thought it would be cool to go with the idea that dinosaurs didn't go extinct, and the Native American Indians used them to combat the European explorers.

We broke it down into three main parts: a utah raptor (that was used as a mount), a Mayan warrior, and a ruined temple. Steve modeled and textured the raptor, while I created the Mayan warrior, and Wesley did the scene/lighting. Toward the end we did things up a little, since I enjoy creating textures I painted the stone texture for the ruins while Wesley unwrapped everything in the scene and set up the materials.

All in all, the finished project turned out pretty well. Though the lighting and composition could have been a lot better. Also, I think a stronger initial concept could have made ours stand out a bit more. As it was, we took 5th place among 7 teams.

Personally, I'm really unhappy with how my character looked at the end of the night. I felt like I simply didn't have the time to refine him until I was happy. I think he looked really wooden and unlife-like. However, I still like the design and idea, and hope to return to him an do a better job. Anyhow, enough of my rambling. Here are some photos/renders:

Applied Technology Center, Lab 172:

And next door in Lab 174:

Also, durning the competition there was a Super Smash Brothers Brawl tourney going on in the auditorium:

The concept I did for the Mayan Warrior:

Some renders of what I worked on for my team's entry:

Our final product:

So, that was Frag Fest. Like I said, it was also my birthday... but obviously, I did't celebrate it on Friday night. That got postponed until the next evening, when I went out and got dinner with my family at Applebee's. The point being: I love mozzarella sticks.

That aside, I also spent considerable time this weekend installing Windows XP and Boot Camp on my iMac. I think I've finally got it running properly, though I'm still missing the two most crucial software packages (being Softimage and ZBrush.) With any luck I'll have both of those by this Saturday.

That concludes my weekly update. I hope you all have a great week! See you next time.

First Week

Hey all, time for an update!

I've been thinking that I'm going to try to post an update at very least once every week with photos of any cool school projects or other random things from my life. I know that if I don't set the time for it aside, I won't post another update until sometime late December.

So, I'll get right to it since I'm kind of busy. This semester I'm taking three classes at Ferris and two at GRCC, so I'm downtown Tuesday through Thursday. My Ferris classes consist of DAGD 335 - Animation III, DAGD 380 - Digital Sculpting (ZBrush), and DAGD 225 - Programming 1. So far I'm enjoying them! Though, as of yet I don't have any presentable pics of any projects yet. Unless catastrophe strikes, that will change in next weeks update.

Admittedly, however, I'm not big into programming. It isn't bad yet, and I'm hoping that I'm not drowning in code by the end of the semester.

So. That's Ferris. At GRCC I'm taking a straight up Trigonometry class and a General Psychology class. Trig won't be bad since I'm only taking it because I need to and not because I need to learn it (I went well past Trig in high school.) Psychology is really interesting, but simultaneously, highly sleep inducing (at times.) Our teacher is cool, but a little bit older and talks rather slowly/deliberately... though he has a knack for raising his voice just as one begins to nod.

School work aside, this weekend was a holiday! Though, to be honest I didn't even know until like Saturday. That's how I roll.

Speaking of Saturday, I went into Grand Rapids with a friend of mine and shot some photos to add to my ever growing collection. Here is a sample:

Then, obviously, there was Labor Day. I ended up abandoning my homework and running off with my girlfriend and her family to picnic in Townsend Park for the afternoon. Here's a picture of me being brilliant:

Well that pretty much concludes last week. Stay tuned!

Computer Bug

This is where the term "computer bug" came from: http://www.jamesshuggins.com/h/tek1/first_computer_bug.htm