3D Toolkit: 3D Artist Research

Character Sculpting Project: Initial Ideas:
Looking to the character design project, there are several briefs that immediately interest me and several different styles I may wish to take my model and design. Using Zbrush to complete the sculpt, there is freedom to add some complexity into the design. I will likely use the symmetry functionality to do so, as this will expedite the modelling process. Additionally, the "Extract" functionality may be useful in the creation of clothing for the character, as this function will create a new subtool based on the pre-existing character mesh. I could them sculpt over this subtool without using symmetry to create fold patterns and creases. A variety of brushes may come in useful in this process, both in clothing and in the base mesh, such as the Dam Standard brush and the Pinch brush. 
As for the model on the whole, I feel that a relatively smooth style could be one useful to follow. Such a style, devoid of a great quantity of detail, with complexity added to show definitions between large muscle groups and body masses, could assist me in my design pipeline. This is because Zbrush is still a software that I am getting used to in terms of controls and functionality; though I would like to push myself in this project, I still want to play in to my strengths and wish to create a strong base mesh, spending time on a more simplistic design to grow in confidence with the software.

Artist Research: Kat Hoppe
I have found several pieces of 3D Sculpting art produced in Zbrush and Blender that show the style that I may wish for my final model to replicate or be in imitation of.

 Reaper Model (Hoppe, K., 2021)                           Reaper Base Mesh (Hoppe, K., 2021)

Kat Hoppe, a 3D character sculptor, has created several monster sculpts for Cyrah's Ascent (Coffee Break), a third-person platformer game released in 2022. These sculpts, animalistic and reptilian in nature, show a stylistic representation for as to how I may go about producing my sculpt. Detail can be found in these designs, though when looking at the base mesh, the majority of said detail appears to be textural in nature, perhaps applied to the mesh through the use of a normal map. If such a process were to be taken, then ultimately I would have to create two variants of the character I am to model, one being a lower-poly base mesh and another higher-poly with a greater amount of detail. I would then have to "bake" the fidelity of the higher-detail model onto the low-poly base mesh, creating a "Normal Map" that shows where said details would lie and give a higher quantity of depth to the lower poly model. This process would act to be an extension of the 3D pipeline that I am not yet familiar with in Zbrush, and would descend into more textural matters, additionally requiring a UV unwrap of my sculpted model that the Normal Map would be transcribed across. As such, it may be out of the scope for this project, yet Hoppe's work nonetheless illustrates how such a process may be used to give a relatively simple model a higher degree of fidelity. 


                                                 Spitter Model (Hoppe, K., 2021)

    Spitter Base Mesh (Hoppe, K., 2021)

Hoppe has also created orthographic images appropriate to the creatures they have designed, which shows how I may create the orthographic images used in my modelling pipeline. Chiefly, these orthographics show all angles of a designed creature, with only one side view. This is because the models seem to have been made using a mirror or symmetry functionality, with only one half of the design needing to be modelled as a result. This also means that, on the orthographic of the "Spitter" enemy (shown left), no underside / "front" view is required, the side wrapping around in a symmetrical fashion to encompass both halves. This is due to the cylindrical nature of this enemy design, with the underside of the jaw and belly seen directly at a side view.


        Spitter Concept  (Hoppe, K., 2021)               Reaper Concept (Hoppe, K., 2021)

These designs illustrate the general style that I seek to replicate in my character design, using symmetry and a strongly exaggerated three-dimensional silhouette to carve out the overarching shape of the character, with relatively little in the way of sculpted detail. Even so, I find these orthographic images interesting as they also describe the textured detail that is missing from the initial sculpt yet that could nonetheless inform how the character may be modelled. In terms of style, these models are cartoon-like and heavily stylised in form, with some reptilian or amphibious inspirations that are pushed forward into the influencing the silhouette. Of particular note is the crocodilian snout of the "reaper" design that protrudes directly from the neck. This forms the bulk of the silhouette of the upper half of the model and directly contributes to the aggressive, enemy-like expression that the design gives. In my own work I may attempt to similarly exaggerate such visual descriptors and use them to directly influence the shape and form of the model. 

Bibliography:
Kat Hoppe, 2024. Portfolio - Kat Hoppe [online]. Artstation. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/kathoppe [Accessed 25 November 2024]

Kat Hoppe, 2021. Cyrah's Ascent - Spitter [online]. Artstation. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OobR2y [Accessed 25 November 2024]

Kat Hoppe, 2021. Cyrah's Ascent - Reaper [online]. Artstation. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/r9zVAa [Accessed 25 November 2024]

Coffee Break, 2022. Cyra's Ascent [Online], PC. Steam. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/r9zVAa [Accessed 25 November 2024]

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