Support by Alexis Rives - Research & Block out Modeling

This is the first post of a 15 week portfolio school project called 'Research and Showreel' In which we research our chosen field of 3D and then choose a artwork with the intention of creating a portfolio piece.

My chosen direction was Character modeler for a company like Plastic Wax or Blur who create stunning Game cinematics so I have chosen a artwork to reflect this. Proportions are a little bit stylized but there is plenty of space for realism to be added in through textures and shading much the same as would be done for a game cinematic.

Artwork by Alexis Rives

After finding my art work I first needed to break it down into a list of assets and materials so that it is easier to keep track of, for this I used Excel

After which I created a Pureref page with some reference for each Asset

I really tried to analyze the entire Concept art piece so I had a great understanding of the different forms / Silhouettes every asset had and also generating an Idea of how I wanted their backs to looks like as this is the only image with no view of their side and back I will need to Interoperate parts of the model to in a way that still keeps the integrity of the Art.

After Opening Maya First thing I did was start creating Proxy geometry matching my reference to make modeling easier down the line.

Using this as a starting point I also began developing my light set up

Further developing my lighting and have also begun creating Base models (Male Helmet and neck guard) that will be further developed in Zbrush. For the Lighting I got some feedback and Advice on spotting light direction. After making some changes the results of the feedback speak for themselves

After getting my Lighting Blocked out / And All of the proxy geometry in place I started in earnest on creating all the hardsurface shapes on the male character.

Thats all for this week.