First post of the year everyone, so lets kick it off. For today’s post i chose to cover a topic that was asked of me, more notably one of the readers decided to slap an image on my Facebook profile and ask me to make it. Well it just so happened that it was a cool thing to cover, so i went ahead and actually made this video. The theme is about how to create a more complex design of a curtain, but at the same time make it different from what is already available online (this was a bit confusing for me as well). So i took the image as a reference on which to work from and that is where we start.
In the video you will me start in a simple scene in Max where i will do my best to explain how you should prepare for working on the curtain, and then explain what you should export and why. Then when we jump into Marvelous Designer i’ll go ahead and show you how you can create the base for the curtains, and then how to add the wrinkles and folds. From there we will cover a bit of pinning in MD and then export out the model. After that i’ll show you how you can animate an avatar in MD so you can get a more complex and natural looking folding. I am aware that the video took a bit longer then the rest, but i am sure that the tricks you’ll be able to pick up will make it worth the time you invest. So if this is something that you might want to know, then go ahead and watch the video.
So that about covers the very first post for this year, i hope you guys had fun and you also picked up some new tricks while watching it. So don’t forget, subscribe, like and share it around.
P.S. As an added bonus here is the image that i based my initial curtain on.
Modeling different types of models be it furniture, miscellaneous objects or even car interiors will usually mean that somewhere down the road you will have to model something that will require you to add stitching to it. Now this seemingly simple task can prove to be a bit of a problem, especially if you have never had to make it. I actually had someone ask for this on the YouTube comments, as they didn’t know how to deal with this issue.
So in this post i actually went over and created a video in which i try and explain how to get your stitching to look realistic. In the video you will see me explain two ways in which you can achieve this stitching effect. The first way that i will show you is going to be a “fake” way of making the stitching, which is a bit ironic to call it faking it as it will cover for about 95% of the cases in which you will need to have stitching. After that we will also explain the issues that you can get with the “fake” method and then we’ll go about showing another way of making the stitching with the “proper” geometry way which will also help us if we have X type stitching. So if this is something that you might want to learn then check out the video below.
After watching this video you should now have a better understanding on how to make stitching in 3ds Max. There is another way of making stitching and this is more for custom types of stitching but that will require us to go into ZBrush, and explain some extra options in there which will probably be a theme for another post which i will try my best to make when the time allows it.
So i hope you guys liked the video and you managed to learn something new, and like always if that is the case then subscribe, like and share it around. As that would be it for this video the only thing that is left is for me to say is .. Happy Holidays everybody, and Happy New Year !
( This was published on December 29th so if you are reading this at summer time or something like that, you should probably go out and enjoy the sun 🙂
So here we are in today’s post trying to build upon what i said in the previous Introduction to ZBrush post that you can use Zbrush in your Archviz scenes, and give your models a very high amount of details, and at the same time have total control over everything. Now, since i haven’t covered anything else then the bare, bare minimum of ZBrush, i didn’t want to go overboard and start showing new features and tools that will probably make anyone not experienced with ZBrush straight out quit. I tried and kept it to the basics and managed to get the result that you will see at the end of the video by only using the standard brush, and a single alpha map.
While you are still reading and hopefully i still have your attention, you might want to go ahead and download the free program for baking textures, which in my opinion is the best option that is out there that costs no cash to use.
Provided that you downloaded the program, lets jump on and actually explain what you can expect to see in the videos.
In the first video we go over and build the base of out bean bag chair in 3ds Max. For this we start off with a plane as our ground and a sphere for our Bag model. With a bit of clever modification of the sphere and the use of the Cloth modifier. I have actually covered a bit of the Cloth modifier in an older post called Modeling a Pillow in 3ds Max so if you want to learn more about it check it out as well. We will also explain how to UVW unwrap the model so that we can apply textures to it. So if this sounds like something that you would like to see, then go ahead and watch the first video.
In the second video we will start in ZBrush where i will show you how you can import a model that you can start working on right away. We will explain briefly how to control subdivision in ZBrush, and then we will jump straight to sculpting in the details. We will also explain how to use maps (Alphas) to add details to our mesh in a very short time. After all of this is done i will show you how to quickly bake the high poly details by using the xNormals free program (get it from the link above). After that i will also explain how to deal with the issues that can arise from the normal map displacement. Again if all of what you read here interest you, then go ahead and watch the second video.
I really hope that you guys enjoyed watching these two videos as i am slowly trying to show everyone that when you are going after that perfect scene, knowing more software can only make you a better artist and in turn make your work quality better. I will try my best to make more videos for Max as well as blends between using Max and ZBrush while still keeping it as simple as possible so that even a total beginner can understand them, and more importantly follow along with them.
So that would be it for today’s post, if you guys liked the videos then subscribe, like and share the videos so it can reach more people, and hopefully they can learn something from it as well.
As an added bonus here is the alpha map that i used in ZBrush.
I have received a few requests about making a video that will cover UV Mapping as well as a few others asking for a video on making a low poly model and then transferring the details from a high poly to the low poly model (Bake down the textures). Well this post should be the answer to the first request, and a base for the second one as you need to know UVW unwrapping if you ever want to do get into low poly models and baking (most notably for gaming). And lets see how this goes.
So you made your first 3D model that is not a primitive geometry, and now you want to add a texture to it. What happens now though is that once you apply the texture to it, it simply doesn’t look anything like the texture, either that or you are getting a flat color. Well the reason for this is that when you have a model that is simply more complex than the standard primitives, you need to UVW Unwrap that model.
So how do i UVW unwrap a model?
Well the first thing you need to understand is what is UVW Unwrapping? The definition of unwrapping is the process in which you are telling your software how to apply a 2D image (texture) to a 3D model. So in order to be able to make that transition from a 2D plane to a 3D model we have our UVW Unwrap modifier in 3ds Max. If you want to get a better idea on how the logic behind unwrapping works simply think about wrapping a present. At the moment of writing this article is before Christmas and New Year so it would be easy to think about it in this manner. Let’s say that you have bought a friend or a family member a a sculpture or a toy of some sort and you want to wrap it in a nice festive wrapping paper. The thing is that you don’t want to box it, but instead you want to wrap the paper around the gift without making the paper look all squished and garbled up. In order to keep the paper on top of your present all nice and festive, you will need to cut it up in smaller pieces, and then glue or tape them all back together. Well this is EXACTLY what UVW mapping is doing, it’s taking the wrapping paper, cutting it into small manageable pieces and then putting it all back together. So that’s the general idea behind it, so now lets jump in and see the technical approach to it in 3ds Max.
In the first video we will cover the basics of unwrapping, as well as get our feet wet with unwrapping a Box a 3D Rectangle and a Cylinder. By unwrapping these few simple models we will see how to work with the UVW Unwrap modifier and how the Unfold and Flatten mapping works. I won’t keep explaining much more as you will be able to see all about it in the actual video here.
In the second part of the video we jump over to unwrapping a Cone and a Torus (Fancy word for a Doughnut). With the help of these two models we will learn more about Stitching and Breaking of UV islands as well as Pelt Mapping. So again i leave you with the video so you can see it for yourself.
And the third part of the Unwrapping series will cover unwrapping a Sphere, Geo Sphere and a modified Teapot. With the help of the Sphere and the Geo Sphere we will learn more about the Quick Peel option and the Point to Point seams cutting. And the modified teapot is there so that we can try and use everything we saw in these videos and get the teapot unwrapped.
So with that we more or less round up the basics of the UVW unwrapping. Now just to make it clear this is not all there is to say about UVW unwrapping, not even by a long shot, but it is enough to know to have a base on which you can continue to build upon.
Before i forget and finish up with this post, if you want to use the texture i used or some other UV Checker texture you can get them for free from Google, but if you don’t know how to get them (I really see no reason as to why not, but hey …) then simply follow this link straight to a Google Search.
And that would be it for this post, so if you managed to learn something new and you liked the videos, then help spread the word and like and share the video on YouTube and Facebook.
Time for another V-ray lighting video. The idea for this video came from a comment on YouTube asking for a tutorial that will explain how V-Ray IES lights work. This is really not a very complicated matter so it was a pretty straight forward task for me to record it, or so i thought until my first go at recording crashed near the end and i had to start from the beginning. But that aside i can safely say that i went over most of the important things that you need to have and know to be able to use VRay IES lights. I’ll try to keep the chatter to a minimum as what i want to leave here is the video and the links to the sites that i go over in the video.
So in the video we will first explain what IES lights are, and how do they look like in an exterior and interior scene. After that i’ll show you how you can get a visual rendition of the IES files without getting it into 3DS Max and on top of that i’ll even give you a few great sources for IES lights. So if you are here reading this, then i would guess that you are interested in this theme so i’ll leave you here with the video.
If you watched the video you probably saw me going to a few different sites, so for your easy access here are the sites with the respected links.
IES Viewer The first thing that you want to grab so you can follow along. ERCO The site that has the detailed info as well as the IES files for lighting fixtures Lithonia The other site that has the large collection of IES files that you can get for your project work
And that would be it for this post, so if you managed to learn something new and you liked the videos, then help spread the word and like and share the video on YouTube and Facebook.
After the last post that had some great feedback from you guys, as well as a few more questions that were about how to model some more complex design rugs i decided to make these two videos you are about to see here. In the simple rug creation post we went over how to make the most common types of rugs, and those techniques are valid and correct but when we get to a point where the rug has a more intricate design then those techniques can end up a bit short. In those cases we can probably use the two techniques you can see in this post. So enough about the introduction lets just right into the explanation and the videos.
In the first video we will go over how to create a rug that is not 100% covered in strands. You can see multiple designs like this one in many different scenes and if you would want to recreate one in 3D then you would have to have some sort of control over the design. Well V-Ray offers that control with the VRayFur option. When you first try it out you might think that it’s just a fancy substitute for the Hair and Fur modifier that we covered in the previous post, but in reality it’s actually quite a powerful tool to have in your arsenal as it offers quite a bit of control over your design. In the video below we will continue on the same scene that we had in the previous post and build on that. You will see how to use the VRayFur, how to control the distribution of the strands, how to control the bend of the strands and most importantly how to utilize maps to do all that. So if you want to know about that then check out the video.
In the second video we are going to take a look at how to create a complex rug that isn’t actually made from strands, but instead it’s made out of different types of geometry. For this we are going to take a swing with the amazing scattering plugin Forest Pack Pro. Now the thing with Forest Pack Pro is that it’s an amazing piece of work as it can be used to create amazing things, and with this post we will barely scratch the surface of it’s possibilities, but we will have a base on which we can continue in future videos. So check out this video that is basically covering the process of creating a rug made out of different geometry that is scattered on a base object.
So with these two ways of creating rugs you should be able to tackle the more complex designs without too much of a hassle. And that would be it for this post, so if you managed to learn something new and you liked the videos then help spread the word, and like the video on YouTube. I’m still waiting to see if we can get the videos to have a 10% like approval which would be Amazing. In any case i hope you enjoy the videos, and i’ll see you all in the next post.
P.S.
In case you want to follow along with the tutorial here are the two images that i used.
So as much as i want to try and tackle on some gaming posts here, or at least try and set up a base for some gaming posts in the future i keep reverting back to architecture related themes.
Today we are going to tackle on one of the more commonly seen elements in scenes, and that is the rugs element. Rugs tend to find their way into many different scenes ranging from kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms and pretty much any other room that you might have, so knowing how to make them is a big plus. In this post we will see how we can create two different kinds of rugs that are totally different from each other and we will see how to obtain those two distinct looks.
In the first video you will learn how to create a soft looking fuzzy rug. To get this look i will go over the V-ray displacement modifier and explain how you can control the parameters of the said modifier so you end up with a realistic looking rug, and in the end we will even cover how to get that extra bit of fuzzyness (if that is a word) to show up in our rug render. So if this is something that might interest you, then check out this video.
For the second type of a rug we are going to try and make a longer, hair like strands rug. In this case we will see that we can’t use the same displacement type as we saw in the first video, so we will use the Max native Hair And Fur modifier. We will cover the properties that this modifier has, as well as how to tweak and control all the aspects of it so we can end up with a result that will make our rug look exactly the way we want it to look. So if this is something that might interest you then check out this second video.
Ok so that should cover the basics of creating a simple rug in 3ds Max. Now this is usually where i ask you to like and share the post, but i have the feeling like it’s seen as a formality by most and i don’t blame you if you don’t do it but for these two videos i want to ask everyone that actually watched and liked the videos to hit that LIKE button on YouTube. I’m simply curious as how the likes work as some of the videos got 6000 views and less then 100 likes which in YouTube’s book means they aren’t that good. So let’s see if we can drive those likes up a bit.
So if you are still reading this, and maybe even watched the videos and liked them then i salute you and leave you with this here link to download rug textures.
When you get into working in the CG visualization field you are no doubt going to come to the point where you will have to deal with a scene where you have a swimming pool. Dealing with a scene like this can be a bit of a drag, especially if you have never worked on anything like that before. What i mean by this is the fact that water, even though it is quite a simple and we are accustomed to seeing it in our daily routine, it has a few properties that you need to understand if you want to replicate it in your scenes.
In the video below you will see me start from a very simple scene with nothing but the swimming pool to take our focus away. You will see the main attributes that water has when you are using it for your renders, then you will understand why the color of the pools is important, as well as learn how to make the tiled look that many swimming pools have. Then we are going to see how we can get our water to look wavy by using normal maps, bump maps and actual geometry. So if you would be interested in learning anything from what you just read here, then go ahead and check out the video.
If you are back reading this i hope you guys picked up some new tricks and tips, and more importantly it was fun watching it for you as much as it was fun making it for me.
If you liked what you saw here, then you can help spread the word by liking on YouTube and Facebook (This actually helps a lot and i would appreciate it), share and comment so it can reach more people, and hopefully help someone else the same way it helped you.
Here we go again with another mixed request post. I got a request to actually make a video about how to model one of those little flags that you see on tables, but that would have made for a very short video so i decided to expand it a bit and make it cover the three most common types of flags that you can find. Another thing is the timing, namely this week was the release of Fallout 4 and i have been a fan of the series since 1998 (Fallout 2) so i really didn’t think that i would find the time to spend making another video, but since i want to keep it to having at least one video a week i decided to find the time and mash these two together. So with the mash of the flag request and Fallout, we ended up with these 2 videos that i think cover some nice points and tips for you guys.
In the first video we are going to go over the types of flags you can generally find, like the neutral pose (the fallen down flag), the pole binded flag and the weaving line flag. The general shape was achieved by using the Cloth modifer, so if you are curious as to how i modeled these flags and would like to see me do it go ahead and watch the first part.
So in the first video we went over and modeled the flags, in the second part we actually go and give it the Fallout look by texturing the flags and then making them look aged and damaged. It’s nothing too complex but still some nice pointers on how to approach making masks in Photoshop for damage decals, as well as dealing with the outlines that the blur can make. So again if this peeked your interest check out the second video.
Again i hope you guys liked this video and you managed to learn something new. If you liked what you saw, you can help spread the word by liking on YouTube and Facebook, share and comment so it could reach more people and hopefully help someone else the same way it helped you out.
P.S.
So since we got that out of the way i only have one thing left to add and that is a bit of extra information for you if you do choose to play Fallout 4. Know that it’s a great game if you love story, progression games and post apocalyptic scenery you will love it, but be aware that it will take a considerable amount of time so start it when you aren’t swamped with work. Oh and do give this post a go before you start it, you will thank me later.
Another week another post. This week i initially had a different thing in mind to make a tutorial about, but i decided instead of making a simplified tutorial about carved models, i go ahead and actually take an existing model and try to get it made in 3D. So by following the videos you will hopefully learn how to do it yourself and pickup a few tricks along the way.
So the first thing that you want to do when you want to start modeling something like this is, either get some kick ass reference images from your client (if this is a paid project), or you can try and search for some artisan carpenters online for inspiration. In my case the inspiration for making this video came from one of the works that Patrick Damiaens posted on his Facebook page. I have had mr.Damiaens Facebook profile on follow for the better part of the last few years, and all i can say is that man’s work with wood carving is simply amazing. Another place that you can see more about him is on his website by clicking the link. So you can either feel free and look at his work, or you can even go ahead and look up some other artisan carpenters for your source of inspiration.
OK since we got the kudos to the artisans out of the way, back to our model at hand. When i started out i didn’t think it would take 5 part video to cover the creation of the crest, but once i started recording it kinda went down that road. I could have gone ahead and actually make this into 2-3 different posts, but since i know how much i hate waiting a week or maybe even two for a continuation of a video that i am watching i decided to make it all into one post. So lets get down to explaining more about the videos and what you will see in which part.
In the first video i went ahead and started with the modeling process of the shield of the crest, which is more or less the dominant element in the model. After modeling the shield i then proceed to model out the book model that we can see in the middle of the shield. So if you want to know how to do it, or even if you have an idea and want to know how i did it go ahead and watch the first video, and then come back for the rest.
In the second video i go over how to model the flower decoration on the left side, as well as modeling the right side decoration (The Fleur De Lis) which is a classic French decoration. So again if you want to know how i approached modeling this piece then watch the second part.
The third video is all about modeling the Wheat carving in the middle. Now like i said in the video, if i were doing this for a paying customer that required a level of detail that would make it picture perfect to the reference image i would probably go over and sculpt this in ZBrush, but if you aren’t limited by something like this then the approach i did can really work well. Oh and you will also see me show you a trick on how to cheat with getting a more volume to your model without having the geometry. In any case if this is what you want to see then give this video a chance.
The fourth video is all about modeling the scroll element of the model. In this video you will see my approach on modeling something like this which i might add is different from all the other people i’ve seen doing it. I use splines to define the shapes, a surface modifier to give me the working space and shell to define the thickness. In any case if you are interested in how to make something like this i would recommend you watch this part.
And last but not least in the fifth video we go over the fine tweaking of the elements where we make sure that everything that we made is working together, as well as using FFD modifiers to get some of the shapes that we need from the elements. Then after all that is done we go ahead and apply some UVW mapping and texture, light and render the entire scene. So if you want to see how that went then go ahead and watch this final video.
Ok so if you are still here reading this then it either means that everything that you saw before this wasn’t interesting for you to watch (which will make me sad) or it means that you watched it all and came back for more (which will make me happy) but i have to say That’s all Folks, at least for this model. In any case, kidding aside i really hope you guys liked what you saw here, and that you had fun watching these videos as much as i had when i was making them for you. In case you weren’t able to find the reference image i used for this piece from Patrick’s page i’m leaving his image here as well.
I hope you guys liked these videos and you managed to pick up something new, so if you liked what you saw, you can help spread the word by liking on YouTube (this helps alot) and Facebook(this as well), share and comment so it could reach more people and hopefully help someone else the same way it helped you out.
