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Mar 31st 2013
Added a new tutorial
called Traditional
Texture Painting: Ghost Hunter Bertie MK3. While this is a tutorial discussing
traditional texture painting a real scale model, a lot of the same
thoughts and techniques go into digital texture painting as well.
Mar 17th 2013
Another new layer
breakdown on Youtube: Layers
Breakdown: Earth Dweller. Includes some Annotations.
Mar 13th 2013
Another new layer
breakdown on Youtube: Layers
Breakdown: Reaper IX.
Feb 25th 2013
Starting a new series
where I breakdown the layers of some of my paintings. First one's here:
Layers
Breakdown: Fortress II.
Feb 12th 2013
Added a new tutorial
called Blended
Cube Projection discussing a technique that lets you quickly hand
paint on thousands of objects without the need to UV them. Updated my Blended Box Mapping
tutorial with a brand new example.
Dec 29th 2012
Added a new tutorial
called Common
Zbrush Sculpting Brushes In Mudbox. This
is also my first tutorial which includes some video material, I intend
to use video more in the future for tutorials where it's easier
to get a point across by showing it to you directly. Added some extra info to Contrasts
In Composition.
Nov
15th 2012
Added a new tutorial
called What Is Instagram Really Doing
To My Image?
Oct 16th 2012
Wrote a new lesson
called Photoshop CS6, 6 New
Useful Features.
Sept 3rd 2012
Cleaned up some of my
composition tutorials, splitting them into more logical pieces. No new
info added.
Sept 2nd 2012
Wrote a new composition
lesson called Clumping or Grouping. Rearranged a few small details in Contrasts
In Composition.
Aug 26th 2012
Pixar has just announced
the OpenSubdiv initiative, the open sourcing of the full Catmull-Clark
subdiv surface algorithms. Here's a little essay explaining what this
means to the CG artist: Pixar's OpenSubdiv
Initiative,
And How It Can Help You. Added
some new info to the Ptex
tutorial.
May 18th 2012
Alexander Yergashov has
translated 6 more of my tutorials into Russian. If you're a russian
speaker, feel free to visit them by clicking the links at the top of
these pages: Massively
Instance Geometry With Proxy Objects, Ptex,
Ptex Use In Mudbox
2013, Cropping
An Image That's Off The Canvas, Glows
That Look Really Hot, and Painting
Starship Panels In Photoshop.
Apr 22nd 2012
Added a new tutorial
discussing my Wirebundler
script.
Added some new info to the Ptex and Ptex
Use In Mudbox 2013
tutorials for those of you using mentalray in maya or using vray.
Updated my Blended Box Mapping
tutorial with some extra bits of info, mostly centering on choosing the
correct box map method for your situation. Updated my Contrasts
In Composition
tutorial to contain another example of visual detail and visual rest.
Apr 14th 2012
Added
2 new Ptex related tutorials. First off, the Ptex tutorial is a general discussion of what
Ptex is, and then the Ptex
Use In Mudbox 2013
describes the various things you can do with them in the latest version
of Mudbox. If you're tired of UVing objects, then these tutorials are
for you.
Apr 1st 2012
Added
a new mentalray tutorial called Massively
Instance Geometry With Proxy Objects.
Mar 11th 2012
Added
a new tutorial called Contrasts
In Composition,
that discusses contrasts in value, color, size, shape and position as
it relates to composition theory.
Feb 26th 2012
Added
a new tutorial called Painting Starship Panels In Photoshop.
Nov 29th 2011
Did a complete
redesign of my Blended Box Mapping
tutorial, including a brand new method for producing a Blended Box Map
that is light years ahead of the older method.
Dec 12th 2010
Chris
Granados has been nice enough to write a
version of cornerEdgeToVertexMap for Maya using Python, which allows
you to do my Worn
Edges Using A Distorted
Vertex Map tutorial in Maya.
Download it here!.
May 21st 2010
Added
a new tutorial called Vector Displacement Map
Stamps In Mudbox.
Apr 24th 2010
Alexander
Yergashov
again has translated a
number of my lessons into russian, here's the list: Worn
Edges Using A Distorted
Vertex Map,
Tentacles
and Chains Using Path Deform, Piles
Of Rubble, Mapping
Complex Shapes Using Multiple Map Channels,
and Enhancing
Bumps Through Rake Lighting.
Jan 2nd 2010
Added
some extra info to my Chipped
Paint Material tutorial, giving
extra info on how to use the Output map to achieve the same results as
the ColorCorrect plugin.
Dec 20th 2009
Added
some extra info to my Non
Linear Displacement In 3dsmax tutorial, mentionning some
software you can use to make Vector Displacement
Nov
20th 2009
Added
a new tutorial called Fractal Noise.
Oct 27th 2009
Revised
heavily my Tentacles
and Chains Using Path Deform Tutorial. Alexander
Yergashov
again has translated a
number of my lessons into russian, here's the list: Blended Box Mapping, Multiple
UV Tiles, Changing A
Photoshop Layer's
Color To A Different Color While Keeping Transparency, Overbright
Cards In Reflections,
and Chipped
Paint Material.
Oct 18th 2009
Added
a new tutorial called Glows That Look Really Hot. Added
mentalray examples to my Chrome Material
Tutorial.
Oct 1st 2009
Added a new lesson, Tree
Brush In Photoshop. Alexander
Yergashov
again has translated a
number of my lessons into russian, here's the list: Ambient
Occlusion Rust, Non
Linear Displacement In 3dsmax, Converting
A Grayscale Image
To Black On Transparent, Pelt
Mapping, and Reducing
Memory Usage To
Render A Memory Hungry Scene.
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These tutorials will always be free to the
public, but if you've found
the materials here useful, a small donation will help pay to keep my
website online and up-to-date with new material. Whether you donate or
not, I thank you for visiting and hope you've found something helpful.
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Check out my Gnomon Workshop DVD:
Hard
Surface Shading
And Texturing With Neil Blevins
"Neil introduces
his pipeline for shading and texturing hard surface models. The
pipeline can be used for any highres models, such as models for
photoreal fx work, animated feature films, ride films or videogame
cinematics. In Part 1, he discusses reference gathering, how to make a
visual details list, and common shaders. Then he outlines all of the
major methods for placing patterns on your surface, their advantages
and disadvantages, and ways of creating patterns, including
procedurals, photo manipulation, and hand painting. He breaks up the
lecture with practical demonstrations in Adobe photoshop and 3dstudio
max using the Scanline, Brazil and mentalray renderers, and stresses
how the theory can be applicable to your 3d application and renderer of
choice. In Part 2, he uses the theory and pipeline from Part 1 to shade
and texture a 2000+ object robot character and simple environment using
3ds Max, Photoshop and Brazil. With a focus on texturing thousands of
objects fast and efficiently and theory that is useful in any 3d app or
renderer, this intermediate level course is sure to add many new tricks
to your personal arsenal."
Contains over
5.5 hours of content
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Theory
And Techniques
Short
lessons that outline a technique, tip or trick, or provide other theory
useful in CG.
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- Art Theory
- Art Philosophy
- Lighting
- Compositing
- Modeling
- Sculpting
- Shaders
- Pattern
Placement (UV Mapping, Projections and Ptex)
- General Patterns
- Specific Patterns
- Pattern Creation
- Materials
- 2D Painting
- Rendering
- Technical
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Practical
Application
Watch
me use the theory above and apply them to larger projects.
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- Compositing Layer Breakdowns
- Shading And
Texturing
- Traditional Texture
Painting
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- (07.29.03) Oregon3d
Brazil Class 2003
- (07.30.03) Siggraph 2003
Discreet
Booth Brazil Talk
- (08.13.08) Autodesk Master
Class,
Shading Talk 2008
- (05.28.09) "The Sets Of Wall-e: Trash Planet" End User Event 2009 in Utrecht
- (05.29.09) "Shading And Texturing Hard Surface
Models" End
User Event 2009 in Utrecht
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I contributed one chapter to "Digital Art
Masters Vol 3"
- (Pages 218-221) Mouths To Feed III
In this article I
discuss how I went about creating the image, including reference
material, early modeling WIPs and various modeling / photoshop tips and
tricks. Check it out
at Amazon.com |
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I contributed 3
chapters to "3DStudio Max 3 Magic". The chapters are...
- (4) Mixing Maps To Create Complex Materials
- (6) Lighting Effects: Rim Lighting and Diffuse
Glows
- (9) Shaders And Highlights
Other authors in the book include Brandon Davis, Eni
Oken, etc. Check it out at Amazon.com |
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For
"Inside 3dsmax4" I did one chapter...
- (22) Scripting In A Production Environment
This tutorial discusses how to create complex
scripts, as well as tips
for approaching writing a script, how to organize your ideas, etc. The
rest of the book deals with how to light, model, etc from real
production
professionals in the film and game industry.
Other authors in the book include Kim Lee,
Brandon Davis, Ian
Christie,
etc. Check it out at Amazon.com
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