EXERCISE (ANATOMY AND CHARACTER SCULPTURE)

Week 1 - Week 7

29/03/21 - 11/05/21

See Zi Yi (0340094)

Anatomy and Character Sculpture Exercises

---

INSTRUCTIONS

---

EXERCISES

Mr. Kannan introduced us to Zbrush for the first lesson and we were told to explore the software. 

To begin with, I started off my sculpture with a DynaMesh Sphere retrieved from the LightBox to form the base of the skull. Then, I proceeded to use TrimCurve to create the jaw of the skull.

Fig. 1.0 Skull (working in progress: side view)

To create a cylinder-liked shape, I used the ClipCurve to create a symmetrical cut on the DynaMesh sphere. 

Fig. 1.1 Skull (working in progress: front view)

Landmarks were created on the skull to mark out the facial features such as the eye sockets, nose, and more. There are a few introductory brushes used for this exercise, such as:

1. ClayBuildup (shortcut key: BCB) is used to create depth for the upper part of the eye sockets;

2. Move tool (shortcut key: BMV) is used for adjusting parts of the skull;

3. DamStandard (shortcut key: BDS) is used for creating fine thin cuts on teeth. 

Below is my first attempt. However, I feel like it looks too stylized as I didn't use any reference while sculpting.

Fig. 1.3 Skull (first attempt)

Hence, I attempted to sculpt again, and below is my final outcome.

Fig. 1.4 Skull (Front)

Fig. 1.5 Skull (Side)

Fig. 1.6 3/4 View 

Below are some sketches for the study of body parts. 

Fig. 1.7 Hand study

Fig. 1.8 Muscle study

Fig. 1.9 Skeletal study

Fig. 1.9 Feet study

Blockout of the postures with big shapes should be done as a starter for the posture study. Below is the in-class exercise I have done. 

Fig. 1.10 Posture Study Sketch (in-class exercise)

Feedback: My Kannan commented that I should sketch out a T to ensure that my character is balanced and will not fall. Simple physics should be considered while doing sketches. 

For posture studies, we were assigned to choose six reference photos, three male characters, and three female characters to study their postures thoroughly. I attempted different categories such as animated characters, sculptures, and real-life humans for this study. Below are my attempts.

Fig. 1.11 Pose Study  Sketch (Male 1: animated character)

Fig. 1.12 Pose Study Sketch (Male 2: sculpture)

Fig. 1.13 Pose Study Sketch (Male 3: real-life human)

Fig. 1.14 Pose Study Sketch (Female 1: animated character)

Fig. 1.15 Pose Study Sketch (Female 2: sculpture)

Fig. 1.16 Pose Study Sketch (Female 3: real-life human)

Feedback: My Kannan commented these are fine and the form is there.

---

Reflection

Week 1: It was fun to be introduced to Zbrush, a completely new software, as I was learning more of the Adobe softwares in my previous semester. As it was a new software, it was challenging to get a hang of it during the first week. Tons of keys and features needed to be learnt and mastered for us to get started with it. We were given time to explore more about it. 

Week 2: Before week 2 commences, I took some time to look up the recorded lectures and tutorials to revise back about the features of Zbrush. With the recorded lectures, I attempted to sculpt on my own. It was really fun! It felt as if I was playing with clay. 

Week 3: We were still given time to explore the interface and features of Zbrush. More tutorials and lectures were given on the anatomy studies to solidify our foundation to sculpt later. I personally find Zbrush more and more intriguing as I further explored this software. 

Week 4: More sketching exercise was done prior to beginning our sculpting exercise for project 1. I personally feel like establishing a solid foundation for the anatomy study is essential to producing a good sculpture later on. I still find myself struggling with the side view of my character, so I looked up more references to improvise it. 

Week 5: There was an incident whereby I accidentally saved my Zbrush project file as a document instead of a file and I lost the privilege to edit it... I consulted the lecturer on this issue and he clarified that I should save it either as a tool file (but I won't have any history left) or as a project file, but never a document file, as you can't edit afterwards. I should be more mindful of this to be more efficient in my work. 

Week 6: References is essential to create a convincing character. I find my work looks weird and odd without using references, and so much better when I used references to sculpt. I recently discovered a way to sculpt more easily, which is to use insert Textures, which is my reference image, into my workspace to allow me to refer to other works with ease. 

Week 7: I showed my near to full body Zbrush sculpture to the lecturer today and he commented that the form is there. Only minor amendments should be made and other body parts should be added. I personally see quite some improvement in myself as I am able to navigate through Zbrush with so much ease right now as compared to week 1. The lecturer gave a Zbrush tutorial on how to add and even groom realistic hair on Zbrush lol, and I was giggling throughout the lecture cause it looks really funny. An extension was given for our Project 1 as well and I am glad I would have more time to work on my sculpture.

---

Final Submission for Anatomy and Character Sculpture Exercise

Below is my final submission for the Anatomy and Character Sculpture Exercise which comprises all the final outcomes of the attempts shown above in a PDF format.