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fun pretend person for a fun pretend game :)

made from scratch in Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, and UE5, referencing concept by Yishu Ci and with special thanks to Anna Beganska

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part one of sculpting fur in zbrush!

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I'm not the same anon but orange and brown are the same hue which means brown can only exist in the absence of enough light to make it orange which also means brown is actually just dark orange and also that while neon orange can exist, neon brown is impossible. I love colour theory

Hmm to me, that would make brown the strange color, not orange :) Strange that we think of it as its own hue. Like pink...really just any tint/shade/tone that's so culturally important we've effectively promoted it to hue. Now THAT'S some color theory I could get into.

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Last week I challenged students to model and texture a 3-course meal in just 6 hours. I've been sobbing through a LOTR reread and a hearty inn meal felt apt so here's something quick and fun I made during the sessions 🍺

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Orange is such a strange color in color theory...

Brother I am begging you to elaborate

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When did you get into medieval art?

There was an Arthurian Literature class I took in 2021 and the book of Chrétien de Troyes had this really awesome little manuscript art on the cover and I've been hooked ever since.

The proportions! The horses! The castle window peepers! That poor knight!

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Did you take any art history classes or regular history classes?

I took every art history class my university offered, which were almost entirely western and one of the professors rarely made an appearance to their own class. Not to say I don't know anything, but my knowledge is definitely skewed.

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technical question-ish whats your favourite bits of the 3D art process and the 2D art process?

This isn't exactly what you asked but what I've been really appreciating lately are, for lack of a less corporate term, the transferable skills. To continue my thoughts from the previous ask, artistic principles translate easily between 2D and 3D. This seems obvious in one direction of 2D -> 3D, where the typical path is someone learns art principles like composition, form, color theory, etc, in 2D and then later learns 3D and applies that knowledge to the new medium. But after spending about a year in full time 3D land and completely forgetting to draw, the next time I picked up a pen to make a traditional 2D illustration, I discovered things like my spatial and shape language skills had VASTLY improved. They both inform each other and that is the coolest thing in the world to me and truly one of my favorite things about both of them!

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Sorry if you’ve been asked this before, but how well do more traditional digital art techniques translate into 3D modeling? Are they just completely different skill sets or is there overlap?

Sadly they're pretty different in terms of technicals. There's some basic concepts e.g. masking, baking, blend modes, which come up in both but for the most part it's a whole new beast. But there's a ton of overlap in terms of artistic principles, and that's the thing that really takes time and practice more than the software literacy.

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Ok so I took one 3D art class like 16 years ago and it was super basic, just so you know that my question is based on a pretty limited understanding. How do you do the textures and colors for your 3D work? Do you make flat texture files and import them to map on the object, or is it all stuff you can do in program? Dare I even ask about the fire? Last I knew particle stuff was still pretty limited (yes, I’m old and behind on the times), but that fire is???? Amazing???

Personally I use software that allows me to "paint" directly on the model (Substance Painter). It's still the same concept of applying a 2D texture map to the 3D model, and you still have to make UV maps, but now Substance Painter can interpret your brushstrokes on the 3D model and translate it to your 2D map for storage (and to ultimately send to your engine/render software). I usually do a combo of both for most projects because some things are a lot easier to draw on a flat surface!

The fire IS a particle effect! I made it with Unreal Engine's Niagara and honestly don't ask me any more about it because I barely understand it myself hahaha

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Any thoughts on Maya vs Blender, specifically in reference to the way you use 3D in your art? (Not trying to pit them against one another, just curious if you’ve used both, only one, found certain things work better here or there for you etc.)

OK long answer because I actually have a lot of thoughts about them. Not sure how extensive your knowledge is so I'll try to keep it basic but feel free to ask further questions.

I do use both! Maya a lot more than Blender. I think you're right not to pit them against one another--they each have their own strengths and which one is better just depends on your project goals.

For example, Maya is the current film/game industry standard, so if you're looking to break in, Maya is the safest bet. However, Blender has way more power in terms of procedural/node-based modeling, and we're looking at that as the future for 3D. People who can model procedurally are gonna be really valuable to companies soon. AAA companies are entrenched in their Maya pipeline for now but we're seeing a lot of indies using Blender and I wouldn't be surprised if we see a full shift at some point unless Autodesk majorly revamps Maya. (Side note - if you are wanting to get deep into procedural modeling, Houdini also has a TON of potential, and not just for VFX. It has a free version!)

If you're modeling for fun or working outside the industry, I find Maya is a lot more user-friendly. Blender doesn't believe in menu ribbons and expects you to just know the hotkeys which is pretty off-putting for beginners. The UI overall feels clunkier than Maya, at least to me.

Blender as an idea of free, open-source software is very sexy and cool but I do feel that its breadth creates an artificial illusion of depth. Texturing in Blender is fine as long as you don't need the direct control of Substance Painter. Sculpting in Blender is fine as long as you don't need the ~100m points that ZBrush can handle (though as soon as they do solve their polygon management, ZBrush is gonna go bankrupt. I hope. bastards). I prefer specialized software over this, but a lot of people feel it's worth sacrificing a little specialization so as to not have to hop between software so often. They have a pretty valid point.

In terms of just pure direct modeling, which is what most beginners are looking to do, they have effectively the same tools. Ultimately they're both vertex-based modeling software, and as soon as you get past the UI they do just about the same thing. And one's free, so...

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Hello!! I saw your tags that you wanted people to ask about your art and I am here to oblige! Because I have several questions honestly

Like I've noticed you use monochromatic color schemes in comics a lot. How do you decide what color works best?? I've studied color theory for a long time but I wont lie, I still struggle with making those decisions.

Also do you have any tips on linework??? Your lines are always so gorgeous. They strike the right balance between feeling neat and feeling loose and organic.

And how do you go about planning your comics when you do them? Like deciding on how you're going to break it up into panels and stuff.

Hope you don't mind the multitude of questions lol. Be careful what you wish for i guess.

I got so many asks you guys are the best :) I actually can't even answer more today but I promise I will get to everyone.

I only know a bit of color theory so this one may be a letdown haha. If any thought goes into which color I use for any particular comic, it's usually a really basic color psychology like "red = angry, yellow = cheerful" kinda shit. But more often it's along the lines of "well I made a red one most recently so how about I do green this time." I also really like red so often it's red because I like it.

Thank you!! Honestly you just gotta practice. Do master studies of ink drawings that inspire you. Oh but one specific tip is I don't bother differentiating sketch/linework. My sketch is the final--I just clean it up a bit. This could be considered bad practice but I dig it.

I always start a comic by sketching random, vaguely panel-shaped boxes haphazardly across the page (usually on real paper):

First I just get something down fast and then fill in empty space (orange is the second pass). There's no conscious decision making, it's all by feel. The secret is usually I make these before any script--writing and drawing comes after the layout. This way the panel layout fully dictates the rhythm. If a written line doesn't physically fit in a panel, it's gotta change. I can have one sentence or a sort of thematic idea in my head, and after getting the panels down it just fills itself up.

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Are you gay?

are you?

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stylized fingernails in ZBrush for my current 3D character project

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anyone remember these guys? 🐞🪲

made using Maya, Substance Painter, UE5, and pencil + paper

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Hi I just wanted you to know your art is important to me. I bought two of the “cloud bad” pins for myself and my work bestie (we’re both disabled English teachers) and it’s giving me so much joy. Some days, “cloud bad” is all I’ve got and I love this pin. Thank you for sharing this art with us!

Thank YOU, I appreciate it :)

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on working even when it's not working