I was given the assignment to use blend shapes within maya to make something deform. I chose to use a water like drop hitting a metallic and reflective surface to show the surface tension of the water like drop. I plan on using this animation in part or in whole as a basis for the ‘creation’ or sprouting of my samurai character. Enjoy the show. Video Link

Well, I am no longer required to be working on the samurai character, but I find myself compelled to finish she/him/ it, the character really doesn’t have a gender as it is more elemental than anything. Anyway, I’ve started to work on water arm concepts for its left arm within RealFlow. I must say, that is quite a piece of simulation software, I am amazed at the control and detail that...

This week has been something of a depressing week. I’ve used most of my time this week trying to figure out why Zbrush was doing weird stuff with the geometry when I subdivide. This process can be seen in my images, s4f1 - f4 .jpgs. This week, F3 has the original geometry that I was working through the divide levels as normal - as I’m coming to understand how everything works, then F4 happens…...

I did a lot of work on the helmet. Although about 4 hours were lost because I forgot to uncheck the smart divide - in order to keep the hard edges for the seams on my objects. - Once it’s divided the mesh changes and it’s almost impossible to get the vertices back together. It basically creates a separation between the different parts, like unzipping a zipper, which is definitely undesirable....

Well I’ve added more detail to the samurai. I’m happy with the way it’s shaping up. I like working on the rock / earth elemental arm - it’s very organic - unlike the rigid armor. I checked out the link that for the iShowU, It looks like it’s going to work. Hopefully I’ll get it working for the next time around. I like the concept of using a poem, or sentence for...

I finally made it into Zbrush. Only to find out that my version on my Mac doesn’t support exporting to a video. That would’ve been nice to know 2 hours ago. Anyway - Moving on. - I updated the legs, they are not as square, I think you (the viewer) should be starting to get a good idea of the mass of the character and what kind of details you should expect. These are early in the detailing...

Well, I’ve modified my initial model a bit more to give it more of a warrior look and not so much of a child’s toy feel. I referenced Juggernaught and Incredible Hulk for the proportions on the upper body, I didn’t want the bottom part of the body to be quite as large as they are pretty minor as my design goes. I updated the UV’s, I wish that I would’ve just done them...

I’ve started to actually build the character. I’ve updated my project gallery below. Please take a look and let me know what you think. I’m just about to start using Zbrush to build my character and add the elements that will define his characteristics. I am looking for a nice japanese ‘guardian’ like name, I’ve not found anything that strikes me, Any ideas? Stay...

What do you, the audience think about my character design proposition? A Samurai with elemental arms, earth on his right and water on his left. Please see the images below for references, please vote and comment as necessary. I look forward to reading the comments, thank you for your input and time. Click the images below to view larger. What...

Ok, So this is my complete designer stage. From the beginning of this process of concept to model, I knew that I was not going to actually need a color palette because I am just going to be modeling and detailing this character. Texturing and coloring will be later. However, I do understand the complete necessity for that thought process during this stage, it helps to understand what the character...