A while ago I decided to start learning human anatomy and improve my sculpting, with the goal of being a character artist one day. So Im making this polybook to ocassionally post about by progress and hopefully get some feedback or advice or whatever you feel like writing here.
Hey Shawn,
Thank you :)
I used Zbrush, so im not sure what the best workflow would be in Blender...I guess the workflow would be same just different settings.
I didnt use a texture exactly, just a trim dynamic brush with a round alpha with a sharp falloff and some depth. So in Blender you would set up a brush that makes an indentation kind of like lightly pressing a ball into clay, with a sharp edge around the indentation :D
I went over the whole surface to create a randomly beaten look, then I went over the edges to break up the straight lines and kind of cave them in on some places, and then used a very sharp square alpha to create some sharper damage like rusted spots. And the last step was using few layers of noise displacement of varying scale and different curve adjustments (something like color ramp node in blender).
I got a lot of tips for this from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSkwih9Vq8U&t=393s
It is about zbrush but im sure the same techniques can be done in blender too. My head is kinda rewired for Zbrush now so I cant think from the top of my head how I would do it.
The main thing really is to first create larger forms and then go into progressively smaller details, which is what you will hear in like every sculpting tutorial ever :D
Great! Thanks I will add that to my watch list for later. You know it looks good when people like me ask how to replicate a part of your workflow.
I would also like to see the results of your studying the course. I am also interested in taking this course or something similar, because I want to practice more. We study theory more in college. For example, we studied how human structure was viewed by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. At that time I used https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/a-comparison-of-the-works-of-leonardo-da-vinci-and-michelangelo/ to prepare and write my own essay on the subject . This resource helped me a lot, because I myself would definitely not cope. I recommend all students to use this service, so you will have more time to practice and get more interesting things.
Hey,
This is a pretty old post :D
Unfortunately I don't have much to show in terms of results, only the stuff you see here. I did finish the course and learned a lot, but as it usually goes with me, after a the initial burst of motivation, my interest in sculpting kinda died off. Some time later I stared working as a freelancer doing real estate photography and videos, which I fortunately still enjoy almost two years later, so now I dont 3D model almost at all, except for an occasional Archviz job.
However, I do recommend the course. Its called Artistic Anatomy with Eric Wilson. Its a 10 week course with a small group of students and he gives them feedback each week. I only watched a recording of it, it cost me 200usd. I dont know if he still does these courses but the real time version of it would be obviously much more expesive :D But you can still get the recording.
He doesnt go too much over the basic proportions, so its not for a complete beginner, but I didnt know much when I started and I could keep up. He goes over a section of the body in each lesson, shows and names all the important muscles and bones, where they are attached, and also gives a lot of relevant information that I didnt see much in other places. How the muscles and bones interact with each other in different poses, how they look when they are relaxed or flexed, how they look "exposed" vs what you actually see when theres fat and skin on top of them...
Dont expect too many sculpting tips though, he gives a few but its not like "you take this brush and you move it like this". He just explains how the body looks and works and the sculpting you gotta figure for yourself.
I also got a buch of resources with the course, like 3d scans of people to study and sculpt on.
At least thats how I remember the course, it was two years ago so im not completely sure.
Considering I didnt sculpt or know anatomy almost at all before this course, the progress I made with it was pretty amazing for me. Definitely beware of some cheap courses on Udemy or similar places. You can learn a lot of things there that are just completely wrong. Im not saying they all suck but always do a background check on the instructor, dont just go with what they write under the course. Eric Wilson has done anatomy workshops at Pixar for example, and his sculptures speak for themselves, so you can have confidence in what he says. But do your own research about him if you decide to get this course. I know 200 bucks can seem like a lot, especially if you see courses for 10 dollars in other places, but in my opinion the information you get from it is worth it. He definitely knows his stuff and also knows how to teach it.