Self Evaluation for BA2

From the start, I was excited for this project as I had a limited experience of ZBrush so far and was hoping to learn more about the program and streamline my 3D workflow. The theme of Gargoyles I was a little dubious about at first since I wasn't sure what I wanted my gargoyle to be based off of, but I quickly got into an idea which meant I did not feel de-motivated at any stage of the project.

For strong points, I felt like my iteration process was a lot better done this time around. I used a mixture of both 2D and 3D iteration to best visualise how my gargoyle would come out, so I got a really good feel for the silhouette and how it would look later on. This, backed up with my visual research in the form of many mood-boards as well as contextual research, meant I had a strong idea and the evidence to back it up. I also was very strong at working quickly in ZBrush. I was able to quickly learn the processes taught to me in the workshops and apply them to my own work, as well as being able to demonstrate these methods to others if they were unsure of how it worked. I also sought out some methods on my own before they were introduced in workshops, such as learning how to use Alphas, as well as subtraction via Subtools.

However, there were some weak points in my project. My biggest concern is that I did not seek enough advice from my peers, such as asking what iterations they thought looked the best. I think that if I did this I may have had an even stronger final result. Even though I presented my work every Group Crit, I did not get very many crits that I could have used, so I should probably prepare some questions to ask for next time. I also felt like my 3D iterations could have been improved on a little. I did few actual iterations within 3D as most of my images were just progress work.

For next time, I could improve on the previous points, and make sure to make my work-in-progress public so that my peers can rate how I’m doing and offer crits without having to wait for the weekly crit session to do so. I would include questions and queries with my posts so that I could get more focused responses and make sure my peers’ advice is relevant to my work. I could also work more on 3D iterations, by using the Transpose tool as well as layers and subtools to quickly get iterations down which I can show by using the screenshot button.

Overall, however, I vastly enjoyed this project. Being able to see my work evolve over time and producing what I believe is a quality asset makes me pleased, and I am glad that I put the effort in to improve over last project, as is shown through the quality and amount of work that I produced. I am looking forward to working with ZBrush again in the future.

Final Sculpture for BA2

This is my result for the project in which we produce a game-ready asset. My gargoyle is based off of the design of the fantastical creature, Cockatrice. Since gargoyles in and around the medieval era were mostly designed to look like evil creatures to lure people into the safe haven of the Church, I thought that the Cockatrice would be a perfect subject because of how it is known to kill with just a look.

The above picture shows the topology of my model at a lower subdivision level. This is at subdivision level 2, or one subdivision above the lowest. I utilised the use of both a UV map (generated with UV Master) and a displacement map to get the detail of the high-poly sculpt onto a lower poly model. At this subdivision, the model is around 40,000 active points.

This picture shows how the gargoyle would be utilised to funnel water from the wall. The gargoyle would most likely be mounted on a pedestal, with a trough leading water to the top of the tail, which the trough carries along the top of. The water is led across the tail into the back of the head, where there is a hole that runs through the head into the mouth. The water runs through the head and out the bottom, where it is flung far away from the wall the gargoyle is resting on.

While the back of the model may not necessarily be seen due to how it is mounted on the wall, it is not devoid of detail. This is in case it is placed somewhere where these features are visible, such as if it were knocked off the wall and is lying on the ground.

These images show the gargoyle in poses it would probably be seen at in reality. It is still clear what the overall silhouette of the gargoyle is, meaning that I have created a good, strong form within my gargoyle. Overall, I am extremely pleased with how this came out and am impressed at the quality of work I was able to produce with a product I am relatively new to.