3d art

Start the modelling
Once we have our reference and approach – it’s time to model!
04 Model the turtle base mesh
I began the modelling process in 3ds Max, as I find its native poly modelling tools are a very
powerful and quick way to create a clean base mesh for use in ZBrush. I like to keep my base
meshes fairly low-poly and loose – just enough to give me an idea of the overall form and
proportions. I constantly referred to the concept art as a guide and made sure the base
mesh would have just enough to work with once I took it into ZBrush for higher level
detailing. The turtle base mesh was constructed from basic geometry using a spherical cube
for the shell and extruded cubes for the fins and neck.
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05 Sculpt the turtle
Once I had the base mesh ready, it was time to take it into
ZBrush to really start bringing the turtle to life. I began with
the turtle’s shell – heavily relying on reference images of sea
turtles. Even though the concept is strictly fantasy-based,
having realistic details helps to ground a concept and sell the
characters’ believability. Most of the sculpting was done by
hand at this point, using the Standard brush with Lazy
Mouse to define the large scute edges, and Clay Tubes to
create the lined ridge texture on the top of the scutes.
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D Starting to add some surface
detail to the turtle. Take your
time and experiment
f Using the alpha on the
right to lay down detail in
a controlled and even way
E Simplicity is the key here –
add just enough form to block
in loose proportions
G The goggles, saddle and
other prop models created
in 3ds Max
100
06 Turtle Alpha
map creation
For the flippers and neck, I approached
the sculpting a little differently. I took a
screenshot of the low-poly flipper base
mesh in ZBrush, took that into
Photoshop, and used it as a guide to
hand-paint a black-and-white Alpha
map. The reason for this was so I could
use photo references to quickly find a
way to create the intricate pattern I
wanted. Once I was reasonably happy
with the painted pattern, I took the
image into ZBrush and used it as an
Alpha map with the drag-rectangle
stroke to lay the pattern down onto the
higher-res mesh. Once the pattern was
down on the flippers, I went back and
added smaller details and irregularities
so it didn’t look too flat or uniform,
boosting realism. I also used the lines
as a guide to build up bigger folds and
creases as the appendages merged
into the shell. The same technique was
used for the head and neck areas.
F
G
07 Model the props
For the props, I stayed in 3ds Max to model the high-res
props that would be attached to the turtle’s body. I felt
having the props on the turtle’s body early would give me
some additional features to help judge proportions – and
would especially help when it came to integrating the
children. 3ds Max’s poly tools are ideal for creating the
precise, hard-surface shapes needed for the props. I made
extensive use of renderable splines for creating ropes and
trim to give additional detail to objects like the saddle and
golf bag that holds the harpoons.