Final Effect Preview

Step 1

Go to “Create > Polygon Primitives > Plane”.

Step 2

Create a plane that matches the size of a flag and rotate it by ‘90′ degrees.

Step 3

Open the Attributes Editor for the plane, name it, and increase the “Subdivisions Width” to ‘30′, and the “Subdivisions Height” to ‘50′.

Step 4

Your plane should now look like this:

Step 5

Go to “Create > Polygon Primitives > Cylinder”

Step 6

Position the cylinder, and scale it to match the size of a flag pole.

Step 7

Select all the top faces of the pole.

Step 8

With the faces still selected, got to “Polygons > Edit Mesh > Extrude”.

Step 9

Extrude those faces until you get a nice pole shape.

Step 10

Select the top vertex of the pole.

Step 11

Use the move tool to position the vertex.

Step 12

Go to “Window > Rendering Editors > Hypershade”.

Step 13

With “Create mental ray Nodes” active, create a new “mia_material_x”.

Step 14

Open the Attributes Editor of the material you just created, name it, select the preset called “Copper”, and adjust the “Diffuse” and “Reflection” colors accordingly.

Step 15

Apply the material to the pole.

Step 16

Go to “Window > Rendering Editors > Hypershade” again.

Step 17

With “Create mental ray Nodes active”, create a new “mia_material_x”.

Step 18

Go to the Attributes Editor of the material, name it, and decrease the “Reflectivity” value to ‘0′.

Step 19

Click on the checkerboard button, to the right of the “Diffuse” color value, to open the “File” browser window.

Step 20

The Attributes Editor should now change. Select the image you want to use to texture the flag.

Step 21

Apply the material to the flag, and with the flag selected go to “Create UV´s > Planar Mapping”.

Step 22

Select the option highlighted below so you can see if the texture looks good.

Step 23

If your texture looks bad like mine, go to “Create UV´s > Planar Mapping (settings)”.

Step 24

This will open a new window where you can change the projection axis to whatever works for your scene, and then click “Project”.

Step 25

Your flag should now display the texture correctly.

Step 26

Select the flag, and in the “nDynamics” menu, go to “nMesh > Create nCloth”.

Step 27

Increase the number of frames of the animation.

Step 28

If you play the animation now, you will see that the flag just falls down. This is because the flag is not attached to the pole.

Step 29

Rewind the animation.

Step 30

Select the flag, and in the “Window” menu, go to “Show > Isolate Select > View Selected”.

Step 31

You should now only see the flag, which will make it easier to work with.

Step 32

Select all of the vertexes that you want to be attached to the pole.

Step 33

In the “nDynamics” menu, go to “nConstraint > Transform”.

Step 34

Select the flag, and in the “Window” menu go to “Show > Isolate Select > View Selected” this will make everything visible again.

Step 35

Select the pole.

Step 36

In the “nDynamics” menu, go to “nMesh > Create Passive Collider”.

Step 37

If you play the animation, you should now see the flag hanging from the pole. This is realistic, but an unmoving flag is not very dynamic, so let’s add some wind.

Step 38

Go to the Attributes Editor of the flag´s “nucleus1”, and in the “Gravity and Wind” section, change the following values:

Step 39

If you play the animation now, it should look pretty good. All you need to do is smooth the polygons by pressing ‘3′ on the keyboard (with the flag selected).

Step 40

Perfect! We are done with the first section of this tutorial, just don´t forget to save your scene!

Step 41

Create a new scene, and go to “Create > Polygon Primitives > Plane”.

Step 42

Create a square plane.

Step 43

Go to the Attributes Editor of the plane, name it, and change the “Subdivisions Width” to ‘50′, and the “Subdivisions Height” to ‘50′

Step 44

Go to “Create > Polygon Primitives > Sphere”.

Step 45

Create a sphere and position it very high above the plane.

Step 46

Go to “Window > Rendering Editors > Hypershade”.

Step 47

Make sure you have “Create mental ray Nodes” active, and create a new “mia_material_x”.

Step 48

Go to the Attributes Editor of the material, name it, and change the following options:

Step 49

Apply the material to the ball.

Step 50

Go to “Window > Rendering Editors > Hypershade”.

Step 51

With “Create mental ray Nodes” active, create a new “mia_material_x”.

Step 52

Go to the Attributes Editor of the material, name it, and decrease the “Reflectivity” value to ‘0′.

Step 53

Hit the checkerboard button to the right of the “Diffuse” Color value. This will open the file browser window where you can select the image that you want to use to texture the plane.

Step 54

Apply the material to the plane.

Step 55

Select the plane, and in the “Polygons” menu, go to “Create UV´s > Planar Mapping”.

Step 56

Select the plane again, and in the “nDynamics” menu, go to “nMesh > Create nCloth”.

Step 57

Select one vertex from each corner of the plane.

Step 58

With the vertexes still selected, go to the “nDynamics” menu, and choose “nConstraint > Transform”.

Step 59

Select the ball, and in the “nDynamics” menu, go to “nMesh > Create Passive Collider”.

Step 60

With the ball still selected, go to “Fields > Gravity”.

Step 61

Increase the number of frames of the animation.

Step 62

Position your camera.

Step 63

Play the animation.

Step 64

The plane should just stretch instead of tearing.

Step 65

Rewind the animation.

Step 66

Select the faces of the plane that you want to tear.

Step 67

In the “nDynamics” menu, go to “nConstraint > Tearable Surface”.

Step 68

You should see some dots covering the faces you selected.

Step 69

If you play the animation now, your plane should tear naturally. End of tutorial! Hope you liked it!!

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Final Effect Preview

Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

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3-D Human Modeling and Animation, Third Edition starts you off with simple modeling, then prepares you for more advanced techniques for creating human characters. After a brief overview of human anatomy, you’ll delve into the basic principles of proportion and structure, along with the different body parts. Exploring human modeling, texturing, rigging, and lighting leads you to more advanced techniques for digital figure animation.

Filled with detailed, practical information about creating and animating 3-D human models, this updated Third Edition now features more than 500 full-color images that detail, step by step, the modeling and animation processes for both male and female figures. Most helpful of all, the included DVD features QuickTime tutorials tied to the modeling chapters and provides detailed color images from the chapters so you can get a quick start in bringing your visions to fruition!

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For the chance to win your own copy of ‘3-D Human Modeling and Animation, Third Edition’, all you need to do is comment (no double comments please!). Make sure to include your correct email address with your comment so that we can contact you. This giveaway is open worldwide, but make sure to get your comment in before midnight this Sunday (November 15), Pacific Eastern Standard Time.

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Final Effect Preview

Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

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Digital Double – Denzel Washington Head Study



Nicolas Collings shows you how to model Denzel Washington’s head using reference images taken from Google.

Modeling a Dinosaur



In this tut, Ashraf Aiad shows you how to create a detailed 3d model of a dinosaur head, using mesh preparation, sculpting, displacement maps, and rendering, in both Maya and Mudbox.

Head Sculpting Techniques



Learn a bunch of head sculpting techniques from Rod Seffen, including explanations on the proportions of the human head, artistic anatomy theory, techniques in sculpting facial features, and more!

Autodesk.com’s Getting Started With Mudbox



Autodesk.com has got 4 quick videos to help you in getting started with Mudbox: “Navigate the 3D View Using a Mouse”, “Navigate the 3D View using a Pen and Tablet”, “Start Sculpting”, and “Start Painting”… sorry no links…just hit the picture, and then click the thumbnails.

Mudbox Techniques for Props



These two tutorials, about sculpting props in Mudbox, deal with sculpting wood props, and sculpting stone. NOTE: For any tutorials located on AREA.Autodesk.com you must be logged in to access the tutorials.

Scorpion Production Workflow



Kenichi Nishida thoroughly explains his process of using Maya and Mudbox to create this awesome scorpion model.

Mudbox 2010 Features



This set of videos is made to get you up to speed on the new features in Mudbox 2010. There are 5 videos: Sculpting, Texture Painting Parts 1 and 2, Rendering, and Mudbox and Maya.

Zhang Yang’s “Revolution” Tutorial



This is a detailed tutorial outlining the steps that Zhang Yang took to create the piece “Revolution”.

Making of “Varga”



In this two part tutorial, Paul Tosca shows you how he created his piece titled “Varga”. Part 1 Part 2

Making of “Lady of Shalott”



Using a mix of Maya, Mudbox, Photoshop, BodyPaint, and Mental Ray, Zhang Yang shows you how his piece “Lady of Shalott” was made.

Making of “The Giant”



This will take you through the various stages used to create Keith Thompson’s Giant character.

Convert a Mudbox Model to 3ds Max



Nick Blevins shows you an easy way to convert your Mudbox models for use in 3ds Max. He will cover how to transfer a model from Max to Mudbox, export a mesh and a displacement map, and then render it in Max using a bunch of different displacement methods.

Low Poly Game Character Hair



Learn how to make some low poly hair using Maya and Mudbox.

Street Cop Workflow



Mashru Mishuu shows you his workflow in creating this street cop character from start to finish.

Workflow Between 3ds Max & Mudbox



Learn some basic techniques, but also more advanced subjects like normal and displacement baking in 3ds Max, or the best options when working with the .obj format between apps.

Multi-Displacement Setup with Maya and Mudbox



The multi-displacement method can be very handy when setting up various displacement files for your geometry, allow you to have a higher detailed displacement for your render.

Creating Displacement Maps with 3ds Max, Mudbox and Mental Ray



Learn how to create displacement maps using 3ds Max, Mental Ray, and Mudbox using some mountainous geometry to learn from.

Making of “Fa Hai”



Check out this short making of “Fa Hai” including the modeling, rendering, and shading.

Multi Channel Setup



This video shows you how to use the Multi-Channel Tool to set up all the Mudbox channels to bring into Maya for the purpose of rendering.

Lit Sphere Material



Ashraf Aiad sheds some light on the Lit Sphere Material feature in Mudbox.

Render a Mudbox File in Maya (The Easy Way)



Learn an easy way of rendering your Mudbox files in Maya by matching the number of polys from Mudbox to Mental Ray for Maya.

Maya/Mudbox Troubleshooting



Let’s face it….things can and will go wrong in your workflow… unless you watch these two videos that address some common user mistakes when utilizing a Maya & Mudbox workflow: Part 1 Part 2

GROUNDUP Mudbox Tutorials



Navigation and UI Selections Normal and Displacement Maps Layers Brushes Hard Surface Texturing Character Detailing

Mudbox Sculpting



In this five part tutorial, learn how to sculpt efficiently in Mudbox. Sounds simple enough. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

New in Mudbox 2010



Look at some of the new features in Mudbox 2010 including FBX, filters, and more.

Character Modeling For Games Series



This five part series will cover the modeling of a character for games. The topics of each part are: Applying Color to the Concept Art Basic 3ds Max Techniques Creating a Base Model Sculpting the General Anatomy Retopologising the Model

We are terribly sorry to all those who enjoyed having Wayne Robson’s tutorials included in this excellent roundup, but any tutorials belonging to him or being hosted at CGArena have been removed at his expressed request.

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]]> http://cg.tutsplus.com/articles/web-roundups/43-mind-bending-mudbox-tuts/feed/ 17 http://cg.tutsplus.com/articles/web-roundups/43-mind-bending-mudbox-tuts/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cgtuts/~3/mQJ5JC0RwyU/ http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/3d-art/model-a-high-poly-roof-hatch-in-3ds-max/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:00:05 +0000 Chris Tate http://cg.tutsplus.com/?p=1557 ]]> In this 2 hour long beginner level tutorial, we will explore in detail the entire process of building a high-poly roof hatch in 3ds Max. We will discuss the modeling process in depth, including a variety of different poly modeling tools and techniques. We will also cover some of the more important theoretical aspects of high poly modeling, such as the importance of using support edges when working with subdivision, and also the use of proper topology when cutting holes into subdivided surfaces while maintaining a quad based mesh.

Final Effect Preview



Video 1

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Video 2

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Video 3

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Video 4

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]]> http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/3d-art/model-a-high-poly-roof-hatch-in-3ds-max/feed/ 9 http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/3d-art/model-a-high-poly-roof-hatch-in-3ds-max/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cgtuts/~3/LQenPhxNHn4/ http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/3d-art/model-uv-and-texture-a-complete-manga-character-in-blender-day-3/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:00:11 +0000 Karan Shah http://cg.tutsplus.com/?p=1551 ]]> Creating a 3d character that is equipped to be animated is one of the most challenging things you can do in CG, and to make matters worse, it has always been equally challenging to find any comprehensive tutorials on the entire workflow. Well not any more! In this 7 video long, intermediate to advanced level tutorial series, professional Blender artist, Karan Shah, will walk you through the complete creation process of a ready to animate video game character. From modeling, to UVs and texturing, to adding the final mesh topology for deformation, this series is a must see for any Blender character artist!

This tutorial is Day 3 in a series – Go to Day 1, or Day 2

Final Effect Preview



Video 7: The UVs

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Video 8: The Textures

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This tutorial is Day 3 in a series – Go to Day 2, or
Start at the beginning – Go to Day 1

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]]> http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/3d-art/model-uv-and-texture-a-complete-manga-character-in-blender-day-3/feed/ 7 http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/3d-art/model-uv-and-texture-a-complete-manga-character-in-blender-day-3/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cgtuts/~3/u27nIr6gcYg/ http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/maxon-cinema-4d/create-a-detailed-zune-hd-mp3-player-in-cinema-4d/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:00:54 +0000 Mountaga Kane http://cg.tutsplus.com/?p=1547 ]]> Creating convincing product visualizations can sometimes be a daunting task, due to the high level of detail and fidelity the artist must achieve in order to make it believable. In this multi-part, intermediate to advanced level tutorial, you will learn the many techniques needed to model a Microsoft Zune HD. Setting up your workspace for your reference images and using them as a guide, modeling complex shapes from boxes, and polygon pushing will all be covered, and can be adapted to virtually any 3D package.

Final Effect Preview



You can download the reference images here: http://cgtuts.s3.amazonaws.com/070_C4D_MP3/ref.rar.

Video 1

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Video 2

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]]> http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/maxon-cinema-4d/create-a-detailed-zune-hd-mp3-player-in-cinema-4d/feed/ 33 http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/maxon-cinema-4d/create-a-detailed-zune-hd-mp3-player-in-cinema-4d/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cgtuts/~3/PAEmaohoPPs/ http://cg.tutsplus.com/articles/contests-and-giveaways/win-a-year-membership-to-cgtextures/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:00:24 +0000 Kaleb Aylsworth http://cg.tutsplus.com/?p=1541 ]]> Brace yourselves everyone, because our first CGTuts+ giveaway in November is a HUGE one! One extremely lucky commenter (selected at random) will be chosen to win a 1 year, 100 mb per day personal membership sponsored by CGTextures!

CGTextures

CGTextures is the world’s largest texture resource with over 30,000 extremely high resolution photo textures! Subjects range from trees and plants, to materials such as concrete, metal, and fabric, to fully spherically mapped panoramic skies, and what’s more, everything is neatly arranged by category and set up for keyword searching.






Contest Rules

For the chance to win your own personal 100 mb per day membership to CGTextures, all you need to do is:

• 1. Be following CGTuts+ on Twitter
• 2. Post a tweet linking to this contest
• 3. Comment with a link to your favorite texturing tut (anywhere) or your favorite piece of textured CG art (no double comments please!).

Make sure to include your correct email address with your comment so that we can contact you. This giveaway is open worldwide, but make sure to get your comment in before midnight this Sunday (November 8), Pacific Eastern Standard Time.

Please note: Envato staff and people who have written more than two tutorials/articles for a Tuts+ site are not eligible to enter.

Good luck everyone!!


]]> http://cg.tutsplus.com/articles/contests-and-giveaways/win-a-year-membership-to-cgtextures/feed/ 36 http://cg.tutsplus.com/articles/contests-and-giveaways/win-a-year-membership-to-cgtextures/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cgtuts/~3/zuBllV5KpWg/ http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/3d-art/how-to-create-a-realistic-looking-dirt-layer-using-maya-transfer-maps/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:48:55 +0000 Corey Hayes http://cg.tutsplus.com/?p=1535 ]]> When attempting to add realistic looking dirt and grime to your 3d art, it can sometimes be a little too easy to go overboard. In this tutorial you will learn a simple technique of adding dust and dirt to your 3d objects, without overdoing it, to finally give them a more lifelike and realistic feel. The software we will be using is Maya, but this technique can be used on almost any 3d model, and can easily be acieved in all of the major 3d packages on the market.

Final Effect Preview

Click on the image to open a High-Rez version.




Step 1

Open your model of choice (I will be using a couch I made earlier). Make sure it’s uvs are already laid out, and is at the center of your scene (0,0,0).



Step 2

Next, let’s create the light. In Maya we will use a point light, but if you’re following along in 3ds max, you can use the Omni light.



Step 3

The light is automatically created in the middle of the scene (at 0,0,0). Make sure your light is lined up with the center of your model, as you will want the model to have even light on all sides from the top down…



Step 4

Move the light up a bit. The distance shown in the image below should be good.



Step 5

Next, make the light colour red. This is important for when we bring it in to Photoshop later.



Step 6

Now go to the upper left corner in Maya, click the drop down, and choose “Rendering”



Step 7

Then, under “Light/Shading”, click on “Transfer Maps”. I use this a lot, so for convenience I added a transfer maps button to the shelf. You can do this by hitting ‘Alt’ and ‘Del’ on your keyboard while you have a tool highlighted.



Step 8

Select your model and clone it, but don’t move it. In Maya you can do this my hitting ‘Alt’ + ‘D’ on your keyboard. Open the “Outliner” window. This will make it simple to select each model.



Step 9

Now with both windows open, add one couch model to “Target Mesh”, and the other one to “Source Mesh”. They are the same so, it does not matter which one goes where.



Step 10

Moving down the transfer map window, choose “Shaded” as your “Map Type”. You can save it out in whatever format you want. In this case I used jpeg, and made the size 1024 x 1024 (to match my diffuse map). Now, hit “Bake”.



Step 11

Jump to Photoshop, and open your file that you just saved. When you open it, you should get a map that looks something like in the picture. The red is where the light was hitting the model. This also happens to be where most of the dust on an object is.



Step 12

Open your diffuse texture, and shift drag the dirt map onto it.



Step 13

 

Make sure the dirt map is top layer.



Step 14

Now go to “Select > Color Range” and choose red. You will see all of the red parts in the light preview. This is why we made the light red. The truth is you could render it out at any colour, but this way it is easiest to select. Now hit “Ok”.



Step 15

All the red should now be selected. It may look like not everything is selected, but don’t worry, for some reason Photoshop does not preview it all.



Step 16

With it still selected, make a new layer above your selection and choose a bright colour with the color picker. In this case I used lime green. Fill the selection, with the bright colour. This makes it easier if you want to have more then one dirt layer (sometimes I have more than 100!).



Step 17

Now you can ether delete or just turn off the red and black map, because you don’t need it anymore. I always file it away in the PSD though just in case.



Step 18

With the brightly coloured dirt map now created, we will need a dirt texture to use. You can use just about anything, but it really depends on the look your going for, and what kind of surface your creating. The map in the picture is a pre-made dust texture created from some concrete photos.



Step 19

Drag the dust/dirt texture into your diffuse Psd file, place it above the selection map in the layers palette, and scale it until you’re happy with the level of detail. Now, hold down “Alt”, and hover the mouse pointer between the selection map layer and the dirt texture layer, and a little icon will appear. When it does, click the left mouse button. You have now assigned your texture to the selection map.



Step 20

Now play around with the blending mode and opacity of the selection map until you get the desired effect. I tend to keep it pretty low, but then again, it depends on the subject matter. Don’t change the blending mode or opacity of the texture, or the green selection map will start showing through. If you’re doing a specular map, you can usually use the same dirt layers and just tweak them to be a little darker.  You can also use this same process on your AO map to add some dirt to the crevices.



Step 21

End of tutorial! I hope you enjoyed yourself, or at least learned something new!!



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