Lee Greatorex Photo/3D blog

This was the first time I've limited myself timewise for a sculpt. I set aside 1 hour of my day to just focus on sculpting. I initially didn't like the idea of doing speed sculpts or similar (after always seeing the end result from artists it's very easy to feel you mayswell not try with some of the talent out there).

But after watching a webinar by Danny Williams regarding the reasons behind doing a limited time study (He uses the term Lunch Crunch and there is now a community based around this study ethos found here http://www.facebook.com/groups/lunchcrunch/). It really does allow you to focus on the task. I could prepare my references and for that hour just get something done.

Here are my results. This was done in Sculptris (see the image below).

  I used 3 spheres, 1 for the abdomen, chest and shoulders. To add new objects in sculptris just go to Add Sphere > Add object. It will automatically mask out the other objects in the scene so you can get a basic shape. After getting the basic shape just using grab I remove all masks in the scene by ctrl+click dragging anywhere outside of the object. Originally I used to just make everything from 1 model in sculptris thinking blending wouldn't really work as you might get with a dynamesh but the results aren't terrible.

Using a clay brush you can go around the visible seams and it will give the effect of blending the object. The great news is though that your individual objects can still be hidden (h+click on the object you want to hide). Also if you want to mask individual objects again just add another sphere to the scene. It will let you seperate them again for more detail if needed.

For rendering the sidebysides and turntable I just used GoZ to take it in to Zbrush. From here I added a custom material (I like the cavities to be visible in best and regular movement). To make it one object I just used Dynamesh and set the res to about 500 (Really not needed for this low detail model but it was just for a quick render). I also used claypolish>Edge 5 then re dynameshed just to get rid of a little artifacting which will happen when moving stuff from sculptris to zbrush.

This week I've been setting some time aside to practice some Dynamic poses for full figures. I've always wanted to progress my sculpting to the level of working on a comic or pop art statue (maybe get it 3d Printed when I'm at a good enough level).

I'll probably be getting some real armature rigs set up for testing (as I'm dying to test real clay, so many great influences such as the Shiflett Brothers) in the meantime I took advantage of the Mannequin tools in Zbrush 4 and above (might even be in 3!)

These are very simple to move around and duplicate so good to give a basic idea of shape and form. It is great for prototyping shapes (particularly if you have a basic idea in mind). I also found that it provided a fun puzzle when using comic references to see where all the hidden limbs go while still feeling dynamic and fluid!



Below was a test from a comic panel from the Infinite Crisis, in which 3 Generations of flash try to take Superboy Prime in to the speedforce. Here is the panel I got the main reference from (also checked out general 100m sprint poses;

I took my camera out over the Jazz weekend in a hope to take some photos of the various musicians over the famous weekend. However, I've never seen the place so busy! We couldn't even see the acts we were listening to most of the time, sometimes being relegated to the smoking/beer garden.

Still it was a great weekend as always and it didn't stop me taking photos!

D7000 - 35mm 1.8

Some short tips of low light/evening photography:

• Don't be afraid of higher ISOs - modern cameras handle high ISO pretty well, most cameras now will do at least ISO1600 perfectly fine (even 3200 and above are acceptable). When you zoom in with lightroom or another package you're of course going to see noise, don't let this put you off shooting. The noise does add a warmth to some images, and in black and white it works well.
• Use the light available to you - I personally don't tend to carry my flashgun around with me if just going out with a few friends, let the lights in the area you're shooting direct where you take your shots. 
• Steady your shots with the environment - For the cityscape shot it was still relatively low light to get 3 exposures (I was at ISO250 f4) so shutter speeds were slow. For these I just wedged the camera in to the bridge I was stood on to ensure it was steadied. For pub/indoor shots, leaning against a wall or leaning on tables/ bars will help you steady the shot if you hold your camera tightly (see the previous post for steady /low shutter speed camera handling)

These were taken on Tuesday 30th Oct at Fota Wildlife Park. I've been there plenty times before as it's a great day out for all and there are some awesome animals walking in and around the park!

It was extremely cold that day so a lot of the animals were keeping warm indoors however I managed to take a few for a series of Black and White shots. Click for larger view!

D7000 - Tamron 70-300mm lens

Here are a few tips when shooting wildlife, these can be used in a park like this (I recommend if you live in or near Cork to go by the way!) or out in the wild.

• Be patient - animals are not always active, use the time to plan a shot for when they do move. Also look at the shapes of the animals if they are static. For example, the buffalo was just lying down so I just shot a part of it which I may not have been able to if the animal was moving. Another tip is to find out when feeding times are or walk along with one of the park rangers. Wildlife park animals may move/wake up when they hear the walkie talkie going as there may be a possibility of food!
• Prepare your shots - while animals are unpredictable they will still follow a certain path most of the times. Grazing animals will tend to follow the rest of the herd so wait and see where the leader of the herd goes and set up there. While a faster lens may help most the time get that quick shot it isn't impossible with a slower or cheaper lens. I use a very cheap/old 70-300 (probably under £100 now) and am still able to get some good shots in relatively overcast light (I was shooting at mostly f7.1 to f8)
• Hold your camera tight! - we all think we're doing this all the time, then daren't go below 1/160 for fear of blurring. I've recently been really paying attention to camera holding techniques and can now go down to maybe 1/40 without getting too much blur. To do this hold your camera with your left hand cupped under the lens but pushing to the right, then counter this by gripping with your right hand but pushing left. Finally press the eyepiece tightly in so there is some pressure on your eyebrow/forehead. This dramatically reduces camera shake (remember to tuck your elbow in as well!) It can take some practice though and feel uncomfortable but will reduce blur!