Update with the turntable of my character in his current state!
Going take this opportunity to ‘plug’ some Z-Brush Plug-ins (see what I did there?).
Turntable Plus – http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?94752-Useful-small-ZScripts-and-Macros-for-ZBrush-4-amp-4R3/page5
A great script for creating some more dynamic turntables, different versions are available for different iterations of Z-Brush, so for maximum compatibility be sure to grab the right one from the thread linked above.
It has been some time since I’ve posted on my blog, not out of laziness, but due to a large workload^^ Z-Brush, Documents, Presentations, Level Design and so on! I’ll talk about the more interesting stuff below 
Firstly I’ll talk about our first level design assignment. The module was regarding research, we had to basically build a train station in UDK made from our own assets, textures etc… It had to be accompanied with a walkthrough video and a design document. It was a group based assignment which 4 of us worked on alongside our other modules. It was really enjoyable and the feedback we’ve received has been really positive, so I’m expecting a pretty decent mark. A shout out goes to Carrie Warwick, Jayde Royle and David Holt who also contributed to the assignment. Below is some shots of what we did and the walkthrough video itself. It’s worth mentioning there was also a theme to the assignment, hence the wreckage and blood etc…
Another assignment I’ve been working on, with some older wip posts in previous blog entries, is a Z-Brush character. I won’t post all the wip shots here, I’ll put them in the assignment page at a later date along with an update with the turntable video. For now here are the shots I’m submitting for my first milestone, after getting feedback from that I’ll be revisiting it to ramp up the texturing ^^
We’ve also had to do a mechanics assignment for our Level Design module, but thats just a big document^^ I’ve also been keeping myself busy with extra things to Firstly I’ve started working on a portfolio site for myself :- http://lancewilkinson.carbonmade.com/projects/4303273#1 , it’s a WIP at the moment with alot of stuff being placeholder; I’m going for a really simplistic look which is far easier to navigate. I’ve also managed to gather a group of talent students and graduates to enter the ‘Dare to be Digital’ competition. We’ve created a design document, done concept art and made a 5 min pitch video which has been submitted for judging ^^ So wish us luck
Finally I’ve done some other stuff in-between my studies and commitments, purely recreational and to sometimes get me away from the wealth of work we’re doing^^
I didn’t realise it’s been 9 days since my last post! Probably because it’s been a busy 9 days juggling university assignments. My group assignments are taking off in a big way so alot of time is spent working on them. I have however spent alittle more time on the Z-brush assignment, I managed to make my base mesh in 3Ds Max and have spent about an hour flushing out some shapes in Z-Brush; Hopefully this coming weekend I’ll be able to spend abit more time on it.
Also work starts this week on some additional ‘projects’ which hopefully I’ll be able to post more about soon.
I don’t know about you, but the amount of heat generated by the collection of electrical equipment I surround myself with is sometimes tiring The ‘heat’ is also being applied at University now with the assignments piling up! It’s all cool though;) I’ve spent more time doing some character art for the Z-Brush assignment which I hope to start modelling this week, another good chunk of life drawing was done to. Another highlight was playing the Mass Effect 3 demo. I was really psyched about it, although this was probably a bad idea. I really want to play the full game but with the assignments we’ve been dished out, I probably won’t have the time:( I’ll get to it eventually… It looked good in 3D though
Another video was released onto youtube from FZD, so thanks to them. It’s funny though, at the end of each video he says the next one will be on something specific and then the video comes its something completely unrelated:D
Warcraft 3 reference ftw!
Been a busy start to the 2nd week of university. I’ve threw some time towards quickly creating some concepts for the Z-Brush assignment, ontop of which I created one of the Orthographics that are required. Roughly 7 hours has also been spent doing life drawing, most of which is optional or my own time. Due to this I think I’ve made a great dent into the assignment. I now have triple the amount of life drawing work then what I would have done if I only attended the compulsory session. Alot of the work is also in A2 format which means I can’t really post it until I get a new battery for my SLR; so, for now, I’ll post what A3 stuff I do.
Week one, Semester 2 is drawing to a close, so what happened? We received a Z-Brush assignment, and a small level design task with the rest of this weeks lessons being an introduction to their respective modules. Good thing is that the only solid assignment that was dished out was the Z-Brush one with other assignments to follow in 2-3 weeks meaning that I can hopefully make a good headstart on the Z-Brush assignment. So I’ve started with some silhouettes and some concepts, I’ve also had abit of a dabble in Z-Brush getting used to Z-Spheres and trying to sculpt some base anatomy.
Today I also received my Semester 1 Grades and I’m immensely happy with what I attained. I achieved ‘A’ (1st) in all 3 of the Semester 1 modules averaging out at ~84-85% overall, so yeah an ace result, I hope all my peers achieved the result they wanted to and I look forward to trying to maintain that result through Semester 2. I’ve also added myself to LinkedIn, you can add me via my profile here :- http://www.linkedin.com/pub/lance-wilkinson/47/912/631
Earlier today my site/blog tipped the 4,000 view mark, which I’m overjoyed about:D A great achievement considering it was only constructed in mid October.
Today also saw the return to University after a 3 week semester break. We received 2 assignments briefs related to life drawing and Z-brush, which I’m really psyched about So it’s time to go back into focus mode and get a decent start on this work>:D
The last few days I’ve spent largely in bed… which is awesome… I have however found time to churn out some doodles and stuff.
I’ve also had an urge to play some games, so I’ve re-downloaded Battlefield 3 and borrowed the new Resident Evil:Revelations + 3DS off my friend Dave (https://Davidrobertholt.wordpress.com). So for a couple of hours per day this week I can play some games again:D I’m also contemplating picking up Final Fantasy XIII-2, purely because of all the positive hype coming from reviews… I’m still mindful of the recent train-wreck that was FFXIII though.
Lastly, Disney Interactive have opened their doors for the annual internship. A CV, application and video game pitch is what they’re asking for, the chosen student will then have to live in London for 12 months and gets to work at their studio on Hammersmith. I have some solid idea’s, a decent CV and have filled out a majority of the application… but the financing of a years living in London is the only thing deterring me… The closing date is the end of March… so I have some time to think I guess.
Last few days has been a big chilling session for me, rarely touching any ‘art’ software and instead watching some Twitch.TV, specifically Michael_1985 and listening to some awesome music by Danny Baranowsky, the gent responsible for the ‘Super Meat Boy’ and ‘Binding of Isaac’ soundtracks. Give these guys some love as they both have some awesome content!
It wouldn’t be an update if I didn’t have some artwork to show… here are 2 quick images I did today and yesterday…
It’s cool having time away from university assignments but I actually can’t wait to get stuck into the next semester, I enjoy the focus the assignments give me.
In the mean time I’ve kept myself busy by trying to learn new things aswell as go over some of the stuff I did last semester to be sure it’s stuck. I’ve had a quick attempt at using Z-brush and started another 3D UDK scene, which I’m hoping to continue in my spare time. On top of that I’ve found some time to do some 2D photoshop stuff and even write a review on my new Wacom Cintiq 24HD now that I’ve had some quality time with it.
Wacom Cintiq 24HD Review
Introduction
Back in September 2011 Wacom unveiled the Cintiq 24HD which was to be the flagship tablet for the company and to run alongside the 12wx and 21ux. 4 years have passed since the release of the previous top dog, the Wacom Cintiq 21ux, so how have Wacom invested their time into this new unit?… Read the rest of the Review here : Wacom Cintiq 24HD Review
