Hot Cup Of Cthulhu

A special thank you to my wife and three awesome kids who have supported me in the pursuit of my dreams. I am currently career transitioning at Think Tank Training Centre with the goal of becoming a fulltime 3D creative.

Hot Cup Of Cthulhu

My favorite animal is the amazing octopus! They can become any color, have a special muscle layer changing the shape of their skin, have three hearts, their arms grow back, and are very intelligent. Octopus pretty much are the "ninjas of the sea" if you ask me.

In my Foundation Term at TTTC we were given three concept pieces to choose from that this project started from. I wanted to challenge myself and picked this version. There were SO many suckers to make. After the project was finished I elected to texturize and light up a render shot.

It was my goal to really bring out the fleshy/blobby nature of the boneless creature. I accomplished this by inflation and squishing areas. Created in Maya and textured in Mari.

Skin Deep Beauty

It was tricky to get the skin look wet and shiny feel with very subtle but noticeable texturing in the tentacles. I kind of had a relationship with SSS materials this semester for my organic objects, and this is no different. Because of light pass through and reflection characteristics it really gives a fleshy depth to the creature. I feel like while looking at it that a person can imagine touching it and how it feels.

Topology

Here is a comparison of the geometry compared to the final render.

Small Details

Looking up close you can better see the feel of the tentacles flowing over the teacup.

Layers

The images below are about layers. The first one is a render of only the light from sub-surface scattering from the V-Ray SSS material. For a boneless creature such as an octopus I would imagine light being very conductive through it.

The image after is a comparative image to show the interplay between the different layers. Show is the Displacement, diffuse, sub-surface scattering, and beauty render.

The "Villain"

These are images of a sculpt I did, I call it my "Villain" bust. While I do love Zbrush, to broaden my horizons I did this sculpt in Mudbox to try an alternate workflow and add more tools to my toolbelt.

After sculpting the model as part of my studies at TTTC I could not help but add a sub-surface scattering for the skin, create eyes, and add in some mood lighting in Maya and with V-Ray. I hope you enjoy!

Lighting and Texturing

I have found that lighting can make all the difference when trying to bring out details and set a mood. This process review slider showcases the transition of adding lighting and then adding materials. Notice as it slides and contrast lighting is added how details like the veins on the temple appear. As the sub surface scattering material is added notice how the light passes through areas like the ear etc.

Backpack

Every good adventurer needs a good bag! A good sturdy leather one that keeps the moisture out, especially if you are on the run from a hoard of creatures.

As part of my studies at TTTC I created a bag of my choosing.  After creating a rough model in Maya, to broaden my horizons I did this sculpt in Mudbox to try an alternate workflow and add more tools to my toolbelt.

Topology

The rough modeling was done in Maya before being sculpted, here is an example of the rough topology.

Texturing Details

Texturing was not required for the school work. However, textures and lighting feel like the cherry on top of a project. Most of the texturing was accomplished by using displacement maps with simple diffuses and noise modifiers.

Layers

Displacement, specular, rendered, and diffuse overlays.

Term One Final

"Once upon a time in Nefty"

Concept art by Artem Chebokha

(Time: 4 Weeks)

For my Foundation Term final at Think Tank Training Centre I chose the concept art "Once upon a time in Nefty" by Artem Chebokha. I was given four weeks from concept selection to due date. In all honesty I chose this concept piece because I love creatures and giant cockroaches looked intriguing and challenging. It was my goal to take Artem's unique brush stroke style and create a realism parody of this nightmarish encounter.

Point Of View

I loved the idea of a scene that could tell the story from multiple angles rather than a single specialized camera view. In keeping with that vision I designed the scene to allow multiple angles of viewing. Here are selections of some of my favorite views that invoke feelings of being in that moment.

I textured everything in Mari then followed up with lookdev/lighting in Maya. The glass, grass, double-sided curtain material, and water planes were made with V-Ray. Diffuse, bump, specular, and gloss maps were made in Mari.

Story Telling Through Lighting

The lighting in this project was very complicated to match the concept. According to the concept there are two main light sources, building lighting and light from the moon. With the help of Maya's light relationship editing it took dozens of lights to trigger the correct lighting and shadows from multiple angles and directions to match the concept.

This piece is all about storing telling with light, or even the absence of it. Key shadows such as the person's silhouette are a focal point in the center of the image and evokes viewers to say "stay in the light!". His shadow acts as the connection and visual gap between the man and insect invaders. The man belongs to the building's strong hard light, where as the roach's home is moonlight and shadow.

This slider is a visualization of the interplay of the two different light sources and how they bring the scene alive. Notice how the man and roaches are mainly lit up in their respective "environments".

Without Maya's Light Relationship Editor features I would not have been able to match the concept's various light refraction highlights. Below some of the lights used to simulated the various light highlights can be seen. A good naming convention is worth its digital weight in gold.

Small Details

Examples of custom garbage made for the scene to be strewn about.

"Roaches Of Unusual Size"

(R.O.U.S.)

I hope the rats don't mind that I hijacked their acronym.

My favorite part of this project was creating the roaches. The rough modeling was done in Maya and the final sculpt was done in Zbrush.

Hexapedal Rigging

I had to teach myself how to rig for this project, however, almost all tutorials were about the "ease" of auto rigging bipedal people. What do you do when you have a bunch hexapedal creatures with extra leg joints? Well, you improvise. With 36 legs splayed in different directions and positions there was definitely a "leg day" in this project. Not to mention the antennae. I now fully appreciate riggers and their work.

Roach Dissection

I started with a rough model in Maya and progress through sculpting it in Zbrush to refine the shape and texture. After that, it was textured in Mari then added back into Maya and worked through a V-Ray with a base vray material for the eyes and an SSS material for the body.

Rendered model compared to reference images:

Lighting was tricky for the building of course, but especially for a "roach" material. It need to be shiny, but not to shiny. Here is a specular turntable to show the subtle shifts in iridescence. Only reflected light is shown here, the sub-surface scattering from the SSS material would add a glow of color light pass through.

Conclusion

Thank you so much for looking at my submission! I am so excited to be on this journey pursuing my passion! I have learned so much already from the challenges put in my path. I am really grateful for the support of family and friends. If you would like to be one of those friends you can follow me on Artstation at:

https://www.artstation.com/chris-mealy