Chapter One - Paul Gradl - Highlight Projects of 2022-2023

Presenting my first Project I created during Term 1 of my time at CG Spectrum: First Decision!

A little Mouse called Clover about to start his adventure of a lifetime! Firstly though: Checking the map. Because no fantastic adventure starts with the Protagonist getting lost! 

Saying that I had fun working on this Project would be an understatement. Not a single day went by without me adding to the Story I made up in my head and trying to get it into the scene. There is just nothing quite like creating a World that doesn't exist!

The goal I had with "First Decision!" was to capture a specific moment of our Protagonists journey, its beginning. A moment of confusion but also determination. Unsure of what will happen in the near future but willing to push through whatever might stand in his way! A moment of self-growth and change.

After collecting enough reference I started with our Protagonist, Clover. As everyone can see from the reference board, this brave Mouse was heavily inspired by "Quill" from the beautiful Game "Moss". 

Starting with the Blockout of Clover in Maya I quickly imported it into zBrush to start sculpting. Getting the feel of a Mouse standing on two legs right was something to get used to but I adapted to it and had not much problems. At this point I wasn't quite sure how to make the fur but decided to step away from the stylized option and made the decision to look into Xgen when it was time. When I was satisfied with the base model I re-imported it into Maya and started making the fur. I looked into Xgen and had some fights with it here and there but in the end I managed to get it under control and got it where I wanted it to be. 

First Screenshot of Clover:

After dealing with the Fur and texture of Clover I decided to wait with creating the Pose since I wasn't quite sure at this point how I want him to be positioned so I started with the Environment Prop modelling and modelled the Waysign, Backpack and the Wheat in Maya and textured in Substance Painter.

For the Backpack and Waysign I wanted both to have an old and used look to it but not too run down. They should give off a feeling that they might be the relaxed, older guys who have much useful experience in the World and got dry humour.

I then started with the Environment and modelled the Ground for which I used a Displacement map and a texture I made in Substance Painter. The Scene was coming together. I experimented a lot with the placement of the props and the view of the camera until it felt right. After modelling some extra pebbles and the Clover for the Backpack I rigged and posed our Protagonist. I then made a map for him to hold, colour corrected it in Davinci Resolve and voilà, "First Decision!" was born!

Quick reminder to do some stretching and to drink enough! I am sure our next Protagonist does that all the time, because where we are going now it definetely is needed! 

May I introduce to you: Dr. Alex Noah Wimburg! A world class scientist onboard a Submarine, exploring Oceans of a strange Planet! Though it seems like he isn't alone! Should he be there? Brings up the question who really is the "Curious Intruder"...?

This Project was created during my second term at CG Spectrum and shows the interesting Story of the exploration of a mysterious Ocean! 

As I always do, before I start with anything, I gather reference. After getting enough to know what I want I started with the Blockout-Phase!

After the layout of the Scene felt right and I placed the Props where I wanted them to be I started with adding detail to the models. 

What made this Project so fun was that I played around a lot with the light and mood of the Scene. I wanted it to feel heavy and mysterious but also slightly creepy since the Viewer should know as much about the Planet as our Protagonist, nothing.

I ultimately settled with a blue light to underline the future, Scifi theme of the Project. It also adds a mysterious feel to it which I aimed for. 

After modelling the finer details in Maya and texturing everything in Substance Painter I moved on to our Protagonist.

I started in Maya making a rough Model of our Protagonist. I then imported the model into zBrush where I added detail and made him look less like a plastic toy. I wanted to make him look older. His life experience was important for him on this submarine to research the unknown. The grumpy look makes him feel like someone who is not the best with people but loves his work, I thought that might fit good for this Project.

I then re-imported the model back into Maya and retopologised it. I added some clothing and rigged the Character. For the clothes to fold the right way I imported the lab-coat into Blender and used a Folds Brush. A cloth sim in Maya probably would have cooked my old PC. Good that I have a new one now!

My goal from the Start was to make him look at a Tablet or something similar to explain why he isn't noticing the giant eye directly staring into his soul, so I placed him with his back facing the window holding a tablet.

Still there? Good, thank you so much, only one more!

Now imagine you are on a hike, enjoying nature and the sun as you suddenly feel a heavy quake under your feet. What is happening? An earthquake? It has a slow, sluggish rythm to it. As you try to identify its source you turn around and nearly start to stumble in shock of what you are just witnessing. An enormous Giant, towering over the trees, carrying an old house on its back. Its long body shielded by rusting armor and face covered by a helmet. Where is it from? Where is it headed? Who lives in that House? And why is an ancient Giant, believed to be extinct for hundreds of years, carrying it on its back? You stand there, in complete disbelief, just thinking about questions which very likely will never find an answer.

This Piece was created during the third and my last Term at CG Spectrum! I always had a fascination for giant, colossal things so there was no doubt that I would make a Giant one day.

So after getting enough reference material and already having a Story in my mind I started creating!

I started with the Giant. This time without a Blockout from Maya but directly in zBrush using Zspheres for the base. I knew from the Start that I wanted to give the Giant an Armor and long arms and legs. This decision made it easier for me since I didn't waste time sculpting detail on parts where I wouldn't need them.

After I was quite happy with the Giant I retopologised him in Maya and started with the Armour. At first I made it way too simple since I thought that much detail on a Giant's Armour wouln't make much sense, though I quickly came to the realisation that it's just necessary for it to look good and that sometimes realism stands in the way of Art. And that maybe realism shouldn't be taken too seriously when you make a 40 meter Giant carrying a house on its back.

I changed the Armour which made it look a lot better. I then textured it in Substance Painter and added rust and grunge to it. I also put ripped cloth on him and made spears which are pierced into his skin from people who attacked him. I wanted to make him look like someone who wandered a long way for a long time. Exhausted but not stopping. It adds to the mystery and makes one think about it.

Creating the House was probably the most fun I had on this Project. There is just something very exciting about creating something old and used. It tells a Story. Each step in its life made it what it is now and you can see that. I just love coming up with a Story and being able to tell it through my models and Projects, it's truly something special. 

Now with the Giant and the old House done all that was left to do was creating the trees and setting up the scene! 

So I blocked out the trees in Maya and added finer Detail in zBrush before retopologising it in Maya. I wasn't very sure how to approach the branches and needles since I knew that I wanted to make a believable forrest but adding too many trees and detail would end in absolute chaos. I decided to go for images and attached them onto the tree with an opacity map I quickly created in Photoshop. 

I made 3 Trees in total to add variation in the Forrest. The eye is very good at catching repeating patterns!

With the trees done I played around with a lot of Camera views until I found the right one. My goal for this Project was to make the Viewer feel like they are an Observer, someone who by sheer coincidence witnessed an Ancient Giant wandering around as they themselves went for a walk into the woods. I wanted the Viewer to leave with more questions than answers. This moment should feel like something special.  I then colour corrected it in Davinci Resolve and there it is, towering over us! "Wanderlust." was finished.

There it is, you have reached the end. Thank you so much for reading through my Entry. What a journey it has been! A fantastic year full of fun and excitement! A big shoutout to my Mentor Anton Tenitsky who helped and supported me and my weird ideas, I owe so much to him! This is only the beginning and I am so excited to keep pushing!

Thank you so much again, wish you all the best!

“If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are now.”- Master Oogway