3-D Modeling Projects - Triceratops


Character Project - Modeled a triceratops for the character project for 3D-Modeling. The basic mesh was done in Maya and then exported to Zbrush where the muscle and bump detail was applied. The final model was rendered with a bump map from Zbrush level 5 to level 3 and a displacement map from level 3 to level 1. For the horns, I applied a procedural shader and bump map using Maya shaders. The texture was applied using Zbrush, and then imported back into Maya for the rigging and animation work. The animated character can be found in the [Special Effects] section of the site.







Initial Mesh - Here are pictures of the basic mesh. The picture on the left is of one of the earliest stages of the mesh where you can begin to see the general form of the character. After adding a bit more detail and a few more edge loops in key areas like the legs and the head, the model was exported to Zbrush where the major detail work is done by adding divisions to the character.



    



Details - A picture of the triceratops detailed at level 5 in Zbrush. At this level there are over 250,000 vertices so it is used mainly to provide high level detail before being exported as a bump map for a lower level where the model is more managable.







Contrast - Here is a picture of the three different levels of the character side by side in Maya (level 3, level 1, and level 5 respectively).






Character Animation Scene - Triceratops Clip

Character and Environment - Created a short clip animating my triceratops character model in an outdoor environment scene. Used fur effects for the grass, and bumped and textured the ground for the small visible patches of dirt. Used the sculpt 3D geometry tool to create the elevation change for the ground and the mountain. The sky and clouds use fluid effects containers, as does the explosion at the end of the clip originating from behind the mountains.






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