Digital Sculpting with Mudbox

Digital Sculpting with Mudbox

by Mike de la Flor, Bridgette Mongeon
Released October 2012
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781136136375

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Book description

Digital sculpting is the use of tools to push, pull, smooth, grab, pinch or otherwise manipulate a digital object as if it were made of a real-life substance such as clay. Mudbox is the premier sculpting solution for digital artists, in that it allows them to naturally and easily sculpt detailed, organic characters and models in a way that feels like traditional sculpting.

This book guides CG professionals through the process of creating amazing digital sculptures using the Mudbox arsenal of ground-breaking digital sculpting and 3D painting tools, and porting the models into their Maya or Max work.

Artists will explore tried and true, traditional, sculpting techniques and learn to apply them to digital sculpting. A series of in-depth tutorials are incluced, each challenging them with progressively more complex models as they go on.

Unique to this book are topics specific to fine art sculptors transitioning from traditional sculpting to digital sculpting. information found nowhere else for professional sculptors shows them how to successfully integrate digital sculpting into their workflow.

Associated web site with: support files, models, materials, and textures for completing the tutorials in the book.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Digital Sculpting with Mudbox
  3. Full Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. Acknowledgements
  7. About the Authors
  8. Introduction
  9. Chapter 1: Sculpting Concepts
    1. Comparing Traditional and Digital Sculpting
      1. Workspace
      2. Armatures
      3. Lighting
      4. Sculpting Tools
    2. Anatomy for Sculptors
      1. Skeleton
      2. Muscles
      3. Skin and Fat
    3. Proportions and Measurements
      1. Proportions
      2. Measurements
    4. Form, Negative Space, and Gesture
      1. Form
      2. Negative Space
      3. Gesture
    5. Expression and Emotion in Sculpture
    6. Summary
  10. Chapter 2: Introduction to Mudbox
    1. Interface Overview
    2. What You Will Need to Work In Mudbox
    3. A 3D Primer
      1. Understanding 3D Space
      2. Polygon Basics
      3. Resolution
      4. UV Mapping
      5. Digital Images
    4. Mudbox Hotkeys
    5. Quickstart Tutorial: Sculpting a Bell Pepper
      1. Setting Up the Scene
      2. Selecting and Scaling a Model
      3. Creating a Layer and Subdividing
      4. Roughing In the Shape
      5. Sculpting Details
      6. Adding Texture with a Stencil
    6. Summary
  11. Chapter 3: Sculpting a Portrait Bust
    1. Sculpting a Likeness
      1. Collecting Reference Material
      2. Facial Expressions
      3. Measurements
    2. Getting Started
      1. Sculpting In the Neutral Position
      2. Loading the Basic Head Model
      3. Setting Up Reference Sketches
      4. Adding a Camera Bookmark
    3. Changing Proportions from Adult to Child
      1. Creating a Sculpt Layer and Subdividing
      2. Adjusting the Proportions of the Chest, Back, and Shoulders .
      3. Changing the Proportions of the Head
    4. Refining the Shape of the Face
      1. Roughing In the Eye Sockets
      2. Shaping the Face
    5. Sculpting the Nose
      1. Widening the Bridge of the Nose
      2. Sculpting the Alae and Tip of the Nose
      3. Refining the Tip of the Nose .
      4. Adding Nostrils
      5. Refining the Alae
      6. Sculpting with Negative Space
      7. Sculpting the Philtrum
    6. Sculpting the Mouth
      1. Hiding Part of the Model
      2. Marking the Location of the Lips
      3. The Upper Lip
      4. The Lower Lip
      5. Refining the Mouth
    7. Sculpting the Eyes
      1. Sculpting the Eyeball
      2. Sculpting the Lower Eyelid
      3. Sculpting the Upper Eyelid
      4. Refining the Eye
      5. Creating the “Sculpture” Look
    8. Sculpting the Ears
      1. Shaping the Back of the Head and Positioning the Ears
      2. Sculpting the Back of the Ear
      3. Sculpting the Ear
    9. Adding Hair
    10. Summary
  12. Chapter 4: Sculpting a Figure
    1. Anatomy Primer
      1. Navigating Anatomical Space
      2. Quick Overview of Muscle Anatomy
      3. Superhero Proportions
    2. Getting Started
    3. Making Things the Right Size
    4. Subdividing and Adding a New Layer
    5. Sculpting Muscle Masses
    6. The Upper Torso
      1. The Sternocleidomastoid
    7. The Upper Limb
      1. The Upper Arm
      2. The Forearm
      3. The Hand
    8. The Anterior and Lateral Torso
    9. The Posterior Lower Torso
    10. The Lower Limb
      1. The Anterior Thigh
      2. The Lateral Thigh
      3. The Posterior Thigh
      4. The Anterior Leg
      5. The Posterior Leg
      6. The Ankle
      7. The Foot
    11. Sculpting the Head and Face
    12. Refining the Model
      1. Refining the Torso and Upper Limbs
      2. Refining the Hands
      3. Refining the Feet
      4. Refining the Face and Ear
    13. Final Details
      1. Nipples and Umbilicus
      2. Sculpting Veins
      3. Asymmetry
    14. Summary
  13. Chapter 5: Painting Sculptures
    1. UV Mapping
    2. The Paint Tools
    3. Paint Layers
    4. Painting the Creature
      1. Getting Started
      2. Creating Basic Skin
      3. Adding Depth and Color to Skin
      4. Adding Details
    5. Viewport Rendering
    6. Summary
  14. Chapter 6: Creating Displacement Maps
    1. Normal Maps
    2. Displacement Maps
    3. Extracting Displacement Maps
      1. Exporting a Low-Resolution Model
    4. Applying Mudbox Displacement Maps
      1. 3ds Max
      2. Maya and Mental Ray
      3. Modo
      4. Cinema 4D
      5. Carrara
    5. Summary
  15. Chapter 7: Scanning, Printing, and Milling
    1. Digital Scanning
      1. Copyrights
      2. Resolution
      3. Multiple Scans and Undercuts
      4. Size and Color
      5. File Formats
    2. Demonstration – Scanning the Mother and Baby
      1. Scanning
    3. Retopologizing
      1. Using the Retopologized Model In Mudbox
    4. Digital Printing and Milling
    5. Additive Manufacturing
      1. Fused Deposition Modeling
      2. Inkjet or MultiJet Modeling
      3. Selective Laser Sintering
      4. Stereolithography
    6. Subtractive Manufacturing
      1. CNC Milling
    7. Many Processes Expand the Creative Possibilities
    8. Preparing Your Mudbox Model for Output
      1. Save Your Work
      2. Appropriate Detail for Output and Size
      3. Remember How Your Final Creation Will Be Viewed
      4. Stability In the Real World
      5. Modifications
      6. Thickness
      7. A Way to Remove Powder or Support Material
      8. Expansion, Contraction, Warping, and Breaking
      9. Watertight
      10. Avoid Files with Transparent Surfaces
      11. Extrude Planes
      12. Remove Unnecessary Geometry
      13. No Reversed Normals
      14. Polygon Count Check
      15. Nonmanifold Errors
    9. Merge Overlapping Meshes
    10. Physical Size
    11. Material
    12. Stair Stepping and Fluting
    13. Faceting and File Size
    14. Uploading File and File Types
    15. Pricing
    16. Mother and Baby Printed
    17. Summary
  16. Appendix A: Gallery
  17. Appendix B: 3D Resources
  18. Appendix C: Online Resources
  19. Appendix D: Traditional Sculpting Tools and Resources
  20. Appendix E: Books
  21. Appendix F: Figure List
  22. Glossary
  23. Index

Product information

  • Title: Digital Sculpting with Mudbox
  • Author(s): Mike de la Flor, Bridgette Mongeon
  • Release date: October 2012
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136136375