Polybook – Aaron “The Cabbage Detective” Rudderham

[Aaron Rudderham]

@silentheart00 Cheers for the advice man, was definitely helpful! Also I swear I thought you were from England, now I’m confused lol.

[Aaron Rudderham]

@nekronavt Yeah that seems to help, look much better now. Thanks!

[Aaron Rudderham]

Evening!

So whilst I took today off from work I decided it’d be a good time to start rendering my progress. The “Evil Cereal Bowl” is coming along nicely I believe.

Here’s a lighter version:

Here’s also a more close up of the “skull”:

Anatomy definitely isn’t my strong point, but in my defense I did this in like 20 minutes and for a first attempt I wouldn’t call it awful. Fortunately I managed to get some critique so I’ll be improving it in the coming day or two. Also might be a good idea to tone down the wet look of the bone shader, poor thing looks drenched.

Really liking this project so far, but I know once I’ve finished the spoon I’m gonna need to delve into 2D again for the cereal box design, which is… daunting, to say the least. If you have any general 2D advice I’m always willing to hear it.

Right, if you’ll excuse me I’m very tired so I’m gonna call it a night and then I’ll have a gander at all of yous threads in the morning. Until then though, happy Blending!

[smurfmier1985]

@thecabbagedetective Awesome stuff! You might want to consider adding a bit more light to the front of your cereal bowl, so we can actually see all the nice details and shaders your creating. It’s now pitch dark didn’t even notice the cereal until I saw the lighter version… Maybe an eerie reddish glow or something? Not too bright, just enough so you can see 😊

[silentheart00]

@thecabbagedetective Lol, no problem, dude.  I really enjoy British culture, so maybe that’s leaking through.  Cats Does Countdown is my favorite thing to throw on, but I can’t find it on YouTube anymore as a result of that one bill, I’m sure.  Oh well.  I guess it’s Scenes We’d Like to See from Mock the Week compilations for me now lol.

Good progress on the cereal bowl.  I agree the details are getting a bit lost, maybe making those details bigger would help and a little bit of front lighting, too.  Of course, this is dependent on your client.

Skulls are difficult.  One of these days I’d like to get skeletons to draw from or anatomical models with the different layers of muscle.  There’s something different about having that 3D reference in front of you than a 2D reference that just feels like you’re learning more.  Well, for me anyway.  It’s a good start.  And yes, maybe a touch too much on the specularity.  Keep pushing!

[Aaron Rudderham]

@smurfmier1985 Thanks! Yeah that’s definitely what I intend to do with the lighting, I should’ve pointed out that the lighting was temporary and only used so I could get the rim light looking good. Didn’t think about  a red tint though so I’ll certainly look into adding that, thanks for the idea!

[Aaron Rudderham]

@silentheart00 Well dang dude, you fooled me pretty well lol. But if you’re curious, yes we all love tea and crumpets.

I’m not sure if size is the issue here as I’m trying to abide by the rule of thirds, but you’re definitely correct about the lighting and I’ll be improving it shortly.

You’re telling me lol. Naturally I’m not too concerned about 1:1 realism, just enough so that it looks like a human skull at a distance. Hell, might stick a couple horns on it so I can get away with it. A 3D reference sounds sick though, I’d love one personally, but I guess the closest I have for now is my little poseable wooden mannequin. Thanks for the feedback! 

[silentheart00]

@thecabbagedetective I mean, I assumed you were American by your mannerisms, so we’re even lol.

Sorry, I meant the size of the cereal bits, not the bowl itself.  Sometimes I forget not everyone can read my mind.  Like the size of the displacement map could be a little bigger on the cereal, but that’s just me.

Yeah, no prob.  That’s something I’d like to get in the future when I’m more established after grad school, so it’s a ways off.  But make do with what you can, right?

[Aaron Rudderham]

Here we are again!

So after messing with the grab tool for a bit I managed to make the skull look a bit more human. Not 1:1 by a long shot but I think it looks good enough for this scene:

Here you can also see the newly tweaked shader. Looks much better in my opinion, more brittle looking.

So I decided to put all of what I’ve done so far together! And the results are… well…

Don’t get me wrong, I still like what I’ve done so far, but it just feels off. It was then I realized I’d need to experiment with lighting and compositing, so after a while of back and forths I think I’ve made a much superior version:

The cereal is now much brighter and more vibrant and colourful. They stand out more and (at least for me) draw the attention of the viewer, but I’ll leave that part for you to decide.

Going into 2D now! This is going to be interesting, but I hope to have something great by the end. Hope the rest of you are doing well and Happy Blending!

[Aaron Rudderham]

Just a quick little update!

So I’ve blocked out the basics for the cover of the cereal box. It’s simple stuff but I’m not particularly great at 2D – which I believe I’ve said many times – so this stuff takes a while. but practice makes perfect, eh?

Not really much to critique here yet, but hey if you can find something go for it! Hopefully this’ll turn out real nice by the time it’s finished.

[yukino hatake]

@thecabbagedetective I love the concept you’re going for. One thing I find a bit strange does the démon or devil has a beard? Or what is that more pointy like shape? 

[Aaron Rudderham]

@yukinoh1989 Apologies for the late reply but haha yep it’s elongated head, though who’s not to say I can’t put a beard on him as well? Only time will tell…

[Aaron Rudderham]

Hey there!

Haven’t got many visuals to show you, been quite busy with life, up to and including multiple trips to the nearby city, my internet provider being inconsistent and just generally being busy.

I get the feeling that I say that a lot, and I’m getting sick of it. To make sure I stick to some sort of schedule I’ve finally renewed my CG Cookie membership (so I’ll also be joining you guys in the next stream) and I’m gonna get all my projects done by the end of the month, and if not, well, you’ll just have to think of a punishment for me!

Let it be known that this project is going very well and I PROMISE I’ll have it done in the next couple days. With that said I’ll see you guys next time, Happy Blending!

[silentheart00]

@thecabbagedetective Sorry to hear about the internet troubles =/  But hey!  I’m looking forward to seeing you in the streams!

[smurfmier1985]

@thecabbagedetective Hmmm how to punish Aaron… 😈

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