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“Whenever I need to breathe
life into my characters, Alex Alvarez is where I go. Whether
it be to collaborate on concepts with him directly or to
watch his DVDs, I am
always confident in accessibility to great information.
Not only has his technical prowess pulled me out of many
holes, but his character sense
has given rise to some wonderful moments on some major
motion pictures (Avatar and Star Trek). These new DVD's
encapsulate what I gush about.
Crazy and creative character design coupled with empowering
technical know how. ”
- Neville Page
Character/Concept Designer
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Volume Two covers character texturing and shading using Photoshop¬, ZBrush,
Bodypaint and Maya, as well as environment creation, lighting and the final
composite of the print-res image in Photoshop¬. Jester's 2D line- drawing
design does not specify material properties, therefore Alex explores
different looks for the various components, settling on weathered leather,
metal, cloth and skin. By layering, color correcting and painting over
photographic textures, Alex arrives at a photoreal result where each
component has its own custom color, bump and specular map. With the
character complete, the environment is then designed and created on the fly
using Maya and Photoshop¬ for some quick paint- overs to guide the
direction. Throughout the making of Jester, Alex shares and explains every
step of the process, both technical and aesthetic, making this an invaluable
resource for both students and professionals.
625 Minutes of Lecture.
Product Code: AAL04
Texturing in Photoshop®
Maya shaders
Character Lighting
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Rendering with Mental Ray
Bodypaint/Maya Workflow
Environment Creation
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01. BodyPaint / Maya Set-up
02. Texturing, Part 1
03. Texturing, Part 2
04. Texturing, Part 3
05. Texturing, Part 4
06. Texturing, Part 5
07. Texturing, Part 6
08. Texturing, Part 7
09. Texturing, Part 8
10. Texturing, Part 9
01. Texturing, Part 10
02. Texturing, Part 11
03. Texturing, Part 12
04. The Environment, Part 1
05. The Environment, Part 2
06. The End is Near, Part 1
07. The End is Near, Part 2
Click here to
view a sample clip from this DVD. Note that while this
clip is compressed for the web the actual movie
is high quality video. View the
thumbnails to the right to see higher resolution stills.
Alex is founder and director of The Gnomon Workshop and of the Gnomon School
of Visual Effects in Hollywood. Having dedicated the last decade to
educating students and professional artists around the world, Alex has
helped change the face of computer graphics and design education. He has
been published in industry magazines, websites and books - plus he has
taught courses at several major trade conferences. Alex is president of the
Los Angeles Maya Users Group and sits on the Advisory Boards for
Highend3D.com and CGsociety. He continues to work on personal and
professional projects, recently as a creature development artist on the
James Cameron film Avatar. Prior to Gnomon, Alex worked for Alias|Wavefront
as a consultant and trainer for studios in the Los Angeles area. Alex is an
alumnus of the Art Center College of Design and the University of
Pennsylvania.
Character Modeling in Maya and ZBrush
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