This "making of" demonstration and lecture began with the decision to create a new still image and record the entire process. Using Maya, UVlayout, ZBrush and Photoshop, "Smile" was created in ten hours over the course of a couple evenings. Observe and listen as Alex shares his workflow, thought process and techniques, covering everything from creating a base mesh and laying out UVs to creating a final comp in Photoshop.
- Modeling a Base Mesh from a Sketch
- Laying out UVs
- Detailing in ZBrush
- Lighting
- Layered Mental Ray skin shader
- Creating a print res image
- Displacement Maps
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Chapters
- Base Mesh and UV Layout
- Sculpting in ZBrush
- Lighting and Shaders
- 2D Paintover, 8k Maps, Final Comp
- Product Code: AAL06
- Duration: 300 minutes
- Formats: Download Only
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Software Used:

Autodesk
Maya
Pixologic
ZBrush
Adobe
Photoshop
Alex Alvarez
Founder, Director The Gnomon Workshop
Gnomon School of Visual Effects
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.
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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."























