Week 1: Make A Critter
Make a small creature that should be based on something real and existing, not something made up, or fantastical. It should look as if it belongs in the same world as the reference images we have provided below.

Specifications:
500 Triangles - 256x256 texture - Diffuse/Color Map ONLY

Images that need submitting for review:
• Reference Sheets from Various Angles
• Anatomy Study (If Possible)
• Wireframe Orthographic Front/Back/Side
• Wireframe ¾ Perspective Front/Back
• UV Unwrap Layout
• Front/Side/Back Geometry with 20x20 Checkerboard
• ¾ Front/Back of Ambient Occlusion
• PSD Layer Setup
• ¾ Front/Back Final Render

Additional Notes:
• Shader Setup:
•100% Self Illumination -
• No Filtering
• Ambient Occlusion:
• Maya

http://www.game-artist.net/forums/sp...hemist101.html

• 3DS Max
http://www.eddybrown.co.uk/blog/baki...ent-occlusion/
• PSD Layer Setup:
- Ambient Occlusion Layer – Normal
- Shadow Layer – Normal
- Highlight Layer – Normal
- Base Colours – Normal

Final Rendering should include (bare minimum):
Ground plane
Gradient Background


Examples:
More Examples: http://pioroberson.com/modelpages/info_spellborn2.htm

Cool...gonna do some crab!!!!

Can't wait to get involved with this, looks like fun

Hey nice! Thanks for posting the lessons so that the rest of us can follow along

I'll get started on this right away!

Some of the others might cross post in here ^_^

Would you mind explaining the PSD setup? Unless you're somehow rendering a transparent AO isn't it just going to block the layers below it by setting it to normal instead of multiply?

If you toss it into the alpha channel, then use the 'select' tool then paste that into a new layer with the black fill will do it.

Ahh I see, thanks. You could also just paste the AO into the quickmask and fill it I guess..

Do you mind progress shots, or would you prefer everything lumped together once we're finished?

If progress then, here have a monkey

He's not welded yet because I'm still sorting out the UVs. He's at 492 tris right now.

Looking forward to seeing more progress shots! :3

Well since progress pictures may or may not be the thing to post:

I made an Otter! Rocking 492 tris.

Here's what i did for the first week of the course, it's been a good learning experience so far and we're only just getting into the 3rd week! D:

Originally Posted by gilesruscoe

Here's what i did for the first week of the course, it's been a good learning experience so far and we're only just getting into the 3rd week! D:

Mr. Squidle is adorable! More of your classmates should post too! :3

Starting this weekend I'm going to follow along with week one (in between 2d figure studies for Haz's course) by making a frog.

Originally Posted by gilesruscoe

Here's what i did for the first week of the course, it's been a good learning experience so far and we're only just getting into the 3rd week! D:

Looks awesome!

Definitely want more of the students to post.

Hey guys this was my first week stuff, the whole process, WIPS,with crits and stuff is here:-
http://sarankanart.blogspot.co.uk/20...-bootcamp.html

you guys both did some pretty great work.

Another student from bootcamp here, I did a leafy sea dragon

My Otter is "done", but I think I messed something up setting up the presentation of it in photoshop. I was definitely confused between the maya tutorial telling me to bake it and the use of the layers and alpha channels and masks and whatnot.

If someone wouldn't mind posting/messaging me a good guide for those sorts of things then I invite them to please do so! I've looked on the Wiki and searched a bit on the forums but considering the amount of times people mention "renders" there is a lot to dig through. :P

Is there a due date? I want to do this but I have no time because my exams are nearing!

So far, these all look really cool. I don't know what I want to do yet.

Can anyone jump into this? I've always like low-poly stuff, but could never figure out UV wrapping etc. This finally spurred me on to finish something, and although I had little idea what I was doing (and apparently my model only has 100 triangles) I had a lot of fun. I made a coelecanth.

Make Sure your using all the UV space you have there Sparr.
the shadow on the bottom seems a bit strong, but I love the head. well done

I think what Sparr was trying to do was make sure every part had the same texture res. You can scale up the UV islands a little just to get some more details on the fins, etc. In general really cool result!

Sparr's post reminded me that I had taken the time to make a little Betta Fish model in the likeness of my buddy Pockets [a betta fish], who kept me company all year until his death in the early spring. So I fixed the model up and textured him.

The original critter I made for this assignment was this otter, who after messing with some render settings I think I got it to come out right.

hey nconstantino, you should render him using 100% self illumination and just print screen the viewport. All of your lighting should be painted into the texture instead of using lighting.