In this Maya tutorial we will learn time-saving techniques and workflows for creating a digital creature maquette in Maya, ZBrush and TopoGun.

Creature and Environment Rendering. Digital Rendering Techniques with Nick Pugh. This demo Shows the Digital techniques Nick uses to render a Creature in an environment. The creature was previously created in the "Originality in Design" DVD. The lecture stresses the importance of maintaining the design language established in the first phase, while fully realizing the surrounding environment. Over the course of this demo, Nick discusses topics such as the use of channels, layers, rendering foliage, water reflections, creating depth and soft foggy lighting. All of the work is done in Adobe Photoshop

In this DVD Jay Hawkins works from start to finish on the design for a Gears of War creature called the Locust Hydra. Jay covers everything from the intial thumbnail sketch to the final rendering of the concept used for production. He explains his design process using a combination of Adobe® Photoshop® and Autodesk® 3ds Max®. Jay also delves into his experiences in the game industry and at Epic Games, discussing what it takes to be a successful concept artist in today's ever changing and highly competitive market, and emphasizing the importance of teamwork for developing a successful game.

In this tutorial we will learn how to sculpt a creature for use in TV, film or print. Over the course of this tutorial we will look at how to sculpt a Wolfman creature concept using ZBrush. Once our base mesh has been created in Maya, we will use industry-proven techniques to block out and then add anatomical and fine detail before creating a custom brush and alpha to easily and intuitively add dense fur detail.

In this tutorial we will learn how to sculpt a creature for use in TV, film or print. Over the course of this tutorial we will look at how to sculpt a Wolfman creature concept using ZBrush. Once our base mesh has been created in Maya, we will use industry-proven techniques to block out and then add anatomical and fine detail before creating a custom brush and alpha to easily and intuitively add dense fur detail. We will then look at some of the new BPR rendering features that are new inside of ZBrush 4R2 to render out a turntable that replicates the look of a vinyl maquette. The final sculpt could be used to get approval for a design from a director as the base for a hero character model for TV, film, games or to be printed out and used as a vinyl statue.

Presented by Jason Schleifer, Animator/Creature Technical Director at Weta Digital, this material was taped during a Siggraph MasterClass Seminar. Advanced MEL knowledge is not necessary for understanding all of the material presented in this DVD, but is extremely beneficial for utilizing these concepts to their fullest potential. Included with the 90 minute DVD are approximately 80 pages of valuable notes in PDF format, MEL scripts and many useful tips, tricks, and examples. For Autodesk Maya.

Creature FX: Volume 1 is the first in a series of training DVD-ROM drive in place to focus on dozens of visual effects associated with the characters, creatures and other organic and animated scenes

This extensive tutorial set, created by the renowned Blender artist Andy Goralczyk, teaches artists how to craft a fully finished 3D animated scene. Tracking the evolution of an idea from creation to final render - and beyond. The result of the tutorials is an epic 90 second trailer.