Tested out the paint effects brush in maya 2014 on an older rig. The paint curve stays in contact with the mesh which is a plus. However, leaving it in paint effects mode slows the scene down, so I'll need to figure out a better method of attaching it to the rig. I've also noted that the paint curve upon a mesh is entirely dependent on the geometry's UVs. Can't just paint on top of freshly sculpted geometry without at least doing an automatic unwrap.
Meanwhile, finding good reference for a camel skull is proving difficult, as there isn't a clear view of the underside where the neck bones meet the base. It may never be seen anyway, considering the setup, but I'd still like to at least have a rudimentary form in there. At least for now I have the bony structure where the jaw bone slips into roughed out. Just need to make some basic teeth and the lower jaw and that will be done.
17th - 19th of September
Built a few stones in Zbrush to use as the stones on the Golem. A bit of stretching and scaling, and I was able to block out most of the major stone structures on the character, sans a few points that need a little more tweaking.
On the paint effects front, I managed to figure out the flower controls, so I made something fairly close to what I am aiming for, though I'll still need to make a few pistols for the pupils. I've also tampered with making the vines on the character's back, though its going to take a lot more effort, since the branches have a habit of creating unneeded angles and bends. I may need to use zbrush to at least make a base, then build separate vine structures to use in the anchoring system.
Side note so far: I'll need to contact one of my advisers on how the team at ILM set up the stone creature in Galaxy Quest. I have an idea on how to set up my character, but I'd still like to ask them on their method. I'll do a test on my theory later in the week.
I decided to do some tests with nCloth in order to try and have the stones collide and shift about. However, my knowledge of ncloth is lacking, so I'm not certain how to attach the ncloth objects to the joint system, let alone keep them from deforming a great deal when they impact one another. One thought that had come to mind is to have a base geo act as markers for the stones, and attach the ncloth stones to them with a semi loose connection, which would allow them to roll over one another more believably. I may attempt this again using regular dynamics, as they do not deform on impact, though I'm not sure of the calculation weight it would require. I'll need to set up dummy geo regardless on a low res level so the rig can run smoothly.
21st of September, 2013.
It may be possible to use regular dynamics for the major stone pieces if I play with nail constrains and spring constraints a bit. Testing on a larger scale is needed, but that'll require a larger, more complete rig than the 3 piece scrap I built to check the theory.
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