Making Of 'On the Precipice of the Universe'

Greetings, Artists! My name is Alexey Kashpersky, more often known as RIDDICK or simply RID on the ArtTalk.ru forums, and I'm currently studying at the Poltava Technic University, specializing in Graphic, Arts and Crafts. I study such subjects as sculpture, drawing, painting, composition, and this knowledge was extremely useful for me during the creation of this particular artwork.
 
After numerous requests, I decided to write this making of to explain some of the creation process behind my artwork, "On the Precipice of Universe".  The creation of the picture took place over 11 days, and the programmes used to make the work were ZBrush 3.1, 3ds Max 8, V-Ray 1.5 and Photoshop CS3.

The idea of this work was born when I found myself wandering the Internet, and I saw a very interesting photograph of two girls, but it had a bad composition...  Somehow, instinctively, I wanted to correct this and recreate the image with my own vision of how the composition should be.  I twisted the photo in Photoshop and searched for the best composition... and so initial idea of the work was born (Fig00).

Fig. 00

Fig. 0

I have been impressed by work which has been created from beginning to end in ZBrush for a long time (Fig01).  I wanted to make the work completely in this programme, to study its opportunities more deeply.  Eventually I understood that, if I wished to achieve a high quality render, it was necessary for me to export in 3ds Max, because the ZBrush render loses a lot in comparison with the likes of V-Ray.

OK, so now we can move on to the details!

Fig. 01

Fig. 01

First of all, I took a semi-finished model (for the economy of time), and from this I simply had a "standing" female nude, which I then took into 3ds Max to prepare it for exportation back into ZBrush (Fig02).

Fig. 02

Fig. 02

I started with the bottom figure, as to me it seemed to be the least difficult - and I always leave the tastier bits till the end!  The first thing that was necessary was to find the right pose and the general form of the figure.  In ZBrush, this is achieved using of Transpose tool.  The figure was certainly deformed during use of the Transpose tool, but it could be easily corrected later on (Fig03).  It was also very important at this stage to correctly show the "bones" of the models.  I worked gradually, from positioning greater weights to the smaller hands, fingers and so on (Fig04).

Fig. 03

Fig. 03

Fig. 04

Fig. 04

It doesn't matter what you create, whether it's a sculpture or a picture in a Photoshop, it is always necessary to observe a simple rule: Conduct your work from the general form down to the details!  I believe that artwork should always look fresh and vivid, as though made in just half an hour!

Here I had finished with the positioning the bottom model.  There was certainly still much correction work to be done, but the general silhouette had been found (Fig05).  At this stage, I decided to open the mouth slightly, to make it that little bit more erotic (Fig06).

Before I started to transpose the second model, I started to gauge a better understanding for myself of the basic weights, and I found the centre of gravity.  This is the key moment in the creation of a complex pose.  For a sculpture in this circumstance, I used a plumb - a vertical line in perfect alignment (Fig07).

Fig. 07

Fig. 07

I shall pause for a moment here on a little mistake which artists very often make during the creation of a humanoid, which is simple: the centre of gravity is not found, which makes the figure seem unbelievable and can cause the work to fail as an image.  Usually in a figure, the centre of gravity passes through the seventh cervical vertebra and falls at the heel bone. In a vertical static pose, this rule always works!
 
Here I was able to combine both the figures into a joint pose (Fig08 - 09).

Fig. 08

Fig. 08

Fig. 09

Fig. 09

At this stage, rough anatomical mistakes - greater legs, improbable breasts, pressed-down buttocks, the position of the head and neck - left much to be desired (Fig10).

Fig. 10

Fig. 10

In passing, I started to think about a "plinth" on which the girls could lie.  It was at this moment that such a snag was first presented to me (Fig11 - 12).

Later on, however, I returned to the concept of the edge of a rock, which was originally conceived early on at the sketching stage.  My purpose with this illustration was to make the elements more decorative than realistic.  Therefore I needed to make a rock - not a rock in realistic terms but the decorative element of a composition reminiscent of a rock (Fig13).

Fig. 13

Fig. 13

Here I had started to think about the hair.  As it is possible to see at this stage, the girls' buttocks, shins and breasts had also started to become more anatomically correct (Fig14).

One more rule artists: Try to conduct work regularly in all areas.  This will keep integrity in your work at any stage.  As our master says, "You should conduct work in such a manner that at any stage it could be taken in a frame and to hang up in an exhibition..."

Here I have made 2 variants of hair (Fig14 - 15), and I stopped at the second as I found it more harmonious in this situation.  So with the general form of the hair now found, it was possible for me to play with the details.



From here on, all the details of the composition were worked equally (Fig16 - 20), and it was necessary at times to take a rest and time away from the image, in order to go back to it with fresh sight.  This way, it was easier for to see any defects in the image.

Fig. 19

Fig. 19

After correcting some things, I started "painting" - not forgetting that work the work was to be a decorative piece, not realistic-looking.  At this stage I precisely understood that the bottom girl should be lighter skin-toned, with red hair. The girl on top I decided should be darker-toned, but at this stage I had not decided on the colour of her hair (Fig21).In passing I worked above a relief of the skin (Fig22).

Later, after several experiments, I stopped on almost a white shade of hair for the young lady above (Fig23).

Fig. 23

Fig. 23

When drawing skin, you must always remember that it will be dark blue in areas where there are vessels close to the surface of the skin; areas are redder at the tips of legs, hands and fingers; parts are more yellow in places of a congestion of fatty tissue (such as hips and breasts), and is darker in areas where there is hair growth (Fig24 - 25).

Fig. 24

Fig. 24

Fig. 25

Fig. 25

At this stage I decided to add some decorative elements on the heads and legs of the girls (Fig26). Here I approached the most difficult stage for me: exporting into 3ds Max and making adjustments of textures (Fig27).  I shall say fairly here that, without the help of Skif I would hardly have anything left from this, so many thanks must go to him for his help.

Fig. 26

Fig. 26

Fig. 27

Fig. 27

And when the render was done, it was possible for me to play with the adjustments of the V-Ray render and do some over-painting in Photoshop (Fig28 - 29).

I had a set of various renders and post-processes, and I also (I forgot to mention this earlier) used 3 Omni sources plus HDRI for the lighting (2 dark blue Omni lights created a nice, cold reflection to counterbalance the warm Vray Sun). Post-processing was done in Photoshop and consisted of the adjustment of the Contrast/Brightness, the addition of clouds, a background through the alpha channel of the render, and I also used a light filter, "Lightning Effects", and a plug-in called "Alien Skin Exposure".  And finally, all seemed to be in its place (Fig30).

Using the moment, I would like to once again give thanks to my friends for their help and valuable advice throughout the creation on this artwork.  Melentiev A, Wabbit, Skif and Mia_Elena - thank you!

Fig. 30

Fig. 30

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