Gryphon Study - Flight Update2

Gryphon Study - Flight Update1

Hey,

So the Gryphon is coming along nicely. I have the lion fur setup on the lower half of the body, as well as updated textures and shaders. The feathers to be instanced have been uv'd and textured with their corresponding feather set based on this reference...

And here is what the fur looks like right now...

The transition between feather and fur will happen right after the front legs, so fur was left there to help overlap.

Gryphon Study - Flight

Hey,

So here goes a small update for my gryphon project.

The animation is done and cached out, as well as matched with the backplate, and this is what it looks like for now, I can go back, fix some issues it has, and update the alembic if I need to...

Sadly Xgen tests were unsuccessful due to continuous crashes whenever any attempt to apply a description was made. I will have to revert to using the maya fur toolset to create the lion part off the gryphon, and plugins such as jcFeather to assist with the instancing of geometry.

Gryphon Study

Hey,

 So it's about time to introduce you to this month's project. This is one project that I have been dreading, but am also extremely excited about. I will be creating a full coat of feathers and fur for a gryphon that will be composited onto a live plate...

This is a still render of the asset with test textures that I have been playing around with...

The animation is still being worked on, but as soon as that is done, the alembic cache of the geometry an the application of fur and feathers in a clean scene will follow shortly. I plan to use Xgen for the thinner and smaller feathers, and instanced geometry for the heavy feather detail. Xgen will also come into play for the lion fur section of the model.

As for the live plate that it will be composited into, there are a couple options available at the moment.

One of them is this flight footage of a white-tailed eagle. It provides great reference for the motion of the creature, as well as a good backplate if a higher resolution version is acquired and the bird taken out. The only downside is that I have to wait for a response to my e-mail asking for permission to use the footage, as well as access to the higher resolution file. This is mainly the idea I'm going for. The gryphon will be the main focus, and a distant land/sky-scape will be darting by in the back.

Then there is also a couple shots I have access to through video blocks that are high quality and royalty free right off the bat, but I have been having issues logging onto the site for a while now.


I guess it will all come down to which one I can gain full access too first.