![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.nyc3d.org\/3dwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/01677.png\" "\\"01677\\"")
Before I get started with the review, I want to mention something about this tutorial\u2019s instructor, Brian Mennenoh. He\u2019s both a department chair and instructor at the Milwaukee Area Technical![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.nyc3d.org\/3dwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Brian-Other-Work.png\" "\\"Brian")
<\/a> College (founded 1912). He started using 3d Studio R2 back in the 90s, and if you visit his personal site you\u2019ll see that 3ds Max and Mudbox are in the number 1 and 2 positions on his computer program list. You can also see some examples of his Mudbox work.<\/p>\nNext, I want to mention the Flash player used for the training. I advise watching the 10 minute help video provided on their website. This will translate to less frustration and better learning. The player is easy to use and navigate without any help, but I still suggest a quick look to get the most out of the experience. As they say in the Flash Player help video itself \u201c\u2026It\u2019s to make our lives as learners as easy as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
This tutorial was designed for beginners, so it\u2019s taught from the ground up. I got my start using Mudbox 1.0 around 2006, just before Autodesk purchased the program from Skymatter. I am not an expert, and in fact consider myself a Mudbox hobbyist, but I do know my way around the various parts of the program pretty well and I feel that Brian gives a good introduction to the software. After he lays the foundation of the stuff you need to know, like how to use the sculpting and painting tools and familiarizing you with the interface, you are ready to try your hand on an actual model. You follow one project, the creation of a very muscular barbarian, from start to finish. I\u2019m a big fan of this training methodology. There are very few breaks in the thread of the process. We get to see everything, all the techniques necessary to bring the rough model to life. Sometimes this involves false starts or little \u201cmistakes\u201d that I suspect may have been included deliberately to aid in the learning process. Although this is one way we get insight into the thought processes involved in creating a sculpture and problem solving with Mudbox, I felt that sometimes these diversions got in the way (more on this later).<\/p>\n
Even if you are completely new to this program, by being thrown into a project like this at the beginning you\u2019re given an excellent introduction to the Mudbox UI. While using a good number of tools within the Mudbox arsenal to achieve the desired results on an actual model, we are made aware of the required but sometimes repetitive workflow of the sculpting process. We are exposed to organic as well as hard surface modeling in these videos that produce some highly detailed, hi-res models.<\/p>\n
Brian takes us through the body sculpting process section by section in a well-thought-out progression. As an instructor, his teaching style is easy to follow. I feel confident that the points he makes will help students advance their skills in the fastest and most logical way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Going on to the painting of the barbarian, we get some very useful tips and end up with a model with convincing skin tones, although I was a little disappointed that we got off to another false start. Brian does warn us that he\u2019s going to try painting at the high resolution of 4026 and reduce it if he has to. Well, he had to, and if you are following along and run into the same trouble you\u2019ll have to start over at 2048. This is no big deal, just a small inconvenience. I would rather have been told that if my machine could handle it I might want to try the higher resolution, but that he was going to stick to 2048 because his machine, with the recording and all, could only handle that comfortably.<\/p>\n Next he shows us the correct way to handle adding additional objects into the scene with the barbarian. There are settings that must be adjusted first, so he takes us through the steps. I rarely see these important steps shown and was glad he took the time to take us through them. We import meshes such as boots, belts, and weapons, and are shown how to adjust their scale, if necessary. Brian then shows us how to sculpt a pretty convincing loincloth and leather boots.<\/p>\n The hair sculpting section is well done and we end up with some good, albeit sculpted, hair. I am not a big fan of this type of 3D hair, but Brian does do a good job of showing how this technique is done. It looks good, especially after he shows us the painting part of this lesson.<\/p>\n The lesson on the creation of the eye is good and filled with many helpful techniques I\u2019ll be using going forward. The detailing and painting instructions are particularly good and worth watching.<\/p>\n Brian also briefly shows us the posing tool that comes with Mudbox. I agree with him when he questions the usefulness of this functionality within this program. It\u2019s not that it\u2019s bad or doesn\u2019t work but I look at Mudbox more for its ability to add detail and its great painting and texture map tools, not posing a model.<\/p>\n The rest of the training is logically presented as far as getting the Mudbox model back into 3ds Max. Brian holds our hand while extracting a few of the normal maps, showing us how to make changes in the dialogue box for the extraction of the maps. With that, we should be able to complete the process for the whole model on our The last portion of the video is a short section on Brian\u2019s biography. Brian\u2019s expertise is evident throughout the video, but I think that if it was positioned up front it would have given the student a better idea who Brian Mennenoh was and why he\u2019s qualified to teach Mudbox.<\/p>\n Even though I pointed out a few parts that were not completely to my liking, I honestly believe that the positives found here greatly outnumber any negatives. I say this because even with the redundant reference files, a few false starts, and minor digressions in the flow of the process, there are plenty of nuggets of useful information. We are shown time after time, by example, how to produce a highly detailed model using the tools in Mudbox.<\/p>\n I recommend \u201cLearning Autodesk Mudbox 2012\u201d to any 3ds Max user who is new to this 3d sculpting program. As it was for me, I think you will pick up many useful tips while gaining a good understanding of all the powerful tools in Autodesk\u2019s Mudbox.<\/p>\n Link to the personal website of Brian Mennenoh<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n This title is available as a DVD or download. See the website below for current pricing.<\/p>\n<\/a>Taking us through the Barbarian project, the training covers musculature and human anatomy. We are given a generous amount of reference material of other artists\u2019 ideas of a \u201cbarbarian\u201d, as well some good anatomy pictures of muscles. I was surprised that this 29MB reference folder was repeated in each of eight chapter folders (3 through 10), along with the chapter\u2019s work files. I wish this had been handled differently in order to save some download time as well as disk space.<\/p>\n<\/a>Brian\u2019s ideas on painting and the techniques employed really make this part of the training stand out. I picked up some good ideas here. Layers use while painting is covered extensively in this section. After taking the body painting as far as he can, Brian moves on to painting the wristbands. Here we get a chance to get into more advanced paint layering, such as creating specular and glossiness layers for both the metal as well as on the skin. I like that he shows us how to make adjustments to layers right in Mudbox so we can avoid moving over to a program like Photoshop. As he points out, skin is a pretty subtle material with very subtle variations, and he is able to lead us through this process with good results.<\/p>\n<\/a>The sculpting and painting of the weapons was my least favorite part of this tutorial. I admit we end up with a good-looking sword and dagger, but the steps taken and the choice of tools used seemed at times too experimental. Brian might have felt this showed what\u2019s involved in the process of sculpting, and in one sense it does, but I think this section lacks the coherence of the other, more thought out lessons. I\u2019d give him three out of five stars in the weapon sculpting\/painting section because, despite the strange steps taken to get there, we do end up with a very handsome barbarian sword.<\/p>\n<\/a>The \u201cFine Tuning\u201d portion of this training is presented well. We learn how to sculpt some real character into the barbarian\u2019s face. He does go a bit overboard adding creases and lines on the face to such an extent that we end up with a rather \u201colder\u201d looking face for such a young and fit body. He does realize this and fixes the problem later on. The techniques and thought processes he is showing us here are still valuable information. Adding nipples, a bellybutton, and some vascularity to the musculature finishes off the sculpting process nicely.<\/p>\n<\/a> own. Next we are shown how to export OBJ and FBX files as well as the use of the \u201cSend To\u201d button. Back in 3ds Max, he shows us what must be done to deal with the differences in each of these methods. By using the Slate Editor, we reconstruct the textures created in Mudbox to be used with imported OBJ files. After doing a few fast renderings showing the different looks of the low and higher poly models, we are done.<\/p>\n<\/a>By starting with strong training in the layout of the user interface, then taking a good walk through the fundamentals of the vast array of tools in Mudbox, and taking us step by step through a complete project from 3ds Max into Mudbox and then back into 3ds Max, Brian prepares you with a good, solid foundation for future projects on your own.<\/p>\n