@monstermaker (monstermaker) posted a new topic, subject "2.5 mess". It read:

   Hi all, Had a little time today to play with ZBrush. Figured that I didn't have enough time to model something so I just messed around with the 2.5 tools. What fun! I know this just looks like a busy mess ,but I had lots of fun making this mess. I'll try to post something decent next time  
    monstermaker

After which, @spasmodic_cheese (spasmodic_cheese) added

    i find this very interesting to look at, i love how a “doodle” in zbrush can be so easily made into something awsome!
    
    how did you do those spiney/segemented line things?

@jotajota (jotajota) replied

    A_mess_ing

After which, @xsiFlasher (xsiFlasher) added

    Y…U…C…K…  
    but i like it

To which @Dickie (Dickie) replied

    This is EXACTLY what happens to my guts when I eat really spicy food! Incredible simulation, MM… Actually, it's a lot of fun to see where folks take the 2.5D tools in Z-Brush. Definately looks like you had a ball…
    
    Dickie

So @aminuts (aminuts) replied

    interesting!!
    
    looks like something they would make people eat  
    on that tv show whose name I forget at the moment…  
    I swear I saw something moving!

After which, @monstermaker (monstermaker) added

    Hi again, I think the only problem with ZBrush is once you start you just can't stop. After i finished the first image I was going to quit but look what happened, I made this very jojajota inspired image. Happy Easter  
    monstermaker

So @jotajota (jotajota) replied

    ZBrush …!!bendita pocesion!!

@stumpf (stumpf) replied

    Hi monstermaker,
    
    I like the first one. Great colour scheme, interesting structure and living light.
    
    Cool work for in-between.
    
    Ralf Stumpf

So @monstermaker (monstermaker) replied

    Ok so I got up this morning and looked at what I did yesterday afternoon and thought I would put the two together. This is what happened.  
    monstermaker
    
    ### Attachments

Then @ilusiondigital (ilusiondigital) said

    Great image the last one MM

After which, @Drummer (Drummer) added

    Great !!!

Then @Abyssis (Abyssis) said

    NOW is it perfect, MM

So @Giantsun (Giantsun) replied

    Brilliant panel.

@cosmic_f00l (cosmic*f00l*) replied

    super wicked

To which @jantim (jantim) replied

    Great colors…reminds me of an underwater scene with an overgrown wreck, sea anemones and snails…and less Christian symbolism as in the previous render !
    
    jantim

@aminuts (aminuts) replied

    Cool!! Can you whip up a cup of morning madness for me?
    
    I need a double dose please!!

So @monstermaker (monstermaker) replied

    aminuts, I'm afraid I'm all out of morning madness but I whipped up some evening madness for you. hope you like it. btw, how many skulls can you find?  
    monstermaker

After which, @jantim (jantim) added

    If they ever reprint P. Tompkins : “This Tree Grows Out of Hell” abouth the history and mythology of Mesoamerica, they should use your image on the cover!  
    I love the way the image “transforms” the chains to roots, just by inserting other imagery into the picture .  
    Its form is clearly defined by its function…even if that form is defined by association and imagination . 
    
    jantim

To which @MarioBlanco (andreseloy) replied

    Andreseloy

To which @ryankingslien (ryankingslien) replied

    MM-
    
    Very cool stuff! You really made the most of the 2.5d stuff. That third panel is just amazing. The materials are really cool!! 
    
    r

So @GORILLA (GORILLA) replied

    Way way way way too cool Monster Maker. That's one awesome pic!!! I set it as my desktop background in my studio!!!

Then @aminuts (aminuts) said

    Ok MM…when it's back in stock…I'll take two evenings and one morning!!
    
    And I had to quit counting after I used up all my fingers and toes…and I know I saw some more…some very cleverly disguised…very cool pic…dig the symmetry.
    
    Keep on exploring your madness!!

After which, @Strannik (Strannik) added

    7 skulls? I like it a lot. but how did you combine different scenes (documents)? or you just adding tool from one scene to another?

@monstermaker (monstermaker) replied

    Hi all ,thanks for the complements  
    Spasmodic cheese, I love that name I think I'll call the first piece that. The spiney segmented things were done mainly with the roller brush. First I did a "doodle "saved it as a texture then used the rollerbrush with that texture. The little “legs” are the snake hook brush.
    
    jantim, This tree grows out of hell, The title alone makes me want to read it. I'de like to do a piece really based on that title.
    
    Strannik, I combined the two different documents not the tools .  
    Seven skulls is not even close, granted they are kind of hard to see in this smaller image. The original is much larger and they are not all human, count again in this closer image

Then @Meats_Meier (Meats Meier) said

    Monstermaker -
    
    Wow, wow, and wow. Beautiful work.  
    I'm glad your getting in to the the 2.5d love. It's such an amazing thing to paint in 3d. Sadly, people don't take advantage of the capability as much as they should. Painting something that can be chiseled into, recolored, add new materials to and relit is a gift. The new Photoshop?
    
    Here's something that makes the shadows look better if your interested.  
    In the light properties, go to the shadow catergory and turn on “ZMode”. This gives the shadows a more global illumination look, and are more real world. The 2.5d world has no back (the Pixols that aren't seen are culled to preserve memory), so it has to fake, or guess, what is back there, so they aren't always perfect.  
    Some good settings for nice shadows:
    
    Intensity - 100  
    Length - (this number equals the distance in Pixols that the shadow will travel before dissapearing) - the longer, the more noticeable  
    Rays - This number simulates an amount of lights coming from around the same spot, producing fuzzy shadows. A small number - 16 renders fast and looks decent. A number like 128 looks really good but will take a lot longer. Don't set it past 200 or so, unless you are rendering over night, and if you are set it to something like 400. The more shadows, the more intense the effect, it's additive.  
    Uni - 0= spotty 100= solid shadow. Pick a spot that looks good. Lower, spottier numbers look more illustrative, which can be cool.  
    Blur - change for taste  
    Aperture - smaller values = more obvious shadows, such as from a flash-light. Wider values simulate more of a global illumination look, like an outdoor scene where there is a lot of light bounce.
    
    Wow, just meant to pop in and tell you how much I like this series and ended up typing a novel…sorry about that.
    
    p.s. I hope you still don't want to kick my @ss

So @alexleia (alexleia) replied

    hi monstermaker!!!
    
    it's really amazing!!!  
    original work!!!
    
    Alex Oliver

Then @havran (havran) said

    great stuff, monstermaker!
    
    it's easy to imagine these ending up on CD covers or book jackets

So @spasmodic_cheese (spasmodic_cheese) replied

    ahh thanks for the info! i wish io couild sit behind you and meats and just see how you guys work. Im so amazed at both of your work… i cant wait till i get my own copy of zbrush (saving up) and start contributing

So @Stephen_Casey (Stephen Casey) replied

    Amazing. Finger paints for adults. Always loved that stuff.
    
    Something about that color sceem is inviting. I noticed that from the very first image, maybe even more so in the first as we are at a more safe distance and more compelled to analyze it. Perhaps like a forbidden temple that you think is safe to enter, but not quite sure.

After which, @monstermaker (monstermaker) added

    Hey guys, thanks a bunch for the nice words.
    
    Meats, thanks for the novel on zlights I'll try it next time, and by the way I said kiss your @ss not kick it. Have a great time in Europe
    
    Alex, speaking of kicking @ss, your stuff kicks @ss
    
    havran, I almost posted a square cropped version and I thought to myself that It looks too much like a cd cover.
    
    spasmodic cheese , Still love the name, you have to save your money man you will love ZBrush it's just the coolest thing ever
    
    Steven, It is like finger paints for adults. and don't call me an adult or I'll kick your @ss
    
    Again thanks everyone I just love ZBrush!  
    monstermaker

So @Neville (Neville) replied

    I am digging how much this piece is looking like a “shrine” of some sort. It reminds me of this amazing undergroung Monk Catacomb in Rome where the walls are lined with thier skeletons and furniture and chandeleers (sp?) are made from thier bones. At first glance it is morbid but then you see the art. Really incredible. As is this piece MM.  
    I love how you have taken some of the “happy accidents” of symetry and evolved them into deliberate moments. Althought the message this piece can convey is subjective, it is also very clear. Great work!!

To which @Frenchy_Pilou (Frenchy Pilou) replied

    …is always attractive   
    Pilou

@dark-girl (dark-girl) replied

    the RRRReal great job!!!

To which @Bas_Mazur (Bas Mazur) replied

    It reminds me to an old cover of Santana, ‘Black Magic Woman' I think, loooong time ago, about 30 years I think. A beautiful black woman with a white dove surrounded with the kind of thing you made.


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