Sunday, December 3rd, 2017 Posted by Jim Thacker

The Gnomon Workshop ships Hyper-realistic Insect Design


The Gnomon Workshop has released Hyper-realistic Insect Design, a guide to modelling and texturing an ultra-realistic wasp in ZBrush, Maya and Substance Painter, recorded by industry veteran Eric Keller.

The tutorial is an update to Keller’s popular 2012 training DVD, focusing on new tools and techniques.

Create ultra-realistic CG insects, following real-world biological principles
In the video, which runs for over seven and a half hours, Keller demonstrates his workflow for designing believable insects, developed on projects like leading biologist E. O. Wilson’s Life on Earth textbooks.

The tutorial covers the creation of a fictional species of solitary wasp, Sceliphron gnomonum, drawing on principles from insect physiology and evolutionary biology.

Keller begins the process by bringing photographic reference images into ZBrush via SpotLight, blocking out the basic form of the body using DynaMesh, then beginning to refine and detail the form.

The final model is rigged and posed in Maya, and lit and rendered using OctaneRender using techniques aimed at mimicking the look of real-world macro photography. The final composite is assembled in Nuke.

A bonus chapter covers spider physiology and rendering techniques.

About the artist
Eric Keller has been working as a CG artist since 1998. He teaches Introduction to Maya at Gnomon and is the author of Introduction to Maya 2017 and Octane Render for Maya.

His recent credits include work on 10 Cloverfield Lane and Star Trek Beyond for Bad Robot Productions.

Pricing and availability
Hyper-realistic Insect Design is available via an online subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, giving you access to over 300 detailed tutorials. Subscriptions cost $49/month or $499/year, and there is a free trial.

Read more about Hyper-realistic Insect Design on The Gnomon Workshop’s website


Full disclosure: CG Channel is owned by the Gnomon School of Visual Effects.