Creating a sci-fi suit

3D concept designer, Mohammad Hossein Attaran, shares his ZBrush workflow for creating imaginary scenes...

Hello everybody! In this brief project overview I will show you how I usually create an imaginary scene with ZBrush and Photoshop. For a while I've been interested in skydiving photographs, and I just felt like I should make one in my own way. It all started with a simple illustration which I didn't even save! It was a fish-eye shot of a skydiver falling. Then I started sculpting from a ZSphere structure base, without any pre-drawn concept. I just knew it was going to be a sci-fi suit.

Step 1: Modeling

This took me almost three weeks of modeling in ZBrush during my spare time. You can see in the back view that I just stopped detailing the areas which wouldn't show up in the final render! But the real challenge was just about to start. I was not satisfied with the early composition concept - I needed it to carry some meaning, like a back-story. So I made up my mind to reach an ideal composition (though I believe I never did it!). I tried tons of concepts with various poses, camera angles and subsidiary elements. It took about 50 days for me to come to an agreement on one. I was thinking of it all day and night and testing various concepts. I went almost crazy and desperate in the last days. A composition that I was satisfied with one day was just a failure the other day.

The front view of the model

The front view of the model

The back view of the model

The back view of the model

Step 2: Composition

I wanted the image to induce a sense of suspension and dizziness, and still have a back-story within itself. I took advantage of various focal lengths. I spent so much time just navigating around the model and changing focal lengths! This gave me some ideas both for modeling and composition. Finally I decided on this pose, and started to finalize my character and render it out.

Experiments with composition

Experiments with composition

Deciding the final pose

Deciding the final pose

Step 3: Rendering

I always do this stage by exporting many passes (by applying various materials and different lighting conditions), and then composing them all together in Photoshop. I also add the textures, colors and effects there.

Rendering out the chosen composition

Rendering out the chosen composition

The many passes rendered out for this image

The many passes rendered out for this image

Step 4: Revisions

My obsession with finding an ideal composition was not fulfilled yet. I manipulated the image again and again, trying vertical and horizontal framings, and even flipped it a couple of times.

Trying different angles and ideas

Trying different angles and ideas

Step 5: Dragon

I found out that placing a little dragon in reach of his hand could look amazing. So I started sculpting it and gave it a try. I liked the result, but I believed there was something wrong about that dragon. I redesigned it as an embryo, and added its angry mother dimly in the background later.

Adding the baby dragon brings the whole image together

Adding the baby dragon brings the whole image together

Revising the dragon as an embryo

Revising the dragon as an embryo

Step 6: Backgrounds

I thought, "Now this can get somewhere!" I made my decision about the framing and chose horizontal standard 16*9 AR. While applying these changes I was also playing with different backgrounds. Ancient giant impact craters, jungles, great canyons, cloud fields and rice farms where among my choices. I finally chose the last one and drew a sinuous river across it. I always kept consulting these changes and choices with some of my best friends since their ideas always inspired me.

Experimenting with different backdrops

Experimenting with different backdrops

Step 7: The final piece

In the end I came up with this; I received so much wonderful and creative feedback from audiences and artists about the story. Some of them were pretty far away from what I had in my mind, but still so amazing and inspiring that it made me think of creating a short animation out of the idea. Although I'm not fully satisfied with the composition yet, I think I've reached to my goal. I have made an imaginary scene which has not only one back-story, but as many stories as there are people in the audience. And I guess this is what makes an artwork valuable and lasting.

The final composited image

The final composited image

Related links

To see more of Mohammad's work check out his website
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