Thursday, September 29, 2011

3D Companies in NYC

NEW YORK 3D COMPANIES LIST:

COMMERCIALS / TV

1st Ave Machine
http://www.1stavemachine.com
400 W Broadway, 10012, New York, United States
VFX Movie feature movie
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Vray, Digital Fusion, After Effects, 3D Studio Max
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3DNA Medical Animation
131 Varick St., #926, 10013, New York, United States
 +1917-407-4732
tony@3dnamedical.com
http://3dnamedical.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Maya, Flash, After Effects
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Absolute Post
118 W 22nd St, 10010, New York, United States
 212 280 6700 
producersny@absolutepost.com
http://www.absolutepost.com/
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
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AKQA
175 Varick St, 10014, New York, United States
212 989 2572
info@akqa.com
http://www.akqa.com/
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
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Alien Kung Fu
110 Greene St #502, 10012, New York, United States
2127867949
info@alienkungfu.com
http://www.alienkungfu.com
TV series
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: ZBrush, Vray, Shake, Renderman, RealFlow, Lightwave, C4D, Modo, Nuke, Mentalray, Maya, After Effects, 3D Studio Max
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BGB Medical
99 Hudson St, 9 floor, NY 10013
Gregory Passarett, MBA - Managing Director
212-920-2401
Brendon Phalen MD Mba - Managing Director
212-920-2402
bgbnyc@gmail.com
http://www.bgbnewyork.com
hr@bgbnewyork.com

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Bill Plympton
153 W 27th St, 10001, New York, United States
212 741 0322
plymptoons@aol.com
http://www.plymptoons.com/
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Animation Movie feature movie/ride
Software: Flash, After Effects
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BlackList
124 Rivington Street
NYC NY 10002
Phone: 212-505-6864, 212-533-9112

http://www.blacklist.tv/
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Blue Room
7 W 18th St, 10011, New York, United States
212-243-5141
info@blueroomnyc.com
http://blueroomnyc.com/
VFX Movie feature movie
TV series
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: RealFlow, Lightwave, C4D, Modo, Nuke, After Effects
NOW>> JoyRide
info@joyridecreative.tv
http://joyridecreative.tv

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Brainstorm Digital
100 Water St, 11201, New York, United States
646.330.5245
info@brainstorm-digital.com
http://www.brainstorm-digital.com
VFX Movie feature movie
Software: Shake, Lightwave, C4D, Modo, Nuke, Maya
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Buck
247 Centre St, 10013, New York, United States
212-668-0111
info@buck.tv
http://buck.tv
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Maya
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Charlex
2 W 45th St, 10036, New York, United States
212 719 4600
info@charlex.com
http://www.charlex.com/
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: After Effects, Flame, Maya, Mentalray
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Coda Visual Effects Ltd.
9 E 47th St, 10017, New York, United States
2123701510
evan@codavfx.com
http://codavfx.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Vray, RealFlow, Maya, Flame, After Effects, 3D Studio Max
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Collider
133 W 19th St, 10011, New York, United States
646 336 9398
jeff@collidernyc.com
http://www.collidernyc.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: ZBrush, Toonboom, Shake, Lightwave, C4D, Modo, MotionBuilder, Mentalray, Maya, After Effects
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Company 3
218 W 18th St 12th floor, 10011, New York, United States
212 687 4000
http://www.company3.com
VFX Movie feature movie
TV series
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
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Curious Pictures - Non Existent Domain
440 Lafayette St, 10003, New York, United States
212-674-1400
info@curiouspictures.com
http://curiouspictures.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Maya, Mental ray
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Demolition VFX - not working website
1995 Broadway, 10023, New York, United States
212.595.0400
ezra@demolitionvfx.com
http://www.demolitionvfx.com
TV series
VFX Movie feature movie
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Framestore NY
133 Spring St, 10012, New York, United States
212 775 0600
http://framestore.com/
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Nuke, Mentalray, Maya, Shotgun
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Gravity
315 Madison Ave, 10017, New York, United States
212-986-1584
http://www.gravityworld.com/
VFX Movie feature movie
TV series
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: RealFlow, Nuke, Mudbox, Mentalray, Maya
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Happy Machine
131 Varick St, #926, 10013, New York, United States
917-407-4732
tony@happy-machine.com
http://www.happy-machine.com
TV series
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Maya, Flash, After Effects
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Hopr
65 Cooper Square, 10003, New York, United States
contact@hopr.tv
http://www.hopr.tv
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Nuke, Maya, Digital Fusion, After Effects
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Hornet Inc.
116 W Houston St, 10012, New York, United States
917 351 0520
ep@hornetinc.com
http://www.hornetinc.com/
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
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HTX
1115 Broadway, 10010, New York, United States
212.710.2787
info@htxanimation.com
http://htxanimation.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Maya, Flash, After Effects, 3D Studio Max
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Inwindow Outdoor
636 Broadway,  Suite 1200
New York, NY 10012
212-254-2250
http://www.inwindowoutdoor.com

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Imaginary Forces, New York
530 W 25th St. Suite 501
New York, NY 10001
Main: 646.486.6868 Fax: 646.486.4700
http://www.imaginaryforces.com

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Jesta Digital (NEW - Freenet Digital) - Berlin only
75 Broad Street, 23rd Floor
New York, NY 10004
212 792-6096
US@jestadigital.com
http://www.jestadigital.com

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Kaleidoscope - LONG ISLAND
611 Broadway,  Suite 308
New York, NY 10012
800-930-5793
careers@kascope.com
http://www.kascope.com

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Launch - SAME AS CHARLX
2 W 45th St, 10036, New York, United States
212 845 5800
info@321launch.com
http://www.321launch.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: RealFlow, Proprietary Tools, Nuke, MotionBuilder, Mentalray, Maya, After Effects
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loyal kaspar
13 Crosby St #402, 10013, New York, United States
212.343.1037
info@loyalkaspar.com
http://loyalkaspar.com/
TV series
Software: Softimage, Mentalray
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Magoo 3d Studios Inc. - SWEDEN ONLY
885 2nd Ave, 10017, New York, United States
http://www.magoo3dstudios.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Vray, Softimage, 3D Studio Max
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Manic VFX - NOW POETICA
625 Broadway 8nd Floor, 10012, New York, United States
212-844-2233
http://nycmanic.com << OLD
http://www.poetica.tv/

Tv series
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: ZBrush, Softimage, RealFlow, Nuke, Flame, Arnold, After Effects
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Mantra Design
W 19th St, 10011, New York, United States
646-723-5700
contact@mantradesign.tv
http://www.mantradesign.tv
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: After Effects, Maya, Lightwave, C4D, Modo, Final Cut Pro, Cinema 4D
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massmarket
133 Norfolk St, 10002, New York, United States
212 505 6065
info@massmarket.tv
http://www.massmarket.tv/
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Softimage, Mentalray
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Mechanism Digital
118 W 27th St, 10001, New York, United States
646 336 8395
info@mechanismdigital.com
http://www.mechanismdigital.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
VFX Movie feature movie
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Method studios
218 W 18th St, 10011, New York, United States
212 907 1200
jay@methodstudios.com
http://www.methodstudios.com/
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
VFX Movie feature movie
Software: Shotgun, Renderman, Nuke, Maya, Houdini, Flame, Vray
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Mocap NYC
61 Rivington St, 10002, New York, United States
917-364-0759
http://www.motioncapturenyc.com
VFX Movie feature movie
TV series
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
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MPC
434 Broadway, 10013, New York, United States
212 915 3110
nycmailbox@moving-picture.com
http://www.moving-picture.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Nuke, Mentalray, Maya
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Ntropic
433 W 14th St, 10014, New York, United States
212-256-8992
sharon@ntropic.com
http://ntropic.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Vray, Maya, Flame, After Effects
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Prime Focus
435 Hudson St, 10014, New York, United States
212 520 3150
info-ny@primefocusworld.com
http://www.primefocusworld.com/
VFX Movie feature movie
TV series
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Renderman, Nuke, Mentalray, Maya, Digital Fusion, After Effects, 3D Studio Max
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Prologue
280 Park Ave S #13l, 10010, New York, United States
2125812200
carl@fmartist.com
http://prologue.com
VFX Movie feature movie
TV series
Software: Maya
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Psyop
24 Rivington St, 10002, New York, United States
212 533 9055
PSYOP@PSYOP.TV
http://www.psyop.tv/
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Softimage, Mentalray, Arnold
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Q Division - not there
137 Varick St, 10013, New York, United States
646 898 1845
info@qdivision.tv
http://qdivision.tv/
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Softimage, Mentalray
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Ring of Fire
118 West 22nd street 8th floor, 10011, New York, United States
212 671 2060
info@ringoffire.com
http://www.ringoffire.com/
VFX Movie feature movie
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
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Semerad - NOW QUIETMAN
104 W 29th St, 5th Floor, New York 10001 United States
212.921.4444
carey@semerad.tv
http://www.semerad.tv/
NEW>>>
carey@quietman.com
http://www.quietman.com/

Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Softimage, Mentalray
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Smoke and Mirrors
75 Spring St, 10012, New York, United States
http://www.smoke-mirrors.com
Animation Movie feature movie/ride
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
TV series
Software: Softimage, Nuke, Mentalray, Maya, Flame, After Effects
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So! Animation
220 E 23rd St, 10010, New York, United States
info@so-animation.com
http://www.so-animation.com
Animation Movie feature movie/ride
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
TV series
Software: Mentalray, Softimage
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spontaneous
575 Lexington Ave, 10022, New York, United States
212-317-0077
bennett@spon.com
http://www.spon.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Mentalray, Softimage
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Stick It
200 Varick St, 10014, New York, United States
212 495 9216
David@stick-it.tv
http://www.stick-it.tv
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Softimage
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Superfad - New York
220 E 23rd St, 10010, New York, United States
212-447-7515
jobs@superfad.com
http://www.superfad.com
VFX Movie feature movie
TV series
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Animation Movie feature movie/ride
Software: Softimage, Mentalray, Maya, After Effects, 3D Studio Max
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suspect
32 W 22nd St, 10010, New York, United States
212 358 8475
rob@suspect.tv
http://suspect.tv/
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Mentalray, Softimage
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Th1ng & Th2ng
627 Broadway, 10012, New York, United States
646 414 7200
carolyn@carolynreps.com
http://www.th1ng.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: ZBrush, Lightwave, C4D, Modo, Nuke, Maya, Flash, After Effects, 3D Studio Max
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The Lab NYC
637 W 27th St, 10001, New York, United States
http://thelabnyc.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: ZBrush, Vray, RealFlow, Proprietary Tools, Lightwave, C4D, Modo, Nuke, Mentalray, Maya, Flash, Digital Fusion, After Effects
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The Mill
451 Broadway, 10013, New York, United States
212 337 3210
info@the-mill.com
http://www.the-mill.com/
VFX Movie feature movie
TV series
Software: Softimage, Shake, Proprietary Tools, Nuke, Mentalray, Maya, Houdini, After Effects, 3D Studio Max
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The Napoleon Group
48 West 25th Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10010 

212-692-9200
info@napny.com
http://www.napny.com/
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Softimage, Mentalray
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the studio
12 W 27th St, 10010, New York, United States
212 661 1363
Mary Nittolo - mary@studionyc.com
info@studionyc.com
http://www.studionyc.com/
Animation Movie feature movie/ride
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
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The Wilderness
60 E 11th St, 10003, New York, United States
212.627.3184
hi@thewildernessinc.com
http://www.thewildernessinc.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Softimage, Mentalray
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uvphactory
224 Centre St, 10013, New York, United States
212.483.0040
info@uvph.com
http://www.uvphactory.com
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
Software: Softimage, Mentalray
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Walsh Family Media
42 W 38th St, 10018, New York, United States
212840-2326
Pwalsh@walshfamilymedia.com
http://www.walshfamilymedia.com
Animation Movie feature movie/ride
Software: Maya
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XYZ
2 W 45th St, 10036, New York, United States
212 845 5900
MELISSA@XYZSTUDIOS.COM
http://xyzstudios.com/
Commercials VFX / animation / motion graphics / print
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Architecture
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Iomedia
91 5th Ave, 10003, New York, United States
640 West 28th Street, 9 floor New York, NY 10001
Tel: 212 352 1115
F: 212-352-1117
architecturecareers@ io-media.com

http://www.io-media.com
Architecture
Software: Softimage, Mentalray
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Neoscape
18 E 17th St, 10003, New York, United States
212 675 3458
info@neoscape.com
http://www.neoscape.com/
Architecture
Software: Vray, After Effects, 3D Studio Max
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Notos
445 Park Ave, 10022, New York, United States
315 636 4851
projects@3dnotos.com
http://www.3dnotos.com
Architecture
Software: Vray, Flash, After Effects, 3D Studio Max
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VisualHouse - New York, UK, multiple studio locations
140 Broadway, New York, NY 10005
hello@visualhouse.us
https://www.visualhouse.co.uk

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ZUM - San Francisco, New York
Wendy Cohn, Founder
71 W 23rd STreet, 11 floor, New York, NY 10010
Phone: 212-763-4530
Cell: 917-207-8190
Fax: 866-353-1604
w.cohn@zumllc.com
http://zumllc.com/

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COMPUTER GAMES

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1st Playable Productions, LLC
5 Third St (Suite 300),
Troy, NY 12180

http://www.1stplayable.com
jobs@1stplayable.com
Phone: 518-276-3847
Fax: 514-509-8413
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2K Games, founded 2005 (part of Take 2 Interactive)
622 Broadway
New York, 10012
http://www.2kgames.com
http://www.2kgames.com/#/jobs/
pr@2kgames.com
Game Developer

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4mm Games, founded 2006, offices in NYC, USA and London, England
22 W 21st St
New York, NY 10010

www.4mmgames.com
Game Developer
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ActionXL
www.actionxl.com
Ithaca, New York
Game Developer
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Akin
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP
590 Madison Avenue
New York, 10022
http://www.akingump.com
newyorkinfo@akingump.com
212.872.1000
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Ambrosia Software
www.ambrosiasw.com
Rochester, New York
Games Publisher
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Art Bully Productions, LLC, founded 2008
135-41 234th place
Rosedale New York 11422

contact@artbullyproductions.com
Phone: 718 528-2112
Fax: 347 923-3006

http://www.artbullyproductions.com/
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Atari
417 5th Ave, 10016, New York, United States
212-726-6500
http://www.atari.com
Computer Games
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Autumn Games
www.autumngames.com
New York City, New York
Games Publisher
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Avalanche Studios, founded 2011
New York City & Sweden
http://www.avalanchestudios.se/

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Bender/Helper Impact
115 W. 30th Street #602
New York, 10001
info@bhimpact.com
(212) 689-6360
http://www.bhimpact.com

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Black Hammer Productions, Inc., founded 1995
 447 Broadway (Soho)
New York, NY 10013

Matthew Schlanger - President
info@blackhammer.com
jobs@blackhammer.com
http://www.blackhammer.com

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Blind Eye Games, founded Feb 2011
http://www.blindeyegames.com/
info@blindeyegames.com
New York City, New York
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Boonty, founded 2001
54 Franklin Street, Suite 3F
New York, NY 10013
www.boonty.net
http://us.boonty.com

Game Developer
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BrandGames, founded 1995
636 Broadway, Suite 1100
New York, NY 10012
Tel: 212.780.0140, Fax: 212.780.0138
jim.wexler@brandgames.com - Jim Wexler - Executive Vice President
Jobs - info@brandgames.com
http://www.brandgames.com
Game Developer

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Collision Studios
www.collisionstudios.com
New York City, New York
Game Developer, Console, Mobile, Web, Casual, Advergame
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Comfy
www.comfyland.com
Saddle Brook, New Jersey
Game Developer
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Crescent Moon Games
www.crescentmoongames.com
Scotia, New York
Game Developer
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D2 Team-Sim
www.d2teamsim.com
Somerset, New Jersey
Game Developer
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Double Fusion
853 Broadway, Suite 1516
New York, 10003
http://www.doublefusion.com
jennifer@doublefusion.com
212-260-1235

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Drakeford & Kane LLC
475 Park Avenue South, 15th Floor
New York, 10016
skane@drakefordkane.com
212-696-0010
http://www.drakefordkane.com

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E-Line Media, founded 2009
363 7th Ave, 20th floor
New York, NY 10001
212-534-3275
www.elinemedia.com
www.elineventures.com
New York City, New York
Game Developer
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Electric Funstuff, founded 1998
27 W. 20th St. #501
New York, NY 10011

212-463-7559
info@electricfunstuff.com
http://www.electricfunstuff.com
Game Developer, Online

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First Star Software
www.firststarsoftware.com
Chappaqua, New York
Game Developer
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Forterra Systems, founded 1998
48 Wall Street, 11th floor
New York, NY 10005
http://www.forterrainc.com

Computer Games, Online Dev
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Freeverse, founded 1994
45 Main St, Suite 506
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Fax: 646-607-9610

www.freeverse.com
Game Developer and Publisher, Web, Mobile
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Gamelab (becomes Arkadium)
368 broadway #210
New York, 10013
Phone: 212-675-1101
Fax: 212-675-1102
http://www.gamelab.com/
info@gmlb.com
646.827.6644

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Gameloft, founded 1999
45 W 25th St, 10010, New York, United States
212-993-3000
zach.smith@gameloft.com

http://www.gameloft.com/
Computer Games, Mobile, Web
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Game Institute
New York
http://www.gameinstitute.com

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Game Trust, founded 2007
135 West 20th Street 5th Floor
New York,NY10011
http://www.linkedin.com/company/game-trust-inc.

http://www.gametrust.com
francine@gametrust.com
Phone: 212-367-7336
Fax: 212-367-7346

Computer Games
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Gaia Industries, founded 2004
197 Grand Street, Suite #2 South
New York, NY 10013
212-226-1471
jobs@gaiaindustries.com
http://www.gaiaindustries.com

Game Developer, Mobile
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Graham Software
www.grahamsoftware.com
New York City, New York
Game Developer
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Glow Interactive, founded 1999
333 Hudson Street, Suite 302
New York, NY 10013
Ph: 212-206-7370
F: 212-208-0910

http://www.glowinteractive.com
jobs@glowinteractive.com
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IGDA
IGDA New York City Chapter
New York
http://www.igda.org/nyc

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Imagination Entertainment
www.imagination.com.au
New York City, New York
Game Developer
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Invasiv Studios, founded 2003
401 Washington St. Suite 2A
New York, NY 10013
Phone: 212-219-1162
Fax: 212-219-1169
jobs@invasiv.com
http://www.infornographic.org/invasiv

Game Developer (Xbox)
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Kaos Studios
129 W 27th St, 10001, New York, United States
info@kaosstudios.com
http://www.kaosstudios.com
Computer games
Software:  Maya
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Large Animal Games, founded 2001 115 W. 29th St.
New York, NY 10001
http://www.largeanimal.com
Games Publisher, Game Development, Online

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Longtail Studios, founded 2003, offices in NYC, Quebec, Halifax, Charlottetown - Canada,
180 Varick St #1614, 10014, New York, United States
longtailnyc@longtailstudios.com
http://www.longtailstudios.com/
Computer Games
Software: Proprietary Tools, 3D Studio Max
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Majesco Entertainment
www.majescoentertainment.com
Edison, New Jersey
Games Publisher
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Mako Games, founded 2008, offices in NYC and Stamford, CT
405 Greenwich St. #2A
New York, NY 10013
646.613.0089    
http://www.linkedin.com/company/mako-games
www.makogames.com
Game Developer
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Massiverse, founded 2007
27 W. 20th St. Suite 501
New York, NY 10011
Ph: 212.229.2172
Fax: 718.228.9187
info@massiverse.com
http://www.massiverse.com
Game Development, Online

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Matrix Games
www.matrixgames.com
Staten Island, New York
Games Publisher
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Muse Games, founded 2008
151 Lafayette Street #4R
New York, NY 10013
http://musegames.com
Online

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nFusion Interactive
www.n-fusion.com
Marlboro, New Jersey
Game Developer
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NightShift
77 Allen St, 10002, New York, United States
212 563 2300
contact@nightshift.fr
http://nightshift.fr
Computer games
Software: Maya, 3D Studio Max
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Oberon Media
www.oberon-media.com
New York City, New York
Games Publisher
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Ogmento
www.ogmento.com
New York City, New York
Game Developer
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Nine Pound Studios Inc. 9 E. Buffalo St.
Churchville, NY. 14428
http://ninepound.com
game development studio

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Paradox Interactive Inc.
20 W 22nd St #412, 10010, New York, United States
917-591-5135
pr@paradoxplaza.com
http://www.paradoxplaza.com/
Computer Games
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Playlogic International N.V.
Playlogic Entertainment, Inc.
747 Third Avenue suite 22A
New York, 10017
info@playlogicint.com
646 216 9653
http://www.playlogicgames.com

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Powerhead Games, founded 2000
15 W. 28th St. Suite 400
New York, NY 10001
www.powerheadgames.com
New York City, New York
Game Developer, Mobile
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Project Aurora Games LLC, founded 2009
specializing in space-related entertainment software
37-63 83RD ST, # 141
JACKSON HEIGHTS, NY 11372
Ph: 718-595-2018
F: 718-228-6234
art@projectauroragames.com
http://www.projectauroragames.com/

Game Developer
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Rebel Monkey, founded 2007 (CampFu, founded 2009)
Margaret Wallace of Playmatics - co-founder
New York City, New York

212-710-9378
eng-jobs@rebelmonkey.com

www.rebelmonkey.com
http://www.linkedin.com/company/rebel-monkey

Game Developer, Casual, Web
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Rockstar NYC
Rockstar (part of Take 2 Interactive)
622 Broadway
New York,NY 10012
https://www.rockstargames.com/jobs
http://www.linkedin.com/company/rockstar-games
www.rockstargames.com
Game Developer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saber Interactive
www.saber3d.com
Cranford, New Jersey
Game Developer
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Ska Studios
www.ska-studios.com
Schenectady, New York
Game Developer
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Skyworks
www.skyworks.com
Hackensack, New Jersey
Game Developer
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Slingo
www.slingo.com
Hackensack, New Jersey
Game Developer
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Super Ego Games
405 Greenwich St.
New York, NY 10013
http://www.superegogames.com

Game Developer, Online
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Take2 Interactive Software
Take-Two Interactive Games
622 Broadway
New York, NY 10012
http://www.take2games.com/careers/
https://mentor1.kbace.com/OA_HTML/T2ISIrcVisitor.jsp
www.take2games.com
New York City, New York
Games Publisher
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Take Five Games, Inc
28 W 23Rd Street Fl 2

New York, NY  10010


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Upstart Games
345 Park Avenue, 17th Floor
New York, 10154
General Enquiries: 212 980 5725
http://www.upstartgames.com

Game Developer
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Vicarious Visions (Activision)
Albany, New York
jobs@vvisions.com
http://www.vvisions.com

Game Developer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

XS Games, founded 2002
270 Lafayette St. Suite 1004
New York, NY
212-431-1210
http://www.xsgames.biz

Game Developer, Mobile
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Ziff Davis Media
28 East 28th Street
New York, 10016
http://www.ziffdavis.com/
212-503-3500

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Zynga New York, founded 2011  (Area Code - 45 West 21st Street, Suite 3C.
New York, NY
212.254.5800)
www.areacodeinc.com
Zynga - 36 E. 12th St.
New York, NY

http://www.zynga.com
Game Developer, mobile
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GAMES MOBILE
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1st Playable Productions
www.1stplayable.com
Albany, New York
Mobile Games
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Arkadium, founded 2001
920 Broadway, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10010
Phone: 212-337-3701
Fax: 212-337-3741
info@arkadium.com

www.arkadium.com
Online Developer
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Blackburst Media
www.blackburstmedia.com
Glen Rock, New Jersey
Online Developer
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BrokenMyth Studios
Josh Cowell
585.203.1193
info@brokenmyth.com

www.brokenmyth.com



135 Sully's Trail, Suite 9 Pittsford, NY 14534
Rochester, New York

Mobile Games
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Brooklyn Games, founded 2003 - iPacify, for iphone
55 Washington St. #457



Brooklyn, NY 11201
info@brooklyngames.com
http://www.brooklyngames.com
Online Developer

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Canned Bananas, founded 2008
support@canned-bananas.com

http://canned-bananas.com
Online Developer
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Cashmere Productions, founded 2003
Brooklyn, NY
917-809-8904
info@cashmereproductions.net
http://www.cashmereproductions.net

Mobile Games
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cellufun
Soho, New York, NY
http://www.cellufun.com
Mobile, Web Developer

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CodeWalla, founded 2004
377 Rector place, # 4a
New York, NY 10280
646-719-0064
http://codewalla.com
Mobile, Social, Web Developer

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DimensionU (formerly Tabula Digita)
5-14 51st Avenue, 3rd Fl.
Long Island City, NY 11101
718-361-7301
info@dimensionu.com
www.dimensionu.com
Games, Video and Entertainment
Online

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FreshPlanet, founded 2009
311 West 43rd St
New York City, NY 10036

www.freshplanet.com
New York City, New York
Online Developer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FunGoPlay
info@fungoplay.com
http://www.fungoplay.com
Online Developer

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Funtank LLC
www.funtank.com
www.Candystand.com

New York City, New York
Online Developer
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Electric Sheep Company, founded 2005
25 W. 36th St. Floor 8, New York, NY 10018

115 W 30th St,  Suite 209,  New York, NY 10001
Phone: 646-462-3188
(eFax): 505-212-5302

http://www.electricsheepcompany.com
Online Developer
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Gigantic Mechanic, founded 2009
420 2nd Street, Suite 4 Brooklyn, NY 11215
540 President Street Third Floor Brooklyn, NY 11215
646-807-8131
http://www.giganticmechanic.com

Online Developer
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I-play
www.iplay.biz
Plainsboro, New Jersey
Oberon Media
http://corp.oberon-media.com/

Mobile Games
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Kognito Interactive, founded 2003
150 W. 28th St. Suite 902-B New York, NY 10001
130 West 25 Street Suite 1001, New York, NY 10001
Ph: (212) 675-9234
Fax: (646) 217-3677
jobs@kognito.com
http://www.kognito.com
Online Developer

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Kuma Reality Games
100 Park Ave.
New York, 10017
http://www.kumagames.com
www.kumawar.com
Online Developer
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Luminous Arts Greg Lambrakis, Owner
Queens, New York
www.Luminous-Art.com
Jobs@Luminous-Art.com

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Miharo Games, founded 2009
88 Edgecombe Ave.
New York, NY 10030
jobs@miharo.com
http://www.miharo.com
OnlineDeveloper

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Neuronic Game Studio, founded 2006
310 E. 23rd St. Floor 12F
New York, NY 10010
Ph: 646-652-6804
F: 866-679-8237

info@neuronicgames.org
http://www.neuronicgames.com

Online Developer, Mobile
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OMGPOP, founded 2006
49 Bleecker Street, Suite 404
New York, NY 10012
www.omgpop.com
New York City, New York
Online Developer
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OneNIne Studios, founded 2005, offices in NYC and San Fransisco, CA
40 Exchange Place Suite 1501 New York, NY 10005
511 Avenue of the Americas,  #52  New York, NY 10011
Phone: 917.546.2977
Fax: 612.545.2977
jobs@oneninestudios.com
http://www.oneninestudios.com
Mobile Games

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Nine Pound Studios
www.ninepound.com
Churchville, New York
Mobile Games
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Playlore USA
69 Red Coat Road
Westport, CT 06880
Phone: (203) 635-4306
Fax: (203) 635-4308
http://playlore.com
Online

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Playmatics
Margaret Wallace - margaret@playmatics.com
4152353235
contact@playmatics.com
http://www.playmatics.com
http://www.linkedin.com/company/playmatics
Online

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Small Planet Digital
45 Main Street,  Suite 510
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: 718-801-8230
Fax: 718-801-8236
careers@smallplanet.com
www.smallplanet.com
Mobile Games
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smash Worx, founded 2008
646-485-5262
info@smashworx.com
http://www.smashworx.com

Mobile Games
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sonic Boom
Leonard Quam
259 West 30th Street, Suite 803
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-242-4200
http://www.sonicboommedia.com/
resumes@sonicboommedia.com

www.sonicboomgames.com
Mobile Games
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Templar Studios, founded 1997
200 Centre Str, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10013
Ph: 212-941-0557
F: 212-941-1103
info@templar.com
http://www.templar.com

Online Developer
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The Game Agency, founded 2007
18 East 16th St.
New York, NY 10003
http://www.thegameagency.com

Mobile Games, Online Developer
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This Is Pop
425 West 13th St.
New York, NY 10014
646-230-1430.
http://thisispop.com
Online Developer
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Tiny Mantis Entertainment
Digital studio based in Dumbo, Brooklyn specializing in game based applications for web and mobile.
10 Jay St #609
Brooklyn NY 11201
646.485.5262
info@tinymantis.com
http://www.tinymantis.com

Mobile, Online
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vogster Entertainment
www.vogster.com
Saddle Brook, New Jersey
Online Developer
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Wadjet Eye Games, founded 2006
East Village, NYC.
http://www.wadjeteyegames.com

Online Developer
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Wanako Games (A2M) - Behaviour Interactive in Canada
95 Morton Street
New York, NY 10014

http://www.bhvr.com/
www.wanakogames.com
New York City, New York
Mobile Games
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Workinman Interactive
www.workinman.com
Rochester, New York
Online Developer
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Worldwide Biggies, founded 2005
545 W. 45th St. 5th floor
New York, NY 10036
646.442.1700
Veronica Friedman  - veronica@wwbiggies.com
http://wwbiggies.com

Online Developer

Friday, September 23, 2011

Maya - Painting Effects

Maya Painting Effects

Paint Effects Window - (Rendering) Window - Paint Effects.
Camera - change the views. Object Shading: Wireframe, Shaded, Textured.
Brush - Get Brush, it opens the Visor window.
Resolution - lowering it will get results faster in the window view.
Paint -> Paint Scene or Paint Canvas. Paint Scene is to paint on top of the already existing scene.


Making a texture with painting effects
PAINT CANVAS mode:
Allows you to paint and make a new texture.
Go to CANVAS - New texture:
Image name, size of image, background color, Apply texture. Now you have a canvas to paint on. Select a brush and start painting a texture. Great for trees or grass, water...
Brush - Paint, Smear, Blur, Erase
Canvas - Wrap (Horizontally, vertically) - wraps the image with texture when you paint around edges and allows you to paint completely seemless texture.
Canvas - Roll (works similar like "Offset" filter in Photoshop.
Change the brush size while painting by holding down the "B" key.

Save the texture - Paint - Save a snapshot.

Maya - Unwrapping - Uvs

I use exclusively Maya Unwrapping Tool for Uvs. It can be also used with combinaion of UV Master plugin in Zbrush. I don't rely too much on UV master, but its great for fast and quite accurate uvs in the beggining of the process.

The Maya process is like this:

Select faces of the model (or you can select the whole model itself) - go to (Polygons)  Create Uvs, there are a couple of types:
Planar (flat projection)
Cylindrical (for cylindrical objects)
Spherical (I rarely use it)
Automatic (a fast way to have your uvs done, but automatically organized, so not so good for precise texturing).

To check your Uvs  go to (Polygons)  - Edit UVs - UV Texture Editor.
To be able to work with your Uvs you have to select (right click - choose UV).
To be able to select different Uv parts - right mouse click -> UV, select  uv vert in Uv Texture Editor, right mouse click choose To Shell.

EDGE - select an edge in Uv texture Editor - right mouse click choose EDGE. Select an edge, CTRL + right mouse click choose To Edge Loop.

Normalize Uv Options - when youhave selected shells and want to scale UVs to fit within the 0 to +1 texture range. In Texture Editor -> Polygons -> Normalize - choose the options - Collectively (good to have preserve aspect ration checked).

Flip Options - select a shell, in Texture Editor choose Polygons-> Flip options - Horizontal, Global, hit Apply once, Horizontal, Local hit Apply and close.
Now you have your shell mirrored on the other texture range 0  to -1.

The most used Tools in the top shell:

1. UV Lattice tool - a lattice for uvs
2. Move (w), Rotate (E) and Scale (R) tools, to mve, rotate and scale the selected uvs.
3. Unfold and Relax Tool - when you have selected uv verts click this tool and slide on option unfold to unforl, or Relax to relax uvs.
4. Uv Smudge tool - smudges or moves SELECTED uv verts
5. Select Shortest Edge path tool
6. Flip Uvs horizontally *
7. Flip Uvs vertically *
* (be careful using the flip tools - it can flip the uvs in the wrong direction, check with your texture pattern if the uvs are flipped the right way - dont use checker box pattern, use a pattern which has letters or numbers as well as checkers).
8. Rotates uv CCW (to the left)
9. Rotates Uv clockwise (to the rigth)
10. Cut Uvs (separate the uvs along the selected edges). The best way to cut uvs is when you have selected EDGES. In order to succesfully cut the uvs and make uv parts - the edges must not have a vertex or face connecting the parts you want to separate, so either use edge loops, or manually select the edges of irregular shapes.
11. Separate the selected UVs into one for each connected edge.
12. Sew the selected edges or uvs together (no movement of the uvs)
13. MOVE and sew the selected edges
14. Select faces to be moved in UV space
15. Snap selected Uvs to user specified grid
16. Unfold selected uvs
17. Automatically move Uvs for better texture space distribution
18. Align the selected verts on the left hand vertical side
19. Align the selected verts on the right hand vertical side
20. Align the selected verts on the horizontal (bottom) side
21. Align the selected verts on the horizontal (top) side

Additional Options:
22. Toggle Isolate Select mode
23. Isolate Add selected shells
24. Remove ALL from Isolate Select Mode
25. Remove selected shells from Isolate Select Mode
26. Preview texture on/off
27. Toggle filtered Image on/off
28.DIm Image on/off
29. View UV Grid on/off
30. Pixel Snap on/off
31. Toggle Shaded Uv Display ( you can check for OVERLAPPING UVS with this button - where shading appears more opaque)
* ALSO this button is the perect button to show if you have ANY FLIPPED UVS!!! The wrongly flipped UVs are shown in RED color, the OK uvs are in BLUE color!
32. Display texture BORDERS on the active mesh
33. Display RGB Channels
34. Display Alpha Channel
35. UV Texture Editor Baking on/off
36. Update PSD Networks
37. Force Editor Texture Rebake
38. Use image ration on/off
39. Enter Value to set / transform in U and V
40. Refresh the current Uv Values
41. Toggle the mode of the UV entry fields between absolute UV position and relative transformation tool values
42. Copy Colors, Uvs and or shaders from a face to the clipboard
43. Paste Colors, Uvs and or shaders to faces from clipboard

46. Toggle Copy/Paste for faces/uvs
47. Cycles the UVs of the selected face counter clockwise
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MOST IMPORTANT COMMANDS AND OPTIONS:

UNFOLD:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RELAX:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UV LAYOUT (click image to enlarge):
UV Layout automatically repositions UV shells so they don’t overlap in UV texture space
Layout objects: - per object / - single

Prescale: -none / -object / -world

Separate Shells becomes available when Layout Objects Per Object is selected
-off / -folds / -all intersecting

ALWAYS check Flip reversed (if you have any reversed uvs it will flip it the right way!)
Layout Settings: (none, Along U, Into region)
Scale Mode:  -none / -Uniform / -Strech to region

Shell Stacking: - Bounding Box / - Shape

Rotate:  - none / - 90 degrees / - free

Shell Spacing:
Spacing presets: 32, 64, 128, 254, 512, 1024 Maps or Custom
Persantage space: default is 1.0000

Placement Settings:
Region Preset: all options to choose from...
when Numerical Settings is selected you can type numbers in the active fields.

*If in those settings UVLayout is acting weird and does not organize the shells according their size, thats means you have uv's flipped or doublesided uvs. Unfold all the shells then and everithing should seem blue (check button N 31 in the graph above). Then apply UVLaouyt command.

*********************************
UV LAYOUT for precise moving UVs from one Square Map to Another even with flipped Uvs
























Layout Uv Shells - Even with UVs that are flipped the settings above will allow you to move the selected Uv shells to the same space but on different square.
Layout Objects - Single or multiple objects (non_overlapping)
Prescale - None
Flip reversed is OFF
Shell layout- None
Scale Mode - Uniform
Shell stacking - Shape
Rotate - None
Placement settings - Region preset - Numerical Entry
Scale U and Scale V stay at 1 always
Offset U and Offset V are the numbers you need to change in order to relocate the Uvs to a different quadrant. Values -2, -1, 1, 0, -1, -2, etc
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UV SNAPSHOT:
Have your model selected. All Uvs must be inside the Top Right hand square. Right click choose UV, select all uvs, go to Polygons->> Uv Snapshot (on the bottom). By default Maya saves them in folder "images" as outUv (you may change that folder by clicking Browse).
Choose a size for the texture (keep aspect ratio)
Use Targa, Jpg, Bmp or any other file format).
UV Range Options - Normal (0 to 1) - here you point to Maya which UV square to be snapshoting (default is 0 to 1).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Move Vertex along with Uv verts.
In move (and scale tool) Tool Settings CHECK ON "Preserve Uvs". Now when you move your vertex the uv will follow. And the opposite, when you dont want the uv to follow movement or scale on vertexes, uncheck "preserve Uvs".
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Some tips:
If you have place2dtexture missing - when assigning files to shaders in maya - when you click on color swatch will bring up Create render node option (on the top make sure you have "Witch New Texture Placement" - CHECKED, otherwise it will not create the place2dtexture node!
You can also create it separately and connect it to the file.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Digital Painting - BMW

TUTORIALS - CAR - Painted Illustrator / Photoshop
I have created this tutorial years ago.. back in 2002. I decided to publish it again (for archiving purposes)..
This is an explanation how the BMW image was created. First of all I must have had some image to begin with (using as a template).
In Illustrator I had to draw the outlines of the object (the car) with the pen tool ().
It is sometimes frustrating to use this tool and especially for beginners, but once you get used to it you will see that it is a magnificent one.
 I drew each element of the car in a different layer (the order didn't matter at this time, because I drew only strokes with transparent fill) so after that I could export my ".ai" file into Photoshop without flattening the artwork.
 When I was done with my scratch in Illustrator I chose: File> Export>Save as type - Photoshop 5.

In Photoshop I opened the already created .psd document (from Illustrator). Now I had to order the layers and start filling them with gradients. By clicking on each layer to select it and after that with the "magic wand tool" () I clicked inside the element, so it would select the transparent area (and not the stroke/outline). I selected the gradient tool ()  - at first I picked the colors that I wanted to fill the elements of the car (in this case from dark to light red, I used "linear" gradient) and started filling. Sometimes I needed to choose more than one color for the gradient filling (from the red gamma).
You can see how I created the wheels. I filled the tire with gradients from black to light gray. I put some shadows inside the tire to make it look real. I used the "paint brush" () to draw inside of the tire. Remember - each element is on a different layer.
Combined the wheels with the car, put each wheel on the bottom of the "layer palette" so it would be behind the car. Gradients still looked kind of funny, so I had to create some more lights and shadows to have a lively look of the car.
Now was time to create some lights and shadows (each on a separate layer, so I can always go and manipulate it separately). I drew paths with the "pen tool" () saved the paths - so if I wanted to go back and work some more I could always do that easily. After I was done with the path I chose "make selectoin from path" - here I could choose the "feather" for smoother selection - usualy I select "1". So when selection was active I went back to the "layer palette" and filled the layer with some color - dark (for shadows) or light (for lights) red.
It was difficult at first, but I used my imagination and good eye for colors, lights and shadows.

After I was done with lights and shadows it was time to add the additional elements such as mirror, handle, symbols and headlights. It took me really quite long to fit these elements for the real look of the car. For example the headlights were a pain in the neck, I had to create some filters to fill the lights - in this case I chose "cristalize".
This is the final result.
After I was done with the car I could easily change the color in Photoshop with the command: Image > Adjust > Replace Color.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Xnormal - Normal Maps

NORMAL MAPS:

You should do piece by piece baking (and combine the result in Photoshop later on).
*Tip - when baking Normal Map in Xnormal - change the background for the nromal map from purple to black, and in AO - from white to red, so its ALOT more easy to select with one click of magic wand later on PS.
One thing to consider, the hole process of normal map baking is combination of topology, uvs, geometry similarity, normal angles, xnormal settings and its all a mess if you have no idea how to do it.

NORMALS:
- Good idea is always to check normals before exporting low poly OBJ. Select your model piece - DISPLAY - Polygons - Face normals, to check in which directions normals are going.
- A quick way to flip the normals would be to use "Conform" which will make all of the normals face the same direction and then you can flip them all together. Then you can use average normals to get them to even out over the surface.
- If normal bakes look ugly (messed up) - try to Unlock Normals in Maya and resave lowpoly obj model for re-bake.

Sometimes you can use the "use exported normals" in Xnormal (on low poly setting).
Edit your low poly model in Maya - if you see DARK EDGES after applying Normals - Smooth Edges - correct with -> Vertex Normal Edit Tool (under normals Menu). Export your obj and bake with "use exported normals" / you may also re-bake with "average normals" and compare the results.


Rays:
There is a set distance calculator you can use in Xnormal. Tools - Ray Distance calculator (unfortunatelly that never works for me - even I played with those - it never gave me the desired results.).
- I DON'T know if thats true, but i noticed on my normal map renders that Scale Mesh 1 / Ray 0.1 = Scale Mesh 5 / Ray 0.5 = Scale Mesh 10 / Ray 1 all those settings give me the same result.
my theory>>>>>
 - removing small artifacts on bakes - use 0.1 (smaller number)
- 0.1 - rays casting distance - very close
- 1 - rays casting distance - broad (far)
- also depends on Scale Mesh - for the ray casting - but always use SAME Scale Mesh for Default Mesh Scale and Mesh Scale BOTH on low poly and hi poly, then play with different Ray castings.

CAGES:

Two ways to make a cage
1. Using Xnormal 3D Viewer
2. Using your software program (Maya, Max) to make a cage and export it as additional .obj
(To manually add an external cage in Xnormal - on your low poly - check Use Cage, the under "external cage file" right click - choose "Browse external cage", you may also reset external cage from right click menu, using cage also overrides the Rays settings, even thoug they are shown).

3D VIEWER in XNORMAL:
Export obj. then open Xnormals and load the low res and high rez piece.
Click on the "3D Viewer button." Once inside you will see at the near top left of the viewer - there is a "Show Cage" button which will show the cage for your low res mesh. Once you click that, it brings up a few options of which one is a slider called external cage. You can then use the "expand cage" slider to make it bigger, basically you want it to encompass the model piece entirely. You can also edit small points manually by selecting the "Edit Cage" button and then selecting verts with the middle mouse button and using the x, y, and z sliders. When you are happy with what you have click "Save Mesh" and save it where you want it to and then click yes to have xNormal load the maps for you. Go to the low poly meshes and make sure next to the rays that the "Use Cage" checkbox is selected. Then check your setting and bake.
3D Viewer is great because you dont have to manually create cages in maya and it saves off separate meshes. The only trick you may have to watch out for, is if you ever want to use the cage meshes again, make sure to click "use cage" in the low poly settings in xnormal. This should give you much cleaner bakes!
- AWSD - are the keys to navigate in 3D Viewer. Right click button also rotates around the camera. Its a little annoying to navigate, just use combination of AWSD and right click.
- When you edit the cage - yous elect the verts with MID mouse button. Use sliders for global or X, Y, Z to move the selected vert.
- Why you have to load the high poly (as far as i know) - because the cage HAS to be OVER the high poly (othewise you get artifacts) - so the cage has to completely over -hug the high poly.
- To exit temporalily without closing 3d Viewer - hit Windows button on keyboard (if you hit ESC it will CLOSE the 3d Viewer). To go back in side ALT + ENTER.
- once you click Save Mesh and YES it EXCHANGES the high poly and low poly (and saves that separately in SBM file) so its save, you can always go back to your previous meshes!
- you have to click USE cage, BUT Xnormal does that auto after you exit 3dViewer.


EXTERNAL CAGES done in MAYA:
One thing to consider while doing external cage in Maya - is never to exctrude faces (or duplicate faces) because it changes the vertex ID and the WILL NOT work in Xnormal. TOPOLOGY HAS to be the same as the low poly and it has to be simply - scale it, move a couple of faces/ edges/ vertexes around and thats it. ( in Max there is a push modifier and it just works differently than maya plus you can export various file types).
- GREAT trick to INFLATE in Maya is >>> Select model > hit W for move tool, change setting to "move normal" - grab N handle and drag back and forth along the vert normal to the distance you prefer.
- To Inflate a cage out of original low poly. make a copy of the low poly - select the verts -> Edit Mesh -> Transform Component - drag arrow and it inflates it for you.

In Maya - you can only export the .OBJ so it works in Xnormal.

------------------------------
Another trick i use is ... for very complicated close-together parts - in Maya I selected a couple of faces and duplicated those tough sections - like small piece - re-bake those SEPARATELY in Xnormal and copy pasted the normal map (parts) in PS.
------------------------------
A link to tutorial Zbrush:
http://eat3d.com/free/zbrush_xnormal#

Monday, August 22, 2011

Retopology - Maya or Topogun

TOPOGUN
Some great free videos and tutorials from CGBOOTCAMP at:
http://www.cgbootcamp.com/tutorials/category/topogun

Great tutorial/explanation on Bad Geometry (Maya):
http://www.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/showthread.php?157746-Tutorial-Bad-Geometry-%96-How-to-find-and-fix-it


*Tips if you come FROM ZBRUSH. Depending on your model, it may have lot of subtools and lot of polys. Try to decimate your model in Zbrush, so its not that high on millions of poly / OR lower the SDIV in Z then export as obj. Topogun (as Maya) cannot handle millions of polys like Zbrush, so have something in a range that is manageable.
Export .obj a couple of ways:
Under Decimation Master - Export (make sure all your subtools are visible) - this will create all 1 meshed .obj file fom all the decimated subtools.
OR
Under Subtool Master - Export. Chosse settings and export - it WILL export all your subtools separately.
OR
click on the subtool you want to export (in Tools Menu on top under Save as) - Export.
*Tip - if you need to merge a couple of subtools - make those visible, click Merge Visible - it will make a NEW subtool with merged ones.


TOPOGUN
Import your hirez object/model into TG. File - Load reference.
Importing multiple obj's in Topogun:
-in Zbrush merge the part without merging verts and then export it as a obj. The obj will store the multiple object when exporting and in topogun each polygroup will be assign to a group.
-in Maya - select all parts of model and Export Selection.
In TopoGun:
you can "load a reference" .obj that contains multiple objects (called groups) and toggle object (group) display off/on independently for retopo. (On top area of TG there is a button "group" - click it and a menu will pop up showing all different subtools).

IMPOT/EXPORT:
Exporting the newly created rtopo ->> File - Save scene as - choose the extention .obj when saving the scene.
Importing back the retopo to TG ->> File - Load Scene - choose .obj retopo


Tools Menu:
Simple Edit - use to make selections, marquee, etc. (HOT KEY - with Right CLick you change between SimpleEdit and SimpleCreate tools). Left Mouse - selects - choose in Tool  Options: by verticles, edges, faces, or all of them.

SimpleCreate - put down vertices, edges on top of your reference. Click somewhere in the reference it creates a starting point/vert. SHIFT - splits edges (or ads a vert)
When you turn on "Make Faces" feature - it makes auto faces when clicking.

Draw - a topology brush that you draw topo you want
Bridge - to bridge edge loops

Left-Mouse button to lay down ac ouple of vertices, it creates edges between them -
CTRL - connecting something
SHIFT - splitting something


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SUBD - button on top - makes an "adaptive skin" or shows a preview of your smoothed retopo mesh.
Subdivision Parameters - you can change the settings for seeing SubDiv in TG. If you have Project turned on, you can also see (depending on Levels) - the projected skin from the reference onto your new mesh.
You can save the Subdivision mesh and export .obj for sculpting further. From Subdivision Parameters - choose desired SubD Levels, MOD or ZTL, the Subdivision ->> Save.
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NURBS

Making a NURBS tube shape out of 2 curves
Go to an orthographic view (side or front), it's easier to work on orthographic with curves.
Use the CV curve tool (or EP curve tool) to make a curve. Create a NURBS Circle, no matter where. Select the circle, holding SHIFT select the curve. (SURFACE MENU) Choose Surfaces - Extrude. For options, pick Tube, At Path, Component, and Profile Normal. Choose Extrude.
After that, you can select the circle and scale the circle to see that the path will follow.
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Now converting NURBS to Poly
In the menu Modify > Convert> Chose Nurbs to Poly Option Box>>
The images shows MY options that I prefer when converting Nurbs objects to Polygons.
-Quads, General, U type / Number U (are the number of edges that are going to be created on the U axis), V type / Number V (are the number of edges that are going to be created in the V axis).
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Sunday, August 14, 2011

Zbrush Alphas

ALPHAS

Working with Alphas:
If you want to apply an alpha (I usually choose Standard Brush - may also duplicate the brush), choose DragRect, choose the alpha and apply (left mouse click and drag til the desired position). Playing with Zadd, Zsub, Z Intensity value you may tweak the result.

Importing Alpha:
Alphas are black to white images, you may prepare your alpha in Photshop, save as .bmp .psd .jpg .gif .png .tiff .tga (the supported formats), in Zbrush - click Alpha - Import. (I think one donwside of Zbrush is when you re-work your alpha, you have to import it again and that does not overwrite your previous version, just adds the newly imported alpha - i think its a pain, ending up with several "same" looking alphas" in the thumbnail preview window).

To be able to move an alpha when applying to model surface
hit "G" (for Projection Master) - choose Deformation and Normalized (checked only) - the Color and Material are NOT checked, Drop Now. Apply your alpha, when moving it choose move, rotate tools, when you are done hit "G" again and choose "PickupNow".

Stencil:
On a brush choose an alpha, go to menu Alpha - press "Make St" - a transparent square appears. To be able to activate and work with it hold SPACEBAR (Zbrush 4 or right click Zbrush 3). You can move, scale and rotate the alpha. Then choose Alpha Off and with a desired brush draw over the sqaure to get the result. Go to Stencil Menu and turn the Stencil off.

CREATING ALPHAS in Zbrush
Choose Document Menu - size 256x256 and Resize.
Get Plane3D, draw on canvas and choose Make PolyMesh3D (in tools menu button). Then choose that tool and Edit. Divide a couple of times the rectange (Geometry - Divide - make sure you turn OFF Smooth (smt) ).
Draw some shapes with the brushes and when you are done, go to Alpha menu - GrabDoc.

To make alpha tilable.
Draw some shapes on canvas ( on polyMesh3D divided), make sure do not cross/ exit the rectangle. When you are ready to make it tileable - Turn EDIT off (by clicking it), choose "S" SIGN - for Simple Brush, hold down TILDA "~" and drag>>> this makes the alpha tileable, as going to tile the canvas and this goes for all directions. When you are done, get out of edit mode (if you are), select "S" SimpleBrush and go grab the Mrgbzgrabber (what this thing does is grabs a depth map from your canvas and saves a black and white image in your texture panel). Click and drag outside canvas and this is gonna make an alpha for you. Then click on your Alpha Menu, select that alpha and Export it (as well you can manipulate it in PS, then import back to Z).

For custom alphas (or any other too), in order to NOT show edges around square of the edge of texture - got Alpha Menu - and play with values of the MIDVALUE and RF.
*Tip - if the image/alpha has medium grey edge, use MidValue to tweak the results. RF is for radial blur the (edges) of the texture/alpha.

Using Alpha (from texture file).
Go to texture panel, apply texture (texture ON under Tools Menu - Texture map), (Tools Menu - Maskin) mask by intensity - make sure you are in the highest divisions, so you get the most of the detail of your texture, then turn your texture OFF.
* tip - CTRL + Click on the mask will blur it. Alt + Click on mask will sharpen it.
You can either take a brush and start sculpting over the mask. Or go to Deformation Tab and Inflate, it will get a basic inflation of everything.

Creating an Alpha from Mask.
If you dont have your subtool UVed and you draw a mask, which now you want to create an ALPHA from:
Go to UV master (your model needs to be on SDiv 1 - the lowest). In UV Master (which is in Plugins - if you dont have it - find the plugin in Zbrush official website and install), click Unwrap (TO preview your Uvs in Zbrush - click under UV master menu - Flatten, to close the preview and go back to 3d model - click Unflatten.).
Go to Masking (under Tool menu) - click Create Alpha. Yu can now export it from Alpha Menu. It saves a 16 bit, Grey (no Rgb) image. Use .PSD format for easy tweaking in PS.

Displacement map is a texture map, so you need UVs to make one.
Put a texture map with texture you wanna displace (import the map file before that). Under Tool menu - Texture Map - New texture, chose it - Texture ON. Open Displacement map chose the same map BUT imported as ALPHA. Turn Displacement ON, slide intensity you can see the poping up of detail from displacement map, to see it applied you have to click Apply. Go to Texture Map and turn texture off. Its a good idea before applying displacement map to have Layer on recorder mode.

Zbrush Brushes

BRUSHES
Brushes have different Type, Stroke and Alpha.

Brushes are located in 2 different folders
Pixologic >> Zbrush 4.0 >> Zbrushes
and
Pixologic >> Zbrush 4.0 >> Zdata >> BrushPresets (I use this folder for custom created brushes).
.ZBP is the brush extention.

- PRESS S to change brush size
- PRESS B on keyboard to get brushes menu
- Change BRUSH MOD (modifier) - if positive will push out, if negative will push in.

Make sure you have high enough level of subdivision on your model in order for the brushes to have smooth and nice appearence.

General Settings - Mrgb, Rgb (applies color) (rgb intensity values), Zadd ( usually raise the surface - pulling out), Zsub (usually lower the surface - pushing in), Zintensity - how strong the bush is applied, Focal Shift (makes the inner circle of the brush bigger of smaller - harder or softer applying), Draw size - how big the bush is.

BRUSH TYPES ( Each brush has a unique behavior)

Standard - standard brush if left as default applies soft nice curves when you draw. STANDARD BRUSH - if modifier is 100 - pinch, if modifier -100 Mushroom the mesh for mass and muscles.
Smooth - usually when you press SHIFT by default settings.

Clay - very organic feel
ClayTubes
Flaten - flattens the surface
Inflat
Layer - some more flatten resault
Morph - you have to press Morph target first to get that brush to work. (In Tools Menu - Morph Target >> Store MT). Draw soemthing on your model, select Morph brush and using intensity and settings, it brings back the original model (deletes what you draw after morph target on the model).
Move - move the pieces of geometry, great for reshaping
Move Topological
MOVE brush - turn on Acucurve

Pinch - pulls the geo in.
TrimDinamic - for hard surfaces

mPolish
hPolish

STROKES
Each brush has STROKE feature (stroke is a separate menu in Zbrush)
DOTS -
Drag Rect - great for applying alphas - one alpha per drag.
Freehand -
Spray Stroke - sprays the alphas.
Spray Color - sprays the alpha in more transparent way.
Drag Dot - drags a dot of alpha.

LazyMouse - follows the move of your mouse more precisely, evening the stroke, dependig on settings.
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Insert CurveTube
SliceCurve - separate in polygroups
SNakeHOOK brush!!

trick
insertCylinder with SYMERTY (radial)
HOLDING ALT while INSERTBRUSH (then ctrl drag) will make a hole. holding spacebar while draging InsertBrush will move it whiole draging. holding SHIFT while drag - scaling it.

to make BRICK details on Geo - PUT TEXTURE (with bricks), MASK by intensity , USE LAYER BRUSH!

TOPOLOGY BRUSH
draw lines - perpendicular to make topology
Hold ALT to delete a curve
HOld close to  a green dot, see red line to continue curve
Curve modifiers (in stroke) - Curve snap distance

Hold SHIFT to make round curve line across object

Stroke - curve functions - Smooth
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STROKE SPACING:
Have your brush on DOTS for stroke. Go to Stroke Menu - Turn on Lazy Mouse, play with Lazy Step values, Lazy Radius 1, Lazy Smooth 0. Basically the Lazy Step is the stroke spacing in Zbrush 4. (at least of what i know.. will update if any other method come up).
ON most brushes under Stroke "Spacing" will not be available..

SCLUPTING in ZBrush
BIG MODIFICATIONS on low level, FINE detail on HIGH level

Sculpting folds:
Standard,  change Curve AccuCurve ON, Depth, graviti strenght - higher value, more gravity on brush. Stroke - Lazy Mouse ON - Lazy step lower value - 0.02. Dots, Lazy Radius 1.
Brush Modifier - 30,

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COLORING in Zbrush:
Standart brush - duplicate - take off lazy mouse - STROKE - RGB ONLY
100% >> COLOR>> FILL OBJECT
Start from this base
C= pick upo color
V = switches the color
COLOR SPRAY - STROKE - modifiers - color variations (0 makes the same color)
MODES:
under BRUSH >> Alpha and Texture - POLYPAINT MODE - 1 - Standart, 2 - Colorize, 3 - Multiply, 4 - Lighten, 5 - Darken

To export a texture from polypaint >>>
Tool Texture Map - New Txtr
Tool Texture Map - Create - New from Polypaint.
Then Clone texture (click the texture IMAGE - export)

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Saturday, August 13, 2011

Zbrush Basic - General

If you draw a lot of object by mistake on canvas. Go edit (selects the last one drawn) click on FRAME (button on Right side, or predss F), go Layer and Clear.
OR CTRL + N for new document, that clears everything on canvas.

Document menu:
Saving the document WILL NOT save your 3d work (or Ztool).
The background gradient of the canvas is controlled by (Document Menu) Back, Border, Border2.
Change color - click on "Back", choose a color from color picker.
"Range" changes the "gradient" of the canvas. Get rid of the gradient - set to 0.
Increase the level of gradient with "Center".
"Rate" is how fast does the gradient change.
To change the size of document, make sure you remove your 3d model first.
WHEN importing multi object - FIRST import the largest part, thats how Zbrush handles scaling. Then choose the largest object and in subtools - append the rest of them.

GRID:  Draw: Grid Size (change). ALso FLOOR has button selections for X, Y and Z.


If the normals are the opposite from Maya to Zbrush - select the object with inverted normals, go to DISPLAY PROPERTIES in Tools menu - click on FLIP.

- PRESS CTRL over a button to get INFO for it.
- Turn LOCAL On - RHside "local" THE PIVOT POINT - the last point I click becomes the pivot point
- Geometry DIVIDE - go up on res level press D; go down press Shift D
- To be able to see inside the model - in tools on bottom DISPLAY PROPERTIES - Click
and activate DOUBLE
- For more accurate selection >> use POINT SELECT ON >> in Transform menu
- PREFERENCES ->PERFORMANCE-> MultiDraw OFF
- MASKING - CTRL ALT - to sharpen the mask, CTRL to soften the mask
- Remove material information - go to Flat color and prezz Zadd and M, fill object.
- Smoothing Divide - if you turn SMT off, it will divide but edges will be still the
same.
- to SubDivide a particular area on your model, MASK off the part you dont want subdivided - be sure to be on the LOWEST SDIV level, hit Divide.
- Press SHIFT + F - to show polygroups and wireframe.
POLYGROUPS (in tools)
autogroups - will separate all subtools (separate objects)
uv groups - separate by UVS
GROUP VISIBLE - separate by selection
(to select polygroups - Ctrl + Shift + Click
Make polygroup out of masking shortcut: Paint A MASK - hit CTRL + W = make polygroup out of the mask (from visible)


MORPH TARGET
At first may seem abit strange and hard to make it work, but once you understand it - its great.
BE SURE to store MORPH target on the HIGHEST subdivision level you are on! See the image - this appears in the morph menu when youhave a morph target stored.\
*TIP - always a good idea after you stored the MT, to use Layers when sculpting
IF by any chance you have stored MT on lets say Sub-div 3 and youhave already sculpted some details on the model, or on layers, and now you decided you need to go a level up to SubDiv 4. Duplicate your subtool, delete all the sculpting (layers) or use MORPH brush to erase all detail! Now you should have a original subtool with detail and duplicated subtool with NO detail. On duplicate delete  the morh target, go level UP and Store again MT. Now start projecting the settings from original one by one to the duplicate!

If we are going to export from Zbrush model back to Maya - is NOT a good idea to do
a GROUP SPLIT (from zbrush)

GOZ is little tricky and often going back and forth between Zbrush and Maya should be with extra care! Save Often (and make new ZTL files in case something got skrewed you can always go back to a previous state!).
*To clear the clipboard of Zbrush - exit Edit mode, CTRL + N - cleans the canvas area, click the BIG S (SimpleBrush) icon under Tools, choose your model again draw on canvas ENTER EDIT mode.

If you have a problem is with the X symmetry, like trying to sculpt something but you notice that the symmetry is not even. You need to mask out the half of the character you're happy with
and then go to Tools>>>Deformation tab and find Smart ReSym - it should fix the problem. It copies the masked half across.

SUBTOOL MASTER - organizes different objects exported from Maya into Subtools in Zbrush
TRANSPOSE - manipulate multiple objects inside Zbrush. In edit mode of object - move, scale ot rotate - click on of those. Draw an action line - We got 3 different point to manipulate.
MOVE SELECTED - Click on center wide dot - reposition the model. Click outside red dots - Scale or sheer the model. Center of the dots - does the action, moves the object towards the other end of 3 dots. If we click the EDGE of dots will reposition action line.
SCALE SELECTED - center dot = scales along the axes, perpendiculat to action line end dots scale towards the other side.
ROTATE - use thes as a lever.

Mirroring OBJECTS with Subtool Master.
When you have your subtool and want it mirrored (on X) for example a shoe, make sure you have your layers baked in, before mirroring (because it will encounter problem).

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DYNAMESH
Group will split polygroups into separate pieces
Blur smooth out the mesh
POLISH - great - polishes geo (LIKE creasing edges)
CLAYPOLISH!!
Project - keeps the detail as is
ADD geo in Zbrush - mask, hold CTRL + move.

REMESHING in Z
Remesh can be very useful but sometimes a pain to do.
Make sure your low poly mesh (geo) is all equal and nicely even quads. Close all holes and gaps, because remesh and projecting in general in Zbrush do not like any cavities. Also WHEN PROJECTING - make sure your faces are NOT overlapping, and normals are flipped the right way.
Import your low poly model (one piece and should NOT be complex!!), the pieces of your model have to be logically separated, do not remesh a complex whole mesh, better separate in Maya and close all the gaps. You can remesh as many subtools as you want.
Divide the model a couple of times (do not exceed subdivision 4, 5 or 6 - depending on polys and complexity). Choose a higher resolution for better remeshing (by default is 128), choose a value for Polishing (default is 10). Remesh all.
After the piece is remeshed - divide it a couple of times so it matches his master. With both subtools VISIBLE, click project all.

HOW TO UV a remesh.
This task can be a little tricky - due to the high poly content of the remeshed tools sometimes.
Lets say you have a piece (subtool) on SDiv 5, that needs to be remeshed.
* Does the new remesh carry the same UVS as its master? When you do REMESH - it comes WITHOUT UVS.
So how do we do Uv on a remesh? Fisrt off - for a BIG heavy original piece that needs to be remeshed - use low remesh settings, make sure the new remesh is accurate to the original, otherwise you dont want holes and gaps in your new remesh.
Also note that UV master CANNOT handle LOTS of polys!
So with the newly created (kinda low poly) remesh, use UV master to unwrap. If you get an error doing unwrapping in Uv master, i think that your remesh has to be lowered on polys.
I do this 2 ways:
1. Either change settings for resolution when you create the remesh.
2. Or bring in Maya and:
- LOWER polys (Polygons - MESH - REDUCE) - bring back to Z.
- you can also make quads faces (remesh in Z used triangles as well as quads) Mesh - Quadrangulate, so when you bring back in Z - also check if under Tools - Geometry - Reconstruct SubDiv.
*Tip about UV Master, you can use existing UVs from imported model and work on that in UV Master - just click "Use existing UV Seams" button before you hit "Unwrap".

UV MASTER:
Making Uvs for a human head.
Open UV master - Zplugin - UV Master
Symmetry ON (if the head is symmetrical),  Enable Control Painting (ON, it will lit in color orange).
Click the button Attract - and start painting WHERE you want your seems to be. Make sure the blue line color of your paint is connected (for the seems).
Click Protect - start painting (red color) the FACE, so it protects the face from being cut on seems.
Click Unwrap. To check the Uvs - Click the button Flatten. You MUST be on the lowest subdivision level for that feature to function.
To go back in 3d view in Zbrush - click Unflatten.


How to RENDER:
When you have a model you want to render, go Document and change width and height -  make the size of the desired render. This will clear your canvas, so drag your model again, hit Edit. In Zoom Menu hit AA Half so you have Antialiasing. Click Render Menu and hit Best.
You can Document> Export image as .psd, .bmp or .tiff or PrintScreen.
* Step by Step How to:
Open you model in Zbrush - applpy material. Go to Document size and make it double as much as you wanna render - lets say 4000px x 3000px. Clear your canvas (CTRL + N) drag your model, press T to do to Edit mode. On the upper right corner ise ZOOM button to pose your model inside boundaries of document. Then click Actual (for actual size) then CLICK AAHALF - that turs anti-aliasing on. Open render Menu, make sure buttons Shadows and AOcclusion are ON. CLick BEST (for render), wait for image to render and dont click anywhere else (it will exit the rendering mode) - click Document - export and export your image in one of the 3 formats - .psd, .bmp or .tiff.




DECIMATION MASTER
Decimation Master is used to create a model with lower polycount while still keeping most of the details. It's vey easy to use. Its a plugin you have to install separatelly in Zbrush (but its free). Its located under Plugin Menu - decimation master. When using Decimation, sometimes you dont really see anything happening (of course depending on settings), so to see difference Hit PolyFrame (Shift + F). What is actually does is automatically reducing your mesh.
If you have multiple subtools you can choose from the following:
Pre-process current - processing the current tool you are on
Pre-process all - processing the whole tool
Then choose either:
process % percentage
process K polys (you can assign any number of final result here)
Process K Points.
Once you choose the decimation quality you may:
Decimate current (for current subtool you are on)
Decimate all - for the whole tool.
*Another trick is - if you are on a subtool, you can mask off the desired areas which you want decimation to retain resolution (try to mask with LOWER intensity of color, so its more transparent) - then pre-process current, then decimate current. Its gonna tell Zbrush to kind of retain the geometry in this area.
* Good tip - when you decimate all your subtools - you can do all in one or separately one by one.. but in the end - click EXPORT button - it will export all your subtools as .obj file.

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SPOTLIGHT 0 is located in the texture menu.
Open TEXTURE menu (on the top) drag it on one of the sides. Import an image. There are some buttons right under the images  (the spotlight buttons) the 4th one from left to right - with a + and - sign on it. That loads the image you have selected into the spotlight. To TURNO off the spotlight with hotkeys - press SHIFT and Z. To show the spotlight circle press "Z" for on and off. (Z key to bring up the Spotlight control wheel).
You can also SAVE the spotlight and load it.