Mudbox Painting a 3D Dinosaur in 2 hours

Learning points:

In Maya..

1. Checking the model
2. Checking the UV unwrap
3. Exporting FBX format

In Mudbox...

1. Load in a stand-in object for scale standard
2. Proper selection sequence before scaling the model
3. Scale the model
4. Set the lighting

1. Create paint layer
2. Proper brush setting
3. Mirror paint
4. Flood paint layer

1. Proper brush setting
2. Stamp spacing
3. Brush size & stamp spacing
4. Brush strength & stamp
5. Stamp randomize

1. Proper way to "projection paint"
2. Use tiles and show tiles
3. Color white enables the "projection paint"
4. Brush strength affects the "projection paint"
5. Painting on the same surface eventually leads to 100% strength

1. Get royalty free texture from websites
2. Add stencil onto the tray
3. Proper setup to create seamless stencil (texture)
4. Proper use of Clone tool
5. Saved an edited stencil
6. Use the edited stencil as stamp by loading onto stamp tray

1. Concept of using layers
2. Concept of using masks

1. Create flesh layer by flooding red
2. Create skin layer
3. Use mask to varies the illusion of skin thickness
4. Use stamp for better masking effect

1. Use of stencil and its constraints
2. Use stencil as stamp by loading stencil onto stamp tray
3. Use of steady stroke to paint stamp
4. Switch blend mode to "overlay" to get better result

1. For stamp setting, color "white or black" does not allow hue changes hence use a color e.g. red
2. Use Hue paint tool to varies colors on the "spots"
3. Use of burn tool to darken
4. Use of dodge tool to lighten
5. Use of mask to erase the unwanted spots
6. Use "black" as brush color and brush strength as less than 100 for "erasing" the spots

1. Create primary & secondary scale
2. Use of "overlay" blend mode
3. Use of royalty free texture as stamp
4. Painting at this stage to achieve the weathered look of the creature

In Mudbox...

1. Create SPECULAR & BUMP layer by copying and moving COLOR layers
2. Adjust layer strength for BUMP layer
3. Export Channel Merged includes the value of the layer strength
4. Export Selected does not include the value of the layer strength

1. Use of blinn material to load color, bump, specular maps
2. Setup image based lighting in Maya using the same HDR image(.exr)
3. Render with mental ray renderer

1. In mudbox, export the body model as FBX
2. In Maya, scale down to its original size