MODELLING A ROBOT
HARD-SURFACE MASTER GARRETH JACKSON SHARES HIS TOP TIPS
01 DO YOUR RESEARCH
Immerse yourself in the world of robots, sci-fi, cyberpunk, etc. Understand how robots are used or perceived and how they would fit into our society. Researching movies, video games, comics and art is a great way of gaining inspiration and seeing what’s out there.
02 CREATE A SOLID STORYLINE
Make sure that you think up a strong purpose, identity and story for your robot. This will give you enough material to work with when modelling the robot, as well as creating the background and working on final finishes.
03 CONSIDER DESIGN STYLE/MATERIALS
Consider the look of your robot, the shape of the head and body – are you going for a boxy, angled look? Or a smooth, round look? The style will also influence the materials you use to texture your robot, as well as the final finish. All of this ties into the story and identity of your robot, so make sure that it is well established.
04 KNOW YOUR TOOLS
Knowing the software that you use to create your model and using it to its full potential is key to a successful design. Spend time researching and getting to know the features of the software you’re using so that your finished product looks its best.
05 RENDERING AND LIGHTING
Lighting can create a sense of realism and gives your materials dimension and texture, while also making your environment come alive. It sets the mood and tone for your final composition, so taking the time to get it all just right is really important.
associated with robot designs. “Some designers like to go into the minutiae of endless nuts and bolts,” he says. “I love seeing these examples. My style tends to emphasise the volumes and shapes more, and less on the nitty gritty – while still trying to make the parts work realistically and believably.”
Personality is integral to Talkowski’s designs and he highlights several elements that can add some individuality: “Expressive eyes will do wonders for any character and putting the robot into comical poses also greatly adds to its personality. Colour can also be used to take away preconceived notions of cold and hard-edged technology.”
For Jackson creating a robot design is a balancing act of good design principles and clean, wellproportioned models. He adds that artists should bear this in mind while allowing room for their creativity and imagination to push boundaries and think outside the box. He continues: “In this way you avoid creating an overly generic design or one that is too flawed from a design perspective.”
A unique style can also be found by embracing art and culture from around the world. “It’s a very Asian-influenced style,” says Jimenez of his own approach to robots, “with electric colours and complementary colour combinations. The truth is that it always takes me a long, long time to define the final colours. It’s very important to me.”
THE IDEA FACTORY
Using 3D software to build a breathtaking 3D robot is only half the task, first artists need to come up with a concept for their character, something that each of them approaches differently. Jimenez always has an image of what he wants to create in his head, rarely making a concept more detailed than a paper sketch. “I usually create my robot designs using references from real objects and mixing them,” he adds.
Once Jimenez has gathered references he models them directly, modifying each object until he’s satisfied with the outcome. “It’s more of a creative than logical process,” he explains. “My initial inspiration always came from the anime series FLCL and the character of Kanchi, as well as anime and Asian culture generally.” He cites some of the leading artists in this area as Ian Mcque, Yeon Guun Jeong and Simon Stalenhag. This influence is evident in the simplicity of Jimenez’s forms and the humanisation of his robots.
The initial stages of Perez’s artistic approach involve their fair share of trial and error. “I usually start a vague idea that I’d like to explore,” he says, “something like a bot that carries water. Then I’ll ask myself, why is it carrying water and what was its original purpose?” Contemplating their function and origins helps Perez to begin exploring shapes and honing the design of his robots. “Finding and creating an interesting shape can take a good amount of time,” he continues. “Organic hard surfaces are an area that I am working overtime to be better at.”
Despite the more simplistic language of his designs, Talkowski
strives to not repeat certain ideas when plotting out his robot characters. “This means trying to make sure my joints and mechanics have a believability to them,” he explains, “so that when they are built and eventually animated, they perform as expected.”
Part of Jackson’s process is to dream up backgrounds and stories for his robots. “It’s important to understand your creation. Having a specific background and story influences the overall design and directs the robot to be more than just an object, but rather a character with a purpose and story.” Jackson gives each of his robots a name, personality and identity as part of his conceptualisation process. “I especially consider what they would be used for,” he continues. “For example, are they an
“A SPECIFIC BACKGROUND AND STORY DIRECTS THE ROBOT TO BE MORE THAN JUST AN OBJECT” Garreth Jackson, hard-surface artist and concept designer
engineer? Or used for combat? And so on. Knowing their identity helps to create the details that give the model dimension and substance.”
Where many artists would translate their initial ideas into a 2D illustration or rough sketch before utilising 3D tools and software, Jackson chooses to work directly on a 3D model, working from his internal vision of what the final piece should look like. “The identity and final look of the character will develop as I build the different parts, and will sometimes change from what
I originally envisioned, but the story and identity of the model will dictate the final design,” he adds.
BUILD-A-BOT
When it comes to assembling their robots, each artist has a unique approach, utilising different software, tools and techniques.
3D World asked its experts to explain their workflows, in order to discover how they create their mechanical masterpieces.
After his initial sketches have been completed with pencil and paper or stylus and ipad, Talkowski dives straight into Oculus Medium VR, Zbrush or Maya. With the model complete he moves it over to Substance Painter for texturing, before using either Redshift, Renderman or Arnold for GPU rendering. “3D allows me to quickly visualise the shapes and forms of my robot,” he explains, “and I try to keep them as close to the initial sketches as possible.”
With an idea in place, Jimenez dedicates several days to collecting references. These range from random objects to industrial pieces, as well as television sets from the mid-20th century that always form the head of Jimenez’s robots. He begins by blocking and creating a proxy with the basic volumes. “Then I go piece by piece, detailing it in its high-poly version and doing the UVS,” he adds.
Jimenez’s robot designs often feature intricately detailed body parts, all of which he sculpts by hand in Maya. “For my next illustration I plan on trying Blender for its Boolean system,” he reveals. “I am quite a craftsman and not a man of many tricks. For example, if I have to make a cord, I model it by hand and make the loop just as I would in real life.”
Once everything is modelled, Jimenez begins texturing, first extracting the mesh maps and using them as a reference for the maps he creates in Photoshop, although he occasionally relies on Substance Painter for ease and speed. He continues: “I then generate the rest of the maps and work on the materials. The creative process is simple and quite linear in my case.”
Perez dives straight into 3ds Max or Zbrush to explore shapes and ideas, before creating the pieces and beginning assembly. “Over time I’ve built a fairly extensive kitbash library of components that I can pull from if it fits the design or I build and modify what I need,” he adds. When creating these exploratory pieces, Perez says that he tries to avoid being too prescriptive and following a fixed design path. “I’m exploring what works and what doesn’t,” he continues. “I often feel like the design is assembling itself and I’m just there to create and move the pieces around until it’s found its form.”
“I FEEL LIKE THE DESIGN IS ASSEMBLING ITSELF AND I’M JUST THERE TO CREATE AND MOVE THE PIECES AROUND” Jarlan Perez, visual designer