April Martin - Prop maker | 3d Artist
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3d Printed Leather Stamps and Arbor Press

10/14/2023

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Don't know why I didn't think to try this earlier.
I'm working on the hand/wrist portion of the Warrior right now, which is Chrome leather. Doesn't take manipulations the same way that Veg tan does. I tested to see what was possible by hand, but the results were less than I'd hoped.   
So, stamping to the rescue. Using a ripped texture from the game, I made a black and white png, which I loaded into Zbrush, applied as an alpha to the ClayBuildup brush, drew out on a thick plane, adjusted the height and ta-da. (Make sure you have Brush > Auto Mask > Backface Mask engaged, or else it will act negatively on the back)
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In Zbrush
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Printed in ABS on my polyprinter, high density
And I tried to press it with what I had XD
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It only worked so-so. But I knew I was on the right path. I did research on legit leather presses and settled on a generic Arbor press. This guy's video really sold it for me, and I've been using his tips to adjust my own. 
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I've done a variety of test using tools that normal involve the use of a hammer. It's taken a few tries, but I feel like I've figured out the best way to use the stamp with Chrome leather. While Chrome doesn't react the same way to water as Veg does, it did seem to make the impression deeper and clearer, than when I did it without. Plus, I have better luck layering the leather on top of the stamp, instead of under. So the metal square pushes against the leather itself. 
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One of my first attempts with the press
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Best result
Feels good to get it working. 
I've got two more stamps currently being printed right now; one for the hand tops and one for the shoes.
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Always on the Chrono train...

8/24/2023

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Next Chrono character personal piece is Irenes! Style wise, I want her to look like she came from the same remake as my Glenn. Currently in Zbrush, some parts are just blockouts and others are a bit farther along. 
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Collaborations - Flux Tide Designs

8/5/2023

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When not working on personal projects, I've been working on some 3d stuff for my buddy FluxTideDesigns.
He's an amazing prop maker who've I worked with for many years. 
Right now, he's making a bunch of stuff from the Mario movie, along with both versions of the master sword from TOTK. 
He provided the base model on which I sculpted the decay. 
Both the Luma and Fire Flower were made from scratch by me. 
Everything done in Zbrush. 
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Elden Ring Warrior Cosplay - July Update

8/4/2023

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Got some of the jewelry that I modeled in Zbrush, printed in resin. Plan is to mold in silicone and then cast in silverclay, and finish accordingly.
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Got 95% of the head piece done. Used the deColorant for the pattern. Trimmed and hand sewed on the lace. The under layer is 13 feet long and wraps around the head multiple times, with the decorated portion wrapping it again. 
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Chrono Trigger - UE5 scene

4/4/2023

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Finally calling it done. First time setting anything up on UE5. I used UE4 for a couple past projects, but that was more just basic rendering. Here, I learned about camera, lighting and even terrain creation. 
Artstation post for extra details
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Elden Ring Warrior - Detail tests

3/30/2023

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After trying bleach and just straight paint, I discovered deColourant from Jacquard. I love the faded look it gave my fabric during a test. Easy to use too. Just paint it on, wait 24 hours and then iron. Beware, kinda has a rotten egg smell when being ironed. 
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Also did a series of embroidery tests. 
Right most bunch was done on the machine, middle was done by hand with no stretcher, and far left is by hand with stretcher. 
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I obviously favored the far left batch. But then it came down to makeing sure the back looked as good as the front. I tried a variety of knots and tucks on the back until I figured out the two by the needle. The knot is hidden under the stitches. 
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AccurRig test for my UE5 scene

3/14/2023

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Not much of a fan of rigging. I can kinda do it, but I'll always let a program take the first swing at a character and prefer to do the clean up afterwards. 
Glenn was done completely by hand (never again)
Other characters were tested in Mixamo, but still done by hand because it just wasn't there yet.
But I'd heard good things from Rigging buddies about AccurRig and decided to try it out for this project. 
And, it's not bad. I needed to add some simple 'arms' to Giga Gaia, because the program didn't like the gap, but that was the only error I got. Assigning points was easy, and I liked that you could mask off points (like GG's lack of legs), so that the bones didn't get randomly assigned. Also, the weight painting on the fingers was soo clean and tight. I love it. That's my most hated part to do.
GG just needed a bit of cleanup in Maya, but I owe that to the oddness of the creature. 
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More CT in UE5.1

2/26/2023

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Slowly getting there.
Learning landscape sculpting. I bought some materials from ​AleksandrIvanov on the Unreal marketplace. Love they way they look for the ground. Just need to learn how to use and paint them properly. XD
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Chrono Trigger in Unreal 5.1

12/5/2022

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Got Giga Gaia through Substance and into Unreal Engine 5.1. Rigging still needs cleanup, but I'm excited about being able to pose it in engine, as well as using blendshapes. 
Still focusing on setting up lights, since it's such an epic scene. 
Frog is even making an appearance. He's one of the first characters I made when learning back in 2020. He's getting a full re rigging, because oh man. I can tell he was one of my first characters. Looking at his UVs makes me cringe. XD
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Azure Dreams Sculpt

11/13/2022

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    Prop maker, Cosplayer, 3D Artist. On a journey to make cool things. 

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