and now for something completely different...rendering??

So earlier this week I made the mistake of downloading the trial of something called Keyshot. Here’s the deal…when you model something in ZBrush, or any basic CAD program, it doesn’t look like a photo. If you watch those home shows on HGTV, they’ll show a CAD drawing of the home, but it’s not until later that they show the fancy, more-realistic view. That’s an extra step that can take a lot of time and some expensive hardware and software. And that’s how movie studios get realistic animated creates…they’re all RENDERED, adding some photo-realism.

(click to enlarge) Using Nanomesh in ZBrush as a test to make a pavé ring…

I had heard that ZBrush has a partner in crime when it comes to making that photorealistic stuff…but I also heard it was almost $1800! For “real” jewelers who sell expensive jewelry, they probably don’t bat an eye at that price. But for someone making casual lifestyle jewelry, that’s almost as much as a 3D printer.

I knew the need was there, though, so I started researching while working on my ZBrush course. I tried Blender, which is free, but OMG…it made my head hurt. Maybe Keyshot was more user-friendly? (Hint: It’s almost a religious debate among CAD folks…) Might as well know something about it. That was a mistake…I’m hooked. Do I really ever have to physically make jewelry again? This CAD thing is SO MUCH CLEANER! I’ll just look at my stuff on the screen and imagine I made it. But I guess that’s cheating future archeologists!

kat-adair-kramer-zbrush-jewelry-keyshot

So here’s the interesting part. That cute little start to a bracelet above? It’s not real. I modeled it in ZBrush and rendered it in Keyshot. It does not exist in a physical form. How will we know what to believe anymore??

Anyway, I realized that I got the price wrong, and that there is a version specifically for users of ZBrush that’s $200, then there’s something called the ZBrush to Keyshot Bridge that costs another $149. At least I’m hoping that’s what it costs. I MUST have this. Forget designer shoes!

And it’s super late…like 2:47 a.m. on a Saturday, but I couldn’t stop rendering things…anything I could get my hands on. So I thought you might enjoy seeing the process of making a flower charm. It will be in my upcoming ZBrush course.

Anyway, I’m signing off. Time to actually go to bed.

another huichol test video

So I just ran a test last night on creating a Huichol beading tutorial using my iPad Pro with Apple Pencil, Adobe’s Illustrator Draw program to create the bead grid, Recolor, a coloring app, to color the beads, and AutoCAD Sketchbook to animate the thread path. It shows promise!

I don’t thing the text with the bead colors is necessary, but I’m looking for a way to incorporate the colors into the video. Perhaps having a “sliver” of the pattern at the bottom while showing the thread path at the top.

I’ve always wanted to know how to do the leaves that are commonly used in Huichol bracelets and those amazing necklaces…now to show that to others! Stay tuned…

ZBrush illustrations and beading tutorials...

Today a thought passed through my mind…since the majority of visitors to my site are looking for Huichol beading tutorials, is there an easier way to create them?

Last night I was playing around with a new feature in ZBrush 2019, the software I use for jewelry design (mostly cast pieces), and realized that I could apply the new “NPR (non-photorealistic) Filters” to the 3D renderings that make them look hand-drawn! What if I created my beading tutorials in ZBrush, then rendered the images, or even put little movies on my site that allowed people to see beading diagrams more clearly?

Voila! I did a quick model this morning, and sure enough, it works.


The cool thing is it can also produce a black and white drawing that could be printed so folks could color their own designs, either in a tap-to-color coloring book program on the iPad such as Recolor, or with traditional markers or colored pencils.

Anyway, this should make documentation a LOT easier. Stay tuned!

nelson treehouse charm experiment in zbrush

Oh, these are the kinds of things that I do when I’ve been watching too much HGTV and Animal Planet!

I’ve long been a fan of the show Treehouse Masters and a really fascinating guy named Pete Nelson who—with a crew of extremely talented carpenters—build the most amazing treehouses. Not treehouses like the kind you had as a kid, but true works of art that just happen to be up in the air.

So tonight while watching I started thinking about my dream job building treehouses with Pete Nelson. Since they’re in Washington State, I’m guessing that dream will probably never happen.

But I could still make a treehouse charm! Inspired by Pete’s wonderful Fall City treehouse, I created a little charm in ZBrush. I haven’t really paid attention to the castability…this was more of an exercise.

It involved a lot of subtools, and a custom chain. The main treehouse was created out of a Cube3D primitive, trimmed using the Clipping function. The deck was extracted from another cube, drawn freehand with a lasso mask.

I’ve kept all of these subtools separate…for example, I may resize the trees to make the volume of the two trees on the left more closely match the tree on the right so it would sit correctly.

Still not sure how I would sprue this puppy for casting, but it may make its way to my printer in the next few weeks.

And who knows? Tonight’s episode featured Pete and the guys here in Texas building a treehouse near the Frio River. I’d even volunteer for free if he ever needed help here in the Lone Star State. I have tools and a tent and a ukulele!

Pete, call me!

A proof-of-concept charm based on Pete Nelson’s Fall City treehouse

A proof-of-concept charm based on Pete Nelson’s Fall City treehouse

a whale of a tale...and merry christmas!

Whale shark charm in ZBrush

Whale shark charm in ZBrush

Well, here we are again, and I took a couple days’ break to unwind from the remodel of my parents’ house. Mind you, I’m having a lot of fun working with an awesome group of guys to rebuild the SEVEN decks at this house, but we’ve got the main deck done and we’re working on the railings. A bit more work on the inside, and we’ll be ready to put it on the market. It’s been a long journey—over two years to clear out the house and do a major remodel.

Anyway, tonight I took a moment to record more ZBrush videos, and then my mind started to wander as I looked for more objects to model into jewelry. I absolutely love scuba diving, and swimming with a whale shark is definitely on my bucket list. I’d found my next model.

I started out with a sphere primitive and used the “Snake Hook” brush in ZBrush (shortcut “BSH”) to sculpt the form. I then used “Dam Standard” to create the ridges down the back, and the “IMM Primitive” brush with a sphere to add the spots. I will apply a patina, then the raised spheres should polish out and give the effect of light round dots. Or they might look like tiny polka-dots…sometimes when designing a small charm, you lose sight of what the larger model on the screen may translate into once it’s printed.

So it’s 1:14 a.m. the morning after Christmas, and I just wrapped up. I’m heading to bed. But I just wanted to share this awesome little guy I sculpted this evening. When I finally get back to my studio and start 3D printing and casting again, he’ll definitely be in the next batch.

And then I’ll have to go find a real one to go swimming with.

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