Well, this is the final image. yeah!

Not entirely happy with the empty space above the cube, but I think this was a good compromise since my time was cut short and I couldn't model all the bosses...Overall, I like the image and am happy with how it turned out. I learned a lot from this challenge, especially with regards to Photoshop workflow and ZBrush.

Changes: Made the arms semi-transparent and with much more motion blur. Added some trash to the trash can (subtle). Brightened the sign a little. Added more bump details to the short boss (hard to tell at these resolutions). Cleaned up the edges of all laters.

Ok, this is basically it since my time is up. May have a few minutes here and there to touch up the final a little more, but no more modeling or major changes...yup.

Ok, so I added a "take-a-number" sign and gave a couple characters tickets. So, instead of capturing the lineup of bosses, this image is more like the "end of the day." His girl is waiting for him to finish (check the ticket), a couple bosses are waiting too. The worker is still franticaly working.

Gave the smug guy a watch in an attempt to make things more "urgent." But found out it would require too much remodeling and I would lose his current expression. :/

There's tons of details in the office. Once I found out I wouldn't be able to model the other bosses, I had a day or so to add details. So, there's lot's of subtle notes, homages, rhymes, and gags in the pages posted on the walls and elsewhere in the piece. I'm probably the only one who finds them funny though... :)

Will post the full res when it's all done and submitted.

Dropped the new cubicle into the composition and adjusted it's colors. Also added the girlfriend into the corner along with some post effects on the worker. (motion blur) Really like the complexity of the scene, but I'm basically out of time. Will spend the last day tweaking what I have and submitting a final.

Added bunch-o-details to the worker's desk. A look at a previous comp will show the differences. (poster, sticky notes, papers, etc.) This is the raw image out of Max (5hrs to render!). next is to check it out with the current composition and adjust it's colors.

Ok, started compositing into it's final form. I reduced the image width to make better use of the real estate and started rendering at the final resolution. (5760x3820)

Well, the smug boss and grumpy are basically finalized now. I think they look alright...I'm also WAY behind schedule for this so I have to move on. Will finalize the worker next and then move on to the girlfriend. I basically have this weekend (3 days) to finish the whole piece so lots of work ahead of me...

Render times were starting to kill me, so I decided to take a more "compositing" approach by rendering out each character individually and then compositing them into the final.

I relit the worker, grumpy, and the cubicle. (notice a problem with the left arm, though) I then brought them into a single shot.

Tested out the motion blur filter in photoshop and like the option. Will probably treat each arm differently for the final comp, though.

I also played with the coloring and filters for the grumpy boss. Most of his filters rely on the resolution of the image, so he looks a little "painted."

Will tackle the girl worker next (rig, pose, light).

Did this "talkie" background character. Very simple in comparison to my earlier ones, but I'm running out of time and need to make sure time isn't spent adding details that won't be seen...

Next up is a body for the previous filler boss.

Oh, her lack of feet is because she'll only be seen from waist up. :)

Worked on the girl a bit more. Her hair style is a little more loose now to indicate she's been waiting awhile and also to give it a little more natural feel. I also changed the shaders for the skirt, blouse, and belt.

Next on list is bringing parts of her into ZBrush to add larger folds and adjust the shapes. (skirt, blouse, feet, etc.)

Trying out different compositions again. For this one, I just grabbed existing renders and slapped them together. As a result, the boses aren't looking directly at the worker...

I kind of like this one, it's seems more dynamic and the relationships between characters are a little easier to define. The workers space is more cramped too. However, it does remove from the "vastness" present in my original compo. So the number of bosses doesn't come across as clearly...

Will need to decide soon...

Quickly dropped the new head on existing biped pose. Also adjusted the lighting to reflect the key light in the scene (moniter). On the plus side, the rendering looks pretty good. On the downside, he looks even meaner with light coming from below...

I think I'm going to "paint with light" for the final scene so I can avoid unnecessary lighting. Whereas, I'm currently bound by Global Illumination.

After a couple crits, I noticed the previous model lost it's edge and asshole qualities. Now, I don't want to make the guy look like a completely sinister prick. Just someone who is amused by the workers frenzy.

So, I dropped into ZBrush and tweeked the head a bit. Sharper eyes, strong/lean jaw, deeper brow, etc...

Worked on the smirky boss's colors a little. Gave him a tan and did some quick coloration of his cheeks, eyelids, lips, and chin. This guy has a little more of the "I just spent couple weeks on a beach..."

I also elongated his face. Much happier with the front view now. Only downside is that I stretched the entire head (eyes and all) so I may have quite a bit of modeling to do in ZBrush to get it to look the same so I can use displacement maps and such...we'll see.

Played with the workflow from Max->ZBrush->Max to see if I'm doing something horribly wrong and to learn the process of creating displacement maps.

Getting the displacement maps to work with Mental Ray wasn't immediately obvious so I ended up writing down the process. Click on the image for the "step-by-step." (fyi: the details on grumpy don't represent what I plan on using)

Subtle changes that took a lot longer than it should have. Added some shoes and better hair. I also attached and blended the neck with the head.

Played with the eye sockets a bit, but couldn't get anything I was happy with. Since this is all an image, I can get away with it, but I will have to remodel the head to add proper eyelid details and make the mesh more workable in Max.

If there's time at the end of the competition, will add little details to her. (earings, belt buckle, shoe strings, watch/bracklet, etc.)

Modeled her body. Tried doing it in ZBrush but I still don't have the precise control over the package needed for clothing and seams without going to very high polycounts. Even at "moderate" polycounts (for ZBrush) the model is difficult to work with in Max. So, I opted to modify the spheres used in my "pose concept." This proved to be quite quick and just as effective.

I will probably ZBrush each character once I pose them for the final image, so how I lay down the basic mesh is less important (I think)...back to the model...I used arms from my femal character for this model as well as the feet. Will adjust the belt line a little, add some shoes, and do some simple hair next.

I have a feeling this characters attire is too "office-like" which will make it hard to put her in the roll of "girlfriend"...could always put a picture of her on his desk blocked by sticky notes and such. (could make her ghosty too)

Worked on her face a bit. (Still need to find a nice pipeline for ZBrush->Max) She looked too "sick" in the previous version so I adjusted the shader to give her healthier skin and repainted the VCs to make her wrinkles less noticeable. (if only real wrinkle removal was this easy...)

I then put in a couple cylinders and spheres to test her pose and general clothing colors. Pretty happy with the expression and pose. I'm thinking about having her hold something that indicates she's waiting for the worker, but not sure what...maybe a flower and tickets. (kind of like an apology from him) I'm really not happy about photoshoping the character's eyes for every shot, but can't see a quick fix for that now...

Started work on the female subservant character. The idea behind her is that she's in the background off to the side waiting for the worker. While the bosses are waiting for him to finish their work, she's waiting for him to finish so they can spend time together as if she's a servant of his schedule and work habits.

Going to work on cleaning up the model a little and giving her a darker complexion.