Carl - you dont need to scan a runner - once you scanned a person you then assign a " bone structure" to a model and then you can move it whichever way you like, with posing software, rag doll apps, motion capture on life human etc ( think Gollum) that will make it realistic etc.
Same can be done with animals. There are already plently of algorithms that will do a running dog for you. If not - motion capture.

Same with head- one its scanned - every surface and muscle can be assigned and used, hense you can expressions and mimics and make video of talking head if you wanted. to be realistic, some one else will need to scan a texture of face and work with it so it applies to 3d model and then add effects and so on and so on.
Realistically all can not be done by 1 person - I am guessing, like in medicine, there are narrow field specialists that form teams - on uber professional level.

What you are right about - is how much skill, experience and talent has the individual artist got to have to be able to do that.

Thats exactly the point I was making!

Very few will gain the required skills to be able to apply all the ingredients to bake the metaphorical cake!

Take Gollum as an example, can you imagine the size of the team let alone the budget required to bring it to the screen.
Its like comparing a Bentley to a kit car.

Carl

Yep! That is why I rest my case.........

Wrong. Try Sculptris
http://pixologic.com/sculptris/

"Learning curve" takes about half an hour of reading the 5 page manual
No need to know complex term like "topology", "vertex", "edge", "polycount", just You and few "virtual sculpting brushes".
Honestly, half an hour is enough to start sculpting - that is if You know how to sculpt in clay...

Try it and tell me I was lying

Yeah, well I was only speaking of zbrush when I wrote that... I will look at sculptris and report back,,,

Polkrad is correct. Sculptris is so much like working with clay, I actually felt like my hands were sore the first few times I tried it, like I have been molding clay all day.

Well, installed it and had a go... but I really need to understand the work flow before I get anywhere. I am used to shaping pieces of clay, adding them to my sculpture and smoothing them in, but with digital sculpting you seem to have to 'grow' everything out of the clay so everything I'm doing is rounded.... but it's a start at least... I'll read some tutorials, watch some videos and see how it goes.

Not so, There is an icon of a sphere in the tool bar. That will add additional scale spheres as you need them. There is also a plane icon to add sheets that you can later extrude in Meshmixer. All the spheres can be joined also in meshmixer once you are ready, I will walk you through it.

Thanks, dude. I really appreciate that. Maybe we can take this somewhere else though, as I think we've derailed this thread too much as is. Sorry Bonehead.

Well given the original premise of the thread it was in line for a derailment from the get go And it's not like related/tangential stuff would not naturally get brought up in any thread on trad v digital sculpting, even if it wasn't intended for discussion initially.

Einion

Yeah, I realise that, but if RKapuaala is willing to give me some coaching on digital sculpting, maybe we should get a room

I'll supply the room but if things are going to get digital it's gunna cost you more.

It always comes down to the numbers, doesn't it.... zeros and ones

Here read this thread first. It might help you get started. http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/further-studies-in-sculptris.46225/
Sorry about the derailment, but being a scale modeler of trains, all I can say is use a rerailer and get the thing back on the tracks

Sorry to lead this discussion astray yet again, I thought this could not get any worse than the scarring image above.

Today I found that it can

Try that with your 3D printer without getting a serious error message.