LAURA EVOLUTION (2020)
Breda University - Exam project
Roles: Concept artist, designer, sculptor, 3D modeler, texturing, programming
In 2020 I worked on my exam to take my learning experience from the past to the next level and decided to make a complete 3D character from scratch. I had to re-learn certain aspects of the 3D software I used in previous projects. In total, I had 6 months to complete the project.
For this project, I decided to revisit the character design of Laura Kraus, a character I made in 2015 as the exam project of my previous degree: Laura's Hersteltocht.
This time I would completely change the character design if this was needed.
Soon enough I would also face a very new type of challenge which would eventually become known as the COVID-19 Pandemic
CONCEPT PHASE
First concepts
Software: Photoshop
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During the beginning stage I was focused on making the many different versions of outfits and facial designs. I didn't want to focus colours just yet, because the main facial and body structure had to be solid for the final design.
Colour concepts
After the first stage I picked the most interesting designs and coloured them.
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Soon I also needed to realize what was possible for the available time. Especially since I also needed to familiarize again with the various 3D programs I used in the past.
3D PHASE
Stepping over to 3D
Stepping back into Zbrush was a great way to get a feel for the entire picture. This would be one of the most important steps into making Laura a 3D character.
Sculpting
Software: ZBrush
Sculpting was one of the best ways to get it to the next part in a short time and it keeps me within the deadline of creating a model. For this I bought a base female mesh. I adjusted it to the details of the concept and afterwards added the clothes in a correct, yet possible way.
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Often times we tend to forget how some concept art changes are necessary, simply because some things simply won't work in reality. Thankfully most details were perfectly possible.
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For the clothes I mainly used the masking tool, which helped me get the most realistic version of clothing, without exaggerating it. By separating all parts, I managed to save time in later parts of the process.
RETOPOLOGY
Low poly workflow
Software: Maya 2020
Around this time the COVID pandemic rules had gotten quite serious and had to learn additional information from home. With the help of online groups I managed to get the most effecient results from the project within the given timeframe.
The jump from high poly to low poly went quite well and managed to get a stronger grasp of cleaner topology than I maneged to do in previous years.
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Seperating every part of the character made this a fast process and I could go back easily if certain wireframe parts had to be adjusted. This mainly in combination with the texturing part.
UNWRAPPING
Topology
It was essential to make sure the topology was correct. This would make the texturing part quite easy.
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Additional information had to be asked about smaller parts, like the bag or belt gadgets, were more of a challenge due to the different types of ways it's been made. In the end it was a quite successful result.
TEXTURING
Painting on the model
Software: Substance Painter
In the past I have used Substance Painter for only a short while, but it seemed that it was quite easy to get back into. This was also due to the fact that Photoshop has a somewhat similar approach to painting. Except this is in 3D and it was more forgiving on the values and lights.
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In the end it was the main focus to make sure the textures were correctly transfered to the low poly model. This was made possible with the help of the online groups, which I mentioned earlier.
FINAL STAGE
Rendering
Software: Marmoset Toolbag
For the final rendering I used Marmoset Toolbag for accurate and fast results. This way I could easily determine how change some of the textures if these didn't respond well with the lighting.
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In the end I was quite happy with the result and the amount of software I managed to successfully use throughout the months.
HAIR CANCELATION
X-Gen Troubles
During the end I ran into a very unforeseen problem regarding the hair system in Maya 2020: X-Gen. This system was surprisingly unknown to a lot of the groups I was asking advice from.
With a handful of tutorials I managed to get some very interesting results, which somehow didn't correctly respond to the model of Laura. With errors and hair clipping through parts that weren't suppose to happen and the community didn't directly know either what the problem could be.
A drastic alternative happened when I decided that I might have to remake an entire part of the head from scratch. If the hair programming was correct, then there had to be something in the head structure that didn't respond correctly. In an attempt to re-make the head I had to accept the fact that there was no clear certainty if I would make the deadline, I had to leave it alone. This was around the time the license also expired and could not add any more changes to it.
When there's the opportunity again to purchase a license, I want to make a new attempt in hair systems in Maya. This time focussend on the hairstyle and the correct structure of the head mesh.
