Thesis: Exhibition

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Project Duration: 1.5 yrs
Project Time: Est. 800 hrs
Focus: Character Creation Methodologies
Software: ZBrush, Maya, 3DSMax, Marvelous Designer, Substance Painter, Photoshop, Marmoset, UE4

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PROJECT GOAL(s):

I chose this project as a way to improve my character creation process as well as to give myself the chance to actually create an in-depth and long-term project. The main goals, or “Pillars of mastery” were: Cyberpunk/Western Aesthetics, Translating 2D Concepts into Stylized 3D, and Converting Stylized to Realism. Additionally, I also wanted to place a key emphasis on generating clean, animation-friendly topology, material/texture creation, and staying below a certain tricount.

PILLAR I: Cyber/Western Aesthetics & Concepting

My first pillar's pre-production included the detailed study and breakdown of Powerhouse Animation Studio's Castlevania (2017) style, research into Cyberpunk and Western aesthetics/tropes, and 2D iterative design.

Here is my preliminary breakdown of Castlevania's character sheet for Trevor Belmont:

I spent a few weeks learning to adapt the Powerhouse style in my own work, which greatly increased my understanding of how to design my characters following their conventions as well as what I would need to focus on when working on the 3D stylized models.

PILLAR I: Research

During my preliminary research, I focused on finding a lot of fashion and style references on various sites (Pinterest, Artstation, Clothing brands) as well as how existing media set in these genres approaches their costume design. I referenced movies, shows, and games during this reference gathering period: Westworld, Altered Carbon, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Cannon Busters were the primary ones that I would always refer to. I also brought in other influences such as motorcycle wear (Harley Davidson) and costuming trends from FFXIV and Bloodborne.

In all designs I chose to integrate a combination of styles to pull a cohesive look together. Some elements changed from the 2D concepts to translate better in 3D design. (Such as Switchblade's cloak/cape)

PILLAR II: Translating 2D to Stylized 3D

Translating my 2D Concepts into Stylized 3D was the most seamless part of this project, as I often work in stylization rather than realism. I created a hybrid high poly that I used for both the realism sculpt and the stylized sculpt, so that I didn't have to start from ground zero at any point. It helped expedite my creation process.

I started with Maelstrom's model, as it had fewer details and I knew I would be able to finish their design first.

PROCESS:

Used the Retopo'd game res mesh for head and body and then used ZWrap to morph the game-res to the stylized high poly meshes
Export to 3DSMax for setup and scaling
Complete setup and apply MSO
Export for Substance Painting
Tweak Paint Diffuse in Photoshop
Test materials in Marmoset
Import and setup in UE4

PILLAR III: Stylized to Realism

Similarly to how I started the Stylized high poly sculpts, I used the hybrid head version as a base for the realistic version. I decided I would fix proportional issues later on with Correctional shapes in ZBrush, and instead put a majority of my efforts into the texturing portion, since this was my first time doing any realistic texturing in-depth.

REALISM REMAKES

Sometime after completing my Vertical Slice for school, I wanted to go back in and remake Maelstrom's Prototype version, for good reason. There were a lot of quality issues with their Prototype model that didn't look great.

Key Issues that were fixed:

Hair card setup and Textures
Facial construction
Eye materials
Skin texturing
Clothing quality
Overall design