My journey into the world of VFX

                                                                                 Final Renders

Grayscale Render

Reference

A likeness more then any other kind of project requires good reference, and lots of it! I spent a long time getting reference from all angles, trying to guess camera focal lengths as I did. I then lined up the eyes, ears, nose, ect. of photo's of different angles to use as quick feedback later when trying to dial in the subtleties of the likeness sculpt.

Breakdown

I tried to keep the topology as clean as possible, maximizing density around areas of expression and movement. This was important because the initial sculpt was done in a neutral expression until the likeness was achieved and then the expression was sculpted into the topology at that point. For texturing I used mudbox to project a TextureXYZ diffuse and skin detail onto the sculpt. Both maps were heavily altered by hand (with the help of procedural nodes in mari for the diffuse). I tried a new way of doing the reflections. Leaving the gloss at a flat white and letting the specular and sculpt detail drive the reflection. A coat pass was added to exaggerate the reflections of the T zone and eyelid/lip area's. All texturing of the head was done in Mari.

Animation

Animated Light

Zbrush Sculpt

Grooming

All grooming was done in Xgen using guides. I created separate descriptions for the eyebrow's, eyelashes, peach fuzz, moustache, beard, shorthair, longhair, and even blonde hair. As well as a separate collection for the fur around the collar. The hair shaders all have ramps applied to the melanin value to lighten the tips.