SEKIRO: LADY WOLF

SEKIRO: LADY WOLF - My first lookdev character based on the titular game character. I decided to create a genderbent version of Sekiro because the idea seemed unique and interesting.

More of Sekiro on my Artstation

CONCEPT AND REFERENCES

Most of the references I found were overly sexy to be Sekiro, so I decided to mix designs. I took inspiration from a genderbent hanzo(overwatch), and tried to fit that into the original design.

The goal was to have her look sexy, and keep the Sekiro feel. Big silhouette shapes were mostly kept, except now showing more skin, a dragon tattoo and long hair. 

HEAD SCULPT & CHARACTER MODELING

I used the default female basemesh provided in Zbrush and modified the proportions, making the process streamlined. Detailing was done with many layers so that I can always go back and forth without being destructive.

I wanted to make my version of Sekiro younger, more youthful, and since there were plenty of references online, it gave me many options.

There was a lot of trial and error in the process, and with every change her face gets better, fitting more into the character.

I start the modelling process by blocking out the big shapes in maya, then bring them into zbrush to subdivide and detail. Details were done with alphas and manual sculpting to avoid repetitive looks.

For the metal/hardsurface pieces for her arms and legs and swords, I would crease the sharp edges with Zmodeler, instead of inserting actual holding edge loops, so that when subdivided, the topology would be evenly distributed, and polycount wouldn't be higher than necessary. 

Clothes were done in Marvelous Designer, simulated with wind, then brought into zbrush.

XGEN HAIR

Creating hair was the most fun part. I experimented with different modifiers and random expressions to achieve a more realistic look from the roots to the tips of the hair. The noise modifier was perfect for adding the extra randomness in the strands.

For the eyelashes and brows, I created them in xgen then converted to Interactive Groom, adding sculpt layers and manually brushing them into shape.

TEXTURING

I did the skin texturing in Mari while the rest of Sekiro was done with substance painter. 

I painted/projected all the maps(albedo, spec, displacement etc.) for the skin in Mari using the textures from texturingxyz. 

Displacement maps for the clothing and props were exported from Zbrush, brought into substance to create masks and alphas to further add details.

In addition to hand-painted textures, I made use of Quixel Megascans to project paint over the base objects.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION

Lighting and cameras were set up during the modelling phase so I could visualize the final looks. Materials were then created with the textures. 

The eye was setup with 2 separate shaders to blend the iris and sclera. I also experimented with different lightings on the head model.

Thanks for stopping by!