The Butcher

I chose one of the concepts-"The Butcher" by amazing artist Todor Hristov. Taking it on was quite a challenge For me as a beginner but I was able to complete it within 4 weeks. Throughout this project, I really enjoyed testing my skills and understanding of the building blocks used to create 3D assets.

So, here is a list of software I have used during the project:

PureRef - References

ZBrush 2022 - Sculpting

Autodesk Maya 2020 - 3D Modeling

Adobe Substance Painter 2021 - Texturing

V-Ray 5 - Rendering

Adobe Photoshop CC 2022 -Compositing

1)Block Out

I used simple shapes to match the concept Instead of blocking out every single object in detail.

2)Adding Details

So before getting into the character I decided to do all the other objects in my scene. I used symmetry a lot in Maya inorder to save time.

I Isolate the object that iam going to add details inorder to focus only on that.

I also try to give specific names to the meshes in the early stage to make my scene clean and less messy.

3)Sculpting

After refining all the objects in my scene I decided to start sculpting the character in Zbrush. Since it's my first ever character and sculpting it was quite a challenge For me as a beginner. I did the body of the character and head separately to make my process easy. I spend too much time sculpting in order to match with concept and decided to finalize a stage was happy. My characters are not exactly matching with the concept but iam happy with the end result since it's my first sculpting and 3d work.

4)UV

Before importing my other objects into ZBrush to add further details I created UVs for them. I simply used cut and unwrap, orient, straighten uv, and transform tools in Maya. For the character I used camera-based uv projection since my concept is only from the front view also retopologizing my character will make my work due behind, So I just did camera-based uv projection for my character's body and head.

Then I bring the other objects in my scene to Zbrush in order to add details. Used mainly Damstandered, TrimDynamic brushes and created all the highpolys.

5)Texturing

I baked all of the maps I needed after exporting to Substance 3D Painter, Start by adding the base material of your object and progressively add details such as metal/iron/cloth, dirt, and rust on top of it. Mostly I used paint brush tools inorder to match the style of my concept. It's very time-consuming but gives the result that I wanted.

6)Lighting & Lookdev

Before lighting, I connected all the textures in my scene that I exported from substance painter. For Lighting, I mostly used point light and vray rect light. Created a number of point lights and linked them to specific objects in the scene and adjusted their parameters. For the background red smoke effect I used Maya FX Maya fluid generator to create a smoke-kind effect.

7)Rendering & Compositing

I render my scene multiple times by using Vray IPR rendering during various stages of my project. I used default Vray settings and reduced the noise threshold.

After rendering I used Photoshop for the post-processing adding the extra details and adjusting the red background smoke, enhancing and matching with the concept.

And that's it!

Thank You so much for watching my project support. There certainly is a lot to learn. This is my first step into the 3d world and again Thank you for taking a look!