Creature Modeling & Texturing

Creature Modeling & Texturing - Stegosaurus & Bison Latifron

Project 1 : Stegosaurus

This creature was the first character I modelled entirely. I did all aspects of the character : modeling, texturing, lighting and compositing. The stegosaurus is based on a concept by Florent Desailly.

First of all, I started by making a reference board, a few images of which can be seen below.

The challenge was to reconstruct the anatomy of a stegosaurus, using photos of real animals, skins of different types of animal and bones from museums. I also used images from the films Jurassic Park and Jurassic World to give me references for the overall shapes of the stegosaurus.

All the modeling of the stegosaurus was done on Zbrush. For the bamboo and ropes, I made a first low poly model in Maya, which I then imported into Zbrush to sculpt the details.

I first started with a blocking of the creature, based on references found in museum bones in order to have realistic proportions.
Then I added secondary shapes such as skin folds and visible muscle and bone reflections.
I mainly used Standard, Clay Build Up and Dam Standard brushes, starting at a low level of subdivision and then increasing to make the details.

For the details of the skin and scales, I looked for photos of real lizard and crocodile scales. I then projected the details of the scales onto the model in Zbrush, then worked over the details by hand. I had to look up references of other animals to try and place the scales and details in a convincing way.

Retopology and UVs were made in Maya. The topology has been worked out so that the model can be animated later on. To retain maximum modeling detail on Zbrush, I used a Displacement map on my low poly.

All the texture was done in Substance Painter. For the color of the stegosaurus scales, I decided to use the colors of a Milk Snake, which I found very interesting.
Using a mix of different materials, masks and generators, I tried to achieve an interesting look for the scales. I also used Zbrush masks, based on the cavities and details of the high poly modeling, so I could color the space between the scales and add more color variations.
For the stoytelling, I added mud on the stegosaurus, imagining that it has to work hard in difficult conditions to transport its bamboo.

The final pose was done on Zbrush, the lighting and materials were worked on Maya and the renders were done on Arnold. I rendered in passes so that I could continue working on the project in post-production.

The reconstruction of the passes and the compositing was done on Nuke. I mainly refined the colors, the lights and added mist using the depth pass.

Project 2 : Anatomy study of a Bison Latifron

This bison is the first anatomical study I have done. I chose a Bison Latifron because it is an extinct species whose anatomy is close to the modern bison, which allows to have many references while having a little freedom of interpretation.

To begin, I made many researches of references: photographs of bison, bulls, cows, but also bones of museums (some can be seen below). I also did a lot of research, especially with the books Animal Anatomy for Artists (Goldfinger, 2004) and Atlas Animal Anatomy for Artists (Ellendberger, 1956).

I started the modeling with the bones. All the modeling was done on Zbrush. I used a classic modeling method, starting each bone with a low level of subdivision which I then increased for detail. The brushes that were mostly used were Standard, Clay Build Up and Dam Standard.

I modeled 218 bones including the symmetrical ones.

Concerning the UVs of the bones that are similar, for example the vertebrae, I first modeled a single bone on which I unfolded the UVs. Then I duplicated this bone and scultped the variations, in order not to have to unfold the UVs of all the bones one by one. At the end, when I had all the bones, I unfolded and corrected the UVs to better match the shape of the variations.

I used the same method and the same brushes to model the muscles. I was particularly careful not to have bulging muscles but rather flat muscles at rest.

Concerning the color of the muscles and tendons, I did it on Zbrush with the Polypaint. I tried to achieve a color that tends to muscles, without looking like meat.

Due to time constraints, only the outer muscles were modeled. So I modeled a total of about 60 muscles.

I then modeled over the skin and fat shapes, to get a convincing bison silhouette. I used the same method of modeling in Zbrush as for the bones and muscles.

For the skin details, I used a base of textured brushes, and then worked on the details with Standard Dam brushes for the small striations, and Standard and Inflate brushes for the skin folds.

Retopology and UVs have been performed on Maya. The topology is worked on so that the model can be animated.

For the texture, I used mainly Substance Painter. For the skin, which is normally hidden by the fur, I tried to paint color variations according to leather references. By using a mix of different materials, masks and generators, I managed to get a leather look that I liked. I also used masks from Zbrush, based on the cavities and details of the skin, so that I could color the striations of the leather in certain areas.

To keep as much detail as possible from the Zbrush sculpt, I used a displacement map.

The lighting and materials were worked on Maya, the renderings were done on Arnold. For more realism, I added Subsurface Scattering, whose power I adapted to the bones, muscles and leather. I rendered in passes so I could rework my project in post-production if needed.

Finally, the compositing and the reconstruction of the passes were done on Nuke.

Thank you !

These were my first two character projects. I learned a lot, not only about the character and creature production pipeline, but also about quadruped bones and muscles. It's been a pleasure to work on these models, and I look forward to continuing to learn on future projects.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my work !

Yoann K.