Aurora

Aurora

This is Aurora, my first digitally sculpted character. I created this character over a span of 4 months, including the concept art phase.  

I sculpted the character in the new software we were learning at that time - Zbrush. Some assets and the retopology were done in Maya. I used Substance Painter for texturing and then rendered the beautyshots with Redshift in Maya. At the end I did some compositing and color grading in Nuke and Photoshop.

1. The final concept

2. The finished sculpt, posed

3. The final rendershot

This project was created for the digital sculpting module at SAE Vienna. The topic for the project was "Tribe".

I first had to think of a story and setting, then create a concept for the character. My story takes place in a post apocalyptic city. A group of scientists have taken residence in an empty city after the world has been devasted by a deadly virus (please note that the module started before the Coronavirus crisis, it was not inspired by recent events). The character, I named her Aurora, worked for the research facility as an intern during the outbreak of the virus. She continues to work for them by collecting samples, so that the scientists can work on a cure. 

Every aspect of the character design has been thought through, for example: most streets in the city are destroyed, she travels with a skateboard in order to get faster from one place to another. She has spraycans with two different colors to mark areas  she has already been to or areas she has to explore more. The gasmask is necessary for her to breath because the virus is transmitted over the air.  

Creating a character

This project was a challenge for me, I was a complete beginner in Zbrush and had some struggles with it. But I loved the new software from the very beginning and after some practicing I was able to start sculpting the character. After she was finished I did a rough retopology of the body, afterwards I started sculpting the clothes and hair and modelled the assets. Doing a retopology was also new to me, although many people don't like it I found myself enjoying it, it was like doing a puzzle. 

The texturing was the easiest part for me. I created smart materials and alphas to work faster and exported the normal maps from Zbrush for more details. Then I put together the shaders in Maya and rendered beautyshots and a turntable with Redshift. Afterwards there was still time to do some compositing in Nuke and Photoshop. 

To be honest I had some struggles with this project but in the end I was really happy with the result. I learned a lot and I am endlessly thankful for all the feedback I got and that I finally have a piece of work I can proudly show the world.

I also wrote a short story (if you are interested in reading all of it).

The world is silent. Only a few were able to save themselves as the deadliest virus that humanity has ever encountered triggered an unstoppable pandemic. The virus spread so rapidly and around the globe that there was little time to warn those it had not yet reached.

However, some were able to protect themselves from infection in good time in well-sealed rooms, including workers from a research laboratory outside a large city. The scientists and employees working there did not yet know how the virus was transmitted, but assumed the most plausible way, via the respiratory tract. Windows and doors were sealed, nobody was allowed to leave the facility. So they saved themselves, but they had to watch how the rest of humanity ended.

The scientists' assumption was confirmed. The virus was transmitted by air, so it could spread all over the world. When supplies ran low and power went out, it was time to leave the secured facility. Some researchers agreed that this could not be the end. They had a responsibility towards mankind, they had to find the source of the virus and with it a cure. All survivors were provided with masks, vehicles were loaded with the remaining supplies and equipment, and the group set off for the deserted city. A sealed warehouse was built there. The scientists immediately got down to work on their research, while the rest of the group was busy making a normal life in the devastated city. Starting with water and electricity supply, to searching for and growing food, they also tried to send messages to other survivors on a radio. This is how life developed in their self-built research center, which should also serve as a contact point for all other survivors, and it was called “Mira Research”.

The people of Mira Research lived peacefully, but outside tensions between other groups of survivors increased, because some preferred to live in their own clans, but remained in contact with Mira Research. Conflicts and misunderstandings about the distribution of supplies among the clans ended in a dispute that was fatal to an employee of Mira Research. After that, an agreement was reached. The research institute was intended to protect humanity from extinction, and fighting between enemy clans was not to get in the way. Thus, all workers were equipped with patches and fabrics in visible signal colors to draw attention to their affiliation with Mira Research.