Anatomy and Character Sculpture - Projects

29/5/2022 - 6/7/2022 / Week 10 - Week 15

Lui Hsiao Hui (Tressa) / 0342003

Anatomy and Character Sculpture / Entertainment Design

Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

Project 1: Stylised Character Blockout

Project 2: Character Detailing and Texturing

Project 3 (Final Project): Polishing and Dynamic Posture

---

INSTRUCTIONS

Projects 1 to 3 require us to sculpt the character we designed in our Character Design module or it could be a new original character design. I decided to go with Ruby Sanguine, the character I designed in my Character Design module.

Project 1: Stylised Character Blockout

Fig. 1.1 Character blockout - 1st attempt, Week 10 (30/5/2022)

I used back the model I created in my sculpting exercise. In the beginning, I did my character blockout straight away in the final pose. I was then instructed to do the character blockout in a t-pose so there won't be symmetry problems as sculpting with the pose straight away will be challenging because it won't be symmetrical.

Fig. 1.2 Character blockout - front and back, Week 10 (3/6/2022)

Based on feedback, I redid the entire character blockout in a t-pose.

Fig. 1.3 Character blockout - face/head, Week 10 (3/6/2022)

The head/face was also remodelled to resemble my character's face. The head/face I sculpted in the exercise was more of a longer face shape.

Fig. 1.4 Final Project 1: Stylised Character Blockout - PDF, Week 10 (3/6/2022)

Project 2: Character Detailing and Texturing

Fig. 2.1 Character blockout refinement, Week 12 (14/6/2022)

This week I sculpted the shoes, corset and right thigh-high sock. I also made some adjustments to the puffed skirt and hair.

Fig. 2.2 Character details, Week 13 (21/6/2022)

I was advised to break the symmetry by sculpting the hair and puffed skirt with symmetry turned off. I did just that but was told that more details are needed for the skirt to show its volume. Mr. Kannan also said to add more sharpness to the sculpt, which can be done with 'ClayPolish'.

Fig. 2.3 Re-sculpting braids, Week 14 (22/6/2022)

Because the hair blockout was too 'remeshed', I was advised to redo the hair using the twist and taper option. After discovering those functions in class made it easier to understand how to sculpt hair more effectively. It also allows for more fine and sharp details.

Fig. 2.4 Character details - refined front and back, Week 14 (28/6/2022)

I thought I'd just leave the character details as this, however, I was reminded to add a prop. I then decided to sculpt my character's prosthetic left forearm even though I originally planned to leave it out since time is flying. In Fig. 2.4, I went for a glove on my character's left forearm as a substitute, you can just tell how much I was struggling with time.

Fig. 2.5 Character details - refined ¾ views, Week 14 (28/6/2022)

Final Character Detailing

Fig. 2.6 Character details - front and back, Week 14 (1/7/2022)

Fig. 2.7 Character details - sides, Week 14 (1/7/2022)

Fig. 2.8 Character details - face/head, Week 14 (1/7/2022)

Fig. 2.9 Character details - prosthetic, Week 14 (1/7/2022)

Fig. 2.10 Final Project 2: Character Detailing and Texturing - PDF, Week 14 (1/7/2022)

Final Project: Polishing and Dynamic Posture

Fig. 3.1 Character rendering in ZBrush, Week 14 (4/7/2022)

I learned the rendering steps from a YouTube tutorial shared by Mr. Kannan. First I merged all visible subtools into one and exported it as an obg file. Then imported it back into a higher resolution document to work on the lighting and render. It took a long time to adjust the lighting because it looked very different before rendering, so it took a couple of long renders until I adjusted the lighting to my liking.

Final Character Render

Fig. 3.2 Final character render - front and back, Week 14 (6/7/2022)

A whole month of pain finally rendered!

Fig. 3.3 Final character render - right side, Week 14 (6/7/2022)

Fig. 3.3 Final character render - left side, Week 14 (6/7/2022)

Fig. 3.4 Final character render - close-ups, Week 14 (6/7/2022)

Fig. 3.5 Final character render - close-ups, Week 14 (6/7/2022)

Fig. 3.6 Final character render - prosthetic, Week 14 (6/7/2022)

Fig. 3.7 Final character render - close-ups, Week 14 (6/7/2022)

Fig. 3.8 Final character render - polyframes front and back, Week 14 (6/7/2022)

Fig. 3.9 Final character render - polyframes sides, Week 14 (6/7/2022)

Fig. 3.10 Final character poster, Week 14 (6/7/2022)

I decided to make my character poster look like a card because it suited the Alice in Wonderland universe (the universe my character is from).

Fig. 3.11 Final character render - coloured, Week 15 (6/7/2022)

Colours were painted in Adobe Photoshop and layered using different blending modes. Photo editing (curves, hue, saturation, etc) was also done to create an ambience that suited the character.

Fig. 3.12 Final Project 3: Polishing and Dynamic Posture - PDF, Week 15 (6/7/2022)

Fig. 3.13 Final Character Poster - PDF, Week 15 (6/7/2022)

---

FEEDBACKS

Week 10: Do the character blockout in a t-pose so there won't be symmetry problems as sculpting with pose straight away will be challenging because it won't be symmetrical.

Week 11: Lower polys for feet and then combine with legs. Use Dynamesh and legacy, delete unnecessary dupes.

Week 12: Refine the heels (add panel part) it looks disconnected. Right sleeve need to be shown stitch together, push the cheek in a bit, add more volume to the hair, refine (sharpen) the anatomy details (elbows, collarbones etc). Sculpt clothes and hair without symmetry. Can try changing the flow for the clothing. Move the hair bun slightly back.

Week 13: Adjust the sleeves. Pose the character using Transpose Master and ZSpheres.

---

REFLECTION

This journey of sculpting a detailed character from scratch was extremely challenging. It also tested my patience a ton because of constant reoccurring ZBrush issues along with brutal time constraints and heavy assignments from all modules. I often find ways out of sculpting, which was redacting some details and changing up some details in order to make it for the deadline. Though because of ZBrush issues, I learned what to avoid and to always ZRemesh and keep backups. I'm glad that I did manage to get more used to the tools in ZBrush, but there's definitely more to explore. I'm generally satisfied with my final 3D character, but of course, I think more details could've been added/improved.