It´s about time to finally start a private project I had in mind for over a year now. Actually, yep – it´s going to be just another Avatar version of a girlfriend. But it´s my girl and what makes it that special for me is to show her something what I´ve been talking to her since we first met but could never really explain. I guess everyone who´s found their true love knows about that very special look from the partner, and if witnessed, makes you instantly fall in love again. This look but only happens as often as a butterfly would land on your toes and does not last for longer than the glimpse of an eye. I´ve never managed to capture this look with an external device to show her. Maybe it´s not even possible to make something like this visible with any scanning device, because it is a deeply inner reaction of oneself triggered through visual impression. Maybe this extra part can only be added by the witness himself to make it be seen. So, the advantage of us who are capable of managing 3D software is to not only recreate photo realism but create emotional expressions too – if we are good at what we do.
I thought it would be a good idea to share progress - not only for beginning people to get an interactive “from A to Z” tutorial but also for me to hear your input, criticism, and suggestions for improvement. So please anyone, don´t hesitate and feel invited if you like to ask questions or make comments of any kind. But beware! This project will possibly go on for ages... (hope I can get it finished within this year though)
And to say it right in the beginning I´ve never tackled a project like this. Although my personal interests always grounded on organic modelling and stuff, I´ve been used to make money mainly with architecture and product visuals so far.
To cut the long story short, here´s the plan:
Final image composition should be comprised of about 4 different views with different facial expressions in size of around 60*60 inches or something like that.
1)
modeling human bust in high resolution with as much detail within the geometry as needed. (folds, wrinkles) normalMapping should only be used for pores etc since the final render will be QUITE large.
2)
Skinning, rigging + blendshapes and all necessary deforming methods to bring the face to life
3)
Deriving an Avatar version from the human model + maybe linking human to avatar skin (by the help of a lot of point/cluster constraints... I have no clue so far)
4)
Texturing and shading with skinshaders + final mapResolution of 8192x8192 pixels to make it a printable version
5)
making use of Maya´s Hair System for all sorts of hair. not only on head but also for the fine hair on skin and feather stuff.
6)
creating fancy HDRI light setups to push it towards photo realism with different environments like the night time jungle and Hallelujah Mountains. Size also around 8192x8192 pixels per facial expression rendering.
Final composition will decorate our living room
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