Character Texturing & Rendering
by Kimberly Hilliker
Base Mesh Renders
Example Playblast
Base Model Playblast
Playblast Rational
The main things I wanted to highlight were the face and the pants, specifically the textures on both. I had an idea that the character I was making was a sort of elf from Santas work shop with a more horror-like feeling. The lack of eye brows are on purpose to give an even more unsettling vibe.
Colour Swatches
Colour Rational
I wanted to go with a christmas theme since it's that time of year, I picked more reds than greens because I wanted to go with a darker theme where the greens are the highlights and the reds are the low lights. I think it helps set the mood very nicely.
Lighting Style Examples
Candlelight
A darker setting with richer colours. The majority is red, with green and gold accents playing strongly into the complimentary colour scheme.
Morning Christmas
Higher levels of light exposure give a more jovial vibe to the scene.
Evening Lights
The main colours are a variation of red. The image itself leads your eye from the most bottom left roof, across the other roofs, up to the tree and into the blue sky that appears to have a periwinkle tinge to it.
Textured Examples
Leather
A dark leather that that I wanted to see on the boots. May end up using something lighter.
Fleece
Characters sweater will be made out of wool or fleece texture, realisticly being what sweaters are usually made of.
Veins
This is not a texture, I was planing on going into substance painter to paint so veins on the skin, especially around the eyes.
Licorice
What is the reddest thing I could think of? Licorice I like the way the candy twirls around itself and I wast hoping to emulate that on either pants.
Hair
The darker parts of the hair have and orange-strawberry tinge to them, just subtle enough to look like realistic hair but still fit with the colour scheme.
Eye
This is the eye I wanted for my character, the red goes with the christmasy theme.
Final Render
Girl Render
Reflection
My biggest challenge was working with different types of substances I hadn't worked with before. A friend recommended i use Maya Fast Skin so I tried it. It looked really good in my viewport but when I went to render, the base colours were gone and the height map remained. I played with it for hours before going back into my comfort zone with Blinns. It gave me the effects I was looking for in the end.
Next time I might model some more features on the character, something more to look at, maybe a hat or a scarf.