Ro Laren (Star Trek The Next Generation) (Fan Art)

NikhilR

A real time game ready model of Lieutenant Ro Laren from Star Trek the Next Generation with the likeness of Michelle Forbes. 
I worked on the full character plus Phaser Rifle, Communicator Badge and Pips. 
Background is an in engine composite in Unreal 4 (made by Aryh with additional work and integration by fan art team)

Breakdowns : https://www.artstation.com/artwork/k4eJd6

Alex_J

Hey Nikhil, nice work. I never watched star trek myself, but the materials on the weapon were looking very flat to me so I found this :

which I think is the reference? It feels like your textures are a bit unfinished relative to the face -- almost reading like flat shaded. I think a few layers of subtle noise in both color and roughness channels could go a long way. The thing is that your face is very nicely textured so the weapon stands out in stark contrast.

I think the fabric textures could also use the same treatment. You may have had this same idea that happens to me -- I think something is supposed to be clean so I just apply the basic colors -- but most the time something that is clean can really have a lot of little micro changes that you can't spot directly, but once you add them in all of a sudden you got something that looks 100% more real. Sometimes it's just a matter of adding a basic grunge pattern on a multiply layer with like 5% opacity -- just a little touch that fools the eye into seeing realistic complexity. Also, even if it's not realistic, adding lighter color and lower roughness on edges helps things read from a distance better.

Face looks good to me and the hair too -- but where the hair penetrates the scalp shows some flaw in the center there.

NikhilR

Thanks!
I'll add some wear and tear to the model as a variation, the reference I used was very clean, so totally escaped me there! Thanks for pointing that out.
For the clothing, I'm still looking for the best way to add some minor variation, might need to add it manually since otherwise it looks dirty.
With the hair, I may need to paint in a map to make it into a point, or change a few values so that part gets rendered properly.
I'll likely add an image showcasing this variation, since I wanted to keep the more clean versions too.

And you much watch the older star trek series! Its great!