[WIP] Bellatrix Lestrange Fan Art

VictoriaR

Currently working on a character sculpt of Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter for my portfolio. This is my first likeness sculpt in a very long time, I am using Helen Bonham Carter the actress for Bellatrix for my reference of the character. I recently have pivoted my focus from extremely stylized work so I would love feedback on my anatomy and likeness.  I am planning on sculpting the fabric and using XGen to create hair for the character. I will be using ZBrush, Maya, Substance Painter, and Marmoset Tool Bag 3.

Just some of my gathered references I have and will continue to use. I have others, but these are just some of my main ones.

My block out of the body, she is a pretty short lady (only 5 ' 2 ")

Face block out, started breaking some symmetry with the big forms. Still refining the edges around the eyes, mouth, and ears. Just getting the basic big shapes in.

VictoriaR

Still working on the face proportions and feature likeness.

Took a break from the face to start blocking out the clothes.

VictoriaR

VictoriaR

Lucaus

First thing I noticed is that the head is too big, also the eye should be smaller.
This should make it a bit more natural

VictoriaR

@Lucaus Thanks! I have taken a short break from this because I have been feeling a bit ill, I hope to get back to working on it soon! I will make those fixes when I can.

LokiDokie

Hey I like that you broke the systemtry on the lips it give her more character

This might be helpful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92yBYbccLmY&list=PLBX-X8mPyxIrlgpiwEPmurv_9nv9seLik&index=14&t=0s for working up the eyes theres also more great content on there channel.

Another thing is that it looks like you've just drawn the wrinkles onto her face, instead of sculpting in the folds.

VictoriaR

@LokiDokie Thanks! I actually just watched that video! I love flipped normals, they have great stuff and advice. As for the wrinkles, I am still trying to learn a good balance of wrinkles. I realized after it was too late I should have used layers for adding detail like that to make making adjustments easier. I am still working on the face, I just took some time off to work on the clothes and bringing them up to the same level as the face. I will go back to the face to add more volume to the wrinkles, thanks!

VictoriaR

carvuliero

Try some of this modifications

VictoriaR

Little update on what I have been working on this project lately. Got hair cards and strand designs done. Used XGen for the strand design and used curves and a few maya plugins for placing hair cards individually. I also created a hair cap and baked XGen hair to the cap using XNormals. I am still in the process of learning good techniques for hair.

Alpha Map

Normal Map

Direction Map

AO Map.

Hair maps were created by using  XGen to create hair strands and rendered out with the front facing camera in Arnold with set materials to it.

Since I had trouble finding helpful sources for hair cards, here are some of the sources I used to kind of wrap my head around where to start (This is one of the first times I have worked on hair, I am a recent graduate and still learning a lot that I didn't get the chance learn in school):
https://marmoset.co/posts/presentation-lighting-and-hair-creation-for-a-sorceress-character/
https://airship-images.com/division-hair-breakdown/
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/geRqx

https://hossimo.com/tutorial/workflow-how-to-create-texture-map-for-game-hair-cards-using-xgen/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiuNm7ZD9qw

What the hair looks like in Marmoset Tool Bag 3 with no colour added:

Still need some tweaks here and there, but compared to my last attempt at hair it is significantly better.