[WIP] Teapot spirit - Character Art

BlueChaos

Hey!

Back with a new portfolio project, after it was recommended to me by a Lead Character Artist, and Recruiter.

I've settled on this concept of mine for now:

For some preliminary work I've also done a few hand studies, as they were a bit weak in my previous work.
(I believe the 2d refs are from Klaus? They're not my own work.)
They took me about 3 hours each, which was is a slow pace in my opinion, but I definitely feel more at ease with hands now.

Back to the project! Here are my notes so I can remember them, and also in case you want to read more about the upcoming process :]

The hair is supposed to be tea, so it will be transparent. No hair cards for me this time, although I'm not sure how to make the hair mass look good around the scalp. (I don't want the bald scalp to be visible).

The spirits are supposed to be honey, so they will be transparent as well. I'm debating between each of them having a set expression, or rigged and pose-able expressions.

You can see a mock up of the A pose that I will sculpt in the picture, but I'm not yet sure if this pose is the right move for the spirits especially. It will give them maximum mobility, but it might make individual poses look odd poly count wise. I might do a mix between A pose and in pose.

When it comes to topology, I would like to create something a little bit less topo-dense than my last project. Though since this character has more elements, the poly count is expected to be higher. As usual, I'd like to create nice loops, and to have no clipping topo. (to achieve that, I might merge the topology for all the objects I can. It makes transitional areas look less clippy!)

I'm aiming for two UV sets, one for all of the opaque pieces, and one for all of the transparent pieces in alpha blend (So, hair, spirits, and the lace on the dress). I'd like to pack my UVs better than last time, so I can showcase them in my portfolio.

I believe it would be wise to try out two new programs for me for this project, Marmoset for baking and rendering, and Marvelous designer for the dress and undershirt. A big and scary undertaking, but it's for the best! I'm not sure when Marvelous will be in the pipeline exactly, but I'll figure it out.

As for the general texture style, I am aiming for something resembling my last project using PBR, but maybe a little bit more stylised depending on what fits.

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Everything listed above might be subject to change, that's how the process usually goes!
I'm excited to start something new so soon, I wasn't expecting to. Before making this post, I played with around 5 other concepts and this is the one that looked the most promising to me. It was close though, so I might post the other concepts in case this one does not work out.

With all of that said, does everything look good to you all?
Any thoughts about the concept, like elements that you find unappealing?
Please let me know, I'm open to all comments and critique, and it would really help me out :]


In the mean time have a nice rest of your day, I hope you had a great holiday season!

Eric Chadwick

This looks like a fun project! 

Looking at the concept before reading your description, I thought the liquid appendages were supposed to be tea, not honey. Coming as they are out from a teapot and all.

So you might want to seek ways to clue the viewer in that it’s honey, like adding some bits of honeycomb, or maybe some bees flying around?

What is her purple hair supposed to be made of? If semi-transparent then I guess it’s like a fruit jelly? Or maybe some ghostly ooze like the stuff that drops out of the ether in Poltergeist? 

I think it’s important for you to have a solid goal for each material before you start, so you can create believable materials for them. 

Instead of simple alpha blend, you should consider refractive materials, would look awesome with these blobby shapes.

BlueChaos

Good point! I'll try to make it clearer that the spirits are honey.
I might be able to achieve the look by making it more transparent and redder, and also make it look like it has trapped bubbles inside, that would make it clear it's very viscous. If all else fails, i'll add honeycombs as suggested!

The hair is meant to be rose tea to fit with the theme, but if that idea doesn't carry well I'll have to think of what to do about it.
I'll either change it to accept it's jelly (does it make sense with the theme? I'm not sure...) or make it more clear that it's tea, somehow.

Thank you for pointing this out, it seems very important :] I'l have a look at refractive materials in Blender too, they definitely seem fun!

Cheers!

BlueChaos

Some concept touch ups (wasn't feeling the honeycomb for now), mostly colour tweaks,


as well as some blocking out. Not happy with the current look at the moment, but I'll work on it :]
I think it looks bad because stylisation doesn't match, it should get better once the body gets merged down smoothed and stylised. Face also still needs some figuring out.
I also keep thinking that the teapot should be bigger, but I'll make that decision once the body gets fixed.

I think I want to reference this guy's stuff more for this project, it's a direction I absolutely adore, and I think it might work well! The materials are more simplistic, and the level of detail isn't as high as I was aiming for in my concept though, so I'll have to take this into account. Let's see how it shapes up later!

I also had a question for all of you!


This is my first time sculpting a character with their mouth open, with the hope to give them a mouth rig in the future.

Is this standard procedure? Or do people usually sculpt mouth closed and add the mouth insides later during the retopo?
I feel like it can make it harder to match the overall face shape to the concept, and I wouldn't want to mess that part up because it would undermine the appeal of the whole project in my opinion. Feel free to let me know if you know, right now I'm a bit afraid of doing the wrong thing.


With all of that,                           。  ゜ 
Good night!                   。゜
                        。゜
(_　_)。゜



To do:
-outside of upper lid thinner and push out of towards edge of the face more
-merge some parts of the body, smooth and stylize
-actual good hand blockout
-clothes blockout
-live boolean hole cut out
-spirits blockout
-honey dipper base in maya

edit: formatting

BlueChaos

Took the block out further today :] the proportions feel better to me now. Slowly getting there

The face still feels cuter without perspective so I've got some more tweaking to do.

Next steps:
-chubbier face?
-better hand block out
-spirits block out
-honey dipper in maya

Good night! o(*￣▽￣*)ブ

Muzzoid

Looking good! Fun concept.

As an idea for no wanting to see the bald scalp, honestly i'd just have a vertical gradient, where the top is mostly opaque and the bottom is more transparent on the entire hair. and also just have some dark texture on the scalp in case you see it at any glancing angles.

BlueChaos

Hey, thank you Muzzoid!
That sounds like a great idea, it's what I internally settled on as well. My only worry would be the bottom view of the hair with this set up, it might still be awkward... I'll have to figure it out when I get there  (༎༎゜▽゜)


Today, some more blocking out, and some more refining.

Did a quick placement test for the bottom spirits. I'll place them differently later, currently their position would make texturing and rigging needlessly.annoying.






Blocked out the hands as well, but I'm not satisfied with the level of stylisation. I'll make them chubbier next session!
(I am feeling more at ease since my last hand studies, it feels great to see some tangible improvement.)

Refined the face shape, I like it more from the front. It's starting to feel like I'm noodling and that there's no visible changes for now, so I'll stop touching it for a while.

and lastly, I also refined the hair and placed some auxiliary strands. Really liking the look of it!

With that, I'll head to bed. Open to constructive criticism as always by the way, so if you feel like I'm missing anything, I'd love to hear it 💜
Good night!
(∪  ∪ )...zzz



(As usual, here's my plan for future sessions :] feel free to ignore)

Next steps, blocking out:
-legit spirits block out (then merge and add drips)
-liquid in the center of the teapot blockout
-pendant blockout
-teabag blockout
-remove the brows, they'll be texture only

Next steps, refining:
-refine hands and merge with wrists
-retouch the dress "base" (not too much)
-refine the eyesocket for the transparent eye

Maya:
-make the honey dipper high
-teapot high
-teapot cap hat high
-teeth high
-teabag label and string
-rose leaves high
-spirit faces low and high (dont forget the one hidden inside the teapot)