WIP- Elderly Character- Need Honest Feedback

NikolettPhilippovits

Hey everyone,

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working on this elderly character for a while now, and I’ve hit that frustrating stage where everything just feels off. I’m not planning to give up on this, but I’ve seriously debated putting this model aside. Instead, I’m trying to push through and actually finish it — and I could really use some fresh eyes and honest feedback to help me do that.

Right now, the biggest issue for me is the eye shader. It looks super off and really breaks the realism I’m aiming for. Beyond that, I’m unsure about the skin, the forms, and just the overall direction of the character. It feels like I’ve been staring at it too long and can’t see it clearly anymore.

Any critique — big or small — would mean a lot. I’m trying to level up, and I know getting solid feedback is part of that process.

Thanks in advance for taking a look. I’ve attached some screenshots of the current state of the model, including close-ups of the eyes.

sculpt

first version

second version

eye (vray)

Render tests

Marmoset

Unreal 5 (previous version of the model )

PureRef

sacboi

Curious if you're a traditional artist transitioning or dabbling in digital art? was browsing this board's new entries amongst those requesting critique earlier and noticed a side profile among your images (now missing?) where a 'painterly' style/depiction applied too these studies, for me at least was quite noticeable might also add finessed by eyeballing alone so no, I don't think anatomical comprehension is an issue here. To be honest perhaps similar to what I'd encountered when initially making the jump i.e. random 'technicalities' working with digital tools as opposed to tactile ones lol. That all said plus assuming I'm correct and you're using zbrush or akin dedicated app, (...btw I'm not a user) try searching tutorials for showcasing rendered sculpted content, as an aside it's just that SSS looks off alongside lighting as well - my 2¢ 

Keep at it          

NikolettPhilippovits

Hey, thank you so much for taking the time to give me this feedback — I genuinely appreciate it!
I'm a fresh graduate 3D artist, and I'm eager to keep learning and improving.
The piece you mentioned was rendered in Marmoset, and you’re absolutely right — I still have a lot to work on, especially with lighting and SSS.
Also, the skin was handpainted in Substance Painter.
I know there’s still a lot to improve, particularly with the blurry skin details, which might be due to the normal map.
I took your advice to heart and made a new render with a corrected lighting setup — here’s my current progress:
(Marmoset) 

Thanks again for your support and for pointing me in the right direction — it really means a lot! 🙏

Glynnybob

Hey, I'm currently going through something similar with an old lady sculpt I've been stuck on, decided to step back and study a bit.
Most of my advice is on the sculpting side though.

The sculpt could do with more exploration of secondary forms, currently it feels a bit flat which I was stuck with too, the details look a bit too soft and could do with a bit more sculpting to really push the look of aged skin, the deeper detail will help really make it pop.
Also breaking the symmetry will help, I can see some areas where you've sculpted without symmetry and those parts look great, if you can apply that to other areas especially to areas on the chin, nose and lips it can improve your sculpt. 

You could take the move brush and slightly shift parts of the face around, no face is perfectly symmetrical, eyes are at slightly different heights, one side of the mouth may rest a little differently to the other, breaking the symmetry can add a lot of life to a sculpt.

Hopefully any of this info is useful to you,
Good work and keep going!

Celosia

This is good work. I have a few pointers that could help to push it but not much time to elaborate, so here's a paintover. Basically you could take some mass off his face and make a few things droopier. People tend to noticeably lose mass on the temples and forehead, the jaw also retracts a bit because you lose bone mass on the teeth arch (no time to look up the correct English term haha).

Meanwhile, the soft volumes tend to hang from bones, specially on crests like the edges of cheekbones and eyebrows. You can have have a sliiiight hollow there, then the skin hanging from it. Also, eyelids get droopy, it makes harder to keep the eyes wide open and alert-looking. That's one of the things that can give the elderly a tired look.



I hope this helps, keep at it.

NikolettPhilippovits

Thanks a ton for the feedback, both of you - I really appreciate you taking the time. I will respond to each of your points separately below:

Really appreciate the thoughtful sculpting advice! You’re absolutely right about pushing the secondary forms. After reading your feedback, I went back and deepened the wrinkles, especially around the eyes. It’s already giving the skin a more convincing aged feel.

I also started breaking symmetry more intentionally, mainly around the eyes for now, where I shifted the height slightly and tweaked the shapes a bit. It’s made the face feel less stiff and more lifelike. I will definitely apply this more broadly, especially around the mouth and chin like you suggested. The tip about using the move brush to alter features around is a great call- I will try that next!

Thanks again for the insight. Looking forward to seeing your sculpt too!

 

Thanks so much for the paintover - super helpful, even with limited time!

Your notes about mass loss in older faces really clicked with me. I hadn’t paid enough attention to the temple and forehead areas, so I reduced the volume there to reflect that bone and fat loss more accurately. And the point about the upper jaw/bone structure receding is something I definitely overlooked- really appreciate that reminder.

The idea of soft tissue hanging off bony landmarks like the cheekbones and brow is also really insightful. I think I smoothed over some of those transitions too much, so I will go back in and refine that tension. I’ve already started softening the eyelids too, to tone down that wide awake look and bring in a bit more tiredness and age.

Thanks again- your quick breakdown was super valuable!

Current progress with the sculpt (still refining it) :

NikolettPhilippovits

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share my progress on the elderly character model. After receiving valuable feedback, I've focused on refining the eye shader and enhancing the skin details to achieve a more realistic look. I've also adjusted the overall proportions and added subtle age-related features to better capture the essence of an elderly character.

Currently, I'm working on the refinement of textures, groom, improving the lighting, and adjusting the rendering settings to bring out the finer details and achieve a more polished look.

I appreciate any further critiques or suggestions to help elevate this piece.

Thanks again for your support!