Texturing Realistic Cuts and Bruises
polycounter lvl 7
Hello Polycount,
There are plenty of websites full of cross polarized skin textures / displacements that make our lives easier when texturing skin. However, when it comes to injuries, for example , you cannot really find a lot of good references , or the ones you find are not at the same quality with the good textures you get from TexturingXYZ for example, so when you apply them , the results look pretty fake. How would you guys approach this kind of elements? I am asking you from the perspective of a beginner in texturing stuff so I am really happy to do a lot of research myself, but it would help me if you can give me a starting point from a technical point of view. Would you try to paint them manually or even go further and shot the references yourself (after some make-up , hopefully haha) .
Thank you lots and waiting for your replies
!
There are plenty of websites full of cross polarized skin textures / displacements that make our lives easier when texturing skin. However, when it comes to injuries, for example , you cannot really find a lot of good references , or the ones you find are not at the same quality with the good textures you get from TexturingXYZ for example, so when you apply them , the results look pretty fake. How would you guys approach this kind of elements? I am asking you from the perspective of a beginner in texturing stuff so I am really happy to do a lot of research myself, but it would help me if you can give me a starting point from a technical point of view. Would you try to paint them manually or even go further and shot the references yourself (after some make-up , hopefully haha) .
Thank you lots and waiting for your replies
!
Replies
For me, I would create 2-3 brushes in Photoshop that are variations on blemishes. I would also make another brush specifically that looks close to an incision.
In a 3D painting program, I would start painting in the raw diffuse for the blemishes. Focus on using highly realistic colors from photos to ensure it looks organic. When done, go in with an eraser or use a mask and remove detail so the blemishes have a silhouette that highly resemble bruises.
Repeat the same step now with the incision brush.
This is just the albedo component. For PBR, handsculpt the areas on the face where the blemishes and cuts are, being careful the catch the indents on the surface of the skin where cuts recess. This will serve as the Normal Bump Map.
Doing the roughness map is a bit more complex. Admittedly, you might want to research and grab some references to see which parts of skin should be extremely rough and where it should be shinier? Maybe make the areas where blood is exposed or dripping shiny, and parts where skin is decaying or gone gangrene to be somewhere in the middle?
The final component would be SSS. Since it's still organic material, you'll want to paint texture maps that show how far light travels through the bruises/exposed areas, and then scatter inside the skin.