Modelling: Character Asset

lDesign:

The Giant Panda, a captivating creature renowned for its distinctive black and white coat and adorable, chubby physique. While 3D modelling boasts a variety of panda characters, many lean towards a charming and comical design rather than natural creature.

Create a real-life giant panda by referencing its turnaround image to master the intricacies of ZBrush modelling. Elevate the realism by incorporating textures for fur, breathing life into the model and capturing the essence of this chubby creature in the digital realm.

lProcess:

nModelling in ZBrush：

Character asset modelling usually created complex model like creature and human. These models have many polys which cannot create well in Maya. In this case, use ZBrush as modelling software for basic modelling. The character’s modelling divided into three parts: head, body and the four limbs. Use basic polygons and brushes to build the shape for the character.

nDecimation

The origin model usually has high polys that caused the whole project to run slowly while doing rest of task. In this case, do decimation by using “Z Remesher” is necessary. If using “Decimation Master”, polys will turn into triangle faces that make the model more complex.

nUV Map and Texture

Panda’s fur has two colour. Create a texture with two colour will be easy to create two colour furs when using XGen in Maya.

1. In ZBrush, click “Z Plugin → UV Master → Work in Clone” then click “Unwrap” and “Flatten”.

4. Click “UnFlatten” and check UV setting in UV Map.

5. Create new UV Map in “Texture Map”. Clone it and export this UV Map. Then, export the new model.

6. Import the model into Substance Painter (SP) and create texture.

7. Use symmetry to paint the model’s base colour and then export textures.

nXGen

1. Import the character model with UV setting and its textures in Maya. Meanwhile, download a HDRI as skylight for Anorld Render.

2. Change the workspace as “XGen - Interactive Groom”.

3. Create an interactive Xgen and change its parameters or use brushes to brush furs.

4. Use base colour texture to change furs' colour.

nShowing

XGen cannot show in Marmoset so use Maya to make turntable with beauty, wire frame and UV pass. After that, just export render image sequence and composite together to make video.

uTurntable setting

1. Turn the scene as “Animation”. Choose the model and XGen description while creating turntable camera by “Visualize → Create turntable”. Meanwhile, set turntable camera’s key frame range.

2. Turntable camera is shown by a group object. Select the object and press "D" and "X" key to change its location.

3. Go to “Windows → Animation Editor → Graph Editor” to turn the object’s animation line from curve to line. So, the scene is turntable.

uWire frame

1. Open “Render Setup”. Set a layer and named it “Wire frame”.

2. Set a collection for the layer and added character model.

3. Set an override material and added it "aiWireframe" material. Then, change material’s “Edge Type” as polygons.

4. Change the sampling setting like Camera(AA), Diffuse or Specular to change render setting

uUVs

1. Open “Render Setup”. Set a layer and named it “UVs”.

2. Set a collection for the layer and added character model.

3. Set an override material and added it "surfaceShader" material. Then, change material’s "Out Colour" by importing UV image.

4. Change the sampling setting like Camera(AA), Diffuse or Specular to change render setting.

uExport and composition

1. Turn the Maya scene as “Render”, and open "Render Sequence" and "Render Setting" to set export file path, image sequence name, frame range and image quality.

2. Import Image sequence into AE and composite them. After that, send them into "Render Queue" then set file path and file name for rendering.

lReference:

nBase Modelling: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1k341167zz/?share_source=copy_web&vd_source=0fc565aefa4688ed90b0531b1ce1be65

nXGen: https://youtu.be/x0w4XpZqSCA?si=Dr8P3ErTjpVpiRfB

nMaya turntable: https://youtu.be/WxGzOiCeY8w?si=0741_xdFTHAUI3VD