Rendering + Final Polish
·
Now that
I had the materials rendered on a character in an anatomically correct ¾ pose,
it was time to add colour and final effects to the character.
·
This
would then lead to a repetition of steps to develop my back facing characters
also.
Basic Colour Layers:
·
Once the
rendering was done, I added a face to the character and shaded the skin to have
a mid-tone with both shadows and highlights. I also added more gems across the
bracers and the pouch, and I added some makeup across the eyes underneath the
crown to mimic an attempt at tribal makeup.
·
After
receiving critique from my rendered materials, I was told that patterns would help
make the flat fabrics appear more modern and infer to the viewer that this
hunter is in the present/future, and not the past.
·
I also
created a basic colour modifier layer on top of the rendered areas which I then
duplicated once I was happy with. The duplicate was set to linear burn, which
added a lot more depth to my colours instead of the pastel colours that the modifier
seemed to create on top of the grey values.
·
I kept
the leather areas blank, since I thought to show the material qualities of
leather better, I could use a gradient map. This also applied to skin, since it
is such a complicated material to colour, and I thought that the gradient map
would be more effective at translating value to colour.
·
I decided
very early on a colour scheme, and I think that the design could maybe have
been pushed further if I let myself experiment with other colours. The colours
were however interpreted from the environment and my mood boards, which made
them a successful cohesive attempt at colour.
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Colour Layers |
Gradient Maps:
·
The
leather elements were tinted slightly green to differentiate them from the skin
tone more than grey and was focussed on the darker side of the gradient map
since most values for the leather render were dark.
·
I thought
this map was effective at transforming the material to blend with the rest of
the character and let the leather elements translate even better. The gradient
map also meant that the material was consistent across, since if I were to do
the colour by hand it would leave plenty of room for error and it would have
taken a lot longer.
·
The
gradient map also worked fantastic for the skin tone – especially since I could
tone the darker tones away from just grey to warmer tones. This makes the piece
overall look more natural and the character looks more alive as a result too.
·
I am
nearing the end of what I hoped to achieve on this character – and can now move
onto final touches that will make the character pop or seem more grounded in
its universe.
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Leather + Skin Gradient Maps |
|
Leather Gradient Map |
|
Skin Gradient Map |
Final Presentation:
·
To finish
the presentation of the character, I added elements like glow to the gems and
the knife and added a pass of dirt overall to show the character lives and
hunts outdoors.
·
I also
had to add the two other back faces of the character, following the process
layer by layer in photoshop to quickly build up both quickly.
·
Both the
back facing versions had their own patterns to build onto the patterned
clothing; the cloak received a subtle teal patter made of runes, and the shirt
received a Valkyrie knot surrounded by text saying “Ragnarök’s champion” to
mimic the title of the character.
·
The back
facing characters are not perfectly accurate, but they help establish a 3D
aspect to the character effectively.
·
I wanted
to add a blurb on the final presentation, but it cluttered the bottom of the
image, so here is what I wanted to use as flavour text for my character:
“After the downfall of the world from
Ragnarök, Lifthrasir and her partner Lif escaped to the Wood of Hoddmimir, where
they and their remaining people hunted to survive. A new, almighty ruler was
prophesied to take the god’s mantle, and Lifthrasir gladly took that title.”
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Final Presentation |
Final Conclusions:
·
I am really
proud of myself for this project; before uni I tried doodling characters and
was always dissuaded from lack of motivation, so the result was never complete
or “good”. This is the first completed character I have made ever – and I think
I have a set of techniques now I could transfer to other character projects.
·
I am
going to take a break from characters for a while after this term, but at some point,
over the summer I may attempt another character with an auto generated brief
for example.
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