Behind the Scenes: Iron Sentinel

Dive into Yusuf Salih Özdemir’s artistic journey as he masterfully crafts a medieval knight, mixing realism and fantasy via intricate armor design, detailed texturing, and dynamic posing.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

Whats up, I’m Yusuf Salih Ozdemir (y2art). My journey into the artistic world started at a really younger age with graphic design, and right now it has positioned me as a 3D artist. I describe myself as a 3D generalist as a result of the trouble to carry each concept in my thoughts to life is a continuing supply of happiness for me.

My curiosity in video games inspired me to deepen my data on this area, main me to finish a grasp’s diploma in Recreation Design. All through this journey, I had the chance to mentor recreation corporations in Turkiye and ship talks at universities. Moreover, I handle the “Blender Turkiye Toplulugu” Discord server, which consists of over 2,000 members, the place we collaborate on thrilling tasks collectively.

For me, 3D artwork is not only a occupation but in addition an area the place I categorical and uncover myself. Assembly new individuals, studying one thing contemporary, and producing artistic concepts at each step of this journey are my best sources of motivation.

INSPIRATION

Just lately, I had been focusing rather a lot on characters and was focused on engaged on armor as an alternative of clothes, however it was simply an concept. That’s, till I watched “The Elder Scrolls Online Cinematic Trailer.” The knight within the trailer caught my consideration a lot that I instantly began engaged on it.

PROCESS

All Levels:

Idea, References (PureRef)
Base Shapes, Fashions (Blender)
Excessive Particulars (ZBrush)
UV Mapping (Blender)
Bake, Texturing (Substance Painter)
Rig, Pose, Render (Blender)

Idea, References

Within the preliminary stage, I examined numerous medieval outfits from many places selling them. This was an vital step in gaining a deeper understanding of the clothes from that period.

Nonetheless, when working digitally, now we have the chance to miss sure particulars if we resolve they’re pointless. Subsequently, my objective was to realize a practical look whereas additionally giving the character a barely fantastical vibe.

Base Shapes, Fashions

First, I used the fundamental feminine mannequin from ZBrush. Since I had earlier expertise with exhausting floor modeling, creating the armor was not tough.

After establishing the bottom on the character, I added the required modifiers to construct the armor. I formed your entire armor on this means.

I accomplished the mannequin, however it did not totally fulfill me. So, I examined my references extra intently and tried a number of alternate options to search out the armor that will finest convey the sensation I wished.

Excessive Particulars

After finalizing the armor design, I accomplished your entire character’s armor and sword utilizing the identical approach. Then, I moved on to including extra particulars in ZBrush.

Because the character is a knight, I aimed to present her a considerably aggressive look, beginning by sculpting the face. I added particulars like cracks and dents to the armor and utilized wrinkle results to areas just like the cape.

Moreover, I wished the helmet to be detachable, so I wanted to include particulars that allowed the hair and hood to open and shut. Contemplating the character wanted to be game-ready, I started creating the hair utilizing hair playing cards. Whereas I experimented with many various hair alphas, I finally selected to work with simply three of them. To make the hood open and shut, I utilized a form key to the pinnacle space and sculpted accordingly. This strategy allowed me to finish the character’s visible and purposeful particulars successfully.

UV Mapping

Throughout the UV stage, since I wished to make this character game-ready and designed with removable parts, I stored the texel density of the invisible components contained in the armor a lot decrease in comparison with the outer sides. To keep away from shedding element, I elevated the variety of supplies. Subsequently, I assigned a separate materials to every a part of the armor, guaranteeing that areas just like the physique, shoulder pads, sneakers, and so on., every had their very own materials.

Bake, Texturing

I switched to Substance Painter for texturing and carried out a high-to-low bake. To simply entry each a part of the character, I made certain to maintain each the person items and the complete character in a single file. After a clear bake, I started creating high-quality textures.

By creating my very own good supplies, I painted right down to the best particulars. I used “Texturing XYZ” for the detailed displacement texture on the face. Nonetheless, earlier than attaining the ultimate end result, I needed to make a number of adjustments to the tattoos, colours, blood, and a few minimal particulars.

Rig, Pose, Render

I used to be actually excited to see the ultimate model of my character in T-pose. The subsequent step was so as to add a pose and take a render. For this, I rigged the character utilizing the ARP addon. There have been some weight points in sure areas, which I manually corrected. So as to add results to the cape, I weighted half of it and utilized a material simulation, making it conscious of wind. I truly wished to create an animation and render a video, however though the processes I discussed could seem quick right here, they took fairly a little bit of time. Subsequently, I made a decision to use a pose and take a render of my character from a pleasant angle.

Lastly, probably the most satisfying half for me was the post-process. I began by including a background, then elevated the distinction and brightened the darker areas to make the main points of my character stand out extra. After that, I completed my challenge with some normal touch-ups. I hope this text has answered any questions you had and impressed you as nicely. Your suggestions is very useful to me; I’d be completely happy to listen to your ideas and options.