MODELING & RENDERING


3D Modeling

3D modeling allows you to create 3-dimensional objects on a computer. Not so long ago modeling was mainly polygonal. It was a long, technical, tedious job and in some ways limited. It was complex among other things to manage millions of polygons for example. Thanks to software such as Zbrush, we can refrain today from this constraint of polygons and thus refocus on the artistic ascpect to leave room for his wildest imagination. Zbrush brings us closer to traditional sculpture.

Organic modeling

For all our organic models like characters or animals, the work will start and be done mainly in Zbrush.

From model sheet 2D we will create first 3D sketches that we will improve and detail as we go.

Once our 3D sculpture is completed and validated, we will convert it into polygonal modeling for animate it in our 3D animation software. This step is called retopology. Our rig experience here is great to create a perfect mesh for the animation.

UV unfolding

To recover all our sculpted details in Zbrush, we will have to unfold the UV of our modeling. This is, in a way, to make a flattened version of our modeling in the manner of an origami.

The goal being to be able to then apply images in two dimensions on our object, the UVs will determine how to "fold" these textures to make them correspond to the 3D object. This will allow us to exit directly from Zbrush maps details (displace maps, normal maps...). These maps will allow us to find all the details of our sculpture on our polygonal modeling that can be animated.

Another method

On other projects modeling does not follow the same path. In fact, for projects around products, there are generally technical models carried out upstream for the construction of the product.

It is possible for us to start from these models and to use them as a basis for our polygonal modeling. The step of retopo is no longer done on an organic model from zbrush but directly from these technical models that we sent when they exist.

Texturing

After the modeling we recover a smooth and colorless 3D object. The objective of texturing is to recreate the colors and asperities that will characterize our object. In the manner of a painter who will color his sculpture, we use software such as Substance painter or photoshop to color our 3D object and recreate its asperities. This step requires a real sense of color and observation.

Here a tattooed face with a lot of texturing work to reproduce all the tattoo and all the asperities of the skin.

Shading

The shading will come to highlight the work of texturing. It will consist in setup how our object will react to lighting and its environment. Is our object more transparent than opaque, is our object more reflective or duller? How he absorbs the light and how he has to send it back. That's all we will settle here.

Rendu and compositing

The last 3D step is rendering. We will place lights, cameras, an environment and, like a photographer, our job will be to find the best possible photographic settings to make our image credible and beautiful according to the wishes of the director. Computers will finally calculate these images.

The compositing is going to be the high point of all this symphony. With the latest image editing in 2D this time we will highlight all the work done upstream and finalize our image.

One of our achievements, from raw 3D to final compositing.