Using Arnold For Maya To Make A Work "Empress"

This work was invited by 3D Artist Magazine, and then according to a portrait of a Chinese ancient queen, the following will explain the whole process of production, using the Maya, Arnold renderer, ZBrush, Photoshop, Nuke and so on.

1. Collect reference pictures

Finding reference pictures is a very important part, and this part has cost a lot of time.

2. Making Model

The model is first built in Maya and then placed in ZBrush for engraving. Except for the more complicated models (such as decorations on the hair, chairs, etc.), the other ones are first carved in DynaMesh in ZBrush, and then Decimation is used. Master reduces the number of faces and then exports.

3. Making maps

All textures are done in Mari. Face skin first finds a female face projection, simply remove the pores, because the pores wrinkles are carved in ZBrush, so you can export the ZBrush displacement map to Photoshop and turn it into a High Pass image as the skin texture is superimposed on the skin.

The hardest part of the clothes is to look for references to the above patterns. Once it is determined that the production is very simple, first put the shading and then cast the pattern. Remember to divide the layers among Mari, so it is very convenient to adjust later.

4. Making materials

Here we use the gray mold to adjust the displacement and bump, then adjust the highlight, and finally the color and SSS.

5. Making hair

The hair uses the Xgen that comes with Maya. After combing the hair, comb it with a comb and adjust it with several different tools.

Eyelashes use another method of creating Xgen, creating a guideline and then generating eyelashes.

6. The final rendering

This work uses the Arnold renderer, set as follows，

The rendering output format is EXR, and finally, the Nuke compositing is imported. First add all the colors, highlights, and sss together, then use Mask and various condition layers to adjust the brightness, color, saturation, gamma and add atmosphere.

Translated from an article written by 3D artist, Lu Ang