Crossing the uncanny valley WIP

#281

thanks guys :slight_smile:

#282

+++++++++++++++

#283

U reached a truly amazing result. I’ve followed it step by step but frankly i didn’t understand fully how u achieved such an incredible work. Probabilly, as BKS said, this is the best work of this kind i’ve ever seen.

#284

grazie tante :slight_smile:

#285

Great work on the teeth! That looks way better than any medical illustration I’ve seen. This thread has been a joy to follow. Thanks for continuing to share your progress!

#286

great to hear.
thanks!

#287

when it comes to recreating realism in CG, the truth lies beyond the resolution of an image. the more you zoom on the subject, the more details you perceive, the closer it gets to the true form it tries to represent. but also getting closer to your subject means issues that were subtle (or invisible) before become more apparent, things that looked good (not great) from distance have visible loose ends up close, loose ends that need tying up. when they remain loose there is this uncanny feeling that is oozing from the image. like ‘i cant put my finger on it, but something off’. its when the viewer starts focusing on the flaws of the image in stead of the benefits. (also the more demanding the user is, the more flaws he spots and harder it is to please him)

but theres a huge payoff that comes with fixing these little cosmetic issues in the later stages of work. like fixing the corner of the mouth in a smile shape, that can completely transform the character of the virtual being (let alone giving it the character itself) and bringing it to life. its like an butterfly effect - nothing is insignificant

i mean, the most important is have the core right (if you want to hang a painting on the wall, the wall should be solid and stable in the first place)
but its the details, that will unlock the full potential.

as they say : the devil is in the details

sorry for this blog, i just felt like writing my it down (not that i said something groundbreakingly new right? ,)

#288

kybel am following the progress of your work, it’s amazing what you’re accomplishing. Super realistic! Congratulations!

#289

@mcebas thanks man

im back on this project again (i needed a break, and so i wasnt working on it for quite some time) and i really hope im gonna finish it before Christmas. (this november it will be 2 years since ive started working on it…wow, seems such a long time ago)

anyway hers a little gif to keep this post less boring. cheers :slight_smile:

#290

Man, that gif might be your best render yet - the beard is looking nice. I have a question about your texturing process though - did you just use the VRay texture baking from all of your angles and then combine these maps in photoshop? Thank you in advance!

#291

thanks

yes, ive aligned the model for each view, and reprojected the texture on it, then ive rendered it with texture baking turned on, to obtain those projections in uv space. after that it was a lot of photoshop work to blend and retouch them together in a single texture file

#292

just out of curiosity : very first render with actual hairs

the hair setup is really basic, no guide curves, no nothing

#293

Glad to hear you returned from your break. Keep pushing this man - you are so so so close to the other side of the uncanny valley.

#294

@zeno thanks man

hair grooming pt.1 :

#295

#296

#297

yeah so its been a week since I’ve started working on the hair.

this is what I’ve got so far :

im still not sure where im going with this, but i would call it a promising start.
so far i like the hair behaviour, but the haircut needs to change obviously

I’d love to hear your opinions and suggestions on how to make this look more natural etc. thanks in advance

#298

I’d love to hear your opinions and suggestions on how to make this look more natural etc. thanks in advance

I think your model might have reached a state where everybody is just speechless.
Thank you for sharing your impressive progress. The hair is incredible. I for one would definitely buy the Gnomon DVD someone has suggested you should make.

#299

thanks :slight_smile:

well the hair, far from incredible still…but its slowly evolving to something i will be happy with

#300


hair is far from finished , render is pretty low quality, but i just wanted to check how it all looks together so far

c&c welcome, as always