Making Of 'Sailor Girl'

Software Used :

XSI, ZBrush and Photoshop

When I start a new artwork I always do an extended period of research, so I can have some ideas to start the modeling process. The general idea for this piece – the pinup – came from searching from finding these references (Fig.01).

Fig.01

I started the modeling with a simple base mesh and I worked on the general volumes and anatomy of the "T" pose. After that, I posed the model to fix and clean up the anatomy of the body (Fig.02).

Fig.02

I modeled the general form of the hair by using a cylinder. I took it and then "drew" the shape and added some edges. Then I deleted the extra polygons to get the general shape, and extruded it a bit to complete the length of the hair. Finally I used the "solidify" modifier to add some volume. I repeated the process a couple of times to form the braids of the hair (Fig.03 & Fig.04).

Fig.03

Fig.04

After I’d finished the hair, I started to model the cap. The details made all the difference, so I spent a lot of energy on them. The emblem was the main ornament of the cap and so I modeled some parts of it separately so I could work on it more easily in ZBrush. Then I made the whole base of the cap (Fig.05 & Fig.06).

Fig.05

Fig.06 I sculpted all the sewing and drapery details of the cap in ZBrush. Then I did the shader in ZBrush, which I will show later (Fig.07 & Fig.08). Fig.07 Fig.08 With the cap finished, I started to detail the hair. I used the Slash 2 brush to sculpt it. Here is the final result of the cap and hair (Fig.09 & Fig.10). Fig.09 Fig.10 When I pose a model I always take special care with the line of action, especially when it is a female character. The focus in this particular case was to transmit joy with a little bit of sensuality (Fig.11). Fig.11   Even though this artwork was a still pose, I made sure that the pose was good to the eyes from every angle. As a result I learned more about anatomy and posing (Fig.12 – Fig.15). Fig.12 Fig.13 Fig.14 Fig.15 After I’d finished the modeling in ZBrush, I made a simple test of the composition of the image to make sure I was going in the right direction (Fig.16). Fig.16 After a couple of tests, I end up with a result that pleased me. Then it was time to start to paint the textures and make the shader (Fig.17) Fig.17 Once I’d finished the shader and textures, I started the final composition. I made same passes to better compose the image (Fig.18 – Fig.20): Diffuse pass Background pass Glow pass 1,2 and 3 together Back light pass Fill light 02 pass Key light 03 pass 5, 6 and 7 together Alpha pass Specular pass Ambience color pass Noise pass Fig.18 Fig.19 Fig.20 I used the MRGBZ Grabber to create Depth of Field. It is very simple to us; just select it and then click and drag a rectangle to choose the area where you want to make the depth. The image is then generated and you can export it on the alpha palette in ZBrush (Fig.21). Fig.21 Fig.22 & Fig.23 show all the passes together. Fig.22 Fig.23 Conclusion : I would like to thank you for reading this Making Of. I would like to thank 3DTotal too for the opportunity to show a little of my work.  If anyone has any doubts or questions about this Making Of or any of my other works then feel free to contact me. I have a blog where anyone can see and criticize my work, so feel free to do it so we can share knowledge and experiences because that’s how we all evolve as artists. Thank you very much!