Groom a realistic dog
Type: Fall semester 2019 Independent study
Works involved: All aspects besides dog model
Abstract: I want to challenge myself to groom a full body realistic character/creature and I pick dog since it has a more general animal anatomy and the scale is more suitable for 6-8 weeks. I created the fur using Maya's XGen plugin. Besides grooming the guide curves, I also applied different layers of clumping and made multiple iterations by referencing back to reference images for the final result.
Works involved: All aspects besides dog model
Abstract: I want to challenge myself to groom a full body realistic character/creature and I pick dog since it has a more general animal anatomy and the scale is more suitable for 6-8 weeks. I created the fur using Maya's XGen plugin. Besides grooming the guide curves, I also applied different layers of clumping and made multiple iterations by referencing back to reference images for the final result.
Final rendered image:
Process:
First, gather all the golden retriever images with different angles and try to draw the flow of the fur on Photoshop to get a feel of how the fur grows, place the dog model side by side to plan wise.
Plant the guide curves and groom each guide with the reference image, then apply initial clump, the green curves are the guides
In order to have a better clump, I paint clump map, in order to make the chest part has thicker clump and other parts according to the reference image. Black in the clump map is thicker clump, and vice versa.
Apply different clumps, observe and iterate
Challenges:
- Lighting influences a lot how the final rendered will look, the shader specular also affects the result.
- When doing symmetric guide curves, if the guides are not applied dense enough in the middle, it will leave a gap where the fur is hard to grow.
Overall Learning:
- Study the reference images with different angles carefully and understand the flow of the guides
- Remember the guides are in a 3D view and therefore it is important to double check in each angle the guide is what you want
- If you are planning to have a reflected guides, plant the guides denser in the middle
- Clumping could make the fur wet and dry fur, and the fur is composed with different layers of clumping
- When rendering, lighting is important make sure you place the right light and pay attention to the specular on the fur