Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.

• Great job getting this piece finished in time despite starting the competition late! You were able to plan your time accordingly and modify the project to be able to finish it. You have a nice range of reference images, including similar 3d projects and real-life anatomy. Some feedback: ∘ In the research and development stage it would be good to explore a few different design ideas and start planning out some final compositions. Feel free to draw over the concept art or show blockouts in 3d. ∘ very good attention to anatomy, this tutorial may help when it comes to building the muscles to give them more depth. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xDR5zr ∘ It would be nice to see some close-up shots of details like hands and the face in Zbrush, with side by side images of the reference images you used in the process. ∘ Introducing Marvelous Designer into your workflow for clothing would start to prepare you for industry ∘ retopology is nice on the body, aim for the clothing and mane to be a fairly similar polycount as they are too high in comparison. ∘ There are some lines on the normal map, make sure to smooth the low poly mesh before baking. In maya you can do this by selecting the mesh > mesh display > soften edge ∘ it's great to see you got a rig set up to pose your character with! You showed a strong ability to sculpt in zbrush, to pay attention to form and details, and you were able to reflect on the project well to identify areas you would like to improve on. Keep up the hard work and I'm sure you'll continue to see great progress! Feel free to reach out with any questions ~ Sasha Gallie, Character Artist at Double Eleven https://www.artstation.com/sashagallie
• A dynamic character combining the fierceness of a lion with a gladiator's bravery. The attention to detail in the armour and weaponry is commendable. Enhancing the character's pose for added dynamism and exploring more dramatic lighting could elevate the overall presentation. A strong focus on clean topology, UV unwrapping and material work, including in Unreal should be your next focus. It would have been nice to see the character rigged in UE5 as a skeletal mesh. Since you chose a difficult subject, ensure you take time to explore how you'll technically pull off some of the more difficult things like materials and the mane. Deconstruct similar examples and build your own prototypes. Don't forget to annotate your mood boards to provide specific information about what is/isn't relevant, to aid communication.
• Contestant: Aryan Shahdadi / @AryanShahdadi Assessor: Tristan McGuire / @draconic_cowboy Tier: RS Congrats on completing your project! Things that went well: ✧ Creative idea. ✧ Nice attempt with the anatomy. ✧ Great to see that you managed to complete the character, even with such a short deadline. ✧ Great to see rigging skills - even if using an auto rigger. This goes above and beyond the responsibilities of a character artist, but is a very handy skill. Things to consider next time: ✧ For retopology, aim fo your tri density to be quite even across the whole character, only having higher density on the face and hands. Your model here has a well-optimised body, but overly high poly accessories and the mane especially is far too high poly. ✧ To take the UVs to the next level, look into straightening the edges of the islands so you optimise the use of the space more. And try unwrapping hands so that the fingers are parallel rather than splayed out. ✧ It also looks like you’re using a UDIM workflow, which is not typical in games. instead opt for a multiple material set approach. Each material set should be unwrapped in the 0-1 UV space, not on multiple tiles. ✧ The final renders would benefit from a bit more love and attention, but I understand your time constraints. You can always spend some more time experimenting with your lighting and render setup before you add this project to your portfolio. As you are in the Rising Star tier, I hope this feedback can be used to inform how you approach future university projects and I would love to see you take part in the competition again next year! You can find me on the social medias in the link below. Feel free to reach out in the future. All the best! https://draconic-cowboy.carrd.co/ - Tristan, Deputy Senior Character Artist at Airship Interactive.