Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.

• Research / development - over all good and in-depth research, especially into the texturing process, showing implementation of that research. Perhaps carrying the same level of research and development into the modelling and rigging/posing would have been nice to see and perhaps would have improved the quality of this pice over all. Technical / workflow - Overall a lot of technical techniques used with texturing, modelling ext. Nice and very efficiently packed UVs . However the facial expressions could use some work, referencing real world and key stone images (like with the body) can help with this. Also roughness variation and over all refinement of the textures in places such as the edges of easel ext. could help further sell the painterly effect. Try substance gradient generators with a passthough blend mode. Creative development - very creative interpretation of the brief, perhaps by pushing the shapes to angular vs round edges , could help take the stylisation to the next level. But great job! Final Presentation - lovely scene, great storytelling/mood established, perhaps include alternative lighting solution. Over all very good and professional work presented with a professional tone. However the characters facial proportions and expressions needs refinement and more referencing to real world expression to bring up the quality (needs more nuance changes to e.g the eye lids) Project Documentation - big empathises texturing but missing section about rigging. Also the document sometime looses its professional tone. Overall great work!
• First of all, I want to thank you for the work you've done; you've done well with the task. I found it very interesting to evaluate your character. Thank you for your effort and diligence. Excellent presentation and idea. I see potential in the stylization. Good work with color and light; it's pleasing to my eyes to look at this picture. I would advise paying more attention to anatomy and the characteristics of stylized bodies. I liked the idea of imitating paint. Excellent work! I want to wish you good luck in the challenge and creative success! Denis Beletskii. 3D Concept Character Artist. Wargaming. Also, I would like to add some useful materials on working with characters and more. I hope they will be helpful to you when working on new excellent characters. Good breakdowns in my opinion: Sin Nombre—Valerious by Kristina Perinska https://www.artstation.com/artwork/YBQrOX Frostpunk Explorer: Character Design for Cinematics https://80.lv/articles/001agt-frostpunk-explorer-character-design-for-cinematics/ Game Res character by William Paré-Jobin https://www.artstation.com/artwork/oAonE4 Yokai Breakdown by Anastasia Fomina https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OGOn06 Creating a Strong Male Character by Annina Weber https://80.lv/articles/creating-a-strong-male-character-in-maya-zbrush-substance/ Marilyn Monroe by Aleksandr Lyan https://gamesartist.co.uk/marilyn-monroe/ Useful literature: Excellent anatomy books for sculptors. https://anatomy4sculptors.com/ A book explaining the use of lighting for artists. https://www.laurenceking.com/products/light-for-visual-artists-second-edition Anatomy for 3D artists. https://www.brownsbfs.co.uk/Product/Legaspi-Chris/Anatomy-for-3D-artists---the-essential-guide-for-CG-professionals/9781909414242 Character design. https://store.3dtotal.com/products/fundamentals-of-character-design https://store.3dtotal.com/products/sketching-from-the-imagination-characters Another book on lighting, but this time for portraits. https://www.ammonitepress.com/mastering-lighting-flash-photography/
• Lovely piece of work, well done! You demonstrate good composition, the ability to learn and work to a new art style and a good technical understanding as well. In terms of improvements just some small things I noticed - In the close-up images you can see the UV edges on the body and down the middle of the face, this may be a baking issue or could have come from the texturing process. If this was only appearing in Unreal and not Substance then you may be a issue with the normal map/settings. For your Unwrap you might want to consider leaving a little more padding space between each UV shell, just to prevent any issues around seams too. The Uvs do look efficient though!
• Hi! First of all, congratulations on taking part in SFAS. Participating in a contest like this is always a challenge. Your submission is looking amazing, honestly. It’s really eye-catching in a good way. Love the concept and the idea behind itself. Here you have some thoughts/feedback: - You nailed the research and documentation process. Congrats! Creative feedback: - Overall improve anatomy skills. Although everything works out, there are some areas that need some polish (like the arms) - Hair looks good but it might be improved. The back of it could benefit from some rework due to it looks too symmetrical. - Wrinkles kinda look symmetrical too. I know they aren’t but somehow they seem so. Technical feedback: - Good use of UV mapping. So good to see that you straightened the Uvs as much as you could. Perhaps, for next time, you can leave some more space between UV shells/islands. - The topology of the mesh can be improved. The arms quads are quite stretched; and you could some more geo to the chest area in future projects. - Some objects like the beanie can be merged in just one piece. All those pattern details will be baked. Again, great work! Can’t wait to see what your next project is. Keep doing great art! Jose Gonzalez