Cyberpunk Mob Boss

Completed:

May 2020

Role:

Conceptor, Sculpter, Modeler, Texturer

Obligation:

Academic

Type:

Game Ready 3D Model

Concepting

Constraints: I chose a prompt of working on a futuristic crime boss. He needed to be a huge hulking man with accessories that one might associate with a mob boss, but sci fi themed. Once I had selected a specific character to work on, I concepted out their body structure, cyberpunk type accessories/clothing, and color palettes.

Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model Concept Ideation Sketches

Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model Concept Iterations One

Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model Concept Iterations Two

Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model Character Sheet

Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model Colored Concept

Reference

This was the reference I gathered before sculpting the model. My goal was to emulate a semi realistic art style with unrealistic proportions. I went with this art style because I was inspired by cartoonish mob boss proportions, but also liked the idea of a model with those proportions having somewhat realistic textures. Going into the project I knew that sculpting the model would be the most difficult task as it was my first time fully modeling a person, along with modeling with unrealistic proportions.

Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model Art Style Ref Small

Sculpting the Base Mesh

I decided to model the base mesh by sculpting it in ZBrush. I utilized the ZSpheres to create the base mesh, then started adding more topology on top of it to beef it up. Over the next couple weeks I sculpted each area, focussing specifically on getting the head and hands right. I utilized Dynamesh, Subdivision, and ZRemesher. Once I was happy with my model's body I exported it out as an FBX and took it into Marvelous.

Sculpting Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model One

Sculpting Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model Two

Simulating Clothing in Marvelous

In Marvelous Designer, from reference I created an under vest, suit jacket, and slacks for my model. I sewed and simulated the cloth, and adjusted it live as needed. This phase took up the most time as I was inexperienced. Even so, I think I reached a result that met my expectations. I then exported the cloth meshes as OBJs.

Cloth Sim on Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model One

Cloth Sim on Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model Two

Cloth Sim on Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model Three

Retopology and UVs in Maya

I brought in my high poly body and clothes meshes into Maya, aligned them properly, then retopologized the whole model. Once I was finished with that, I constructed the UVs.

Quads: 10,542

Tris: 20,692

Double 2048 x 2048 Texture Set

Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model Low Poly Wireframe Render

Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model UV Suit and Clothing

Auto Rigging and Weight Painting

I uploaded my low poly model to Mixamo to have it rigged then downloaded various animations and poses. I noticed that the models side was stretching/clipping weirdly so I brought the rig into Maya and fixed its weight painting a bit.

Cyberpunk Mob Boss 3D Model Weight Painting Adjustment

Texture Maps

I brought the low poly into Substance Painter, baked the high poly onto it, then textured it. Texturing the model was not as hard as I thought due to the variety of regular materials in Substance and tutorials/feedback from my peers.