Fortune Teller, Game Ready Model

Next in line was the Fortune Teller. Again, using the same software, Maya, Zbrush, Quixel for retopology and texturing (also fair to mention , Xnormal for map baking). Once again here is the result of the alpha project.  

Fortune Teller, Alpha project result

Fortune Teller getting small improvements before the retopology

With her I didn't have to change much; I really liked the way she turned out at the end of the Alpha stage. Main challenges were once again the strings, as she had few more than the Goblin. Most of  the strings were done by projecting the string texture onto a plane, which turned out better than I thought!

 Just like with the other two models (Goblin and Slave Driver) , I stayed in Zbrush to improve few things, like cloth folds, face features etc.

Here is and early look at the Low poly version. So far I didn't have any issues or bigger challenges with her.

Wireframe In Maya

 Moving on to DDO (Quixel) I had 5x4k Maps once again, Once for the body, jewelry, clothes, hair, Eyes. Most probably I could squeeze the hair uv into one of the other maps, keeping it small (the hair being very dark, could get away with smaller Uvs) 

During the texturing stage I decided to add new tattoos, and facepaint to make her a little bit more interesting and fit in with the rest of her design. I did some research on trival tattoos, paying attention to patterns and shapes, focusing manly on black colour. What I liked about it is that I didnt have to plan it too much; with DDO I could design on the go, and quickly erase if needed.

.Quixel stage went without any problems, except buggy opacity inside ddo. Other than that it was a quick process.

Quixel texturing

One major change between Alpha and Beta stage is the jewelery. I added more rings and bits, and also changed the chaplets layout. 

 The reason is that when posed, they would overstretch, make the arms impossible to move in the real world. I still wanted to keep them, so I went into zbrush, took my custom chaplet brush and redesigned it. In the end I used a plane with normal map&alpha projected onto it. 

Here is the final result (Marmoset). I think it turned out great and stayed very close to the original. With this one I could really practice strings and such, the thing I always struggled with. Early during the retopology process I've got told she won't be able to move her arms from the anatomical point of view, which meant I would have to quickly redo the torso. In the end there was no problem with movement during the posing stage. If I could change something it would be adding more things to her skirt, perhaps coins or amulets. 

Here is what I ended up at the posing stage (once again creating a simple rig). The idea came rather naturally, she already gives a mysterious vibe, dark and atmospheric. Both table and the assets (candles, dice etc.) were textured inside Quixel. Candle flame has an emission texture to it, combined with bloom, creates a nice mood. (more at https://skfb.ly/MMVr)