I spent a long time on texturing to get it right. I really wanted it to be convincing. I started by texturing the skin, building up layers and playing around with blending modes and roughness values.
I wanted her to have bright makeup but I didn't want it to occlude the details of the skin too much. This was a case of finding a good balance.
I regularly checked my texturing in marmoset, to see if the values were correct and to make sure there were no weird seams showing up. The issue with normal maps seams was a big one for me as it was pointed out in my portfolio review, and I really didn't want to repeat the same mistake.
I ahd to ensure all of my maps were cohesive and consistent so it was well worth spending more time on them.
I tried out image projection and combined image textures for the scelera and veins, and combining them with hand painted details just to push the details further.
I did the same for the hair cap.
I added opacity to my alphas and I was really pleased with the bake results.
I gathered a lot of reference for the clothing textures. I focused on the roughness and the texture grain of the lycra material.
However, I spoke to my mentor and received some great advice on how to really push the textures for the clothes further. I found out how to implement anchor points to mask out patterns and give myself a lot more control. I was also advised not to make the leopard print detail too dark as it would naturally get darker in shadowy areas anyway, and I didn't want to draw too much attention from the way the material folded and the sheen of the lycra. I opted to add a slightly raised velvety texture to the pattern to make it really contrast against the sheen of th lycra and it made my textures so much more interesting.
I was also taught how to build a convincing towel material and again how to use anchor points to mask out roughness areas and add in patches for visual varietyt.
Using this information I built all of my textures this way, always thinking about how I can make areas more interesting.
The final object I textured was the barbell. Again I did some backwards and forwards with the baking to get the best texel density possible. I looked closely at reference to get all the different grains and roughness values correct, and edge wear and surfaceblemishes.
I did some more experimentation with the lighting and had a look at my first texture pass in full. I am happy with the work so far, but there is still a lot to do and to fix. I received more feedback from my tutors on how to push the textures further. This is what I will focus on in my next post.
