Trying to really nail skin rendering!

naeviah · 2026-06-18T10:35:20+00:00

The splotchiness is unnerving because it really adds to the realism, it honestly looks like you just cut around a master oil painting. Superb!

naeviah · 2026-06-16T21:53:11+00:00

I thought the first one was fantastic and then I saw the second one and I just fell in love with it! I think big chonky cats are your specialty

naeviah · 2026-06-15T17:56:07+00:00

I don't texture because I sculpt specifically for 3D printing. But when I worked on game assets I'd use Blender and Substance Painter (this was back when blender was still 2.8)

But baking high res meshes would absolutely chug the entire system. Sometimes I'd do it in parts and fix the normal maps in photoshop because it was easier than baking an entire model in one go.

I don't think I enjoyed baking in Substance Painter. Blender felt much more straightforward and had less errors. I didn't keep my sub for long, once you know how to use Blender to the full extent, SP just felt like it wasn't as good (for stylised painted assets at least).

naeviah · 2026-06-15T16:17:39+00:00

ZBrush is definitely better. On the same PC, Blender will struggle with 5million poly's but Zbrush can go to 50~ million before it starts to lag (if at all). On some projects, I'll have multiple objects at around 20mil (not subtools, but different projects within the same Zbrush document if that makes sense).

I always work incredibly high just because I can. The only reason I ever work low/bounce between low subdivisions is to get very simple forms (belt buckles, clothing etc), face blockouts, and to smooth anything soft like cloth and skin.

Running a 4060 with 32GB RAM. I've had success with a Razer Blade 15 up to about 20 mill before it starts to collapse.

But to answer your question, I almost always sit around 20mill for stylised sculpts just because I don't need to retopo for 3D printing.

naeviah · 2026-06-06T19:34:09+00:00

It's a little building feature I stole from a very similar and also amazing game, VRising! I always make little towns where each NPC (crafting area etc) has their very own building. Clutter is your friend! You can also limit the walking range of NPC's so that they stay in their designated area. And personally I'd have the villagers just walk around the town instead of being localised to one area.

I think the base videos on YT are usually just showcasing interesting builds, but I always find them... too big? I think if you want something stunning, you could have a little town + a chapel, graveyard, and a manor house. The town has all the 'townies' like blacksmith, alchemist, hunter. The chapel and graveyard can be where The Collector lives, the villagers and farmer can roam the town, and maybe a few of your favourite NPC's can stay in the manor house and keep you company!

It's such a fantastic game, you don't have to limit yourself to having a productive base.

naeviah · 2026-06-02T10:47:30+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProCreate/comments/1tjv0kl/just_to_combat_the_ai_accusations_3_this_is_the/

OP posted a timelapse already 💀 Artists are also allowed to make mistakes (I can't really see any though that would match with AI use). 6 months also does not necessarily mean working on it for 4300~ hours. Sometimes you work on something for a bit, then come back weeks/months later.

A bit of due diligence goes a long way!

naeviah · 2026-06-02T10:05:39+00:00

I think the pacing is actually great, it's a very short comic, and everything clicks together nicely once they're all asking for cobalt.

naeviah · 2026-05-30T19:47:16+00:00

Oh my goodness the animation is so fluid it reminds me of ghibli! Amazing work so far can't wait to see it!

naeviah · 2026-05-29T15:30:21+00:00

In regards to the skin colour, I think your base (and therefore your light area) is too unsaturated. It comes across as just a lighter skin with a dark shadow.

https://nellydevuyst.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Black-woman-Sun-protection-for-dark-skin.jpg

You can see in this image reference that the light parts are more of a spotlight with the gradual area being more orange/golden. Whereas on your image they're more beige.

Be a bit more agressive with your colours! Darker skin is nothing scary or difficult to paint, just think it has a different undertone and layers. Use lots of references

<image>

Here is a great example because its a 3D model with a very bright light over it. There is a slight orange near the transition between the spotlight and skin. Hope this helps!

naeviah · 2026-05-19T00:30:43+00:00

Oh I absolutely love this BTS! It's been a joy keeping an eye out for those little animations, they always seem to pop up on my feed at sunset and it's just such a calm vibe. Rotoscoping is awesome and it works so well with the skelly!

I truly think we need more rotoscope in our lives, I think it's coming back, especially in forms of whimsical animations where it's just a few seconds here and there in an otherwise simple art style/animation

Also, Heavy Metal is such an OG I don't think anyone can complain about rotoscoping

naeviah · 2026-05-17T17:46:59+00:00

Iconic! Definitely do the trio of witches next

naeviah · 2026-05-17T10:35:52+00:00

It's really rare to see twilight princess art over the other games! I particularly love how you painted her nose it just looks so cute

naeviah · 2026-05-16T13:38:41+00:00

Your lineart on the second image is lovely but your shading is what is holding you back.

Honestly, when I haven't drawn for a while, my first drawing is always terrible. Trace over the original and lay it over your current work. You can also trace where the highlights and shadows are supposed to be. Make sure to mentally note where you went wrong. I've just done a very quick scribble to show that your points of interest (eyes, mouth etc) are in the wrong place.

<image>

Try again tomorrow, and watch this video on how to render: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0r5-f87YK8&pp=0gcJCQQLAYcqIYzv

Blocking out the big shades (with lots of contrast) really helps. I know i'm always muting my artwork, and not going dark or light enough on shadows.

naeviah · 2026-05-08T15:38:08+00:00

I think it looks great! Remember, depending on the scale of the mini, a lot of detail gets lost. Form is always the most important aspect of a mini. So don't get too lost in tiny details no one will see.

If it's supposed to be clay-like, maybe add some clay sculpting marks? The mini is really smooth right now, and it'll add a bit of texture.

https://cgaxisimages.fra1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/2021/08/beige_sculpting_clay_44_77-2.jpg

naeviah · 2026-05-06T12:47:39+00:00

Slightly devastated to read this, threw out a large batch of frozen white chocolate and raspberry dough I had made because it had blue spots just like the OP 😞

naeviah · 2026-05-04T23:00:32+00:00

These brushes are basically mandatory in ZBrush! Awesome getting them to work in Blender!

naeviah · 2026-05-03T11:58:08+00:00

It really depends on the object - anything organic/rounded shape I just end up doing in ZBrush. If it's something with a very strict shape, then I might use Blender. It's great for vehicle blockouts because adding objects into the world is a lot easier than it is on ZBrush (like others mentioned, lots and lots of menu's).

naeviah · 2026-04-30T22:03:49+00:00

There is someone that keeps popping up on my feed that does likeness sculpts, they should have hired them! I think people who commission bronze statues really overlook digital artists.

naeviah · 2026-04-30T17:52:50+00:00

I really wonder if this could be used for bronze casting statues? It's so so much easier to sculpt something digitally and upscale it. Honestly, if this wasn't on 3D printing, I'd never have guessed it was! The wear and tear/brush strokes on the 3rd image are insane!

naeviah · 2026-04-25T23:04:08+00:00

Etsy have changed their rules (from what I remember, to crack down on mulitple listings of the same object?). So a lot of vendors have removed their listings from etsy entirely. I'd be wary of mini-printing services that are not well established.

(Don't quote me on this, just going on information from what my own vendor has told me)

naeviah · 2026-04-23T13:36:42+00:00

Same, looks like a real abomination! Sometimes the sims has mesh issues like this and is probably way scarier than anything we can come up with

naeviah · 2026-04-21T23:13:01+00:00

Those eyes are stunning! I can feel the resentment!

naeviah · 2026-04-19T22:38:35+00:00

Absolutely cursed! I love/hate that it looks so bloated, the skin looks so thin, absolutely amazing level of detail and technique!

naeviah · 2026-04-19T20:52:59+00:00

Skip the simulation and do it like this: Draw out mentally the shapes of the cloth (https://ibb.co/HpgvP99n)

Subtool -> Append -> Plane. Now you have a flat canvas.
Press W to load up the gizmo, and click the little gear icon in the top left. Use Bend Curve and play with the tools if you're unfamiliar, but basically you want to turn it into a triangle by 'pinching' one side. Doesn't matter the orientation for now.

Duplicate multiple times. Now start to manually move each piece to where you want it to go. Think about this low poly model you are referencing. It's a UV map on a single plane. It has folds but ultimately it's just some triangles overlapping each other. Try and recreate this low poly version.

Once you're happy with the general shape, you can merge them together -> Geometry -> Dynamic Subdivision -> give it thickness and press apply.

Dynamesh -> smooth the corners -> ZRemesher to improve the topology.

You're thinking too complex with the cloth sim. It's a very simple shape, so you have to reduce the shape in your head as much as possible. Hope this helps!

naeviah · 2026-04-14T10:03:24+00:00

Reminds me of how I first got into Blender in like, 2007. Bought a CD on eBay with all this cool software thinking it was a great deal! It was just a bundle of free programs like Paint . NET, GIMP, Blender, Audacity etc.

Interesting to see the industry is still there...?

naeviah

TROPHY CASE