Tutorial: Recreating a Historical Portrait in 3D
The Gnomon Workshop has released Recreating a Historical Portrait in 3D, a guide to 3D character art recorded by VFX artist Mahmoud Salah.
The tutorial provides just under four hours of video training in ZBrush, Maya and its XGen toolset, Substance 3D Painter, Marvelous Designer and Arnold.
Discover how to recreate a historical character in 3D from scan data
In the workshop, Salah explores how to recreate the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten from a 3D scan of an ancient statue and a modern scan of a human head.
Salah projects the modern scan onto the statue, using digital sculpting software ZBrush to refine the facial features, and Substance 3D Painter to align the skin texture.
The tutorial also covers how to use the Arnold renderer for look development, focusing on how to set up realistic shading for the skin and eyes.
To groom the CG character’s hair, Salah uses Maya’s XGen toolset, creating hyper-realistic brows, lashes, and stubble.
For the accessories – the headdress and ornamental collar – Salah also uses 3D clothing design application Marvelous Designer.
About the artist
Mahmoud Salah is a freelance Lead Character and Creature Artist, having previously worked in senior roles at VFX studios DNEG, Pixomondo and Method Studios.
His movie and TV credits include Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Halo TV series, The Mandalorian and Deadpool 2.
Pricing and availability
Recreating a Historical Portrait in 3D is available via a subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, which provides access to over 300 tutorials.
Subscriptions cost $57/month or $519/year. Free trials are available.
Read more about Recreating a Historical Portrait in 3D on The Gnomon Workshop’s website
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