Sculpting Wrinkles & Painting Age Spots For a Yakuza Boss 3D Model

Introduction

Hello, I’m Xhon Hysenaj, an Italian 3D Artist based in London. I currently work as a freelancer and specialize in character modeling and design.

I first got started in 3D when I discovered my passion for digital art during high school. Initially, I was fascinated by video games and animated movies, which sparked my curiosity about how these incredible worlds and characters were created. I began experimenting with free 3D modeling software and online tutorials, dedicating countless hours to learning the basics. My journey truly began to take shape when I took a few online courses where I learned advanced techniques from industry professionals, which deepened my understanding and skills. Eventually, I started working on small freelance projects, gaining practical experience and refining my craft. This combination of self-study, formal education, and hands-on work paved the way for my career as a 3D Artist.

Inspiration & References

I started The Oyabun project after a trip to Japan, where I felt incredibly inspired by the rich culture and art. Additionally, my interest was fueled by watching many movies and playing numerous video games related to the Yakuza. The Oyabun, which means "the boss," is the title of the leader in the Yakuza, and I decided to create a character based on this theme.

I have always been fascinated by Japanese art, from architecture to product design, which greatly influenced my decision to create a Japanese-themed character. While planning the project, I had a few key objectives. First, the character had to be elderly to differentiate from my previous projects and to practice something new. Second, I wanted to work without relying on a single specific main reference. This approach allowed me more creative freedom, and I wanted to see how this would impact my workflow.

The first step in my pipeline is using PureRef to gather references for each aspect of the creation: head, hair, clothing, pose, and accessories.

My main goal with this project was to improve my sculpting techniques, particularly for creating elderly characters. By focusing on intricate details and realistic textures, I aimed to push the boundaries of my skills and achieve a highly detailed and authentic representation of a Yakuza boss.

Head, Eyes & Hair

The head was my main focus on this project, and it took the most time. I started by positioning a Head Base Mesh on the body, ensuring the proportions are correct. Then I began sculpting the head using Mudbox while following several references closely. To create pores and other skin details, I utilized Texturing XYZ VFace scans and other scans I had previously used in other projects. Throughout the sculpting process, I regularly performed render tests using Arnold and various HDRIs to monitor the progress.

I particularly enjoy the Maya-Mudbox workflow for head sculpting because it allows me to update objects in the scene with ease, use the exact camera settings from Maya, and take advantage of the intuitive layer system. This system helps me track and understand the sculpting progress in a very efficient way.

For the eyes, I started by modelling the basic shape in Maya, ensuring that proportions were accurate and realistic. Then I created the cornea, iris, sclera, and the lacrimal caruncle as separate components and used high-resolution texture maps from Texturing XYZ for texturing, The final step was to create the wetline around the eyes to simulate the layer of moisture, enhancing the overall realism.

For the hair, I used Maya XGen. First, I created a Scalp Mesh that served as the base for hair generation. Then, I set up the hair guides to define the overall shape and flow of the hairstyle. The overall hairstyle for this elderly character was easy to achieve, I had only to pay particular attention to creating variations in hair thickness and color to enhance realism. 

Throughout the process, I conducted frequent render tests with Arnold to ensure the hair looked realistic under different lighting conditions. This iterative approach allowed me to fine-tune the hair shaders and achieve the desired level of detail and realism.

Body & Outfit

I started by setting the full body scale and characteristics of the character using a pre-existing body mesh as a mannequin. Then I adjusted height and body size while considering the character's age. I also gave a slight curvature in the back to add realism. Additionally, I decided to give him a standing smoking pose just to give more life to the pose.

Once the mannequin was ready, I moved to Marvelous Designer to create all the garments. Marvelous Designer was the perfect choice for my pipeline because it allows for realistic cloth simulation and intricate detailing. Its versatility enabled me to quickly experiment with different fabric designs and, most importantly, with different poses. It ensured that the final look aligned perfectly with the artistic direction I was looking for.

Initially, I was picturing this character wearing red round glasses. I did a quick research to find a good reference and I decided to recreate a pair of Matsuda glasses, a Japanese brand that makes handmade high-quality frames. I was very impressed by the small details and the unique design, so I thought this would match the composition well.

Retopology

There are several options to retopologize all the garments made in Marvelous Designer. They range from handmade retopology to various plugins for Maya or external software. I used a technique that I learned at CG Master Academy during my Character Creation for Films-Cinematics course and made some personal modifications for quicker use. For this process, there are two steps:

1. Export Simulated Mesh in Pose. First, I exported the simulated mesh in pose, dividing each garment with a particle distance of 10 to ensure enough resolution from the simulation.

2. Export Flat Garments. Second, I exported each garment by resetting the 2D arrangement. This way, I have each garment laid flat, making it easier to view for retopology while keeping the same UVs as the simulated ones.

3. Once the export was completed, I imported the simulated clothing into Maya and the flat garments into ZBrush. Then I used ZRemesher to quickly improve the topology of the mesh based on my needs.

4. Afterward, I transferred attributes in Maya using the Sample space to transfer the UVs from the flat garment (Marvelous Designer) to the ZRemeshed geometry. Then, I took the Vertex positions to place the flat ZRemeshed geometry into the simulated one.

5. Next, I manually fixed the errors, added thickness, and worked on the final version of the UV, keeping in mind the next steps ahead.

Texturing

The XYZ VFace Color Map provided a good foundation for creating realistic skin. After, I used Substance 3D Painter, adding several color layers and features to mimic the natural appearance of the skin. Special attention was given to age-related details, such as wrinkles, age spots, and fine lines, to emphasize the character’s elderly appearance.

For the clothing, I took some pictures of a similar outfit I own. It significantly sped up my workflow. Then I used Photoshop and Substance 3D Painter to apply high-resolution photos as textures. The primary focus was on achieving the right color and fabric details for a clean suit. I added subtle wear and tear to give the clothing a more authentic look. Displacement Maps from ZBrush were used to enhance details like wrinkles and stitching. Overall, the clothes texturing was simple and didn't require a lot of time.

One of the most challenging aspects was achieving realistic age-related details. Creating lifelike wrinkles and age spots required meticulous attention to detail, so I spent a lot of time studying the references. Another challenging task was finding the right colour variations for the skin, since it was my first time working on an elderly Asian character. It required careful blending and conducting several render tests to avoid an artificial look.

Overall, the texturing process involved a combination of high-quality texture maps, detailed sculpting, and careful blending of multiple layers to achieve a realistic appearance for the aged character.

Rendering & Lighting

For rendering, I used Arnold, which is known for its powerful and versatile rendering capabilities. Arnold allowed me to achieve high-quality, photorealistic results.

In terms of lighting, I used a combination of HDRI Maps and custom light setups to create a realistic and dynamic environment. The HDRI Maps provided natural, ambient lighting, which helped in achieving a balanced base illumination. To add more depth and focus, I used several area lights positioned strategically around the character. Key Lights were used to highlight the character's face and important features, while Rim Lights were added to create separation from the background and enhance the silhouette.

Once the rendering process was completed, I moved on to post-production to fine-tune the final image. Using Photoshop Camera Raw Filter, I adjusted various color setting to ensure the rendered image matched the desired artistic vision. Additionally, I applied subtle Lens Correction and Depth of Field to enhance the overall realism and visual appeal.

Conclusion

The entire project took around 3 to 4 months to complete. Since this was a personal project made in my spare time, I wasn’t able to work on it every day due to other work tasks. One of the main challenges was creating a realistic elderly character, especially with sculpting wrinkles and age-related details. Achieving high-quality skin textures and hair using XGen required numerous iterations and render tests. Balancing this personal project with my professional work was also a challenge.

For those starting in character art, my advice is to focus on mastering the fundamentals of anatomy and proportions. Understanding human form is very important for creating realistic and believable characters. Keep your workflow simple to avoid overcomplicated tasks that don’t significantly impact the final result but consume a lot of time. Lastly, be patient and persevering. Complex projects can be very time-consuming and challenging, but the satisfaction of bringing a character to life is well worth the effort.

I’m very grateful to 80 Level for the opportunity to share this project. You can view more of my work on my ArtStation page and my Instagram. Thank you!

Xhon Hysenaj, CG and Character Artist

Interview conducted by Gloria Levine