INTRODUCTION
Hello, I am Saad Farooq, a 3D Artist from Pakistan. I mostly work as a freelancer. I also have a YouTube channel where I create tutorials for 3D modeling, digital sculpting, texturing, and rendering. I use Blender, Substance Painter, and ZBrush for my workflows.
INSPIRATION
I create all sorts of stylized characters, with my main interest being caricatures. This particular artwork is a caricature of Hayao Miyazaki, the Co-Founder of Studio Ghibli. I have made caricatures of many different personalities who have contributed in some way to my life.
I am also inspired by the work of Gabriel Soares, a digital sculptor who creates stylized/caricature portraits in 3D. His work has motivated me to pursue this artwork and many more to come.
REFERENCES
Use references!
In 3D, always use references. Sculpting takes a lot of time, and the blocking out process takes time as well. You cannot solely rely on your imagination in this process. To save time and effort, always use references. It helps build your visual library.
BLOCK-OUT
Keep it simple!
My philosophy while blocking out the character is to keep it simple. I use simple shapes to block out the entire character first.
If you, like me, are using a reference, paint the basic shapes in a photo editing software to better understand the forms.
TEXTURES
Keep it Simple ! (Again)
Like that block-out technique! I apply the same philosophy during texturing. I always block out the base colors before further texturing. This approach helps me better understand the colors of my subject.
LIGHTING
For lighting, I always use area lights with planes to cover them. I turn off the ray visibility for the camera on planes, so the planes block out certain lights but remain invisible in the camera/final render. Sometimes, I also use sunlight for the rim light effect.
RENDER - My tribute to Hayao Miyazaki
Here is a quick time-lapse video of the entire process,
That's it!
Thank you for investing some time to read my article. I hope you learned something useful. Have a nice day!
About the Artist
Saad Farooq (Khatri3D) Freelancer, a digital sculptor and a senior 3D Character Artist and Teacher.
