ALENA MEALY
THE TIGER'S REST
BREAKDOWN
GETTING INSPIRED
CONCEPT
I initially began this project under the beautiful artwork of Celine Kim, specifically her piece called " Spring Parade". I love this concept for many reasons, and wanted to explore the myriad of different opportunities to explore different techniques and practices in the character/look development process.
As someone who has taken specific focus on grooming, I knew the Tiger was going to be the first thing I wanted to start. Because this is based off a 2D stylized drawing, I knew I wanted the shape of the groom to reflect the silhouette seen in the image.
MODELING
Sculpting is always my favorite part of this process, so I had a great deal of fun sculpting this Tiger. I found it a an excellent challenge to follow the silhouette of the concept.
Starting with a base mesh from the Z-Zoo Library in Zbrush, I slowly began to match the more dominant shapes, and paid close attention to the tapered shapes especially. Applying a simple coat of poly-paint when I get closer to my goal helps me visualize the concept even further, so I always try to get that in for my own visual cue!
POSING
Knowing the scope of the project and the timing with other projects already in progress, I made the decision to ultimately create an environment and place the Tiger in his own little composition, expanding off the concept of the original Tiger and putting my own twist on the character. Before landing on the final pose, I wanted to see what challenges the groom would give me if I gave the Tiger a very dynamic pose. It also allowed me to evaluate things before creating a corrective groom with Yeti for the final shot.
GROOMING
Grooming this Tiger was an awesome challenge and my love for understanding the grooming pipeline and this tiger combined taught me so much along the way. My process began with breaking down which parts of the Tiger would get their own Yeti Node and Groom and what would be combines. Breaking down each section of the groom allowed me to focus on the feel of the different types of clumping that happen on the head versus the body, for example.
Aside from that, I had so much fun with the process of starting- and iterations that follow, as I learn from each step or misstep along the way!
I knew a good portion of my time would be spent on the face and head, so creating a baseline for the fur was my first step for the body, legs arms and feet, then controlling the clumps with attribute painting. Then I would use that initial steam to then later build upon to get some breakup in direction and add some randomization.
GROOM GUIDES
DENSITY VIEWPORT
ENVIRONMENT AND LIGHTING
I created the rainforest lagoon environment by utilizing speed tree for logs and mixing in Megascans foliage. Using a wave deformer with the locater directly underneath the Tiger's paw, I created a water ripple effect. I drew inspiration from The Jungle Book and began to build and dress an almost mystical hidden oasis for our gentle Tiger and his moment of calm!
COMPOSITING
I knew a good portion of my time would be spent on the face and head, so creating a baseline for the fur was my first step for the body, legs arms and feet, then controlling the clumps with attribute painting. Then I would use that initial steam to then later build upon to get some breakup in direction and add some randomization.
