Eye Study

EYE STUDY

        For this assignment, I want to concentrate on something that has always been my weakest area: the eyes. With every 3D portrait I do and with all the other feedback I receive, one thing is consistent: "the eyes don't feel right". After speaking with Nick Zuccarello, our art instructor, and reflecting on it, I believe it would be a good option to work on my weakness and fully comprehend what goes into making a CG eye appear alive and real once and for all. I may limit this project to Maya, but if I have the time, I will move it to Unreal. I plan to explore every tiny detail about the eyes, including its distance, gender differences, modeling, and sculpting. It will be an assignment that is heavily focused on research, comparable to what I did previously with FACS. This is a 23-day task, and I'll write my schedule below.

WEEK 01

         Week 1 will be me watching a lot of videos and doing a lot of study on the eyes themselves. Not only that, but I plan to showcase everything I've learned in 3D in some fashion.

        1. Researching

        2. Presenting the research in a simple manner in Maya.

        3. Set up a lighting scene in Maya, maybe Unreal.

        4. Set up Cameras

        5. Model the low poly for Cornea, Sclera, Iris, pupil, Coruncula.

        6. UV's for everything (hopefully)

        7. I might try setting up the low poly eyes with one of my prior portraits.

WEEK 02

        The majority of the week will be spent sculpting in ZBrush. This week, I really want to focus on sculpting Iris above all else. I intend to capture the Iris's intricate details.

        1. Setting up things in Zbrush.

        2. UV's (if unable to do in Week 01).

        3. Start to finish Iris sculpt.

        4. Sculpt sclera.

        5. I might try throwing some wide colors in Zbrush to get the feel.

        6. Preparing for texturing in Substance Painter.

WEEK 03

        

        At this point, I want my lighting setup to be operating properly so that I can keep track of the color adjustments I make in SP.

        1. Look at color schemes for the eyes, particularly the iris.

        2. Will begin with larger colors and go to smaller details.

        3. Switching back and forth in Maya to check changes.

        4. I plan to start rendering and look dev this week itself.

        5. Finally, make it look cool & have addressed the uncanny valley feel to the eyes.

        The final two days will be spent working on whatever feedback I receive.