So I 3D modeled a Sister Celestine of the Order of the Bloody Rose* for my reel. I was an exercise in character modeling that focused on the face, hair and the hard surfaces of her armor with some small costuming elements like the robes and pouches. I built her before the newer models were released so this armor is not as accurate as I would like (perhaps a different "pattern" in 40k parlance). In any event, you can see this version on my ArtStation page here. I should note that I modeled, textured, rigged and animated her. That said, at the time, I couldn't get the facial system to transfer over to real time from Maya and was left with just some eye movements and blinks. Furthermore, this was my first attempt at hair cards and I really wasn't happy with them because I wanted her hair to be more natural and beautifully curly. Alas, this was beyond my reach at the time (and still is in some ways).
Now, I've had a chance to revisit her a bit and update a bunch of the things I wasn't happy with. I spent a lot of time using Maya Xgen to improve her hair and make it more natural (Xgen definitions can be read in Unreal so I'm testing this pipeline and seeing how performative it is). I've also fixed her facial rig and cleaned up a lot of her skin deformation. This go round I'll also be testing the built-in Unreal control rig and animation systems. Still there's plenty more I want to learn and apply, specifically a more robust blend shape/bone deformation/normal map system for really realistic facial expressions (wrinkles, laugh lines, etc.) but enough about all that! Here she is!
(rendered in Maya Arnold)
*Sister Jelani may appear a bit fresh faced for a Sister of Battle, well that's because she is. Her powered armor and Sacristan Pattern Bolter have just been bestowed upon her as she has moved in rank from Novitiate to Celestine. She has many battles yet to fight...
