Approaching Realism: Making a Cat
This is the current progress of my sculpt of a cat skull. Right now I have blocked out the main shapes and am in the process of refining everything. Once I have the top half mostly finished, I will make jaw bone and teeth. Sculpted in ZBrush.
Here is an image of the skull I am using as reference. I started with some DICOM data from a CT scan of a cat. I converted it into an STL using InVesalius and cleaned it up in Blender.
Here is the rest of the skeleton that I have also converted from DICOM to STL. I am not planning on sculpting the entire skeleton, I will most likely just end up splitting everything up, filling holes, and retopologizing.
This is the same skull as above but these screenshots were taken before some minor alterations were made to the current version.
The main project I have decided to tackle this semester is to create a cat from the ground up. I am starting with the skeleton and then will sculpt/model the muscles, rig the skeleton, and weight paint everything for (somewhat) accurate deformation. I will be doing a lot of research into feline anatomy and movement...
Following that, I will be experimenting with some different methods for simulating skin that will allow for the muscle and bone to show through in a realistic manner. I am planning on using Blender for this, but will also be looking into other alternative software such as Houdini. The reason why I want to delve into Houdini is because it is what I am hoping to use for the fur. I was originally thinking of using Maya's XGen hair system but Houdini's hair simulations look so much better and I know that it is generally the industry standard for things like this.
I am hoping to have this whole thing finished by the end of the semester so that I can start making something with it in the spring. When that time comes, I will be continuing to explore realism in the environments that I will be creating. My end goal is to create some still images, gifs, and brief clips that look like they were shot in real life with a real animal. It will certainly be hard to pull off but I think that it will be great challenge. While this will be my main focus for the term, I will still be experimenting and working on my modeling/sculpting by making other props and small objects (unrelated to the cat) so that I can have more 3D work in my portfolio.
Here is a breakdown of what I will be doing:
Done: Convert CT scan data into STLs
In Progress: Sculpt Skull
To-do: Clean up and re-topologize bones
To-do: Rig skeleton
To-do: Sculpt or model muscles
To-do: Attach muscles to bones and weight paint everything
To-do: Sculpt head/face, paws, and other soft bits
To-do: Make skin in Blender or Houdini
To-do: Become somewhat familiar with Houdini
To-do: Make fur in Houdini
To-do: Texture paint
