Been recently studying in-depth facial muscles and how each one activates and moves the face; also cleaner topology on the nose, forehead and back of the head.
Video by Hella_Faith
Squish
Art by the amazing AngelInk!
Cheetah character by Hella_Faith
- Avatar and video by Hella_Faith
- The whole flex system relies on a smoothing blendshape that i turn off based on the shoulder position, will be animated with VRCcontact receiver and senders in VRChat.
- NOTE: The model doesn't have gendered features anymore for this v3 remake, so I'm on the fence about flagging the post as NSFW, since muscle studies are not a 18+ topic, but I also understand the depiction of realistic bodies may be taken otherwise, apologies to mods for any mistake, will fix asap if needed.
Video and avatar by Hella_Faith
Overview of how I modeled, weightpainted and rigged my latest v3 model, hope it helps anyone!
For any questions, feel free to write them down below and I'll do my best to answer them.
Hangout with Picc!
Photo by Hella_Faith
Video, systems and avatar by Hella_Faith
Squish and stretch physics overview with my muscle system technique, this time applied to the side abs, obliques muscles.
Whole system is standalone and works by adding two rotation constraints at the side of the hips that copy the rotation of the spine, maintaining volume of the sides when bending.
The 2 blendshapes are for toned physiques that lets you control the flex of the actual muscle fibers, optional if your avatar isn't toned.
Avatar and systems by Hella_Faith
For this V3 and probably final revision I mixed rotation constraints from my previous V2, with the 1st smoothing blendshape that get deactivated when the torso moves from the center mass VRCcontact, and the 2nd that activates when the torso is at X rotation forward or back, in this case 25 degrees.
Video and systems by Hella_Faith
Now accurately simulating the whole arm, biceps contraction and triceps relaxation, all driven only by 3 helper bones.
Video and avatar by Hella_Faith
A small overview for existing creators, with topology/weightpaint view. Requires prior rigging knowledge.
Don't oversmooth your weight paint, joints shouldn't turn into round blobs. Study reference videos to see where anatomy (like elbows and knees) is sharp during a bend.
Don't rely on helper bones as bandaid.
Hey there it's Hella_Faith, after last week's showcase of my latest works around the back muscles, this week I'm showing the studies and additions I made on the shoulder/arm area, made of muscle systems coupled with blendshape animations improving the surface when raising the shoulders!
Result of improving at weightpaint, rigging muscle systems, and now adding a new layer of blendshapes that refine the whole muscle surface around the shoulders and armpits when raising the arms (more planned for the other axis of movement).
Planned next week: Thigh muscle sideway squish when bending the legs, obliques flex system and maybe something about the hands!
NOTE: The model doesn't have gendered features anymore for this v3 remake, being more masc leaning, so I'm on the fence about flagging the post as NSFW, since muscle studies are not a 18+ topic, but I also understand the depiction of realistic bodies may be taken otherwise, apologies to mods for any mistake, will fix asap if needed.
Hi! I'm Hella_Faith, the muscle cheetah 3D artist, I have been remaking my avatar from scratch in the last 3 months and along the way I have thought of ways to improve the realism of the model.
Note: This is a proof of concept that took me many tens of hours of work to achieve, with a specific goal right from the start, not as an afterthought or upgrade to an existing base!
From the ground up I decided to model the flexed state to use it later for an extra layer of animations to add on top of the muscles with blendshapes, VRCcontact receivers and senders.
NOTE2: The model doesn't have gendered features anymore for this v3 remake and thus I'm on the fence about flagging the post as NSFW, since muscle studies are not a 18+ topic, but I also understand the depiction of realistic bodies may be taken otherwise, apologies to mods for any mistake.
I've just finished retopologizing the V3 upper body of my cheetah avatar for VR, the old textured V2 in the 3rd picture.
- This is my 4th retopology work ever and I'm still a newbie, so far it's at 7.1K triangles, is it a lot?
- Hoping to get tips and feedback of my work so far since I'm still a newbie at many 3d fields.
Background of the goal design: Body has elongated features, taking inspiration from cheetah's and endurance runners design.
Designed for speed/endurance, zero excess mass and anatomy on full display. Anatomy is a cool passion of mine and I'm using this model as a fun challenge to work as I progress as a 3D artist.
Note: Bony landmarks and muscle definition are modeled in a flexed state, then they're smoothed afterwards with localized blendshapes and dynamically 'un-smoothed' when movement triggers a localized flex ( ex. in the biceps, pecs or ribs when raising the shoulders), this theoretically leads to more realistic detail that has volume, rather than relying on a normal map that breaks the immersion when seeing up close with stereo view (with vr headsets).
- Not sure if I should mark this post as nsfw, since the body doesn't have any actual gendered or explicit features, I remain available in case it needs to be marked.