Creating sci-fi characters

Fuad Quaderi shares his 3D-Coat workflow for creating awesome sci-fi characters

Step 1: Rough concept

I create the initial mesh with the Sphere tool and my knowledge of design language. I don't use reference images while I'm working - I just trust my brain to explore forms and rhythms. This initial sculpt is the most important step of the work, because without it you have no form to separate and add details to!

I like the Sphere tool for making my favorite shapes and concepts because it's so soft and flexible. I like using 3D-Coat because it has a strong sense of workflow, and voxel sculpting allows great flexibility for making hard surfaces.

Sculpting the rough concept with 3D-Coat

Sculpting the rough concept with 3D-Coat

Step 2: Dividing your mesh

This step is one of my favorite parts to work on. The Hide tool is so fast for separating shapes! Select the Hide tool to hide your visible shapes, and then go to the Voxels tab to select the separated parts. I mark the parts with different colors.

Dividing the mesh with the Hide tool

Dividing the mesh with the Hide tool

Step 3: Smoothing

After dividing your mesh, you need to smooth the shapes with the Res+ tool (resampling). I may also use Res+ during the previous step for smaller parts, because sometimes I might miss fine details.

The result after separating shapes with Hide, and how important Res+ is

The result after separating shapes with Hide, and how important Res+ is

Step 4: Fine details

My scene can become too heavy if I work on fine details in Voxel mode, so I set the mesh layer to Surface mode. LiveClay is the best tool for adding more details. (See the picture for my LiveClay settings and the results I get with them.)

Adding fine details with LiveClay and exploring some concepts on the surface

Adding fine details with LiveClay and exploring some concepts on the surface

Step 5: Sharp details

Sometimes I need to add some industrial, angular shapes on my surfaces. In such cases, Vox Extrude is so helpful and fast. I can explore many ideas with it. (See my Vox Extrude settings in the image.)

Adding some contrasting sharp details with the Vox Extrude tool

Adding some contrasting sharp details with the Vox Extrude tool

Step 6: Final mesh

After all that, I have a detailed and polished mesh without any blank or incomplete parts! My mech designs can take a minimum of half an hour to make and up to four or five hours for fine details in most cases.

My final mesh result when I'm done sculpting

My final mesh result when I'm done sculpting

Step 7: KeyShot

After checking all parts of the mesh, it's time to render! I import the mesh into KeyShot and play with different materials. In the image, you can see my environment settings and all the materials I've used.

Import the mesh to KeyShot render scene and play with different materials

Import the mesh to KeyShot render scene and play with different materials

Step 8: post-production

After rendering in KeyShot, I take the image into Photoshop to add finishing touches like surface markings, glowing lights, and a subtle vignette effect.

The final image before post-processing

The final image before post-processing

The final image after post-processing

The final image after post-processing

A collection of my other recent hybrid mechs, all made with 3D-Coat and KeyShot

A collection of my other recent hybrid mechs, all made with 3D-Coat and KeyShot

Related links

Head over to Fuad's website to see more of his work
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