CREATE A WEREWOLF in REAL Time
Hooman Raad details how he created this werewolf character in Unreal Engine, and his tips for realistic hair
The concept, model, texture and material setup for this ferocious image was completed entirely in Unreal Engine 4. “It took me around 12 working days from concept to final model,” says 3D artist Hooman Raad. He employed industry-standard methods to create the piece, but feels the Unreal Engine 4 material gave it an outstanding quality.
“I always make sure to put in hours of hard work to ensure it comes out nicely, because presentation is crucial to selling the model and making all those hours worthwhile,” he explains.
Raad has worked in so many disciplines within the 3D world, including rigging and animation. Around five years ago he decided to focus purely on character creation for animation and video games. “Seeing the work of other artists always encourages me to continue improving my work,” says Raad. “Everywhere I look in nature becomes a source of inspiration.”
01 find the forms of the hair
For hair always try to understand the flow as well as clumps; try to do a quick paint-over in Photoshop and then break it down. Then move onto a hair system software (such as Xgen). As many artists have said, reference is your best friend.
02 hair Placement
For a creature like this I prefer to place the hair by hand. Recently I found a useful script for Maya called Hair Grabber, which helps you select the hair card easily and will save you a lot of time. For example, sometimes it’s difficult to select the root or tip of the hair card meshes, but with this script you can do it quickly and easily.
03 hair types
There are a lot of tutorials available on the internet for different types of hair UVS. Some textures are used to fill the surface, some are used for main and upper hair, while others are for strands that are less groomed.
04 silhouette
The silhouette is very important because it will really show the personality of the character. During the process of the werewolf’s hair cards, it was very important to check the silhouette after I placed some hair. I would turn the model around and check the silhouette over and over again to achieve a satisfactory result.