Exploring HD Details Need Your Thoughts! (CLOSED)

VFoxGamesThu, Feb 20

Karma: 25,665

They look great, just make sure the pores don't get too big and look like pimple marks have been removed, hahaha.

Very good work!

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Karma: 7,645

Thu, Feb 20

Haha, good point! Don't want my characters looking like they've just had an intense skincare treatment. I'll fine-tune the details to keep the pores natural and balanced—no accidental 'pimple purge' effect! Appreciate the feedback

Luxe MuseThu, Feb 20

Karma: 4,402

Your work looks very detailed. I'm wondering how you plan to generate the corresponding skin texture around the big pores. Are you considering using Substance Painter's curvature map to assist, or do you intend to create it manually?

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Karma: 7,645

Thu, Feb 20

I bake directly from high poly to low poly—not just the curvature map, but also AO, height, and normal maps straight from the high poly. I always run into errors when trying to bake displacement maps, though.

Now that I think about it, I should just paint the skin and show you awesome guys the result afterward. Stay tuned

Karma: 4,402

Thu, Feb 20

Have you tried using Blender to bake the displacement? I create normals and displacement in it. Basically, I import the low-poly model, apply a Multires modifier, import the high-res model, skin-wrap it to the highest subdivision of the Multires (projecting, and checking back and front face), then bake from the multi-res. It’s not perfect; 100% of the time the results need a bit of tweaking, but it’s not the worst either.

Digital Drapery CoSat, Feb 22

Karma: 7,645

Thats an interesting method! I haven't tried Blender for displacement baking yet, but it sounds like a solid workaroundI might give it a shot.

For now, Ive been painting the skin directly in Substance Painter, and here are two renders to showcase the results: one with just the HD morph and another with both the HD morph and skin details applied. Let me know what you think! Always appreciate the insight from awesome artists like you.

Without HD Morph
Forum Image

With HD Morph
Forum Image

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Karma: 4,402

Sat, Feb 22

I think it looks awesome! You can really see the lips and around the eyes, where there's what seems like actual geometry. Even better, the way the light plays off the curvatures created by the displacement map feels super natural.

With Blender, I only stick to it out of habit and my budget. It's kind of a hassle, though, and definitely a process. Once I bake the normal map from the high-res model, I don't use those files straight up, I feed that displacement into my Blender material and then re-bake with a simple bake to get something a little more subtle. I'm not sure why the output from the high-res blend doesn't look as good; that technical stuff is honestly beyond me.

Karma: 4,402

Sat, Feb 22

I meant to say displacement not normal map emote

Karma: 7,645

Sun, Feb 23

Thanks so much for the feedback, Luxe Muse! I'm really glad you noticed the detail around the lips and eyes—it's been a fun (if sometimes maddening) process getting that natural light play with displacement. Speaking of which, do you think this model is store-worthy? Your expert opinion would mean a lot as I decide on its next step. Cheers

Karma: 4,402

Sun, Feb 23

I'm far from an expert frown

but my ego’s flattered, so thanks! emote

I don’t see why she wouldn’t be store-worthy. Here’s my personal take: when I look at her, I can picture her slotted into one of my renders, a motherly figure, maybe a teacher or a sharp, good-looking detective who didn’t quite finish fixing her hair but still commands attention with that perfect mix of authority and beauty! I bet others could look at her, vibe with her in their own way, and find her just as worthy of a spot in their toolkit!

Karma: 7,645

Sun, Feb 23

Thanks, Luxe Muse! Your take is absolutely inspiring—I love the idea of her being a multifaceted character, whether she's a caring teacher or a detective with a wild, unfinished hair moment. That perfect blend of authority and beauty is exactly what I was aiming for. Your creative spin makes me even more excited about her potential in various narratives. Appreciate the boost and the imaginative perspective!

COMIXIANTSat, Feb 22

Karma: 1,447

It's been a while since I used ZBrush (I ended-up flogging it in the end), but just as with what Luxe Muse is doing, I don't understand why you both keep using displacement for this task when it's really a job for Normal Maps. The amount of resources it must be sucking up must be absolutely insane - lol!

I understand you wanting to sculpt the detail in ZBrush, but you really should be baking this detail to Normal Maps, not to Displacement Maps. The only time you use Displacement Maps is when the detail is so heavy that it protrudes enough from the surface to need to look like actual geometry. Daz Studio must be doing an absolutely insane amount of render subdivisions to even render these images, whereas with a Normal Map, it would keep the resolution of the map itself regardless of how subdivided the model is.

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