Facial Skin Layered Mapping

 

Part 3.6c – Finishing the Wrinkle Base

Before You Begin

Have your work file (SkinFrontSectionWork001.psd) and your reference files open in Photoshop.  In your work file have only the Bump layer set and the Grid2 layer visible and have the Grid2 layer’s opacity set to about 35%.  Have your model open in A:M and hide all but the Front Section group.  Have the edit  window for the action that flattens Front Section open so we can apply some test decals.

Introduction

To complete the Wrinkle Base add any wrinkles and blemishes the character has and we will use the reference images to guide us.  We will not however do the eye lids, eye brow areas, lips or ears.  These are special areas that will be done separately.  Also be aware that a layer of noise needs to be placed on top of any wrinkles we paint.  Finally, older characters may have extremely complex wrinkle maps while younger characters may not have anything at all beyond what we’ve already done.

 

  1. We’ll create a Noise layer to over lay the wrinkles and blemishes first.  Create a new layer above the Softness Base layer and call it Noise.  Fill it with 50% gray.
  2. Next ‘Apply Noise’ to this layer with an amount of 1%, Distribution Gaussian and Monochromatic.  Then set the Blend to Overlay.
  3. Now we’ll create a layer for the wrinkles and blemishes.  This will be the type of layer we’ll be using over and over again and I call it an ‘Overlay’ layer.   Create a new layer between the Softness Base and the Noise layers and call it Wrinkles.  Fill it with 50% gray and set the Blend method to Overlay.  The layer should appear to become transparent.   The tools you will use on this type of layer are the Burn and Dodge tools.  Basically the 50% gray will allow the layers underneath to show through and only non-50% gray area will show.
  4. Now create another layer above the Wrinkle layer and name it Notes.  Well use this to rough out the stuff we want to draw.
  5. Carefully look at each of your reference shots and note any wrinkles, blemishes, pits, scars… anything that is a bump or indentation.  Using the paint brush/color red, carefully draw in where you think these will go on the Notes layer.  My reference actress has almost no wrinkles and blemishes showing (makeup?) but there are some and just for the heck of it I’m going to add some crows feet to the eyes.  Figure 3.6c.1 shows what my wrinkle/blemish marks look like.

 

 

Figure 3.6c.1

 

  1. Next well create a guide for positioning the decal stamp.  Save your work file.  Then hide the Bump layer set and increase the opacity of the Gride2 layer to 100%.  You should have the magenta grid on a black background.  Duplicate the image and flatten then save this file in the <model>/Maps/Head folder as tmpfrontsectionguide.tga.  Close this image and return to your work file.  Return the Gride2 layer opacity to 25% and unhide the Bump layer set.
  2. Now hide the Guide2 layer leaving the Softness layer and the Notes layer showing and duplicate the image.  Flatten the duplicate and save this in the <model>/Maps/Head folder as tmpwrinkletest.tga.  Close this image and return to your work image.
  3. Hide the Notes layer and duplicate the image again and flatten and save this as tmpsoftenbumptest.tga.  Close this image and return to your work image.
  4. Unhide the Notes and Guide2 layers.
  5. Now go to A:M and the action window with the flattened Front Section.  Make sure all is hidden except the Front Section.  In the PWS right click on the model icon and select New->Decal->Other and navigate to and select the tmpfrontsectionguide.tga image.   A semi-transparent copy of the image will appear over the mesh in the action window.  Resize and position as needed to align the grid to the mesh.  When you resize be sure to hold down the shift key so that the image’s aspect ratio does not change.  If you mess up, delete the decal in the PWS and start over.  When you have positioned and sized the image to match the mesh, right click and select Apply then, right click again and select Stop Positioning.  It is vital that you position and scale this decal exactly on the mesh.  Switch to the modeling window view the model in shaded wire frame mode.  Press <Page Up> until you have the highest quality image.  If you need to, render in shaded wire frame mode at VGA resolution or larger so that you can see it clearly.  Make sure that the grid on the decal matches the splines of the mesh.  If you need to reposition the decal, delete the stamp from the decal and right click on the decal and select Position and redo the positioning and scaling.
  6. Once you have positioned this guide decal exactly on the mesh, import the other two decals you created into A:M.  Open the properties of the image you just placed and click on the image name and choose tmpwrinkletest.tga.
  7. Right click on the Image section of the Decal and select New Image and select tmpsoftenbumptest.tga.  Open the properties of this image and change the map type to bump and the percentage to about 150%.  You should wind up with something like Figure 3.6c.1.

 

 

Figure 3.6c.1

 

  1. Now in the modeling window do quick renders or even render to file if need be and check out the way the model looks with the softening bump map applied.  This layer should soften the skin and nothing more however the setting I used will work on old character skin as well as young so likely it will be a bit much for a middle age or young character but again, this depends on the character.   If it looks too ruff or course for you character, in Photoshop place a layer under the Softening Base and call it Bump Base and fill it with 50% gray.  Then, reduce the opacity of the Softening Base (I had to drop to 50%).   You could reduce the application percentage of the image in A:M but for bump maps you normally need at least 150% to show wrinkles well.  If the Softness Base needs to be courser then, its okay to up the percentage of the bump map in A:M.  Once you have it about right move on (you’ll likely adjust it again down stream).
  2. Now look at the red marks you made and switching back and forth between AM and Photoshop make any adjustments you need to better position the wrinkles, blemishes and whatnots on the Notes layer.  You can make your adjustments in Photoshop and then duplicate, flatten and resave this to check your corrections (to refresh the image in AM double click on the image to open it and then close it).
  3. I can see that the indentation above the eye is not needed; the crease in the mesh takes care of this.  Also the crows feet are too long, too high and don’t extend to the eyes.  The rest is okay.  After making the adjustments I wind up with a model that looks like Figure 3.6c.2 and the map as shown in Figure 3.6c.3.

 

 

Figure 3.6c.2

 

 

Figure 3.6c.3

 

  1. Now I’m ready to create the wrinkles.  Reduce the opacity of the Grid2 and Notes layers until you can just barely see them – for myself that winds up being 12% for each. 
  2. Select the Burn tool.  Open the brush pallet and make the brush Diameter=3, Hardness=0, Spacing=25.  If you are using a pressure sensitive graphics pad, make sure only the Other Dynamics is checked then click on Other Dynamics to bring up its properties and set the Exposure Jitter to about 35% and set the Control to Pen Pressure.  In the Burn tool control pallet (the long strip normally located under the main menu bar) set the Range to Midtones and the Expose to 32%.  There is nothing magical about any of these setting… you just mess with them until you get the result you like.  I knew from experience about where I wanted them, tried them out, upped the jitter and exposure and passed on what I decided on to you.  These should work but after a while you’ll just kind of know what you want and input the settings then adjust them until you like them.
  3. Making sure the Wrinkle layer is selected zoom in on the crows feet (either side) and carefully draw them in.  They will be darker near the eye then fade off at the other end.
  4. Now select the Dodge tool, Brush settings the same as in step 16 but set the expose to 14% (you’ll find you need less expose for the Dodge tool).  Now lighten the areas around the crows feet you’ve just drawn.   Hiding the Grid2 and Notes layers you should wind up with something like Figure 3.6c.4.

 

 

Figure 3.6c.4

 

  1. Now we’ll take a reading on how dark the wrinkles will need to be.  Save your work image, then duplicate it, flatten and save as tmpwrinkletest.jpg in the Maps/Head folder (If the Grid2 layer is visible be sure to hide this first).  Switch to AM and apply it as a bump map.  Adjust the bump percentage until the softening of the image is right for you then look at the crows feet.  If they are too pronounced you will need to reduce the opacity of the Wrinkle layer in Photoshop.    If they do not show up enough you will need more contrast so you’ll have to go over them more with the burn and dodge tools.  If they still need to show up more you can duplicate the Wrinkle layer and play with the opacity of the 2nd layer to get this right.  I wound up with Figure 3.6c.5 using a Wrinkle Bump Map (Layers: Bump Base; Softness Base, Wrinkles and Noise) show in Figure 3.6c.6.  Notice in Figure 3.6c.5 how rotating the head allows light to play across the curves in the nose enabling me to get a good idea of the texture from the map.  Also notice that the crows feet are subtle yet my wrinkle map is 100% and they are painted about as dark as I can get them which means I’ll have to use a little trick for other wrinkles that need to be more pronounced.

 

 

Figure 3.6c.5

 

 

Figure 3.6c.6

 

  1. Once you have figured out how to get the Softening Layer and the Wrinkle Layer to come out right proceed to create the rest of the wrinkles, blemishes and whatnots in Photoshop.  If you need to erase something in an Overlay layer, use the paint brush with 50% gray (not the eraser!).  If you need to smooth something out, use the smudge tool with a low Strength (say 12 to 14%).
  2. Check your work by hiding the Grid2 and Notes layers and creating and applying the map in A:M.  Figures 3.6c.7 and 3.6c.8 show my final stuff.

 

 

Figure 3.6c.7

 

 

Figure 3.6c.8

 

  1. Save everything.  The Bump Wrinkle map will be added to (eye lids and lips) and there will be separate bump maps for pores and (for male models) whiskers.  However, for now, we are just building the base layers to stay in sync with the other method which uses a high resolution side and front picture.

 

 

Go to Part  3.6d Building the Color Base