Character animation created in Blender for a VR platform.

Textures are prototyped using Midjourney and baked in Substance Painter for the PBR workflow. Marvellous Designer is used to create the cheongsam dress, which is simulated and reimported into Blender for composition.

Texture Creation & Application

I generated the anklet’s base diffuse texture using Midjourney, then imported that image into Adobe Sampler to derive a matching normal map. In Substance Painter, I blended the diffuse and normal maps into a worn, golden alloy material—layering rust and dirt effects via generators driven by ambient‑occlusion data for realistic weathering.

For the stylized PBR hair, I extruded curves with the Bevel modifier—one curve defines the cross‑section profile and another traces each strand’s path. I applied my custom alpha mask to those beveled faces, then duplicated and staggered the curves to assemble a volumetric hair mesh.

To achieve a translucent organza curtain, I enabled the material’s alpha channel and used a stencil pattern keyed to an alpha map for accurate printed motifs. This approach preserves light transmission while clearly defining the stencil design.

For the face, I added a second UV channel so I could layer my hand‑painted portrait texture directly over a procedural Blender Kit skin shader built in Geometry Nodes. By projecting the high‑resolution painterly details onto this secondary UV map, I seamlessly blend custom facial features with the underlying node‑driven skin material—resulting in a richly detailed, bespoke skin effect.

Partial weight paint around the vertex emulates the hanging effect for the curtain.

I have rigged and adjusted the weight distribution using tools like Rigify.

Inspiration and character design references

The Clothes are created in Marvellous designer, in a similar way fashion designer sew they clothes, first cropped in the 2D space and then simulated on the character in 3D window. The exported UV layout retain its 2D designs, makes the pattern making and the sewline realistic and efficient.

Multiple force fields are set up in the scene to ensure a realistic movement for the petals in an aesthetic yet realistic fashion.

Sculpting & Retopology
I began by sculpting the character’s mesh in ZBrush, establishing all primary forms and details at a high subdivision level. Once the sculpt was finalized, I exported it to Blender for retopology, creating a clean, animation‑ready topology that preserved the sculpted volume while maintaining an efficient polygon count.

Rigging with Rigify
In Blender, I generated a custom Rigify rig by tailoring the bone structure and control shapes to the character’s proportions and fine-tuned the deformation envelopes and weight painting—especially around the shoulders, hips, and spine—to ensure smooth joint bending. To align the animation keyframes with the reference photo and achieve seamless dance movement, I used motion paths to track and adjust the key poses.

Key Animation & Reference
For the character’s dance sequence, I observed a reference video of a dancer performing chained turns. I laid down the key poses at a slower playback speed to capture each twist and weight shift clearly. This initial pass established the core timing and silhouette of the movement.

Refinement Using Animation Principles
Because the slowed‑down keys made some motions feel stiff, I applied follow‑through and overlapping action to the elbows, knees, and skirt elements. By offsetting the secondary motions—such as the elbow arcs trailing behind the upper arm and the skirt panels reacting slightly later—I introduced natural softness and fluidity, transforming the mechanical feel into a more lifelike dance.

Simulation & Software Workflow

After simulating the garments in Marvelous Designer, I exported the animated cloth as an Alembic cache and reimported it into Blender. There, I applied a Subdivision modifier and performed light sculpting to snug the fabric against the body mesh, eliminating any unwanted intersections. For simpler cloth elements—like the organza curtain—I ran a low‑poly cloth simulation in Blender, using vertex weight painting to pin rows of vertices and emulate the hooked suspension at the curtain rod.

To bring the floral accents to life, I instanced particle systems of flower petals and drove their motion with a combination of Curve Guides (to define swirling paths) and a gravity force field. This setup created a natural “wind‑blown” effect, with petals spiraling and drifting realistically through the scene.