KAMI V4 (Realtime VR Character)

Let's get this show underway!
rendered in Cycles.

Kami is intended to be used multiplatform with as much consistency as possible - good for realtime VR, virtual production. From as little as a profile picture right up to a virtual actor in a movie.

Demonstration of the Synth / Demon toggle in VRchat. (Unity)

The iris geometry has different animation states which can be switched on the fly and combined to create new iris shapes.

6 states that can be individually toggled on/off = 720 possible.

I have created some 'favourites' to pick from also. (Unity)

360 turnaround in Unity. There are particle systems set to work as booster jets for locomotion .

Idles, chilling.
Unity 2019 BIRP.

Face capture testing. Using ARkit data to drive perfect sync keys.

Faceit plugin for Blender was really clutch here, making the process much more automated and non-destructive. (Blender)

360 pano, since we're talking VR! (Blender)

Angles. 
Cycles render

Angles.
Cycles render

Substance Painter renders in iRay.

Substance Painter renders in iRay.

The jawplate is seperate geo, as was matched to the face rig with data transfers in Blender.

The jawplate is seperate geo, as was matched to the face rig with data transfers in Blender.

In order to not rely on complex rigs or constraints, I wanted to keep the arms to a single rotation point (elbow). The cables in the arm are uniform to a single rotation axis, so they work like a regular two-bone arm.

In order to not rely on complex rigs or constraints, I wanted to keep the arms to a single rotation point (elbow). The cables in the arm are uniform to a single rotation axis, so they work like a regular two-bone arm.

Shoulder plates. I wanted to get nerdy with lore and details, so the QR codes are functional, and the brands on the model are (fictional) producers of different aspects - armor, weapons, etc.

Shoulder plates. I wanted to get nerdy with lore and details, so the QR codes are functional, and the brands on the model are (fictional) producers of different aspects - armor, weapons, etc.

Full rear view. I'm super happy with the spine / back, it looks great considering it is majority texture work.

Full rear view. I'm super happy with the spine / back, it looks great considering it is majority texture work.

More spine.

More spine.

Front torso. The emissive lines on the torso scroll vertically, like a slow water flow on the vertical axis, top-to-bottom.

Front torso. The emissive lines on the torso scroll vertically, like a slow water flow on the vertical axis, top-to-bottom.

Side profile. I wanted some subtle roughness and normal variations, so some 'plates' have different levels slightly.

Side profile. I wanted some subtle roughness and normal variations, so some 'plates' have different levels slightly.

Closeups of torso detail. I made some radial alphas for use with normal mapping (height-to-normal, etc), and combined these with metals & emissives to create stamped detail onto the body.

Closeups of torso detail. I made some radial alphas for use with normal mapping (height-to-normal, etc), and combined these with metals & emissives to create stamped detail onto the body.

Lower torso, legs. 
The band reads 'DANCE WITH ME'. 
I intend to make it animatable and accept live text input via OSC so it is changable on the fly in accepted platforms!

Lower torso, legs.
The band reads 'DANCE WITH ME'.
I intend to make it animatable and accept live text input via OSC so it is changable on the fly in accepted platforms!

Hip closeup.

Hip closeup.

Thigh closeup. More nerdy stamps.

Thigh closeup. More nerdy stamps.

Feet. These are rigged in such a way that the toe bone retains the end plate of the foot, almost as if it is magnetised to the floor, but not requiring any crazy rigging, so it is compatible pretty much everywhere. A nice low-profile mechanical effect.

Feet. These are rigged in such a way that the toe bone retains the end plate of the foot, almost as if it is magnetised to the floor, but not requiring any crazy rigging, so it is compatible pretty much everywhere. A nice low-profile mechanical effect.

*Heavy* use of normal mapping for details. Custom and shelf stamps were great here. 
All detail is painted manually, since the base mesh was poly modelled.

*Heavy* use of normal mapping for details. Custom and shelf stamps were great here.
All detail is painted manually, since the base mesh was poly modelled.

Base Color, Metallic and Roughness

Base Color, Metallic and Roughness

Normal map hacks! These are flat single sided geo. Using UV shell borders as a reference, I bevelled in the height to give them more depth.

Normal map hacks! These are flat single sided geo. Using UV shell borders as a reference, I bevelled in the height to give them more depth.

While ARkit is pretty expressive, there's occasionally need for baked in expressions when facetracking is not possible, so I've added in some blendshapes for this purpose.

While ARkit is pretty expressive, there's occasionally need for baked in expressions when facetracking is not possible, so I've added in some blendshapes for this purpose.

(AUDIO NARRATION)

Face capture using a regular camera / Android device.

KAMI V4 (Realtime VR Character)

¦¦¦ KAMI V4

KAMI is a realtime character designed for multi-platform use in VR and virtual production platforms - Unity and Unreal are the main targets, with additional usages in 'V-tubing' and other motion capture softwares as a secondary.

Designed as a ground up identity that is operable and recognisable across the board, she therefore is required to be optimized for real-time while keeping within a fairly standard material workflow. (basic glTF compatible textures - RGBA/NRM/RGH/MTL/EMM)

Primarily, this will be used as a full-body 'avatar' in VRChat, and as a digital identity (streaming, video content, social media)

TOOLS:
Blender was used for the poly modelling and mesh creation.
The Faceit plugin available for Blender was used to create the ARkit / Perfect Sync shapekeys for the face.
Animation rig was created using ARP Match-to-rig - animation controls are generated for an existing rig.

Substance Painter was used for all texture and material work.

Substance Designer was used for some font creation and decal creation.

Krita was used for some alpha creation, namely some radial height stamps.

Renders were created in Blender (Cycles), Substance Painter (Iray) and Unity 2019.4 (BIRP)

Unity content (Unity, VRchat) makes use of Unity 2019.4 BIRP, and motion is recorded with SteamVR.