R1 & Anim Update (WIP)

Hey everyone! This week we're meeting with EVA in this rare and first ever Metal Gear Solid set!

A lot to go through today.

I had my hands full with the animation over the past few days, so I decided to do something a bit simpler. For those who aren't aware, the remake/remaster of Metal Gear Solid 3 was recently released. I have fond memories of playing the original when I was younger, so I thought it would be nice to give a nod to this special game.

This time I went with something a little different: the title and main image of this set are a play on the game's feature where holding R1 lets you view certain cutscenes in first person. Some of the most memorable "R1 moments" came when you could peek at EVA, either when she was close by or barely dressed.

As you can see, I've made solid progress with the animation this week. The fluid particle system worked really well. I was a bit worried it might not work with the fluids I had in mind for Judy, but it actually worked out great for both characters.

What's exciting about this method is how flexible and easy it is to work with. Getting the settings right takes time, but at least I can see the results almost instantly as I tweak the values. The GIFs you see here are just one of countless possibilities. At one point I even messed up a setting and the whole thing gushed out like a torrent. Not exactly what I was going for, though I should've saved it as a "blooper".

After finishing the fluids, I decided to try adding particle hair for Judy, which worked surprisingly well, along with a subtle "fake" jiggle to her thigh.

I spent a few days working out a lighting and environment setup for the scene. With lighting, I always look for something cinematic first; my most recent Claire render is a good example of what I aim for. But depending on the character, camera angle, and position, that can be much harder to achieve.

One of the biggest challenges with CP 2077 is that most environments are dark, lit mainly by saturated and artificial lights. That type of lighting is tough to get right. Colored lighting can work beautifully, but it can ruin the scene if not done right. While experimenting with this one, I noticed Judy looked much better under neutral white light, so I decided to go with that.

I can see I made a mistake in my last Panam animation by making the scene too dark. This time, I made sure Judy is properly lit. I may still test out a few other setups, but if nothing else works, the animation will look like what you see in the image above.

What's next? I'll go through some final little details, and then start working on sound.

As usual, early access to this week's post will be available on Wednesday. Thank you all for your continued support.

All characters seen in my work are fictional and consenting adults over the age of 18.