How I Made It: The Bison by Axel Revidon & Louna Perer

In this behind-the-scenes, ESMA students Axel Revidon and Louna Perer discuss their collaboration on their recent 3D artwork, The Bison.

Axel: Hi there! My name is Axel Revidon, and I just finished my 2nd year at ESMA. During the year, I decided, as part of a school project, to create a 3D bison. I worked on the modeling, sculpting, and texturing of the skin, eyes, horns, and hooves. I attempted to create the bison's fur, but it was unsuccessful. That's why, sometime later, I decided to collaborate with Louna Perer, also a 2nd-year student at ESMA, who wanted to improve her fur grooming skills. That's when the project turned into a collaboration.

What were the inspirations for The Bison?

Axel: For me, the bison is a majestic, charismatic, and photogenic animal. Bison images are striking. My goal was to create an image that highlights the greatness of this animal.

What was the most challenging aspect of creating The Bison?

Axel: This project is a challenge in terms of reference analysis (the fur covers a large part of its skin), anatomy, and texturing. It's crucial to define the right volumes to make it look realistic. Additionally, it represents a significant challenge for Louna in terms of fur. This animal has several fur behaviors, some of which are very complex. Let's start with the bison's design without fur:

What tools were used throughout the process?

Axel: This school project was an opportunity to push our knowledge of anatomy and sculpting. I extensively studied references and relied on Nicolas Morel's research on the anatomy and muscles of the Bison. I first made the skeleton of the bison using a scan base that I retopologized and textured. Then, I did a quick blocking of shapes in Maya, which I imported into ZBrush. I spent a lot of time in ZBrush to get the right proportions and to add skin folds and details. I added a micro displacement layer using procedural nodes in Renderman.

I did the texturing in Substance Painter. I added multiple detail layers in the base color and in the specular roughness, aiming for a realistic look. I also took the time to build my own lookdev scene in order to achieve something more personal and sophisticated. However, I realized that this scene was only suitable for assets of human size or slightly larger. The scene is unsuitable for both small and large assets. It was still interesting to think about the placement and intensity of the lights and to understand more precisely the usefulness of a lookdev scene.

How did you collaborate on this piece with Louna? Any challenges?

Axel: In terms of collaboration, we didn't face any major difficulties. The advantage was that we had the same working style. We just had to make a few adjustments to the displacement map to ensure it worked with Xgen Interactive (which doesn't use UDIMs). To achieve this, I had to reproject the displacement map onto the groom scalps within a single UV tile. Now, I’ll hand it over to Louna Perer, who will explain her work on the project!

Louna: Hello! For this project, my goal was to create the fur of a bison, focusing on its way of life and how it affects its appearance. I mainly used XGen Interactive, and I was particularly interested in the variations in the fur across different areas of the bison's body.

First, I analyzed the fur flow using the numerous references we had collected. Especially on the face, which I wanted to detail extensively. I sketched directly on some of the images to gain a better understanding of the fur's flow and to make guide placement easier. Then, I moved on to Maya to trace the guides directly on the model. I used the "Make Live" feature on the bison model and drew my guides with the EP Curve Tool, paying close attention to their direction. Then, I repositioned the pivots of all the curves to their first point using a script. This allowed me to lift the guides, adding volume to the fur.

Louna: Next, I focused on creating the scalps. I divided the model into two parts: the head and the body. This approach allowed me to maintain a high resolution for the displacement map, which I later reused as a modifier in XGen Interactive. Moreover, it enabled me to create variations more easily using my maps. I could generate variations in the fur, particularly on the head, where there are both curly fur and wetter fur that separates into thick strands. The idea was to incorporate as much detail as possible to make the bison appear lifelike. Then I created density maps and masks for the modifiers using Substance Painter. I could roughly paint the areas and then use the blur filter to create smooth transitions between different zones.

Finally, I developed the fur texture using Renderman, utilizing the same Lookdev scene that was used during the development of the rest of the bison's textures. I chose to use a PxrMarschnerHair combined with a PxrHairColor to achieve the most physically accurate texture possible. Again, I used Substance Painter to paint black-and-white maps for Melanin and Redness. This workflow allowed me to introduce variations and age the fur effectively.

Any advice you have for other students collaborating in 3D?

Louna: Working with precise references and documenting your work leads to a much higher quality result. Working as cleanly as possible and following an established pipeline from the start (ideally one that closely mirrors studio practices) helps avoid unnecessary time loss. Providing constructive, clear, and honest critiques helps move the project in the right direction. You shouldn't feel offended by feedback; it's there to help the project progress. Seek opinions from many people (both those who know 3D and those who don't).

A & L: Thank you for taking the time to read our post!

*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity*