3D Artist - Zbrush

We’ve been working
hard on developing new
facial rigging, modelling
and blend shape setups
Chris Uyede, head of modelling
Elba), whose fierceness was communicated via an
enlarged body and, in particular, a skull twice as
big as a normal Bengal.
The assets team relies on a collaborative
pipeline to push models through. Modellers,
riggers, texturers, groom artists and later
animators and effects artists can all work
separately on what’s called an ‘animated
character package’. During the process, artists are
always looking to add in elements from real life
with the aim to give their assets some grounding.
The rigging process, in particular, reflects that
real-world approach in that it uses physically
correct modelled bones and has checks and
balances to accurately cause skin and muscle
deformation. “We most recently created what we
just call the muscle primitive,” says head of rigging
at MPC, Tom Reed. “It’s a toolkit for impacts and
flesh protections that was made for The Jungle
Book but instantly rolled out for Terminator:
Genisys and other films.”
“We have daily sessions twice a week here to
talk about all the developments,” adds Reed.
“We’re constantly trying to make sure the
technology evolves and is not forgotten, and that
new techniques get shared. One of the strengths
of how we approach the department as a
centralised team means we can really get this
stuff used everywhere straight away.”
Terminator: Genisys was certainly one of the
benefits of that desire to keep on top of the tech,
but it was also one of MPC’s most difficult
challenges, since it required the creation of a fully
photorealistic digital human. Not only that, it was
a human whom millions around the world
instantly recognise: Arnold Schwarzenegger. And
just to make it even harder, it had to be Arnie as he
appeared in the original Terminator film in 1984.
Although the actor is, of course, still alive, the
assets team did not have a way to scan and
photograph Schwarzenegger as he was 30 years
ago. However, they did have access to a scan of a
bust made of the actor at the time and they could
take advantage of some facial motion capture
acquired using MOVA technology and scans of
the on-set stunt stand-in.
Ultimately, these inputs served just as a base
for intricate sculpting and modelling carried out
by the assets department. Even then, and as
MPC always does, it had to be adapted to the
various shots required. “You couldn’t just make
one model to work in every shot,” notes MPC
lead modeller and texture artist Klaus Skovbo.
“We ended up with a very hi-res mesh and any
changes we did in the sculpt could be carried into
the mesh.”
With its ‘digital Arnie’, MPC also embarked on a
heavy R&D effort into a FACS (facial action coding
system) approach to replicating face and mouth
shapes. “We’ve been working hard on developing
new facial rigging, modelling and blend shape
setups here,” says Uyede.
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