This piece started off as a study of volumetric light.  I wanted to practice creating an atmosphere in a large open space.  I was also determined to make some art with a male figure instead of always using females.  I ended up doing none of that!  Hurtling down the creative path I diverged several times and ended up with an extreme close up of a toon anime girl. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

The base shape is a toon doll like character that was designed to be goth with lots of “broken china doll” features.

I tried some of the “broken” materials as well as the gothic makeup on the character but eventually moved on to other materials from elsewhere.  One of those experiments lead to a happy accident and created a bizarre horrifying variation which ultimately became a completely new piece of art.  …But that’s a post for another day.

For this piece I eventually layered a more human material across the mesh and found these interesting eyes that look like they were made of brush bristles.  They appeared realistic and fake at the same time.  I wanted those eyes to be the focus.

I set up a simple layout with the camera close on the face and only one light on the character.  I spent a lot of time working on the quirky expression because I knew that would be where the emotion came from.

Even though the shot is essentially flat, I set up a limited depth of field on the camera anyway.  The effect is subtle – the hair in the back, the neck, and the ears are a little soft – but I think it gives it a little something.

Color correction in lightroom was fairly straightforward.  I bumped up the saturation of the blue channel to bring out the eyes.  Simple.

Quirky Girl

Created in DAZ Studio 4.11
Rendered with Iray
Color Correction in Lightroom

Figures used:
HPFK Lenora for Star 2.0 and Aiko 7
Tamara Character and Hair for G3F
Classic Bob Hair for G3+8F