On the Way to Becoming a 3D Grooming Artist | My Story | Episode 10 - 2018

Back in 2018, I got an absolutely incredible opportunity!

Ryan Grobins, who at that time was a CG supervisor at ScanlineVFX and had worked on blockbusters like "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp", invited me to join his new CGI film Cyan Eyed!
At that moment, I had only seen a single concept of a pirate girl and had no idea it would turn into an amazing 8-minute cinematic that would later win a bunch of awards!

And the most fascinating part is that it’s still winning awards to this day! =) Ryan keeps posting on LinkedIn almost every week or month about a new prize or festival. And the short itself has already gained over 2 million views on YouTube!

As usual, I was doing the work I love most – grooming – but honestly, I was really anxious about how this project would turn out. I absolutely adore steampunk and everything connected with it, and this was something completely fresh and unusual!

In the film, I was responsible for creating the hairstyles of the two main heroines: Nessa and Corliss. The animation, simulation, and everything else were handled by other team members. And by the way, the team was quite large. Each hairstyle had only 5 days allotted! =) For the hair creation, I used Ornatrix for 3ds Max along with Corona Renderer.

The hair was created completely from scratch, without any sculpt presets. I followed the standard guide-based workflow.

For the hair materials in Corona, you can check out my tutorial:

Were there any difficulties in creating the hair? As always, every new project comes with its own unique challenges.

This time I had to refine the shader so the hair would look natural without appearing too “dirty,” and on top of that, deliver acceptable results for Ryan within a tight deadline. Normally, crafting a high-quality hairstyle in my workflow takes at least 10 days to polish all the details, but here we only had 5.

An extra challenge came from Corliss’s pirate hat and bandana: I had to simulate how the hair settled underneath them. Back then, there wasn’t an easy way to edit directly on top of HairFromGuides, so I had to wrestle with the guides a lot - the strands kept “pushing” through the bandana and poking into the hat, and I had to manually clean up all the intersections. Nowadays it’s much simpler: you just apply an Edit Guides modifier above HairFromGuides and tweak the areas you need.

I also created a separate layer for the flyaway hair to keep it easier to control. That used to be my go-to approach on many hairstyles, though over time I’ve learned how to shape all the necessary elements within a single object using just a few modifiers.

Nessa’s hairstyle turned out to be less troublesome, since it was meant to look messier and rougher from the start. Still, I had to spend quite a bit of time on the shader. I remember running into some specific issues there, but unfortunately the project files haven’t survived, so I can’t show any shader screenshots. And after all, it’s been 7 years, so recalling every detail isn’t easy.

The most important thing is that Ryan liked the result I managed to achieve in such a short timeframe, and he even wrote a kind review on LinkedIn:

Fun fact: George Lucas’s own Skywalker Sound agreed to join our international team to create the sound design for Cyan Eyed. Considering their decades of experience on legendary films (from Star Wars to Toy Story), this took Cyan Eyed to a whole new level, turning it into a truly breathtaking experience. I’m pretty sure you’ll definitely catch some Star Wars vibes in there! =)

You can read all the details about the project here

And there’s also a big article on 80.lv here

A bit of the project’s backstory:

After many years of searching, the automaton Grunt finally tracks down the bounty hunter, pirate captain Corliss Vail. His mission is clear: to rescue the young, supernaturally gifted Nessa Baelin from captivity aboard the bounty hunter’s skyship and return her to Nessa’s father.

Ryan Grobins’ third animated short film is a thrilling, visually extravagant adventure set in a steampunk world.

Step into the story, characters, and environments of CYAN EYED. Directed by Ryan Grobins, who spent seven years bringing the film to life and assembled an international team, it delivers an exhilarating journey through a vivid steampunk universe.

A bit about the characters:

NESSA BAELIN

One in ten million people is born with a supernatural gift that allows them to generate and channel immense flows of energy. These individuals are relentlessly hunted by warlords, rulers, and other powerful figures. Most live in hiding as recluses, fearing the devices designed to forcibly extract their energy to power war machines and serve other sinister purposes.

When Nessa’s abilities surfaced at the age of six, she and her family fled to the secluded Manabargh mountains. However, word of her gift reached the wrong ears after a wandering trader noticed the telltale signs. Local ruler Lord Farin placed a bounty on Nessa. The infamous pirate captain Corliss Vail, known as the “Red Serpent,” managed to track her down and capture her, now setting course to deliver the girl and claim his reward.

CAPTAIN CORLISS “THE RED SNAKE” VAIL

Born into a poor peasant family in a small fishing village on the tropical shores of Oslana, Corliss was traded for food at a young age. But the slavers’ ship was soon attacked by pirates. Fighting for her freedom against both slavers and pirates, Corliss showed fearlessness and agility that caught the eye of the pirate captain Blackburn. Taking her under his wing, Blackburn earned her undying loyalty, while she gained his protection and mentorship.

Her natural talents made Corliss skilled with many kinds of weapons. She developed the ability to swiftly and precisely dispatch her enemies, earning the nickname “The Snake” and the role of first mate. During a raid on a remote settlement of the Green Union, Blackburn was caught in an ambush and killed in battle.

Covered in blood yet victorious over the Green Union forces, Corliss took command of the pirate crew. From then on, known as “The Red Snake,” she carried on the legacy of her fallen mentor, becoming a true scourge of the skies.