Helmet
discover the whole process of creating a photorealistic helmet
Introduction
This project has been truly exciting, recreating reality is incredibly fascinating. We chose to recreate an aviation helmet. It incorporates various interesting materials such as metal, plastic, rubber, etc. It's important to showcase your ability to recreate reality in VFX. It's a good challenge.
Final render - Workshop lookdev scene from Jahirul Amin
Pre Production
References
Here are the main references we used. With these selected references, we'll choose the materials we like for the look development part.
Production
Modeling
For the modeling aspect, we stayed faithful to the references by blending various parts from different helmets that appealed to us, creating our own helmet with its unique identity. The tube was initially modeled in a neutral and straight manner, then rigged to achieve a realistic position.
Modeling - Cave Academy Set Up
Uvs - Cave Academy Set Up
Lookdev
For the look development phase: we chose to create a helmet using various types of materials such as paint, plastic, rubber, glass, etc. Metal and plastic pieces complement the helmet, making it more dynamic and intricate.
Render 1 Lighting Studio- Cave Academy Set up
Diffuse
Indirect Diffuse
Specular
Indirect Specular
We've added significant damage to the helmet, such as the name of the owner and a customized logo. Blood has been applied to the tube, and old aviation stickers adorn the mask. This adds a lot of narrative to the object. It gives it a history and backstory, which is crucial. Creating a clean look for the asset wasn't very compelling, we prefer to tell a story through this asset. We've also created fur to simulate the aged fabric of the straps. This detail is important to add more volume and realism.
Render 2 Lighting Studio - Cave Academy Set up
I added a slight fur to give the fabric some life. It's important to show some fiber.
We used the Cave Academy scene to seamlessly integrate the helmet into a real space, creating a genuine illusion. The compositing was finalized using Nuke (depth of field, color adjustments, grain).
HDRI by Cave Academy and scan scene
Lighting
For the lighting, it was quite straightforward. We created different lighting setups (studio, night, day) for lookdev renders (important to see how different materials react). The final rendering setup used an HDRI created by Cave Academy (HDRI from the environment scanner for 100% coherence). The setups often consist of an HDRI (PolyHaven) and 2 or 3 light sources. A key, a fill, and a rim (bonus) :
HDRI by Texture XYZ, Macbeth by Cave Academy
HDRI by Texture XYZ
Classic scene for the lookdev asset by Cave Academy
Post Production
Nuke
The compositing part was pretty straightforward, except for the inlay part, which was a bit tricky, as the shadows on the floor came out badly in render. But with the cryptomatte, the result was easy and clean.
Grain + Chromatic aberration
 Node graph
Cryptomatte
Final Result :
Final render - Workshop lookdev scene from Jahirul Amin
Credits
Margot BRUN
Sotfwares : Maya, Photoshop, Substance Painter, Mari Foundry, Renderman, Nuke
Set up by Cave Academy