THE NIGHT BEFORE

The Task

The Night Before was an XR experience that aimed to create a unique and engaging Oscar’s red carpet experience by allowing users to control celebrity characters by combining AR technology, 5G streaming, and Unreal Engine. The project required a team to create 10 character models as well as ARKit blendshapes for each rig.
 

My Approach

As part of the team, my role involved collaborating with a concept artist to create the overall look and feel of the characters. We worked together to perfect the style of the characters, ensuring they were visually appealing and would work well within the limitations of the ARKit shapes, while still retaining a degree of caricaturization and “pushed” shapes. Once we had established the design, I took on the responsibility of building out the models and textures for the characters.

 

Creating the models and textures was a complex process that required attention to detail, knowledge of facial anatomy, stylized likeness, and a FACS-based knowledge of facial rigging to ensure the characters moved as intended. I worked closely with the other team members to ensure that the models and textures were optimized for Unreal engine, while still maintaining the desired level of detail and quality.
 

Results

Thanks to the hard work of the team, The Night Before was successfully launched and received positive feedback from users. The AR experience was engaging and immersive, and the real-time characters were a key part of that. The project demonstrated the potential of AR technology and showcased the creativity and technical skills of the team.