Soraka Remodel and Face Rig

Azylin·May 6, 2018·54 votes·16,140 views

I've rebuilt 's game model so I could fit a more advanced face rig into it, for the purpose of making cinematics. This system would work in a game engine as it's 100% joint based, but I don't have any game dev knowledge. I thought I'd share the end result and the type of expressions it can pull off.

Expression Sheet: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/395324611488776192/442775841123074048/soraka-comp.png

Somebody needs to explain to me how DanteAxe makes this seem so easy. Took damn near 2 months just to develop the systems to even make the face rig in Maya.

Accepted criticisms:

-Fangs inappropriate for unicorn/goat hybrid. Fangs relegated to temporary use in special expressions only. -Ears should not fold far from the base -Avoid the rig's extreme poses in actual animation

For the rest, fite me.

51 Comments

Soraka RulesMay 6, 201816 votes

She reminds me of a Draenei from WoW with those expressions lol

StriginaMay 6, 20185 votes

She was my first main in LoL only because she reminded me of my draenei in WoW. :-D

kargishMay 6, 20182 votes

Bet your draenei is a priest

TokogawarufMay 7, 20181 votes

Pala or gtfo

plays heal pala

5000000000000000May 7, 20181 votes

Soraka is meant to be played in the frontline and is more like a paladin than a priest fight me

TokogawarufMay 7, 20181 votes

Since you are a Pala i refuse, Palas are OP since ever. Never 1v1 any type of Pala except if youre a Pala aswell

Tokogawaruf, WoW Pala more-or-less Onetrick

StriginaMay 7, 20181 votes

It was a hunter actually.

ZackTheWaffleManMay 6, 20182 votes

######goddammit i wanted to say that

Bottom LanerMay 6, 20187 votes

Why did you add fangs to her though? None of her skins show any signs of Soraka having fangs

AzylinMay 6, 20185 votes

[{quoted}](name=Bottom Laner,realm=NA,application-id=A8FQeEA8,discussion-id=iFKaXxLd,comment-id=0003,timestamp=2018-05-06T21:39:09.249+0000)

Why did you add fangs to her though? None of her skins show any signs of Soraka having fangs

When you open the game model in a 3d program, you'll see Soraka actually has nothing behind her lips. No teeth, tongue or throat. Also due to all the other differences between the concept art and the game model I took some license. I always thought she looked a bit like a cat or a fox with that face shape and golden eyes.

I'll probably replace the fangs with human canines in a future model though, keeping the fox fangs for special angry expressions as a model toggle.

Arcade LuluMay 6, 201817 votes

'' I always thought she looked a bit like a cat or a fox''

she literally has hooves, ears and a horn sticking out of her forehead

Definitely a cat or a fox

RenipuffMay 7, 20183 votes

Well, despite her having hooves and a horn, her face cannot be compared to a human’s or a goat’s. Based on the shape of her face, her eyes and even her ears she resembles a cat or a fox, I don’t see anything wrong with that. Just because she’s a “goat” her other body parts could be inspired by other creatures.. Goats don’t have horns like that either ;)

Bottom LanerMay 7, 20182 votes

Honestly, between the ears, hooves, horn, ponytail, affinity for healing, and divine/heavenly relations, I always thought she was supposed to be a unicorn

Mama SorakaMay 7, 20187 votes

That's a nice job. The fangs make sense given how Soraka steals health from enemies so she is clearly a vampire.

[sg-miss-fortune]

DedSilentMay 7, 20181 votes

Vampire skin when? :DDDDDDDDD

FaliandraMay 6, 20184 votes

Nah, I'd rather stick to the original. Her eyes look nice and calm. Your rework made her eyes/facial expression more...hmmm ...sly. And that does not fit her character.

Also, the fangs? just why? I'm not exactly a lore specialist but her legs make her look like she has goat-like features, and goats definitely do not have fangs. It also just doesnt suit her. Sorry, I know you put a lot of work and all, but I honestly feel like you made her look like an evil sly blizzard character thats probably 1/3 draenai, 1/3 troll and 1/3 orc.

Simply put: it's not soraka.

edit: downvote me all you want. I'm used to the snowflake community on the boards. You show something off to the boards, you get feedback. Good and bad. Lying about it wont help anyone. I stand by my opinion: I do not like it. It does not look good to me. It does not look like Soraka's serene and calm character. And whoever said "it basically looks the same", go see your eye specialist, I'm worried. She got a nose job, her eyes look different enough to make her come across as a different personality and her horn got reworked to look angular on her forehead rather than round and smooth like the original is. She wouldnt even do those completely overdone facial expressions like that. I love Soraka and I do not like what you turned her into. Deal with it :) PS: please link me something regarding primordial saber tooth goats. I'd love to read about it

AzylinMay 6, 20183 votes

{quoted}

Nah, I'd rather stick to the original. Her eyes look nice and calm. Your rework made her eyes/facial expression more...hmmm ...sly. And that does not fit her character.

Also, the fangs? just why? I'm not exactly a lore specialist but her legs make her look like she has goat-like features, and goats definitely do not have fangs. It also just doesnt suit her. Sorry, I know you put a lot of work and all, but I honestly feel like you made her look like an evil sly blizzard character thats probably 1/3 draenai, 1/3 troll and 1/3 orc.

Simply put: it's not soraka.

May I introduce you to the sabertooth bunny, sabertooth duck and sabertooth butterfly? Back in primordial times when Soraka lived, all creatures had saberteeth including goats.

Debatable teeth aside, she's been remodeled and retextured over the original model and texture within a tolerance of a milimetre. It's not a redesign but a remodel for animation. I'm not sure why she'd look different.

SpecterVonBarenMay 7, 20183 votes

There are legitimately fanged deer by the way. https://www.google.com/search?q=fanged+deer&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiI9_OMtfLaAhUk3IMKHYiLCIsQ_AUICigB&biw=1620&bih=848#imgrc=wrQnz0isliE69M:

TerozuMay 7, 20182 votes

Literally the only change is extralong canines.

AzylinMay 7, 20183 votes

{quoted}

Literally the only change is extralong canines.

The entire face topology is remade to support all the face poses, the game model doesn't even have eye or internal mouth geometry.

TerozuMay 7, 20181 votes

I meant appearance wise. She looks the same. Even if you did obviously add like 100 more joints, made her horn slightly thinner as well as her neck and refine the textures, it looks more like a clearer version of the image.

Sevens SinMay 7, 20181 votes

{quoted}>snowflake community

EVERYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH ME IS A SNOWFLAKE REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

SukishooMay 7, 20183 votes

Very nicely done :)

ForgottenLuckMay 7, 20183 votes

Kepp the Fang!!

immafukthemoonMay 7, 20183 votes

Very impressive rigging, well done. You did a great job with making such vastly different expressions possible on her character model. I'd recommend making her brow not so flexible however, it would better sell her horn and give you a better opportunity to show emotions with her eyes i.e. squinting and not just shoving her brows down. [sg-kiko]

AzylinMay 7, 20181 votes

{quoted}

Very impressive rigging, well done. You did a great job with making such vastly different expressions possible on her character model. I'd recommend making her brow not so flexible however, it would better sell her horn and give you a better opportunity to show emotions with her eyes i.e. squinting and not just shoving her brows down. [sg-kiko]

A rig demo is admittedly a bit of an abstract thing, intended to show the technical maximum range of all the components. Most of these expressions don't fit Soraka as a character and I will avoid these extremes in 99% of the animation. The maximum brow down position is something you may find in an extreme smear frame or overshoot, used for 1/24 or 2/24 of a second. The horn actually got in the way of the standard part that I use for a brow ridge and the smaller amount of stretchable surface does mean I shouldn't lower it as much for a held pose.

immafukthemoonMay 8, 20181 votes

{quoted}

A rig demo is admittedly a bit of an abstract thing, intended to show the technical maximum range of all the components. Most of these expressions don't fit Soraka as a character and I will avoid these extremes in 99% of the animation. The maximum brow down position is something you may find in an extreme smear frame or overshoot, used for 1/24 or 2/24 of a second. The horn actually got in the way of the standard part that I use for a brow ridge and the smaller amount of stretchable surface does mean I shouldn't lower it as much for a held pose.

I never considered that her brow would effect the Poly's on her forehead, but yeah you are 100% true about smearing the animation, such as squashing and stretching things, etc. Having such a flexible facial rig will no doubt make for fluid and expressive smears. I am looking forward to your animation and your characterization of Soraka's character! [slayer-pantheon-thumbs]

Banbutsu SozoMay 7, 20183 votes

-Fangs inappropriate for unicorn/goat hybrid. Fangs relegated to temporary use in special expressions only.

I dispute this criticism. Fangs are appropriate for this unicorn/goat hybrid called Soraka. Her heals cost her own health, yet her Starcall "steals" the health of her enemies like a vampire. This goat lady is dead and not breathing. She is feeding off the life force of others (namely "the living") to sustain herself.

I've always thought that there is a thematic divide between her lore and her abilities, and the only rationalisation I could come to was that Soraka is indeed a vampire; we just don't know that truth yet.

She's a vampire that can heal others, which is unusual, but she spams Starcall on her unfortunate enemies and takes so much health. She can still also be celestial.

Think of her like Vlad.

Soraka

RenipuffMay 6, 20182 votes

Woaaah great job! RIOT should totally hire you!!

ElohavenMay 6, 20182 votes

Fangs are a horrid addition in my opinion. Her character model doesn't have them and she literally has no animal traits that suggest she'd stem from a line with fangs (hooves for feet, horn on head), her character is calm, nice, and individualistic with her gestures not being menacing. Flat teeth for a herbivore/omnivore. Fangs are excessive.

Other than that, great work.

KrinuMay 6, 20182 votes

Yes... "cinematics..."

/cough

Real talk, though, Nice work on the rig. I absolutely loathe doing rigging work and foist it off on other people whenever possible.

One thing I will critique: Most animals' ears are cartilage controlled by muscles around the edge of the skull and or otherwise relatively rigid, minus some spring from the inherent flexibility of the cartilage itself. As such, it's pretty much impossible for them to droop/perk up like you've rigged them here. In most creatures, the ear doesn't move like that (it would instead rotate up and down along the side, since that's where the muscles can attach) and it wouldn't bend in the middle (all the flex would be at the base where it attaches to the skull).

Aside from that, nice work!

AzylinMay 7, 20184 votes

{quoted}

Yes... "cinematics..."

/cough

Real talk, though, Nice work on the rig. I absolutely loathe doing rigging work and foist it off on other people whenever possible.

One thing I will critique: Most animals' ears are cartilage controlled by muscles around the edge of the skull and or otherwise relatively rigid, minus some spring from the inherent flexibility of the cartilage itself. As such, it's pretty much impossible for them to droop/perk up like you've rigged them here. In most creatures, the ear doesn't move like that (it would instead rotate up and down along the side, since that's where the muscles can attach) and it wouldn't bend in the middle (all the flex would be at the base where it attaches to the skull).

Aside from that, nice work!

You're right about the ears. I see that even in cartoons such as Lilo & Stitch, the ears rotate or fold at the base only. Horse ears seem to be the reference I'm looking for, she's part unicorn after all. The bend controls remain in place though, secondary animation still happens when turning the head, nodding, or running really fast. It'll be an animator's note.

Which machinima community are in that lets you get away with not rigging anything?

Also yes, cinematics. I absolutely loathe the r34 animations made with game models. If they are not of horrible quality, the rigging and modelling skills are wasted on something with zero artistic value. They are also completely unnecessary, as the best hand drawn 2d pictures are always better looking than the best single frame of posed and rendered 3d game models. Full character animation is wasted on something as 1 dimensional as smut animations. Its strength lies in complicated acting animation. They could at least make a tasteful romantic animated short film, jesus.

KrinuMay 7, 20182 votes

I'm not involved in the machinima community, I do game design and engineering. That said, I work with enough artists to recognize the amount of work and frustration that goes into making a good rig, and I've done it a couple times for a college class. It's one of those areas of my field that I look at and go "wow, that's amazing, I'm really glad it's not my job."

I think they feel the same way about staring at the sixteenth iteration of a design doc, but eh. I like what I do.

As for the R34 side of things, I won't judge people for what they choose to do with their time, and an engineer is the last person you want judging the artistic merits of a work. I will comment, however, that Sturgeon's Law seems to apply twice for that particular group.

"HURR DURR I PUT A PENIS ON IT AND THEN SLAMMED THE PELVIS CONTROL BACK AND FORTH I R ANIMOOTER"

TheHobbitsMay 7, 20182 votes

Aww. I was hoping for the emote face too

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/5/51/Everything_is_Okay_Emote.png/revision/latest?cb=20180322145328

Ah well. Great work.

AzylinMay 7, 20184 votes

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/397893368258101258/443112734972706841/soraka-390.png I tried.

TheHobbitsMay 8, 20181 votes

Haha Brilliant!

warmcorntortillaMay 7, 20182 votes

Oh my god I'm just impressed with all the facial rigging and animating!! Link twitter?

AzylinMay 7, 20182 votes

{quoted}

Oh my god I'm just impressed with all the facial rigging and animating!! Link twitter?

I got a YouTube where I put all my stuff, right here https://www.youtube.com/MasterVertex/

AquariusGineMay 6, 20181 votes

I thought Soraka was one of the good guys

Hextech OwIMay 6, 20181 votes

she's scary

AzylinMay 6, 20181 votes

Sounds like y'alls don't like the fangs. They'll not be in the base model anymore, these will only be used in my movies for reactions to behavior that makes support players really, really mad.

KrinuMay 7, 20184 votes

What doesn't make support players really, really mad though?

<- definitely not a half million mastery Soraka support main

ˉˉˉˉˉˉMay 7, 20181 votes

>snaggletooth

yes

ThePikolMay 7, 20181 votes

Can you tell me where did you get model from? Can I download League models and textures somewhere? Or did you make it?

MoonshadeMay 7, 20181 votes

Fangs would make more sense if Soraka had a more Vampire vibe to her, but she's more divine goat child

PucércsiguszMay 7, 20181 votes

Why would only vampires have fangs? In the comments above they’ve mentioned that when Soraka lived even the bunnies and deers had fangs. Besides, her face (the shape) resembles a cat/fox so I don’t see anything wrong with the fangs.

PucércsiguszMay 7, 20181 votes

Personally I love the fangs! She looks all nice and calm, but just try to make your support mad and she’ll show you her true fangs! Besides, you’ve clearly put a lot of work in this, you sir have my respect!