PaulJMurphy3d

Paul J. Murphy 2020 VFX Showreel from Paul J. Murphy on Vimeo.

I am a Lead Modeller and Texture Artist with experience in films and video games. This is my visual effects modelling and texturing showreel. Please scroll down for stills from my showreel and an explanation of my role on each project.

Filmography:

Film: Avengers: Infinity War
Role: Lead Texture Artist
Responsibilities: Led texture team. All Iron Man, Black Dwarf and Iron Spider textures.

I led the texturing team, whose assets included spaceships, environments and many weapons and props.

Iron Man's character design was highly fluid throughout the show. As I was on the project throughout the initial concept design phase, I used a procedural texturing workflow in order to allow for dozens of model and lookdev iterations.

The original Black Dwarf design was developed as an unclothed alligator-type creature with crystalline stone accented skin. This required using Mari to create multiple multi-channel bump and roughness maps to split out variations in the skin surface quality for lookdev, ranging from pore-level detail wrinkles to the large-scale crystalline stone. The second iteration of the character design changed to a more civilised look which added leather, metal and fibreglass armour. For the new costume I used Substance Painter in conjunction with high-res sculpts from modelling to create the materials, in addition to concepting the lookdev using the iRay renderer, which helped to speed up the approval process.

The first Iron Spider concept called for the metal panels to be made of a hybrid metal mesh pattern overlaid on a carbon fibre material. The brief called for the edges of the individual raised discs to have unique surface and edge scratches, so I created a tileable displacement pattern in Mari, displaced the geometry in Mudbox and used the high-res mesh to drive mask generators in Substance Painter. The final design called for a more Iron Man-like smooth metal, so hybrid metal mesh material did not make it into the final film. Throughout the Iron Spider development, I used iRay renders from Substance Painter to streamline the approval process.

Film: Dr. Strange
Role: Senior Modeller
Responsibilities: Modelled body digital doubles of the Ancient One and Kaecilius characters.

I created digital double body models of the Ancient One and Kaecilius characters to match with the extensive photo reference provided by the client. I used the photo reference in Mari to create pore and wrinkle detail texture maps as the basis for the displacement sculpting in Zbrush on the characters' faces and hands. I assisted with the costume modelling for Kaecilius, as well as some face shape cleanup for other characters. 

Film: Alita: Battle Angel
Role: Lead Modeller
Responsibilities: Led character modelling team. Modelled Kinuba character.

I led the motorball character modelling team tasked with the creation of 8 complex hybrid robot/vehicle/human character models over a compressed time period. I modelled the costume (everything except the face) for the Kinuba motorballer character. Each character had a basic concept but there was a lot of freedom to redesign the mechanics so they had the flexibility to work for the creative ideas coming from the animation department. Other aspects of my role on the project included scheduling, mentoring and setting up the team's UV layout method to facilitate an iterative procedural texturing workflow.

Film: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Role: Lead Texture Artist
Responsibilities: Maz textures, R2D2 head replacement and set extension modelling.

For Maz, I created all the textures (including Mari lookdev on the goggles) and UVs with the exception of the belt and jewellery, as well as, modelled and sculpted displacement for the boots.

I modelled, textured and Mari lookdeved the R2D2 head replacement. For a Star Destroyer set I modelled the window frames and did layout and modelling for the exterior environment.

Film: Paddington

Role: Lead Texture Artist

Responsibilities: Textured bears, clothing, pigeons, props and sets; modelled various props.

I painted the textures for Paddington's dufflecoat and hat, as well as finalising his fur and skin textures. I painted the fur textures for Uncle Pastuzo and Aunt Lucy (including her necklace and cane) and textures for various pigeons.

As the sole texture artist in London for the last six months of the project, I was responsible for unifying the texture values and the finalising of assets across the project. Additionally, I painted textures for various props and environments.

Film: Jupiter Ascending

Role: Lead Texture Artist

Responsibilities: Supervised texture team. All Greeghan skin and Keeper textures.

For the Greeghan character, I created all the skin textures. As the final character design was highly fluid throughout the show, I used a procedural texturing workflow to allow for multiple model iterations. 

I painted all of the textures on the alien Keepers. This required creating several sub-surface and diffuse layers combined with pore-level detail wrinkle bump maps and surface flaking layers throughout to realise the sickly translucent look of the skin.

I supervised the texturing team, whose assets included massive spaceships and environments. This included making reference guides for the assets, assisting with scheduling, and texture and reference archiving when the show was compete.

Film: Clash of the Titans

Role: Senior 3D and Concept Modeller

Responsibilities: Designed, modelled and UV mapped scorpions, palanquins and destructible statues

Working with another artist, created a series of concept model sculpts in Mudbox for the giant scorpions. Over a period of several months, we created new versions each week, incorporating feedback from supervisors and the director. Once the design was approved, we modelled in Maya and sculpted in Mudbox the multiple type and variations of each.

Modelled and UV mapped scorpion palanquins to match the live action plates, and developed the model look of the rest of the harnesses that extended up the tail and to the claws.

Film: John Carter

Role: Senior Texture Artist and Displacement Sculptor

Responsibilities: Textured and sculpted hero assets and city environments

Textured, sculpted and developed the texture look of the walking city's feet mechanisms. Once the initial concept was approved I created a set of base textures that were used on the rest of the various feet assets. In addition, I textured and sculpted towers, hallways, props and environments.

In conjunction with the texturing, I created detailed sculpts to give the city a worn look. This was done by scraping away hard edges to make the assets look like they came from a harsh environment. Working with the lead modeller, I helped set up the art pipeline for generating vector-displacement maps from Mudbox sculpts.

Film: Battle: Los Angeles

Role: Senior 3D Modeller and Texture Artist

Responsibilities: Modelled, textured, and UV mapped alien creatures, vehicles and environment props

Modelling, sculpting, some texturing (the left arm/claw) and UVs of the floating, spider-like Alien Commander. Developed the model look of muscle/bone structure and a functional articulation system for the hovering legs.

Modelled, sculpted and UV mapped the organic parts of the Alien Soldier.

Created the model and all textures for the Alien Hovercraft. There was no photo reference so the textures were made from images found online. This asset was supposed to be very dusty and worn-looking, so I painted leaking and dirt wherever two metal or rubber pieces joined and made scratches on the edges of the metal pieces. The dirt, scratches, scorch marks and bullet holes were separate textures to give the lighters flexibility.

Film: World War Z

Role: Lead Modeller

Responsibilities: Character and cloth modelling supervisor

Supervised the creation of 50 character models (each with 3 levels of detail) to populate sequences in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Korea and on an aircraft carrier. Each character had its own nCloth simmed costume and a range of facial expressions.

Set standards and guidelines for the external studio creating cloth assets to be simulated within Cinesite's nCloth pipeline.

Supervised the modelling of 6 bespoke hero digi-doubles meant to intercut with the live-action actors.

Toward the end of the project shifted focus to cloth texturing and model finalling.

Film: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Role: Senior 3D Modeller and Texture Artist

Responsibilities: Designed, modelled, and textured poison frogs and environment props

Created about a dozen concept model sculpts in Mudbox of poisonous frogs. Once the design was approved, I modelled, sculpted and textured all of the variations. There was no photo reference so the textures were made from images found online.

Modelled the glass jar geometry to the film plate for the tracking department. Modelled and textured various environment props, included a musket, various bunting and a wagon tracking model.

Film: Wanted

Role: Texture Artist

Responsibilities: Textured train, bridge and human digital double models

Each car had different paint, decals and dirt but maintained the same look and texture scale. I created the scraping and scorching damage textures for when the train went over the bridge, as well as the coupling that stretches between the train cars.

On the truss arch bridge, I projected the dirt and rust maps, in addition to painting and projecting leaking and rust streaking below most of the rivets and joint connection points on the bridge.

The textures for the human digital doubles were made using a combination photo reference from the set and online sources.

Film: Bedtime Stories

Role: Senior 3D Modeller and Texture Artist

Responsibilities: Modelled (including blend shapes) monster and space station, and textured human digital doubles

Created the model, UVs and some of the  blendshapes for the Alien Snot Monster. The initial topology was built by drawing curves on a scanned maquette using Cyslice and then detailed and finalized in Maya. I modelled multiple blendshapes for the mouth animation.

I created all the textures for this human digital double using photo reference from the set. The head textures were projected from the modelling reference camera in Maya and cleaned up in Mudbox. The rest of the texture projection was done in Mudbox. For the alien tongue, I textured a blendshape that worked well both extended and retracted.

Film: The Golden Compass

Role: 3D Modeller and Texture Artist

Responsibilities: Modelled, UV mapped and textured mammals, birds and human digital doubles

Modelled and UV mapped Husky and two variations, as well as modelling and texturing the harnesses. The model topology on the Huskies was made to mimic realistic muscle flow to facilitate proper deformation. Modelled and UV mapped a barn owl and a snow goose (cut from film).

Modelled and UV mapped a hero resolution digital double of Sam Elliot using photo reference from the set. Modelled and textured a large group of crowd resolution Gyptian and Children human digital doubles used across multiple scenes.

Title: Generation Kill (HBO mini-series)

Role: 3D Modeller and Texture Artist

Responsibilities: Modelled, UV mapped and textured a range of military vehicles

Modelled and UV mapped Super Cobra Helicopter, Light Armored Vehicle and Amphibious Assault Vehicle using blueprints and photo reference found online. The modelling/UV time allotted to these assets was two weeks.

Textured Marine Humvee and T-55 Soviet tank. The desert camouflage texture for the Humvee was based on photo reference from the set, while the tank's were from on online sources.  The texturing time allotted to these assets was two weeks.

Film: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Role: 3D Modeller and Texture Painter

Responsibilities: Modelled and textured city environments, animals and human digital doubles

Modelled and textured a large set of crowd resolution middle-eastern civilian digital doubles, costumes and animals. Modelled and textured various middle distance to background buildings from the first several city shots.

Film: Beverly Hills Chihuahua

Role: 3D Modeller and Texture Artist

Responsibilities: Modelled and textured heads to match live action plates for talking animals

Modelled three dog heads, keeping the topology unchanged so that they could share blendshapes with the rest of the dogs. The models had to match the live action plates exactly to insure a smooth transition between the CG and live action plates. Created a set of blendshapes for each dog.

Created all the textures for the three dog head assets. There was reference from the set for two of the dogs, but there was none for the third (the German Shepherd shown in my reel); the only reference was a low-res live action plate. For this particular asset I projected the plate from the tracked camera in Maya, then re-graded and pieced together a final texture using the plate, reference from the other dogs and online sources.

Film: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Role: Senior Texture Artist

Responsibilities: Textured city environments and terrains

I started this production a few weeks before the ship date; my task was to create multiple dirt and leaking passes for the buildings. The original assets had a generic dirt texture applied uniformly across everything, so I used Mudbox to project leaking and dirt textures at the transitions between the roofs and walls, under the windows, and at all the corner points where dirt would build up. I also repainted the rocky terrain textures in the mid-ground at the base of the buildings.

Title: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Role: Senior Artist

Responsibilities: Modelled, sculpted and textured Bull Rancor

Worked as a Senior Artist at Lucasarts for seven years. My experience included both real-time and high-resolution modelling and texturing of characters, creatures, vehicles, buildings, props and environments.

A showreel of my videogame work can be found here.

Film: The Day the Earth Stood Still

Role: Senior Texture Artist

Responsibilities: Textured Predator Drone, Humvee and Tank

For the Drone there was no photo reference, so the textures were made from images found online. Because in the film this was a new model attack drone, it was to meant to appear relatively clean; most of the dirt and leaking passes are fairly subtle. This shot was added at the end of production, so the texturing time allotted to this asset was one week.

For the Humvee I used the same mud and dirt textures I created for the Generation Kill Humvee, but changed the base color to jungle camouflage using reference found online. The texturing time allotted to this asset was three days.