Native Dancer: Spacesuit & Other DREAM Lab Projects

Author: Ariann Rousu – Native Dancer Digital Artist

Summary

In addition to ongoing work with the Native Dancer project, The DREAM Lab supports various research projects across campus with broad creative and technical goals. Some of these include creating general use character models. Another project I have been a part of is scanning then cleaning up and further modeling a detailed spacesuit model. This work overall sharpens our skills and enhances Native Dancer.

Characters

Creating general 3D characters for the use in the DREAM Lab is something I get to do periodically. These current models aren’t tied to a specific story, but they’re great for animation samples, software testing, and refining techniques in programs like Maya, ZBrush, and Marvelous Designer. It also serves as one of many ways to experiment and stay up to date on the latest character creating processes.

Spacesuit Scan and Model

Another exciting project has been the 3D modeling of a spacesuit we scanned on campus a few months ago. I’ve been cleaning up the scan and refining the mesh in Maya and ZBrush. The models that are produced from the Artec 3D scanners in the DREAM Lab can have many uses. At the current stage, it could be prepared to be printed on a 3D printer. We have plans to texture and further enhance this model to be more accurate to the real-life version of this spacesuit and have various uses. So far, the scan has served as a guide to create a more quality model.

Native Dancer Update

The work being done on Native Dancer is still focusing on the jingle dress. Stay tuned for the latest updates on that.