Experience 3D digital fashion on Samsung's 8K display at ISE 2024! See Sangyeop's futuristic designs crafted with Marvelous Designer in a stunning showcase.

ISE 2024 Samsung - Retail display In Barcelona | Sangyeop Jeong | 3D Artist

Could you briefly introduce yourself and share how you got started with 3D work?

Hello, my name is Sangyeop Jeong, and I'm a 3D artist. I'm currently part of Rabbit Walks, based in Seoul. I first fell in love with 3D after watching The Lord of the Rings in theaters when I was in elementary school, and that's when I started dreaming of becoming a 3D artist. Since I started as a modeler, I mainly work on character and product modeling, look deb, and also work on scene work and motion graphics. I mainly work on commercials, games, and also active as a freelancer.

I found your ISE 2024 Samsung - Retail display project really impressive. Could you explain the concept behind it? I’m also curious about where you drew inspiration from when developing the concept.

The ISE 2024 Samsung-Retail display project was done by Rabbit Walks. We designed it to align with a brand store concept that blends a futuristic-tone space, digital model runway, and product display. We created a sleek, futuristic mood and matched the space with the products using neon lights and linear elements to enhance the futuristic vibe.

We gathered a lot of references from Behance, Pinterest, and Instagram. Since I've always been interested in fashion, I follow a lot of related accounts, which really helped in developing the concept. This was a team effort in both planning and execution, and as the lead artist, I taught team members Marvelous Designer and directed the project overall.

Why did you decide to use Marvelous Designer? How did it help with providing art direction?

I first encountered Marvelous Designer about 10 years ago when I was learning 3D and creating clothes for characters. Ever since then, I've considered it the most intuitive and efficient tool for fashion and clothing work.

For this project, there were many types of clothing, and each scene had a different composition based on the screen it was displayed on. To speed up the workflow, we simplified some of the detailed parts, diverging from our usual pipeline.

#General pipeline

• Clothing modeling / UV layout (Marvelous Designer, Maya) - Texturing (Substance Painter)

• Character rigging, posing, animation (Cinema 4D, Maya, Mixamo)

• Cloth simulation (Marvelous Designer)

• After simulating the clothes, we separated patterns and parts, then baked them as Alembic files in Maya.

• Simulation development in C4D, final look development and scene lighting using Octane Render (Cinema 4D)

#Marvelous Designer workflow

• Normally, after modeling the clothes in Marvelous Designer, I would go through the retopology process in Maya. However, I skipped that step and instead added internal lines to each pattern directly in Marvelous Designer to preserve the unique shape of the patterns as much as possible.

• In Maya, after separating the simulation data from Marvelous Designer and keeping the history intact, you can align the frame count, select each pattern, and bake them again as Alembic files. This allows for efficient data management. 

• When modeling in Marvelous Designer, it is important to create sturdy patterns from the start to ensure the clothes fit well during simulation without becoming loose. To achieve this, I often work with double-sided patterns and make good use of the Strengthen feature. While this makes the data heavier, it allows for more stable modeling and simulation results. 

• For each animation, I placed pins in specific areas to shape the clothes as desired, and I adjusted the Physical Property values for each pattern according to the scene.

• The simulation data from Marvelous Designer was further refined in Cinema 4D using the Cloth and Wind features, resulting in more detailed simulation outputs. (Work tip from artist Hyejin Jang)

While working on the project, there must have been aspects you enjoyed and others that were challenging. What was the most enjoyable part of the process for you?

I truly love working in 3D, so even though there are challenges with each project, I find every step enjoyable. However, I especially enjoy modeling, texturing, and look development. In this project, the most fun part was being able to create a variety of clothing. Not only clothing, but I also modeled props like shoes and hats using Marvelous Designer.

Then, what was the biggest challenge you faced while working on the project?

As I mentioned earlier, this project had a lot of different types of clothing, and each scene varied based on the screen, which meant there was a huge amount of work to do. This was the most difficult and challenging part for both my team and me. However, because of this variety, I was able to feel engaged throughout the work, making it less tedious and allowing me to enjoy the process.

Finally, do you have any advice for those just starting in 3D art? It can be career advice or tips on mindset when creating artwork—anything is welcome.

First and foremost, it is really important to be clear about why you chose 3D and to enjoy and love what you do. This industry is intense and rapidly changing, so you can't afford to stop working or studying, and there is a lot of pressure. However, if you stay focused and believe in yourself while putting in the effort, I believe good results will follow. I still have a lot to learn, so I keep these thoughts in mind as I work.

by Sangyeop Jeong
Behance