Recently, I've been working on textures trying to create my own anime-style 3D character, and I finally achieved a look I'm satisfied with!
I aimed for a balance that incorporates some realistic elements while preserving the anime style impression. I'm so pleased with the atmosphere I was able to create!
I went through many iterations to get to this point.
When I added realistic textures, it would approach a photorealistic style, but that would make it lose its anime-like quality... I experimented with various approaches like adding texture through shaders or building up the textures directly.
This is how I gradually increased the level of detail while adjusting to find the right balance. I plan to write about the actual techniques and technical explanations in another post!
The 3D model is Peke, sold by QuQu on Booth → https://booth.pm/ja/items/3686641
Bonus Tip
I introduced Substance 3D Painter to achieve this style, and it was incredibly helpful. When creating anime-style textures, you often need to paint shadows directly into the texture, so being able to paint directly onto the 3D model was extremely convenient.
Substance 3D Painter https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d/apps/painter.html
There's also a one-time purchase version available on Steam. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to experiment with detailed texture painting.