Genesis 9 Eyebrow Collection

This project involved designing and creating a collection of modern, feminine eyebrows for the Genesis 9 platform in Daz 3D. Rather than relying on painted textures, the eyebrows were built using custom hair cards to provide greater realism, depth and flexibility while remaining suitable for commercial use.

The project focused on combining technical execution with aesthetic variety, producing a collection that could be used across a wide range of characters and artistic styles.

Spot renders showing the 7 unique brow sculpts created for this project

Objectives

The primary goal was to create a versatile library of contemporary eyebrow styles that offered users greater realism and customisation than traditional texture-based solutions.

I wanted each style to have its own distinct personality while remaining practical for everyday use. The collection was designed to include a range of natural shapes, thicknesses and grooming styles, allowing artists to create subtle variations in character appearance without changing the underlying facial features.

The project also provided an opportunity to develop my understanding of hair card creation and how relatively small details can significantly influence the overall quality and believability of a digital character.

Workflow

The project combined Blender and Autodesk Maya to create a commercially released eyebrow collection for the Genesis 9 platform.

Custom hair cards were first created in Blender, allowing precise control over strand flow, density and silhouette. These hair cards were then imported into Autodesk Maya, where they were shaped and assembled into a range of modern, feminine eyebrow styles. Working with hair cards rather than painted textures provided greater depth, realism and flexibility while remaining suitable for commercial use.

Each eyebrow style was individually refined and tested to ensure clean silhouettes, natural variation and compatibility with the Genesis 9 platform.

Brow sculpt in progress in Maya

Challenges

Although eyebrows occupy a relatively small area of a character, they have a significant influence on expression and personality.

The greatest challenge was balancing realism with versatility. Each style needed to be distinctive enough to offer meaningful choice while remaining broadly compatible with different face shapes, makeup looks and rendering styles.

The project also reinforced the importance of precision. Small adjustments to hair direction, density and silhouette could dramatically change the final appearance, requiring careful iteration throughout development.

Close up showing the detail of one eyebrow tail

Preview showing "The Muse" brow on Genesis 9 with no skin texture

Outcome

This project provided valuable experience in creating production-ready hair cards and using them to produce precise, modular assets within a commercial pipeline. Working across Blender and Autodesk Maya strengthened my confidence in a multi-software workflow while reinforcing the importance of precision, iteration and attention to detail.

Beyond the finished product, the project further developed my understanding of facial anatomy, hair flow and how subtle features influence the overall appearance of a character. It also expanded my knowledge of modular asset creation and demonstrated how seemingly small components can have a significant impact on the quality and versatility of a digital character.