# Calavera | Render Challenge

**URL:** <https://blenderartists.org/t/calavera-render-challenge/1656855>\
**Category:** Finished Projects\
**Tags:** realism, modeling, sculpting, render, texturing\
**Created:** [November 5, 2026, 8:58am UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/calavera-render-challenge/1656855 "2026-11-05T08:58:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Khamurai](https://blenderartists.org/user_avatar/blenderartists.org/khamurai/32/1490280_2.png) [@Khamurai](https://blenderartists.org/u/Khamurai)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2026, 8:58am UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/calavera-render-challenge/1656855/1 "2026-11-05T08:58:59Z")

</div>

Made for last weeks render challenge with the theme “Días de los Muertos”

 ![calavera_3.1.1](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/7/f/1/7f12e9d68f973cd11f05729b53ffef86f115c532.jpeg)

Took the opportunity to try my hand at sculpting, retopo and texture painting which are three things I have very little experience with but want to get better at. Also decided to try out Ucupaint which I have heard a lot of good things about!

Sculpt (left) and retopo (right). I didn’t have a reference but I had a sculpting tutorial running on my second monitor and basically went chapter by chapter just following the techniques but with my own imagined face.

 ![base_sculpt](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/5/3/2/5327f3a48aad72e9ff1862137b0b8bdfa66f2d57.jpeg)

I went with closed eyes at first but changed that during the final retopo adjustments.

 ![final_head_front](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/d/6/8/d68062ac0c6ae07c786afad79954215c0b7b3bde.jpeg)

Texture painting was quick and dirty because I knew that a lot of it would be obscured enough by hair to not matter too much. The procedural cracked paint texture also helped a lot with hiding the unrefined painting job.

 ![ucupaint_mat](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/0/2/4/024bab9c56e0ac990c5e03b01436edf46c693732.jpeg)

Hair was pretty straight forward albeit a bit annoying to groom. I used maybe a handful of actual hair curves as guides and tweaked the hair modifiers to add volume and frizziness. The hair material is just a Principled Hair BSDF. I used the same approach for the eyebrows.

 ![hair](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/2/6/2/262391c8c03650ebc39391d7ac4df2bcd546d580.jpeg)  
 ![image](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/4/d/2/4d272e4c5aa04e9c415c1bc4e48c351423a824c8.png)

I tried using the same approach for the lashes but it was just too cumbersome so I ended up just making a simple geometry nodes setup for it instead.

 ![image](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/9/1/6/9169b0396fbfaa4b900cddae67414d1b1483d42e.png)

To fill out the scene I made a rose generator.

 ![rose](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/9/6/d/96d56224f65d071c5ced8e5e7aa9da31af46c34d.jpeg)

And then a rose band generator.

 ![rose_bands](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/e/3/e/e3e6717c6888243d727906994780b2c3fca57e85.jpeg)

I also made some accessories based on some pictures I saw when looking for make-up references: jewels and a sort of crown.

 ![image](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/a/c/5/ac5fd2512bb086dc263d06e1ad213a1ec84afd53.png)

After placing some rose bands I made a 2-light setup for a spooky mood. It was at this point I decided to just leave the eyes as they are and consider the piece done.

 ![light_setup](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/e/4/d/e4df32d1ac9f159a1404aee4636543f93ca38260.jpeg)

Viewport render

 ![vp](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/8/5/6/856f378a8527b71e025a4c5c57665da863458c67.jpeg)