Freelancer Brief: Photo-Realistic 3D Talking Character Bust for Blender
Project Overview
I have a photo-realistic portrait of a brand character created in MidJourney. I want to bring this character to life as a realistic 3D bust (head, neck, and shoulders) in Blender, capable of natural movement, blinks, subtle expressions, and lip-sync to audio I provide.
The goal is to use this character for:
- A homepage welcome video (greeting visitors).
- Short 30–60 second teaser videos for blog posts.
This must preserve the photo-real quality of the original portrait and not look cartoonish or stylized.
Deliverables
• A high-quality, rigged 3D bust model in a native Blender (.blend) file (head, neck, and shoulders) that closely matches my provided portrait.
• A fully functional facial rig with intuitive controls for:
o Accurate lip-sync to English audio.
o Natural, automatic blinks.
o Subtle eyebrow movement.
o Smile and other expression options.
• Automated subtle breathing animation in the neck and shoulders for realism.
• A clean, well-organized Blender project file that allows me to:
o Easily import new voice/audio files.
o Quickly generate new lip-sync animation.
o Render and export new videos without complex re-rigging.
• At least one test render (video file) showing the character speaking a short audio clip that I will provide.
Requirements
• A strong portfolio demonstrating realistic 3D human character modeling and rigging (cartoon or stylized examples will not be considered).
• Proven experience with Blender’s facial rigging pipeline, including shape keys and armatures. Experience with FaceBuilder for Blender is a plus.
• The ability to translate a 2D portrait into a consistent, photo-realistic 3D model.
• The rig must be built for a non-technical end-user. I require a simple, few-click solution to sync new audio to the mouth movements (e.g., using the Rhubarb Lip Sync add-on or an equally simple method).
• The final Blender file must be meticulously organized and documented with clearly named objects, layers (collections), and controls for ease of use.
What I Will Provide
• A high-resolution MidJourney portrait of the character.
Note on Appearance: The provided portrait is clean-shaven. For the 3D bust, please add subtle, light grey, day-old stubble across the chin, jaw, and upper lip. The goal is natural, slightly rugged realism, not a styled beard.
• A sample audio track in my own voice for the first test render.
• Style guidance to ensure expressions are warm, welcoming, and natural.
Budget & Timeline
• Budget: Open to fair, value-based quotes. Please provide a fixed-price quote for the entire project.
• Timeline: I would like to see an initial test render within 2 weeks of project start, with full project delivery within 3 weeks.
Ownership & Rights
Upon full payment, I will retain exclusive commercial ownership and all intellectual property rights to the 3D bust model, rig, and all related project files. The freelancer may not reuse, resell, or repurpose the asset for any other clients or projects. Portfolio display in a non-commercial, showcase context is permitted.
To Apply
Please respond with the following:
- A link to your portfolio, specifically highlighting examples of realistic 3D busts or face rigs you have created in Blender.
- A brief explanation of your process for achieving realistic lip-sync and subtle expressions, including how you would set up the file for a client to easily use with new audio.
- Confirmation that you understand the final deliverable will be a client-ready Blender file that I can use independently for future audio recordings.