Human Generator Presents: Blendreams [$]

Sponsored content in collaboration with Human Generator

Realistic, modular, and easy to set up humans are arguably the final frontier in CG; the team at Human Generator aims to tackle just that in Blender, with their popular add-on having just been updated to its fourth iteration, Human Generator Ultimate:

Human Generator presents a refined approach to 3D character design, offering Blender users a comprehensive add-on tailored for detailed human model creation. With a focus on precision and adaptability, Human Generator integrates a suite of features designed to enhance and streamline the modeling process by providing comprehensive body and face deformation tools, allowing detailed adjustments from physique to age. Alongside skin texture and makeup customization, the add-on boasts an extensive hair library, diverse clothing options, and a versatile pose and expression suite. Advanced features include Face rig animations, ARKit-driven animations, and Python API integration, complemented by efficient model generation and asset storage capabilities.

One power-user making use of the full potential of this add-on for his story-telling and film-making endeavors is Onur Erdurak, better known by his online alias "Blendreams". With more than 100000 followers on Instagram and his artwork garnering thousands of views across social media platforms, Blendreams is a Blender staple and today's featured artist in partnership with Human Generator. Here's a quick interview with him where we take a closer look at his career, his artistic projects, how Blender and Human Generator are the cornerstones of his process, with behind-the-scene glimpses into some of his most successful work:

Interview with "Blendreams" Onur Erdurak: Merging 3D Artistry with Real-World Storytelling
Hello! I'm Onur Erdurak, a director, writer, and 3D artist from Turkey. My journey began with crafting short films and quickly evolved when I realized the potential of visual effects. This passion led to my debut short film, "STRANDED," which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner in 2018.
Currently, as a Fulbright grantee, I'm pursuing an MFA degree at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. You can find my animations on my Instagram, "Blendreams", and tutorials and other informative content on my YouTube channel.
It all starts with a donut
My journey began with making home videos with my friends. I was interested in making bigger films so I dedicated my summer to learning VFX . My breakthrough came after watching Ian Hubert's "World Building" presentation at Blender Con. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic offered me ample time to immerse myself in Blender. Channels likean Hubert, Blender Guru, Ducky 3D, Default Cube/CG Matter, Martin Kleknerm were instrumental in my learning process. As my proficiency grew, I established @blendreams to archive and showcase my 3D creations.

Enter Human Generator

I quickly realized that Human figures are vital for my storytelling approach: While inanimate objects and animals can also serve as storytelling anchors, I tend to gravitate toward tales where human figures are the main subject when crafting stories. . This led me to the Human Generator add-on. Its affordability, comprehensive features, and integration within Blender made it an ideal tool. Notably, the automatic IK setup in pose mode facilitated easy character animation.
I was finally able to get human figures, super fast, right inside blender. I played around with shaders, and booleans creating my most-watched piece at the time; "You Are Infinite"
Later, playing around more with shaders I created "This Anger of Mine" Which I think is one most unique pieces.

Testing different shaders and experimenting with different styles and I created "The Red Words".

Reaching New Heights

In May of 2023, KitBash3D contacted me to make an artowork fr the launch of their new software Cargo and their about-to-be-released kit "Age of Egypt." This was a big opportunity for me and I needed human figures to tell the story for these pieces.
I first created " Thunders in the Metal City", one of my favorite renders. It took me 12 very intense days to create it. The main character is made using the Human Generator add-on. The Character's clothing was designed and simulated by Melis Caner using Marvelous Designer.
I think custom-made simulated clothing adds a lot of life to any work! Thank you, Melis!
The Clay render v Final render breakdown of this animation is my most watched work at 3.2 million views! I can't believe it!
After that, I had 14 days to create the KitBash3D "Age of Egypt" kit render. I got to work! I wanted to create a city full of lifem and Human Generator was instrumental in that.
I was inspired and I went back into "The Apple Thief" and I created a wide-screen version where Human Generator characters and CC4 characters are together. I used the human generator add-on to create most of the characters, except the kid which is not available as of yet with the add-on.

Innovative workflows

For my live-action projects, I utilize tools like Polycam to scan shooting locations and bring them into Blender. Using the Human Generator, I create 3D models resembling the actors and pose them using the add-ons extensive pose and expressions library, allowing for precise scene planning and storyboard creation. This created the perfect animatic and storyboard. In pre-production, I was now able to communicate what I needed from every shot with absolute clarity. Since then I used this workflow in 3 other short films. This was such an important thing for me and I cannot think of making another live-action short film without doing this again.
I'm documenting this workflow in an upcoming video.
Looking back...
While I cherish all my creations, recent projects like "The Apple Thief" and "Thunders In The Metal City" hold special significance for me. They represent the culmination of my skills and the tools I've adopted over the years.

...and then looking forward

I'm currently focused on my latest live-action short film about a man with reality-altering powers. My long-term vision is to create an animated short film, a web series, and eventually, a feature film. My dream is to transition this passion into a full-time endeavor.