Character Artist — facial retopo + ARKit-52 rig + texturing for real-time 3D avatars (ongoing)

We build real-time interactive 3D character companions (Godot engine, glTF pipeline). We have AI-generated character meshes that need to be turned into clean, fully rigged, animation-ready avatars driven by ARKit-52 blendshapes (facial mocap / lip-sync / gaze). This is an ONGOING need — we have several characters to produce and are looking for a reliable long-term collaborator, not a one-off gig. First character: "Circo", a stylised puppet (top hat, teal hair, Día-de-los-Muertos face paint, two gloved hands). WHAT WE PROVIDE - High-res textured mesh (GLB + FBX, PBR textures), ~15k quads, 4 parts: face, top hat, two hands. - Reference video + concept images. - Target engine: Godot 4 (glTF, morph targets + skeletal rig). DELIVERABLES (per character) 1. Retopology: clean quad topology on the face with proper edge loops around eyes and mouth; eye sockets for real eyeballs; clean hat & hands topo. 2. Eyes: real 3D eyeballs (iris/pupil) rigged to rotate (gaze follows user); eyelids as part of the face mesh, able to blink/close. 3. Rigging: full set of 52 ARKit blendshapes (exact standard names) + a few custom cartoon blendshapes; skeleton (head/neck/jaw, eye-aim bones, two fully articulated hands), hat parented to head; clean symmetric weights. 4. Secondary motion: adjustable spring/jiggle bone chains on the hair strands and the hat (real-time, tunable stiffness/damping) — Godot-compatible. 5. Texturing: re-bake/clean PBR textures onto the new topology, preserving the original look; clean UVs. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: **Delivery format:** - Final character as glTF 2.0 (.glb), importing cleanly into Godot 4 with no manual fixups. - Editable Blender source (.blend) with full rig, shape keys, and modifiers intact. - Textures as PBR set (base color, normal, roughness, metallic), 2K or 4K, packed or in a clear folder. **Rig / blendshapes:** - ARKit-52 blendshapes must use exact standard names (e.g., eyeBlinkLeft, jawOpen, mouthSmileLeft, browInnerUp). - Skeleton bones clearly named; eye-aim bones for gaze; finger bones on both hands. - Hair + hat spring/jiggle bone chains must work via Godot's bone system with tunable stiffness/damping. **Scale & orientation:** - Real-world scale (metric), Y-up, facing −Z, origin at the base of the neck, transforms applied (no leftover rotation/scale). **Validation:** - A short turntable + a few ARKit shapes firing + a gaze test before final delivery. **Milestones (payment per milestone):** 1. Retopo + UVs + texture bake. 2. Eyes + skeleton + skinning + hair/hat spring bones. 3. ARKit-52 blendshapes + Godot test export. REQUIREMENTS - Blender preferred (we work in Blender 5.x); Maya OK if you deliver clean glTF. - Final delivery: GLB with ARKit-52 morph targets + skeletal rig + textures importing cleanly into Godot 4 plus the source .blend. - ARKit blendshape names must match the standard exactly. NICE TO HAVE - Godot real-time avatar experience; ARKit / facial mocap retargeting experience. TO APPLY INCLUDE: 1. Portfolio with facial rigs / ARKit blendshapes examples (links). 2. Your price per character and turnaround time. 3. Confirmation you can deliver Godot-ready glTF with spring bones for hair/hat. 4. Briefly: how you'd handle the eyelids + real eyeball + gaze setup.

Project ID: 40480193