Hello everyone!
Welcome to my work-in-progress thread for the 2026 Reallusion 3D Character Contest.
This project follows the creation of my original character, Eagle Knight, from the initial concept all the way to the final presentation.
Thank you for stopping by! Any feedback or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
See you in the next update!
Hi everyone! I completely agree that good planning is the key to any successful project. To stay organized and ensure a high-quality entry before the deadline, I’ve mapped out my exact workflow and schedule.
Since I am working as a solo artist, I will be combining the strengths of Character Creator 4, iClone 8, and Blender 4.2 LTS (Eevee Next) for fast, real-time rendering.
This is how my project files and data will move between programs to keep things efficient:
This is my phase-by-phase plan to ensure a high-quality delivery by August 26th (5 days ahead of the official deadline).
To keep things manageable, I will finish and render each scene completely before moving to the next one.
AUGUST 26: FINAL SUBMISSION READY!
I will start posting my rough pencil storyboards and updates very soon. Let me know what you think!
Here is my concept design for Eagle Knight, let me tell you some context: As a child/teenager, I was fascinated by superheroes. I found their abilities, costumes, and stories amazing—they were a display of creativity, a visual delight. During that time, I thought I could create my own superheroes, one of whom was “Eagle Warrior.”
When I learned about the contest organized by Reallusion, I decided to dust off this character. For this contest, I didn’t go back to the old, simpler version, but instead returned to pencil and paper, like in the old days, and redesigned him. I also changed his name to “Eagle Knight”.
I developed the original script in my native language (Spanish). It contains descriptions of the scenes, dialogue, emotions, and actions of the characters. It was practically finished, but it required some corrections, so I made them yesterday and am publishing it today.
[Ek está volando a gran altura, en un cielo nocturno]
Comandante: Buen trabajo soldado, tomĂł la decisiĂłn correcta.
EK: El niño no tenĂa que ver esto.
Comandante: Hmm… Edward, yo tambiĂ©n he tenido que tomar decisiones con la cabeza frĂa…
EK: Mi cabeza no está frĂa, está… a punto… de explotar. (lo dice conteniendo su ira)
Comandante: Edward!
[EK corta la comunicaciĂłn, se corta la escena]
[Cambio de escena. Ek está en la en la entrada de una guarida subterránea, se ve de espaldas y de pie. Oprime el botĂłn más cercano a su pulgar para encoger las alas, desactiva sus escudos y quita su máscara de oxĂgeno]
[Cambio de escena. Ek se ve de frente caminando, enfocado en la cintura para arriba]
Ek: Él sĂłlo decĂa… No más, no más. Deja a mi padre… llĂ©vate mis juguetes, pero no le hagas daño… no… no… NO!!!
[Cambio de escena. Ahora se vé a EK de cuerpo completo, con sus cañones de mano disparando hacia al frente, luego termina cayendo sobre sus rodillas sin dejar de disparar, se termina su munición y finalmente cae al suelo]
[Ahora se enfoca en la cara sin la máscara de oxĂgeno]
Ek: Por qué obedecà al comandante, por qué no apague el micrófono… (llora y se ve cómo las lágrimas se escurren bajo la máscara, su cara refleja un profundo remordimiento)
[Fin de la escena anterior]
[Cambio de escena. Ahora va caminando de frente, ya está un poco más calmado]
Ek: El caballero águila, orgullo nacional, 1050 misiones exitosas. Esta era la más importante,… eliminar al pez gordo, no habĂa otra forma, pero… el niño no debĂa ver esto… no. ÂżQuĂ© dice tu cĂłdigo moral sobre eliminar a un padre frente a su niño? Es ridĂculo. Ese tipo era un monstruo, arruinĂł a miles de personas, pero ahora entrĂ© en su mundo, rompĂ el muro, ahora soy la pesadilla de un niño tan… inocente. ÂżCĂłmo es que queriendo hacer justicia fallĂ©? No lo entiendo.
[Se activan las bocinas del recinto a dĂłnde llegĂł, Ă©l se pone en guardia, mirando a todas partes]
Voz en la bocina: Perdiste porque pensaste que saber quĂ© era la justicia te convertĂa en justo. No funciona asĂ.
Ek: ¿Dónde estás?
Voz en la bocina: Âżvas a matarme o prefieres entender de una vez por todas?
Ek: Está bien [baja la guardia].
Voz en la bocina: [Mientras el va hablando se va representado en el holograma lo que dice] Siempre pensaste que habĂa una lĂnea recta con bandos opuestos, y que entre más firme a tus ideas de justicia fueras, más justo serĂas, pero fuiste tan extremo que ocurriĂł la paradoja que vives ahora. Escucha bien, cuando 2 grupos son opuestos, siempre habrá discordia, pero entre más se afirmen y sean coherentes a lo que piensan, se moverán en direcciĂłn a la agresividad, y cuando llegan al lĂmite, van a empezar a negociar sus valores, con tal de mantener su nombre ideolĂłgico, eso es justo lo que te pasa, querĂas hacer justicia por esas familias dañadas, pero arruinaste la vida de un niño que no conocĂa la faceta oscura de su padre, cruzaste el muro.
Ek: ¿Cuál es la solución entonces? [dice con poca fuerza, frustrado].
Voz en la bocina: Tienes que salir del cĂrculo o seguirás en este sucio juego. El problema está en cĂłmo operas la justicia: ellos disparan, tu disparas. Mientras ambos operen en muerte, seguirá habiendo muerte, y seguirás violando tus propios ideales tambiĂ©n. Debes salir del cĂrculo, vuela muy alto, hasta que veas con claridad, entonces serás diferente y los resultados serán diferentes.
Ek: ¿Cómo? [dice inquietado, frente a la cámara]
[SCENE START - EK is flying at a high altitude in a night sky]
AUDIO: [Helmet comms ON]
Commander: Good work, soldier. You made the right call. [Voice tone: Firm, professional, and cold. To him, this is just another successful mission.]
Eagle Knight (EK): The kid didn’t have to see this. [Voice tone: Contained, a raspy and heavy whisper. Processing the trauma in real-time.]
Commander: Hmm… Edward, I’ve also had to make calls with a cold mind… [Voice tone: Authoritative but attempting to justify the cruelty as part of the duty.]
EK: My mind isn’t cold… it’s… about… to explode. [Voice tone: Pent-up anger at its limit. Said through clenched teeth, with minimal air levels, holding back rage.]
Commander: Edward! [Voice tone: Strict command voice, trying to regain order.]
ACTION: EK cuts the communication.
VISUAL/AUDIO: [Helmet comms OFF] âž” [Wings sweep back] âž” [Thrusters ON] âž” [Sonic boom SFX] âž” Hard cut to black.
[SCENE CHANGE - EK is at the entrance of an underground lair, seen from behind, standing up]
ACTION: EK presses the button closest to his thumb [Plasma wings turn off], [Plasma shield deactivates, exposing unarmored areas]âž” Brings right arm toward his face and throws his mask [Oxygen hoses retract into the suit's oxygen tanks]
[SCENE CHANGE - EK is on the hall of the underground lair]
CAMERA: Medium close-up shot of EK from the waist up, walking forward.
EK: He just kept saying… “No more, please, no more. Leave my dad alone… take my toys, just don’t hurt him…” no… no… NO!!! [Voice tone: Starts by mimicking the child’s broken and desperate voice, with pure horror and vulnerability. The final “NO!” is a gut-wrenching scream from the core.]
CAMERA: Camera pulls back to a full-body shot.
ACTION: EK unloads all ammo from his hand cannons straight ahead âž” He drops to his knees while continuing to fire until he runs out of ammunition. âž” Finally, he collapses to the ground.
CAMERA: Close-up shot on his bare face.
EK: Why did I listen to the commander? Why didn’t I just turn off the mic…? [Voice tone: Choked by tears. Sounds defeated, regretful, with deep remorse as tears stream down his face.]
VISUAL: Hard cut to black.
CAMERA: Medium tracking shot. EK is walking forward, slightly calmer now.
EK: The Eagle Knight. National pride. 1,050 successful missions. This was the most important one… eliminating the big fish. There was no other way, but… the kid shouldn’t have seen this… no. What does your moral code say about eliminating a father right in front of his child? It’s ridiculous. That man was a monster, he ruined thousands of people, but now… I’ve entered his world. I broke the wall. Now I’m the nightmare of a child so… innocent. How is it that by wanting to do justice, I failed? I don’t understand. [Voice tone: Deep moral frustration. On “I’m the nightmare”, the voice cracks with shame. “I don’t understand” is an absolute plea of weakness facing the camera.]
AUDIO: [Intercom speakers activate - Comms incoming SFX]
ACTION: EK instantly goes on guard, looking everywhere.
Voice over Intercom: You lost because you thought knowing what justice was made you just. It doesn’t work that way. [Voice tone: Calm, deep, and revealing.]
EK: Where are you? [Voice tone: Alert, demanding a physical location.]
Voice over Intercom: Are you going to eliminate me, or would you rather understand, once and for all? [Voice tone: Deliberate, challenging yet serene.]
EK: Fine… [Voice tone: Weary, flexing, surrendering to the need for answers.]
CAMERA: From now on, focus on the hologram when “Voice over Intercom” speaks, and focus on EK when he speaks.
ACTION: The hologram projection begins. It reacts to the conversation of “Voice over Intercom”
Voice over Intercom: You always thought there was a straight line with opposing sides, and that the firmer you stood by your ideas of justice, the more just you would be. But you went so extreme that you triggered the very paradox you’re living right now. [Voice tone: Deliberate and analytical pace. Each word must be clear to sync with the straight-line animation.]
Voice over Intercom: Listen closely: when two groups are opposed, there will always be discord. But the more they dig in and stay consistent to what they think, they will move in the direction of aggressiveness. And when they reach the limit, they will start negotiating their values, just to maintain their ideological name. [Voice tone: Relentless. Explaining the theory with absolute confidence.]
Voice over Intercom: That is exactly what is happening to you. You wanted to do justice for those damaged families, but you ruined the life of a child who didn’t know his father’s dark side. You crossed the wall. [Voice tone: Definitive judgment. Forcefully connecting the hologram theory to EK’s mistake.]
EK: What’s the solution then? [Voice tone: Delivered with very little strength, frustrated, completely disarmed.]
Voice over Intercom: You have to get out of the circle, or you will stay in this dirty game. The problem lies in how you operate justice: they fire, you fire. As long as both sides operate in death, there will keep being death, and you will keep violating your own ideals as well. [Voice tone: Firm tone exposing the vicious circle EK belongs to.]
Voice over Intercom: You must get out of the circle. Fly very high, until you see with clarity. Then you will be different, and the results will be different. [Voice tone: Becomes inspiring, offering the metaphor of rising above the problem.]
EK: How? [Voice tone: Unsettled, staring directly into the camera, searching for an answer with desperation and awe.]
Drawing a rough pencil storyboard to define camera compositions (flight, underground base, hologram room, and falls). Status: Almost finished. Just missing a few final scenes. I’ll update as soon as it’s ready. And yeah, I love using a mechanical pencil 
Recording the final English voice acting, followed by audio cleanup and splitting into 3 independent scene files using Audacity. Status: Audio recorded. I really loved doing the voice acting for my characters; it was awesome getting into their shoes. The crazy part is when you speak for one and then immediately switch to the other—changing your tone and emotion (and keeping it consistent when it’s their turn) is quite a challenge. I still need to edit the audio tracks.
The character creation process in CC5 wasn’t linear; during development, you constantly test and discard new ideas based on the story you’ve crafted and what you want to convey. The following description explains the changes that actually made the final cut.
First, I used a base model from CC5. It was simply a matter of selecting one of the characters that caught my eye and loading it up.
The first fundamental change was adding dirt and wounds to his face. He just came back from a complicated mission, so he needs to look a bit beaten up and dirty. To achieve this, I downloaded and dragged the “Face dirt” and “Scar cut” presets onto the character (the ones highlighted in the green boxes in the two images below).
To get the final result, I didn’t just drag and drop; I also used the available texture modifiers (location highlighted in the green box) to adjust them to my liking. Since changes in the modifiers reflect in real-time, I was able to see the transformation instantly until I achieved the look shown on screen.
The other aspect I focused on modifying was the body. I wanted a strong soldier, so I used the specific options for each body part to guarantee an increase in muscle mass. I also made slight modifications to his head. Finally, I used the “Body” option and blended the attributes of three male characters (Neutral male, Caleb_body, Kevin body) until I reached the shape you see on screen.
Hi @Rita_RL, I need to update my thread title to match the official contest guidelines, but the system won’t allow me to edit it anymore. Could you please help me change the title to:
[WIP] 2026 Reallusion 3D Character Contest - Eagle Knight - Reto Software (Samuel Rodriguez)
Also, I noticed that the [WIP Entry] tag mentioned in the rules isn’t available in the optional tags selection. Could you please make sure it’s correctly applied to this post? Thank you so much for your help!
Block 2: Character & Environment Creation: modeling the custom armor and plasma wings in Blender.
Hi again everyone, I hope you are all doing great! I want to share my current progress on the character’s armor modeling.
First, following the steps described in “Part 1: My Production Pipeline (The Workflow)”, I proceeded to import the character into Blender. To do this, I first exported the character as an .fbx from CC5, then installed the “cc/ic tools” add-on in Blender 4.5.7, and finally imported the character using the button highlighted in the image below. Everything imported flawlessly: the mesh, bones, and textures.
