Paint or Model Details?

[Rob Proctor 0]

Hi, I am relatively new to modeling and texturing so I am still trying to learn some of the basics of how things come together. For example, if I am modeling a face should I model the wrinkles in the skin, or should I paint them in? Looking online at some various examples it seems most people model them in, but can they be painted in? I tried painting some wrinkles into a face I was working on and while it looks okay, however from certain angles and such the wrinkles either look too flat or too deep. It might just be that I am not painting them right, but I am curious of these types of details are best left to modeling...

Attached is the face I made for reference

Thanks

[Vincent Gault]

Hey, it's really a question of balance: while most of the details can be hold by the textures, you still have to get a shape that support the silhouette of your model.

[Vertisea]

I'm not that experienced, especially not with character art, but I do have a feeling of what's good and what isn't. I think Vincent nailed it. It really is a question of balance. What I would do is put as much detail into the shape of the face with geometry without going too crazy.

I don't think there is one solid answer. It really is about balance. If the detail requires the geometry, you should model it. In your case I think you should model (or sculpt since it's more natural). In other cases, it might be better to paint them. Thankfully, if you were to sculpt your character, you could always decide how much detail you want to put in when you're retopologizing, and then that might decide whether you'll need to paint detail or not.

One hand washes the other.