In this tutorial, we will explore how to create an abstract, painterly effect applied to a head scan model to produce a ghostly looking portrait. In this tutorial, we will specifically use the standard_surface shader in combination with the range and camera_projection shader to produce this effect. You will need a head model for this tutorial. An example of a free to use head scan model can be found here. You will be required to use your own texture for this tutorial.
Import the head model into the scene.
Create a cylinder or quad_light and position it above and slightly in front of the head model. Increase the lights exposure to around 4.
Create a polygon plane and position it in front of the head. We will use this plane to refract the rest of the head using the same texture map.
Create a camera (rename it RenderCam) and position it so that it is pointing at the front of the head.
Head model render (without plane)
Head shader
Create another standard_surface shader and assign it to the plane.
Increase the transmission_weight to around 0.9.
Connect the same projected texture to the specular_ior and transmission_color via a range shader. The range shader is used to define how much the texture will refract and can be used to fine-tune the effect.
Increase the output_max of the range shader to around 6 and the input_max to around 2. Try experimenting with the other values of the range shader to get interesting effects.
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Output Max: 0 | Output Max: 1 (default) | Output Max: 6 |
Plane refracting head behind it
Plane shader