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.

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, PLEASE INCLUDE
- Portfolio with facial rigs / ARKit blendshapes examples (links).
- Your price per character and turnaround.
- Confirmation you can deliver Godot-ready glTF with spring bones for hair/hat.
- Briefly: how you'd handle the eyelids + real eyeball + gaze setup.