reflective diary on modelling

Modelling

For the modelling process I decided to work and create the model in a very segmented manor, building the character out of smaller modular pieces of geometry to be combined later as this allows me more time to work on the more important things by making me prioritise what requires the most detail and what will be the complex and to complete these items first.

Head

As instructed I imported the images on to an image plane on the x and z axis’, using the “create polygon” tool to trace the outline of the model’s side profile, then using the extrude tool to create a grab-able edge that should be used to create the proper topology however when I tried to extrude the proper edges again to produce more faces, the normals became uncontrollable and wild, as a result I abandoned this technique and opted for one I have had more experience with in the past, thus I created a cube with several separations that I can use to create the head by inserting additional edge loops and manipulating them into the required shapes. In retrospect it would probably have been wiser to start with this method to begin with and working on building the skills I developed last year rather than jumping straight into a new method, however the knowledge I gained from these videos did help as I went along and may be a skill to work on for future projects.

I continued creating the head by scaling the cube up so that an the orthographic view would show all the corners of the cube meeting the nearest edge or being as close as possible to the edge of the face in the images, I then cut the cube in half and deleted the entire left half so that I can work on the right half and duplicate the finished half mirrored in the z axis then combine the two halves to create the final head. I’ve began by inserting additional edge loops around the main features such as the eyes, nose and mouth so they would act as outlines on the orthogonal view, I then began to use a combination of standard selection and soft selection to move the vertices to the required positions then using the sculpt geometry tools to refine the final shape, I have also added additional edge loops into the facial construction to give more definition to the features and also entered smooth mode to see how the face will eventually look. This process was extremely time consuming and difficult but on the plus side there was little guess work to be done as the two image plains provided me with most of the outlines and places of shape for me to work from, however one particular part that I did find tricky was the indents around the nose where the eye sockets are, as the images couldn’t convey that sort of information.

I modelled an eyeball and eyelids by using the poly sphere tool and creating three spheres about the same size with only one being slightly smaller than the other two and selecting several faces that form a circle and pushing them inward a bit to create the pupil and using the now introverted faces that surround the manipulated faces as the irises, I then went in and deleted the top half of one of the outer spheres and the bottom half of the other, this way the lids can be rotated to give the impression the eye is opening. This was a quick and very efficient method to produce an effective eyeball.

After several days’ worth of attempts to get the head right, the head model wasn’t as good as I was hoping it would be even after trying to get it up to scratch using the sculpt geometry tool, as a result I have decided to totally recreate the head using a technique that my lecturer demonstrated to me, using the quad draw tool in the modelling toolkit to recreate the character’s head and create better topology in the process, making the edge loops curve around the major features such as the mouth and eyes, then using the sculpt geometry tool to refine it. After several hours of trying to get as many quads in as necessary in one go. I’d finished the head geometry, while it was not perfect I believe it is still enough of an improvement to go forward with I’ve also aligned the eyeball with the head, I have aligned all the central vertices so that they can be mirrored along the z axis to be duplicated, flipped and combined to make the final geometry. After doing so I had the idea to create the characters hair by duplicating the characters head, deleting the faces that will show any flesh, extruding the edited geometry to give a slight off-set from the character’s head but then selecting vertices at every other interval then scaling them outwards so as to create a bumpy effect as if the character has curly or un-kept hair. This was a quick way to produce a head even if it wasn’t what I hoped it would be and while my idea to create the hair may be unorthodox, I think it gives the model a unique character.

 

 

Hands

I began work on the character’s right hand by again starting with a polygon primitive cube and using the insert edge loop tools to create the faces that I later extruded outwards to form the fingers and thumb using the scale tool to stretch and compress the vertices to manipulate and distort the original shape into the desired form, adding extra edges in order to enhance the shape to bring it closer to the form I want it to be such as around the knuckles and finger joints, scaling the finger tips down to get that more telescopic effect in fingers and thumb and manipulating the vertices to give the knuckles and finger joints more prominence. I then added any additional edge loops to give additional shape when the arms and body were finished I then put everything together, scaled it so the proportions looked reasonable and finally flipped the whole thing. This was a very efficient and quick way of modelling the hand and in hindsight is much better than my initial approach of tracing an image of a human hand with the create geometry tool, extruding the created face inserting edge loops then adjusting the new loops to give shape which totally backfired as the faces created a webbing around the mesh.

Feet

When I started to model the character’s extremities I started with the feet as they seemed to be the most simple and easy to get out of the way. I began by creating a polygon cube then using the scale tool to stretch the geometry to be more in line with the proportions of a typical foot then inserting edge loops at the required points to create gradients in the shoe’s geometry such as the shoes rim and soul lip, I then entering smooth mode to see which edge loops needed to be manipulated and how, this has resulted in some peculiar shapes in the standard mode, however this was later remedied by adding extra loops at strategic places. This method was quick and efficient, while it may not have produced the most detailed result or used the proper topology recommended for similar situations it serves its purpose. This shoe was eventually placed under the leg and reflected in the z axis.

 

 

Midsection and legs

I started to work on the character’s body by firstly creating a poly cube then adding loops around the general rib area then adding some horizontal loops to help give the right kind of gradient in his shoulders and pectoral muscles. In addition I have used the extrude tool to get the bottom of the shirt and get the rim that turns back on itself and lead into the hips, at the top of the torso I also added the neck through the use of the same tool to get a stem like shape that has a slight offset from the shirt that I can place the finished head on top of later. I have also constructed a basic arm out of “pipes”, filling the hole of one end then adding edge loops for the articulation points such as the elbow as well as around the characters muscle areas to try and get some definition in the bicep and triceps to try and give the impression that the character was physically strong and in the filled hole to get a rounded end to the arm. When work began on the lower body, I proceeded by extruding the edges from the inverted edges of the shirt to create the waist and hips, then cutting the geometry in half and extruding the bottom face of the hips to create the leg, again extruding trouser leg inwards on itself, again I added edge loops on both the vertical and horizontal axis’s to manipulate the leg into the correct shape. In my personal opinion this construction looked ok when separated into the modular components used to construct it, however when compiled together and flipped the mid-section and legs proved to be the weakest component.

 

 

Texturing and rendering

I started to texture the character using the pre-created shaders in maya including the wood for the eyes and hair and cloth shaders for the pants, I have decided to use a mixture of lambert, blinn and phong textures re-coloured to reflect the type of material they are and how they reflect the light, I decided against using UV maps as they are extremely finicky to get right and bearing in mind the percentage the model is worth I do not believe it is worth the effort. I have decided to give the character brown hair along with a purple top and blue pants as well as blue eyes. Upon consideration, I have decided to recolour my character in a red top, dark purple pants and blonde hair, as red and purple are colours that are more associated with dark impulses such as arrogance and ambition, which fit the characters personality better, the choice of blonde hair comes from what has been discussed I my animation analysis module which also harkens back to a typically villainous hair colour in animation.

 

Done