Practice Modeling (pics!)
by Jon Law · 07/19/2006 (9:32 pm) · 7 comments
Hello everyone. This is my second blog ever and I was wondering if I could get some criticism on a model of a dwarf-like character I have been working on... So I think well start with some pics :)
And the wireframe
So the model totals in at 1618 polys so far, but I feel like its still lacking in detail.
I am using Maya 7.0 on a Mac (yay mac!)
I've tried adding a beard, which he definatly needs but I seem to be having some problems with normals. I get black areas when i extrude a beard from under his nose.
Anyways any advice/etc. is greatly appreciated. Or just lemmy know what you think ;) Any comment is welcome
~Jon
And the wireframe
So the model totals in at 1618 polys so far, but I feel like its still lacking in detail.
I am using Maya 7.0 on a Mac (yay mac!)
I've tried adding a beard, which he definatly needs but I seem to be having some problems with normals. I get black areas when i extrude a beard from under his nose.
Anyways any advice/etc. is greatly appreciated. Or just lemmy know what you think ;) Any comment is welcome
~Jon
#2
07/20/2006 (12:13 am)
Practice does make perfect ;) 
#4
But from what I see you are using to many useless polys
Like mark said " Practice does make perfect "
Good luck :)
07/20/2006 (6:56 am)
I am not a modeler But from what I see you are using to many useless polys
Like mark said " Practice does make perfect "
Good luck :)
#6
So.. I would suggest sketching out on paper what you think you think you want your character to look like. Narrow it down and then draw a couple of ortho views - top/side/front/45. Scan the orthos and load those into your modelling software. Drop them as textures onto planes and model around them. Start out by boxing out basic shapes: torso, shoulders, elbows, hands, knees, feet etc. Then slowly add edges to add definition to the shape while trying to keep your edge loops as concentric as possible. I thought I was a terrible artist and someone gave me this advice. I did some research on maintaining edge loops and came out with a decent model my first try (with a little over-the-shoulder advice ;). After that it just comes down to refining your technique.
To give you an idea of how useful that technique is, here's the only image I have offhand of that model.. I was testing deformation and it's a wierd angle, but you get the idea (keep in mind, I'm a programmer.. don't be too harsh)...
The point is, never underestimate how much a couple minutes with a pen and paper can help your finished product. The most skilled artists got that skilled by studying shapes and colors, so don't be afraid to experiment. Keep in mind, your edge loops are what will define your shape from different angles. Aside from that, know your tools. You're lucky to be working with Maya because there are a lot of great tutorials that come with it on how to use all the different features (which can be very useful).
Anyway, I hope this was helpful and I'm not just rambling on. Again, I'm not an artist so I don't know if I'm the best person to be giving advice on art.. I'm just passing on what helped me.
07/21/2006 (3:51 am)
I hope I'm not being too presumptuous, but I've had the privelage to work with some great artists and I think I can offer you some advice (at least I'm pretty sure that's what you were asking for.. right? If not, just ignore this post).So.. I would suggest sketching out on paper what you think you think you want your character to look like. Narrow it down and then draw a couple of ortho views - top/side/front/45. Scan the orthos and load those into your modelling software. Drop them as textures onto planes and model around them. Start out by boxing out basic shapes: torso, shoulders, elbows, hands, knees, feet etc. Then slowly add edges to add definition to the shape while trying to keep your edge loops as concentric as possible. I thought I was a terrible artist and someone gave me this advice. I did some research on maintaining edge loops and came out with a decent model my first try (with a little over-the-shoulder advice ;). After that it just comes down to refining your technique.
To give you an idea of how useful that technique is, here's the only image I have offhand of that model.. I was testing deformation and it's a wierd angle, but you get the idea (keep in mind, I'm a programmer.. don't be too harsh)...
The point is, never underestimate how much a couple minutes with a pen and paper can help your finished product. The most skilled artists got that skilled by studying shapes and colors, so don't be afraid to experiment. Keep in mind, your edge loops are what will define your shape from different angles. Aside from that, know your tools. You're lucky to be working with Maya because there are a lot of great tutorials that come with it on how to use all the different features (which can be very useful).
Anyway, I hope this was helpful and I'm not just rambling on. Again, I'm not an artist so I don't know if I'm the best person to be giving advice on art.. I'm just passing on what helped me.
Torque 3D Owner Alex Resendes
As for the beard thing and the normals.... the black areas are most likely due to a lack of geometry in that area. Add some more polygons there and that should fix the problem. Turning the edges sometimes helps as well.