Sculpting a low poly character

 Before sculpting a character I made one in 3Ds max. I kept it simple and made it low poly. As the screen shot shows the characters basic shape is made out of a box which was converted to editable poly to allow me to make the legs and arms. I made half of the shape and applied symmetry to it.

After making the character in 3Ds max I imported it into Mudbox. In Mudbox I used the grab tool with Mirror on the X axis turned on. Turning the mirror on does the same thing as symmetry in 3Ds max, it copies every change and applies it to the other half of the model. Using the grab tool I gave my character some shape as the screen shot above shows.

 

The screen shot above shows the difference between the basic shape I made of a character and the character that I exported from Mudbox. As you can see this is a quick method of making simple characters and I also learnt that it is a good method to use for doing things like this. It saves time because I didnt have to push and pull verticies to get the same shape as I would in Mudbox.

Multi Sub Object

Texturing an object using Multi Sub Object is a good way of texturing 3D models which have more than one texture to them. It makes it easy because all of the different textures or colours for the one model are in one place and it doesnt make it confusing. It is used by applying different ID's to the different polygons of the model.

 

Texturing, Grass and Mud Blend

 

To get the texture above on a 3d model I got a dirt and grass texture from the internet and made the mask in photoshop. The three images are below are the ones I used for this. In the material editor I chose blend map and then put the below images in there. Doing this it blended all three textures into one as it shows in the image above. I think this is a good method for mixing different images to get a texture. It could be a useful technique for when making terrain and fields etc.

 

Terrain Scene

Today I created terrain using Mudbox and then opened it up in 3Ds max. I then used this terrain to create the simple scene above. I think that using Mudbox is a good way of creating simple terrain because you can create it how you want it. The trees are default trees which can be found in the software.
Doing this I also learnt how windows and doors can easily be added to buildings. They are added to building by using the Boolean tool which is very easy to use and also a good technique for molding and object into another.

Modelling a face, starting off with a plane

Here I have modelled a characters face starting with just a plane. I started off modelling this face by creating a plane and then converting it to editable poly. I then created the eye socket following on to the nose and then the mouth. These three facial features where created using seperate planes. I attached all three by using the attach tool. Doing this made them part of the same group. I extruded and connected the edges to get the face as the screenshot above shows.

 

From making this characters face, I learnt how facial features can be made seperately and then joined together using the attach tool.

 

 

Unwrapping

Started practicing how to unwrap characters. To do this a 3D model of an alien was given to me. First of all I started off by putting seams where I thought they were supposed to be. After watching how the tutor did it, I tried doing this myself. I found that the head and torso are the easiest to unwrap whereas the feet and hands are very difficult.

The screenshot above shows how I have created seams along the hand. After following the tips the tutor showed, I started adding seams myself. First of all I added seams around the area where the nail will be. I then created a seam starting from the wrist and ended the seam at the tip of the last finger. I learnt that if I was to create a seam all around the hand then when I was to unwrap it the hand would split into two sections. I also learnt that if a seam is created through the centre of a characters face then when it was to be unwrapped, it would be unwrapped inside out and the front of the face would be at the back.

 

Doing this exersise gave me the basic idea of how unwrapping works and where seams should be created. I learnt that if seams are created in areas where they are hard to see then it is better for when a texture is applied because the seams where the texture joins will not be visible.

 

 

Modelling a character

Started modelling a character using blueprints which were already given to me. I started creating the character from the upper body using just a box and converting it to editable poly. I modelled the basic shape of the character using vertex, edge and polygon modes. As the screen shot shows I have got the basic shape of the character, this was all done using the same method and modes. For the head I used a simple box shape and applied the relax modifier to it a few times. I found that applying the relax modifier a few times to a symple box shape will give the basic shape of a characters head. It saved me from shaping the head out from the box shape itself.

 

Before modelling this character I learned about the common modifiers used in 3Ds Max. I learnt how the different modifiers can be used within the software to create different types of models. I also learnt the difference between converting an object to editable poly and applying the edit poly modifier. I learnt that converting an object to editable poly lets you edit an object more than just applying edit poly. Another useful thing I learnt was the different ways an object can be smoothed without using the turbo smooth modifier. For example the Relax modifier can be used to smooth and object while maintaining sharp edges on some of the object. Smoothing groups was also another thing I picked up. This can be used to number the polygons which you want to smooth. This is useful for when modelling cars.