Unwrapping a Person - Tweaking and Recap

We were given a model and told to unwrap and texture it, as we had done before to previous models. It was fairly simple to remember where to place the seams, however the model was poorly made in places and a lot of polygons were triangle shaped. This meant that tools like loop wouldn’t be as effective and it would be more difficult to place the seams accurately. This was especially true for the foot, where the edges split to different angles in many places. We were also asked to unwrap the hair, but I couldn’t work out where the seams would go on the model, as it was made of flat shapes instead of it being a 3D object.

3D Speed Test without Blueprints

We were given 30 mins to quickly build a model in 3Ds Max without using a blueprint. I chose to start from the body and try to replicate what I had done with the cartoon character previously. It proved to be a lot more difficult to recreate the proportions of a person and a lot of the modelling involved guesswork and estimating where the vertices should go. The hardest part was creating the hands as it involves a lot of detail, which is hard to imagine without a reference. I was given feedback that my hands were facing the wrong direction (forward) for a model and that the model was too flat, meaning it needed more curves for the spine and arms. I corrected this for the final model that is displayed below.

Using Mudbox

We finished up creating the seams on the alien model we were given last week and then unwrapped the model so that it was ready to be painted on. We then exported it into Mudbox where I was given a chance to play with the tools for the first time using the model. The tools are great for adding detail to specific parts of the model and is much easier than 3Ds Max but has a very high polycount. 

Modelling Faces - Edges

We were shown different ways of creating the face of the cartoon character that we were given last week. This method involved starting with a plane, and then extending the edges out so that you trace around the eyes and mouth. Then, after it was completed, I attached the two together, and filled in the gaps with weld and bridge. This face can then be attached to the main model.

UVW Unwrapping - Seams

We were given a pre-made model of an alien and told to use UVW unwrapping to add seams around the model to unwrap it correctly. I began with the head, making a T – shaped seam on the back of the skull like I had done last lesson, and then added seams on the edges of the eye and mouth holes. Then I added seams going down the Spine of the model, and separated the arms and legs with seams. However, the hands and feet were very difficult and was later shown that you separate the hands and nails and then add seams across the sides and tips of the fingers. When editing the unwrapped UVW map, you can turn on ‘Auto-pin moved vertices’ to make moving around specific parts of the hand easier.

 

Blueprint Modelling - Cartoon Character

We were given the task of modelling the basic shape of a full, cartoon character. We were given the blueprints for the character and I used that to match up the box’s vertices to the outline of the character. This was difficult as, the blueprint wasn’t very good and didn’t match up in some places. In addition, you couldn’t see under the arm, so I had to use guesswork to figure out where the outline was. To create the arms I just extruded a shoulder out from the body and then extruded down for the arms. I did the same for the legs. Using the relax tool, I could smooth out the body and make it less blocky.