14.11.2022 - 5.12.2022 (Week 12 - Week 15)
Chung Yi Ki / 0345014 /
BDCM
3D Modeling
Project 3: Organic Modeling
Lecture
Week 12 / Character modeling
In Blender, a character needs to be rigged in order to be animated. There's two ways to rig a character in Blender, which is through auto rigging or manual. Each section that needs to be rigged needs to be in a sperate mesh.
It's important to organise your modeling so that it'll be easier for further editing or rigging later on.
Bridging two different meshes/objects
To bridge two different meshes, first select both meshes and go to combine > join, and then select the two edges in the gap and go to edge> brdige edge flow
To seperate two objects, first select an edge loop and choose mark seam, and then go to edge > separate
Try to decrease the amount of triangles in the model wireframe, use knife to make the triangles to a quad.
Instruction
For this project, we are tasked to model any character of our choice based on
a character model sheet. The model should be lit using three point lighting
technique and render in Eevee or Cycles. The final render should be exported
as png in 1280px x 720px resolution.
Visual reference
|
|
Fig 1.1 Sprig character model sheet Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/525091637809242700/ |
For my character model, I decided to choose the character Sprig from an animated series called
"Amphibia" to model. I searched for his model sheet online as a reference
for my model
Modeling progress
|
| Fig 2.1 Connecting head and body and blocking out shapes |
|
| Fig 2.2 Reorganising the wireframes of the neck |
I first started to model the head and body by following the model sheet reference, mainly using front and side view and leaving the other view for further angle reference as I model. I then moved on to the limbs, hat, jacket and goggles. After I blocked out the size and shape for the model, I joined the head and body by using the bridge edge loop function and reorganise the wireframe in the neck area after joining using knife tool and deleting edges to remove unnecessary triangles, and also made sure the wireframes are evenly distributed. I mainly used cubes, cylinders and spheres for my model. I mostly model the cubes with the subdivision surface modifier turned on in Catmull-Clark option.
|
| Fig 2.3 Using bridge edge loops to join two mirror meshes of the hat |
|
| Fig 2.4 Using bridge edge loops to join two mirror meshes of the jacket |
For the hat, I first model it by following the reference, and then split it in
half and used the mirror modifier to create a mirror if the mesh at the other
side. Then, I applied the modifier and bridged the edge loops to connect the
two meshes, and did further editing to the wireframe where necessary. The same
thing was done on the jacket but without splitting as I only modeled one side
of it and then mirror the other side.
|
| Fig 2.5 Modeling the leg by extruding from the feet |
|
| Fig 2.6 Modeling the hand from a cube |
|
| Fig 2.7 Look of the hand with subdivision surface on, and unifying it with the arm |
I then decided to model the leg by extruding faces from the feet to make the
transition from the feet to the leg smoother as unifying it through the
boolean tool using cylinder as the leg didn't turn out smooth. For the hand, I
model it from a cube as well and used the subdivision surface modifier with
the Catmull-Clark option on to give it a smooth appearance, and then I unified
it with the arm using the brush boolean tool.
|
| Fig 2.8 Applying material to the model |
|
| Fig 2.9 Unconnected clipping of sleeve and jacket |
I then applied material to my model by picking the colours from the reference
images. Though, I then realised that there's a slight issue between the sleeve
and the jacket as the clipping of the two meshes can be visibly seen as they
are modelled separately. I tried to join and unify them but they still look
the same.
Attempt at using shape keys for the mouth
|
| Fig 3.1 Deleting faces to create the opening of the mouth |
|
| Fig 3.2 Extruding the mouth to the inside of the head and enclosing it by adding faces |
Fig 3.3 Opening and closing of mouth test using shape keys
After receiving feedbacks from Mr. Kamal, I tried to model the mouth to make
it usable as an animation asset. I tried to think of a way that would make it
work for my character, and I started with deleting the faces to make the
opening and extruding the edges back and adding new faces to create the back
of the mouth. Then, I applied shape keys and moved the jaw up to the top of
the mouth to create a smile. Though, I noticed there's a lot of things I need
to refine as the wireframes are messy, which made the surface uneven and
there's gaps in the inside of the mouth. I wanted to make time for my other
module projects so I decided to focus on fixing the jacket sleeve instead but
I would try to figure this problem out in the future.
Further modeling progress
|
| Fig 4.1 Aligning the wireframes of the sleeve to the wireframes of the jacket |
|
| Fig 4.2 Reorganising the wireframes after unifying the meshes |
|
| Fig 4.3 Bridging the edge loops on mirrored meshes |
|
| Fig 4.4 Removing unnecessary vertices on the hat |
I used back my original model for my further progression, the one without the shape keys for the mouth. After trying out to join the sleeve and the jacket by using the bridging edge loop technique and then manually rewire the meshes, using the shrinkwrap modifier, and unifying them and then smooth them through sculpting, I found out the most practical way is to align the wireframes of the two meshes and then unify them and reorganise the wireframes. Reorganising the wireframes through this method is easier and more time-saving compared to all the other method I tried, which created more confusion and destruction in my attempt in rewiring it. I split the jacket in half and did it for one sleeve first and then mirror it and bridged the edge loops as how I did during the first time.
I also removed some unnecessary vertices at the end of the hat and rearranged
the wireframes a bit to make the appearance smoother.
Fig 4.5 Final model turnaround with and
without wireframe and material settings
|
| Fig 4.6 Scene and lighting setup |
|
| Fig 4.7 Camera setup |
I then set up the scene using a smoothen plane as a background and three point
lighting setup, though I added one more at the far left to brighten up the
scene. I also added irradiance volume as I wanted to render in Eevee since the
output looks better than Cycles for this model. I positioned my model in the
center of the camera to fill up the white spaces around the composition.
Final organic modeling
|
| Fig 4.8 Final character modeling |
Feedbacks
Week 13
The shape of the model looks good, but if you have time, try out using the edge loop technique to model the mouth to make it workable for animation. You can try out joining the sleeve and the jacket by using the bridge edge loop method, but make sure the wireframe count for both objects are the same.
Reflection
This project was enjoyable but also frustrating when I encounter a difficult problem to fix, and when the result of bridging edge loops turn out to have lots of messy triangles in the wireframes. But it's fun seeing the final 3D model created out from a 2D character after I've finished modeling it. Although the wireframe arrangement for some parts are still a bit unorganised, and the hand could use some more work, but I'm still glad that I'm able to complete it and it turned out similar to the 2D model sheet. I'd really like to figure out how to make the shape keys of the mouth look better, but with the workload of my animation fundamentals module I had to make some sacrifices. Perhaps I'll revisit this in my semester break and try to make it work.
I love your work please continue showing us your process!
ReplyDelete