Head modeling, why do some artists model eye/mouth first?

bitinn

I was looking at the a few character head modeling tutorials and find some of them start with eye/mouth (where animation happens), instead of the whole head then add details. For example the ones from James Taylor.

Given it's quite counter-intuitive, is there a good reason for that? Does it necessarily result in better face topology?

(side question: is head modeling mostly replaced by sculpting nowadays?)

slosh

This can sort of depend on the artist but for a beginners tutorial, they are probably just laying out major landmarks first so it will be easier to place the other landmarks and the general size of the head easier based off of the key landmarks.  I would personally approach it a bit differently.  This also depends on if you are deciding to model the head first in something like maya or just dynameshing from a sphere in zbrush.  If I was modeling a head in maya, I would probably get a general shape of a head first and then slowly add detail.  If I was starting in zbrush, I would probably sculpt out from a skull shape and place landmarks based off of that.  Either way, it's up to you how you want to approach it.  I don't think there is a wrong or right way to do it.

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bitinn

@sloth Thx for your explanation.

I am not sculpting with Zbrush yet, as I do want to get good at modeling basic characters in Maya. Like you, I enjoy setting a head shape first then add details when modeling. But I find myself reaching for the sculpting tools in Maya, unlike in James' tutorial, where he stayed strictly modeling. I feel slightly guilty about that, like I am skipping some basics...

@TeriyakiStyle Thx for your tips.

I am taking the 1st approach at the moment, though not making it to Zbrush yet. Is there anything in particular I should be aware of when modeling a non-realistic (aka anime) character?

kanga

I don't think the technique shown results in better topology, but it is a very good way to demonstrate it. I think it's much easier to start with a whole form and shape it. That is the way you would sketch something. Personally there is no quicker way to model characters then: zsphere or dynamesh, zremesh (if needed), and send a decimated version to an external program for retopology. It seems to be a very intuitive way to model characters.

Once you have the form you could still use it as a template and follow the topology section of the James Taylor tutorial.

CheeseOnToast

While I totally understand approaching a head model in the same way as a drawing, I personally prefer to get some good, lightweight topology in place first which you can then easily adjust with soft selects etc. to fix proportions and achieve a likeness.

That said, these days I usually do a dynamesh sculpt then retopo that.

pior

bitinn said:

But I find myself reaching for the sculpting tools in Maya, unlike in James' tutorial, where he stayed strictly modeling.

You are taking this tutorial way too literally. You have to keep in mind that building a solid mesh structure (connecting edges, filling faces, and so on) and capturing the likeness of a character are two different things - clearly illustrated by the fact the the end result of this modeling video looks nothing like the reference being used.

Of course the two processes are tightly intertwined, and some simple shapes can be nailed directly, vert by vert. But why would there be anything wrong with moving large areas of a model with a soft move brush, or solving some parts in sculpt before retopoing them ?

- - - - -

On a side note : practising very lowpoly modeling is still good practice, because under a certain density threshold you are basically dealing with something very close to the "planes of the face" that are at the core of traditional sculpting. Something around 300/500 tris or so. Enters Bobo : 



From http://bobotheseal.com

WilliamVaughan

I'm not a fan of the build out technique (start with detailed eyes and work out from there) ... I prefer to build the overall shape and cut in detail as I go. I work Big to small... same way I would sketch a character.

if you are simply  preforming retopo on a sculpt then build out isn't an issue imo.

No technique will result in 'better' topology.... its just different ways to get the same result.

Mark Dygert

Those are high deformation areas so starting with those areas first means you don't have to worry about pre-existing topology crashing the party. The loops start in these areas and radiate outward and can terminate in low deformation areas.