Modelling Small Birds
polycounter lvl 8
Hey Guys. I am a little bit lost.
I need some help or guidance.
I want to create a little artwork with two robin birds.
It is supposed to be a cute stylized, but semirealistic Style.
Also I am creating this as a personal artwork, not for a game.
Well I really like the one Pixar did and played around with xgen a little bit but couldn`t really get something similar.
Number 1 and 2 f.l. show the volume I am going for
If anyone could guide me to workflows or tutorials that explain the process of something similar I`d be so grateful.
Especially gauging when to use feathers or fur. Also when using feathers how to use them correctly.
How would you go about it if there was no online help?
Replies
Birds don't have fur. They only have feathers. But feathers serve different purposes, so they can look pretty different. Some feathers are only for keeping the body warm, so they are downy and short and may look a bit like fur, but they are not the same as fur. They are still coming from a central spline and have a pattern of layering.
There are some tutorials about making feathers here and there.
https://polycount.com/discussion/202852/game-res-feathers-tutorial#latest
http://https//www.artstation.com/artwork/va3VO
Those are both game model types, but maybe it will give you some ideas. If you want to copy pixar, I am sure you can find some instruction for that somewhere. I think the biggest hangups there will be that they are likely using some proprietary feather creation methods and proprietary rendering as well. I don't really know, I'm just guessing. A few times, I have found the artist who created something I liked on artstation, and messaged them directly. In my experience, people are happy to share their knowledge so long as it appears you have done some homework and aren't expecting a hand-holding step by step guide.
If it was me, I'd start with something simple and just try to make a few feather types with fibermesh, then you could get fancy and use xgen to place them but it would probably be simplest to just do it by hand.
If its not to be animated, just a static piece of art, you can probably fake most of it. Just use a few alpha cards simulating different feathers to layer on top, and something like a fins-and-shells technique (google that) to give a sense of depth.
Lastly, this isn't something people are doing so often that there is a very standardized practice. Do expect that you'll need to do a lot of experimentation to develop a look you like.
I was kinda under the impression that the pixar one was somehow done with fur, and only some feathers were used. But maybe that was wrong. I will experiment now.