Some advice on character modeling

PnG

Okay Im pretty new to 3ds max but i understand the basics and i know about the different types of modeling.

Im just wondering what type i should use for certain things. For example lets say i wanted to create this guy http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints/humans/humans/34029/view/male_cartoon_character/

Is there a 'best' way to do this.. or does it not matter if its box plane or any other type of way?

Also because i am playing around with UDK aswell.. I see the terms high poly and low poly alot. Ive also heard the term 'bake'. Wondering if anyone could elaborate on them.

thanks for any help you post

PnG

Well theres my weekend gone.. cheers

sparrow

Hi there PnG.
To be honest it dose matter which way you model, you have to find what is most conformable for you, with character work you have to make shore you have edge loops this is so the character can be animated. i use a mixer of box moderling , plane and retopologize.

:d

good luck

PnG

Okay im with you on box modeling plane modeling.. Im lost on what retopologieze are / is

Mark Dygert

Retopo, is the act of taking something that is insanely high poly and unusable in games and creating a low poly version that is optimized and efficient. Typically this is done so you can bake normal maps that are applied to the low poly to make it look like the high.

As for the first question, you really need to answer some questions first.
Do you have a specific game in mind that if given the chance you would like to see your model included in? That will help you dial in the technical specifications.
High end FPS on the PC?
Will they talk, how close does the camera/player get?
How important are they?
Hero or throw away background guy?
3rd person action adventure game? Where we stare at their back more than their front?
RTS? Where people are just a few pixels on the screen?
Casual game on low end hardware like the iOS or DS where low poly is really low poly?
What kind of maps are you going to use? Diffuse only or Diffuse, spec and normal?
How do you plan to create those maps? Hand painted or baking?
What size of maps are you thinking about using?

You need to know where you're going if you want driving directions.

Honestly though, just get started with what you think makes sense. Post it and ask for feedback, answering some of the questions above will help people dial in on the specifics as they critique your model.

PnG

Thanks for the response.. To be honest i have no idea how to answer most of those.. my main goal was make some random character put it in UDK and then once i did that have some more confidence in myself to make something better.

I will take a few days and go through the wiki and see what i can create / come up with and then post it here and see if you guys can help me move forward.

thanks for the help so far

sparrow

Hey there i know its old but its a prity good tutorial and its one i first did when i started doing characters, it has a good step by step, worth having a look.

http://www.3dtotal.com/pages/tutorials/max/joanofarc/joanmenu.php

tekmatic

Ah the good old Joan of Arc tutorial....that was our first assignment for character modeling during my certificate.

Also check out Lynda.com....depending on your financial means, they got some pretty good tutorials on character creation. But like sparrow said, the Joan of arc is pretty good and basic tutorial for what you are looking for.

Good luck

Carl Brannstrom

A mistake beginners often do is extruding the thumb straight out of the side of the hand. It will make the hand deform poorly when the character is gripping things.