W.I.P. Uni Project - "The Boy"

iamonlywill

Hi guys,

I guess I’m the usual story you hear for first time posters - I’m a bit of a lurker. I've been on and off of Polycount for a while now. I like to look at other people's portfolio work for motivation and I also like to read through the critique that people get on their W.I.P.'s for any advice that might relate to me.

I started Uni this year in Scotland and I just thought I'd post up my own W.I.P.'s to basically help refine my understanding, technique and modelling skills. Previously i've not been a big fan of showing my work as I tend to be too hard on myself (expecting too much for a beginner) and worry that I'll scare people away with how bad I am. However I now realise how important it is to show progression in your work because everyone has to start somewhere!

So anyway, for my first semester I have to create 1 character and environment that helps portray a deeper message. My concept revolves around trying to artistically portray the theme of peer pressure through a support group poster, using my 3D models to make a 2D image. Essentially the piece trys to tell the story of a young boy being pressured by his "friends" into entering a "haunted" derelict old barn/shed. Obviously he is terrified of doing this but doesn't want to lose his "friends". So he stands there, torn, on the verge of making a possibly life changing decision.

Sounds pretty heavy I know but ultimately the module revolves around learning modelling and having fun rather than trying to nail the actual portrayal so I decided to try a fairly stylized character and set.

Below are some of sketches and art experimenting I have done so far, sort of showing the progress;








The last image is sorta how I want the poster to look (not inlcuding text etc.) but it's only a first attempt at sketching it and I want to do a few more.


I'll post some model W.I.P.'s next..... :thumbup:

iamonlywill

Ok so here is the firest few bits of progress I've made on my boy model;

First up the viewport images i'm using (roughly),


Next up, some WIP shots of the body/head getting blocked out,










Ok so as mentioned this is what I've blocked out so far - I know there is quite a lot of refinements to do but I feel it is a good start. Also I should mention that this is meant to be quite a low poly project so i'm trying to use good topology, edge loops and smoothing groups in combination with a MeshSmooth modifier to get a good finish quickly.

Please feel free to critique this project as I'd love the feedback - currently feel I don't get enough!

Oh - and i'm using 3DSMax for modelling this!

iamonlywill

*Reserved No.2*

iamonlywill

Next wee bit of progress - worked on the brow/eye socket area a bit, gave him simple eyelids (that I may/may not use) and got his noggin blocked in. Ears up next most likely.





I'm also not really sure what I want to do about his eyebrows - should I model them on or just texture them on? Anyone got any suggestions?

iamonlywill

Got the ears pretty much sorted. I also took the mesh into Zbrush and messed about with some deformations just to see if the topology works ok and I must say i'm pretty pleased with how it worked so far - it's exciting!

Shiniku

First off, check out this link:
Face topology on polycount wiki
Also check out the rest of the wiki, it's a truly valuable resource.


It's a bit disappointing to see that no one had replied to your thread yet, as I think you'd be in a better place now if you had gotten critiques on the rest of the design process.

You've done the right thing here in posting up every step of your process, giving every opportunity for feedback - sometimes you just don't get it.

Anyway, I think right now, as I may have insinuated with the link up top, your facial topology could use a lot of work. Right now it looks more or less like a grid laying over his face, and that's not ideal for proper deformation, which is important considering you'll want to give this guy a facial expression. The most important thing is to get your edge loops following the flow of muscles on the face - like circular loops around eyes and mouth. It looks like you're kind of attempting this but it's not all there.

As for eyebrows - I say model them, they won't look very good textured on. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there aren't any restrictions on this? In other words, it doesn't need to be functional as game art, but it just needs to look nice as a final render? When that's the case, definitely go hog wild.. model dem eyebrows. Even if it was under game limitations, I would say go for it because this character isn't too high-poly right now anyway.

Also, here's another link, bam:
limb topology

You're definitely going to want to add more loops around the knees and elbows. Right now these are going to deform really poorly and make the entirely leg collapse with only one edge loop. Add more edge loops for sure - and maybe even some more definition. Also, shoulders could use some work too.. more loops, etc.

Overall looking good, keep at it!

iamonlywill

Shiniku,

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply. I must admit I was a little disapointed at the lack of activity initially but I completely understand people do this off their own backs so I can't expect instant results and from what I usually see the feedback is worth the wait. However as it's a Uni project due at the start of Jan I wanted to keep pushing on, I was just hoping I was going in the right direction.

I see what you mean about the "grid" across his face - I think that's a result of me wanting things too tidy rather than placing verts in the ideal place for better topology, I'll have to try and condition myself out of that I think.

The eyebrows - I think I will model them on to be honest, if I were to texture them on it would end up looking too different from the designs where they are almost seperate objects.

The body is actually very early on and I did have plans to go back and refine areas, especially the arms and legs (for deformation).

Those links you gave me are amazing though! So useful - normally I have such a hard time finding good wireframe references like that in the good ol' Google. I noticed the Mass Effect 3 guy at the top used the 4 point poly that looks like a tri to reduce the number of poly's around the back of the head, I figured that out as I was making this head but thought it was probably bad practice so I avoided doing it as much as possible, though it's great to know now I can!

I'll work on the face and refine the body a little more - sounds crazy but I don't want things to be "too" good for this first attempt as i'm only in 2nd year (out of 4) and want to show progression as much as possible.

Really appreciate the feedback! Thanks!

iamonlywill

I think i've improved the flow a bit, and reduced some poly's too. Still not convinced by the mouth but not quite sure what I want to do to fix it.

iamonlywill

The mesh was annoying me too much to leave it! So sorry, here is another quick update! (Last one for today as I'm away to work now )

Mr.Wednesday

Hi iamonlywill. Unfortunately Shiniku is right. Your facial topology need a lot of reworking if you want it to deform correctly later on. Read carefully the links provided and dont be afraid to redo parts if you have to. I know it sounds horrible to hear this but there are plenty of 3D artists here that lost nights of sleep in order to redo or fix a mesh. If you think its taking too much effort to fix it, redo it. Just remember, if you did it once, you can do it again. Just save it as a separate file in case you dont like your new results. This might seem like a downer but trust me, you will learn A LOT from this.

Take a look at this link (it was already inside what Shiniku posted), it helped me a lot about topology. Next time when you have the free time or on your next project, try to draw the topology on top of your sketch. That will help guide you and will make the modeling a lot easier next time around.

Keep at it and keep posting! I know its hard to get good feedback here and Its a shame that there are too many people just doing the old "post and run" (myself included). So in order to change this and increase good karma I am going to stop doing it and try to help out as much as I can so don't hesitate to ask and I will help out whenever possible. 3D is a lot about learning by yourself keep google open at all times! Google is your friend!

t4paN

http://www.poopinmymouth.com/tutorial/tutorial.htm

http://www.3dtotal.com/dominance_war/

You've put a lot of work in the concept so you'll be ok. Just go Simple Box Modelling -> Zbrush -> Max/Maya (or topogun) Retopo and bake. Leave all that patch modelling for the end.