Body Topology Studies

Kozak

Rookie here, but serious about improving. I'm currently practicing on a male base mesh, and any critiques would be hugely appreciated.

One specific question (I'm modeling in Maya, fyi): I've used Soften Edge on the head because I noticed that it looked very faceted in the default view mode. Would a typical game engine like UDK support softened edges, or am I using it as a crutch to cover up my noobie modeling?

nick2730

Topology looks decent but anatomy specifically elongated head and ears need some work. just use human reference

Shiniku

For the most part the topology looks pretty good. Watch that third loop around the eyes though - it looks pretty wonky there at the outer lower corner. I would try to continue like the first two loops a bit more. Same with the mouth.. I'd like to see a couple of clean loops surrounding the mouths before it starts breaking out into other things. The ears - well, I've never seen ears done like that, it seems like you've gone a bit overboard, you could probably cut that down a fair amount.

Like nick said though, your biggest problems aren't with topology, you've got some issues with the overall form and anatomy. Dig up some photos and anatomical references and reevaluate what you have.

Kozak

@nick2730: Thank you, you were absolutely right. I put in some time to iron out my anatomy/proportion issues.

@Shiniku: Thanks for the points on the topology, I tried to fix the loops you mentioned.

Grr! Those ears! They're still giving me a lot of trouble. I'm finding it hard to get the shape right without adding a lot more resolution to the head. They will be overcome!

I've also started the body mesh--it obviously still needs more work. But if anyone sees any glaring errors at this stage, I'd appreciate the feedback :-)

Shiniku

Hey! Nice progress, you definitely made the topology a bit better and got him looking a bit more human. But your topology still has a lot of issues - especially now on the body. Remember, it's good to keep edge loops clean for proper deformation, and they should follow the flow of the bodies muscles. Right now you've got some things that are looking about right, but you've also got a lot of strange loops that won't aid in proper deformation, and some trouble areas like the shoulders and pelvis that will have a lot of problems when rigging/animating.

If you don't mind I've jotted down a few pointers/thoughts. Keep in mind I'm not a professional and am no expert of topology myself, these are just the things that stuck out to me, and I tried to give some vague advice or direction for how you should fix the problems.



The best thing I can recommend is to go to the polycount wiki's topology pages.

Also, don't be ashamed to find some good topology online and draw from it heavily - well pretty much copy it exactly. For a beginner, this is a great way for you to learn, and I doubt anyone will be getting mad at you about it.

Kozak

@Shiniku: Wow! Thank you for the paintover--it was a huge help and made things much clearer. I'm referring to Brian Tindall's base mesh topology over at much clearer. For the body, I'm currently referring to Brian Tindall's base mesh topology over at http://www.hippydrome.com/ModelingBody.html.

Update! Hands and feet are too rough to show yet, will work on them more tomorrow.