Chomper WIP and Questions about Polys

# 1 27-10-2003 , 12:31 AM

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Hi everyone.

Awhile back I completed Kurt's Dragon tutorial and I'm basically using his methods on this new character I'm creating. This will actually be the first model that I can call my own. Anyhow, as I go through the process of building this character from a sketch, I'm wondering if my work is clean or not? I have noticed on boards people will request to see the wireframes and I'm a little curious as to why? Can you tell from the wires if the work is sloppy or done hastily? I use the polygon tool frequently to help define the anatomy of my creature and despite it looking fine in subs mode, I wonder if my polygon work looks like a hack job? Perhaps, I'm over-obsessing, but I just want to make sure I'm on the right path in regards to becoming a better modeler.

Your expertise is appreciated.

Dan user added image

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# 2 27-10-2003 , 12:49 AM

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actually, for a first self- designed model that's really good. the one thing you want to avoid is using that many triangles as they can cause problems when converting to Sub-Ds as well as mess up the "flow" of a model when deforming for animation.

Great job user added image

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# 3 27-10-2003 , 12:59 AM

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This is looking really great - expecially for a first character!

I think what you have is ok, but as Carrot said - you should try using less polys. The one thing I do see is that there are a few 5+ sided polys, which is a no-no. Try and keep them all four sided. You can get away with three sided, but if you have alot in a tight area you could get into trouble when you converting to Sub-d's. You will have some nasty creases.

great work - I would love to see a shot of the head user added image

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# 4 27-10-2003 , 03:58 AM

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One thing to keep in mind is when you are modeling with the intent to rig, you usually want to model the legs stretched out and not bending. Rig it first and then bend it.

-Mike
The Maya Toolbelt

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# 5 27-10-2003 , 04:06 AM

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Thanks for the tips everyone. I cleaned up the area some, although I still have some 3 point triangles. It's kind of hard to rid them all, unless I carry the line all the way around the body.

I believe I removed all the five side-polys by merging vertices...Oh, wait...I just spotted another on the image below. I'll deal with it later. Anyhow, the area marked in orange, would that be regarded as a four or a five?

user added image

Thanks again for your help
Dan

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# 6 27-10-2003 , 04:14 AM

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mtmckinley, I just read your post after I uploaded. Thanks for the tidbit. It makes sense. I'm sure there will come a time when I tell myself "Dan, you idiot, you should of stretched those legs, now you can't animate". However, 3D is a whole new universe for me and animation seems light years away. Really, with this project, I just wanted to reinforce what I learned from Kurt's tut and possibly take it to the next level with some texture. Despite him being in a crouched pose, will that affect the texture mapping process?

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# 7 27-10-2003 , 02:51 PM

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Hey danielh68

your modle is fantastic!!!! the question mark would be number five, theoreticaly speakin there are only triangles and quads are 2 of em. a five sided would be a quad and a tri. maya just dosn't show the edge.

howardporter
is right, five sided polys can become a pain in the @$!!!! when you try to animate & texture.

Mike
texturing a crouched character with uv unwrap will be very dificulte.

carrot juice
has a very important point with the flow. you already have pretty good flow in your mesh, usally where the flow is interupted is where the problems will come out in animating & texturing.

Mate if this is your first Model then I think you are a genius, It took me years to get this stuff through my thick skull.

keep rockin.

xian

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# 8 27-10-2003 , 05:39 PM

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These are exactly the tips I was hoping to receive, thanks everyone.

Thanks for the compliment, Xian. I'm actually an illustrator, so my background might serve me some advantage.

I'm a tad discouraged in regards to the limitations the pose causes. Now I know why models are straight as boards. In my mind, I was going to have the model in a dynamic position and then texture it, but I guess that isn't how things work. I've already spent quite a few hours modeling what I have, but I'm only about a quarter done with it. Perhaps, I should start over and do it the right way, so I can texture it...and, later animate. I guess, I will mull this over for awhile.

Thanks again, everyone.

Dan

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# 9 28-10-2003 , 01:28 AM

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Well, I decided to stop what I was doing and try to make the creature stand straight. I thought I could cheat by selecting the joints of the legs and arms and rotate them. The results were not promising. So, I pretty much scrapped everything but the head and torso and began remodeling it. I made some progress with the the bi, tri and delt area. Below is a snapshot with my reference sketch. Still got a lot of work to do. Again, thanks for the pointers.

user added image

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# 10 28-10-2003 , 05:15 AM

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Cool sketch. user added image

Even if you don't plan on animating it, it's still a good idea to model in the "da vinci" pose for rigging and texturing. Even to just do poses, it's cool to rig it and be able to pose it however you like, even if you aren't animating.

-Mike
The Maya Toolbelt

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# 11 28-10-2003 , 06:17 AM

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Thanks, mtmckinley.

Yeah, I have no idea about the standard methodogy...now I know a little bit more.

Like I mentioned earlier, once I complete the model, I want to learn how to texture map. I might check out the two texture tutorials in the VIP section when I reach that point.

By the way, you have a really cool site. Enjoyed the comics.

--Dan

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Chomper WIP and Questions about Polys

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