Welcome to the second and final part of this project. Since people have asked how I do my models, I decided to make a write-up on how I approach these things using the example of a model of Sam Manson. The first part focused on how I make a model sheet fo a 3d model the second part focus just on the modeling. There are many more things about how to create a fully realized 3d character that I could make whole other chapters for, like UV unwrapping, texturing, shading and rigging, but I don't have enough knowledge past the fundamentals on these topics that could warrant their own seperate posts.
Additional stuff before I continue:
I use Blender for all my model
This not a beginners guide or something similar, it would be helpful to already know the general workflow of a modeling, how to use Blender and know different terminology like edgeflow, retopology etc.
If you are a beginner and want to learn more about character modeling I recommend the videoseries "Modeling for Animation" by Dikko on Youtube
Maybe I make some reference some tricks from this videoseries
That's it, let's go!
My first step is always the block-out phase. The block-out phase is what the construction lines and the first sketch in a drawing are. I align the frontview and sideview from the model sheet I made in part 1 with the z-axis (the blue line in the images above) and roughly shape out the forms with primitive forms. For this I mostly use a cube with a subdivide modifier.
Having a modelsheet without the clothes obscuring the body makes it much easier the get the form right. The block-out phase is one of the most important steps, if it looks good than I have practically half the work done. This is also a good opportunity to practice anatomy.
After this stage I continue with the head. First of all, don't forget to add the mirror modifier so I just need to model half of the model. There are different methods to approach modeling the head, like sculpt the head first, retopologize and than bake all the deatails onto the retopologized head. I actually prefer to polymodel the head especially when I have a good model sheet. I practially trace the lineart from the model sheet by extruding vertices, once from the frontview and once from the sideview. The most important points are the form of the eyes, the mouth, the form of the face and the jawline. The head block-out is used as an anchor point for the shrinkwrap modifier so that the traced forms actually look like they belong to a 3d form and not 2d lines floating space. From this point on it's just connecting everything, pull and push vertices so it looks like a 3d head and make sure the edgeflow is good. (It's also helpful to know how the planes of the head look like) After that I add the eyelashes, eyebrow, eyes and the ears, now it looks like something!
Now comes the hair. For the hair I used the "curve trick" like mentioned in the video series I recommended. Here is a tip to save time: I choose some edges from the head, duplicate and seperate it from the mesh. I convert this seperated line into a curve and choose a beziercircle as a bevel geometry. This is now the perfect foundation to model the hair further. One thing I needed a long time to notice: To get the beziercircle to a perfect square or in this case a triangle lower the Resolution U to 1 in the shape options. Now I just convert the curves into a mesh and add details and the head is done!
With the head finished I continue with the body. Remember how I wrote with a good block-out half of the work ist finished? Well, for this step I practically just use the smooth brush in sculpt mode and smooth everything out so everything looks connected. Then I retopologize the body and that's it. Well, ok there is a little bit more to it: Before smoothing things out I join the block-out part to a single mesh and remesh it with the remash modifier expept for the hands. I prefer to polymodel the hands seperatly without worrying about the rest of the body because they are difficult to model. I reattach them later. Speaking of reattaching, I make sure that the connection points have the same number of vertices while I retopologize/polymodel. To ensure that, I often use the following trick visualized with a simple example ( which is also described in the video series):
I want to reduce the amount of edges at the bottom of this plane, for this I merge 3 vertices from the middle into 1 vertice seen in the left image. After that I can select the blue marked edges from the center image and dissolve them. The result, which you can see on the right, is a nice clean edgeflow with a reduction in the number of edges.
After modeling every part I attach them together and I have a finished bodymesh the work with.
Now onto the clothes, for this I use the model sheet with clothes as reference. Having a retopologized body makes it easier to model simple stuff like e.g. Sam's shirt. On the left image the marked faces of the the bodymesh already looks like a shirt. I just need to duplicate and seperate this area, clean it up a little and the shirt is basically finished. The more complex stuff like the boots I need to polymodel around the bodymesh.
With that the modeling part is done! Now comes the things I said above: uv unwrapping, texture painting, rigging and shading. These are whole other topics I cannot go deeper because I'm still learning how to do these things but I hope my little write-up about how I appoach character modeling was enough to learn one thing or two.
Hi! On my recent posts of my 3d models I got many asking questions about how I made them. I'm currently working on a 3d Sam model from scratch and so I thought I can document my process here and add some thoughts through my process.
Before I can model anything in 3d I need a reference and a plan. For characters this means I need to create a model sheet, so here we are.
Some disclaimer first before I continue:
I'm just a self-taught hobby artist not a professional or proper art student. The infos I write here down are just the things I do and can be completly wrong or different in a professional setting.
This is not a tutorial or a step-by-step-guide for character design or how to make character sheets in general. Just additional things that I pay attention to when I make a model sheet for my 3d models.
As someone who just does 3d modeling in my freetime for 2 1/2 years I see myself still as a beginner. I'm still in a experimenting with different techniques and artstyle. This and the following posts describes just stuff I do for this model, it could be some other method next if I feel this didn't work out that well. Nothing is set in stone.
I do the 3d models just for myself for practice and for fun, you cannot download them anywhere. I just post screenshots and do sometime animations to archive my progress.
Under the cut are my thoughts of how I approach a model sheet for a 3d character:
First things first I search for references and make some rough sketches to decide how I want the character to look like. I found this image of a character on pinterest ( anyone knows who the artist is? I cannot find the original source) and use this as a reference for my Sam model.
After the inital phase I first draw the front side of the character. For a 3d model I need a symmetrical neutral character in a T-pose, an A-pose or a standing pose in which the arms doesn't obscure the body. This makes it easier to model and rig them late on.
Speaking of obscuring the body it's also better to have a character without their clothes on and in multiple angles. It is easier to model the character's full body first and then model the clothes around it as an anchor point.
The most import angles for me are the front and side view. The other angles are more for the details to get the likeness right. I try to model the front view most accurately and the sideview is more for the proportions. I don't often see people only from the side view so whatever I draw from the side cannot 100% be accurately be modeled like that. I also made a different side view on the right with the arm seperated from the body, this makes it easier block in the form of the body and it's easier to model the arm and hand seperatly because hands are not only difficult to draw but also difficult to model.
For the different angles I use a mannequin model in blender as a guide and reference. Clip studio paint (the painting program I use) has also 3d mannequins but I personally find them difficult to move around so I prefer to use blender for this.
When I'm finished with the model sheet I also make a quick turnaround animation to see if anything looks consistent enough.
For many animation artists, creating a 3D Animated Model is a fundamental starting point and an essential phase in the 3D animation production pipeline. This process involves meticulous observation, manipulation, and adjustment of 3D objects using various software attributes. Mastery of 3D modeling demands practice across diverse areas, including anatomy.
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How do you create a 3D model and render it using 3Ds Max?
3ds Max, a product of Autodesk, is popular 3D modeling & rendering software which is used for developing precise 3D models, generating 3D animation and creating 3D rendered images efficiently. 3ds Max software has wide ranging usage in 3D Modeling Services and 3D Rendering Services across AEC industry, entertainment industry, media and game industry. In this blog I will talk about how 3ds Max software is implemented for creating design visualization and executing Architectural 3D Rendering process in AEC industry.
In 3D Modeling Services and 3D Rendering Services, 3ds Max software is mainly used by architects, 3D rendering artists, interior designers, 3D modelers and product designers for creating highly effective building or product designs.
To create a 3D model or design by performing Architectural 3D Rendering process, at first you need to download or install 3Ds Max software (try to install latest version) in your system from Autodesk website. 3ds Max enables you in shaping your ideas effectively i.e. you can express your entire imagination through photo-realistic rendered images. So using 3ds Max you can deliver highly accurate 3D Modeling Services as well as 3D Rendering Services to clients efficiently.
What Other file types you can import into 3ds max?
To render a 3D model effectively by performing Architectural 3D Rendering process, just proceed through the following steps –
Modeling – At first create a 3D model of your designed object which can be anything like a building, product, furniture, etc. In 3D Modeling services, for creating a 3D model, at first you have to import the CAD drawing of that object within 3ds Max and then you have to develop 3D model by following the imported 2D CAD drawing.
Lighting – Once the 3D model is completed, you have to perform lighting. I have seen many rendering artists who start lighting the scenes before applying materials when they execute Architectural 3D Rendering process. Applying material before lighting sometimes creates problem like users can understand the effect of lighting on material. In that case either they make adjustment or they render the scene another time. Don’t you think it’s just waste of time? Architectural 3D Rendering workflow depends on the scene and types of materials. I will suggest you first set up lighting and then apply materials in 3D Modeling Services.
Shading and Texturing – Different types of materials are available within 3ds Max. You can also download free textures from internet (www.cgtextures.com) or purchase textures. In 3D Modeling Services, you can also create your own texture either by scanning texture from natural elements like wood, fabrics, etc. or by taking photographs using your digital cameras. Now if you shoot photo, import it within Adobe Photoshop and the do some useful modification and give final touches in the photo. You can create your own library of textures that you can use anytime in any project.
3D Rendering – Architectural 3D Rendering is the most important step of the entire workflow. In this step you have to apply material, texture, lighting effects, color, etc. properly to the model and make the model photo-realistic.
Compositing – In this step, some other objects or effects are added to the final rendered images or videos. In case of still images, you have to use either by using 3Ds Max or by using other photo editing tool like Adobe Photoshop. In case of videos, you have to use video rendering tools like Adobe Premiere. You can also add some special effects to your rendered image or video.
The demand of Architectural 3D Rendering and design visualization is very high in the industry especially AEC industry, entertainment industry and film & media industry. In 3D Rendering Services, 3Ds Max software has a big role in creating high-end design visualization. This software has brought lots of opportunities for 3D modelers, rendering artists and other professionals. It’s highly advanced features not only help professionals in producing high quality design by executing Architectural 3D Modeling process but also help in increasing efficiency significantly.
While every project is different, here are the 8 main stages that we typically go through while creating an architectural animation. It may not be the absolute right way... but it would be very beneficial to see the process we go through.
